Section 14

Leaning against the back of a sofa set facing away from the area, Gibbs nodded approvingly at the electronic setup. Behind the corner table, Tony had opened the doors of a corner cabinet exposing a relatively large flat screen television on an extendable bracket arm. McGee had positioned it where all three could see the screen easily. McGee had three laptops open and logged in. Seeing this, Gibbs quirked his eyebrow and looked at his junior agent.

"This is from NCIS and this is personal. I always keep my personal up to date with NCIS's software and protocols in the event I need to use mine as a spare in case of an accident."

"The other is mine. McGee had to do a couple upgrades to connect. " Tony pointed to the state of the art laptop on the right as he joined the others. He had stuck the dishes in the dishwasher and quickly cleaned his iron cookware. "I keep that one up here at all times. One of the first rules I learned, rule three. Never be unreachable." He smirked at Gibbs.

Before Gibbs could reply, the picture on the flat screen changed from the NCIS seal to a close up of Abby. He could hear her click a couple keys and the view expanded. To Gibbs' surprise, Fornell and Vance had joined her.

"Gentlemen." Vance nodded. "I'm assuming this is a secure communication."

"Yes, Director." McGee confirmed while Abby nodded vigorously. "I'm also scrabbling the signal to Abby to ensure it isn't picked up by the press or anyone else."

"Good." Vance continued, "The press is having a field day already."

"Find the leak yet, Leon?"

Abby interrupted babbling. "It really wasn't a leak, Gibbs, I mean, the press did find out; but it wasn't from me, well, us, so it was a leak but it wasn't really a leak…"

"Abby." Gibbs raised his voice.

"Sorry, Gibbs. Sorry, director." Abby took a breath and let it out slowly. She waited for Director Vance to give her a nod before continuing. "It was just really, really bad luck. I mean, like the worst type of Karma. You know if you were cheating or…or…you killed someone in a previous life…ooh, ooh you were a serial murderer like Jack…"

"Abby."

"Right. Sorry. The cleaning lady on the floor has a brother in the Navy. You and the team arrested him for drugs. Anyway she recognized Gibbs when he entered this morning. She got a couple photos of you and Tony leaving. Talked to Judge Rosemal's clerk. Knew she had a scoop and she had a friend whose brother works for the Washington Post. From there, it just well, you know. But, look she got a great picture of you and Tony." Abby held up a picture of the group in the elevator after the ceremony. "I'll crop it and frame one for you. We didn't get to do a real wedding photo before your honey..." Her voice trailed off at the look of thinly disguised horror on McGee's face.

"Leon. Where are we?" Gibbs turned his focus to the director. The director looked down briefly to avoid meeting Gibbs gaze. "Leon."

"Nothing new, Gibbs."

"Leon, I said forty-eight hours." Gibbs jaw clenched.

"Listen, Gibbs. The secretary of defense and the vice-president were not amused by your deadline. You wanted DiNozzo out of custody. He is. They met your terms now it is on their terms; SecNav was very specific regarding your involvement. We will put these pieces together."

"Tobias, are you assisting or just visiting?" Gibbs ignored Vance entirely.

"I just wanted to offer you and DiNozzo, my sincere congratulations and best wishes for a long and happy life." Tobias kept a straight face throughout his reply.

"Pack up." Gibbs ordered turning away from the screen.

"Belay that order!" Vance barked. "Agent Gibbs, you will remain where you are. Direct orders from myself, SecNav and the Secretary of Defense. Do I need to go higher?"

"No, sir." Gibbs bit out his reply as he did an about-face.

Tony glanced at the tight muscle twitching near Gibbs jaw. Years of experience had taught him that Gibbs was on the verge of a full-scale eruption. In an event to stave off his anger, he schooled his features carefully and stepped closer the camera; partially blocking Gibbs. "Director, if I may, I believe that Agent Gibbs is concerned that the investigation is not preceding as quickly as we hoped. I appreciate that the secretary and SecNav have permitted me to continue working on this situation; although I am personally involved. I hope you will convey my thanks."

"Understood, Agent DiNozzo." The two men looked each other directly in the eye; for a moment they might have been feet rather than hundreds of miles apart. In that moment, Vance did understand DiNozzo better than he ever had before; he recognized the agent's actions and the effect it had on Gibbs. "I will pass on your gratitude. Back to the situation at hand, I asked Agent Fornell," Vance glared at Fornell for stirring up Gibbs, "to attend this briefing; because he is assisting in the investigation on this end."

