Chapter Seven
Since he kept spare clothes in his study, Tony changed into jeans, chambray shirt, and suede zip up jacket and pair of Ralph Lauren moccasins. For the neighborhood he was going to wearing a suit would have been like wearing a sign asking to be robbed. He was checking his Sig when Ziva entered the study.
"We have left you alone all day, even though Lessie wanted to see her Papa," said Ziva, "and now you are going out and you are armed. I demand that you tell me where you are going."
He smiled. She was demanding him to tell her where he was going. Somehow it endeared her to him more than angered him. It sounded like the old Ziva, the Ziva that he had long ago fallen in love with. He clipped his gun to his waist then he made sure that he had his badge and ID and the cash for Angelo.
"A CI called and I have to see him. He has information about the marines, which might be extremely useful in our investigation," he said.
"I will change, get my gun and go with you then. You need backup," she said.
"No. I'll be going alone, Ziva. Mario introduced me to him and I want to cultivate this relationship not scare him away," said Tony.
"I can be very nice, Tony," she purred making his stomach tie itself into a knot a little. It always did knot up when she used her sexy voice. She used it to tease. He tried not to let her know just how much of an effect that tone had on him.
"I know that you can be very nice, Zi, but I'm still going alone," he smiled.
"Tony, you need NCIS backup. You can't keep doing this alone. You need help. It is too dangerous for you to go it alone like a cowboy," Ziva said.
"Or like Gibbs used to do it," he said.
"You are not Gibbs," Ziva said.
"I've been told that before," Tony said.
"I'm glad you're not Gibbs, Tony. I didn't fall in love with Gibbs," she said.
Love. It was a word he didn't want to hear. Love complicated his life. He knew he still loved her, but he loved his wife and he still mourned her. Love was something he couldn't deal with now.
"ZI, after I left DC, I specialized in going it alone. I took me a long time to trust anyone again, so I went it alone. I sort of channeled Gibbs at time," he said.
"Are you saying you still don't trust me?" she asked unable to cover the hurt in her voice. "Is that what you are telling me, Tony?"
"I trust you with Lessie, the life of my daughter, which means I trust you with something even more important than my own life," he told her.
"Tony, there is nothing more important to me than your life," she said softly sounding as if she was afraid to admit what she said.
For a moment they allowed the silence to speak for them, as the lack of words was more eloquent than words.
"I trust you, Zi. But some things need to be done alone. This is one of them," he said.
"Well, I will just have to worry about you until you get back," she said. "I hope you do not have a problem with that."
"Just don't let Lessie see you worry about me. Life should be happy for her," he said.
"I will not," she replied.
NCIS
He parked his car three blocks away from Angelo's place and walked the rest of the way just in case there was someone watching his place or following him. It wasn't that he didn't trust Angelo because he didn't, but this final marine and mystery man were dangerous and he wanted to take precautions. The more information they had on the two dead marines the better the chance of catching the still living marine and the mystery man. Tony wanted both of them, so they could break them and get the brains and money behind the bombings.
He reached Angelo's building and quickly entered the apartment building and hustled up the steps. As he approached Angelo's door he saw that it was ajar. Tony drew his sidearm and continued through to the doorway. Slowly, he opened it then checked the small apartment from the doorway. It looked as if a fight had taken place. The table was overturned, pots on the floor, and a wooden chair broken.
He entered the apartment. The bedroom door was halfway open, so he proceeded to gently kick it open the rest of the way as he prepared to fire his weapon at anything or anyone that jumped out at him. Unfortunately, nothing jumped out at him. All he saw was the bloody body of Angelo lying on his bed. His throat had been cut and he had a long wound across the belly. He walked over to the body and checked the pulse. Angelo was most definitely dead.
Tony holstered his weapon then he reached for his smart phone when he heard the floorboards creak behind him. He turned in time to catch a stiletto cutting through his jacket and shirt and across his right forearm. It hurt like a bitch. The knife holder was a rough looking man who was a few inches shorter them him. The man pressed his advantage not allowing Tony to get to his sidearm, so he kicked out at the guy catching him on his left thigh.
The man stumbled back a bit. He was stronger than he looked. Tony started to reach for his sidearm again, but the man was quick and back on top of him. This time the stiletto sliced his left side, as Tony sidestepped being gutted with the stiletto. He managed this time to elbow the man in the face breaking his nose and blooding him. Unfortunately, it seemed to have little effect on his attack as he attempted to slip his stiletto into Tony's chest, but Tony managed to grab his wrist with his left hand then head butt him with everything he had in the face causing the man to lose focus, so then Tony drew his sidearm with his right hand and fired three times into the man's chest.
The assailant stumbled backwards, fell then expired in a loud rattle on the floor. Tony holstered his sidearm then he pulled out his smart phone and speed dialed Mario.
"Rossi," he answered.
