The contents of Tom Richardson's scant file was scattered around Gibbs. There wasn't much and the little by way of papers and photographs that they had dug up still didn't give them any leads. There was no hint of a crime and certainly no glimpse of one in the documentation he was reading. It was a heck of a way to spend a Sunday, but he couldn't seem to leave this alone. Dropping the piece of paper that contained the man's latest phone records, Gibbs sat back in his chair with a sigh as he brought his coffee mug up to his mouth for another sip, the expression Abby had used for a situation similar to this once before, coming to mind.
This guy is cleaner than clean, whiter than white. If you put him in a line up with snow, snow is going to jail.
The short break gave him time to think and his thoughts returned to yesterday in the squad room as he and Ziva had watched Tony successfully talk Tim into having a guy's movie night at Tony's place. No sooner had the elevator closed with both men inside, than Ziva had stood up from behind her desk, gathered up all the hard copies of everything they'd found and stuffed them into a case file. After carefully going through the stack once more, she extracted several sheets of paper, closed the file and picked up both before rounding her desk and heading out with a parting shot at the boss.
"Enjoy the rest of the weekend, Gibbs."
Gibbs had known that look. She was up to something and though he didn't blame her because he wasn't happy letting this go yet either, he wasn't about to let her go lone wolf, especially since she obviously wasn't going to let him know about it willingly.
"Hey!" He'd called to her, effectively stopping her in her tracks as he'd hoped it would.
"Yes, Gibbs?"
"Something you wanna tell me?"
Letting out a deep sigh, she'd looked at him straight on, with complete seriousness. "I will be fine."
"Yeah, you will, so long as you tell me what the hell you're up to."
"Nothing, Gibbs. I am up to nothing. I am simply going to have a small chat with a few 'friends' of Tom Richardson…" She admitted almost nonchalantly. "Someone else must have seen in him what we have, at least at some point in his life. We need to find that person and soon, before it is too late for Sarah."
"There a reason you plan on doing this alone?"
"I simply did not want to impose on anyone else's free weekend to do this." She defended her choice. "That is all, Gibbs."
"Not imposing if the other person's willing, Da'vid." Gibbs quipped and shut down his workstation. He took a minute to gather his gear and hit the speaker button on his phone. "Abbs, go home. C'mon, we'll walk you out."
"Be right up, Gibbs." Abby's quiet voice had come over the phone, sharply reminding them that she was just as deeply troubled by all this as they were.
It hadn't been a full ten minutes later that the three of them had walked out to their cars together, though neither he nor Ziva let Abby know they were headed out to do some digging on the case. They didn't want her along because she needed to stay on the sideline where she was safe. Gibbs almost suggested that she go stay with the nuns but stopped himself knowing that asking her to leave her home to stay with friends would alarm her. There was no reason to give anyone doubts about their safety.
Gibbs got up from the table and made his way to his kitchen for a refill after the last mouthful. He'd been relieved to be able to rest easy because Tim was in Tony's trusted hands for the remainder of the weekend. However, he'd been sorely tested and frustrated for what had been left of yesterday as he and Ziva spent what amounted to a good four hours both traveling and knocking on doors to dig for more history on Tom Richardson. The result? Once again nothing. They hadn't found a single person who thought the guy was capable of anything bad or dangerous.
Worried that they'd kicked over too many stones and that at least one would come back to bite them in the behind and actually make things worse for Sarah or even Tim, he and Ziva had called it quits on the digging expedition and driven back to the Navy Yard. While the drive back had been quiet, it hadn't been completely silent. Ziva had informed him that she was not done with this. She still believed what she had said to Abby: that the guy they were investigating was a ticking time bomb. What's more, she was not willing to sit back and do nothing while something bad happened to Sarah McGee.
"Tread carefully, Ziva. Push too hard and you'll only alienate her. Then she'll be less likely to talk to anyone if and when he does start doing anything she needs to report."
