Chapter 14
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Bethesda Naval Hospital
"Thank you for dropping me off here at the hospital McGee." Abby said. "You'll pick me up in the morning."
"Absolutely Abbs" McGee replied "In fact, when I get here, I'll be sure to install Tony's DVD player and bring his favorite DVD's with me."
Abby smiled as she put her bag on her shoulder and waved goodbye.
"Bye Timmy" Abby said with a mischievous grin "Remember that I require a Caf Pow first thing in the morning. See ya about 0700 in the morning."
Abby took off laughing. It was nice to smile and she couldn't wait to get inside to be with Tony. He's always been such a good friend, Abby thought. She made her way to Tony's room, resisting the urge to buy more flowers and balloons. When she got to his room, he was still sleeping, snoring slightly. Abby set her bag down next to the bed. She then reached for Bert and placed him under Tony's arm. Abby pulled out her bag so she could get out her magazines and her I Pod to pass the time. After an hour or so she decided to head down to the cafeteria. There was no Caf Pow available, so she settled for a coffee and her favorite pizza. After she finished, she grabbed a few snacks and a couple of pops to get bye with for the rest of the night. Abby stretched out on the chair with the intention of closing her eyes for a few minutes, when she felt someone holding her hand. Abby about jumped until she realized it was just Tony.
"How long was I asleep?" Abby asked.
"Well, its 0600 right now. So I guess almost all night." Tony replied with a smile. "I was watching you sleeping. I would have grabbed for your I Pod but I couldn't reach that far. I just can't wait to be out of here."
"I know Tony" Abby said "You only have a couple of weeks here, and then you are free to go. Besides, McGee is bringing your DVD's and your player. Then you'll be at Gibbs house until you're strong enough."
"That's the problem. I mean, it's not like I'm ungrateful or anything like that. But I can't. I'd just stay at my place and have one of those nurses come in. But there's the problem of the front of my apartment building being gone. So I can assume it's not safe to even be in there. Maybe I'll go and stay with one of my frat brothers. His girlfriend is a nurse at a hospital in Fairfax. I'm sure they wouldn't mind"
Abby walked over to Tony's side and grabbed hold of his hand. She was so worried and wanted to beg all of the information out of Tony before more bad things could happen to him. Before Abby could say anything else, in came McGee with three bags.
"Whatcha got there Probie" Tony smirked "It better not be your typewriter in there."
"No" McGee answered "I am going to hook up your DVD player. Here's your remote. The other two bags have all of your favorite DVD's and some of Abby's favorites too. So, if you two give me a few minutes, I'll get this hooked up and one of your movies in it Tony."
Tony yawned and laid his head back down on the pillow. He wanted to ask when Gibbs was coming so he could quickly make the phone call that was needed. The more he thought about things, the more he needed some answers quickly.
"Sounds good McGee" Tony answered. "Did you by chance bring my phone? I also wondered when Gibbs would be coming by."
"I did" McGee answered back, handing it to Tony. "Gibbs will be back later this afternoon. He wants to get your statement this afternoon when he comes. We better get back Abby, before Gibbs gets mad"
Abby leaned over and gave Tony a kiss. She promised that she would be back. McGee grabbed her bag as Tony waved his goodbye to them. Tony watched as they walked away. He closed his eyes so he could get a little rest before he made the important phone call.
Tony dozed off and on for about an hour. He realized that he wasn't going to stay asleep, so he turned his DVD player off and picked up his cell phone. Tony looked out the door to make sure Gibbs or the team was coming in. He pressed the speed dial on his phone and waited for it to ring. After about three rings, the person on the other end finally answered.
"Matt Thompson" the man said.
"Hey Matt, this is Agent DiNozzo. I was wondering what the hell went wrong the other day. The bomb wasn't supposed to go off for several more minutes until I was all the way inside. Kind of blew the whole plan to bits, didn't it! Maybe I should have listened to Andrea in the first place. She's so upset and angry with me that she said she doesn't want to talk to me again"
"Hey Tony" The man said "We're not sure what went wrong. I spoke to Sacks and he said that his men were told to wait until we heard you were clear first. I am going to find out exactly what went wrong and who was responsible. Everything is still going according to plan. And about Andrea, I'll talk to her tonight. Okay Tony?"
