I think if I were to fit this story in the NCIS continuality, it would have to be in late Season 2 just before SWAK. Please R & R!

Chapter 3 : An Unwelcome Blast From The Past


Gibbs: Yeah, DiNozzo was a Baltimore cop before coming to us.

Stan Burley: Is that right? How long?

Tony: Almost two years.

Stan Burley: And before that?

Tony: Philly PD.

Kate: Eighteen months, right?

Tony: There were extenuating circumstances.

-High Seas-


McGee shot a questioning look at Kate,"What's that all about?

She shrugged, her eyes concerned as they watched DiNozzo running, trying to catch up with Gibbs before the MTAC doors closed. "Who knows? I don't think it's about a new case, though. But I do know one thing, McGee. You had better fix Gibb's computer before he gets out."

Fixing Gibbs's rapidly beeping computer without his boss hovering over his shoulder was a god-sent. The abused machine only needed a reboot and a loving hand to get it purring again. That took barely five minutes of his attention but when he looked up, the MTAC doors were still firmly shut. He sighed, no excuse not to get on with his paperwork. Another 10 minutes passed before he heard Kate call him name.

"McGee, lets go. Gibbs wants us in MTAC."


Expect the unexpected.

McGee wasn't sure if it was one of Gibbs's many rules or it was just something he picked up as a part of Gibbs's team. But of all things, of all improbable events and scenarios he could have concocted in his head, this was not it. Maybe Gibbs read one too many fiction novels.

A dead serial murderer from Philadelphia wants to talk to Tony on the phone or he wouldn't divulge the location of the latest girl he kidnapped.

Right.Judging from the expression on Kate's face, she couldn't quite believe it either. Who could blame her? It all sounded so surreal, like something out of a crime novel. Hmm.. speaking of crime novels….. Too late McGee heard his name called. And judging from the irritated tone in Gibbs's voice, it sounded like his boss had spoken more than once. The head slap that followed was not unexpected.

"McGee! Pay attention. We do not have much time. The phone call will be patched through from Philly in another 20 minutes. I need you to get with Abby and trace that call," Gibbs barked in a tightly controlled voice. "Kate, Philly PD has sent us details about the latest victims. Go through their files and compare them with Tony's records 6 years ago. Give me the highlights in 10 minutes. MOVE. NOW."

Before hightailing it out of MTAC, Tim spared a sympathetic glance at the hunched dark haired figure. Poor Tony. These things always seemed to happen to him.


Gibbs took a big gulp from his extra large coffee cup. After all that had transpired over the last half hour, he thought he deserved it. MTAC was cocooned in darkness, its giant screen an inky black, awaiting the next transmission before springing to life. The flicker of light from the various monitors and panels caused strange shadows to play hide and seek amidst the walls and carpeted floor. Almost peaceful even. The lull before the storm.

Gibbs crumpled the paper cup in his hands before stuffing it into his pocket. The files Kate procured laid opened on his lap. He squinted at the figure huddled in the seat next to him, starring blankly at nothing.

"Tony?"

The haunted look in those green eyes tore at his soul. A tide of anger rose up within him. He suppressed an overwhelming urge to shoot one Lt Moore, and used the anger to clear his head.

"What do you have?" Gibbs purposely kept his tone neutral and emotionless. This wasn't the time nor the place to be all touchy feely and Tony didn't need to be coddled right now. Gibbs needed him focused and functioning for what was coming. Treat this just like any other case. Tony straightened and visibly shook off all remnants of emotion as he became more business like. Just like any other case, gotcha.

"The kidnappings started about 3 months ago, starting with a Melissa Gray, a student aged 21. She was found dead in a dumpster as well as the next victim, Clarissa Yung, 30, a nurse and the next, Eva Gomez. Another 5 women were found in dumpsters which were later tied to this serial killer – a prostitute, yoga instructor, another student, a homemaker and a waitress. Cause of deaths ranged from severe beating to drowning. The victims' profiles suggested no commonalities that would suggest a pattern. All victims were grabbed from public places like gas stations and shopping mall parking lots, usually between 10.30 pm to 11 pm. No witnesses and security recordings came up with nothing. The killer knew where to find the camera's blind spot. The crime scenes were clean, even the dumpsters where the victims were eventually found. Philadelphia PD started connecting the murders with the Davidson murders when they noticed that all the victims had a cross carved on to their right shoulder blade. The modus operandi also fit the Davidson signature from 5 years ago, well, except for the phone calls. They figured it was a copy cat since John Davidson hung himself in prison a week after we got him. Until 3 days ago, when they got a phone call from the creep, asking for me. Said he left his latest victim alive as a show of faith, that the next time he calls in 3 days, I had better be on the line or else. PD found Shelly Clarkson alive in a small clearing tied to a tree, beaten half to death. She would probably be dead if they had arrived another 30 minutes later. They had the voice from the phone call analyzed and the lab techs were 99 sure it was compatible with the voice from the calls in the Davidson case," Tony recited, pausing only to massage his forehead, clearly having a headache. "You know the rest."

