6
Resolution
Gibbs threw a dust sheet over the almost completed rocking horse; he'd have finished it today but the unexpectedly sunny January morning had lured him outside. He had done some yard work and as he put the tools back in the garage he had felt the quiet satisfaction that comes from good, hard, physical labour. After lunch he headed down to the basement, and as ever he lost himself in the wood, working the timber soothed him like nothing else could, and this project was extra special, it would be Amira's first birthday without her Grandpa, and Gibbs wanted to show her how much she was still loved.
Gibbs gathered up his empty coffee mugs and started up the stairs; the team didn't always get the luxury of a weekend off, so he intended to make best use of this one. So long as he didn't get tempted by outside work again tomorrow the horse should be ready for painting by the afternoon, giving ample time for the drying and varnishing process before he needed to deliver the gift. It was dark out and Gibbs got a surprise when he checked the time; 22.15, he really did lose all track of time when he was working the wood. His phone sent out its shrill tone, demanding a reply; they weren't on call, but Gibbs was a great believer in following his own rules, most of the time; he was usually reachable, especially if a member of his team needed him, he checked caller ID, Tony.
"Gibbs." There was a slight hesitation at the other end of the line. "Tony, you okay?"
"Me? Yeah…Boss, it's not serious, I mean the doc says he's going to be okay…no nerve or bone damage, through and through, right arm..."
"Tony, take a breath, tell me what happened."
"Boss, Tim's been shot; we were walking back to the car after dinner, he called out, pushed me, I...I fell, then Tim was on the ground, and there was blood..."
"Where were you Tony?"
"DC Coast on K Street North West; Metro PD are at the scene."
"I'll call Ziva; this is now our case."
Gibbs made one more call before he headed out to K Street; he wanted Vance to know about the shooting, and to be ready if Metro decided to raise any objections to losing jurisdiction. Gibbs gripped the steering wheel tight as he drove the short distance; someone had taken a shot at one of his people, and that made it personal.
He pulled up next to a Metro PD cruiser and wasn't surprised to see that Ziva had beaten him to the scene.
"Gibbs, have you heard anything more from Tony?"
"Tim's in surgery, just to clear up the wound Tony says; he'll call us when there's more news. Let's see what Metro has for us."
Gibbs felt a shiver run through him when he saw the blood on the sidewalk; it was one thing to face danger and the possibility of death every day they went to work, but for this to happen when they were off duty, not on call, not even involved in a case...
"You must be Agent Gibbs, my Captain called to say you were taking over. I'm Sergeant Hudson and this is Officer Delgado."
Gibbs shook hands with both men. "I'm Gibbs; Agent David…you have anything for us?"
"There are three eyewitnesses; they all heard the shot, Agent McGee call out, they saw him push his friend to one side, saw him fall but none of them saw the shooter."
"You find the bullet?"
"Delgado found it in the wall of the bank behind you. It's pretty beat up, but your forensics people may be able to find something."
Gibbs glanced at Ziva and gave a small smile. "Oh believe me, if there's anything to be found, our forensic scientist will find it."
"Agent DiNozzo? Agent McGee is out of recovery, would you like to see him?"
Tony grinned. "Try stopping me!"
Like many women, and some men before her, Nurse Silva found it impossible to resist Tony's smile. "You're not supposed to stay too long, but if you're quiet I'm pretty sure no one will kick you out."
With a new spring in his step Tony followed the nurse to Tim's room.
"Go right ahead, he's still a little out of it from the anaesthesia, but I'm sure he'll be pleased to see you."
Gibbs took the evidence bag from Officer Delgado and stared at the mangled metal inside the clear plastic case enclosed inside. He could picture Abby's reaction when she heard about Tim, but he knew once she'd had her meltdown she would be determined to find out everything she could.
He looked up and down the street, searching with a sniper's eye. If the eye-witnesses hadn't seen a shooter he wasn't likely to be at ground level, just one shot fired...this was looking less and less likely to be a random shooting.
"Do you think whoever did this had targeted Tony or McGee?"
"If they did, they're going to regret it. I need to talk with McGee, he saw something..." He was interrupted by the shrill ring-tone of his cell. "Hey Tony, how's he doing?"
"Good Boss, they want to keep him in overnight, but the doc says he should be okay to go home tomorrow."
"Is he up to answering some questions?"
"Maybe...he was talking crazy, the meds I guess; he's got himself convinced someone's after me, and he wanted you on protection detail."
"Don't be so fast to dismiss the notion Tony; until we know more I'm not ruling anything out. I'm on my way to the hospital right now, are you staying with Tim?"
"Got no place else to be Boss."
There was nothing more that could be done at the crime scene until the morning, then Gibbs would have a team searching the rooftops, so he sent Ziva to NCIS with the scant evidence they had and with instructions to call Abby.