Tobias cleared his throat quickly, now was not the time to rile his friendly foe up more. "After Vance talked to me, I did a little investigating at the office. That rule you're always quoting about there not being any coincidences."

"Rule 39," was spoken in triplicate by Abby, McGee and DiNozzo. DiNozzo and McGee gave each other a discreet fist bump while Gibbs glared at them.

"What did you find?" Gibbs ignored his team members.

"It seemed strange that Sacks would be the one to arrest DiNozzo when he had only transferred a week ago. I dropped in to personnel and did some discreet checking. Sacks never notified them that he had applied to transfer to DHS."

"They came to him?" Gibbs' gut clenched. This was no convenience. Did Benoit have enough connections to have Sacks reassigned?

"Seems like it." Fornell confirmed.

"It appears that whoever was involved was aware of the enmity between Agents Sacks and DiNozzo." Vance said firmly.

"You think?" Gibbs snarled. "Everyone in a three state area knows that Sacks and DiNozzo hate each other. Is that supposed to narrow the suspect field?"

"Gibbs." Vance cautioned.

"Director, has anyone located my father?" Tony again interceded.

"No, they haven't, agent. We will find him. Our agents in France have asked for assistance from the French government. Secretary Hagel contacted Secretary Foxx regarding the situation and both Jeanne Benoit and Mr. DiNozzo have been placed on a watch list."

"Pardon me, director. That will only find them if they attempt travel to the United States. I could set up an alert that would monitor any international flight." McGee spoke up.

"Will it cause an international incidence?"

"No, sir."

"Do it." Vance authorized.

"What about a BOLO through Interpol?" Tony asked.

"No. We do not want this to generate further publicity by officially involving Interpol."

Gibbs nodded his understanding of what Vance didn't say out loud. Interpol was aware of the situation and would assist if possible. "What now?"

Fornell cleared his throat. "I'm calling in a few markers trying to find out who got to Sacks. I'm having to stay low on this, my director is taking notes from yours."

"What is Secretary Johnson's role is this?" Gibbs asked. "He was stonewalling over this issue."

"I'm not an issue." Tony interjected, before the obligatory head slap. "Thanks, boss."

"The files..." Tim narrowed his eyes.

"What is it, McGee?" Gibbs asked impatiently.

"There's something…" McGee tried to focus. "I can't…"

"McGee…" Gibbs started.

Tony pushed past him and knelt down at McGee's side. "Come on, McProbie. Look at me." Tony forced McGee to look at him. "What files, McGee?"

"When you were arrested. I was trying to find out what was going on. I hack…was looking at DHS files on you…"

"Was there something in the file, McGee?"

"No, they were fragmented."

"What causes that?" Tony prodded him along.

"The encryption was shredded." McGee straightened in his chair and jerked his head to look at his boss. "Gibbs, someone else had already hacked the files."

"Vance…" Gibbs looked at the Director.

"I'm on it."

"I could…"

"Negative, Agent McGee." The director cut him off. "I will brief SecNav and the Vice-President. We want this to stand up in a court, if necessary. You focus on finding Senior and Benoit."

"Yes, sir."

"Tobias."

"Yeah, Gibbs."

"My dad."

"I have a team in route to provide him backup, already." Fornell assured him. "We'll keep the press at bay and if necessary, we'll do an extraction."

"Thanks."

"Gentlemen, I suggest we adjourn for this evening. We'll meet again tomorrow." Director Vance concluded.

"Gibbs, I could…"

"We need you there, Abs."

"I could help McGee," Abby whined.

"Abby, I know this is hard." Gibbs glared at the slight smirks on Vance's and Fornell's faces. "But I need you to help Vance and Fornell. They are going to need a lot of support the next few days, professionally and emotionally." Now the smirk was on Gibbs face with the glares directed at him.

"I'm on it, Gibbs. I'll be with them every step." Abby vowed earnestly and Gibbs signaled McGee to cut the feed.

"That was evil, boss." Tony smirked at Gibbs.

Gibbs moved around the end of the couch and sank down onto the couch where he leaned back and relaxed. Yep, he still had it.