Gibbs nodded. The night before, Melissa Faren, daughter of prominent politician Senator Thomas Faren disappeared. Her car was found abandoned in a gas station with the engine still running. There was a note left on the front seat – Make sure he answers the phone or she dies. Hence the highly unpleasant teleconference call this morning. The police were already under tremendous pressure to solve the high profile case, add a political twist to it and things simply imploded.

"Back then, Davidson would call me after a girl went missing. He'd call with clues and we'd bust our butts to solve them to get to the girls on time. He would never speak to anyone else but me. He was so good that it was a fluke that we actually caught him. By the time we got him, there were already 30 victims. We'd always suspected that Davidson had a partner, it wasn't Davidson who made those phone calls but Davidson killed himself before telling us. The murders stopped though so I got a commendation for solving the case in spite of his attempts to get me fired and he got none of the glory. So he started telling everyone that I screwed up, got the wrong guy. He openly stated that he believed Davidson too stupid to commit those murders. Enough people believed him. He was a good cop, well liked with 20 years in the force and I was this wet behind the ears rookie. He hated me from the get go because he thought I was a prissy, spoilt rich kid playing cop. My life became even more …" DiNozzo gave a hollow laugh. "..difficult. And now, with Davidson dead and these new murders, everyone is going to think Moore is right."

Gibbs sighed inwardly as Tony buried his face in his hands. Whatever he was expecting when he stepped into MTAC, it certainly wasn't Tony's former superior, Lt Moore from Philadelphia PD up on the MTAC screen. He didn't miss the way DiNozzo's posture straightened, eyes hardened and the mask that turned the younger man's expression unreadable, his entire body preparing fight. There was a history between the two, a history of anger and hatred that not even 5 years and a hundred miles between them can soften. It didn't help that Moore railed at DiNozzo about what a screw up he was and if the girl died, the blood would be on Tony's hands. Just because some psycho liked talking to him.

DiNozzo never actually spoke of the time he served in Philly but it wasn't hard to guess. His record had been littered with reprimands filed by his superior officer, everything from insubordination to recklessness on the job. Gibbs knew it was a personal vendetta, he has never seen such a drive to prosecute and humiliate someone. It was amazing DiNozzo actually managed to last as long as he did. The Davidson serial murderer case wasn't new to him.

The details were in DiNozzo's file, a period in his service record read like a list of what-Tony-did-wrong-today. It seemed like everything the kid generated an official reprimand ; like it was a crime just being alive. Yet, it was DiNozzo who cracked the case, putting together clues like a damn jigsaw puzzle, hounded by a psychotic serial killer who thought it would be fun messing around with the young cop's head. While his supervisor composed beautifully crafted essays about how screwed up he was and why he should be fired. It hadn't been the cops versus the bad guy, it had been Tony versus the rest of the world. His own people hated him, hated him as much as the psycho out there carving young girls up. In their eyes, Tony was as guilty as the madman who called him every other night to gloat about the victims they weren't saving. They hated him because the bastard wouldn't talk to anyone but Tony. They detested him because this rookie newly transferred from Peoria who did what a bunch of jaded detectives couldn't do, solve the case. After that, he was probably on his way to being fired when he jumped ship to Baltimore PD. Not so strangely, that was when all reprimands stopped; instead of careless, incompetent, failure there were words like brilliant, outstanding, courageous.

"Tony," Gibbs said softly, putting his hand on Tony's shoulder, forcing the younger agent to look him straight in the eye. "Do you think you made a mistake back then?"

Tony opened his mouth to agree but was silenced by a look from Gibbs. It was an important question, one that cannot be answered lightly. He took a deep breath, closed him eyes and inwardly started to reexamine what he knew about the Davidson case. Gibbs kept silent, but kept his hand on Tony's shoulder. Tony was grateful; it kept him the strength to shift through the unpleasant memories to focus on the facts objectively.

He eyes flew open and for the first time since all this began, he smiled.

"No," Tony said with a certainty that he previously lacked. "I was right to arrest Davidson. He kidnapped and killed those girls, all the evidence proved it. He confessed. There might have been a second person, but Davidson was no innocent bystander like Moore believed."

Gibbs nodded with a small smile, his eyes a deep cerulean. "Attaboy, Tony." Tony felt something lift within him. Gibbs was no fool and seeing his boss's quiet confidence in him gave him the courage to face this straight on. He felt he could face a thousand Moores with Gibbs watching his back. Before he could express his gratitude, the MTAC tech approached them.

"Special Agent DiNozzo, Gibbs. Incoming call for you from Philadelphia. Agent McGee is on standby to trace the call."

Both men stood and exchanged a look. Showtime.