Chapter Six
The Brothers of Italy Club was located in Bella vista. For his last night in town before going back to New York Johnny wanted to see some of the guys he grew up with before leaving. Tony was told to go with him and keep him out of trouble. Where Johnny wore chinos and dress shirt and sports coat along with his wool overcoat, Tony wore a black Armani suit, with a light blue dress shirt, no tie, and a camel hair overcoat.
"So you're leaving before New Year's Eve," Tony said, as they were being driven to the club.
"I got friends in New York I want to be with," said Johnny.
"I heard you got the Rhodes Scholarship," said Tony.
"Yeah, Tonio, I did," he smiled. "I'm going over this summer and I'll be gone a year or two. I might head over to Italy afterwards."
Eddie drove them the short distance from Tony's apartment to the club. They got out of the car and a cold wind sent a chill through Tony. He was supposed to take care of Johnny. Who was supposed to take care of him?
They went into the club. There were twenty or so guys there, a couple of waitress, the bartender on duty and a table set up with a buffet of food.
"Tonio," some of the them called out.
Tony had become popular among the men. They liked his style and his smarts, as well as respected that he was being groomed for something big.
"Hey, Tony," called Johnny to Tony Marino.
"Tonio, Johnny, we got a nice buffet catered by Mangini's and free booze tonight. It sort of early New year's and going away party," said Tony. "Who knows, there may be a stripper or two later, so we can expect hummers in the backroom."
Tony and Johnny sat and Johnny looked over at Tony.
"I'm glad you're marrying into my family more than the mooks here. My mother and father don't understand why I hate coming home. I don't belong here anymore," Johnny confessed to him.
"They take some getting used to," smiled Tony.
"I don't know how you do it, Tonio. I see you. You're mind is always working. Yeah, your charm is natural, but everything else about you is thought out. You're a man who likes to keep walls up and control of yourself. I'd hate to be the bastard you lose control with," said Johnny.
"Let me get us a couple of drinks. What will you have?" Tony asked him.
"Nice deflection. I'll have Jack Daniels on the rocks," said Johnny.
Tony waved the waitress over: "Two Jack Daniels on the rocks. And remember, I don't want to have to ice skate on my drink. Not too many rocks."
"Sure," she said then trotted off.
"My sister loves you," Johnny said. "Do you love her?"
"Johnny, I can assure you that Antonio DiNatale loves Gina," he smiled.
It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the complete truth. Tony DiNozzo didn't love her. He liked her and he felt guilt over what he was doing. But there was no real love there. Attraction, occasionally lust, but not love. If he ever had to do an undercover assignment where he needed to string a woman along, he was determined to fall in love with her.
Three or four drinks into the evening, a stripper showed up. She was attractive and most of the men preened for her and pawed her, except for Johnny and Tony. They remained slightly reserved, slightly above the rest of them.
"Too bad, I can't have you and Gina at one my New York parties," said Johnny. "I don't think you'd be out of place there."
"Sometimes I think I'm out of place everywhere," smiled Tony.
"I know that feeling," Johnny said then he leaned forward and whispered to Tony. "I'm the gay son of a mafia don. How's that for out of place, handsome?"
Tony chuckled.
"I like to read and play the piano besides watch movies," said Tony. "We all have our secret selves we hide from everyone else."
"I'm glad my sister found you. I kind I wish I found you first," smiled Johnny.
"I'll take that as a compliment," Tony said.
"It is," said Johnny.
Charlie Santini walked up to their table. He was known as a malcontent, though; no one disputed his work as a trigger man.
"Hey, Johnny, you're going back to the Big fucking rotten Apple, huh? Can you take this mamaluke with you? He's a fucking interloper poaching our best fucking women," he drawled more than slightly drunk.
"Charlie, go have another drink. We don't need this kind of shit tonight," said Johnny.
"Jesus, have you got a boner for this bastard here, too?" Charlie asked Johnny as he patted Tony shoulder. "you're just like your sister."
Tony could feel thee eyes on him watching and waiting for his reaction. He knew he had to respond but he wanted to wait for the right moment.
"I mean it, Charlie, go away," said Johnny.
