Back in the police station, Tom Eastman and Mike O'Neill sat at different desks at different parts of the office, looking nervous and uncomfortable. DiNozzo and Ziva stood talking to Sheriff Welch and glancing over at the men from time to time.
"Sheriff, I'm going to ask you to bring Winslow out of the interview room for a bathroom break. I want him to see that Eastman and O'Neill are helping us with our enquiries, if you know what I mean," DiNozzo said with a wink. The sheriff nodded, knowing exactly what his ruse was. He hoped that if Winslow saw the other two men, that he would realise that the game was up and start talking. He asked one of his officers to get Winslow and escort him to the men's room. Tony positioned himself at the desk where Eastman sat and Ziva sat talking to Mike O'Neill. By the time Winslow came out, it appeared that both men were deep in conversation with the two agents. He swallowed hard, fearing what they were saying. His confidence started to wane as he continued on to the men's room.
By the time he returned to the interview room, the sheriff was waiting to talk to him. Tony and Ziva stood in the viewing room.
"Seth, where have you been? Get me outta here, will you?" Winslow asked audaciously.
"I can't Chuck. This is a federal investigation. My hands are tied," Seth explained.
"Oh, come on Seth. You don't really think I did anything to Leroy, do you?" Chuck asked.
"Honestly, Chuck, I don't know what to think. The evidence is pretty damning. They have photos of his car outside your house. His blood was on your living room floor, for Christ's sake. I can't help you unless you tell me what happened?" Seth insisted.
Winslow looked down at the table top and rubbed the stubble on his chin. He knew he was in trouble. He couldn't see a way out. For all he knew, Mike and Tom were pinning it all on him. He looked up at Seth.
"It was an accident, I swear," he said in a low voice. Seth said nothing, urging him to continue. "I only wanted to rough him up a bit, you know, like the old days," Winslow continued, his head bowed.
"Go on," Seth replied a little ashamed of the memories that came back to him as Winslow spoke. As kids, both he and Winslow often pounced on Leroy and roughed him up after school. For the life of him he couldn't remember why.
"He fell against the fire place in the living room. He didn't move. There was so much blood I knew he was dead. I swear on my daughter's life, we didn't mean to kill him. I was so angry and I wanted him to suffer a taste of what I had suffered. I lost my family because of him, Seth. My little girl hates me. I'll probably never see my grandson again," Winslow continued.
Behind the one way glass, Ziva and Tony couldn't believe what they were hearing. Gibbs was dead? It couldn't be true. But they had heard Chuck Winslow admit to killing him. Ziva stood with her hand to her mouth in shock, staring through the glass at Winslow. Tony said nothing. He was shell shocked. It was as if a nightmare was unfolding in front of him and he couldn't do anything to stop it.
"Where will we find him Chuck?" Seth asked, routinely.
"In a mine shaft, up on Charles Ridge," Winslow answered. "I'm sorry. I swear it was an accident."
Seth Welch stood up without saying a word and turned his back on his old friend. He couldn't believe it either. He knew Chuck could be an idiot sometimes, but he had never figured him for a killer. He exited the room and entered the viewing room where Tony and Ziva were listening.
"I'm real sorry," he said in sympathy. "Leroy could be a pain in the ass but he was a good man." Tony nodded knowing that his condolences were genuine.
"Thanks, Sheriff," he said mutely. "I'm going to have to tell his father," Tony informed him.
"I can go with you if you like," the sheriff offered.
"No thanks. I'd better do this myself," Tony replied solemnly. Outwardly, it appeared to all that he was handling the news pretty well. Deep down he was torn. Gibbs had been the father figure that had been so long absent from his life. He moulded himself on the type of man Gibbs had been. How was he going to break the news to his father, to Ducky, to Abby?
After taking the time to compose themselves, DiNozzo and Ziva drove the short journey to Gus' house. They enter the front door without knocking. Gus had left it on the latch for them coming and going. Sombrely they walked into the kitchen, Tony finding it difficult to look at the anxious faces.
