AN – Thank you so much for such a warm welcome to this story, I hope I have replied to all of those who left signed reviews or PMs, and that you continue to enjoy this next instalment.
"What? No, Boss, I think I would have remembered," Tony's laugh was decidedly forced he as shook his head at the very suggestion that he might have met Robinson as a child. Stalling for time he moved over to the window, turning his back on Gibbs and picking up the binoculars to check out Henderson's office, effectively hiding his expression. "Next thing you'll be saying I hung out with Henderson too and how would we ever explain that to Vance?"
Gibbs frowned. Damn it, he hadn't thought of that. Nothing in either man's demeanour had suggested that Robinson and Henderson were old friends. But it was entirely possible that however they were linked it had been going on for some time. And just like McGee had that morning both NCIS and the FBI had simply dismissed the connection because Robinson didn't seem like a major player. Except, it had only been when he had seen the two men together that the investigator in DiNozzo had become unsettled.
Striding over to his side, Gibbs plucked the binoculars out of his hands, ignoring the theatrical widening of Tony's eyes. Putting them to his own eyes, he trained the binoculars on Henderson's office, verifying for himself what every one of the electronic surveillance gizmos was telling them. The man was still in a meeting which was due to last until his next scheduled appointment in two hours. Putting the binoculars down firmly out of DiNozzo's reach, he turned to look his decidedly nervous senior field agent in the eye.
"You let me worry about Vance."
"Well that's real nice of you, Boss. But it's not like I ever actually had anything to do with my Dad's business deals. I mean, sometimes, when I was small we had these parties at home and I had to dress up and make nice. But after my Mother died I was mostly at boarding school or summer camp," Tony screwed up his face. "Half the time I didn't even know where my Dad was never mind what he was doing."
Suddenly he froze and the colour drained from his face.
"DiNozzo?" Gibbs prompted.
"I really do have a headache, Boss," Tony swallowed hard. "And it just got a whole lot bigger."
"Tony," Gibbs rolled his eyes. "I'm not gonna head slap you for not instantly piecing together something that happened back when you were a kid. Your gut knew something was off, that's good enough for me."
"I can't believe I didn't remember," Tony scrubbed at his face. "I was still at school. Well, actually I was between schools. It was just after I had been expelled from boarding school which is why Dad had to drag me with him. We went to this party at a house in the Hamptons. Dad said something about getting in on the ground floor of some project. I don't know whose house it was but Robinson was defiantly there."
"You see Henderson there too?"
"I'm pretty certain it was him," Tony nodded. "He didn't arrive with the other guests. Come to think of it, I think he was kind of pissed to find there was a party going on. A bit later on I saw him and Robinson arguing near the pool house. I was too far away to hear what they said but they both looked pretty mad."
"They see you?"
"Dad had introduced me to Robinson earlier. Henderson never saw me," Tony looked a little bashful. "My Dad was already pretty pissed at me for getting expelled from school and landing up under his feet. I didn't want to give him any more ammunition to kick my ass."
"Hope she was pretty." Gibbs absolved him.
In his book if DiNozzo Snr insisted on dragging his teenage son to some fancy party where the food was probably more style than substance and leave him to his own devices with nothing more than a soda for company and no supervision then he had only himself to blame if he sought out his own entertainment.
"Her name was Mabel and she was a real looker when she married to Alfred. She showed me the wedding photo. She had been a flapper in the 1920's and was considered quite a catch. We bonded over old Hollywood Movies and a love of classic sports cars," Tony grinned. "But my Dad would have been furious that I was keeping her company when I could have been meeting potential clients. That was back when he was pushing me to go to business school."
Gibbs supposed he shouldn't have been surprised. You just had to think about how DiNozzo had related to a man like Ernie Yost, the way in which he actually listened to Ducky's stories, or how quickly he had taken to Jack to realise that Tony yearned after the sense of family and belonging which came from the older generation.
"You know, Boss. I bet I could persuade Robinson to give me a job," Tony moved across the room and sat himself back down in front of the video feed. "If he is as tight with Henderson as it seems who knows what I might turn up?"
"You met him one time and you think you can get him to employ you?" Gibbs was sceptical.
"I only met you one time," Tony glanced across at him. "And you hired me."
"True," Gibbs' lips quirked, as he pushed off from the window and settled himself beside DiNozzo in front of the monitors. "But now there's a recession on."
"I could turn up with my mother's trust fund in tow and a desire to be the next Donald Trump," Tony suggested. "With that sort of money to invest he would be biting my hand off."
"Going in as an investor is a long term thing," Gibbs shook his head. "You would have to earn Robinson's trust. He's not going to be bringing you around Henderson until he's absolutely certain you're in too deep to blow them out of the water. We don't have that kind of time."
"Which also means any kind of deep cover is out. Not even Abby can put something in place which can stand up to the sort of scrutiny that either of those guys can bring to bear if the clock's already ticking," Tony scrubbed at his face. "There is a way, of course."
"There usually is." Gibbs smirked. He knew DiNozzo would have arrived at the same conclusion that he had.