"Going to tell your daddy on me, Johnny," Charlie laughed at him.
"You should listen to him," said Tony in a calm, even voice.
"I don't believe Gina sucks your…," Charlie growled.
Tony noticed the waitress walking by with a bottle of Seagram's Seven on her tray. Before Charlie could finish his crude remark, Tony was up and out of his chair. He grabbed the bottle of whiskey and smacked Charlie on the side of his head with it.
The bottle shattered against the man's thick skull, sending glass and whiskey all over the place. Charlie stumbled, as he was bleeding from the side of his head and ear. Tony didn't hold up but threw a right hitting helminthes jaw and sending him over a table. Everyone cleared out of their way.
Tony picked up the table and tossed it aside so he had a clear path to Charlie. He knew if Charlie got up, he'd be dead so he attacked and attacked. His coach always said that the best defense was a good offense. Tony started to kick the prone man. He admitted that black oxford shoes weren't the best shoes to wear for kicking a man when he was down, but they served the purpose. Stomach, head, torso, and head again, he kicked and kicked until he was getting tired and Sammy and Al pulled him away.
Charlie lay there on the floor and unconscious and blood mess. He wasn't dead, but he was hurting. Johnny bent down beside him and checked him out.
"He needs to go to the hospital," said Johnny.
Tony had been breathing deeply, calmed himself. If Charlie lived he made an enemy who was deadly. It was the smartest move he'd ever made but he had to do something. When did I become Sonny Corleone? I don't even look like James Caan.
"I need two volunteers to take him and drop him off at an ER somewhere, Don't answer questions, just drop him off," said Tony.
Mikey Castriano and Sonny Costa volunteered to take him to the ER. They dragged his dead to the world body out of club and to a car. Johnny went to the bar and got Tony a drink. He made it a large stiff one then he handed it to him.
"Drink this," said Johnny.
"Sorry I lost my temper," Tony replied then he looked at Benny, who was a trusted underboss.
"He deserved it. If some of these balless bastards turn on you, want to make sure they understand the consequences. Good job, Tonio," said Benny. "I am worried you, though."
"You don't have to worry about me, Benny" smiled Tony then affectionately slapped the man's face.
"I'm starting to see that," Benny smiled back then he looked around. "Bring on the strippers. Let's get this fucking party back on track."
Tony sat back down with Johnny. On the outside he was calm, reasonable, and smiling, but on the inside he was shaking and on the verge of vomiting. Johnny looked over at him and studied him for a moment.
"You aren't who you seem to be," he said.
"Really, what am I?" asked Tony.
"You didn't want to do that to Charlie, but you knew you had no choice. Yeah, once you chose to go at him, you were a fucking animal, but you're heart wasn't in it," Johnny said.
"Hey, Johnny, why don't you change you major from literature to psych," said Tony.
"If I did that, Tonio, I would want to study you," laughed Johnny.
"Let's just get wasted and not study anything tonight," Tony said.
"You don't fool me, Tonio. There's more to you than there seems to be," he said.
"You just see what you want to see," he told Johnny.
"Nay, I don't think so," chuckled Johnny.
Tony didn't respond. He just keeps focusing on keeping his cool.
NCIS
"Because of you we know have enough to start burrowing into on the Clemenza Family's gun running and counterfeiting businesses," said Fornell. "You're the gift that keeps on giving. I mean we had people undercover before, even up to the level of capo, but you are being groomed to be a don. Amazing."
He sat across from Tony in a small diner outside of Pittsburgh. Tony was supposed to be gone on a three day weekend. He told Mike and Charles that after the negoitations with the Clemenza Family he just wanted a few days alone to sleep and sent him off with five grand in cash and a new Rolex.
Fornell looked at DiNozzo. He was exhausted from hiding from being himself. There were rumors that he'd put a man in the hospital last January. It was now September and he'd been undercover for seventeen long months. He'd delivered three computer discs filled with evidence, plus enough insider information for the FBI to start over a dozen investigations into Macaluso and Clemenza business dealings. To Delaney he delivered sixteen cops' names. All on the take and all now being investigated by IA, though they wouldn't be taken down until Tony was out of harm's way.
"We are setting up your disappearance," said Fornell.