"What is it?" Ducky asks immediately sensing that they had news. The words choked in Tony's throat and all he managed was a grave shake of the head. His action conveyed the devastating message.
"Oh my God!" Abby wailed as her knees turned to jelly. Tim just managed to catch her as she swayed and collapsed in a heap. Ducky sat in stunned silence.
"I'm so sorry, Jackson," Ziva said, putting her hands on his hunched shoulders. She allowed the tears that had been welling in her eyes the whole journey there to finally fall. Gibbs' father sat motionless. He said nothing. Tony began to wonder if he understood what was happening. There was a poignant silence. No one spoke. Distraught glances were exchanged every now and then. Finally the silence broke when Ducky sought more details.
"How did he…? I mean what happened?" he enquired, still not believing what was happening.
"Em, Winslow swears it was accidental. He admitted to roughing him up but said that he struck his head on the hearth as he fell," Tony explained, fighting his emotions.
"I want to see him," Jackson said suddenly.
"Who? Winslow? I don't think that's a good idea," Tony replied, a little off guard.
"My son. I want to see my son," Jackson repeated.
"Oh. I'm sure we can arrange that but right now I was hoping Ducky would come with me to recover the..., to get him," Tony answered.
"Of course," Ducky said standing up from the table. Jackson also got to his feet.
"I'm coming with you," he replied with determination.
"Jack, I'm not sure if that's a good idea," Tony said hoping to deter him. But Jackson was persistent.
"If you won't take me, I'll just get the Seth to take me to him," he insisted, looking Tony dead in the eye.
"Well, alright then. But you will stay in the car until we find him," Tony replied, conceding defeat to the old man.
Tony explained to the room where Winslow had claimed to have dumped Gibbs' body. Abby found it too distressing to hear the details and McGee took her to lie down in another room.
"I'd like to bring him back before it gets dark," Tony said to Ducky.
"Certainly. Just give me five minutes to pack my kit and I'll be ready," Ducky replied as he left the room and went outside to gather some equipment from the car he had travelled from DC in.
Before too long, Tony, Ducky and Jackson began the sad drive to bring Gibbs on his final journey home. Tony communicated with Sheriff Welch and arranged to meet some of his deputies at a crossroads, close to where Winslow said he had left the body. They deputies were local lads with a good knowledge of the abandoned mines and the surrounding areas. They followed the patrol car off the main road and soon found themselves on a narrow dirt track. After a mile or so the track ended and the patrol car ground to a halt.
"It's on foot from here," the deputy said, as he leaned in the driver window. Tony turned to Jackson.
"Jack, I'd like you to stay here. If we find him, I'll send the deputy back and let you know," Tony said kindly. Jackson was about to argue when Ducky interjected.
"Please, Jack. We don't know what we'll find. Let us do our job," he explained sympathetically. Jackson nodded in agreement and sat back into the passenger seat. DiNozzo was glad when one of the deputies agreed to stay with him.
Ducky, Tony and the other deputy began their trek though the rough terrain. The deputy confidently led the way, followed by Tony and then by Ducky who carried a small backpack of basic gear. Tony carried a larger one for him. They walked uphill for close to 20 minutes before the ground levelled once more. They arrived at what at first appeared to be a wall of rock. That was until the deputy moved some bushes and disappeared. Tony raised an eyebrow, impressed at the young man's knowledge of the area. Tony turned on his flashlight and followed him in the mouth of an obviously very old mine. Ducky did the same.
"Be careful," the young deputy warned. "The beams in this mine are over a hundred years old. They're rotten and unstable. I wouldn't go making any loud noises if I were you or the whole lot will come down on your head."
"Great!" Tony whispered, bending down even though the roof was several inches higher than his head. He shone his flashlight down the shaft. He could see nothing. "Right, if you don't hear from us in 20 minutes, send in search and rescue!" he said before descending down the sloping shaft.