"I'm at Angelo's. He called me and told me he had something for me and to bring the money. I show up and his been murdered," said Tony.
"Who killed him?" asked Mario.
"The man I just killed," he said.
"Oh, shit, Anthony. The man you just killed. You killed him. There is no way of covering this up so no one knows it was you, is there?" he asked.
"Nope," said Tony.
"You can be a pain in my ass. I'm on my way. Do you need anything?" Mario asked.
"A doctor. He cut me a couple of times with a stiletto," Tony said.
"A stiletto? Sicilian assassins like to use stilettoes. They think it is artistic," said Mario. "I'll be right there."
Tony looked at his right forearm, which was bleeding badly. He didn't know which hurt more the knife wound or the fact his suede jacket was ruined. Next, he checked his left side. It was bleeding badly also, so he walked over to the kitchen sink and grabbed a towel he hoped was clean end applied pressure and the towel to his left side with his left hand.
"Shit," he sighed.
Angelo was dead. The assassin was dead. He had nothing. Okay, he had two knew nice scars, some blood loss, and a dead assassin to go along with Angelo. He didn't have very much at all.
NCIS
Mario brought Tony to the Antonio Cardarelli Hospital to get him sewn up. Unfortunately, Tony had to call Ziva to have her bring him new clothes since his shirt and jacket was ruined. Part of him dreaded the thought of having to call Ziva. The chances were that besides a shirt for him she'd be armed with a I told you so attitude.
When she arrived he was sitting in an examine table in a clinic like setting. There was a scrim blocking him from view, as he sat there with a shirt on.
"I should have come with you. I knew you needed backup and was just being vain," she hissed.
Her anger was obvious. He exhaled and looked at her. She handed him a loose fitting expensive hoodie.
"It's just a couple of scratches," he said.
"Scratches, Tony," Ziva said raising her voice.
She looked at his bandaged forearm and his bandaged left ribs then shook her head in frustration.
"I talked to the doctor. Eight stitches in the arm and fifteen stitches across the ribcage are not scratches, Tony," Ziva said.
"The Ziva David I knew would think they were scratches and she would make fun of me if I complained about them," he smiled.
"She made mistakes and ruined her friendship with Tony DiNozzo and she doesn't want to do the same with Tony DiNutso," she said.
"Zi, I'm fine. I mean it; I fine," he said then he moved and grimaced.
Ziva moved closer to him and softly stroked his cheek. Tony looked into her eyes and saw that she had tears forming in her eyes. A rush of guilt flooded through his body.
"Zi, I really am fine," he said.
"I could have lost you before I had a chance…," she paused. "You need painkillers."
"Even though this is Italy and I'm a SAC I still don't do well on painkillers," he said.
"I will take care of you and male sure that you do not embarrass yourself too much," Ziva said.
Mario walked around the scrim. He looked more than a little perturbed.
"Let me guess I'm in trouble for killing an Italian citizen," said Tony, as he gingerly put on the zip up hoodie then he zipped it up.
"No. You are fine. Our stiletto wielding assassin was Ginu Antibo. He's is a Sicilian assassin just like I feared that he was," Mario said. "They are ruthless, skilled, and if they are stopped their partner completes the job, Tony. I hope to Jesus you are not the target and that it was Angelo."
"Do you know who his partner is?" asked Ziva.
Mario looked at Ziva and smiled.
"Why does the beautiful woman want to know who the Sicilian assassin's partner is?" Mario asked.
"Because she is a Mossad trained assassin and she is going to protect him from the bastard," she answered.
Mario smile grew. He sensed there was something between Tony and Ziva. It amused him.
"Salvatore Fiorello is his known partner," said Mario told her.
"We should assume you are one of the targets, otherwise he would have just left after killing this Angelo," Ziva said to Tony.
"You'd think that the marine or mystery man would have killed me themselves rather than hire a Sicilian assassin to do it for them," Tony spoke up.
"Maybe they are getting cautious because you are getting closer to finding out something important about them, like their identities," Mario said.
"It doesn't matter the whys or whos," said Ziva, "All that matters is that someone has a contract out on you and I need to protect you."
"Can I leave now?" asked Tony. "I'm all sewed up and ready to go home."
"I'll talk to the doctor for you," said Mario, who then left to get Tony his release.
"I will talk to Gibbs. He needs to know that I am on your six until this is over," said Ziva.
"Gibbs might not be too happy with me. I offered Cassie the position of supervisory agent of one of our MCRT and I didn't ask him," he said.
"Why didn't you ask me?" she asked him.
"Because, Zi, once this is done I'm asking Vance to ship me back to the states," he said.
"And you don't want to leave me here?" she asked him with her voice conveying more than she wanted to convey.
"I thought you'd prefer to go back home," he said.
Mario came back with Tony's gun in its holster: "Here you go."