"How the hell is any of this okay?" Tony yelled "I bet you that Sacks was involved in the explosion. In my opinion, he's completely incompetent. He's been a jackass from the day this whole mess started. Tell me how everything is still going according to plan when I am stuck here with a broken leg. I tell you what, I'm ready to just back out now."
"Tony, I'm sorry about what happened." Matt said calmly "I know you and Sacks don't get along. He told me about your phone call the other day and he was pissed. But he would not deliberately sabotage anything. He wants Rustav just as bad as we all do. Andrea is covering for you. We're also putting someone in as an associate that you supposedly put in place for yourself. Rustav and his associates know about you and believe that someone is trying to kill you. Andrea said that he wants you placed under his personal doctor's care. Andrea said that Rustav believes that someone is after you. He wants you in his protective custody. How do you feel about that option Tony?"
"That would never work." Tony answered with tiredness in his voice. "Gibbs would fire me on the spot. He is already way too suspicious. We can't do this yet. I thought we decided to discuss the other part of this at a later time. Besides you know that would be something I would never do. I don't want to jeopardize my relationship with Gibbs and NCIS. I can't betray Gibbs and the rest of the team. The other thing I wanted to talk to you about is the statement I should give to Gibbs when he comes by later. He wants me to stay with him for a few weeks then to McGee's until I can get back into my apartment. Maybe I should just do it to avoid any unwanted questions. I know Gibbs wants me there so he can get me to confide and find out what I am doing. I'm so mad that I lost the chance to bring him on earlier."
"Tony" Matt replied "Staying at Gibbs house will keep Gibbs in the dark about what is going on here. He won't be suspicious if he sees for himself that you're not involved in anything. I know how much you hate to lie to him. You always say that he has your six. Well Tony, we have your six. Just please trust me. When Gibbs comes, just tell the truth the best way you know. Because you technically don't know what happened. If someone sabotaged this maybe Gibbs can find out."
"I'll call you later and let you know what happened. Please ask Andrea to call me. She always worries, which is nice, but unnecessary. I need to make sure that Gibbs or the team doesn't find out who I was talking to before I left for work the day of the explosion" Tony answered."
The both said goodbye. Tony was even more exhausted and frustrated but at least he had clear options. Tony decided to go ahead and take Gibbs up on his offer. The other part he would have to seriously need to discuss when he wasn't so dang sore. Tony pressed the play button again, but he was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
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NCIS Headquarters
Gibbs was waiting up in the squad room with Ziva for McGee and Abby to return. Gibbs was determined to find out who blew up Tony's apartment building. Gibbs and Ziva were starting to go though Tony's old cases when he remembered that Ivan Rustav had made a threat against Tony months earlier. He was waiting till Abby got back so he could have her run the trigger device again for any prints. He also wanted Ziva and McGee to question Ivan Rustav again. Gibbs got up and walked over to McGee's desk.
"McGee" Gibbs said. "I need you to go to legal to get a warrant so you and Ziva can go speak to Mister Rustav and Miss. Korovsky. Do what ever you need to do to get that warrant McGee. If you have any problems, go to the director if you have to."
"On it Boss." McGee said as he was hurrying to the elevator.
"Ziva" Gibbs said as he was walking over to her desk. "I need to know if any of the cameras on the outside or inside of Tony's building that survived the blast. I need you to contact the manager or the apartment's security to locate a camera of any kind. I need to know who set that damn bomb."
"Gibbs" Ziva stated. "According to the manager, there were none that show the outside of the building. The one at the desk was not damaged because it was built into the wall. The manager said it was actually Tony's idea. I think he got the idea from our stakeout case from three years ago."
"Ziva" Gibbs snapped "Go get that video. It may show something or at least give us a lead."