"Agreed. We most definitely do not need her being afraid to come to us if she is in trouble, either." She had been quick to answer before they parted ways, each heading home after a very long and frustrating day.
Now here it was a good twelve hours later and Gibbs was still completely frustrated about this mess. Returning to his dining room with his freshly refilled coffee mug, he picked up his phone, intent on checking on his boys, when the device ringing as he held it startled him. Flipping it open, he was quick to answer it.
"Yeah, Gibbs."
"My office! NOW!"
***NCIS***
Thirty minutes later found Gibbs bounding up the stairs towards Leon Vance's office with a clenched gut. He couldn't help thinking that all hell was about to break loose and frustration weighed heavily on him because he hadn't had the chance to check on Tony and Tim to make sure they hadn't done anything stupid like get drunk or careless. Tony's penchant for wanting Tim to loosen up was practically common knowledge, keeping the Team Leader just wary enough to check on them in times like this. The icing on the cake was when he arrived at HQ and was told that he had an irate guest waiting for him, but nothing else was said by the security guards at the entrance and they refused to tell him who it was.
When he heard about the anonymous visitor, his frustration rose with every step he took. He couldn't get there fast enough and so without bothering to knock, barged into Vance's office, having gotten there with the speed the summons had earned.
"Agent Gibbs. I believe an introduction is in order. "Meet Retired Naval Commander Arthur McGee." Vance announced unceremoniously.
"Tim's father." Gibbs stated before turning to look the man head on. "Mr. McGee." He greeted the retired commander. However, he did not extend his hand to the man who'd scorned and disrespected his youngest agent. In his eyes, that was the clincher and he currently held no respect for the Ex-commander.
"That's right. And it's Commander McGee." The retired man answered back, although startled at the less than respectful way this man was addressing him.
Barely acknowledging the man, Gibbs turned his attention back to his boss, looking him squarely on. "Why am I here, Leon?"
"The Commander would like a word with you. And in the interest of keeping the peace, I thought it would better serve both of you, if that conversation took place here. Considering this concerns his son, I'd say this is the perfect place to deal with this, wouldn't you?"
"Depends on what it is we're 'dealing with'." Gibbs quipped.
"I'm afraid that is what you're going to have to find out from the Commander." Vance told him. "I'll leave you two to talk. I trust I'll find my office still standing when I return in the morning?"
When he recieved no answer, Vance headed for his office door. Good-day, Gentlemen."
Once Vance was gone, Gibbs finally spoke. "Okay. I'm listening." He huffed out as he sat at the far end of the table and glared at the man, daring him to say just one thing out of line about the young man they had in common.
***NCIS***
Ziva picked up the phone, her heart up in her throat. This sort of thing did not usually bother her. She made phone calls all day long on the job. However, this particular call…well this one was different. As the call was answered on the other end, she drew in a breath and slowly let it back out.
"Hello?"
"Hello, Sarah?"
"Who is this?"
"You probably do not remember me, but my name is Ziva Da'vid."
"You work with my brother."
"That is correct. However, your brother and I are more than just co-workers."
"You're dating him now? First it was that Abby woman and now you? Can't my brother find someone he doesn't work with?"
"No, I did not mean to imply that your brother and I are dating. We are not. What I was attempting to tell you is that we are good friends as well as co-workers."
"Oh."
"Are you available for lunch? I would love to take you to this nice little café I know of. It would be my treat."
"Ziva, I'm sorry, I can't. I'm not in D.C. I'm at my parents' house in New York." Sarah informed her. "I do appreciate the offer, though. Besides, I've got too much to do before the wedding to stop for a long lunch."
"Alright. Can you spare a few moments so that we can talk now?"
"Sure. Okay. What is it you wanna talk about?"
"I wish to talk to you about Little Red Riding Hood."
