Author's note: A million thanks for the encouraging reviews, you give me the incentive to write faster. I hope I don't let you guys down, thanks again.
Chapter 8: DuplicityGibbs walked directly across the corridor and hit the wall, turning it from a fist to an open hand at the last moment and thus, with the force the blow hit at, probably saved himself several broken bones. Even so it hurt like hell. A soft curse accompanied the action.
The strike made Ducky flinch, and everyone else on the corridor turn and look for the source of the noise. He watched silently as Gibbs composed himself again.
When Gibbs had emerged from the room it was almost as if you could see his anger in a cloud around his body, with each breath some of that cloud was sucked back in, internalised as Gibbs rapidly shaped and channelled it. On the third breath he turned, meeting Ducky's gaze as he did so.
"He's afraid of something," he stated, completely ignoring those who were staring at him. He had seen the fear in Tony's eyes before he'd answered him, and it had been more than that engendered by the healthy respect that he knew Tony had for him.
He deliberately encouraged some sense of fear in all those that worked for him. It kept them on their toes, made sure that they worked to the best of their ability, made sure that they didn't let themselves or each other down. It was a residual of how he was taught to train people when he had been a marine, mixed in equal measure with his own natural aptitude as a leader, but he had not been the source of this fear.
This had been unsettling, closer to a terror.
Ducky nodded. "Another reason why he won't talk," he agreed, he'd seen it too, fleetingly, Tony had tried to cover it, but it had been in his eyes, in his expression, too deep seated to control completely.
"I'm going to find out what happened." Gibbs stated firmly; there were many ways the assertion could be taken, Gibbs meant all of them. He began to step away.
"He doesn't want our help," Ducky stated, stopping Gibbs mid stride. It was an observation that needed to be expressed.
"No, " Gibbs paused, turning to face his friend, "but he's going to get it anyway." There was another pause. "Do you think there's any way of getting him to open up?"
Ducky met his gaze for a moment and then looked down at the floor as though that were the focus point for his thoughts. "Well that very much depends on who he's protecting." He looked up again. "If he thinks he's protecting us from something," there was a slight shake of his head as he spoke, "then I'm afraid that I think there's very little chance at all."
"Try anyway."
Ducky nodded again. "I'll do my best."
NCISNCIS
Gibbs assignment for Kate had been very pointed and specific. Track down people that Tony went to school or college with. Talk to them, show the picture, find out who the mystery woman was.
Kate had really wanted to tell him that it could wait, that she wanted to go to the hospital to see Tony too. Part of her dearly wanted to talk to him, to see him awake and alert, so she could get the damn image of him lying limp on the autopsy table out of her head, but telling Gibbs that would mean opening up her feelings to him again, and, for Gibbs, he had already cut her a lot of slack on this, besides he didn't look like he was in any mood to discuss his orders, so she had just nodded. She could go and see Tony later.
The fact that her assignment overlapped with what Abby was working on wasn't an uncommon occurrence. There were frequent occasions when it was almost a race between Abby and the rest of the team, forensics and the investigation throwing up the same answers, but there were other times when one needed the other to complete the picture. It was teamwork of the best kind, each complementing the other, filling in the gaps, adding to the knowledge or just helping to confirm what the other already knew.
So Kate found herself at her desk, cross referencing the names and addresses from Tony's address book with the names for Rhode Island Military Academy and Ohio State. She confined her searches to the years Tony was there, figuring that she could always expand to cover neighbouring years if necessary.
Bingo, she didn't need to, she felt the rush of adrenaline that accompanied the positive match, and began scanning the information on the screen. Jason Black had been on the football team with Tony at Ohio State, and apparently they still kept in touch. She printed out his details, and hit the button on her computer that would continue the search. She picked up the phone and dialled his number.
NCISNCIS
If he had had the opportunity to think rationally, objectively, to detach the emotions from his decision-making then maybe he would have played the situation differently from the beginning. If he had the chance to be more objective now, if he didn't have to fight with the pain or the mind altering drugs designed to ease that pain. If he wasn't overwhelmed by his own betrayal of all of the things that he thought were important to him, then maybe he would have reconsidered his actions, maybe he would have called Gibbs back and asked for his help, but for Anthony Dinozzo none of those 'ifs' featured in his reality. He had chosen his path and now he had to follow it, whatever the personal cost. The only decision he was left with, was what was his next step.
