I wanted to write another story involving the people Tony met in 'Betrayal' but you don't need to have read that story to understand this one. I'll re-introduce you to the characters as the story goes along.
Tony DiNozzo heaved a contented sigh as he was allowed out through the security gate at Norfolk. He had spent the last two and a half days instructing the newly fledged NCIS case agent on his duties and it had brought back memories of his first meeting with Timothy McGee all those years ago.
Now, however, the weekend had arrived and with it the promise of a few days off and a shorter than usual drive to his bolt hole at Milsom Bay on the North Carolina coast. Tony wondered if Gibbs had been being less of his bastard self in giving him the Norfolk assignment; it was McGee, after all, who had the hands on experience of being the case agent there but Gibbs had chosen to send Tony instead. It might have been that Gibbs was being kind and letting Tony have a shorter journey for his days off but, thought Tony, it was more likely that the Boss wanted Tony out of the office and out of his hair for a while.
Tony might, or might not, have been right about Gibbs' motives in sending him to Norfolk but he was probably right to sense that Gibbs had mixed feelings about Tony's new sanctuary in North Carolina. Tony had found the haven while he and Gibbs were, what he jokingly called, 'on a break'. Gibbs had managed to piss Tony off to such an extent that he had driven out of Washington in a white heat of anger and determined not to be found by his team.
All had ended reasonably well; Gibbs and Tony hadn't exactly fallen on each other's necks in an emotional reunion but they had managed to regroup and establish lines of communication again. Tony had made a good friend in Millie Lacy who was the 'best cook in either of the Carolinas' according to another new friend, John Sutherland, ex painter of society portraits. John had opened his 'shack' to Tony and had ended up selling him the hut at the bottom of his garden.
Over the last few months Tony had arranged for that hut to be enlarged so it was now a comfortable little home for him. He had half expected Gibbs to take over, to inspect (and criticise) the work being done and to offer to lend a hand but Gibbs had been uncharacteristically neutral about an enticing woodworking project.
Tony wasn't sure whether this apparent lack of interest was because Gibbs thought Tony would soon lose interest in his coastal retreat or because he was jealous of Tony's new friends. Sometimes he thought it was the latter but mostly Tony thought that it was that Gibbs didn't really believe in Tony's new found love of a quiet seaside community. And, to be honest, Tony was surprised himself. A few months ago he wouldn't have thought of looking forward to a weekend devoted mostly to painting his new kitchen and bathroom.
It wasn't going to be all work, however. Tony made sure that the first thing he did on any visit was to drop in at Millie's café on the beach front. Millie really was a remarkable cook and she was also one of the kindest and most placid people he had ever met; a visit to Millie soothed parts of him he hadn't even realised needing soothing. Tony was in for something of a surprise that day, however.
Tony drew up in front of the café just as the light began to fade. He had got to know the Bay well enough to think that there would be a glorious sunset soon and he could already picture sitting watching it while eating one of Millie's marvellous suppers. Millie greeted him with a warm smile and a motherly embrace. Tony returned the hug with enthusiasm and kissed her on the cheek,
"Oh, you're a sight for sore eyes, Millie," he said.
Millie slapped him on the arm, "I know you. It's not me you've come to see, it's my fish stew!"
"Millie!" protested Tony, "how can you say that? Now, if it had been your beef hot pot ..."
Millie laughed and pushed him away, "Go and sit down, I'll bring you something to be going on with."
Tony let her shove him aside and went and sat down at his favourite table by the window to watch the beginning of the sunset. A few minutes later Millie emerged from the kitchen carrying a cup of coffee and a steaming bowl of soup for Tony. As she walked towards Tony's table, the door opened and a youngish woman walked in.
"Be right with you," called Millie to her new customer.
Tony looked up to see who had come in and Millie saw a look of surprised pleasure dawn on his face. She turned to take a closer look at the newcomer who had a look of matching surprise on her face but no pleasure.
