Chapter 4

Washington D.C…

It was early on Sunday morning when Gibbs walked into NCIS. The office area was almost deserted except for Balboa's team who was on call this weekend. Gibbs' nodded to the agents as he walked past them and headed toward the bullpen. This coming Monday, McGee will officially be taking over as Gibb's senior field agent and be moving his things to Tony's desk. Vance had started looking into possible candidates to fill McGee's old position. Right now, Gibbs needed to start cleaning out Tony's desk. He knew he should have done it a long time ago but he couldn't bring himself to do it until after the memorial service. He didn't want anyone to be around him as he placed Tony's things into a cardboard box. It was going to be hard on him and he didn't need an audience watching him.

As Gibbs was going through Tony's desk, he found the Mighty Mouse stapler, the letter opener and the American Pie coffee mug. It brought back so many memories of the time when everyone thought Tony had been blown up in his Mustang. He remembered his team including Abby, Ducky and Palmer all taken something from Tony's desk to remember their friend. Gibbs decided at that moment he would give each one of them the thing they had taken from that last time. He knew Tony would want them to have it.

Gibbs smiled when his eyes made contact with the little American flag that sat so proudly on top of Tony's desk. Gibbs remembered the day he had given the flag to Tony. It was the 4th of July. NCIS and the FBI were playing a baseball game against each other for charity. That day, Tony had gotten the most homeruns to help win the game. Gibbs laughed because it really pissed off Fornell big time when his team lost and Fornell lost a hundred dollar bet to him. After the game, Tony had complained that since he had made most of the homeruns he should get at least one day off or something. To shut him up Gibbs gave him the little American flag that was sticking in the middle of a cake Kate had made to celebrate the holiday. Tony had everyone laughing when he stood up he accepted it like he had just won the Oscars. When that Monday came Gibbs saw the little flag sitting proudly in the cup on top of Tony's desk. Gibbs picked up the little flag and placed it in his coat pocket.

He found his medals in the bottom drawer. He took the locked box and placed it inside the cardboard box without even opening it. Gibbs took all the items he was going to give to the others and carry them over to his desk placed them inside his lower desk drawer. He would pass each one of them out in private to their new owners. He then took the cardboard box out to his truck. He went back inside the building to do some work.

The rest of the day he spent trying to catch up on some of his paperwork and also going back over some of the files they had on that fateful protection assignment that cost his senior agent his life. He had already been over them several times with his team but they couldn't find anything. Everyone they had interviewed and talked with was in the clear. He looked at the list of names again. He knew he was missing something but what?

Inside the cave…

It was almost two weeks ago, when Tony finally started feeling well enough to sit up and move around a little. He was still having trouble with his memory. He sometimes would see images of people and things he knew he should know but couldn't remember. Sometimes he would remember but within minutes forget them.

He was getting bored so he decided he was going to teach his mute friend all about American Sign Language and how to use it. Tony couldn't remember how he knew it but he did. (What Tony couldn't remember happened years ago when he had discovered that Gibbs and Abby knew sign language. They used to sign around him when they didn't want him to know what they were talking about. They really only did that to annoy him and it worked. Tony decided to take some classes. One day he had surprised both of them when he answered them back in sign. Gibbs and Abby both laughed and congratulated him for taking the time to learn. Gibbs told him it might come in handy one day.)

One thing Tony learned about his cave friend was how smart the man really was. It didn't take Harry long to learn to sign once he understood what the smaller man was trying to teach him. The first time Tony attempted to show him it was a totally complete failure. The giant just stood there and looked at him funny. He was trying to understand why his new friend kept moving his hand and arms around. The problem at the time was Harry's knowledge of the English language was limited because of his lack of education and also the lack of not hearing it for such a long time. It took several attempts before he realized that the hand and arm movements meant something. Within hours Tony and Harry were communicating with each other. Harry would walk around the cave room and point to things. Tony would show him what sign to use. Harry would repeat it exactly like he was shown. Harry smiled because for the first time in his life he was able to hold a conversation with another human. He was never even able to do that even with his grandparents and it felt so good.

Present time…

It was cold and windy outside. The ground was covered with a thin layer of snow. Harry spent each day going out gathering what wood he could find and searching for food. He somehow managed to catch enough game and fish to feed them both. Every time Harry went outside he would keep an eye out for the gray haired man. He still wasn't sure if it was the last he would see him.

Harry didn't mind having an extra mouth to feed; it was so nice to have the company. He found his cave guest fun to be with. There was not a day that went by that the smaller man did not make him smile about one thing or another. He never knew someone could talk so much. His friend constantly talked about something called movies, actors and actresses. He really didn't know what they were but his friend seemed happy talking about them. So, he really didn't mind it.

As the day passed, Tony started to get well enough to move around on his own. The shotgun wounds to the side and shoulder had healed nicely thanks to Harry's potion. Tony's broken leg was still giving him a lot of pain. It was going to take a while longer for it to completely heal. Tony had Harry to get him some long pieces of wood. He wanted to make himself a pair of crutches so he could get around the cave.

