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You're to Blame

You are to blame for anything that is good in my heart. You are to blame for this change that has taken me by storm. - Mercy Me

SPOILERS: Mentions of High Seas and dialogue from Sub Rosa.

Chapter Twenty-six – November 2003

Saturday November 1, 2003

Hours passed since Tony had woken up in the cave. The woman across from him, who Tony suspected wasn't Anna Kava, hadn't said a single word. Tony was running commentary on every 1960's television show that he could think of. Judging by the tick above Anna's left eye, she just about ready to snap.

And not once did the smile slip from his face.

The whole situation was ridiculous. Though he had to give Anna her props... he had never been held captive in a cave before. The woman was an amateur. Clearly she had no clue what she was doing or she would have been questioning him or telling him why he was taken by now, not that he would answer.

That meant that she was waiting for someone. Possibly her partner, though it was more likely to be her boss. He had finished telling the premise of 'The Man From U.N.C.L.E.', when he finally arrived. Tony nearly laughed at what the man was wearing. He had to admit that the man had good taste in clothes but he had no idea why he was wearing a full suit in a cave. Even his shoes were still shining, as though he had them done right before he went to speak to Tony. No one in their right mind would do that. Tony didn't include himself because he wasn't there by choice.

"Dr. X I presume?" Tony's smile still didn't falter. The unknown man on the other hand didn't even let the edges of his lips quirk up.

"I prefer Charles. Did Agent Kava inform you of why you are here?"

"Nope."

Charles glared at Anna. "He wouldn't shut up!" she weakly defended herself.

"Then you gag him."

"Either of you want to tell me what's going on?"

"We have a job for you," answered Charles.

"I already have a job."

"A job offer then," he reluctantly corrected himself.

"I'm not interested." Tony didn't care that he sounded petulant.

"Just here us out," demanded Anna. "We have a group of anti-Bush supremacists under our watch."

"Militias aren't part of my jurisdiction unless something Naval is involved."

"How does dozens of UA's, both Marine and Navy, sound to you?"

"Like NCIS should be more involved than just one measly agent. Who are you guys anyways?"

"NSA."

"Great, I got myself kidnapped by a couple of spooks. Let me guess, you want me to infiltrate."

Anna answered even though it was rhetorical. "That is the plan. We'll have you observe, confirm the intel that we have and get out so arrests can be made."

"I'm not doing it."

"You don't really have a choice," claimed Charles.

"Why? Are you going to kill me? Do I know too much?"

"You do but we're not going to kill you."

"We're just going to leave you in the middle France with no passport of any other kind of identification. It won't be much fun for you."

Tony knew that if that was the case then he was fully capable of surviving until he found his way to the American embassy. But that would take weeks... that is if they really did dump him in the middle in France. However, if NSA was behind all of this, he wouldn't put it past them.

"What kind of time scale are we looking at?"

Charles smiled, thinking that he won. "A week. Maybe a little longer if you can't get what we need."

That offended Tony. He had never failed to meet a deadline. "Not a problem." He leaned forward, handcuffs on the floor. It was his way of telling them that he was only going this so he didn't have spend any time in France that he didn't have to. If the two NSA agents were surprised they didn't show it. "When do we leave?"

"0600," smirked Charles.

"Let me guess, that's in Zulu.

"You're a fast learner. I'm impressed." Anna brushed her hand between his shoulder blades as she walked behind him. Tony rolled his eyes at her obvious flirtations but otherwise he didn't react.

"Rule twelve, Agent Kava." She looked confused. "Never date a co-worker. Unfortunately for you, we are co-workers for the duration of this mission."

"And afterward?"

"I'll never see you again." Tony gave her his best smile. "I've developed an aversion to crazy redheads."

"Speaking of hair," interrupted Charles, "it's time that we give yours a little trim."

Jethro was glad to be rid of Kate for the weekend. She had potential as an agent but he didn't think she could handle the truth about Tony. He wasn't going to get rid of her because she disliked Tony but he had no choice but to restrict her with the important things. Besides, Tony didn't want her to know and Jethro knew that he couldn't deny Tony such a simple request.

He still had Abby and Jeremy to help. Abby was finally able to clean up the security video of Tony's last known whereabouts. A few minutes he entered Anna went in with a man in his mid forties that none of the three recognized. The man plunged a syringe into Tony's neck. No one noticed anything as Tony was carried out. Unfortunately there weren't any cameras in the parking lot so they couldn't track their movements from there.

"Gibbs?" whimpered Abby.

"Hey, we'll get him back." Jethro put a comforting arm around her and held her to his side.

"I know. But the last time we lost him we really did nearly lose him."

