Ok, I wanted to get one more chapter up before the new year, but still leave you guys enough time to read and review. I figured tomorrow most of you guys would be busy enjoying your the holiday, but, now you have something to read before midnight! And a special holiday surprise? An insanely long chapter, on my computer, it was over eleven pages, that even beat chapter five!
One more thing, the character of Dennis' sister, In Tony's point of view, she is known as Ley, but in Dennis', she is Lea. It's the same character, but the two characters refer to her by a different nickname. So I just wanted to avoid confusion.
Eight
Jethro tried thinking about the case that night as he sat in his motel room. They just figured out a huge detail about it that afternoon. But instead, all he could focus on was putting that damn letter together again.
Nobody noticed as he reached in and grabbed the torn bit of paper DiNozzo tossed. But he knew that it wasn't junk mail. The cop should have been smarter. He didn't rip the return address. Jethro just had to ask, why the hell would the FBI be sending letters to Baltimore Police?
The letter came from the J. Edgar Hoover building in Washington D.C. Judging by the look on DiNozzo's face, it wasn't the first letter either. That peaked Jethro's curiosity. Normally, he wasn't all that curious about people's personal lives. He really didn't care. But he still didn't entirely trust Detective DiNozzo, there were too many unanswered questions. And he wasn't going to stop until he figured them out.
He taped up the last corner of the letter and held it at arm's length. It was the only way he could read these days. And he was too stubborn to admit that he needed reading glasses. He wasn't that old.
His frown deepened with every sentence that he read. Surely, he read it wrong. There was no other explanation. Why else would DiNozzo tear it up?
To Detective Anthony DiNozzo, Baltimore Police Department, Homicide Unit, 29th precinct;
This is my eighth attempt to contact you, Detective DiNozzo. Normally I would have given up after the first letter. However, I feel that this case deserves special attention.
I would like to once again, offer you a career opportunity at the Federal Bureau of Investigations. Someone with your investigative talents—as well as your other capabilities—would be greatly appreciated here in Washington D.C.
When I first offered you the job, I offered an entry level GS 10 position. However, given your skills and history, I see no reason why you could not start at a GS 11 or 12 position. In a few years tops, you could be leading your own team.
Please reconsider your original decision. A career with the F.B.I provides you with far more opportunities than a job as a detective in a city like Baltimore.
Sincerely
Tobias Fornell
Senior Field Agent
Federal Bureau of Investigations
Jethro read the letter a second time. And then a third. He knew Fornell. The man was a bastard at his nicest moments. He was constantly on Jethro's ass, trying to get cases out from under him. He was also picky about who he hired. He wouldn't hire just any old Joe off the street.
And he was begging?
Jethro read the letter again. It was definitely begging. Fornell was begging DiNozzo to come work for him. The young man must have done something pretty damn extraordinary to get a deal like that. Like single handedly taking down an entire terrorist cell with nothing more than a toothpick and a homemade shank. But since he didn't hear about something like that in the news, he doubted that was the case.
He made a mental note to visit Fornell as soon as he got back to D.C. He was going to get to the bottom of this. And soon.
*~*
Tony all but ran up the driveway towards the back door. He was late. Really late. But he volunteered to drive Gibbs and Burley to the motels. And Gibbs didn't like the first one. The second one smelled. There was a single hooker trolling the third one, and even after Tony chased her away, the place was tainted. Tony honestly thought that by the seventh one, Gibbs was just testing his patience. He seemed like the kind of guy to do that.
He didn't bother knocking. He just opened the door and casually stepped into entryway. He toed off his shoes and shrugged out of his coat. He could hear voices coming from the living room. He hoped they didn't start without him. They'd kill him if they had to start without him.
"You're late." He jumped at the sound of the voice. He wheeled around, his arms flailing around in a pathetic attempt at karate. Ley just stood there with her arms crossed and a smug smirk on her face.
Adley Morgan was Denny's little sister. She was a twenty-five year old patrol cop. She was beautiful, with thick dark brown hair and matching eyes. She wasn't particularly curvy, but she made up for that with her exotic features and dark skin tone. Her mother was Italian while her father was a Native American. Ley inherited the best of both their cultures.
"Sorry. Long day at the office."
"A; it's Sunday, you shouldn't even be at the office."
"Well," he scoffed, interrupting her. "Not all of us are rookies. We work whenever a case pops up, we don't have a specific schedule."