***NCIS***
Glancing at the clock by his head, Tony squinted against the morning light pouring in through his bedroom window. Good grief! It was almost 1 in the afternoon! How the hell had he slept the morning away? What the hell happened last night?
Wait a minute! Beer! That's right, two pizza's and two six packs of beer, an endless stream of Magnum P.I. episodes and a whole lotta shootin' the breeze about unimportant stuff – that's what happened last night! Wait. Who the hell had he been shootin' the breeze with?
With a surprisingly clear head and an even more shocking pain free head, Tony sat up completely and wiped the sleep from his eyes, giving himself a minute to think. At that point, his nose finally noticed the wonderful aroma of freshly brewed coffee and a freshly made breakfast, and his feet somehow found the floor and before he knew it, he was headed toward his kitchen.
Finding Tim McGee in his kitchen, his arms buried in a sink full of dishwater as he cleaned the mess he'd made from preparing a brunch for the two of them, brought Tony to a standstill. Well, that answers that. Why couldn't Tony remember that before now? And why…
"Oh, hey, you're up. Brunch is ready and so is the coffee. Food's in the oven keeping warm." Tim said by way of a greeting.
"What the hell happened last night, Probie?" Tony demanded as he looked around his spotlessly clean apartment. He knew damn well the place hadn't been anywhere near that clean the night before.
"Nothing out of the ordinary happened, Tony. We had the same pizza and movie night you told Gibbs we were gonna have."
"Nah. No. That's not all that happened. It can't be because my brain's gone mushy and that never happens unless…"
"Tony!" Tim snapped out sharply to get the older man's attention.
"What?" Tony whined in return.
"Nothing. Happened." Now Tim's tone had taken on that directing edge, as if he were leading them away from trouble with just two little words that sounded remarkably like a cover up. "Now, why don't you go jump in the shower and by the time you're done, your stomach will be more than ready for this brunch and coffee."
Tony frowned at the change in Tim's tone, as if he'd just switched gears in the middle of a conversation. What the hell was going on here? Too befuddled with the remnants of sleep hanging over his brain, Tony gave in. "Okay, then." Turning around, he took himself to the shower after snagging a clean change of clothes from his bedroom.
Tim shook his head. While he hated lying to anyone, he wasn't above covering up small indiscretions such as Tony getting uproariously drunk last night, especially if the discovery of such would only land them in hot water for it. There were more important things to focus on, and besides no one got hurt or into trouble. It was best that the evening be allowed to quickly become just a memory and just something only he and Tony knew anything about. Hearing the shower running, Tim made a beeline for Tony's bedroom, quickly changing the sheets since he'd hunted down and located the linen closet in the hallway earlier while Tony had still been sleeping. Tidying up the rest of the room, he assaulted the room with fabric refresher for the curtains, carpet and bedspread since he'd completely made the bed up first. Heading back to the kitchen, he was finally able to sit and enjoy his cup of coffee for longer than a few minutes.
***NCIS***
"You're hiding him."
After a solid five minutes of a tense yet silent stare down, the accusation hit Gibbs the wrong way, but still he remained set in stone, sitting absolutely still in the face of the other man's obvious fury.
"Now why would a former Marine such as yourself allow such cowardice, I wonder." The retired man asked.
"That what you think?"
"You really wanna know what I think, Agent Gibbs?"
"No, Commander. What I wanna know is what you want from me. What the hell are we doin' here? What - you don't have better things to do with your time than come down here and try to harass your son? And since you couldn't find him, you decided I had to jump to your bidding in his place?"
"Thought you Marines were a respectful lot, even if you are jarheads?"
"You want my respect, you're gonna have to earn it. And disregarding your son like he's nothing to you is not the way to do that." Gibbs returned in a low tone that carried a full supply of warning in it.
"I'm not here to discuss my relationship with my son, Agent Gibbs."
"Didn't think you were. Still waitin' to hear why you are here. Appreciate it if you'd stop wastin' my time and get to the point."