"Abby, you just have to have faith that Tony will get out of this situation just like he's gotten out of every other situation that he gotten himself into. If he can survive his father he can survive anything. Understand?"

Abby nodded but wasn't sure if she could believe it. At least last time he went missing they had some idea of who the person was who took him.

Monday November 3, 2003

Kate was furious. DiNozzo had once again chosen not to come in, leaving her with most of his work. Worst still was the fact that Gibbs was barking at her like it was her fault that Tony wasn't there. It was obvious that Jeremy had noticed it but did nothing to stop him from going on a rampage. It wasn't right and she was going to put and end to it.

Well, she would have if Jeremy hadn't followed Gibbs out when he went to get coffee.

There wasn't much time before they came back so Kate basically flung herself out from behind her desk and to the stairs. This earned her a few odd looks but she didn't care. She needed answers and Ducky was the only one that could give them to her... or so she hoped.

"Hey, Ducky!" Kate was glad that he was doing paperwork rather that standing over a body. She tried to not let some of the aspects of her job bother her but it still grossed her out seeing a body cut open.

"Ah, good morning my dear Caitlin. What brings you down here?"

"Gibbs, he's been acting, well, more like himself than usual. And it's all because DiNozzo isn't here!"

That was news to Ducky. "Anthony still isn't here?" worry seeped through his words. "It's no wonder Jethro is playing up that second 'b' of his."

"What do you mean?"

"I was afraid of that," he said to himself. "My dear haven't you noticed just how protective Jethro is of Tony and Jeremy?"

"Gibbs is our team leader; he's supposed to look after us. Just like we are supposed to look after him."

"I have never seen anything like how he treats those boys on any of the other teams... or in how Jethro treats you compared to them. They would literally do anything for each other without a second thought. Can you say the same?"

"Gibbs would do anything for me." She stumbled over the words. "He would die for me."

"But would he live for you?"

Kate left with a lot to think about. She actually had more questions but she didn't think that Ducky could, or would, answer them.

Nebraska. The NSA sent Tony to Nebraska. Why the militia he infiltrated chose such a miserable state to hide was beyond him. He liked being warm and Nebraskan weather in November was anything but warm.

Tony, aka Daniel 'call me Ricky' Richardson, was posing as a twenty-seven-year-old (the buzz-cut made him look younger) UA Marine who became disenchanted with the Corps after the 9/11 attacks. Ricky didn't believe Bush was doing enough to protect the country. So one day he had abandoned his post at Camp Pendleton and never returned. His story was similar to so many of the others that no one questioned him... not exactly smart but understandable.

His contact, who had no idea what Tony's real name was, was nineteen-year-old Cody West. The kid belonged at Julliard playing a piano not at some militia training camp freezing his butt off in a puddle. He was pushed into the Marines by his father. He couldn't handle the pressure of basic training and left, finding himself homeless in Nebraska. The militia's leader's assistant, Edmund Sherman, found Cody the previous spring and enticed him to join his 'commune'. When Cody learned that it was more a commune he freaked and called his NSA employed uncle, a sound tech of all things. The uncle brought it to the attention of NSA's director. That lead to Anna and Charles kidnapping Tony.

The missions goal wasn't clear. Tony knew that he was supposed to observe the group but he didn't know what he was supposed to be observing. All that he saw was what the two NSA agents and Cody had already told him. He also had to had to figure out who the leader was. His profiling skills were weak compared to Jeremy's but Tony knew that he could do it. He had to or he'll never get to go home.

Tuesday November 4, 2003

When Jethro got the call from Stan Burley that morning asking for his help he was torn between his sense of duty to his son and his country. He considered sending Pacci or Balboa with Kate and Jeremy but he couldn't justify it when he had no leads to where he could be. His first priority, unfortunately for Tony, had to be the sailors on the Enterprise. He told Pacci to contact him if he got a hit on the BOLO he had out on Anna and their mystery suspect, but he didn't say why he put out the BOLO's out in the first place. Anything concerning Tony went beyond classified and into 'if you don't know now you never will'. However, he could trust Pacci with this, he was a friend after all.

New recruits were being sent out to meet with arms dealers that afternoon. 'Ricky' was one of the recruits so Tony made sure that his trusty camera was working properly. He wasn't expected to catch arms dealers but it wouldn't hurt his mission to 'observe'. Too bad ATF would get credit.

Cody had already passed this particular test (it was also what led him to call his uncle) and was sent to his puddle, leaving Tony on his own with two other men that would likely kill him with their bare hands if they learned who he truly was. So far his cover was intact so he wasn't (too) concerned of that happening.

