Chapter 4: Manny Alvarez

Tony was pounding the pavement, appalled how quickly his legs and lungs were screaming in protest. Refusing to give in, he pushed on through the pain. If he was feeling the burn so quickly on flat land, it was a good decision skipping the elevated trails until he got back into shape.

The slap of his shoes began to sound in unison with the thump of his heart as he reached the far end of town. Late in the evening, Tony's path was lit by the soft yellow glow of the wrought-iron street lights. Stillwater rolled up the streets as the sun set, the entire downtown businesses locked light by 7 p.m., at the latest. The pharmacy and Jack's General Store were the last to close.

As Tony prepared to turn, heading back home for a hot shower, his cell phone trilled. Slowing to a walk, he answered the call. "DiNozzo."

"Sheriff, we have a missing adolescent. Possible runaway."

Recognizing the gravelly voice, Tony asked for more information. "Who is it, Manny?"

"Chris Kingston, Chuck Winslow's grandson. I don't think he's in danger. We're at his mother's house. I've sent the address and directions to your phone."

"Good. I've been running, so I'm a little ripe. Let me clean up. I'll be there, fifteen minutes tops. You've called the others?"

"They're on the way." There was a pause. "Emily, his mom, isn't too worried, but she still thought it was better to err on the side of caution and call us in. Chuck is on the rampage. He's furious that we're involved."

"Appreciate the heads up." Tony cut the call, laughing when he realized he didn't say goodbye. Some of Gibbs' bad habits seemed to have stuck to him.

Kicking into high gear, Tony ran for home. Blasting through his front door, he dove into the shower, happy that his fancy new water heater worked so quickly. Staying under the spray just long enough to rinse the sweat away, it wasn't long before his body was dry and in his uniform.

Emily Winslow Kingston had moved herself and her son out of Chuck Winslow's house less than a week after her husband's arrest for murder. After years under her father's control, Emily had finally found her own strength.

According to Effie Mae Venable, the fount of all knowledge of the town's inhabitants, Emily threatened to leave, not only Stillwater, but the state, if her overbearing father didn't back off. He did, but reluctantly.

Christopher Kingston was now thirteen years old and rebellious. His antics were egged on by his grandfather who, again according to Effie Mae, didn't want the boy to be a sissy, a mama's boy. Old-fashioned slurs, but considering what Tony had heard about Winslow and his faithful sidekick, Ed Gantry, when they were young, not surprising. Chuck Winslow, a bully his whole life, considered anyone different as threatening.

Tony had found incident reports, buried by Gantry, showing some relatively minor acts, from vandalism to petty shoplifting, that didn't make it past the report stage. Between Chuck paying damages and Ed refusing to pursue help for the boy, or even hold him responsible for his actions, it wouldn't surprise Tony if the boy's acting out escalated.

Arriving at Emily Kingston's modest bungalow, Tony saw the front yard was filled with deputies. He was met on the front porch by Deputy Manny Alvarez. The stocky deputy rubbed at his white-flecked beard.

"The kid back yet?" Tony asked.

"No. He was supposed to come straight home from school. The bus came, driver told the mother that Chris got off at a friend's stop. She called the friend's mom, who dragged her son to the phone. After some hemming and hawing, it came out that Chris took their ATV and headed up to Harvey's Lake."

"Gibbs, Jethro Gibbs has a cabin in that area." Tony frowned. "Does Chris have friends up there?"

"Not according to his mother," Manny replied.

"Okay." Tony whistled loudly, getting everyone's attention. "Bubba, you and Lauraine go to the friend's house, see what else you can find out. Chris, stay here with Mrs. Kingston in case her son returns home. Call me if he does. Robbie, get a list of his other close friends. Split the list with Bubba and Lauraine. See if they know anything that might be helpful. Manny, you and I will head up to Harvey's Lake. Let's go."

He watched with a smile as his people, his team, responded by heading to their cars or, in the case of Chris and Robbie, back to the house.

"DiNozzo!" A voice barked from the porch.

A quick grimace passed across Tony's face before he turned to face Chuck Winslow, no sign of his annoyance showing. "Mr. Winslow?"

"Is all this necessary? My grandson is merely having some fun. A little harmless teenage rebellion."

"Probably. But he's heading to an area that apparently he's not familiar with in the dark. Anything could happen. It's our job to try to prevent that. With luck, we find him unharmed, bring him home with a flea in his ear about scaring his mom."

Tony could see Winslow drawing himself up in preparation to blast this outsider, this man who must remind him of Gibbs, for even considering telling his grandson off for actions that Winslow thought acceptable.

"Thank you, Sheriff DiNozzo. That would be most helpful," Emily Kingston said, coming up behind her father, a weary smile on her face. "I'm only his mother, so what I say doesn't go very far lately. I can't thank all of you enough for coming so quickly after I called."