Gibbs noticed Ziva still standing at her desk looking like she wanted to ask him something important.
"Gibbs, you don't think that Tony was involved somehow, do you? I mean, why would he hurt himself?"
"I don't know Ziva." Gibbs said shaking his head "But I want to give him the benefit of the doubt. The Tony we know would never get involved in anything like this. Just go and get the tape. When you get back, we'll go talk to Tony."
Ziva smiled and went to grab her backpack. Gibbs smiled at her as she left for the elevator. Ziva made it down to the parking garage thinking how strange it was to be going alone. It seemed that Tony or even McGee was always with her when they went to collect evidence or speak with a witness. She really missed Tony, even though she would never admit that to his face. He was so good at making her laugh and smile, even when he was at his most annoying moments. She finally arrived at his building. She noticed that the repairs had already been started. Since all of the rubble had been cleared away, her badge was all that was needed to get inside. The manager recognized Ziva from earlier.
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Tony's Apartment Building
"My name is Officer David." Ziva said "Tony once told me that you have a closed circuit camera behind the main desk. Yes?"
The manager replied "I assume Tony must have told you about the camera that he had me have built into the wall. We were having problems with our late night manager. I knew Tony was an NCIS agent so I asked him for help. He suggested that I install a closed circuit camera. Since then, we haven't had any problems."
Ziva smiled at the manager in acknowledgement of what he had said. "I was hoping to get a copy of the footage from the day of the explosion, if possible."
"Yes I can" the manager said "I have it right here if you just give me a minute"
Ziva nodded to the man and watched him go behind the wall to get the tapes. She hoped that these tapes would show that Tony wasn't involved and would show the person who set off the bomb. Tony's manager returned with the video. Ziva thanked the manager and got back into her car. She took a look around to see if maybe the man that Tony was seen with was hanging around at all. A quick look of the area showed no one looking unusual or in a dark suit. Ziva ran across the street and back in her car. She made it back in record time, due to her usual driving style.
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NCIS Headquarters
She quickly parked the car and hurried into the elevator. Gibbs wasn't around and McGee was still gone, Ziva decided to take the tapes down to Abby's lab. When she got there, Ziva noticed that Gibbs was gone and McGee was nowhere to be seen. Ziva decided to take the tapes down to Abby's lab while she waited for Gibbs. When she got there, she noticed that Gibbs was already there talking to Abby.
"Gibbs" Abby was saying "Like I told you, there were no viable prints on the trigger device. The bomb was almost completely destroyed. It's in little pieces. There is no way to even get a partial print. If I could find any prints I would. You know that Gibbs. Isn't it time to go and visit Tony? Gibbs, Tony seems really sad right now. He is so unhappy that he about begged me to stay with him for a few nights. I couldn't say no. He's also really tired and sore. He really really wants to talk to you. I can quickly download the tapes. McGee left his PDA here again. It'll just take a few minutes then we can go."
"Abs" Gibbs said "We can leave just as soon as I can track McGee down and get the warrant. He's been up in legal for over an hour now. We'll meet you in the parking garage in about five minutes. Ziva and I will go up to the squad room to find out what is taking McGee so long. Then we'll be ready to go to the hospital to see Tony."
Abby watched Ziva and Gibbs leave to go to the elevator. She grabbed her overnight bag in preparation to spend the night with Tony. Then she hurried back to quickly download the tapes. She was so happy to see that she had beet McGee's record that she didn't hear the beep of the text message on her phone.
Gibbs and Ziva quickly made their way up to the squad room to see McGee sitting at his desk with his pack in his arms.
"Uh, Boss" McGee said "I've been up in legal for over an hour. Some one is really trying to keep us from securing the warrant to speak with Elena Korovsky and Ivan Rustav. Legal and I have tried every possible way of getting the warrant but some one is stonewalling us. Not even the FBI has been able to get a warrant through. They must have some very good lawyers so someone else is doing a very good job here."
"I don't know McGee." Gibbs said as he was reaching for his keys and his pack. "But I very much intend to find out who is. Abby is waiting downstairs for us. It's time to head over to the hospital."
