Gibbs grabbed the steering wheel in a hurry and pressed the acceleration pedal with crazy eyes, worries due to impatience playing with his nerves.
— Hey, boss, no need to speed up like that, Tony nervously smiled. Call has been made days ago, so no need to provoke an accident, uh ?
— If we find the guy's face and realize he has a room next to the payphone, you really think I'm gonna take my time, Dinozzo ? Gibbs gritted his teeth. What do you think ? You want a tea or something before we arrest the suspect, maybe ?
Ziva smiled from the backseat but didn't comment what had just been said. Tony was already feeling bad enough.
— Okay, boss, understood, he mumbled.
Gibbs silently drove to another street, the silence of the car getting so heavy that everyone could only hear the sweet roaring of the vehicle…
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
— Ah, Hello Timothy, I'm glad to see that you are trying to eat something.
— How do you manage, Ducky ? Every time it feels like my stomach is playing tennis with my organs.
— Well that's interesting…Dr Mallard audibly laughed, trying to figure out where Tim could have found such a sporty comparison to explain his visible hangover.
— That's why I never drink that much, Ducky, my body is not...ready for that.
— Well, I guess sometimes that it is not mandatory, but still a bit advised. I am not gonna make an apology of whisky, of course not, but I do think that letting the mind fly away from time to time is still quite a good thing to do on some occasions…
— Seems to be easier for you, from what I can see, Tim quickly smiled, I know the whole day is almost gone, but…
— Jethro and I were born from the same old tree, the medical examiner chuckled, I guess we have more power on whisky nowadays than whisky has on us. May I ? he politely asked, revealing a hand near the kitchen's table.
— Please do.
— Can I tell you a little secret, Timothy ?
Tim nodded and let Ducky continue.
— I know I am very famous to be the eternal admirer of Tea Time, and I guess it is not gonna change anytime soon, but I have to say that I am quite close to teenagers' behavior when it happens for me to be drinking.
— What about it ?
— I am craving for pizza…
Both men instantly shortly, but sincerely laughed at the revelation, Tim drying a small tear of happiness escaping from his eye. He had no idea if Ducky was telling him a real secret or only pretending in order to make him smile, but anyway, it was definitely working.
—…but don't tell Jethro, hmm ? He'd lose all his bearings…Ducky's body kept shaking with the continuous joke.
— You are right, Ducky. If I don't think about the awful headache I had the whole afternoon, I have to say that yesterday's drinks were quite worth it. I definitely needed to think about something else.
— You needed it, indeed, the old man smiled in return. But if you keep on saying that I am right for everything, Timothy, I'll start making you pay for all my precious advices…
— I'll think about it, Tim chuckled.
Silence filled the kitchen's space for a second before both men finally sighed unitedly, enjoying the recent previous moment, but still knowing that another seriouser conversation was about to come...
— So why are you here, Ducky ? Is there anything new with my parents' case, or are you only here to check on my hangover ? That's what I thought, he added when he saw the old man's smile vanish.
— I wanted to tell you that we had something new. We found the last location of the man who paid Dr Hoopridge…well, 'doctor'…Ducky disdainfully commented.
— What about him ?
— It seems like he called from a payphone, so now I guess that the whole team is gonna look for him around the place, maybe check at the cameras if there are some…in order to find the man.
Tim paused for a second, thinking and now realizing that maybe, things would soon be over. That was a strange feeling. In fact, he didn't really know what to think about that.
— How is your rib, Timothy ?
— Better than before, I guess…
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
— That's the one, boss, Tony pointed at the payphone, Gibbs' car parking wherever.
— I want someone to work on it right now, I need DNA ! Jethro robotically ordered.
— There is a big chance for our man to have been using gloves, Ziva commented, but we'll do our best, she added before grabbing her phone.
— Tony, you have the exact time of the call ? So now we need to find cameras. If we got one…
—…then we'll be able to identify someone calling at the exact same time. Got it, boss.
Gibbs let his agent walk around the place, taking a look at the few buildings and shops around. Three possibilities…the man was still here, watching them, the man had already left…or the man had never been staying here at all, only calling…
— Gibbs, they're on their way, Ziva interrupted his thoughts.
— Boss, Tony did the same, two cameras on each side, both out of order.
— Did someone break them ?
— For sure, boss, but I'm not even certain that it's recent. This place is not the cleanest ever, I don't even think they ever cared about replacing them.
— The man knew which location to choose, Ziva added.
...Gibbs impatiently followed the movement of a man in uniform walking from his car to the payphone with his equipment, wondering how long it would take... He'd always found watching people working extremely boring.
— Do you know how long this is gonna take ? he finally asked after some time.
— Well, I don't know exactly, Agent Gibbs, but I can already see that the handset has been completely cleaned.
Jethro furrowed his brows with exasperation.
— Tony, Ziva.
— Yes, boss ?
— I need you to…
Both teammates observed Gibbs for a second as he stopped talking.
— You hear that ?
— What, boss...
The tiny sound of a bell rang nearby, some music coming out of…somewhere… Gibbs raised a finger to his mouth, his body surprisingly turning back in a colorful building's direction.
— That's not a fun fair...he sighed.
— It's an Ice Cream shop ! Ziva added.
— 'Una Gelateria…' Tony suddenly gesticulated, proud of his supposed to be Italian accent. Hey, buddy ! he quickly turned serious again and walked to the seller, hands ready to grab his gun, Gibbs and Ziva by his side.
— Hey, wow ! the man immediately raised both hands, I didn't do anything wrong ! I was just reopening for the evening, it's not a crime !
Each agent saw the glimpse of fear in the stranger's eyes, and all of them then tried to relax a bit more.
— Any memory of a man walking to that payphone over there a few days in a row ?
— Wh…what ? Man, how could I know ? Do you think I spend my life out of the shop ? I have customers inside too !
— The payphone is right in front of your shop, you're never taking a break ?
— I don't know ! You guys don't have a picture to show me or something ? Or maybe we can try with the cameras too !
— We already tried that...Ziva gritted her teeth, but they're all out of order.
— No, no, I meant my cameras !
— You have some ? Gibbs' eyes begun shining.
— Of course, with all these thieves who try stealing my tips on the outside tables, I had no choice ! People would kill for a few dollars, vaffan...sorry, but what a crazy world we live in...
Tony felt deep impatience wrap his heart and suddenly raised his gun in the man's direction, not Gibbs, nor Ziva, trying to prevent him doing so.
— Andiamo Signore, he ordered, we don't have the whole night. Moreover, your ice is melting.
The man seemed to be panicking again for a second but finally invited them to follow him inside, the three pairs of eyes deeply focusing on him.