"B; Dennis got here an hour and a half ago." She continued as if he never spoke.
He rolled his eyes. "Denny took off and left me to handle the rest of the job by myself."
"Sounds awful," Ley said with mock sympathy. Acting like he was annoyed, he grabbed her and pulled her close. It wasn't a heartfelt embrace, though. He shoved his fist into her hair and rubbed back and forth. "Hey! Watch the hair!"
"Lea!" Ley pulled away at the third voice. The two of them swiveled around towards the hallway. Denny's mom, Mary Mancona, stood with her arms crossed. But she was grinning, so Tony assumed he wasn't in too much trouble. "Tony."
"Hi mom." He said with his brightest smile.
"You're late." She turned away and moved back towards the living room. Ley and Tony followed, pushing and shoving each other the entire time.
"Yeah, sorry. Work ran late."
Mary scoffed. "That's no excuse, Dennis got here an hour and a half ago."
Ley grinned in triumph. Tony tripped her.
"Mom!" She yelled.
"Will you two behave?" Mary sighed heavily. "I swear, I gave birth to two sons. I don't know how, or when, but it happened." She left the room, heading towards the kitchen, probably to put the finishing touches on dinner.
A few years ago, Ley told her mom and brother that she wanted to be a cop. Denny convinced her to go to the Academy in Philedelphia where they worked at the time, so she could work alongside her big brother. She did. And Mary followed her. When they moved to Baltimore a little over a year ago, Ley and Mary came with them. Ever since then, it's been a tradition. The three of them come over to Mary's home on Sunday for dinner. There was no way of getting around it. If you didn't show, Mary threatened to show up to the precinct in curlers, a green face mask, her robe and slippers and give them a big babushka kiss. Basically she'd slobber all over their faces while crowing about all of their most embarrassing childhood memories. And Tony, being her "adopted" son, was not exempt.
Somebody smacked him in the back. Since Ley was standing in his line of vision, and Mary was in the kitchen, that only left one person. Denny. "Glad you finally made it. I'm starving."
Tony glared at his best friend. "Would have gone faster if you went with me."
Denny scoffed. "You were taxiing around a couple of feds. How would I have made a difference?"
"We could have tag teamed them! It was two against one, Morgan! I had to do everything they wanted!"
"You didn't have to. Gibbs seems to like you, you probably could have gotten away with telling him off."
"And if I had a death wish, I would have!"
"Dinner!" Mary called from the kitchen, successfully stopping the argument. As soon as the first syllable was out of her mouth, both boys were running into the other room. Tony was probably hungrier than Denny. And while Mary's cooking tended to scare him—one too many fires on Thanksgiving—Ley tended to do all of the cooking on their Sunday gatherings. And she was fantastic!
He pushed Denny into the wall and took his seat at the end of the table. Mary and Ley rolled their eyes at him, which he ignored. "So," he said rubbing his hands together. "What's on the menu?"
Denny sat down next to him, rubbing his arm where it hit the wall. The women went to work putting all of the food on the table. It smelled amazing.
"Guess," was all Ley said. All of the food was covered.
Tony sniffed the air. "Steak. Medium rare." He sniffed again. "Home fries, homemade chicken noodle soup. And," he sniffed again, "Broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and green beans in garlic butter sauce." He smiled. Denny and Mary stared at him completely bewildered.
"You seriously have to teach me how you do that." said Denny as he shook out his napkin.
Ley rolled her eyes. "He's been my guinea pig since I was twelve, that's how recognizes the smells." When she was twelve, she decided she wanted to be a world famous chef. Tony volunteered to be her taste tester. It was a decision he regretted for almost two years before she started to improve.
"I think he cheated." Denny glared at him.
Tony glared at him in mock seriousness. "And just when would I have found the time? I just got here." He saw as his friend crumbled in embarrassment. He sat back in his chair, smug.
Both of them stopped at the sight of Mary. She didn't say a word, but she glared at them. It was a glare that could have made Gibbs' knees wobble. Her eyebrows never moved, but her eyes lowered down to slits, and her mouth tightened. It scared small children and grown men alike.
"Lea, say grace."
The four of them lowered their heads while Ley said the prayer. After it was over, Tony and Denny were still a little afraid to say anything.
"So, I hear you guys are working with feds again." Ley said after a minute to get conversation rolling. Food was passed around, the boys taking most of it.
