a/n - I've been on fish rescue duty already this morning. My son-in-law added a new fish to their tank and it likes to jump into the filter. It's probably a good thing he's under warranty. (the fish, not the son-in-law.)
Gibbs sent McGee down to warm up the sedan, which surprised him, but he'd learned not to question the boss. Once McGee was out of the room, Gibbs went through his desk and found the Datsun keys. Jerry, one of the Yard mechanics, came in and Gibbs tossed him the keys. "Did you get them?"
Jerry grinned at him. "You bet. Four good tires and new chains for all four wheels. Considering how bad the snow's supposed to get today, I'll go ahead and chain it up for him."
"Thanks, Jerry. With his leg, he doesn't need to be kneeling in the snow. You'll put it back in the same parking space?" Gibbs knew McGee would fuss about him spending the money on new tires for the car so he hoped the kid would be in such a hurry and so happy the chains were already on that he wouldn't notice.
"Sure thing, Gibbs." Jerry didn't mind coming in an hour early to help the kid. Of all the agents, McGee actually went out of his way to keep the agency cars clean and damage free. He'd even hosed off the bird droppings before returning a car a few weeks ago.
As soon as Jerry left, Gibbs turned to his remaining agents. "I expect the two of you to be in the courtroom for him today. Take a separate car, court starts at ten in room eighteen." He didn't give them time to argue before he left. DiNozzo was on the computer the second the elevator doors closed.
"What is the court case, Tony?" Kate came up behind Tony and leaned over him to look at the screen also.
Tony swore under his breath and opened another window to pull up more details. "It was an armed robbery at a twenty-four hour cybercafe. McGee made the arrest." Reading the metro report he saw the date. "Damn it, Kate, I was telling Gibbs that McGee didn't have money trouble because he bought a new modem."
"So?" He was scrolling through the file too fast for her to read all the details, except to see that Agent Gibbs had requested copies of everything be sent to him.
"The robbery happened at two in the morning, Kate. McGee bought that modem a couple of days later."
"So he could play at home, that makes sense. Even though he's a federal agent, that must have been scary. Gibbs probably told him he couldn't be out like that." Kate's voice trailed off as she realized that Gibbs would not be acting this way if the kid had been screwing around on his own time. "No, there's got to be something more than that."
Tony looked at the time as he stood and grabbed his coat. "Whatever it is, we're gonna find out pretty quick." With the mood the boss had been in, neither one of them were willing to risk being late to court that day.
---NCIS---
Gibbs didn't go downstairs like his agents assumed. Instead, he went up to MTAC to talk with Robert McGee, who was on a thirty minute layover in England. Robert looked tired and worried, much like his brother did, downstairs.
"Agent Gibbs, I was told that I have you to thank for this quick ride home. I can't tell you how much it means to me."
"My director is the one that pulled the strings, but I'll pass the word along. I do have another bit of news for you." Gibbs watched closely as he spoke, waiting to see what the reaction would be. "Your ex and her lawyer boyfriend have agreed to a more realistic settlement and have given back the money they improperly took from you. It's in an account waiting for you."
"Wow, really? Wow." Robert's eyes were suspiciously bright as he blinked. "That's amazing, thank you Agent Gibbs. I promise you that I'll use it to help my family, starting with Timmy. I'll make sure he gets back every dime I owe him, sir. I give you my word."
Gibbs nodded slowly, satisfied with the honest reaction he saw. "I'm glad to hear that. Your brother's a good man."
Behind Robert, Gibbs could see activity as the plane prepared to reload. Robert turned and waved as he picked up his pack. "Thank you, Agent Gibbs. Thank you for everything, especially for looking out for Timmy. I can see why he respects you so much."
---NCIS---
Tim had the car running, but scooted over when Gibbs came up to the drivers side. Once the older man had the door closed, he pulled away from the building. Since the snow started sometime before daybreak, there was already a noticeable accumulation on the roads. Gibbs watched the less experienced drivers as he questioned McGee. "You going to be all right driving home in this snow?"
"I'll be fine, Boss. It's main roads most of the way, so they should be plowed."
Gibbs spared him a quick glance before returning his attention to the roads. "Just be careful. You won't do your family any good if you end up in a ditch someplace."
"I know, Boss. I'll be careful." McGee bit back a smile, he'd had almost the same exact conversation with his father last night. Gibbs wasn't quite through, yet.
"The guys in the garage are going to put the chains on your car while we're in court. The way it's coming down, you're definitely going to need them this afternoon."
Tim fought to keep his voice steady as he answered. He'd been so grateful Gibbs hadn't noticed the condition of his tires when he'd worked on the clutch, now he just hoped the guys in the garage didn't say anything to him about them. "Thanks, Boss, but they really don't have to do that."
