A/N: Like I promised, new chapter soon! To my newest followers/favourites, welcome! To my reviewers I luv ya all! 101 reviews, I'm just chuffed that you all are loving this & want to be apart of the journey, seeing the number of follows, favourites climb, not to mention hearing all your comments, it just spurs me to write more & make this story as good as possible for everyone, so thank you!
Is it Mac? Well... let's find out...
Tony could see that the guy was clearly not wanting to provoke Gibbs further as he stayed down, he was seriously wondering who he was.
Gibbs was beyond furious & turned back to Jenn "why the fuck is he here?!" he all but demanded.
"I thought he could help the situation" Jenn said as calmly as possible.
"Help? Help!?" Gibbs barked "If it wasn't for him, this mess wouldn't have happened in the first place! How can he help?!" he was furious.
Tony took a step back, but only when he saw Gibbs had moved away from the guy, who had stood up finally, was he going to try to say something?
Gibbs saw the guy get closer "I'd stay back, unless you want to end up on the floor, again"
"I'm….. I'm sorry Jethro, I don't know how it happened, I screwed up" the man confessed.
Gibbs got in his face "your damn right you screwed up! Jesus, you fucked up! Stay away from me, stay away from my family, you've 'helped' enough"
"Maybe he can shed some light on a few things Gibbs, that's why I pulled him off the flight before it took off" Jenn commented.
"We don't need his help Director" Gibbs bit back.
"Jethro, let me try to help, I want to make it up to you, somehow, please" the man basically begged.
Gibbs eyed him "You seriously think that by using the word please I'd somehow think you had succumbed to what… who knows & give in, you ruined my family's lives….. Mike!" he finished so harshly that Mike too a few steps back.
"He can aid us in working out how it went wrong, as that is something we have to deal with" Jenn stated.
Gibbs turned to her "right now, working out how he screwed up isn't high on my priorities"
"I know that, but it's still something that must be done, an investigation will need to be undertaken" Jenn replied.
"You can do whatever you want, me, there's only one thing that I care about & that's getting my wife, my family back home safe & sound, where they should have been all along!" Gibbs bit back.
"Tony, Mr Franks, could you please excuse us for a few minutes?" Jenn asked.
Tony saw Mike Franks walk out straight away, it wasn't until his boss gave him a nod that he went out too.
Jenn took a deep breath "Jethro, if you think that I want to take resources away from finding your wife & getting her back to your family you are mistaken, I want to add resources! I will have the Kansas City office head out to as many of the truck stops as possible to see if they can find her for when she comes in. I want to help as much as I can"
Gibbs took a breath "She's in Shreveport, probably won't be going all the way to Kansas City"
"since when?" Jenn asked.
"About 20 minutes" Gibbs replied, he wasn't going to catch her up on everything when she was trying to shove Franks on him, he hadn't thought about Mike's part in it all, but as soon as he saw him the fury he felt was overwhelming.
"Ok, I'm going to speak to the FBI & wrangle their help, I figure Fornell owes you a favour or two, no?" Jenn asked.
Gibbs was confused "ahh, he does"
Jenn let out a breath "Jethro, you need to realise, that I seriously want to help you in this, I will pull every single possible resource I can to do it. One of those is Franks" she took a breath "ok, so the introduction didn't go well, but he can help, he may remember something important from back then in his dealings with MacDonald that could help in the now"
Gibbs just eyed her, how'd she know Franks spoke with Mac?
"I've read the case file, MacDonald was the one who identified the the supposed bodies, so he'd obviously spoken with Franks. He may remember something useful" Jenn said, to answer his stare.
"That… he" Gibbs stopped then started again "fine, he can stay, but he stays away from me & he stays away from my kids, I don't want him near them at all!"
"Very well Jethro, I will liaise with him personally" Jenn said, trying to keep him calm. She knew he wasn't going to be happy at his appearance, though she wasn't counting on him decking Mike. But he was a resource to be used & she would use whatever resources she could.
Gibbs just stood & stared.
"Might I make a suggestion without getting my head bitten off?" Jenn asked, she saw a him just look & knew he wouldn't give an answer one way or the other "take a bit of time to calm down & think things through before heading back down to your children, all of this has rocked you to the core. I don't want you collapsing, and I know you would hate it if you bit your kids heads off because you haven't had a chance to cool down"
Gibbs tensed "Do not tell me how to act with my kids!" he'd never bite his kids heads off, even if he was in a foul mood with other people.