"When?" asked Tony.
"Three weeks."
"Okay, you need to grab Gina and offer her a deal once you have me," he said.
"Why? You think she'll be willing to talk?" asked Fornell. "We are talking about her father and uncle here. Is she ready to inform on them?"
"Her brother lives in Italy teaching at some university in Rome now and she's jealous. She talks to me about moving away from Philly once we're married. She's ripe for an offer, Tobias. She wants out of her life," said Tony.
"She'd make a great witness," said Fornell. "What was it that changed her?"
"The fact that Charlie Santini almost killed me. I mean I only ended up with a bullet grazing my ribs and another buried in my thigh muscle, but it was enough to scare her straight. She wants me out of the life and she wants to move away," he said.
"What happened to Charlie?" asked Fornell.
"I'm not sure I can answer that with getting myself into trouble," said Tony nervously sipping his coffee.
"DiNutso, I know you had nothing to do with it whatever it was," said Fornell.
"But what if I could have stopped it, Tobias," said Tony.
"Man tried to kill you and your almost a fucking family member of the Macaluso Family. The only way for you to keep your cover is to shut up and watch him get killed," said Fornell. "What happened to him?"
"Benny Rossi and Al Mancino took him for a swim in the Delware," said Tony. "I found out about it after the act."
"I know, Tony," said Fornell. "You know this place has geat pie, you want a piece."
"Sure," he said.
Fornell waved over the waitress: "Two pieces of banna cream pie."
"Oky, honey," she said then walked away.
"I ever tell you about my friend who works at NIS?" he asked Tony. He was the he needed to get his mind off of things.
"Not much," he said. "You mentioned him once."
"You got a good memory, DiNutso," Fornell said. "He's an ex-marine, a sniper, a real hard ass. He's a brilliant investigator, once he gets a case he doesn't let it go. He's like a dog with a bone. He just keeps chewing on it. Well, they keep trying to pair him with a senior field agent. The poor sons-of-bitches last weeks or months with him. He finally has someone who seems like he might last, Stan, he's been with him two years now, but now the rest of the team is constantly in flux. He's got a set of standards and if you can't keep that standard up then good bye. We ended up with a couple of his throwaways."
"Undercover work is enough tension for me. If I ever work with a partner again I want it to be fun, easy; I don't need a hard ass on my case," said Tony.
The pie came and Tony sampled it. He had to admit that it was delicious, better than he thought it would be. Fornell ate a few bites of his pie then looked at Tony.
"When we grab Gina, do you want to be there?" he asked.
"No. She'll feel betrayed by me after this goes down. She might say no to your offer just to spite me. Let's face it, I'm going to hurt her and she's going to hate me," he said.
"I'll handle her personally," said Fornell.
"Thanks Tobias," he said then he sighed. "I do want you to tell her one things: if she is ever in trouble, all she has to do is contact you and you'll contact me and I'll do anything for her."
"You sure you want to make that kind of offer. It might come back to bite you on the ass," said Fornell.
"Yeah, tell her I'll do anything for her when she needs it," he said.
"Okay, I will," said Fornell, who took another bite of his pie. "Delaney has a job lined up for you. I personally think you should come work for me, but I told him I'd relay the offer."
"Let's hear it?" said Tony.
"Baltimore homicide detective," he said.
"Really, homicide detective. Baltimore," he said excitedly, some life coming back into him. "One of my favorite movies is Diner. Mickey Rourke, Tim Daly, Kevin Bacon, Steve Guttenberg, Paul Reiser, and Daniel Stern. Ellen Barkin is one of the only women in it. Greak flick."
"Never seen it," said Fornell.
"Rent it," demanded Tony.
"Delaney said that Baltimore expects you to take some decompression time before you join he department. They don't want a burnout," he said.
"I'll take a couple of weeks and go to Atlantic City or something," smiled Tony.
"I thought you came from money. Don't you have some summer home you can go off to?" said Fornell.
Tony's green eyes darkened. The last time he heard from his father it was to tell him he was getting divorced and the the trucking company was being sold and he was going into business consulting. Tony got nothing from the deal, but his father wanted him to know. He had his mother's inheritance but he wasn't going to squander that.