"Sure is dark in here," he commented as he journeyed further down.
"Did I ever mention my dislike of the dark?" Ducky asked in passing. Tony couldn't help but chuckle. As they walked, tiny fragments of dust and grit fell intermittently from the roof of the mine. Tony was feeling decidedly uncomfortable, the deeper they got. He was considering turning back when something in the beam of his flashlight caught his attention.
"Over there," he said turning to Ducky. Ducky also shone his light on the crumpled heap that looked out of place in the shadows. Slowly they walked closer until it became apparent that what they were looking at was a person's back. The first thing Tony saw as they approached was the blackened, blood matted hair in the torchlight. Tony stopped and swallowed the bile that rose in his throat and tried to prepare himself. Ducky proceeded undeterred around to the other side of the as yet unidentified figure. He circled until he could see his face. Then he looked at Tony and nodded a confirmation to him. Tony sighed and hung his head. He wanted to scream, he wanted to lash out but in his current location he knew that wasn't the best idea. Ducky was now on his knees beside Gibbs.
"Oh, my dear Jethro. I'm so sorry," he said kneeling beside his friend's body, tenderly touching his cheek. Immediately upon doing so something didn't feel right. The body was cold, but not as cold as it should be. The waxy feeling of a deceased person was absent. Automatically he felt the neck for a pulse. Tony looked at the puzzled expression on Ducky's face.
"What is it?" he asked desperately.
"There!" Ducky exclaimed. "A pulse. It's weak but it's there," he replied eagerly. Tony dropped to his knees beside Ducky. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"Boss, can you hear me?" he asked, as Ducky carefully rolled Gibbs onto his back. There was no reply.
"Anthony, I need you to go back and call for help. Then bring me back anything that I can use from the cars," Ducky ordered, as he stripped off his overcoat and covered Jethro with it. Tony saw this and handed Ducky his jacket as well. Ducky took it and gently put it under Gibbs' head. Tony looked at his injured boss and hesitated.
"Hurry!" Ducky urged crossly, startling Tony. Tony turned and jogged back to the mouth of the mine. The deputy was sitting having a cigarette outside and jumped when Tony came rushing out.
"What is it? A cave in?" he asked jumping to his feet.
"What? No, I need to get help. He's alive. Can you radio for medical assistance on that thing?" Tony asked referring to the deputy's two way radio.
"Sure," he replied before calling his controller and explaining the situation. Tony kept running down the hill towards the parked vehicles. After a few minutes he had a stitch in his side and his lungs hurt but he continued with determination. He stumbled several times on the descent but hardly slowed at all. He was relieved when the cars came into view.
Jackson got out of the car when he saw the young agent running towards them. He couldn't understand the urgency and thought that there had been an accident. Tony was shouting something but Jackson couldn't make it out. As he approached, Tony stopped and bent down, heaving as he tried to regulate his breathing.
"He's alive," he panted, as he gasped for air.
"What did you say, son?" Jackson asked, not believing his ears.
"Gibbs. He's alive. Give me blankets from the cars, any water?" he asked searching the interior of the car. He popped the trunk and found the first aid kit and took it. The other deputy took a rug and their first aid kit from the patrol car, as well as a bottle of water he had been drinking. Tony took a large gulp and then wrapped it in a blanket to carry back to the mine. Jackson looked on in disbelief. His mind was swimming. L. J. was alive. His prayers had been answered. He looked up the hill in the direction of the mine. Be strong, son, he willed Leroy in his mind. His thoughts were interrupted by Tony as he threw a pack on his back and prepared to return to the mine.
"Stay here and when the paramedics get here show them where we are. I need to get back to Ducky with this stuff. He's going to be okay, Jack," Tony said to Jackson before turning tail, digging deep into his energy reserves and dragging himself back up the slope.
Sorry for the delay in updating. Thanks for the reviews. Keep 'em coming!