"Do you want to explain that to Ducky?" As they slowed to a stop, Gibbs glanced over at him again. The kid has a slightly panicked look on his face. "I didn't think so. Your brother's flight just left England, so he's still on schedule to arrive home about the same time as you." Gibbs pulled into the parking garage at the courthouse. "Let's get this done so we can get you on the road, McGee."
---NCIS---
Kate and Tony managed to find seats in the corner of the viewers gallery that did not put them in McGee's line of sight as he stared at Gibbs. They listened as the District Attorney started asking McGee why he was in the cybercafe the night it was robbed.
"Please state your title and name for the record, sir."
McGee cleared his throat and leaned slightly closer to the microphone. "Special Agent Timothy McGee."
"And your agency and team?"
"NCIS, that's Naval Criminal Investigative Service. I'm a member of the Major Crime Response Team."
"Tell us, why were you at the Market Street Cybercafe on the night in question?"
Out of the corner of his eye, Gibbs could see Tony's interest in the question, while Kate was also curious. He dismissed them for now as he turned his attention back to Tim. McGee looked at Gibbs for a split second before returning his full attention to his questioner. "At the time I didn't have internet service at my apartment. I was there to upload some documents onto a webpage I was working on."
Knowing the line of suspicion the defense attorney wanted to throw on McGee, the DA focused on his reasons. "Was this for a case for your agency?"
"No, sir, it was for my second job. I develop websites for clients."
"At two in the morning?"
"I had been on stakeout until after midnight that night."
"Was your stakeout at the cybercafe that was robbed?"
McGee wasn't surprised by the questions, they had reviewed them over the phone earlier that morning. "No, sir, we were tracking stolen weapons down on the docks."
District Attorney Ryan just had one more question before he allowed the defense attorney to make a fool of himself. "What were your thoughts when you saw the defendant that night?"
"When he pulled a gun and announced that it was a stick-up, my first thought was that that was a cheesier movie quote than I usually hear from my partner." Tim had to stop as the court gallery laughed, including his unseen partners in the back. When the judge had them back under control, he continued. "My second thought was that I really didn't need the added paperwork."
There was more laughter while the DA turned it over to the defense attorney. Considered a shark even among other defense attorneys, Harlan Jackson knew that if he couldn't break this agent's image his client might as well plead guilty. "So, Agent McGee, do you play the ponies?"
"Play the ponies?" For a moment, he looked puzzled, then his face cleared as he nodded. "You mean gamble. No, sir, I don't gamble."
In his chair, Gibbs shifted slightly to rest his hand over his face to hide his smile. The kid looked like an eager boy scout sitting there and the defense attorney didn't have a clue how every woman in the place wanted to mother his boy at that moment.
Jackson held out a picture, convinced it would be enough to shut down the eager agent. "Then explain to the court why you were meeting with the owners of the local race track last month." Much to his chagrin, McGee didn't look worried in the slightest.
"That's Mr. Harper, he wanted the track's web presence to be more family friendly."
"Family friendly?"
"Yes, sir. I wrote the coding for several trivia games on the site. "I've been to his office twice; once to discuss what he wanted the site to look like and once to show him the finished product. We met one additional time at a restaurant when he paid me for my work."
"You're telling me that you didn't lay down one bet while you were there?"
"That's correct, sir."
"You never gamble?"
"I ride in a car with my boss, some people would call that gambling."
There were enough people in the courtroom who knew of Gibbs and his driving style. The lawyer continued on, shouting over the laughter. "So then tell the court, Agent McGee, why a federal agent such as yourself needs the income from two jobs? What do you do with all that money and does your director know what you've been up to?"
Tim knew this was coming, but it didn't make it any easier. "Both my direct supervisor and the agency director know about my extra job and that I am using the money to help my family back home."
Harlan Jackson never knew when to quit. "Your family? Why do they need so much money from you?"
"My mother has end stage cancer. There's a great deal that insurance doesn't cover, and my father has had to take an unpaid leave from his job to care for her." Tim took a deep breath and looked at Gibbs briefly before telling the rest. "My entire paycheck from the agency goes to help them and I'm living off of what I make on my second job, so yes, sir, I was really at the cybercafe at two in the morning working on my own project so I could make my rent payment that month."
By now the courtroom was in stunned silence, but no corner was quieter than the one where two NCIS agents were sitting. Jackson finally realized he was only doing damage to his client's case and ended his questioning abruptly. The District Attorney used the option to redirect and hammered the point home.
"Agent McGee, what happens after the court releases you?"
"I'm..." His voice broke and he stopped to clear his throat. "I've been granted emergency leave to return home. My mother's final wish is to have the entire family home for one last Christmas. My boss and my director have arranged for my brother to be flown home from the Middle East and I'm driving home as soon as the Court no longer needs me here in DC.
"Thank you, Agent McGee. No further questions."