"Not really a member in good standing with my family," was all he said.
Fornell let the comment slide.
"So, three weeks from tomorrow, here's how it is going to go down for you," Fornell started to explain to him.
NCIS
It was a simple plan. He is seen buying a Philly cheese steak at Geno's when a car would pull up and Two FBI agents would take him into custody. They make a show of it. He'd be put in the car and they wouldn't stop driving until they were in DC where he would be debrief for a week then two weeks vacation then Baltimore.
"Honey," Gina said to him as they lay in bed. "How about we announce our engagement and wedding plans?"
Tony tensed up.
"Not yet," he said more harshly then he meant to.
"Why not?" she asked.
"We got some things to deal with. Once they are dealt with we'll make the announcement. Give me a month," he said.
"Once we are married, I'm going to want you to get out of the family business. I don't care if my father never talks to me again. I don't want you to become like my father and uncle," Gina said.
"Don't worry, baby cakes, we'll talk about that later," he said then kissed her.
He chose his black Armani because it wore well under difficult circumstances and a drive to DC was difficult circumstances. No tie tonight, he thought, just a trench coat and a crisp white shirt.
Like most nights there was a crowd at Geno's. He and Benny stood in line when then a four door navy blue '98 Pontiac Bonnevile pulled up and and Fornell and another FBI got out of the car.
Fornell looked at Tony: "Antonio DiNatale."
"What do you care?" said Tony.
Fornell flashed his ID: "FBI. You're coming with us."
"Tonio, what are you going to do?" Benny asked in a panic.
"I'm going to go with the man. Go tell Mike and Charles," he ordered.
Tony then stepped forward and let them put handcuffs on him and escort him into the car. Fornell got into the backseat with him. The other FBI drove off. When they were well cleare of the area, Fornell undid the cuffs. The end of the op happened quietly, without fanfare or trouble.
"Welcome back Tony DiNozzo," he said.
"Good to be back," Tony said as he sunk back into the seat. "You still are going to take care of Gina?"
"It's being arranged. I'm escorting you to DC then going back to Philly. I'll deal with her," Fornell said.
"Thanks, Tobias."
"We just helped me with my career. No thanks needed," he smiled.
Tony looked out of the car window. He felt exhausted, but he also felt like a weight had been lifted. That was the last long term undercover he'd ever do again. It was morally and physically exhausting. The Macaluso's are going to hate me when they find out Antonio DiNatale was a cop.
Chapter Seven
Baltimore
The FBI put him up in Sheraton on K street. It was a nice run, not that he spent much time in it. Every day for almost eight hours a day, two to three FBI agents would debrief him, duble checking, triple checking his stories and information. Every night he went to the same pizza parlor and ordered himself several slices of pizza with extra cheese, sausage and pepperoni. After nine days, they had finally finished with him.
Special Agent Lane sat across from Tony with a smile.
"We are finally done," he said.
"This was starting to become like that movie Groundhog Day with Bill Murray. Every day the same day. It was starting to drive me nuts," said Tony.
"Special Agent Fornell has a message for you," said Lane. "His message is she took the deal and will be entering witness protection."
Tony nodded. At least Gina would be safe. He had done at least one thing right.
"So I am a free man. I can go on vacation," Tony said.
"Where are you off to?" asked Lane.
"Atlantic City," he said.
NCIS
Instead of Atlantic City Tony went apartment hunting in Baltimore. For reasons he blamed his undercover work, he didn't want to live in Little Italy, so he chose Fells Point. On Thames Stree he found a nice one bedroom apartment above an antique sore. It had a great view of the harbor and gave him the feeling of seculsion.
He went on a shopping spree buying buying a bed, sofa, chairs, dishes, kitchen stuff, books, and a VCR to start rebuilding his movie collection once again. Somewhere in New York was his mother's baby grand piano but he was ready for that. Once his apartment was settled he bought himself a '97 black Corvette Coupe. After so long in an undercover assingment this was his chance at a normal life and he wanted that chance.
The first week he got his apartment together and the second week he didn't leave it. He watched TV, read books, ate delivery. By the time Monday morning came he was ready to get back to work.