"I'm going to have to get fired, aren't I?" Tony sighed. "It shouldn't be too hard to come up with a scenario that will convince Robinson that there's some benefit for him in hiring a former NCIS Agent. Especially, one who was kicked out in disgrace."
"Uh huh." Gibbs took a sip of his coffee.
"And arrested?" Tony made a face. "Oh come on, Boss. Not again. Orange is not a good colour on me and you know I can't eat prison food."
"Not like it's your first time," Gibbs was unsympathetic. "And if Robinson already thinks you're a crook then he's more likely to let something slip."
"Fine," DiNozzo huffed. "But I'm not killing anyone. If I get accused of murder one more time people will start to believe it. Besides, I need to be out on bail so I can accidently run into Robinson. How about I've been forging my expenses? Give it a few years and that can add up to a whole chunk of change and I'll bet Fred would just love to get on board. It'll be payback for him after my Dad ran up all those bills last time he was in town."
"That'll work," Gibbs agreed. "When we get back I'll go and clear it with Vance."
"Boss, about that," Tony pressed his lips together tightly. "I don't want Vance thinking that my Dad is in the same league as Henderson."
"Hey, I told you, leave Vance to me," Gibbs spoke sharply. When Tony just nodded tightly in response the team lead belatedly remembered that this was his father they were talking about. Softening his tone with a sigh he regrouped and tried again. "Tony, it'll be okay. Trust me."
"Always do, Boss." Tony shifted uncomfortably in his chair.
Gibbs felt a pang of sympathy. He couldn't blame DiNozzo for still loving his father despite his faults. Apart from sporadic contact with his mother's relatives in England DiNozzo Senior had been his only real family since he was eight. But they both knew that Tony didn't trust his father, didn't trust him not to embarrass him, didn't trust him with his usually well hidden emotions, didn't trust him after too many empty promises to keep his word, even if he never actually wanted to admit it.
"Have you spoken to your Dad, lately?" He asked conversationally.
The way his agent flinched was really all the answer Gibbs needed. He had to fight not to close his eyes as he recalled how DiNozzo had positively fizzed with joy after his father had promised that from now on they would talk. At the time, even he hadn't been enough of a bastard to want to suggest it was yet another line. Hadn't wanted to, because DiNozzo was the kind of man any father should be proud to have as a son. He deserved better, a whole lot better than a con man whose primary goal in life was his own gratification.
"Sure," Tony pasted on a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "He really is trying, Boss. I've called him, he's called me. I think I've spoken to him more in the last couple of months than I have in the last couple of years."
"Yeah?" Ever the investigator Gibbs was reluctant to let it go. "What do you talk about?"
"The usual father/son stuff, he keeps me up to date with my current quota of step mothers and I let him know who's hot on America's next top model," Tony fiddled with one of the knobs on the monitors. "Lately, he's been trying to get me to invest in some new apartment complex, says I'll make a small fortune if I invest."
Gibbs frowned. DiNozzo Snr was supposed to be building a relationship with his son. Not trying to hijack the funds from his mother's trust to finance his latest ventures. From what he knew of the man's track record most of his fortune had come from marrying money and then capitalizing on the connections that wealth gave him, rather then being a true entrepreneur. So, far it was obvious that Tony was holding out, but given the guilt lurking in his expression, Gibbs wasn't sure how long that would last.
"When did you last talk?"
"A couple of weeks," Tony cast him a swift, unsettled, look. "I've tried calling him a few times but it just goes straight to voicemail, I guess, he's been busy."
"Yeah," Gibbs spoke tonelessly.
If he was feeling charitable it was just possible that DiNozzo Snr was maybe out of the country. Otherwise he couldn't see any excuse for not taking a minute to call his son back. It was more likely that the man was trying to manipulate his son, withholding his attention until Tony fell into line and opened his check book. Throwing his coffee cup into the trash to try and work off some of his annoyance, he tried to focus on the matter in hand.
"It doesn't take two of us to watch this guy sit on his ass," He decided. The last two weeks his team had been run pretty ragged chasing after Henrderson and DiNozzo would need to be at the top of his game if he was going to go undercover. "You go ahead and grab some shut eye. I'll wake you if anything happens."
"On it, Boss."
Tony stretched out fully clothed on the small cot they had set up in the back of the room. Gibbs noted with approval that he kept his shoes on in case he needed to be up and moving at a run. Flinging and arm over his eyes to block out the light, he wriggled around as he settled down to sleep. Watching the video feed carefully Gibbs waited for his breathing to even out into sleep.
"Boss..?"
"Don't go borrowing trouble, DiNozzo," He could think of any number of things which might be keeping his agent awake right now and knowing the younger man his overactive imagination had come up a dozen more. But they couldn't do a damned thing about any of it right now. "If it happens we deal with it. Together. You got that?"
"I got it, Boss." Tony allowed after a moment.
Gibbs waited until he was sure DiNozzo was completely asleep. Then he pulled out his cell phone and pressed his speed dial. Asking his team was out of the question. He wasn't about to make this any more awkward for Tony than he really had to but that didn't mean he was all out of options.
"Fornell, I need a favour."