One thing that concerned the big guy was that his friend still had some very bad headaches. Sometimes they were so bad that Tony would stay in bed most of the day. His memory wasn't getting any better. Every now and then, Harry would come back from hunting and he would find Tony disoriented and talking to himself. He could see the fear in the smaller man's eyes when he first walks into the cave. When this happened the big man would just keep his distance until Tony recognized him. Sometimes he would come back and find Tony looking for somebody called Gibbs because he needed to tell him something. One time he found Tony outside the cave looking for Abby's lab. This really scared him because he was now worried Tony could wonder off and get lost or hurt. He decided to not be gone so long and stay a little closer to the cave from now on.

Back in Washington D.C…

Monday morning both McGee and Ziva were talking as they stepped out of the elevator and walked into the bullpen together. They went quiet when they saw Tony's desk was now cleared off. It was something they knew was going to happen because McGee was supposed to be moving his stuff to Tony's desk today. At that very moment it hit Ziva hard and she had to excuse herself as she headed toward the ladies restroom. She had tried to prepare herself for this moment but it didn't work. Seeing Tony's desk empty like that made her finally realized that she will never see her friend again.

McGee just stood there and stared. He didn't notice the ME walking up behind him.

"Are you going to be okay, Timothy?"

The younger man took a few seconds before he answered, "You know Ducky? There is not a day that goes by I don't think about him. I really miss him. I would give anything to have him back."

"I know. So would we all."

McGee turned to the older man. "Ducky, I am not sure I can sit at his desk and I am also not sure if I want anyone else to sit there."

"Timothy… maybe this will help you just a little? Our dear Anthony would have wanted you to do it. It is what he helped train you to do. All you need to do now is make him proud."

McGee smiled at the older man, "Thanks, it does help some. Maybe you should go talk with Ziva? She is taking it pretty hard."

Ducky looked toward the ladies restroom. He smiled when he saw Abby walking toward it. "No, I don't think I need to. I think she is going to be in good hands."

About an hour later, Gibbs came walking down the stairs. He had been in the director's office going over some of the new candidates for McGee's position. So far, he hadn't seen anyone who he thought would fit well with his team. While he was in Vance's office Gibbs let the director know that he would like to go back over the files on who leak the information about safe house. Vance gave him two weeks. He told Gibbs that if he didn't find anything by then he was to give it up. Vance didn't want to waste anymore time and resources on it.

Once the senior agent returned to his desk, he ordered McGee and Ziva to pull up all the information on the two military informants and everyone who knew about the safe house. Someone had to have leaked that information and he wanted to know who it was. There was no way those hired guns could have known where they would be without someone telling them. He told his team he was not going to rest until they gave him a name. He also told them they had two weeks to do it.

It took Gibbs and his team almost the full two weeks but they finally made an arrest. The person they believe responsible for DiNozzo's death was a businessman by the name of Sam Smith. Smith owned a company that had been selling electronic parts to the Navy and overcharging them for years. He had made millions off on it. He was able to get away with it because he had a close friend who was a congressman. The two military informants were actually military auditors who were checking the records of several companies that sold their products to the Navy. The auditors came across some discrepancies that had been didn't make sense. They also found these same discrepancies in several other companies they were auditing. When they dug into it further they made the connection with the congressman. It appears this very same congressman had been under investigation after several companies had filed complaints against him. The auditors were going to be testifying before a congressional hearing. They had feared for their life after a couple of threatening phone calls. NCIS was then assigned to protect them.

Once Smith found out that the auditors would be testifying at the hearing he panic and decided he needed to get rid of them. Smith found out that NCIS was going to be protecting them. He had an employee by the name of Mike Ricketts who was the cousin to SecNav Jarvis' assistant. Ricketts agreed to get him the information for a price. Ricketts then went to visit his cousin. While there, the assistant had stepped out of the office to talk with Jarvis for a few minutes. While she was gone her cousin looked through her desk and found what he needed. He gave the information he found to Sam Smith and Smith then hired the gunmen.

It was McGee and Ziva who finally made the connection when they went to interview Jarvis' assistant. While they were talking with the assistant, they noticed she had a sign in log and they asked her if they could see it. They got copies of the pages around the time NCIS got the protection assignment. They did a background checks on everyone who visited her during that time. With the help of Abby, they finally figured it out. Her cousin had visited her around the time same NCIS was assigned to protect the two informants. While doing the background check on Mike Ricketts, they found out he worked for one of the companies that had been audited.

