A/N: I am deeply appreciating all the readers this story has been collecting. Out of all my WIPs it is definitely the most serious, not to mention complex, one in terms of its plot and needs greater care in being written than the others do. I hope you all understand if it takes me longer to update this story than it takes for me to update the others. It is a fragile web I'm weaving, here, and I don't want to ruin it for any of you guys.
Tim leaned over Keating's shoulder with a hand on the back of his chair, talking to the man in lowered tones.
"Keating, I have a special project for you. While all the others are focused on the general business of the Irish Families, I want you to look for information on one specific thing. Or, should I say, one specific person."
"Alright." Keating nodded, knowing from experience that any task coming from a member of Gibbs' team would be given with high standards to meet.
"The FBI and CIA haven't been able to find much information on Mickey Murphy. He's Don Murphy's choice hit man and the Don has been keeping details about Mickey quiet. I want you to mole into the Murphy Family's documents and see if you can find anything, even if it's just a picture." Tim reached for the file stack he had put down when he came over and pulled out the second file folder from the top, handing it over to Keating. It only had two sheets of paper in it. "This is everything that is known about Mickey Murphy. It might give you an idea of where to look for more."
"Will do, Agent McGee." Keating took the file quickly and slipped it under his keyboard. McGee clearly didn't want this open to the rest of Cyber Crimes.
"Great. Email me regularly with updates. Even if you don't find anything on Mickey Murphy, something you come across might help elsewhere." Patting Keating on the shoulder, Tim stood upright and picked his file stack back up. He cleared his throat before speaking louder to the whole group. "Ok, everyone! I'm going to head back up to the Bull Pen to see if the others have any specific thing they want us to look in to. I'll be working from my computer up there to stay in the loop and keep communication going between us and the others. What we find will tell them what to look for, themselves, and vice versa. If you feel like you have found something then speak up, no matter how trivial it is. A mistake made with the small things could give us a break at finding information about the big things. As the saying goes, 'The Devil is in the details'."
After looking over everyone slowly to make sure they all understood what they needed to do, Tim spun on his heel and headed to the elevator. As soon as the doors closed behind him he opened the top file again to read it over. The O'Riley Family, the Dunne Family, the McCarthy Family, and the Murphy Family were the primary force of the Irish on the Eastern seaboard and generally lead the rest of the Irish families in the country by proxy or through marriage. Mickey Murphy was a special priority given his anonymity, which was why Tim singled out Keating for the job, but he felt that the rest of them should start with the O'Riley family. Everything they did looked suspiciously legit, meaning it was everything but. They also had been cozy with the Russians in the past and that could lead to a power move later on if a war of the families couldn't be prevented.
"So are Zee-va and I doing a general sweep, McGee?" Tony asked before Tim was even back at his desk. "Our contacts need something specific to give us any answers."
"Start with the O'Riley Family." Tim provided as he brought his computer to life with a wiggle of his mouse. "All the currents records on them are eerily legal, even if just by a hair. I don't trust any of it. Feels like a house of cards, to me."
"Why would they make a house out of cards and why are you feeling it?" Ziva asked with a look of confusion. Tim couldn't prevent a snort coming out and reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose while Tony openly laughed.
"They're pretending to be legit is what I meant, Ziva. Careful planning on their part is the only thing keeping everything from being exposed. If you two can poke and prod in the right places it all should come falling down."
"O'Riley Family it is. You going to go submit yourself to Slacks any time soon?" Tim raised an eyebrow at Tony's question about his end of things. The man normally went cross eyed at the mere mention of computer work.
"Not for a day or so. I'm going to let them dig into their own files before arriving with even more things for them to work on. That should also give Cyber Crimes enough time to come up with a good list of leads so Sacks and I can start comparing notes right away. We're definitely going to find some connections between our work and the FBI's, at least as far as the O'Riley Family is concerned. They're friendly with the Russians. Expect to see Sacks coming here as often as I go there."
"Oh, goody. Alright, Zee, let's go ruffle some feathers and see which little birdie is willing to talk first."
"We will call in periodically, McGee, to pass along information." Ziva informed Tim as she and Tony collected their things. "Since it is already mid-day we may be out quite late tonight. Expect calls to keep coming until we say otherwise."
"Got it. By the amount of files I need to go through and disperse through Cyber Crimes I'll most likely be here all night, myself. I'll redirect my desk phone to my cell if I need to leave for anything so neither of you are stuck talking to one of the techs."
"And watches synchronized! Talk to you later, McHacker." Tony mock saluted Tim and earned an exasperated shove from Ziva towards the elevator. Tim let out a chuckle at his partners' antics, knowing that not even Tony would be in a joking mood for long as they dug deeper in to mob politics.
