Chapter 2: Bad to Worse

"Damn" Tony muttered. His stomach dropped a bit as he watched her shift uneasily. He mentally prepared himself…Joanna's news was clearly about to go from bad to worse.

Joanna hesitated, wishing she could be certain as to whether the rest of the story would convince Tony to join the task force or make him angry enough to refuse and throw her out. She couldn't let that happen; the stakes were becoming too high. "You remember Kenny Young?"

Tony nodded, recalling the young Asian CIA officer they'd worked with briefly in Shanghai. He'd been capable and had a quirky sense of humor. Tony had liked him immediately. "Of course I do. What about him?"

"He's dead."

Tony was dismayed at the news and unsure how it fit into the big picture Joanna was painting. "What happened?"

"He and his wife died in an apartment fire in Shanghai. In fact several of our Shanghai operatives and their local informants have died in recent months in what appear to be accidents."

Now Tony was a beginning to get the picture and he'd been right. He didn't like it one bit. "Appear to be?"

"On the surface, yes." Joanna said. "All suspicious deaths, but with no hard evidence of foul play as far as the local authorities were able to find. We conducted our own investigation once the pattern became clear and refocused our intelligence collection efforts. We have reason to believe The Calling is involved."

"To what end?" he asked. "This wasn't their style; targeting individuals. It's a total break from their previous philosophy and goals. Like most terrorist organizations, they favored choosing significant, symbolic targets and bombastic, showy plots designed to induce mass casualties."

"Don't you see it, Tony?" she began. "The Calling is targeting CIA officers and informants involved in helping us bring down Budd and their original network in Iraq and Shanghai."

"Why would they call attention to themselves like that? It doesn't add up."

"They really aren't" Joanna responded. "Hence the concerted efforts to make these deaths look like common accidents. If it weren't for a fortunate intercept of their communications, we wouldn't have looked deeper; at least not so soon."

"Still," Tony pressed, "what do they have to gain? They had to know the pattern of accidents would invite scrutiny, and it seems risky to their new operations."

Joanna shook her head, shrugging slightly. "We don't fully understand why yet. It could be self-preservation, revenge, or an attempt by the new leadership to save face. What we do know for certain is that they are not only targeting the team based in Shanghai."

Another piece of the puzzle, Tony thought. "They're here?"

"Yes, we believe so." Joanna replied. "There was an interrupted attempt to tamper with my car a few weeks ago. I've been working off grid since."

"That could have been nothing," Tony said. "What makes you so sure it was part of what's going on?" He studied her, noting Joanna suddenly seemed uneasy again.

"Because of a more recent, successful attempt on another person related to the operation."

"Who," Tony asked quietly, suddenly dreading her answer. "Finish it, Joanna," he urged.

She began tentatively, "Luke Harris is also dead."

Tony inhaled sharply, feeling a bit shell shocked. He whispered, "How?"

"He and his adoptive parents were killed in a car crash. The brakes failed."

Tony had mixed feelings about the death of the boy who'd played such an integral role in The Calling's plans last year. Half brainwashed, he'd been a very well-played pawn. Coached by members of The Calling to play on Gibbs' sympathies and well known rapport with children, Luke had been the perfect lure to get the lead investigator off his game. It worked all too well as Gibbs misjudged both the situation and the youth, very nearly paying with his life. That Luke had also been instrumental in helping them after his second rescue from The Calling only redeemed him slightly in Tony's eyes. The boy had been torn with guilt and nearly suicidal, believing he'd killed Gibbs. Even so, Luke had only helped them after they'd arranged the video call allowing him to see that Gibbs survived the shooting. Luke had been little more than a child when The Calling recruited him. Tony shook his head sadly. No matter what had happened, he didn't deserve to die that way, and his family with him. His family…it suddenly hit him.

"Damn it," he swore. He must be exhausted and off his game not to have seen where Joanna was leading. He was angry at both himself for taking so long to catch on, and at Joanna for dancing around the real issue at hand. Job offer, his ass. He was finally seeing the entirety of the situation and the danger it presented closer to home. As the final pieces of the puzzle slid into place, he turned back to her with an angry glare.

"Tony, what…"

"Stop," Tony interrupted sharply. "Are you here to tell me I'm on The Calling's hit list?"

Disconcerted by the suddenly low, cold tone of voice directed at her, Joanna replied "We don't think so, but can't be certain."

Tony erupted in fury at her noncommittal answer, slamming his hands down on the table and sending water bottles rolling across its surface. "How can you say you don't think so!" he shouted angrily. "You at least strongly suspected the possibility after Luke, if not after what happened to you!"

"Tony, its not like that, not exactly," absentmindedly righting the water bottles as she spoke.

"Right," he snapped back, "Given this group's clear disregard for anyone who might be with, or anywhere near their intended victim, you didn't think it was necessary to tell me I was a potential target? That I could have been one for weeks, along with everyone around me?"

"Honestly Tony," Joanna held up her hands in a conciliatory gesture, knowing his anger mostly stemmed from the thought of his friends and coworkers becoming collateral damage in an attempt on his life. "We're almost certain you're not on their radar yet. Only Budd and his closest confidants in the group knew you by name; even fewer knew that you worked with the CIA team in Shanghai. They're all dead now."

Joanna continued on, determined to convince Tony they hadn't knowingly left him exposed to danger. "Think about it, Tony. Aside from Luke, you're the most visible and easily accessible of those that would have been targeted here. They'd have gone after you before now if you were known to them." Joanna paused to let him absorb her reasoning, hoping her effort to placate him worked.

"Alright." Tony said, somewhat appeased. "That's not to say they wont find out at some point."

"Yes, that's a possibility." she conceded.

"And the job offer?" Tony asked.

