Vance was sitting behind his desk, looking into nothing. The talk between he and Gibbs played in his mind like a broken disk.

*flashback*

Ziva collected a debt from me, Vance. I was trapped between a hammer and a hard place. No, not a hard place, but an anvil.

Gibbs was clearly distressed and Vance couldn't muster enough words to ask what was the debt. But he had a… how did Ms. Sciuto called, a "hinky" feeling? Vance was no idiot; he knew a lot of things from Eli David's agenda. Even the bond forged through rough time, pain and friendship between Gibbs and DiNozzo was bound to break at one time. And that "one time" was now. Gibbs looked at him with tired eyes.

DiNozzo is like my son and what I've done today was more, much more than a stabbing in the back. He trusted me with his life and what have I done? Stabbed him in the back and twisted the knife. I'm not sure I will ever have the guts to look at him again. I had broken my number one rule: Never screw over your partner. That is what I've done. I screwed him over. My God, what have I done? All because of a thing happened in my basement.

Now Vance knew what the debt collected by Ziva from Gibbs was. He sighed and took from the drawer of the office a bottle. Bourbon, something he indulged with from time to time. He poured in two coffee mugs the amber liquid and pushed one in front of Gibbs.

Now Gibbs, tell me one little thing. I had a little chitchat with Eli and he told me a thing, a very disturbing thing. In your report you've said that you shot Ari Haswari. It isn't the truth, is it?

A lightning if struck the office couldn't get the same response from Gibbs like this question. His panicked looks run over to meet Vance and his gaze, his famous deadly gaze was from nowhere to be seen.

You knew! God damn it, Eli knew! That bastard knew! That is why he smirked all the time during our little talk. Now what I can do? I screwed him over thinking I can keep Ziva out of danger, to not let her bastard of a father find she killed her own brother to save me and now I find that Eli David already knew that? God, what an idiot I am. Talk to me, Vance! How can I make it up with Tony? How to show how sorry I am?

Vance gulped the bourbon and let the liquid fire burn down his throat. Now it was not the time to drown in pity and sorrow, he must keep his head clear and to see what could be done with his agent. Yes, his agent not Gibbs, the old fool already made his choice. He looked again at Gibbs and decided not to tell him about the phone call he received in the plane, just after Gibbs took him aside and ask him to transfer DiNozzo from his team, but not as a punishment. Gibbs's words haunted him: I want him transferred, but not like a punishment. The dynamic of the team will be faulty with the two of them on the same side. And frankly, I'm afraid Ziva will kill him and make it look like an accident. No, I can't transfer her, I had a debt and she collected it, even if she didn't said it. Now Vance knew what the debt was and knew that Gibbs screwed over his partner for nothing. His sense of loyalty was touching, but was directed to the wrong person.

Gibbs I can't say it will be easy, but I will do it. I will transfer him; Hetty of LA will take him with open arms. Not easy for me to say it, but I saw him, saw the agent behind the mask. He broke the legendary Eli David and he didn't even break a sweat. Now I am sorry that I'll lose him. Life is not always fair, isn't, Gibbs?

Ya think? What can I do now? Tony will hate me; McGee will hate me. Hell, Abby will kill me and won't be any forensic evidence left. I even hate myself!

Gibbs was on the verge of a breakdown. Vance couldn't say he was really sorry for the toughened agent, but he made a mistake, a bad one. And now the consequences will be hell to be paid. When he answered the phone on board of the plane, he had felt that the call from SecNav was nothing like any call. The tone of the seasoned politician was frozen. "Director Vance, you will not fire Agent DiNozzo, nor will you take any actions against him. You will not sign any document concerning the status of Agent DiNozzo without consulting me in MTAC. Is that clear?" Yes, clear like the sky on a rainy night! How the fuck did DiNozzo get in touch and on what level with SecNav? Jarvis was known as a man who took shit from nobody; that means higher powers were involved. But how big?

*end flashback*

He was taken back into the real world when the door opened and in got a woman. No knocks, no appointment, no nothing. But that was OK, he could take her down for a dressing. All his words remained stocked in his throat, because behind her came trotting Agent DiNozzo and another man, a big scary dude. The woman flashed him a smile warm as a glacier in the winter and took out a badge. He gulped when he saw the seven letters.

"Hello, Director Vance. My name is Jo Healer and you know with who I work with. Did you or did you not got a call yesterday during your flight back from Israel?"

Vance knew that some serious steam was steered and all the warning bells inside his mind started to ring. Oh no, that was way over his worst nightmare multiplied by ten. Suddenly he seemed to recognize the woman and found his voice.

"Jo Healer? Also known as "Mother Hen"?"

The big scary dude who came with her chuckled and a big grin appeared on his rough face.

"Aww Mum, he's a clever one. Can I keep him? I promise I'll feed him and took him out for the walks."

Gibbs was known for his stare, but it was no match for the glare Jo directed to the man.

"No Animal, you cannot keep him. We do not keep non-neutered ones!"

She took a sit in the chair from the front of the desk and smacked the folder she was caring hard on the glossy surface.

"So, Director Vance, how about giving a call to the SecNav? Heard what Animal said, you're a clever one."

And she smiled a smile with nothing humorous in it, a smile with no feeling that emptiness and promises for pain.

"Animal, guard the door! Nobody enters without my approval. And read my lips: do not, I repeat, do not use lethal force. Too much paperwork."