Denny nodded. "Yup. NCIS."
"NCIS?" Asked Mary.
"Naval Criminal Investigative Service." Tony answered.
Ley turned towards her mother. "They investigate the Navy and the Marine Corp. They're like us, but they get better pay." Denny and Tony turned to her, confused. Her eyes widened. "Guys, I'm a cop, I have to know this stuff too." She took a bite of her vegetables.
Mary turned to her boys. "So what's the case?"
They stopped, mid bite. Denny turned to his mother sheepishly. "I really don't think it's good dinner conversation, mom."
Ley nodded. "I agree. I heard about the case from a buddy of mine who was on the scene. It didn't sound pretty."
"It's not dangerous, is it?" Mary started to get panicked, frantically looking between the three of them.
Tony was the first to respond. "Oh, definitely not. We really don't even know all of the details on the case yet. It just happened yesterday."
Mary still didn't look convinced. Tony silently counted down the seconds before she completely exploded. But Ley turned to them, "So, guys, tell me about the Navy cops. Are they as bad as I hear?" Tony could have hugged her for the subject change.
"Personality wise, yes." Denny grumbled. Ley looked to Tony questioningly.
He rolled his eyes. "Your brother doesn't really get along with Agent Gibbs. But he spent all day flirting with Agent Burley." That earned him a smack. He laughed. "Obviously, they aren't all that bad."
"I heard that you two are sharing lead."
Tony nodded again. "Yep."
"How's that working for ya?"
Tony threw his head back and groaned. "I'm working with a man who's never heard of Bruce Willis or Cary Grant!" Bruce Willis wasn't a big deal for him, but Cary Grant was one of the greatest actors of all time!
Ley jerked up in her seat. "What? Are you kidding me? How does he not know who Cary Grant is? How old is he, twelve?"
"He's older than I am!" That was one of the things Tony liked about the younger girl. She loved movies as much as he did. She was actually the reason for his love of movies.
She scoffed. "So what's his excuse?"
"He only owns one TV."
Denny completely ignored the conversation, choosing instead to focus on his meal. Mary, on the other hand, looked just as outraged as the other two. "How does he not know Cary Grant?" She finally asked. "His Girl Friday, Arsenic and Old Lace!" Tony threw up his hands in exasperation. She scoffed. "Clearly, he doesn't know anything about culture!" She shook her head in disgust.
Ley and Tony turned to her. Ley was glaring. "Are you mocking us?"
"No, I'm not mocking you. I agree, I can't believe how he couldn't know about Cary Grant."
"You sound mocking."
"Lea, I'm not mocking you, I'm agreeing with you!" Her voice got higher in indignation. Ley still didn't look convinced. She turned back to Tony.
"So, does the guy have any redeeming qualities?"
Tony shrugged. "Still trying to figure it out. He doesn't like your brother."
"That just makes him human." That earned her a smack. She giggled. Mary sighed heavily and shook her head. "How's his crime solving skills?"
Tony shrugged. "Well, he hasn't figured out the case just yet, but then, neither have I, so, can't complain."
"Well, I'm sure that the three of you will solve it by Friday at the latest." Mary said, probably in an attempt to stop the conversation. "Dennis, could you pass the home fries?"
Denny tried handing her the plate, but her hand shook so violently it toppled over. In an instant, all three of them were up. "Damn it!" Mary swore. She pulled her arm close to her chest, avoiding all of the concerned looks she was getting.
Ley started picking up the potato bits while Tony and Denny moved to comfort her. "Ah!" She yelled, raising her hand to stop them. They did. "I'm fine. Now just sit, and enjoy the rest of your dinner."
They weren't convinced. "You sure you're ok, ma?" Ley asked as she finished scooping up the potatoes.
Mary nodded. "It's happened before, it'll happen again. No reason for that to ruin dinner, right?" She smiled, but it felt more forced than anything. Slowly, everybody sat back down. They were all still a bit tense. They were worried about her. Mary shook her head. "How does a man not know Bruce Willis?" That got everyone to start laughing.
The rest of the evening went by smoothly. As usual, Denny and Ley were at each other's throats. Sometimes Tony joined in, while other times he tried to play mediator. It didn't really work. At one point, they jumped up and Denny started chasing his sister around the house trying to beat her. It stopped after they reached the living room. Tony heard a very distinct "oomph." He figured that Ley got the better of her brother. She usually did these days.
