Tony leaned against the back wall of the elevator, his eyes fixed somewhere on the floor ahead of him. His phone suddenly went off in his pocket and he fished it out. "DiNozzo," he answered.
"Tony, Abby's got a hit," McGee's voice sounded on the other end.
"On my way," Tony replied, then ended the call, shoving the phone back into his pocket before going to press the appropriate button to take him to Abby's floor. It was then that he realized he hadn't hit any button until that point...
*~.~*
"It was a long-shot," Abby explained as Tony came into the lab, "But I ran a hair I found on the inside of the collar of the shirt. It could've belonged to the driver we have in the morgue, but it turns out it's not his." She typed into the computer and brought up an image on the screen. "Meet William McWithey," she read. "Twenty-five years old, a hundred and eighty pounds. Six-one; born and raised in Blackburn, Missouri."
Tony squinted at the screen, and McGee took over with information he'd been able to pull up on his phone, "Five years ago he was nabbed for a B & E. He was processed, got out on bail, and dropped off the radar."
"McWithey..." Tony mused. "Why does that name sound so familiar?" McGee furrowed his brow and began typing something into his phone. "So, no known address since dropping off the radar?"
"Nothin'," Abby told him. "No vehicles registered in his name. No license. This one is five years old," the corner of her mouth turned down in frustration.
"Uh...Tony?" Tim glanced up from his phone with a slightly worried look on his face. Tony looked at him. "William McWithey, son of Andrew M. McWithey... ring a bell?"
"Andy..." a memory flashed in Tony's mind at the mention of the name.
"October 2001, you shot him before he could take out anymore hostages during a bank robbery. He died later that day from his injury," Tim elaborated.
"That's right before you came to NCIS, just about," Abby commented.
"Yeah, I remember," Tony replied, turning back to the screen. "That would've made Billy, here, about 15."
"Do you think he's...somehow trying to exact revenge?" Tim asked. "Or is this just a coincidence?"
"You know how Gibbs feels about coincidences, McGoo," Tony said in a low voice.
"If this is about you," Abby chimed in, "Then he's trying to draw you to him; into a trap. Gibbs may not really be in any immediate danger..."
"Or Gibbs is the revenge," Tony said in almost a whisper. His mind was in a thousand places. How could this be happening? How could this kid possibly know all the things he knew? That he thought of Gibbs as a father, instead of going after his actual dad...
"Is Ziva still in the bathroom?" Tim's voice pulled Tony from his thoughts.
"She has been gone pretty long," Abby replied.
"I'll go see if she's okay," McGee said before heading out of the lab.
"What's wrong with Ziva?" Tony looked to Abby.
"She said she had a headache and was gonna use the bathroom. That was like ten minutes ago."
"Ziva has a headache? I don't think I've ever seen her admit to feeling sick before..."
"Guys!" McGee came running back into the lab, looking flushed. "Something's wrong! I think Ziva needs a doctor..." he turned back immediately, and the other two followed as McGee pulled out his phone to dial for Ducky.
Tony pushed past him to get to the bathroom and let himself in. "Zi?" he called out and approached the locked stall. "You okay?" There was a groan on the other side and he crouched down to look under the opening. Ziva was curled up on the floor, her face pale and sweaty; hair disheveled and sticking to the sides of her face.
He stood, abruptly, and with seemingly minimal effort, he kicked the stall door open and immediately sunk down beside his partner, "Ziva, Ducky's on his way up. What happened?" he brushed her hair from her temple, behind her ear.
She shook her head and groaned again, suddenly pushing herself up from the floor to, what was most likely her original stance, kneeling in front of the toilet, and began, or rather continued, vomiting. He held her hair back and glanced out of the stall at his colleagues with a worried, yet nauseated look on his face.
"Ducky's on his way up," Tim told him.
Tony nodded and looked down, catching a glimpse of the torn leg of Ziva's pants on the calf. He pulled up the pant leg which revealed a bandage. "Is this where the dog got ya?" he asked. Ziva nodded, mutely, as her body shook from the exertion. Carefully, Tony pulled at the bandage to survey the damage. He didn't expect to see what was underneath. A murky looking powder coated her wound and the bandage. "What is this?" he asked no one in particular...
11 00 11 00 11
Tbc...
A/N: Mysssstery lol. Anyway, should have more up tomorrow :)