"Be sure she knows from the get-go that Tim is fine; I want her working on the ballistics, not racing over to the hospital to give Tim a hug."
"I will do my best Gibbs. Do you want me to start looking at potential suspects?"
"Sooner the better, it'll likely be a long list; we've put a lot of people away, and pissed-off plenty more."
"Especially Tony, there are times when he can be..."
"Yeah, I know."
Gibbs hadn't broken any speed limits getting to George Washington University Hospital; he wanted a little time to think before he faced Tony and Tim. Could Tim be right about a threat to Tony? Even in his morphine fuelled ramblings there could be a grain of truth in the idea; wouldn't be the first time that Tony had been the target of someone from his very colourful past. No call to set up protection details right now, Gibbs wouldn't be leaving the hospital until he'd spoken to Tim, and he knew Tony wouldn't be going anywhere either, so he'd be well able to keep watch on the two of them.
Gibbs' badge was enough to get him into Tim's room, but only after he'd promised the doctor that he wouldn't pressure Tim into answering any questions.
"His injury may not be as severe as some you have seen Agent Gibbs, but a bullet has ripped through his arm, and he's had general anaesthesia, let him wake in his own time."
"Not a problem, I've got all night."
"Hey Boss, he's been sleeping about thirty minutes."
"Don't worry Tony, I won't wake him."
Gibbs handed Tony the coffee he'd brought with him and took his first look at Tim. He was pale, but not much more so than usual, his right arm was encased in a dressing from shoulder to elbow, and there was an IV attached to his right hand. It wasn't the first time Gibbs had seen one of his team in the hospital, likely wouldn't be the last; yet for some reason he'd never expected to see Tim like this. He was a good field agent, Gibbs wouldn't accept anything less, but Tim was primarily the computer guy, the man who could run the searches Gibbs wanted before Gibbs even knew he wanted them.
"He pushed me aside Boss, I didn't see…whatever he saw. If he hadn't, I could be…"
"No second guesses Tony; let's not waste energy on what might have been. We need to focus on who did this, and why." There was a slight movement from the sleeping figure. Gibbs cursed silently, he'd promised not to wake him.
"Boss…that you?"
"It is Tim, how are you doing?"
"Okay…I think, arm's sore…"
"Yeah, a bullet will do that."
Tim smiled in agreement, then turned to the other occupant of the room. "You have to watch out for Tony Boss...I should get up...wasting time...get to work, look into old cases..." He tried to sit up, but Tony applied gentle pressure to his uninjured arm.
"You're going nowhere Tim, not tonight."
"Boss, he shouldn't be here...safe house...your place...not here..."
"Settle down Tim, I'll be watching out for Tony; you too."
Tim blinked in surprise. "Me? No need to watch me, rifle was pointing at Tony."
Gibbs leaned closer, looked into Tim's eyes and laid the back of his hand on Tim's forehead, he didn't seem to be feverish, but Gibbs had to be sure. "Tim, listen to me, it was dark..."
"I know, but...I can't explain it Boss, when we came out of the restaurant...something...I felt like someone was watching...then we crossed the road and I looked up; there was light on metal, too long for a hand gun...pointed right at Tony...it all happened so fast Boss but I did see it...please Boss, look out for Tony..."
Tim tried to stay awake a little longer, he had to be sure Gibbs understood the urgency of the situation, but his eyelids felt so heavy, and the ache in his arm was fading...they definitely had him on the good meds...
Landon Grey could barely hold the pen; his hands were shaking with the anger he'd had to keep inside ever since Jeanette's visit this afternoon. McGee was still alive; the gunman had missed his target...as good as missed. Jeanette had seen McGee walk out of the hospital yesterday morning, Landon breathed deep...he needed to stay calm, but more than that he needed McGee to be dead. Each night it was getting harder and harder to rest easy knowing that McGee was going on with his life, moving on from the deaths of Cove and Corbett as he never could, not so long as he was locked up in here and McGee was free, and breathing...
His new journal was lying unopened on the bed, the ritual of writing every day had continued into this new year, he was careful that nothing incriminating found its way onto the pages. Landon sighed as he remembered the panic he had felt when he realised what could have happened if the guards had found the final entry in last year's journal. He had woken early on the first morning of 2012, and in the pitch dark of his cell he'd torn out the offending page, painstakingly ripped it into shreds and during the course of the day the tiny pieces had been flushed down the toilet.
From that day to this he had been much more circumspect; he opened the journal at the first clear page and started to write.
January 30 2012
Had a visit from Jeanette today, seeing my sister usually brings some light into my dark existence, but today she had news that is sure to cause problems in my therapy. Doctor Mowbray will notice tomorrow, he's very astute. I must be open with him; it's the only way I can make progress, maybe get parole one day. So I will tell him truthfully, a plan I had in place to make my life less bleak has suffered a setback, but there is hope that this is only a temporary problem, I have been patient for so long, I can wait.