Ziva and McGee hurried behind Gibbs to the elevator. They made their way down to the parking garage level to see Abby there waiting for them.
"Gibbs" Abby said "Ducky is going to meet us there. He said not to wait be cause he was getting changed because he was just finishing up with another autopsy."
Gibbs, in his usual brusque manner shuttled Abby into the backseat of the car next to McGee. Again they made record time in getting to Bethesda due to Gibbs driving. They all hurried inside.
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Bethesda Naval Hospital
Once they made it to Tony's floor Gibbs announced that he needed some time to talk to Tony before everyone came in to say hi. Abby, Ziva, and McGee excused themselves to the cafeteria. When Gibbs walked in Tony was in the process of watching a movie. He notices some colorful flowers. Tony gave him a look that said not to ask.
"Tony" Gibbs asked "Are you ready for me to take your statement now?"
"Yes" Tony replied with a confident tone to his voice. "I guess I should start from the beginning. Earlier that morning a man came up to me. He seemed to know that I was a federal agent. The man was asking about who I worked with and what recent cases I was working on. I didn't answer any questions to him. He then claimed that he was also a federal agent. In fact, he said he was just moving into my building. I was concerned, so I excused myself quickly to get to my car and completely forgot it about."
Gibbs nodded at Tony "Are you sure that you have never seen him before."
Tony looked Gibbs in the eye. "No Boss, I've never seen the man before, I swear I've never seen him before."
"Tony" Gibbs said "Do you remember what happened before you got up to your building? Did you see anyone looking suspicious at all?"
Tony replied "Absolutely not Boss. I was kind of in a hurry to get a file that I accidentally took home with me the night before. I was just running toward the door, then waking up in the hospital the next day"
"Tony" Gibbs stated "Your neighbor seemed to think that maybe you knew the man. He also said that he saw a man sticking something in a flower pot by the entrance. Did you see him do that? Also, are you absolutely sure you've never met him."
"Absolutely Boss. And no, I didn't see anyone putting anything in one of the flower pots. I am positive." Tony said again with conviction, looking Gibbs right in the eye.
Gibbs noticed that Tony's strength was wavering again. He decided to give Tony a break.
Tony spoke up again "Boss, is it too late to take you up on your offer to stay at your house for a couple of weeks until I can start to get around on my own?"
Gibbs was a little bit surprised based on what Abby had said earlier but he thought of Tony like a son. He knew that it took a lot for Tony to take him up on his offer.
"That would be great tony. I'll get Ziva and McGee to help in getting whatever you need from your apartment. I am sure that Abby will make a list for you."
Tony yawned a reply "Thanks Boss."
Gibbs nodded a your welcome and announced that he was going to step out and call for everyone to come back up to say hi. Tony yawned a bunch more. Thanks to Palmer calling Tony in advance he was able to get his company away before Gibbs saw. A few minute later, Abby, Ziva, and McGee came through the door with another mountain load of balloons and black roses from Abby. Everyone moved out of the way so Abby could have her chance to fuss with Tony for a few minutes. Tony was desperately wanting to go back to sleep. Gibbs obviously noticed.
"Let's make it quick so Tony can get his rest."
"Thanks for helping me out and coming to visit you guys. I can't tell you how much I appreciate that. Abby, I really hate to ask, but I was kind of hoping to be alone tonight. "
Abby smiled at Tony. "Sure, if you want to. But I will see you in the morning. We can get in a movie if you want to."
Tony replied. "That would be great."
Ziva finally spoke up. "How about I smuggle a pizza in for you tomorrow?" By the way, Ducky said that he was going to stop by after talking to your doctor"
Tony smiled. "Thanks Ziva that would be great."
Tony closed his eyes. Before anyone notices, he was fast asleep. Everyone snuck out the door to give Tony some privacy.
A/n
Another chapter finished. I tried to explain a little about was is going on with Tony. I've had some questions asked so I thought that part of this chapter would do a little explaining. As always, please don't make me beg for you to read and review.