CHAPTER 3 - Gibbs Was Getting Impatient

"Okay, McGee says the ATF is checking out that warehouse in New Jersey," Tony said once he got off the phone. "It's only 2 1/2 hours away so Simpson could have easily made it there, unloaded, and been back at the base by breakfast. The property was owned by a small engine parts company that's now defunct. It's supposed to be empty."

Next Tony asked the MP to bring in Sgt. Simpson, the Marine weapons specialist who'd had the same job for the past twelve years. Tony drank some bottled water while they waited. Gibbs was getting impatient and was about to go and get the man himself when an alarm started blaring out in the hall. Tony met Gibbs' eyes and they both swore at the same time. Hurrying out of the interview room, they ran into an MP and asked what was going on.

"Sgt. Pine complained he was sick to his stomach. He had to use the head," the MP said nervously. "And then Simpson had to take a leak."

"You mean you let them walk out of here?" Tony asked angrily.

"And nobody was watching them?" Gibbs shouted.

"Yes sir, we were, only… only somehow they slipped out," was the excuse. The MP insisted they'd be located soon, as a lockdown and search was in progress. Before leaving, he recommended the NCIS agents to remain in the interview room and lock the door. "For your own safety."

Gibbs snorted and ignored the suggestion. He pushed his way past the MP and headed down the hall. Tony grabbed the paperwork, jammed it in his pack, slung it over his shoulder, and ran after a fast-disappearing Gibbs.

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The sun was going down and it was getting colder by the minute when they caught up with the CO, Lt. Col. Farley. "They got away?" Gibbs demanded.

It appeared that both Simpson and Pine had escaped in a small supply truck, and the GPS had been disconnected. Gibbs turned his back on the CO and led the way back inside with Tony following. "I want to know everything about these two men. Family, where they live, friends, cell phone records, bank accounts. Everything! Get McGee on it!"

"Boss, we already have their cell records, and McGee sent their bank records, but there's nothing unusual in them," Tony reminded him.

Gibbs turned on him. "Then get him to go over them again. And let's find out where Sgt. Pine has been going every weekend!"

They were shown Sgt. Simpson's quarters first. He lived in a four-man bungalow on the base. It was plain but had some homey touches, and was kept military neat. After donning gloves, the NCIS agents went through Simpson's rack, and searched through his belongings for evidence.

"Sgt. Simpson likes fast cars and large women," Tony said, after going through a stack of magazines and papers. "His sister writes from Santa Barbara and sends him cookies, but it doesn't look like the man has much of a life outside the barracks. His roomies say he likes his job and doesn't want to rise in rank or responsibility. He seems satisfied with where he is." Gibbs raised his eyebrows so Tony added, "Hard to believe he'd plan a robbery like this."

"Sounds like someone put him up to it," Gibbs said. His phone rang and after a brief conversation, he barked, "Track the money!" He hung up and relayed to Tony that McGee had discovered that $25 thousand had just been deposited to an account Simpson had opened at the Bank of New York on Friday. "Transferred into it an hour ago."

"A down payment? That means they haven't received the merchandise yet, whoever 'they' are," Tony surmised.

Sgt. Pine's single room in the temporary quarters was bare except for the basic furniture. There wasn't much to find apart from clothing in the closet, toiletries in the bathroom, and a couple of paperbacks on the nightstand. Gibbs leafed through the books and a folded letter on pink paper fell out. He squinted at the writing then handed it to Tony. "Read it."

"'Soon we will be together, and nobody is ever going to break us apart. Forever yours, M.'" Tony raised the paper to his nose and smiled. "Pretty perfume. Looks like Pine has a sweetheart."

Tony bagged the note and a few other things, including a hand-written receipt from Bobb's Garage, for new tires on a 1995 Ford Aspire. The name on the receipt was W. Pine and the address he gave was of the Marine base.

Gibbs said, "Let's talk to the neighbors."

The Marine who was staying in the room next to Pine's didn't have much to say, other than he thought Pine's girlfriend was Martina. "Or maybe Marina? Or Maria? Sorry."

Gibbs called McGee and had him find out if Sgt. Pine had a car registered in his name. McGee said no, there was no vehicle registered to Sgt. Pine. Tony took the phone and asked McGee to check on that make of car registered to anyone with the first name Marina or Martina. Or Maria. "It's a chick car," he explained. "And Pine's been overseas for the past six years. He'd have no reason to keep a car."

"I'll call back when I find out," McGee said before getting to work on it.

"Good catch, DiNozzo."

"Thanks, Boss."

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Two Marines who had been staying in the same temporary housing as Sgt. Pine supplied some insight into the man. Tony told Gibbs, "They say he only recently reconnected with an old girlfriend. One saw her pick him up outside the base in a turquoise Ford the first week he was here, possibly a '95 model, but last weekend Pine took a bus to the subway. He'd mentioned the car needed repairs and she couldn't come for him. They didn't know her name or where she lived she lived, but one man thought Pine said something about her working at a hotel on a lake."

