Ch. 10

Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS.

Author's Note: Thanks everyone for the reviews. Merry Christmas. It may be next week before I update again. I am going to be busy the rest of the week.

Anthony DiNozzo Sr. sits in interrogation at NCIS like there's nothing going on. He has already lawyered up, so they are just waiting for Joshua Tolliver Attorney-at-Law to make his appearance. Jethro is disappointed that they were unable to get any information at of him before he called for a lawyer.

Jethro is seething in observation. He hadn't wanted it to go this way, but he had known that it was a distinct possibility. Senior is definitely the cowardly type. He wouldn't want to face the infamous Leroy Jethro Gibbs without legal counsel or he would probably spill his guts.

Tony is still in the hospital. The doctors are keeping him for another three days. Then he'll be off of work for another week after that and on desk duty for two or three weeks thereafter. He will probably be pretty whiny about it and hate every moment, but it's better this way. Following doctors orders are definitely the best way to handle things in this situation.

Jethro decides that it would be a good idea to inform Tony's father exactly the kind of damage that his men had caused. Even though Senior wouldn't really care, he was a responsible for this as the attackers were.

Jethro enters the interrogation room with a determined look on his face. He knows that he can't ask him any questions until the lawyer gets here, but he can sure as hell do what he is about to. He doesn't want this bastard to get off on a technicality.

"Mr. DiNozzo, I have received word on the condition of your son. His lacerated spleen is healing nicely. He has two broken and two cracked ribs. He had a punctured lung that if he hadn't been treated when he had would have collapse and killed him in all likelihood. You are very fortunate that it didn't happen because instead of attempted murder charges you would be facing conspiracy to commit murder and believe me you wouldn't do well in prison," Jethro tells him. He knows that Senior would do everything possible to get out of this, but Jethro is determined to make it stick. This is why he is being extremely careful to do everything by the book.

Anthony says nothing in reaction to this. He knows that keeping his mouth shut could possibly be his only way out of it. He isn't dumb enough to admit anything. He isn't aware of the skills of Jethro's team to find connections. Tim is downstairs in the bullpen determined to find who paid Alec and David to beat Tony up so badly. That would certainly help solidify their case against him. A confession is always preferable, especially when it comes to this sort of case, but not necessarily deal breaking.

Jethro is frustrated with the smugness that Senior is showing. What he wouldn't give to be able to wipe the smile off of his face, but maybe if he's lucky, he'll get the satisfaction of seeing him thrown in prison for a very long time.

Ziva comes into the observation room five minutes later. She realizes immediately that Jethro is no longer in the room.

"Agent Gibbs, Mr. DiNozzo's lawyer is downstairs," she tells him through the intercom. He isn't really saying anything at this point, so technically it isn't interrupting him in interrogation. He hated when anyone did that.

Jethro nods his head and walks out of the room. Ziva is there to meet him. He isn't upset with her for that at all. He knows that it is important to get the lawyer quickly so they can continue with the interrogation even though nothing is likely to come out of it now.

Joshua Tolliver enters the interrogation room following Jethro. He's been wishing his firm hadn't taken Anthony DiNozzo Sr. as a client, but really has no choice but to represent him to the best of his ability. Otherwise, he could be disbarred or worse. Anyway, he is the one assigned to the case by one of his firms senior partners, Alexander Wallace. He is hoping to make full partner one day and this case is just one of the many steps he has to take in order to reach that goal. If he is successful in winning this case, it will look really good for him.

"Mr. DiNozzo, I am Joshua Tolliver. The partners at Wallace, Lynch, Forrest and Daniels (Matthew Lynch, Jason Forrest and Victor Daniels) assigned me to work you case as I am sure you were informed," Joshua says as he introduces himself. The liaison department had told him that they had contacted NCIS to inform them who would be arriving to counsel Mr. DiNozzo on this matter.

"I hope your good, Mr. Tolliver," Senior said gruffly. He couldn't believe that one of the partners themselves hadn't shown up. He paid good money to retain the firm and they sent one of their junior associates.

"Yes. I have won twelve of the fifteen criminal cases I've tried," Joshua says.

'A newbie, even worse,' Senior thought to himself. He knows this could be a lot better if he had proper representation, but for the moment, it's too late to do anything about it. He couldn't request another lawyer this soon. He would definitely have to later before trial. He couldn't risk his life on someone who is practically just out of law school, even if his record is pretty impressive.

Jethro smiles at this piece of news. Someone so new to this wouldn't know a whole lot and he might be able to get Senior to answer some of his questions instead of stonewalling him.

"Okay, now that we have your lawyer present, we can continue with this interview," Jethro states clearly. "I have already told you what we believed happened here. We have written confessions from the men you hired to beat your son up. You are lucky that Tony has survived the incident, because if not you would be charged with conspiracy to commit murder instead of attempted murder."

"Agent Gibbs, I must object You have no other proof besides the statements of those two hooligans to corraborate your story," Joshua says.

"You have to admit that's a good start though. My team and I will not stop until we find out for certain who did this to Tony," Jethro says with a smirk. He is determined to make this stick. Tim is working to find a way to trace the bank records, but whoever had hidden them, had done an excellent job of it.

Joshua just shakes his head. He can't imagine someone actually doing this, but as he actually looks at his client, he can see there's something that's not right about that man. He hates the fact that he has to represent people like this.

"I want to know why you did this Mr. DiNozzo. Tony is a man who you should be proud to call your son. He has saved many lives in his time as a homicide cop and a federal agent. He doesn't deserve to be treated like this by any one, let alone his own father," Jethro barks at him again. In the six months since Tony had revealed his past, Jethro has wanted to slug his father in the nose. He knows that he can't, especially now that his lawyer has arrived.

Senior is determined to keep his mouth shut. He knows that if they discover where that money comes from, he's totally screwed.