Vance gulped. Hard. He had heard what the seven letters from her badge meant and he sure knew damn well her words were not whispers in the wind. A look at DiNozzo showed him the young man reached a point of no return. His eyes were glazed with a hard veil of no feelings, his jaw pointed forward and his clenched teeth showed determination. Oh, don't forget the way he looked at Jo, with utmost and total trust. A look of trust like an anchor, the last anchor of a ship on a stormy sea. If that anchor were lost, the ship would go deep down without any fight. Jo was tapping the folder with a long finger, adorned with a strange wedding band. Vance took the folder and opened it. Of course, the seven cursed letters were here, on all the files. Reading and swallowing hard, Vance got through the seven files in a few minutes. Closing the folder, he looked at Jo with defeated eyes.

"What must I do?"

"Call SecNav. And he will tell you where to sign."

In the bullpen, Gibbs was frozen for a second when he saw his agent, his son not even glancing at him. Tony was pissed and Gibbs knew he was right to be pissed. Could he salvage something from their former trust? A gut feeling kept telling him no.

The SecNav had a happy face, as happy as he was forced to swallow a few lemons without chewing them. Vance saw something that put him on guard; SecNav was lookint at Jo with fear in his eyes. Hell, the Director has heard enough rumors about Jo in the high circles from D.C. to look at Jo with fear. She was a legend, a dark legend, someone who you didn't want to cross. SecNav sighed and open his mouth.

"Yes, she is correct. She is now the only one who could decide for Agent DiNozzo about his career. You on the other hand, Director Vance, are to follow her decisions as letters of law. Don't know if you know it, but in her briefcase she has a carte blanche, which gave her powers to do whatever she wishes in all the federal agencies."

Jo just smiled and purred like a cat. Not like an ordinary cat, which could be petted and be feed, but like a wild cat which craved for fresh blood.

"You are correct, Clayton. Can I call you Clayton, can I? Even if Director Vance hasn't got enough clearance to even check MY clearance that was a bit of information of the type need to know for him. Anyhow, Agent DiNozzo called me and he made his choice. And his choice was I."

"Is it true, Agent DiNozzo? Are you willing to quit NCIS and go with Miss Healer? I don't question your motives, but I just want to understand what had transpired to make you choose this."

Now it was interesting for ol' Vance to hear. And now the masks of one Very Special Agent were off, it was really something to be seen. He wasn't disappointed, because DiNozzo stood up. Exchanging a look with Animal and getting from him a twisted smile, he swallowed hard and begun to talk.

"Well, the facts are simple. During the flight back from Israel, where I was thrown to the wolves with the blessing of our dear Director Leon Vance, even if all I've done was to follow orders to uphold the law, I think SAC Gibbs was pressed down to make a choice between keeping me in his team or the Mossad Liaison Ziva David. I don't know what was the deal, but I've worked for quite a lot with Agent Gibbs to know him. I know when I am played and I don't like the feeling. I know Officer David doesn't any longer trusts me and that worries me. What if I am in the field and my partner decides not to have my six? Frankly, I know that she hates me because I've killed her lover, but was self-defense, as stated. No, Mr. Secretary, I cannot work in NCIS any longer. That is why I choose Miss Healer to make her call."

He looked at her and a sad smile blossomed on his lips. Gone was the joker, gone was the playboy and gone was every mask he ever wore. Just for a beat of a heart a strange glimmer played in Jo's dark eyes. She smiled.

"Now, now Tony, don't play that card! Even if you had not willingly chosen my and my team, you have been tagged for a long time in our scripts. We need someone who can look outside the box and make all the weird connections that we need. About your departing from NCIS, we know it wasn't an easy call, but frankly, I understand you. Remember one thing, though: we are giving you a one-way ticket; you do realize that, don't you? You have friends here, a family even. You sure that's the right choice?"

Tony's posture deflated. His palms moved over his face just like he was brushing spider-webs.

"Yes, M'lady, I am sure! There is nothing waiting for me in his town anymore. I've trusted with my life a man and he brushed me aside not even bothering to tell me – hey sucker, you're off! God damn it Jo, you think over those years I earned the right to be told the truth, not just some whispers between he and the man who throw me into the lion's den without warning, just because he is pal with the Director of Mossad. Tell me Director Vance, what is your dream? A chair in the Capitol? Good luck with that! I hope you will be able to look yourself in the mirror without fighting the urge to slap yourself."

"Enough, Agent DiNozzo! What I do is not your concern, nor with whom do I keep business relationships. I didn't throw you to the wolves just to satisfy the ego of the Mossad Director, but the fact is you did kill a Mossad Officer."

"Killed a Mossad Officer? I was fighting for my life there, Director Vance. You weren't there to see how a Kidon killing machine could fight, even if he was drunk. You weren't there, Director Vance when a enraged Mossad Officer, not to mention a Mossad Liaison with YOUR agency slammed me to the ground and pressed a loaded gun in my face. You WERE there when Eli David did let slip the fact that officer Rivkin was working under orders. You WERE there when Agent Gibbs, a man in which I had utmost trust made his call and pushed me aside. So no, Director Vance, I have no desire to work anymore with this agency."

Animal chuckled from near the door. His pose was not threatening, but this could change in an instant. No weapons were in the open, but everyone who looked at him could see the outline of a big gun on his hip. No SIG there, to small for his hands. He even let his tongue loose.

"Listen to the kid, Jo! He has guts, gotta give him that! Can I keep him?"

"Animal, cork it! The "kid" has a name and yes, if he chooses to come, we will keep it and never screw him over. So Tony, what is your answer?"

Now it was the world-shifting answer. One word, one word which could alter life forever. He knew the answer, he knew it from the time on the plane when he made the call.

"Where do I sign, M`lady?"