McGee called again and said they were still working on finding the girlfriend and the Ford Aspire, but word had just come in that the truck the two Marines had fled in had been located in Baltimore, abandoned. He was sending them the address and said, "The local LEOs are on the scene."

Tony spoke to McGee just long enough to find out that neither of the fugitives' phones was turned on but he was keeping an eye out for any activity.

Gibbs wasted no time and went to get their car. He pulled up at the curb and Tony hopped in just in time, as Gibbs barely waited for him to close his door before gunning the engine. "Can't McGee track them by their cell phones or CCTV or something? Damn it!"

"Not if they're using burn phones."

Gibbs tore right past the guardhouse at sixty, and Tony thanked their lucky stars the gates were open. He was sure Gibbs would have tried to crash through, and although he believed in Gibbs' driving skills, the military gate was tough enough to withstand the battering of an ordinary automobile.

While they were driving into downtown Baltimore, Gibbs' phone rang. He pulled it out of his breast pocket and handed it to Tony. "Deal with her."

It was the director, so Tony inhaled deeply before answering, "Special Agent Gibbs' line. How may I help you, ma'am?"

Apparently, Dir. Shepard was not happy because she'd heard they hadn't yet recovered the Stingers and the SecNav was breathing down her neck, and she demanded to know what was going on. Once Tony explained that it would be dangerous at this moment for Gibbs to talk and drive, and that he would be happy to give her a SITREP, Dir. Shepard calmed down. At the end of the conversation, just before Tony was about to end the call, the director reminded Tony about his obligation to continue with his undercover assignment.

She went on for a while, sounding vaguely threatening, and very passive-aggressive, but Tony heard her out. He said, "Yes, Director," several times and was able to hang up. "Oh boy, I'm gonna have to excuse myself from the assignment when I get back. Sure looking forward to that. She'll probably fire me," he said dejectedly.

"Hey, she can't fire you. Not if I have anything to say about it," Gibbs assured him.

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It was dark by the time they arrived at the location where the Marine supply truck had been discovered, ditched under the highway underpass. A team of Marines arrived on site soon after the NCIS agents, and a Baltimore PD patrolman was present.

While Gibbs went to talk to the patrolman, Tony looked around, trying to picture where he would go if he was on the run. On foot? They wouldn't get far with the BOLO being circulated across the city. Tony pulled up a map app on his phone and checked on public transport. He hadn't lived in Baltimore for several years, but he was certain there was a subway station close by. "Boss, there's a Metro station up this street. If they took the northbound to Central Station they'd be able to transfer in any direction."

He called the Metro Transit Police, to get some eyes on the subway stations immediately. After talking to the officer in charge about what they needed, Tony hung up and turned to Gibbs. "We can go look at the CCTV at the Transit Police station."

Gibbs followed Tony's directions and twenty minutes later they were in a below-ground control room lined with dozens of surveillance screens. They were greeted by Captain Sanford, who Tony knew from his time in Baltimore.

"I remember you, Detective DiNozzo. Always the smart guy. I knew you weren't gonna stay with us long. You had your eye set on something else, right?" the captain said, slapping Tony on the back.

With a glance at his boss, Tony replied, "Ah, youth. Things have changed, Captain. I'm planning on staying at NCIS for as long as they want me."

Gibbs intervened. "Who do we talk to?"

"So, the guy you want is our best tech, Murray. He knows everything there is to know about the city. Hey Murray, here's the NCIS guys. Give 'em whatever they want."

Tony sat down beside Murray and reviewed the playbacks of the passengers traversing the central station. Gibbs leaned over his shoulder, occasionally pointing out someone he wanted to zoom in on.

Tony was concerned they were barking up the wrong tree, and about to suggest another approach, when Gibbs pointed at a man in a hoodie walking across the concourse with his head down. "Follow him."

"Is that Sgt. Pine?" Tony asked, squinting at the screen.

Gibbs nodded. "He's wearing combat boots."

Murray switched from camera to camera, following the hooded man's progress until they were certain he'd boarded a Metro line that ran northwest. Murray talked to his captain, who got word out to his people to focus on all the stops on that line.

They didn't catch sight of the other Marine, Sgt. Simpson, at all, and eventually Gibbs grabbed his coat headed for the exit with a curt, "DiNozzo!"

"On your six, Boss!" Tony called, following on Gibbs' heels. He turned back only long enough to raise a hand in thanks to Murray. As he hurried after Gibbs, Tony heard Captain Sanford behind him saying, "I never thought he'd stay on the force, he was such a hothead. Goes to prove I'm not always right."

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Gibbs and Tony spent the next few hours checking out the stops where Sgt. Pine may have exited the Metro. Nobody remembered seeing him. They kept in contact with Murray, who checked the CCTV at all stops on the line, but he had not spotted their missing Marine at any of them. Nor had Sgt. Simpson been seen. It was as though both men had vanished.