Tony recognized or had used most of what they were purchasing. He wasn't sure whether the fact that everything was going smoothly was a good sign or not. He was... familiar with how he should behave around arms dealers. He had played both roles often enough.

But one guy on the dealers side caught Tony's attention. He didn't seem to fit in with the others... it wasn't obvious but a trained eye could easily pick it up. He was an undercover agent. By the way he was looking at Tony, the guy knew that he was one as well. The man's eyes flickered to the left revealing his partner, big guy that was built like a Seal. Tony subtly shook his head saying that he was alone. The man frowned but nodded.

"ATF! Drop your weapons!" The dealers didn't listen and tried to make a shot at him. The ATF agent reacted quickly and shot the dealers and ran after Tony who began to run the moment he said 'A'. He left his confused partner to clean up their mess. Tony stopped running as soon as he was out of earshot. The ATF agent was only two minutes behind him.

"Dang, you're fast!" he huffed, holding a stitch in his side.

"Have to be." Tony showed no signs of being out of breath.

"Want to tell me why I just broke my cover?"

"Those men we left with your partner were a couple of UA petty officers. They are now part of an anti-Bush militia that I had infiltrated on Sunday."

"You were sent in alone?" The agent would have gladly strangled anyone who thought it was a good idea to send in someone alone on a case that big.

"Well, I am one of the best." He wasn't boasting. Only G. was better and that was because he had even less of a past than Tony. He could hide with the best.

"Still..."

"I need a favor."

"Another one?" Tony gave the ATF agent a Gibbs' glare knowing that he would cower. "Alright, just don't make it unreasonable. I'm probably going to get into enough trouble because of you."

"I need to get into contact with NCIS headquarters in DC without NSA finding out that I'm trying to get into contact with them."

"That I can do. All I need is a name."

Wednesday November 5, 2003

Pacci cheeked the BOLO's one last time before leaving for the day. It was 1900 and he just wrapped up his own case. There was a hit on the man. He was found in Nebraska. They were detaining him at a small police station and was being escorted by an air marshal to DC in the morning. Gibbs and his team were due back at the same time so he didn't waste any satellite time in MTAC and left a note on Gibbs' desk where it was impossible to miss. A few hours couldn't hurt.

Thursday November 6, 2003

It was early when Jethro arrived that morning. His suspect had arrived half an hour before he had and was waiting for him in interrogation. He was so intent on talking to the man that he didn't even turn on his computer which had an e-mail for him from the director saying that he wanted to see ASAP.

They didn't have the suspect's name but given enough time Jethro knew that he would get it. He could get anyone to talk. But his gut was telling him that if this guy didn't talk Tony wouldn't have much time. He told the marshal to leave before

He wasn't saying a word. That was until Morrow came in. Jethro was a little put off that his interrogation was interrupted even though the suspect hadn't actually said anything.

"You want to explain why there's a nation wide BOLO out on your boy coming in from Nebraska of all places!"

"WHAT!" cried two voices.

"DiNozzo has a BOLO on him that has him wanted for connection to an arms dealer and a militia group known for being anti-Bush. It's under the name Daniel Richardson."

"I have to get back to Nebraska," the suspect suddenly said. "Agent DiNozzo will die within the next 48 hours if I don't pull him out."

"What do you mean 'pull him out'? Just who do you think you are?" Jethro shouted at the suspect. He cowered under the intense glare.

"My name is Francis Hollands and I work for NSA. The group that your agent is with doesn't except failure very well." He explained everything that was going on.

Jethro and Jeremy had left Agent Hollands back in Washington after they got the exact location of the militia training camp. He was being charged with kidnap of a federal agent. The director of NSA protested to arrest claiming that his agent had the right to ask NCIS for help... especially since it was technically NCIS jurisdiction. Then Morrow showed him the tape of Hollands drugging Tony. NSA stopped its protest and gave them the location of Mariana Kader, AKA Anna Kava. That was when Jethro decided not to trust anyone named coffee... not that he had ever trusted Kader.

Kate was also left behind. She didn't even know that they were leaving until they were gone. She complained to Morrow but he just told her that she didn't have the security clearance. There was no other option than to except it. Though she did have orders to pick up Kader but was told that she wasn't to talk to her.

It was one of the few times that Jeremy had been allowed (or wanted) a gun, a rifle so that he didn't have to get too close. Jeremy knew that it was Jethro's way of protecting him if there was a firefight. He was good with a SIG but he didn't have the training the others had when it came to shootouts. He took a few shoots when it looked like the good guys were getting overwhelmed.