He took some time to think about it, fortunately Ducky decided to tell him some of his stories, and, from long practice, they were remarkably easy to tune out as he formulated his plans. Then he was only left with the problem of getting rid of Ducky whilst he took the first step. That proved to be a little more difficult than expected, since, even when he feigned sleep, Ducky continued to regale him with stories. It did not escape his attention that most of the stories Ducky was telling featured betrayal and regret, their message unsubtle at best. In not letting the team in on his problems, he was doomed to failure, but then, he kind of knew that already, and still he didn't feel he had a choice.
Finally he managed to persuade Ducky that he should get something to eat and promised to think about what he had said, all the while hating himself for the duplicity of his actions.
With Ducky gone he set his plan in motion. Even badly injured Tony could turn on the charm. Of course the fact that his assailants had concentrated their blows on his torso and avoided the face, didn't hurt. It was debatable if even Tony's charm could have shone through black eyes and swollen cheeks, but as it was his 1000 Watt smile was in full working order, well maybe a little dulled by the pain and the slight glazing of his eyes. Still he could fake with the best of them, and it had helped that the nurse had been very pretty.
She had bought his story about the reason he needed to borrow her cell phone completely. She had sympathised with the fact that he needed to talk to his girlfriend in private, that she was over two thousand miles away in LA and couldn't get a flight back. She had understood when he had explained how the people who had beaten him had been harassing him for a while, and had told him how terrible it must have been for him, to have to live with that. She had listened intently to the reasons why the phone to his room had been tapped and his own cell phone kept in case his assailants tried further harassment or contact, and finally she had agreed to lend him her cell phone so that he could have a private conversation.
Before making the call Tony had one last moment of self-doubt. Once he made the call there would be no turning back. At best his life as he knew it, his career would definitely be over, at worst, well better not to consider it. He hit the dialling sequence.
He waited patiently while the answer phone completed its message and the tone sounded. "Julie, it's me, pick up." He heard the click instantly; barely getting the last word out, she must have been hovering by the phone. Not that he blamed her; he'd promised to call hours ago.
"T. . .T . .Tony, thank God it's you I've been so worried."
He could hear the tears in her voice, a mixture of fear and relief and just a hint of panic.
"Yeah, I'm sorry, things were more complicated than expected." That had to qualify as the understatement of the century.
"What's the problem? Is it work? How are you feeling? I knew you shouldn't have. . ."
"Julie!" Tony interrupted sharply, "Look, now don't freak out on me, I need you to remain calm, promise me that you'll stay calm." It was a request that was akin to asking a cheerleader not to get exited, but he tried it anyway.
"But I. . ."
"Promise me."
"I promise."
"OK, look I'm in the hospital. . ."
"The hospital! Oh My God Tony, What. . ."
Damn she was panicking. "Calm, Julie," he injected an even tone into his voice, tried to project it down the line. "You have to stay calm, I was hit a little harder than I told you." No, maybe that was the understatement of the century. "I'm going to be fine, but that's why I haven't been able to call you."
There was silence from the other end of the line.
It was his turn to ignore his own advice; he panicked slightly at the lack of response, "Julie?"
"You're really going to be fine?"
He let out a breath. "Yes."
"I should never have got you involved in this," the comment was bitter, self- recriminating.
"Hey, if you hadn't I would have missed out on all this fun," Tony had to force the lightness into his tone. His own spiralling negative emotions were enough; he didn't think he had the strength to carry both of them, so he needed to keep her spirits up. The sentiment however, came naturally; he'd been putting a light spin on everything around him for as long as he could remember now. Ever since. . . he blocked the memories, he just didn't have the emotional strength to deal with them, he never had, but hey, denial seemed to be working, or at least it had until he'd seen her again Friday night.
"But Tony. . ."
"Look, whatever, I'm involved now, it's too late to change that, we just have to get on." Tony paused for a moment, just running through his plan one last time in his head. "OK, now there are some things I need you to do. . . ."