I want all investigations into my future son-in-law's history stopped. No more staged fender-benders, no more talking to everyone who's ever known him. Nothing."
"Why?" Gibbs bit back.
"Excuse me?"
"What are you afraid we'll find that you were too stubborn to look for?"
"What are you trying to find that isn't there?" The former Commander replied snappishly.
"Anything that will prove he's a danger to your daughter; before he hurts her."
"Ah, yes. That's right. This is all supposedly in the name of protecting my daughter." The other man reasoned out with enough sarcasm that it grated on Gibbs' nerves. "Tell me, Agent Gibbs. How did this become your problem?"
"Your son came to me for help. He asked me to help uncover the wolf underneath before his sister got hurt or worse."
"Oh, that's right. Timothy's big idea that Tom is dangerous. I'm curious to know why you didn't just ignore his blubbering like I always do."
"Because unlike you, I know good instincts when I see them and Tim's got great instincts. His gut is telling him this guy's bad news and I believe him."
"And just how long have you been at this job, Agent Gibbs? Long enough to know a crap shoot when you see one, I'm sure."
"Sure. But I also know a damn good agent who's still getting better at the job every day and whose instincts are nothing to laugh at."
"Funny, it was your instincts that have almost become legendary from what I hear."
"Your point?"
"No point. Just an observation. Agent Gibbs, I want to talk to my son. Now. Face to face and apparently you can make that happen."
"That what you were told?"
"Not specifically."
"But you've been told that I know where he is."
"That's right."
"Well, you're wrong about one thing."
"Okay, I'll bite. What am I wrong about?"
"You don't need to see your son. Not today, anyway. He's not just your son. He's my agent and in that capacity, he needs to be allowed to recuperate after a tough week. All my agents do. I won't let you interfere with that."
"Have you ever been a parent, Agent Gibbs?"
Gibbs swallowed hard. This bastard should not have the right to scope out his most inner pain like this. He wouldn't give him the satisfaction of letting his emotions out – somehow, he'd keep them locked up and still get his point across. "Yes, Commander, I have. But, unlike you, I treasured my child, no matter what her choices were."
"Well, sure you did. We all cherish our daughters, Agent Gibbs. And, I'm truly sorry for your loss. But sons are different. You know what I mean? We expect more from them. Didn't your father treat you differently than he did your sister?"
"We're done here. There's something you need to see."
"Oh? Why's that?"
"You wanna doubt your son's instincts, fine, but like I said, he's my agent, too and you need to see what my agent sees in this future son-in-law of yours first."
"Fair enough, I guess."
"Now, you're interested in fair." Gibbs replied sarcastically as he led the way out of the Director's Office. Without looking back, he made his way down to the squad room and set the tape to play.
****NCIS****
Ziva snapped her phone shut in disappointment and frustration. Gibbs had been right. She'd tried to reach out to Sarah and warn her to be careful of this man she intended on marrying. She'd repeatedly told her she was only concerned with Sarah's safety and the younger woman had indeed rebelled even further when more people got involved. With a heavy sigh, she dialed the phone and waited to hear about how Tim and Tony had gotten on this weekend. She only hoped it was without problems.
***NCIS****
Tim returned to the living room and was happily in the midst of a Star Trek Next Generation Movie Marathon by the time Tony came out of the shower. He had decided to leave Tony's kitchen open for the older man to be able eat in peace and have at least some semblance of normality to what was left of his free weekend.
As the steamy massage of the hot shower had worked its way through all the kinks and locked muscles on his body,Tony had found his mind relaxing and actually appreciating Tim's efforts to move things back into all things normal or as normal as they could possibly be, given the circumstances. Tony also knew Tim well enough to realize that all of this apartment cleaning and cooking was the younger man's way of saying 'thanks' for the attempt to nail his future brother-in-law before his sister got hurt.
He just hoped that Sarah and Tim would both be safe and the guy they were looking into would prove them wrong.