Disclaimer: I own nothing but DVDs and an overactive imagination.
X XX XXX XX X XX XXX XX X XX XXX XX X XX XXX XX X XX XXX XX X XX XXX XX X
A/N: The third and (probably) final instalment in the Lost Trilogy is here!!
Many, many thanks to everyone who reviewed Losing You and The Lost Boy; I get a real kick out of reading them.
This time I'm going to alternate between Gibbs and Tony's experiences, but the first few chapters will be mostly Gibbs until he gets caught up with the timeline of TLB.
Hope you like this one too...
X XX XXX XX X XX XXX XX X XX XXX XX X XX XXX XX X XX XXX XX X XX XXX XX X
Lost III: Lost in Transit
Chapter 1: The Living Dead
X XX XXX XX X XX XXX XX X XX XXX XX X XX XXX XX X XX XXX XX X XX XXX XX X
Gibbs waited for Morrow's reaction to his discovery, wondering if he was going to tell him to get some kind of therapy.
"Are you sure about this, Jethro? It couldn'tve just been someone else's toothbrush?"
"I swabbed the one Tony kept in his desk, sir. No one else would have used it; everyone knows about his diet. Pizza, candy, Chinese food and burritos."
Morrow grimaced. "True, but I'll need more evidence than one toothbrush swab before I consider looking into it."
"I'll get Abby some more reference samples. And with your permission, I'd like McGee to start looking into the computer records."
The Director considered this. "Very well. But I want it kept strictly need to know. Abby and McGee only."
"Ducky could be helpful too, sir. There could be some inconsistency in his autopsy from the medical records; a broken bone in the wrong place..."
"Ducky is the most thorough ME I've ever met; especially on a case like this. If he had any doubts, they would have been raised at the time. No; just the four of us."
"Kate and Ducky aren't going to like it."
"Too bad. Best not to raise too many hopes." Morrow thought for a moment. "If you're right… Who do you suspect?"
"Abby says the records could only have been changed by an expert hacker or one of the agencies. My bet's on one of the A's. DiNozzo has undercover skills that they'd be happy to kill for."
"I wouldn't put it past them. But I am not going to make any enquiries until it is proved beyond a doubt that you're right on this one, Jethro."
"I'm not making this up, Director."
"I believe you; but thousands wouldn't. If you want to look into this, I am going to need hard proof that DiNozzo didn't die in that car accident."
"Special Agent Fornell owes me a favour; and I know he has contacts everywhere."
"You trust him?"
"I don't trust anyone, sir. But for this... yes. He won't lie to me, at least."
"Doesn't stop his contacts lying to him; you need to keep at least a little objectivity."
"Yes, sir."
Morrow shot him a reproachful look. "Don't lie to your CO, Gibbs; we both know if you get even a sniff of DiNozzo you'll hunt him like a rabid dog."
Gibbs gave a little half smile as he rose, choosing wisely to plead the fifth and say nothing as he left. With mingled concern and pleasure, Morrow reflected that it was the first smile he'd seen from him in two months.
And he really, really hoped Gibbs was right; because there was no way the former Marine would be able to go through this again.
X XX XXX XX X XX XXX XX X XX XXX XX X XX XXX XX X XX XXX XX X XX XXX XX X
When Gibbs arrived back in Abby's lab, he found her in the center of a shocked circle of Kate, Ducky and McGee.
"Are you absolutely sure about this, Abby?" Asked Kate gently. "We all know that Gibbs has been a little... unbalanced, since we lost Tony."
"Unbalanced?" Said McGee. "More like psycotic. I've been walking on eggshells since he came back from his leave."
Gibbs kept his face absolutely expressionless as he walked silently behind McGee and smacked him firmly round the back of the head.
"DNA does not lie," McGee, he said.
"Um, right, boss... I mean, Gibbs... I mean, sorry about the whole, um, I mean... I won't ever say anything like that again. I won't even think about letting it cross my mind."
"Stop babbling and get to work, McGee! I want to know who's been messing with the personnel records. Abby, help him. Kate, Ducky, you're not supposed to be in the loop on this so go work on whatever it was you were doing before Abby called you down here. Abbs, I'm going to get you some more reference samples from Tony's gear; and then I have a meeting to set up."