"Age –", began Tony before noticing the scowl on the new arrival's face, he turned it into a cough instead. Millie looked momentarily concerned. Dr Mallard had paid a brief visit to Milsom Bay during Tony's first stay and had taken the opportunity to tell Millie about Tony's bout with pneumonic plague, asking her to be vigilant in case Tony ever showed signs of coughing or congestion. Today, however, Millie quickly dismissed Tony's cough as a sign of embarrassment and she began to imagine a broken romance between Tony and her new customer. She sighed regretfully, she thought they made an attractive couple.
"Tony," said the woman, a little coolly but nevertheless taking a seat next to Tony. "May I have a cup of coffee?" she asked Millie.
"Gibbs' strength," butted in Tony, earning another scowl.
"Of course," said Millie in her usual placid manner, "can I get you anything with that?" She paused to weigh her up and made her calculation, "I've got some ginger cake you might like."
Millie's instinct had worked again, ginger cake seemed to be the chink in the woman's armour and she finally smiled in acceptance. Millie went back to the kitchen to make an industrial strength brew of coffee.
"What are you doing here?" hissed Tony's new companion, "and how did you find out?"
"I live here," said Tony irritated, "well, some of the time. And find out what, Agent Borin?"
"I thought you lived in Washington?" asked Abigail Borin.
"I do, but I've got a sort of cabin down the road a little."
"You've got a cabin?" asked Borin incredulously.
"Sure," said Tony a little defensively, "why shouldn't I? Gibbs has got a cabin in the woods, mine's by the sea. Keep up, Borin. Cabins'll soon be a requirement for all federal agents."
Borin shook her head but didn't reply as Millie came back at that moment with her coffee and a wedge of sticky ginger cake.
"So what are you doing here, Agent Borin?" asked Tony when Millie had gone again, "and being so squirrelly, might I say?"
"I'm not squirrelly," said Borin crossly, "you took me by surprise, that's all."
"And yet you still haven't told me why you're here," pointed out Tony as he took a spoonful of his chowder.
"Coastguard business," said Borin briefly.
"Well, I guessed that," said Tony sarcastically, "do share, please."
Borin still hesitated so Tony went on, "Look, I've got to know this place and the people pretty well. I might be able to help."
"OK," said Borin reluctantly, "it's probably nothing. There've been some rumours about unusual ship sightings along the coast. There might be some smuggling going on but it's all a bit vague."
"Smuggling what?"
"Don't know. Like I said, it's vague."
"Seems a bit unlikely, doesn't it?" asked Tony, "this close to Norfolk base? Security's pretty tight."
"We think it might be some sailors from the Base," said Borin, "convenient for them. They might know how to evade the security. Well, you know the drill."
"And let's face it," said Tony with brutal honesty, "criminals aren't always the brightest bulbs on the lamp stand."
Borin opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by a mini explosion of noise coming from the door.
"Uncle Tony!" shouted a small boy, "Uncle Tony! Granma told me you were here!"
He ran over to where Tony was sitting and started pulling on his sleeve, "Come and shoot hoops with me, please!"
"Joseph Lacy," came Millie's voice, "you leave Tony alone. He's eating his supper and besides, he's got company."
"Sorry," said Joe disconsolately, "I just really, really wanted Uncle Tony to play."
"I know, buddy," said Tony reassuringly, "but look, it's getting dark. We wouldn't be able to see, would we? Unless your Granma has had floodlights put in."
Joe giggled and shook his head although clearly a thought process had been started in his head and Millie might be getting a request for more lighting soon.
"Hello, Uncle Tony," came another voice. Joe's sister Pippa had arrived. She also seemed not to notice, or care, about Tony's company but simply climbed up into his lap and gave him a hug.
"Hi, Sweetheart," said Tony, putting an arm round her to ensure she didn't tumble down, "you and Joe here for the weekend?"