Jethro found the building that the militia was holding Tony. He and the team that he was with had already taken out most of the group so his path to Tony had been clear. He managed to get a look at his son through a rough looking window. He was in bad shape but none of it was life threatening. There were three guards and all of them had semiautomatics. Jethro had no choice but to wait for backup. Three against one was never good odds, especially since all he had was his SIG. He winced each time one of the guards kicked Tony. The kid always had bruised rather easily when it came to his ribs. The moment someone had his back he kicked down the door and began shooting. He got two of the militiamen while his backup got the third.

"So, can I go home now?" asked Tony. Jethro chuckled as he untied him from the stake.

Friday November 7, 2003

Tony was told that he had to spend the night at the hospital for dehydration and to keep an eye on any internal bleeding. Tony was fortunate enough that none of the men that were beating him were wearing steel-toed boots. His ribs were cracked but as long as he didn't do anything strenuous they would be fine in a few weeks. His right shoulder was also dislocated and because he was right handed anything strenuous was out of the question in any case. While he could shoot left handed he was better with his right. The doctor ordered him to stay at home (with someone to look after him) for at least a week and then it would be light duty. He was allowed to go into field but he had to very careful not to further his injuries. The doctor also cleared him to travel but suggested that they fly back commercial and not on a priority flight NCIS was so fond of using.

Abby was instructed to meet the three of them at the airport. Once she them she flung herself into Jethro's arms. She had wanted to hug Tony but after seeing just how badly injured he was she knew that it was a bad idea. She didn't want to hurt Tony any more than he already was, especially since his arm was tightly bound to his chest by a sling.

"Abbs, I'm fine. You can give me a hug if you want to. Just don't squeeze me too hard." That was all the invitation that she needed.

Kate was still at the office when they got back. Taking in Tony appearance she felt a little guilty for some of her behavior from the past week. Obviously she didn't know everything that was going on and Tony didn't deserve her bitterness.

"What happened to you?" Her words were demanding but concern could be heard as well.

"Long story Kate and one that you aren't going to believe."

She didn't like that she wasn't going to get answers but accepted that was going to be the norm around here. There was a lot that she wasn't being told but if she wasn't going to be told then she was going to mind her own business. She was still new on the team so she had to earn their trust before they told her.

"Can you at least tell me what you did to your hair? It looks ridiculous."

Tony only stared at her, not willing to give an answer.

Wednesday November 19, 2003

It was a sign from above that it was going to be a bad day (or weird but that was a matter of opinion) when Kate spilled Jethro's first cup of coffee for the day. Tony was telling the truth when he told her that he had never experienced Jethro without his morning coffee. It was bound to be something that most people would want to run away from.

They had been called to Norfolk by an Agent McGee. Tony just had to talk to the kid to five minutes to know that he hadn't been an agent for very long. The body was found after someone dumped a drum full of hydrofluoric acid, making it near impossible to identify the remains, though they did manage to confirm that he was enlisted.

But Tony's attention was only partially on the case. The agent that called them in, Tim McGee, seemed to somewhat familiar, as though he had meet him before. Tony couldn't figure it out until his mind flashed back to July of 1988. It was the kid that he saved from bullies, there were no other possibilities because he knew for a fact that he hadn't met McGee on any of his missions. Tony want to tell Jethro but he could say anything with the kid following him around like a lost puppy... well didn't help that he needed his help with sketches. His arm was still in a sling. Jeremy and Kate were needed by Jethro more.

"I've heard stories about Special Agent Gibbs," McGee said to Tony.

"Only half of them are true. The trick is figuring out which half."

Gibbs talked to a few witnesses, including the security guard, Perez, who worked at the main gate. No one could have gotten in unless they belonged there, meaning a bunch of 'whale huggers' that had been staking out for the past few weeks.

"We have to keep the crime scene under guard until it's released by Gibbs," Tony told the young agent.

"I'll let security know."

"Gibbs wants NCIS to remain in control."

"So I should stay here?"

"We'll get you relieved as soon as we can."

"OK."

Tony was relieved that he gone... at least for a little while. Kate on the other hand thought he was being needlessly cruel.

"Why are you making him stay here?"

"Because I can."

"That is a complete abuse of authority."

"Lighten up. He's new, he expects to be abused. It goes with the territory."

"This isn't pledge week at Sigma Chi, Tony."

"Actually Kate, Tony's in the right here. McGee needs to toughen up a little if he wants to be an agent. If he stays the same people will never take him seriously."

Thursday November 20, 2003

Abby and Ducky identified the remains as a submariner. The mark turned out to be a tattoo. From what they could recover from it, it was the tail of a dolphin. The problem with that though was that there wasn't anyone missing from any of the submarines... including the Philadelphia.