"And, not together, which is interesting," Tony mused. He checked in with McGee at regular intervals, but neither of the Marine's regular phones had been turned on.

McGee said, "They don't have any friends or relatives that we know about in the city, either. Sgt. Simpson used to live about twenty miles west of Baltimore, in a town called Mission Junction. His siblings have moved out of state, and he has no connections with anyone in the area, as far as we can tell."

Tony, who was still unable to place where he'd seen Sgt. Pine, asked McGee to dig deeper into his background when he got the chance.

McGee agreed, and said, "Abby's helping me on that right now."

After being on the phone with the Marine Corps base commander, giving him an update, Gibbs told Tony, "While we were interviewing Lt. Bartlett, Pine told the guard he was feeling ill. They allowed him to use the latrine. Then Sgt. Simpson said he had to take a leak, and they let him go."

"So the two men were in there together, hatching up a plan," Tony said sourly.

"Only Pine really was sick. He made a mess of the place, according to the MP. Guess he was scared to face us," said Gibbs.

Tony said, "I don't know about this. We know that Sgt. Pine was off-base all weekend, and we know the missiles were removed from the armory on Friday night."

"But he went AWOL."

"I get the feeling these two guys went AWOL for different reasons, Boss."

"Pine's a weapons expert, and he's been all over the Middle East for the past few years. It's possible he met someone who wanted to buy some Stingers."

Tony yawned and shook it off.

"You miss your nap time, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked in a harsh tone.

"No Boss, not at all, Boss… only there's a diner just around the corner. Has the best coffee in all the city – or at least it used to. Might as well get something to eat while we wait for them to surface, or turn on their phones. McGee's got tracers on them. The Metro Police are watching out for them and there's a statewide BOLO."

"The best coffee?" Gibbs inquired.

"BLTs are damned fine, too."

"Fine, let's go."

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At one in the morning, after checking in with the Metro Police, the State Police and McGee, Gibbs abruptly said to Tony, "We need sleep." Within half an hour they were in a motel room and Tony was heading for the bathroom, declaring, "First dibs on the shower."

Tony, dressed in sweatpants and a tee, was lying on the bed when Jethro came out of the bathroom, rubbing his short hair dry with a towel. There was a skimpy towel around his waist that left little to the imagination.

"You want that massage now?" Gibbs looked Tony over and smiled in a way that made Tony's heart speed up.

There was nothing Tony wanted quite so much as to have a tumble in bed with Jethro, but first, he had to take care of some business. He hoped it didn't sour the mood.

Sitting up, he patted the bed next to him. "Gotta talk first."

Jethro sat, as requested, and cast a wary look at Tony. "Something on your mind?"

"Yeah. I wasn't going to say anything, but earlier, when you told me you were jealous of Jeanne…" Tony stopped Jethro's protest with a raised hand. "This is important, Jethro."

Jethro nodded and said, "Fine."

Tony swallowed and said bluntly, "I don't like the way you act around Colonel Mann."

Jethro blinked a couple of times. "How I act?"

"Yeah, act. I'm not blind. Everybody knows she's been eyeing you right from the start. Even Palmer said he saw sparks flying," Tony said with a humorless laugh. "She was pissing all over you like she was marking her territory. Okay, so this was bound to happen, because you're an attractive older guy–"

"Older guy?" Jethro spluttered.

"Silver fox? That's beside the point. See, I was willing to ignore what was going on between you two–"

"There was nothing going on!"

"Can I please finish?"

Jethro crossed his arms over his chest and muttered, "Fine."

"I knew you weren't going to act on it, but that didn't mean she was going to keep her hands to herself. Like that time she was in the basement with you… she was being nosy and trying to find out who you were naming your boat after–"

Jethro frowned. "I shut her down. None of her business. But she kept poking."

"I know, and I know how much that upset you, but you did have a drink with her, and she was touching your boat and asking you personal questions, and I did not like where it was going," Tony said in a low, angry tone. Jethro raised his eyebrows, so Tony admitted, "I was upstairs, and heard the two of you talking."

Jethro raised an eyebrow. "I didn't hear you come in."

Tony snorted. "I think by now I should know exactly where all the creaky spots are around the house. My point is, I don't think she's going to let up, and so I want you to make it clear you're already taken. Not interested. Tell her to back off!"

Jethro studied Tony's face for a moment and slowly nodded. "Yeah. I can do that."

Tony stared at Jethro for a long moment, then nodded. "Okay. Good."

"And Tony, if I do anything that bothers you, you tell me. Don't wait on it. I'll listen to what you have to say."

"I'll do that. Thank you."

"Okay. Can I have a hug now?"

Tony ducked his head and smiled. "Is that all you want? No kissing, no fucking?"

Jethro shrugged. "Oh, I definitely want all those things. How about we start with a hug?"

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