He handed Tony his weapon. Tony looked at it for a few moments.
"I know that you left me on the hook, but Director Albert is going to have to the shooting checked out by IAD," sighed Tony.
"Get out of here. I should have a sit down with the local boss of the Camorra," Mario said to him.
"Great. I'll be ready for it. Just give me a call," he said.
"I will be going this time," said Ziva.
Both men turned to argue with her, but decided not to when they studied the expression on her face: it was sheer determination. Tony stood up and clipped his sidearm to his pants then grimaced again. Just then the doctor appeared with a small paper cup and a prescription.
"Here, these are painkillers for your side. It will be hurting you for a few days," he said to Tony and handed him the small paper cup.
Instead of arguing Tony swallowed them dry then made a face of disdain.
"Here is a prescription for more," he said.
Ziva grabbed the prescription: "I will take care of this for him."
NCIS
When they got back to Tony's place, Ziva put him to bed. In the car he started to compare the performance of Marlon Brando performance as a boxer and Christian Bale playing a boxer, as the pills started to make him goofy.
"Brando was sublime, a perfect mix of man and child in the body of a once great boxer. He's been beaten by life and listening to people he should be able to trust. Now, Bale's is a study in realism. His boxer has been defeated by drugs but he acts like a champ because he once knocked down Sugar Ray Leonard. Both won Oscars," he ran on.
"Which performance did you prefer, Zi?" he asked, as she drove.
"Brando's," she answered.
"Why?" he asked.
"He was better looking," she said with a devious smile.
"See and Gibbs said you had become a movie connoisseur. That would be like me preferring Julie Roberts' performance over Meryl Streep's performance because she has a great mouth. And she does. I mean she has those great lips, sensuous lips," he rattled on.
"Sounds like you'd prefer Julia Roberts to be driving you than me," snipped Ziva.
"No, Zi, I prefer you. She has a great mouth but you have everything else and I even prefer your mouth. And nothing can beat your eyes. I could lose myself in your eyes," he said not really in control of what he was saying.
Ziva bit her lower lip in order to stop herself from smiling. When they got back to Tony's villa, Jimmy offered to take Tony upstairs, but Ziva assured him that she could handle him. Tony didn't put up a fight.
In the morning he woke up with dry mouth and wondering how he ended up in bed wearing nothing but his underwear. He looked at the clock and it was eleven in the morning. Getting out of bed he put on a pair of Ralph Lauren khaki pants and a white linen dress shirt and headed down the stairs where he saw Alexandra, who looked like a million dollars and few hundred thousand dollars in change, in the living enjoying an espresso with Ziva. Lessie was sitting beside Ziva acting like a proper lady.
"Why am I not in work?" Tony.
"Because Director Albert gave you two days off after what happened last night. He also had me secure your sidearm because IAD is investigating the shooting. They will be talking to Inspector Rossi," Ziva answered. "Oh, and Gibbs wants to talk to you."
"Uh huh," said Tony, as he entered the living room.
"Morning, Papa," Lessie said.
"Morning, Luce, you look beautiful in your cargo pants and shirt, just like Auntie Ziva" he said.
"Not Aunt Zibra, but Zibra. She is my special friend," said Lessie.
"That's nice, honey," he said then he looked at Ziva. "Where are Bree and Jimmy?"
"Getting plane tickets as well as doing some final shopping, they leave in two days," answered Ziva.
"Good, I'm glad they are doing what I said to do. At least, someone listens to me," he said.
"But not everyone," added Ziva teasing him.
Alexandra watched as Tony thought about saying something to her and then changed his mind and gave her a big fake smile.
"Where is . Hayes?" he asked Ziva.
"I sent him to the store to buy a few things. Lessie told me what she likes to eat," Ziva answered.
"Well, we know who is in charge when I'm not around," he said with a smile.
Alexandra noticed the give and take between him and Ziva and didn't like it. They seemed to have a deep relationship with each other that couldn't be hid. Tony sat down with a slight groan of pain from the knife wound in his side.
"Should I get you painkillers?" Ziva asked him.
Lessie turned her head and looked at him with the same head tilt as Ziva. She was mimicking everything Ziva did. He wanted to laugh.
"Life must be playing a strange joke on me," said Tony to himself.
"Papa is funny," Lessie said to Ziva, who nodded yes.
"Why are you here, Alex?" he asked.
"I need to speak to you in private, Tony," she said.
"Lessie and I will be upstairs in her room. I promised to read her a book," Ziva said sweetly.
Ziva stood up and then she lifted Lessie into her arms.
"By, Papa. Ciao, Alexandra," Lessie said and Ziva carried her away.
"So, how can I help you, Alexandra?" he asked.
"Well, the letter Alessia left for me, it was about you and Lessie. She wrote it just in case. She said that if I was reading it she died leaving the two people she cared most in life alone. She wanted me to make sure the two of you were well taken care of. And she wanted to make sure that her parents and you got along," she said.