"Aren't you two a little old to be horsing around like that?" He asked Ley as they washed the dishes. Denny was in the living room sulking about getting beaten by his baby sister. Mary held herself up in her bedroom. Well, actually, Ley and Denny forced her to go rest after what happened at the table.
Ley glared at him. "He's my brother. It's what siblings do."
Tony shook his head. "Not all of them."
She rolled her eyes. "What do you know, you're an only child. And, you and Den aren't exactly the poster boys for brotherly love." She handed him a plate to dry.
"Yeah, but it's different. You're a girl."
"And yet, I can still kick his ass."
"You fight dirty." Tony tried to glare, but he just couldn't.
"There's no such thing." She turned to face him head on, grinning. "You taught me that." They were silent for a while. But it wasn't awkward. More content.
After a moment, they went back to their tasks. "So, according to my buddy that was on the scene, you pulled your gun on one of the feds."
Tony rolled his eyes. "Are you even old enough to have made buddies on the force?"
"Have you been in Baltimore long enough to have made buddies?"
Tony was about to say another comeback, but stopped short. "Touché." Ley smiled.
"So, what's the dealio?" He shook his head. She smacked him in the stomach. "It is true?"
At first he was quiet, but after a second, he nodded. "In my defense, Den started it."
Ley rolled her eyes. "Shocker." Her smile faded as she asked her next question. "You alright?"
He rolled his eyes. "Why does everyone keep asking me that? I had everything under control!"
"It's been a year, Tony." He was quiet again. "Ok, trust me, I know better than most people what happened that day. And I know the toll it took on you."
"I don't wanna talk about it. I already had to hear it from the department shrink, I don't need to hear it from you too."
"Setley?"
"Jovier." That got him a confused look.
"Jovier's usually reserved for victim counseling and rape cases. Why'd he talk to you?" Tony shrugged.
"Apparently, sex isn't good therapy. My captain thought I'd be less attracted to Jovier." Ley rolled her eyes and chuckled.
"Only you would bone a psychiatrist during an eval."
"I am not! Plenty of people have done it. Hell you would have done it!" She gave him a look. "If you were a lesbian, or the psychiatrist was a good looking guy." He smiled. "Like, for example, me."
She scoffed. "Except I'm still a virgin, and there is no way in hell I would ever believe that you were a shrink." She handed him the last plate. She moved into his personal space. "And even if I did, you couldn't pay me to have sex with you." She walked away. Tony followed her movements.
*~*
Dennis stood in the doorway to the kitchen and watched the exchange between his sister and Tony. He wasn't sure who he wanted to punch more, Tony, for flirting with his baby sister, or Lea, for flirting back.
Lea walked away with a smile on her face. She apparently didn't notice him standing there. Tony followed her with his eyes, grinning like a mad man. Dennis' fists clenched. "Hey, you almost ready to go?" He asked his partner.
Tony jerked out of whatever fantasy he was in and stared at him dumbfounded. "Yeah. Just give me a second." He finished drying the last dish and put it away in the cupboard. He turned back around. "You about ready to head up to D.C. tomorrow?" He sounded excited. Dennis, not so much.
"I can't drive up with you guys." Tony's face fell.
"Why the hell not?"
"I got that interview with Quail's boss tomorrow morning."
"Gibbs told you to reschedule that." He was starting to get agitated. That flared Dennis' anger.
"Last I checked I don't work for Gibbs. And I couldn't reschedule, it took serious finagling just to get that time!"
Tony blew out a big gust of air. Clearly he wasn't happy. Dennis wasn't really happy either. In all of their years together, they never worked apart. But this case, it's all they seemed to be doing. And it had only been a day.
"Fine. But as soon as you're done, I want you in the damn car on your way to D.C. got it?"
Dennis nodded. "Got it."
Tony nodded. "Good. There's only so much time I can spend around feds." He moved away from the counter.
Dennis chuckled. "You managed just fine last time." He watched Tony tense slightly before he started walking again. He moved towards his mom's bedroom. Dennis followed. She would kill them both if they thought for a second they could leave without saying goodbye, sick or not.
Tony knocked on her bedroom door. "Come in!" She called to them. They pushed the door open and stepped into the room.
His mom lay on the bed, Lea sitting next to her. Dennis crossed the room and enveloped his mother in a giant bear hug. "We're heading out now, mom." He hugged a little tighter when he felt her shaking slightly.