"Jeanne, dear, please come in." Jeanne Benoit smiled widely as she walked into the Murphy household. She was greeted at the door by the Head of Staff, Vivian O'Malley. A distant cousin of the Lady of the House, Vivian was a kind woman who could be stricter than a nun with a ruler at times but was otherwise viewed like a favorite aunt by everyone, including some of the older adults. No servant in this household blended into the woodwork with demure personalities, that was for sure.
"Thank you, Vivian! It's so great to be state-side again and I couldn't turn down an offer to come stay a while. Please tell me Patrick is in the house. I have been missing his beef stew." Jeanne let her bags be whisked away by some of the lower ranking servants to whatever room she would be staying in as she spoke with Vivian. The first and last time she made a deal about her bags disappearing so quickly was not a pleasant experience. The woman in front of her had high expectations that the rest of the staff feared to fail.
"Yes, Ricky is in house. I'll pass along your request. The kitchen should be stocked well enough for him to make some, even tonight. He hasn't started on dinner yet." Vivian led Jeanne deeper into the manor, occasionally saying a word here and there to the staff they passed.
"That sounds excellent. Any new gossip I need to catch up on?" Jeanne's eyes wandered around to the various pieces of art that decorated the hallways. The Murphy's didn't have a large collection, few pieces in the building were worth more than a thousand or two, but there was enough to allow a small rotation in what was being shown. Penelope Murphy, the Lady of the House, prided herself in choosing art based on what it actually looked like instead of what it cost. Ugly artwork wasn't worth the money in her book and it led to a very beautiful home.
"Around the house? Kelly and Mark have been doing some extra work at night, if you know what I mean. Apparently the guest library is very dirty and needs a thorough cleaning daily." Vivian answered in a stage whisper. "Fredrick and Penelope have yet to walk in on them, so I've been allowing it."
"It's about time those two stopped ignoring all that sexual tension."
"The rest of the staff agrees with you. We've had a few marriages, a couple deaths, children and grandchildren have been born. The basic gossip that I'm sure the others will want to tell you themselves." Vivian began to slow her walk as they approached the rear entrance of the building, which lead to a large patio.
"Is that all?" Jeanne wondered. Usually Vivian had more than that every time she came. Vivian hesitated a moment before turning away from the door to talk with her guest face-to-face. She dropped her voice down to a full whisper.
"Fredrick and the boys have all been on edge lately. None of them will say why. Mickey hasn't been in for a Sunday dinner for a couple months and Colin doesn't even acknowledge it, as if he knows what is keeping Mickey away. You remember how bad Colin can get when he goes without seeing Mickey for long periods of time. It's like the lad balances Colin's temper. But Colin hasn't acted out. It's disturbing." Jeanne frowned as Vivian described the serious side of the household. If it's been a couple months since Vivian has seen Mickey then something was going on. Jeanne may not be privy to details, same way most of the women of the Murphy household weren't privy, but growing up with her father helped her learn a few things. Things were bad if it was keeping Mickey away.
"You're here!" Jeanne zoned back in to reality, having missed Vivian turn back around and open the patio doors. She smiled widely as she hurried forward to hug the hyper young woman who had greeted her.
"Bridget! I hope everything has been going good with you since we last spoke. Last month? Was it last month?" Locks of red hair flew about as Bridget shook her head.
"No, month before last. But that's ok. It just leaves us with more to talk about this time. How long are you staying? Daddy didn't say." Bridget and Jeanne walked over to the lounge chairs while Vivian made her leave, having delivered her guest.
"I was thinking a week, allowing a day or so for me to get through my jet lag. Is it true Mickey hasn't been here in a while? I was looking forward to seeing him." Jeanne wasn't questioning Vivian's gossip and she knew the older woman wouldn't see it that way. Asking Bridget to confirm would just lead to more information that Vivian would admit she didn't know.
"He hasn't been at a Sunday dinner in a while, no, but I have crossed paths with him a few times when I've been coming home from evening soirees with my friends. I don't know why he's been visiting Daddy and Colin so late at night, it's been tricky to get him to say anything, and the visits don't even last that long. One time I got home just as he was arriving. He was gone by the time I had changed into pajamas and came back downstairs to say good night to Daddy. And you know I don't dillydally in getting ready for bed." Jeanne's face scrunched up in contemplation of what the late-night trysts could mean, especially since Mickey was avoiding telling Bridget anything about them. It was common knowledge, at least to everyone except Bridget, that Mickey was wrapped around Bridget's little finger. He was worse than the young woman's father, who doted on her more than her sisters because she was the youngest of all his children. Mickey's silence spoke volumes to Jeanne.
"I'm sure he has a pretty good reason for keeping everything so secret. Maybe he did something bad in the house and is afraid of Vivian finding out it was his fault." Both women fell into a fit of giggles, knowing Mickey would be rightfully scared if he did do something to earn Vivian's wrath.