"That's their job," Winslow said dismissively.

"Dad!"

"Mr. Winslow is correct. That is our job." With a nod, Tony turned on his heel, heading to the car where Manny waited.

"Take one vehicle? One of us can drive the ATV back," Manny suggested.

"As long as you take the ATV. You know the area better. I'd probably get lost if I went cross-country. Or get attacked by a rabid chipmunk."

On the way to Harvey's Lake, Tony received a call from Bubba. "What did you find out?"

"The Kingston kid wants to trash your former boss' cabin."

"Why?"

"He blames Gibbs for his father's incarceration."

"That was years ago, so maybe my question should be, why now?" Tony wondered.

"He overheard Jackson Gibbs talking about his son moving here once he retired. From what Lauraine got out of his friend, he mentioned it to his grandfather and the old man went ballistic."

"Great. Okay, appreciate the update. Just in case, get with Robbie on the friends list. I'll call if we find the kid."

"Got it."

After hanging up, Tony turned to Manny. "You heard?"

"Boy's got some serious anger. Might make him dangerous," Manny observed.

"Maybe. But I still don't want to go in hot and heavy. That could turn a bad situation uch worse."

Manny slowed the car as the road became a rough trail. They bumped along, the headlights causing horror movie type shadows. Both men had their windows wide open, the sounds of nightlife filling the car.

"Stop." Tony put his hand on Manny's arm.

Manny stopped, looking at Tony, waiting for an explanation.

Tapping his ear, Tony grinned. "Superior hearing. Listen."

"I don't…" His head cocked, the deputy began to slowly nod. "An engine. Not moving."

"How close are we to Gibbs' cabin?"

"As the crow flies, easy walking distance. The trail wraps around, so about half a mile."

"There's a decent moon out. Do you think you can drive up without lights?"

"Yeah, shouldn't be a problem."

"Good."

Headlights off, they crept slowly toward the cabin. As they moved closer, Tony could see that Chris was using the ATV's lights to let him do his damage to the cabin. The windows had been shattered. Currently the boy was spraying obscenities on the walls.

Growling in anger, Tony jumped out of the passenger side of the patrol car, quickly making his way to the cabin. "Christopher Kingston, drop that paint can!"

The boy jumped, spinning around, wild-eyed. He cocked his arm back, throwing the can straight at Tony.

Although he saw it at the last minute, Tony tried to turn his head away. Unfortunately, the can's speed was faster. Tony felt the bottom edge of the can clip him hard on his right cheekbone. The pain radiated from the contact point. "Shit!"

"Sheriff, you okay?" Manny called, striding to where Chris was standing in shock.

"Yeah, give me a minute. Son of a bitch, this hurts."

"I…I…I didn't mean…" Chris shivered as Manny manhandled him to the patrol car.

"I know, Chris. Hell of an arm on you." Tony was taking in deep breaths in an effort to ride the pain out.

"Chris, you're going in the back of the car."

"Am I under arrest?"

"That'll be up to the sheriff and the owner of this property." Seeing the anger fighting to break through the fear, Manny frowned. "You're blaming the wrong person for your dad being in prison."

Chris huffed.

Tony had walked to the car, appearing behind them. "Chris, do you know why your father is in prison?"

"He killed some guy bugging my mom."

Tony exchanged a pained look with Manny. "Have you asked your mom about it?"

Chris pulled his sleeve under his nose, sniffing back tears. "She kept telling me I was too young, so I finally quit asking. Grandpa told me a little."

Manny pulled a military-style flashlight from his belt, turning it on while reaching for Tony's chin.

Tony reared back. "What are you doing?"

"Checking to see if anything is broken." Ignoring Tony's efforts to get away, Manny carefully checked the injury. "That is gonna be a nasty bruise by time the morning."

"Stop poking at it!" Tony pulled away. "It isn't broken. Trust me, I'd know."

"How's the pain?"

"Still hurts like hell, but once we get back, I'll slap some frozen peas on it."

"Shouldn't you see a doctor?" Chris asked from the backseat.

"Glad to see someone has a lick of sense. The kid's right. You'll be seeing Doc Evans as soon as we get back to town."

"Aw, c'mon, Manny."

"I don't want to hear it. Park it in the passenger side. I'm driving both of you back."

"What about the ATV?" Tony asked.

"I'll drive it to the barn in the back. Someone can come tomorrow and pick it up. Sit!" Manny stalked off, climbing on the ATV seat and moving to the barn.

"I'm sorry, Sheriff."

"I know you are, Chris. I'll speak to your mom. I think it is past time for you to hear the truth. After she's done, if you need to talk to someone or have any questions, come see me." Tony met Chris' eyes in the rearview mirror. "I was there. I'll answer any of your questions that I can. Okay?"

"Yeah."