Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS and I'm not earning any money from this.
Family Ties
"DiNozzo!" barked Gibbs.
"Uh… boss?" Tony had been laost in memories of the past and so he hadn't heard Gibbs' question/
"Do I really need to repeat myself, DiNozzo?" The growl in Gibbs' voice told the younger man that saying 'yes' would be a dangerous move.
"No, boss." His eyes darted to Kate who, taking pity on her now endangered sibling, slipped him a piece of paper Victim. Background Tony figured he now definitely owed Kate. He took a deep breath before continuing. "Lt. Cmdr. Gulia Diablo. 36. Italian American. Clean record – not even a parking ticket. No known living relatives." Tony paused, frowning. "Boss…"
Gibbs waited a minute for DiNozzo to continue, "what DiNozzo!" He snapped after it became clear that DiNozzo wasn't going to continue any time soon.
"I… I shouldn't be on this case." Tony's frown deepened, a look of bewildered defeat colouring his face.
"Oh for God's sake! Why not diNozzo?"
Tony what are you doing? Gibbs is seriously pissed. Kate couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her eyes widened as she realised that Tony wasn't joking.
"Conflict of interest boss." Tony stated. He looked Gibbs in the eye and the older agent was taken aback by the pain and confusion in his subordinate's normally animated green eyes. His first instinct would have been to demand that DiNozzo elaborated on this conflict of interest and pronto but Gibbs could sense that this wasn't the place.
"Fine. McGee, Kate, start looking for all possible suspects. I want to know everything there is to know about Lt. Cmdr. Gulia Diablo. Who she dated in high school, what her favourite cereal is, how she spent her free time, her favourite brand of candy bar, what she had for tea last night."
"On it boss." Kate said immediately, moving towards her desk. McGee echoed her before moving to his own desk. Gibbs began to walk out of the room, while Tony just stood watching his colleagues set to work.
"DiNozzo, you're with me." Tony silently followed his boss to an interrogation room. He sat down when Gibbs motioned for him to take the seat on the opposite side of the table. This isn't an interrogation Tony. It's just that there are only two seats in here. No need to panic. Keep calm, you're doing the right thing here. You don't want to risk Gulia's killers getting off scot free because you failed to mention that she was your sister. Tony kept psyching himself up; preparing himself for whatever Gibbs was going to say to him. Gibbs sat down opposite Tony, reminding himself that this wasn't an interrogation, he was just going to talk to his agent and find out whatever it was that made him feel that he couldn't be on the case. If it was a personal reason then they would sort it out.
"Start talking DiNozzo." Tony stared at a spot on the table.
"Her records are… well, they're wrong."
"What do you mean her records are wrong? The Navy does very thorough background checks." Tony got a strange smile on his face that Gibbs decided looked very creepy on the young man.
"Yes they do but her family did a much more thorough job of covering up her past. They have more experience than the Navy and better motivation." This time it was Gibbs' turn to frown. Who the hell is this family and how the hell does DiNozzo know so much about them.
"What is she? Royalty?" Tony laughed, which pissed Gibbs off. "DiNozzo," he growled.
"Sorry boss. It's just that… well, they're not quite royalty but they are treated similarly. Although royalty doesn't quite command as much respect." Gibbs wasn't amused.
"God help me DiNozzo if you don't start explaining quickly, I'll…" Gibbs let the implication of a threat hang in the air. Tony looked back down at his hands, took a deep breathe and let it out slowly. This was it; there was nowhere left to hide.
"Gulia was born into a well known and very powerful Italian family." Tony paused thinking about how he could continue.
"You mean like the mafia?" Tony shook his head. Damn Gibbs, close but if I have to tell you the truth then you're going to hear the whole truth.
"No boss I don't mean like the mafia; I mean The Mafia." Neither man spoke for a while; they just stared at each other. Gibbs was trying to figure out where Tony got his information and Tony was trying to figure out how much of the truth Gibbs could take in one sitting. Gibbs broke the silence.
"DiNozzo, how do you know this if her past was covered up so well?" Tony closed his eyes as he gathered his thoughts together. I guess you're gonna hear the whole truth in one sitting then boss.
"She's… was… my sister." Tony forced down the lump that was forming in his throat. I was supposed to look after her. I gave my word that I would always protect her. Instead she's dead and I've failed in both my duty as brother and job as a special agent. Oh Gulia I'm so sorry." Gibbs watched as Tony's face became clouded with grief and regret. Shit! The kid's just lost his sister. Why the hell didn't he tell anyone sooner? Whoa… Tony is mafia? Not now Gibbs. Now is not the time for dragging that out of him. That would definitely be pushing that second 'b' too far.
"Christ Tony. Why didn't you say something?" Tony's head shot up and he glared at his boss. An irrational anger shone from his eyes. For some reason it scared Gibbs a little, not that he would admit that.
"YE! Sure boss! What should I have said? Hey boss, guess what. You know that stiff lying in Ducky's morgue? Well her surname isn't really Diablo and she's not really an only child; she's mafia! Oh and guess what else. She's my sister. Would that have done it for you boss? Is that what you wanted me to tell you?" Tony stood up, scrapping his chair on the floor. Gibbs thought for a moment that Tony was going to try and square up to him, instead he just stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind him. Gibbs waited for a few minutes before following him out. He rounded the corner just in time to see the elevator doors closing with Tony inside.
Tony waited for the lift to start moving before he hit the emergency stop button. He sat down in the corner of the elevator and hugged his knees to his chest. He knew he was crying only because the moisture from his tears was soaking through his trousers. He just sat there rocking backwards and forwards muttering "God I'm so sorry Gulia. Gulia please don't leave me. I'm sorry." Gibbs watched the younger agent from the camera room, wondering what he was going to do next.
Please Read and Review, it's the first time I've written an NCIS fic.