Pippa was a child of few words but she knew what she wanted. She nodded and grabbed a handful of Tony's sweater as if to ensure he didn't escape. Then she seemed to realise that Tony wasn't alone, she gazed at Agent Borin and said, "Who's the pretty lady, Uncle Tony?"
Tony decided to let Borin answer that one. "My name's Abbie," she said, "I'm a friend of your ... of Tony."
"You're not Abby," said Pippa, "I've seen a picture. Abby's got black hair. You haven't got black hair. What colour is your hair?"
"I know more than one person called Abby, Pips," said Tony, "the Abby I work with has black hair and this Abbie doesn't."
"So is there another girl called Pippa somewhere?" said Pippa, this was obviously something outside her experience.
"You're not really Pippa," said Joe in a superior big-brother voice.
"No, I'm really Phil ... Phil –a-delphia", said Pippa having finally chosen a name.
"No, you're not," said Joe scornfully, "you're Philippa but it's too long for a squirt like you."
"Oh," said Pippa, and then, clearly bored with the discussion, slid down from Tony's lap, "Bye," she said and walked towards the kitchen. Joe was made of sterner stuff and stood his ground.
"Look," said Tony, "we'll shoot hoops tomorrow."
"Promise?" demanded Joe who had had experience of adult assurances.
"Promise," said Tony firmly, "I'll come down here tomorrow for elevenses and we'll play then."
"OK," said Joe, "what time is elevenses?"
"Eleven o'clock," said Tony.
"In the morning?" asked Joe who liked to be sure.
"In the morning," confirmed Tony.
"All right," said Joe and he reluctantly followed his sister.
Tony watched him go and then turned to look at Borin who was staring at him with an amused expression on her face.
"Oh, yeah," said Tony with an embarrassed but pleased look, "Millie's grandkids. They kinda like me." He shrugged as if this was no big deal. "So, Borin, what are you going to do?"
"I think you'd better call me Abbie," said Borin, "otherwise your young admirer is going to get even more confused. And I'm not sure Millie will understand you calling me by my surname."
"Abbie it is then, Abbie," said Tony, "so what are your plans?"
"I'll see if Millie's got a room here for the night, and then have a look round tomorrow."
"Need a hand? I'm just painting this weekend, I can spare the time."
"Don't forget shooting hoops," said Borin, "I've got a feeling Joe will keep you to that promise."
"Hadn't forgotten. Besides, I'd never miss Millie's elevenses. How about I meet you in the morning? I usually go for an early morning run past here, you could join me. That wouldn't look suspicious would it?"
"Sounds all right. You sure Gibbs didn't put you up to this?"
"I'm sure. Don't tell anyone but Gibbs doesn't actually know everything. Besides, I'm not entirely sure he approves of this place."
Abbie opened her mouth to ask why but was forestalled by the arrival of Tony's fish stew. He raised a warning finger, "No talking during Millie's food, it would be a sacrilege."
Borin was going to laugh but took a bite out of her ginger cake instead and suddenly realised the truth of Tony's words.
NCISNCIS
"I want to talk to Special Agent Tony's boss," came the enquiry to the NCIS switchboard.
"Which Special Agent Tony?" asked the operator patiently, "there are more than one."
"The one who played basket ball for Ohio State University."
"I'm not sure who that is," said the operator although she was beginning to guess, "have you got any more details?"
"Um, I think his Boss is a bit grumpy sometimes."
"Special Agent DiNozzo?" said the operator.
"Yes!" came the excited reply.
"And may I ask the nature of your enquiry?"
"Uh?"
"What do you wish to talk to Special Agent DiNozzo's supervisor about?"
"It's personal."
"I see. May I have your name, please?"
"Joe. Joe Lacy."
"Very well, Mr Lacy. Please hold the line, I will try to connect you."
"Gibbs."
"Special Agent Gibbs, Switchboard here. I have someone wishing to speak to Special Agent DiNozzo's boss. He won't say what it's about."