Having spent two years in suits, he showed up for work in jeans, an OSU grey tee shirt, a red zip up OSU hoodie, and a leather jacket. He showed up in the homicide detectives' squad room looking for the Major, who was in charge of homicide.
"You DiNozzo?" Major frank Raimey asked him then offer him his hand to shake.
"Yes, sir," he said then shook his had.
"You've been to personnel yet?" Major asked him.
"Yes, sir, I've got my ID, badge, and department issued cellphone. Never really carried one before," he said with a smile.
"Cellphone means you now a homicide detective and on call twenty hours a day," Major told him.
"I can live with that," Tony said.
"I've your service firearm at my desk. Let's go into my office and chat then I'll assign you to a parner," said Raimey.
Raimey's office was filled with momentos and photos from mayor to governor to family and even Cal Ripken and Brooks Robinson. Tony sat across from him as he sat there and stared at his new junior grade detective. He slid his service sidearm over to Tony. It was a 9mm. Beretta. Tony stood up and attached the holster to his belt on his right side then sat back down.
"No homicide experience, so I'm putting together with Kirsh. He retires in six months, which gives you six months to learn from him," Raimey. "Let me introduce you to Kirsh. You can take the desk next to him."
"Thank you, Major," said Tony.
Det. Herman Kirsh had been a Baltimore cop for twenty years which meant he had seen it all and developed a hard-shell of snark to deal with what he'd seen.
They walked into the squad room and up to the desk where Kirsh sat. He was a white haired, pug faced man who was at least three donuts overweight. Major and Tony walked up to his desk.
"Herman, this is your new and last partner," said Major.
Kirsh looked up from his report and stared at Tony.
"I get a male model instead of a cop," said Kirsh.
Tony smiled. He immediately took a liking to Kirsh.
"No arguments, Herman," Major said then he pointed to the desk across from Kirsh. "That's your desk, DiNozzo."
Major walked away.
"Dinozzo, jeez, I get an Italian, too. Couldn't my last partner be a nice Jewish boy I could introduce to my daughter," he said to himself.
"If it makes you feel better I'm half Italian and half English," Tony prodded him.
"What's the English name?" asked Kirsh.
"Paddington."
"Shit, I'm working with Paddington Bear," chuckled Kirsh.
Tony smiled. Yeah, he liked Kirsh.
Kirsh' telephone rang. He answered it.
"Yeah, yeah, I got it," he hung then looked at Tony. "Grab a notepad, a pen, medical gloves in the top drawer and follow me. We got a body. And I drive."
Their unmarked car was '97 navy blue Ford Crown Victoria. Their destination was the middleclass neighborhood of Waverly. A teenage girl found her mother murdered in the kitchen when she came home early from school. She forgot her books.
The house was the first one in line of a series of row houses. Each house was the exactly the same as the other. A cop car was parked in front of the house along with ME vehicle and forensic people.
"Watch and listen, kid, and learn. Oh, and take notes," said Kirsh.
They exited the car and walked into the house. The forensic boys were taking pictures and measurements. The body was on the floor, a woman around thirty-five, with her head bashed in. Tony looked at the body. The blood was pooled around her head and her face forever deformed.
"So, someone mashed her face in," said Kirsh. "Is it a robbery?"
"Don't know yet?" said one of the uniformed officers. "We are waiting for the father to come home."
"Shit, where is the daughter?" asked Kirsh.
"Up in her room with my partner. I got female partner," said the uniformed cop.
"Hey, Mikey," said Kirsh to one of the forensic men, "what do you think did this to her?"
"A really heavy blunt object," he said.
Tony looked at the sink which had dishes sitting in soapy water. One of the dishes was a heavy cast iron frying pan. He took his medical glove out and put it on and picked up the handle which was in the water. Emptying the water out he put he frying pan down then released the pan and looked at his glove. There was blood on his glove then he looked at the soapy water and saw a reddish tinge to the water.
"What the hell are you doing, Paddington Bear?" Kirsh asked Tony.
"Discovering the murder weapon. There blood on this frying pan," he said.
"Which was in the water?" asked Kirsh.
"Yup."