"I'm not, I can already see how great a father you are to them, but this can't be easy on any of you. You need to take some time to gather your thoughts, so that you will be of good to them, and your wife" Jenn replied "or maybe you could use a drink?" she offered as she rose from her chair.
Gibbs just watched as she headed over to the cabinet.
"Yes? No?" Jenn asked.
"No" Gibbs replied "Wont drink when I have to be 100% focused"
Jenn sighed "Jethro, that's the thing, you aren't, so much has happened that you haven't had a chance to process, you need to take some time to clear you head"
Gibbs knew she was right, but he wasn't going to admit that to her "I will take time once I have every single member of my family back in their proper place… their home, my home"
"You know I thought your daughter was as stubborn as you but she's nowhere near as stubborn as you!" Jenn smirked.
Gibbs smirked "thanks"
"Take some time Jethro!" Jenn called as he headed out her door.
Tony just watched Franks pace back & forth outside of MTAC.
"What?" Mike demanded.
"Just wondering who exactly you are?" Tony asked.
"I'm retired Special Agent Michael Franks. I was the one who enlisted Gibbs into NCIS" Mike said.
Tony eyed him, this was the guy who gave Gibbs his start at NCIS? Must be a hardass! But there was more "there's more, what did you screw up?"
"I was assigned the investigation into the deaths of Shannon & Kelly, along with their NIS protection agent" Mike confessed, if he was going to try to help he'd have to be honest with not just Gibbs, but his team & this kid was clearly Gibbs's second.
Tony was about to ask another question when he saw his boss walk out & head straight for the stairs, he took off immediately to stay on his six. Getting information out of Mike might have helped, but making his boss realise he was on his six, on his side of everything, was far more important for him.
Tony followed Gibbs all the way down to the squad room, he didn't look good "boss" he said quietly as they entered.
Gibbs turned at looked at his man "yea?"
"Maybe you should get some air" Tony said & continued before he could interrupted "I'll stay on top of everything, Ziva's gotten the BOLO's out, McGee & Abby are doing constant sweeps of CCTV feeds, we wont stop. But you need to take some time"
"I'm fine DiNozzo" Gibbs replied.
"Sorry boss, but that's a load of crap" Tony replied.
"I'd have to agree with Tony" Ducky commented, he'd come into the bullpen as Tony had started his plea to have Gibbs take some time "you need to take a few minutes at least & I'd like to check you. Your children are still down in Abby's lab with her, Tim & Jimmy, they're doing fine."
Gibbs let out a sigh "ok Duck, lead the way" he gave in, but turned to Tony "Stay on top of everything & call me the second you have anything & I mean anything DiNozzo"
"Will do boss" Tony agreed.
Gibbs nodded "and Tony... Franks isn't to go anywhere near Kelly & Phoenix, understood?"
"Yes boss, I'll make sure he keeps his distance" Tony agreed.
Ziva had been sitting at her desk the entire time, but could see tension, so she kept quiet, it wasn't until Gibbs had left with Ducky that she spoke "Tony, is Gibbs ok?"
Tony looked at her "not by a long shot Zeeeeva" he sighed "so, any hits on the BOLO's?"
"Not yet, but it's only a matter of time" Ziva replied, she had cast the net wide, as wide as possible, she was determined it would bring reward.
"Happy now?" Gibbs asked.
"Not in the slightest Jethro" Ducky replied "your blood pressure is too high, you've clearly got a headache & those wounds need fresh dressings, so stay put"
Gibbs just sat there, he hated to admit it, but some peace to just think was a welcome relief. He allowed Ducky to redress the wounds & clean the remaining cuts on his face again. He guessed he kinda zoned out as the next thing he knew he was getting a cup of coffee shoved into his hands.
"Thought you could use it" Ducky commented.
Gibbs took it & basically downed it in one go.
Ducky just sat there as he watched his friend, he looked beyond exhausted, he knew he would never agree to have a sleep, but he had to do something, he was still recovering from the blast & with that & all the emotional stress that's been added, it was taking a serious toll "Perhaps a walk might be in order Jethro, fresh air might help you regroup"
Gibbs didn't say a word, he just sat there.