"I was perfectly serious about that," she answered emphatically. "Your prior knowledge of the network, experience as a field agent, and investigative skills would be invaluable to the new task force. As far as the resurgence of The Calling, you've got both reason and opportunity as part of the task force to take the fight to them, instead of the other way around."

Tony sighed deeply and considered his options. "If I'm even going to think about doing this, you need to understand some things upfront. I won't tolerate information pertinent to my investigative work being withheld from me. I've been kept in the dark too many times and it has never come to any good. I'm also not going to be part of any vigilante efforts. If that's what's going on here, count me out. I won't work outside the law. Is that perfectly clear?"

Joanna nodded and started to speak. Wanting to drive the point home, Tony held up a hand to stop her and added "When that has happened, in my experience it leads to nothing but disaster. Call it a deal-breaker if you like and if it happens, I will walk away."

There was some history behind that, Joanna thought. While she felt it was unlikely he would elaborate on the basis for his conditions, they weren't unreasonable. Really, unless she wanted to go back to Seattle empty handed, she knew there was no choice but to agree. "I understand Tony, and accept your conditions."

Tony narrowed his eyes, unable to prevent a niggling feeling of suspicion at her easy acceptance of his terms, but asked the next obvious question. "So where would I fit and what would my role be on this task force?"

Joanna smiled; relieved he was actually considering the offer. "On paper, you'd be on staff to a private security firm for starters. We're using that firm as a cover to muddy the waters and misdirect any possible attention to, or monitoring of our task force's efforts."

He nodded, seeing the logic. "What about off the paper?"

"Tony, the task force wants you in a leadership capacity, with a significant pay raise commensurate with the risks and responsibilities. You can write your own ticket based on what your assessment of what we need, and a position will be created for you...CIA, FBI,Team lead, local LEO liaison, whatever you feel is the best fit."

Tony stared in surprise, a little stunned at both the offer to write his own position, and the strong vote of confidence. He'd been missing that at NCIS, among other things, and undecided as to what to do about it. Yes, he'd been half-heartedly exploring his career options. There had been plenty of interest in him, but for his part, nothing really appealed to his desire to make a difference and do something lasting and important…until now. Joanna was right. Being part of something designed from the outset to "take the fight to them" as she put it was appealing.

He couldn't stay where he was, Gibbs had made that impossible. A better career opportunity was unlikely to come along; he had only to say yes. Was he really ready to cut ties with everyone and everything in Washington? There was no doubt if he joined Joanna's task force, that's exactly what would happen.

Joanna sat patiently as he deliberated, sensing some indecision. She had her suspicions about the reasons for his reluctance and wondered if she'd leave with an answer. "Tony…do you need some time?"

"You have to admit, it's a lot to take in," he deflected.

"Tony," Joanna began hesitantly, afraid she was heading into hands-off territory. "You've obviously been thinking about leaving NCIS for some time. Is there anything we need to know about why?"

"Nothing that would affect my work," he answered evasively.

Joanna was concerned for him; as both a friend and colleague. It hadn't escaped her attention during her visit that the easy humor she'd come to associate with the man was absent. "Is it about what happened to Gibbs? You know you couldn't have prevented that."

Tony shook his head, "Not so much about the shooting, more about after we got back from Shanghai. He came back from rehab and recovery changed. Our working relationship has suffered." Not really wanting to go into detail, Tony left it at that.

"He blames you?"

Tony shrugged, "He says it's not about Iraq, but isn't exactly forthcoming on what it is about.

"I see," Joanna said, although she really didn't. Sensing his discomfort with the topic, she switched gears back to the question at hand. "I'll be here for another two days. I don't need an answer tonight Tony, but I'd like to know your decision before I return to Seattle."

"No need to wait." Tony said. Speaking decisively, he answered. "I've made up my mind. Your task force has one less open spot."

"Good," she replied. Reaching across the table to clasp his forearm and emphasize her words, "I'm glad you're onboard and the other agency leads will be as well. It goes without saying; the information I've given you isn't to be shared with anyone at NCIS…certainly not Gibbs."

"Oh, don't worry. Gibbs is the last person I would go to with this." Tony replied dryly. "Finding out about The Calling would be bad enough, but I definitely don't want to see his reaction to hearing about Luke. You can bet he'd try everything he could to get NCIS involved officially. It that didn't work, he'd do it unofficially and on his own, if necessary. It would be a complication we don't need."

Joanna nodded, reassured by his agreement and assessment of Gibbs' hypothetical involvement. "It's getting late; I should be going and you have a lot to think about. So, how much time do you need to wrap things up here in DC? Is there anything we can do to help?"

Tony paused, quickly considering the logistics of moving, resigning, and the more difficult personal conversations that he would need to have before his departure. "I shouldn't need long to close the apartment," he said, "but it would help if temporary storage and a place to stay initially could be arranged on your end."

"Done, Tony. How will you handle resigning?"

"I think it would be best if I waited until everything else is done and I'm ready to head west," he replied. "I'm thinking two weeks at the outside. I have more than enough leave to resign with immediate effect, so I don't expect it to be contested by the agency. My coworkers are another story. Leaving it to the end will help head off the inevitable questions and this is a group you don't want digging into what's really going on."

Joanna nodded in agreement and stood, signaling her intent to leave. "There's bound to be questions, but I leave it to your judgment on how best to handle things on your end." Reaching into her pocket, she handed him a card with a phone number on it. "I'll get things rolling on our end. This is how you can reach me when you're ready to coordinate further."

Tony rose, taking the offered card. He walked her to the door and affirmed, "I'll be in touch soon." Closing and locking the door behind her, he briefly rested his forehead on its' cool surface. He had a lot to do and little time to do it. Pulling away from the door, he grabbed his laptop and sat on the couch to start a list.