"Put him through," said Gibbs.
"Er, it sounds like a young boy, Agent Gibbs. Says his name is Joe Lacy."
"Thanks, Marcy," said Gibbs trying to place the name of Lacy. "Hello. This is Special Agent Gibbs. How may I help you?"
"Are you Special Agent Tony's boss?" asked Joe.
"Yes, I am. (And I've got the grey hair to prove it)" thought Gibbs.
"Then you need to do something," said Joe firmly.
"What's going on? Joe, is it?"
"He said he was going to shoot hoops with me this morning."
"And?"
"And he didn't turn up," said Joe crossly.
"And what do you want me to do about it?"
"You're his Boss," said Joe as if it was obvious.
"Listen, Joe, I know it's disappointing but I can't really tell Tony off for not showing up to play ball with you."
"I know that," said Joe exasperatedly.
"Then what do you want me to do?" asked Gibbs wishing he hadn't come in on the weekend to catch up with paperwork. He was already planning, however, to have a word with DiNozzo about not letting children down.
"Uncle Tony said you would always have his six. Was he right?"
"Yes," said Gibbs beginning to feel uneasy.
"Then you need to do something," said Joe.
"Joe, you're going to need to explain this to me a bit more."
A put-upon sigh came through the phone, "Uncle Tony would never let me down. He promised he'd shoot hoops."
"Perhaps you got the time wrong," said Gibbs hopefully.
"No," said Joe firmly, "he said he'd be coming down for Granma's elevenses and we'd play then."
"And he didn't come?"
"NO! And Granma says he never misses snack time."
"Can I speak to your Granma, Joe?"
"OK," said Joe reluctantly, "I'll go get her."
Gibbs waited impatiently. It was ridiculous to think that anything could be wrong just because Tony hadn't shown to play ball with a young boy but his gut was beginning to lurch. Finally he heard another voice coming through the phone,
"Hello? Special Agent Gibbs, this is Millie Lacy. I'm so sorry, I had no idea that Joe had called you. I really must apologise."
"Has Tony turned up, Ms Lacy?"
"Well, no, he hasn't. And I must say that it is unusual for Tony to let Joe down. I'm afraid that Joe has got a bit of hero worship going on and he does pester Tony a bit."
"How long ago did you expect Tony?"
"About an hour, Agent Gibbs. You don't really think anything's wrong, do you?"
"It's not very likely, Ms Lacy, but I'd feel easier if we knew where he was."
"Perhaps his friend from last night would know," said Millie, "she's staying here with me."
"A friend?"
"Well, I think so. She didn't seem very pleased to see him at first but they seemed to get on fine after a while."
"Have you seen her today?" asked Gibbs beginning to wonder if Tony had just hooked up with someone and lost track of time.
"No, I haven't, come to think of it. She didn't come down for breakfast but these girls don't always, you know. Always watching their weight."
"Would you mind checking her room for me, Ms Lacy?"
"Of course, I'll call you right back."
Gibbs wondered what to do as he waited for Millie to return. He tried calling Tony's cell but it went to voice mail. That in itself was not unusual when Tony was in Milsom Bay; Gibbs was never sure whether it was patchy cell reception which prevented Tony picking up or whether he just wanted to ignore his Boss when he was away. Ducky wandered up from Autopsy while he was waiting.
"What you doing here, Duck?"
"The same as you, Jethro, I would surmise. I cannot comprehend how dealing with dead people generates so much paper work. I seem to remember that at one time, people used to say that the advent of computers would mean paperless offices! Huh! But, Jethro, you look a little concerned?"
"Probably nothing, Duck. Just got a call about DiNozzo."
"Anthony? I thought he was spending a weekend in his North Carolina retreat? And a good thing too, I thought I detected a certain wheeziness to his breathing earlier in the week. A good sea breeze will blow some cobwebs away and do him the world of good."