Ducky took that as a subtle hint that he didn't want to go anywhere, he stood & left the room, he thought it best to let him have some privacy.
"Tony, any news?" Jenn asked coming into the bullpen with Franks.
Tony eyed Franks, the pair had been in her office for a good hour "nothing so far, Taylor's almost at Shreveport, Dayle about an hour behind him. But McGee & Abby haven't been able to find anything on the street cam's. I've also had Kelly's cell & Gibbs home number re-routed to the lab in case Shannon does another ghost call to either"
"That's good thinking Tony, anything on the BOLO's?" Jenn asked.
"A few possible hits on some of them, Ziva & I are looking into them" Tony answered.
"Fornell's on his way over, he's offered whatever help we need, so use it, send them some of the possible & they'll help chase it all down" Jenn said.
"Fornell's coming here, now?" Tony asked.
"Yes, is that a problem?" Jenn asked.
"Not for me Director" Tony replied "I'll get them some of the BOLO sightings to chase down" he honestly didn't know how Gibbs would be with more people.
"He knows that I was calling Fornell" Jenn replied "where is he?"
"Autopsy, taking a breather. Kelly & Phoenix are in the lab with Abby, McGee, Palmer & Ducky" Tony said.
"Good" Jenn said, she was glad he was taking a break.
Mike didn't quite know what to do, he knew he couldn't go near the lab "Let me help with the BOLO's"
Tony flashed a look at Ziva, he'd caught her up on who he was, he saw the uncertainty in her eyes "ahh"
Mike came up to Tony's desk & rested his hands on the edges, he looked him in the eye "you want to back Gibbs, I get that DiNozzo. He's your boss & your loyal to a fault, I get that too. But I need to fix my screw up, I need to help, I need to make it as right as I can, anything I can help with I will do" he felt utterly terrible & downright pissed with himself, how could he have screwed it up so badly? He had to make it right.
Tony stood up to his full height, he wanted to show this guy he wouldn't be intimidated & his boss's wishes were the only thing that mattered "Look Franks, I get that you want to fix your screw up but you can't. You fucked up! It's that simple. He doesn't want you anywhere near his kids, so I wont have you in a position that would take you close them, even by chance. So if you want to help you can be in the field chasing BOLO sightings down with the FBI, not here"
Mike stood back & up, this kid had attitude, but he kinda liked that "fair enough" he didn't want to upset his probie any more than he already was.
Ziva had been keenly watching this interaction & taken when her phone rang "David" she answered.
Jenn turned to watch her & saw her eyes react to what she was being told.
"Yes, straight here to NCIS" Ziva replied, she looked at her watch "15 minutes, we will meet you in the holding area"
"Ziva?" Jenn & Tony asked as soon as she hung up.
"One of the men that were with Quinn has been found trying to get assistance at a vet clinic, LEO's are bringing him in now" Ziva reported, she was looking forward to this interrogation!
"I'll get the boss, put him in interrogation" Tony said as he headed straight for the lifts to autopsy.
Ziva nodded & went to meet the expected arrival.
"Tony, hold up a minute please" Jenn asked quickly.
"Director, I need to get Gibbs, he may need time to re-focus before doing the interrogation" Tony answered.
"I will get him, Fornell will be here in the next few minutes, brief him & get them going on the BOLO's, Franks will go with them, as you suggested" Jenn said.
"Ok" Tony agreed.
Jenn headed down to autopsy, she entered cautiously unsure where he was, at first she couldn't see him, all the lights were off. "Jethro?" she called quietly, she then spotted a shadow move slightly, it was up near the freezer trays & looked liked someone huddled into the corner on the floor. She wondered if he heard her, she wondered if was ok or if something was wrong.
A/N: Guess Gibbs was pissed at seeing Mike? But Tony's always had his back! Jenn might have handled that a bit better, but maybe she wanted to get all the crap out of the way first & then deal with the mop up.
How though will Gibbs go with the guy being brought in? Can he get information to help the cause? How will Kelly & Nix react to the guy?
More up soon! You know the drill, I love hearing your thoughts, so review away!