"Alright." She pulled back to give him a big kiss on the cheek. He let go, and Tony stepped up. "Thank you boys for coming by." She gave him a kiss as well.
Tony chuckled. "Right, like there was ever a choice." She smacked him in the back of the head.
"Are you saying that I'm forcing you here?" Mom looked at them, her eyes wide in indignation.
Tony stepped back, shuffling his feet like a five year old in trouble. "Well, it's not like it's a bad thing." Mom continued to stare at him with that same look. After a while, he turned to Dennis for help. He just shook his head. It was his way of saying, 'you're on your own.'
Unfortunately, Lea took pity on him. "Like I've said before, mom, you can be really scary at times." Mom turned her look on her daughter. But it didn't have the same result.
"I'm what?" She had murder in her voice.
"You're a scary little Italian woman. Most people are afraid of you." She smiled brightly. Mom just kept staring. "They aren't dumb enough to intentionally face your wrath."
Mom scoffed. "I don't know what you're talking about." Lea turned to Dennis and rolled her eyes. He just shook his head.
"We have to be getting going." He turned towards the door when his mother's voice stopped him again. He turned to her, confused. "What?"
"Don't I get a hug and a kiss?"
For a second, Dennis feared for his mother's mental health even more than normal. Then he remembered who he was speaking to. "I just gave you one!"
"Yeah, and now I need another one." Dennis rolled his eyes, but nevertheless complied. Lea was right, his mother was scary. She was a tiny little thing, five foot four, age and two children softened her around the middle, but she still didn't look very intimidating. But there was something about her that sent grown men running away with tears in their eyes.
When he pulled away, she turned back to Tony. "You too. What? You think you're exempt or something?" She scoffed at the same time she wrapped her arms around him. "Bye guys." She said as he too pried her off of him.
"Bye mom." They said simultaneously. They turned to the other woman in the room.
Dennis smiled. "Bye dork." She rolled her eyes.
"See ya, douche."
Tony nodded his goodbye. "Rookie."
"Vet."
The two of them scrambled out of the room before mom could stop them again. She had the habit of saying goodbye fifteen different times for over an hour. If they didn't make a hasty retreat, they might not ever be allowed to leave.
Dennis stopped in his tracks when he saw his car. There was something stuck under his windshield wipers. He turned to Tony, silently asking if he saw it too. The frown that formed on his face gave him his answer. Slowly, Dennis approached. Hand on his gun at his hip, just in case.
It was a flyer. At least it looked like one. Except that it was folded in half. He pulled it out and opened it.
His eyes jerked up, he pulled out his gun and searched the area, looking for anything out of the ordinary. Tony followed suit, but he was a little more hesitant. He didn't know what was going on.
He said something, but Dennis didn't hear him. "Denny!" He finally turned to Tony. There was worry in his eyes. "What is it?" He handed the note over. He watched Tony's face as he read the words.
"One, two, three, what do I see?" He looked up, confused. He searched around until his eyes landed on his car. Dennis followed suit.
There was a flyer on his windshield too.
Tony took off running. His car wasn't parked too far away, so he reached it relatively quickly. He ripped the flyer off and opened it.
"What's it say?" Dennis called.
Tony yelled back. "Five bumbling cops, looking for me!" Dennis strode over, holstering his weapon. He took both notes from his partner and started at them. It was dark, he could barely make out the words. He moved under the streetlamp. His gut clenched.
"What the hell is this written in?"
"If I had to guess, I'd say blood." Dennis knew that tone in Tony's voice. Whenever he was scared or sad, he got angry. And right now, he had to be pretty damn scared.
He looked away from the note and into his partner's eyes. He knew what he was going to say. And he hated it, but it had to be done. "Call Gibbs," he said.
Dennis nodded. He wasn't going to argue. Their killer just decided to target them.
So, was it a happy medium? Yes, there was a lot learned about Dennis and his life, but the majority of it was still about Tony! And I just have to say, the character of Mary Mancona was based--pretty heavily--on my own mother. My mom is really a scary little Italian woman, and I really think that she would give Gibbs a run for his money, which is weird, because she's a total cloud.
The point of this, I have to say, is that everybody always writes Tony to have this absolutely miserable life, that I wanted to add in a happier point, and I couldn't think of better inspiration then my own mother. Well, as always, review, let me know what you think. The more reviews, the faster I update.
Bob