Jethro suspected that there was an imposter on board but Captain Veitch wouldn't hear anything that might mean there was a security breach. He also wouldn't hear anything about letting Kate go with him to interrogate suspects. In the end though, Jethro won that argument. Jeremy was needed to keep an eye on Tony when he couldn't so he had to take Kate. She was a profiler so she was qualified for what he had in mind.

It turned out that every single one of their five suspects had a reason to lie to them. That made it a whole lot harder to find out who their dead body was and more importantly who the imposter was. They still had no idea who they were after an as Jethro told the Skipper, he wasn't leaving until they were done.

Abby finally got a face for the victim and sent it to Tony and Jeremy. They were with McGee though Abby didn't know that.

"So are you getting lonely by yourselves, hons?"

"Oh, we're not alone. We're with Special Agent McGee. Say 'hello'." Tony held the phone to McGee's ear.

"Hey McGee. How's your SIG hanging?"

McGee panicked and had no idea how to answer. "Uh...."

"Gotta go Abbs." Tony hung up the phone.

"What's she look like?"

Tony was thrown by the question. "Who?"

"Abby. She sounds cute."

It was one of those rare moments that Tony had to play the 'big brother card'. He was positive that McGee was a good guy but this was Abby and he was sworn to protect her against any all sorts of boys. "Not your type."

"Well, how do know that?"

"Have you ever had the slightest urge to tattoo your buttocks, McGee?"

"I don't think so."

"Then we need never speak of her again. Make copies and circulate them around the base. See if anyone recognizes the guy."

Jeremy watched the interplay in silence. Tony was ridiculous when it came to protecting his baby sister.

The fingerprints they took gave them nothing but the idea that the guy may have worked in the personnel office back in Norfolk. He had to make a phone call. It irritated Jethro to no end that a bottle of vodka was more important to the Skipper than finding out who killed a member of his crew and then finding his killer. He had two minutes to talk to Tony.

"DiNozzo."

"Tony."

"Hi, Boss. Did you find the guy?"

"No, could be any of our five.

"What's your famous gut saying?"

"I need you to find out who had access to the Philadelphia service records."

"You think they were altered."

"Good guess."

"It wasn't a guess."

"Then why'd you ask?"

"I didn't ask you. It was a ...definitive statement.

Abby still had no idea who the victim was. She had to know or she wouldn't be able to help Gibbs find his killer and she had to help Gibbs. Ducky's idea to go through the crew photos sure helped though.

With McGee's help Tony was able to find a possible suspect. Joshua Fox had recently quit and hadn't been seen by anyone since then.

Kate was getting a little curious with her boss' actions. He had been practically forcing water down her throat. When she questioned his motives his answer wasn't what she hadn't been expecting.

"Oh, you got to hydrate on a submarine."

He wanted her to distract the COB by asking him how to use the toilet. She had to 'unhydrate'

When Tony broke into Fox's house he wasn't sure what to expect. For one thing though, it wasn't an eco-terrorist with a canister of Sarin gas. It could kill the entire crew

When McGee asked him where he went to college Tony wasn't sure how to answer. His degree in criminology was classified with the rest of his his. Tony gave a one word answer that he gave to everyone else. "Confidential." Knowing the kid was from a moment of his past made it uncomfortable to lie to him.

Ever since they were told that it was Sarin Jethro had a feeling that it wasn't over. They had caught the person responsible (actually he was dead). Travis should have had a back up plan. Just because he was dead that didn't mean that there weren't other ways for him to release the gas.

Then the ice cream was brought in. It didn't take Jethro to realize that Travis had swallowed the canister that held the Sarin. The canister was designed to be triggered by cold. By killing himself that meant that his body would be placed in the freezer. Travis knew this since it was SOP in sub's. Another emergency blow wasn't fast enough. They had to get the body out of the freezer and off the sub. The only thing that they could think of was shooting the body out like a torpedo.

Friday November 21, 2003

Tony knew that Norfolk wasn't going to be the last time he saw Tim McGee. He just didn't expect it to be so soon and because he had asked Abby out on a date. He had told him, in his own subtle way, to stay away from the girl. He knew that compared to many of them men that she went out with that McGee was a kitten... completely harmless, but he couldn't help but keep her safe from even that. It was what he would have done for Kelly.

Thursday November 27, 2003

Once again Ducky had invited them over for Thanksgiving and once again Jethro had to be creative in how to say no. It was Kristy's first year making the turkey and she was really nervous that it wasn't going to turn out. She didn't have to worry because she had Tony looking over her shoulder. The bird was perfect.

A/N I wrote the majority of this today so please be kind.

I also have to say that only once person came close to answering who had taken Tony.