"Alex, we both know that her parents hold me to blame for her death and that they want me to give up my daughter to them so they can raise her. We aren't getting along and we never will," he said.
"Tony, you must understand that her parents are in pain. They…," she started to further explain but he cut her off.
"They tried to kidnap my daughter out of my home. They will see her only if I let them and I am not letting them," he growled.
"Who is this Ziva?" Alexandra asked.
"She was my former partner in DC," he answered.
"Did you have a sexual relationship with her?" she asked bluntly.
"No and if we did it would be none of your business," Tony said.
"You seem rather close to her, almost intimate," Alexandra said. "I don't know if I approve."
"Alex, you came here to convince me not to punish Matteo and Savina," he said. "You can tell them you tried but it didn't work. I'm not in a forgiving mood and they overstepped a line."
She stood up: "I tried. I will tell Alessia's parents that I tried but you are not in a reasonable mood."
"Tell them whatever you need to tell them, Alex, but they are not seeing Lessie anytime soon," he said then he leaned back in the armchair and let her leave.
Alexandra left. Soon Lessie and Ziva came down the stairs. Tony watched them as they came down the stairs and wondered if he should send Lessie back to the states with Bree and Jimmy. It would be safer for her, especially if someone had a hit out on him.
"You look thoughtful," said Ziva.
"I thought I looked pensive," he said.
"Same thing," smiled Ziva.
"Papa, can we play?" she asked.
"Luce, Papa is kaput. He is in pain, tired, and pensive. Why don't you play on your own for a while and maybe later I'll be in the mood to play," he said.
Ziva put her down and she limped over to Tony with her cast. Tony leaned forward in his chair and his daughter gave him a kiss on the cheek. He couldn't send her away, he thought. How could he live without those kisses?
NCIS
"DiNozzo," he heard Gibbs call his name waking him from his chair in his study where he had fallen asleep reading personnel files.
"Shit," he said to himself. "Remember, Tony, you're a special agent in charge and he's a supervisory agent."
He got up, opened the door and walked into the living. Through the glass doors he saw Hayes and Lessie playing with Jimmy and Bree in the backyard. Looking around he didn't see Ziva. It was just him and Gibbs.
"Gibbs," he said.
"You promoted Cassie without asking me," he said.
"Tomas Savard will be great for your team and McGee will make a damned good SFA. I needed her for my MCRT," he said.
"Tony, it doesn't make a difference. You should have asked me. She was one of my agents," Gibbs said.
"Rule…," he was about to spout rule 18 when Gibbs cut him off.
"Rule number one – don't screw your partner," Gibbs said. "You screwed me."
"Oh yeah, well, rule 16 – if someone thinks that they have the upper hand, break it," said Tony.
Gibbs smiled: "No one learned my rules better than you."
"Drink?" asked Tony.
Gibbs looked at his watch: "It five o'clock. Ziva said dinner would be ready in an hour. Abby, Ducky and McGee will be here in a half hour and Cassie has already started forming her team leaving me with breaking in Agent Savard. I need a drink."
"What's Ziva cooking?" he asked.
"Spaghetti and meatballs. Lessie told her it was her favorite, so she is cooking it. Her wish is Ziva's command," Gibbs said.
Tony walked over to the bar and poured them each a MaCallan's. He handed Gibbs his drink then received a head slap.
"What was that for?' he asked. "I thought I taught you better than that. You walked in a trap without backup. You could have been killed."
"I was sure it wasn't a trap," said Tony as he sat down.
Gibbs sat across from him on the sofa.
"I've lost Ziva to you, also. She has turned herself into your fulltime bodyguard and Director Albert okayed it," Gibbs said. "Now we have to find who sold the Russian plastic explosive with McGee and a damned Probie."
"He's more than a probie, Gibbs," said Tony. "He has combat and CID experience and knows how to use computers. I mean he's your idea of an investigator wet dream."
Gibbs lifted his eyebrow in annoyance: "You're still the best agent I ever worked with, DiNozzo."
"Yeah, but I never was a marine," he said.
"You could have been one," Gibbs said.
Coming from Gibbs that was the highest form of compliment, Tony was touched.
"Thanks, boss," he said.
"McGee has found a total of sixty-eight marines in the sixth fleet served in Afghanistan at the same time as Landry and Morrison. He is going to check and double check each and every one and see if we can come up with that third marine," Gibbs told him.
"Sixty-eight. Poor probie is going to be busy for weeks on that," said Tony.
"I don't care how long it takes as long as we find the bastard," said Gibbs.
"I know," sighed Tony then he took a swig of his drink.
"Let's go out in the back and play with your daughter," said Gibbs.
"I guess she has you wrapped around her finger," said Tony.
"Guilty as charge," smiled Gibbs.