"Domestic murder. I bet nothing is missing. I bet the husband and the wife had a fight and he smacked her with a pan then panicked and dump the pan in the water and left," said Kirsh then he looked at Tony. "Very good, Sherlock. Maybe it will be easy to break you in."
"What do we do next?" asked Tony.
"Blood and probably fingerprints on the frying pan. I say when the father gets here we take him in for questioning and see if we can't break him quickly," said Kirsh.
"I look forward to seeing you interrogate him," said Tony.
"I'm not interrogating him. I've never interrogated anyone before," Tony said.
"So, now are you chance to develop your style," he said.
NCIS
Edward Hunter sat in the interrogation room, a shabby, dull little room with a table, some chairs and a two way mirror. Major Raimey, Kirsh, and several others stood waiting in the observation room waiting for Tony. With perfect timing Tony walked in. He came in and sat down across from Hunter.
"Eddie, do you mind if I call you Eddie?" Tony asked.
"No sure, go ahead," he said.
"Eddie, I'd request a lawyer if I were you. Guilty men need a lawyer," Tony said.
In the observation room, Major sighed but Kirsh laughed.
"What are you laughing at?" asked Major.
"I think I understand the kid. Watch," he said.
"I'm not guilty," said Hunter.
"Then you don't need a lawyer?" said Tony.
"No, I don't," said Hunter.
In the observation room, Major looked at the technician recording the interrogation.
"You get that?" he asked.
"Yup," he answered.
Major looked at Kirsh.
"The kid is a natural," he smiled.
Tony smiled. It was one of his 'I'm harmless and friendly' smiles.
"Eddie, I'm sorry about the wife," he said.
"Thanks."
"I bet she was a sweetheart," he said.
"Yeah, she was the best. I was a lucky man."
"I can tell. Some guys end up with nagging wives, who make their lives miserable. Some guys live with that their whole lives. Can you imagine being nag at every day?" Tony said.
"Yeah, sure," he said.
"Eddie, I tell you if I had a wife like that I'd go bonkers, crazy. I might even smack her. Is that wrong?" asked Tony.
"I guess not under the certain circumstances. I can understand," he said.
"Of course you can," Tony said.
"I… I think I need a…," he started to speak.
"A cast iron frying pan, Eddie. Why not the back of your hand?" asked Tony.
"She called me a loser. I'm sick of her calling me a loser," he said.
"You didn't have to kill her, though, Eddie," said Tony.
"I didn't mean to. Believe me, I didn't mean to," Hunter said.
In the observation room, Major and Kirsh chucked.
"That kid has a fucking gift," said Major.
"The next six months might be easy than I thought," said Kirsh.
NCIS
Kirsh invited Tony to dinner that night at his home on Park Heights Avenue near a Jewish Community Center. His wife died two years ago. His daughter who was a student at John Hopkins still lived at home. She was twenty-two and an attractive earthy brunette with light brown eyes. When they arrived she had made them a meatloaf with mashed potatoes and corn.
"Tony, this is my daughter Sarah, which means princess in Hebrew, and she is my princess," he said.
"You speak Hebrew?" asked Tony.
"God, no. I've barely mastered English," he laughed.
"Dad, behave yourself," said Sarah.
They sat down at the dining room table. She went and got them food then herself, while her father got them each a Budweiser Beer. It was the kind of simple home life that Tony wished for but never experienced. You didn't have to dress for dinner or have a cook prepare it. It was normal, intimate, and family.
"So, Sarah, what are you studying to become?" he asked.
"A doctor, Tony," she said.
"I wanted her to marry a Jewish doctor so she is becoming a Jewish doctor," Kirsh said.
"Well, I bet she has no problem getting any man she wants to get," said Tony flashing his million dollar, movie star smile.
Sarah blushed, which her father noticed.
"Oh, shit, this kid is a freaking charmer," laughed Kirsh. "I'm going to have to keep my eye on him."
"You can trust me, Kirshy," said Tony.
"Kirshy," Kirsh repeated. His daughter laughed. "I have been on the force for near thirty years and no one ever called me Kirshy."
"I like is, dad," said Sarah.
"Okay, you can call me Kirshy, DiNozzo, but no one else," he said.