"Jethro..." Ducky ventured, hesitantly, seeing the sudden energy that had been so conspicuous in its absence since Tony's 'death'. "I don't wish to sound negative, but..."
"Something's hinky, Duck. I'm going to get to the bottom of it, whether Tony's alive or not." He turned his patented glare on the three younger agents.
"What, you waiting for an engraved invitation?" He made a shooing motion with one hand. "Go!"
There were a trio of "yes, boss's" as he strode away, praying silently that both Ducky and Morrow were wrong.
X XX XXX XX X XX XXX XX X XX XXX XX X XX XXX XX X XX XXX XX X XX XXX XX X
Gibbs handed over the spare coffee he carried and took a seat on the park bench beside Fornell to watch the ducks chugging across the still surface of the lake before them.
"Tobias."
"Jethro. You sounded pretty urgent on the phone; what's the problem?"
"Same as always; DiNozzo," said Gibbs with a fond half smile. "He's alive."
Fornell choked on his coffee. When he'd got his breath back, he managed to reply to his friend's statement.
"What? How d'you know?"
"I got Abby to run DNA from the body against an independent sample of his. No match; so the records must've been altered."
"Are you sure it was his?"
"Swab of the toothbrush he kept in his desk. No one who knew his eating habits would even think about borrowing it."
"You're really serious about this, aren't you. Jethro, I know how much you cared about him; is your judgement really gonna be reliable on this one?"
"If it wasn't his body in that car, then he must be out there somewhere, Tobias. And I've lost two months looking for him."
"And if you're wrong?"
"I'm not. I knew there was something not right; and now I've got something to back it up."
"That's not exactly comforting. I know you; and I know you're not above fabricating evidence to get a result you like; not in a case like this."
"I do not fabricate evidence. I lie, I threaten, I use sleight of hand to deceive, occasionally I let a suspect force my trigger finger. But I have never corrupted the integrity of evidence. And I give you my word, Tobias, I'm not doing it now." He let the FBI agent read the truth from his eyes.
Fornell nodded slightly in acknowledgement. "OK. Who do you suspect?"
"Everyone; no one can piss people off like Tony. But Abby thinks it was probably one of the agencies." He raised an eyebrow questioningly at the FBI agent.
"Hey, I don't know anything!" He protested. "If it was us, they never told me anything. You honestly think I could have sat there and watched you fall apart over a kid who wasn't really dead?"
"Not without me noticing. But someone out there has. They must have a real set of brass ones to pull something like this off on a federal agent."
"You thinking CIA or NSA?"
"With his skills? Could be anyone. Any chance you could call in a few favours and see if you can get me any intell?"
"I could try; don't know how far I'll get before someone figures it out. If they were watching you, they'd know I've been helping out."
"Then do it quietly, Tobias. Must be a spook somewhere who owes you their ass."
"One or two," he admitted. "But if this is a black op…"
"If it wasn't, I'dve heard something about it by now. I've got McGee and Abby trying to hack some evidence before I take it to Morrow."
"Jethro… you do realise that after two months, chances are you'll never find him; even if he is alive."
"I'll find him if it takes me two years, Tobias."
"But if he is out there, surely he'dve found a way to contact you by now..."
"He could be locked up somewhere. He could've been told we'll be killed if he tries to contact us. Hell, he could be in living in a yurt in Outer Mongolia for all we know."
"And if he's dead?"
"Then I'll find whoever's responsible; and they will pay. You're not going to talk me out of this, Tobias. I don't care what happens to me; Tony's my responsibility and I'm going to find him if it kills me."
"And what about the rest of your team? Don't they need you too?"
"None of them have been missing for two months while I was sitting on my ass feeling sorry for myself, Fornell."
"Will you at least promise not to do anything stupid until we have some solid intell?"
"What, you mean like shove my sig in the face of the director of the CIA until he tells me where Tony is? No; I'm not that desperate. Yet."
Fornell played that particular scenario through his head and winced. "Then I'd better hurry up and get you some information."
"Yeah; you do that, Fornell."
X XX XXX XX X XX XXX XX X XX XXX XX X XX XXX XX X XX XXX XX X XX XXX XX X
Mostly reaction to Tony's undeath in this chapter. Let me know what you thought.