Gibbs ordered his team to bring Mike Ricketts in for questioning. As soon as the director heard they had a suspect, he told Gibbs that he didn't want his senior agent to interrogate the man because he was too close to the case. He was afraid Gibbs was going to do something stupid and get himself along with NCIS in some serious trouble. Gibbs argued with him at first but Vance would not relent. Vance really couldn't blame him because he knew how close Gibbs was with his team. Vance decided that he was going to do the interrogation and Gibbs could watch. Several hours, Ricketts finally broke down and confessed that he was the one who gave the information for Sam Smith. Shortly after that Smith was arrested…

In the Blue Ridge Mountains…

The first two weeks of February turned out to be quite warm. The weathermen were predicting an early spring. The snow was just about gone. The buds were starting to show on the trees. Only a couple of the higher mountain peaks had snow on them. Gibbs had already made arrangements with Vance to take some time off as soon as the weather got warmer. Now that the snow was just about gone he planned to go back to the mountains and see if he could find any traces of what had became of Tony's body. His marine training was going to come in handy. During his time in the service he was considered to be one of the best trackers the Marine Corps ever had.

The senior agent was working in his basement when he heard someone walk into his house. From the sound of the footsteps he could tell it was Abby. He looked up as the Goth walked down the steps.

"Hi Gibbs."

Just from her expression he could tell she had something on her mind. "Hi Abs, what can I do for you?"

She walked over and touched the piece of wood he was working on. She felt it smoothness. "Gibbs… I know you are going to think I am crazy but lately I…I have been having a lot of these dreams that Tony is still alive."

"Abs…"

"No Gibbs…please listen to me before you say…say anything. I have been having these dreams for the last couple of weeks. I didn't say anything because at first, I thought it was just wishful thinking on my part. I now believe Tony is trying to reach out and tell me he is alive."

"Abby there is no way he could possibly have survived out there on his own all this time. It's been over two months. He can't be alive. He was shot and fell into a cold fast moving river."

"Gibbs, please listen to me. In my dreams Tony is in this…this dark room. I'm not sure what kind of room it is but it is really…really dark. He is confused and in a lot of pain. There is some…someone with him but I can't make out who is watching over him. Gibbs…what if someone did find him? What…what if this person has been taking care of our Tony all this time?"

"Abs…Abby listen to me. If Tony was alive, why didn't they just take him to the hospital? Why didn't someone come forward and let us know he was alive?" At that moment Gibbs really didn't want to believe Abby could be right because that would mean he had left Tony behind. Marines and even ex marines don't leave their people behind but his gut was telling him something different.

Abby had tears in her eyes, "I…I don't know why but I do know some of my…my dreams have come true in the past. You remember when K…Kate died? Back then; I had this dream that Tony had blood on his face. I told Kate about it. She laughed and told me it was my bête noire. Later I found out the blood I dreamed about on Tony's face belonged to Kate. Gibbs, please believe me." The Goth put her head on his shoulder and whispered. "We need to find him and help him to come home."

One week later in the Blue Ridge Mountains…

The weathermen were predicting unseasonably warm weather for the next week or so. The Farmer's Almanac was predicting a very early spring. Gibbs had left his truck parked at the ranger station for safekeeping. Mark Adams gave him a ride to where DiNozzo had falled into the river. It was going to be his starting point of his trek. The ranger tried his best to talk him out of it but Gibbs wasn't going to listen. The ex marine was on a mission to bring his friend home not matter if he was alive or dead.

Before Adams drove off he went over a map of the area with Gibbs. Adams marked x's where all the cabins were located. He circled the x's if people were living in them right now. He also warned the federal agent about the bears in the area. There have been a few spotted recently. Adams then marked the area the bears were spotted. Gibbs was taking a rifle with him but it was only for protection. When the ranger was finished he shook Gibbs hand and wished him luck. Gibbs watched as the ranger drove off.

The ex marine picked up his backpack and rifle. He started walking toward the slope Tony had fallen down. The river was at least a couple of feet higher then it was in December. If Tony's body never came to shore there was no way he was going to find a trace of him in the water. He plans to follow the river downstream as far as he could go and then return on the opposite side. This way he could cover both sides of the river. He had only a couple of weeks to accomplish this. He took one last look and started heading down the slope.

In the cave…

Tony was not having a good day. His head had been hurting him for the last few hours. He sat up and looked around the cave. He was alone. Harry must have gone hunting or something. Tony was thirsty so he stood up. For a few seconds he was dizzy but the dizziness went away. He limped over to the bucket and got himself a cup of water. When he was finished he headed back to the bed and laid back down hoping his head would stop hurting so much.

In the woods…

While Harry was fishing, he had managed to catch four good size trout. He smiled to himself; tonight they were going to eat well. As he started to head back toward the cave he spotted movement out of the corner of his eye. He immediately hid behind some large rocks and looked. It was the gray haired man again. He seemed to be searching the riverbank for something. Harry watched him for a while. Eventually the man moved out of Harry's sight. Harry was not a bad person. He didn't believe in killing unless absolutely necessary. He had made up his mind; if the gray haired man came back here to kill Tony then Harry was going to do whatever it takes to protect him. He still had Tony's gun and bullets. He had hidden them in the cave. If the man comes anywhere near cave he was not afraid to use the gun…