"He getting sick?"
"No, no. I'm sure he's fine. I always tend to err on the side of caution when it comes to our agents' health. Why, I remember ..." His anecdote was cut short by the sound of Gibbs' phone ringing. Gibbs answered the call and put it on speaker.
"Gibbs."
"Agent Gibbs, Millie Lacy here. I've checked my guest's room. Her belongings are still there and I should have said earlier that her car is still parked out front. I also called down to John. You remember John Sutherland, don't you? I asked him to go and check in Tony's hut. He's going to call me back."
"Do you have a name for your guest?" asked Gibbs wondering how embarrassed Tony would be if he knew Gibbs was snooping into his sex life.
"I will just check. I know her first name is Abbie because it confused my granddaughter Pippa that there should be more than one person by that name."
"How does she know about Abby?"
"Tony often talks about you all, Agent Gibbs. We have seen pictures of all his co-workers and that's why we knew that this Abbie wasn't Goth Abby."
Gibbs felt a twinge of guilt that he had deliberately not taken an interest in Tony's other friends and he guessed that the rest of the team might have taken a lead from him. He had reasoned that Tony was prone to sudden enthusiasms and that this was just another.
"Agent Gibbs," came Millie again, "her name is Abigail Borin. I think Tony already knew her. He coughed when she came into the café and I was anxious at first but then I thought that he was just covering something up."
"Ms Lacy, this is Dr Mallard. You said Tony coughed. Did he sound all right afterwards?"
"Why yes, Dr Mallard, he seemed fine. As I said, I think he coughed just to cover up something he was about to say. You don't think Tony could have been taken ill, do you?"
Ducky was about to say something but was interrupted by Sutherland's voice,
"Agent Gibbs. This is John Sutherland. I saw Tony last night. He dropped in for a nightcap when he got back from Millie's."
"Have you seen him since?" asked Gibbs.
"No. He gets up too early for me, I'm afraid. I heard him running past at about 5am but I just went back to sleep. I expected to see him at Millie's this morning. He never misses her food and, besides, he promised Joe he'd play ball with him. Tony plays it down but he's real fond of that boy and he wouldn't let him down."
"Have you checked his cabin?"
"Yes. When Millie phoned me I went down and checked. He's not there and it doesn't look as if he came back from his run. I jumped into my car and came down to Millie's, thought it'd be easier that way. Agent Gibbs, do you think we should be concerned?"
Gibbs hesitated, trying to decide what to do.
"It's probably nothing, Sutherland. Keep trying his cell, will you? You might have better reception down there. I'm going to come down, let me know if he turns up."
"Of course, Agent Gibbs. I might even give him a head slap on your behalf!"
Gibbs grunted a laugh in acknowledgement and ended the call.
"Jethro, you don't really think anything is wrong, do you?"
"Don't know, Duck. Something doesn't feel right. I'll get in contact with Borin's office, see if they know what she was doing down there."
"Why don't you let me do that, Jethro. Then you can concentrate while you're driving us."
"Us?"
"You don't think I'd miss a trip to the coast, do you? Especially if it means leaving all that paperwork behind? Are you going to contact Timothy and Ziva?"
Gibbs considered for a moment, "Nope. They're both helping Abby at Habitat for Humanity this weekend. I don't want to pull them away for what'll probably be a wild goose chase."
"Indeed. By the way, do you know the origin of the phrase 'wild goose chase'? It is utterly fascinating ..."
"Duck!"
"I do apologise, Jethro. I think I will just go to Autopsy and pick up my medical bag. It is always best to be prepared. Especially when one is dealing with Anthony."
"You do that, Duck. And wrap up warm. We're not driving down there. I've got another plan."
"How exciting! What do you have in mind, Jethro?"
NCISNCIS
Meanwhile, Tony and Borin looked at one another.
"What now, Agent DiNozzo?"
"You're the maritime expert, Agent Borin. You tell me."