Dangerous Measures
Rating: T
Disclaimer: The characters don't belong to me
AN: Thankyou to Kate for her help and support
Gibbs ran his hand over the skeleton of his boat, feeling the smoothness of the wood under his fingers. Sighing, he took a sip of his bourbon and picked up the sander. Squinting at the boat, he walked to the far end of it and started sanding. The rhythm relaxing him and taking away the stresses of the day. He whacked the boat with his fist when his cell rang. Grumbling to himself, he put down the plane and picked his cell up from its place on his bench.
"Gibbs," he answered gruffly
"Jethro," he heard after a moment of silence, "Its Fornell,"
Gibbs frowned, leaning against the bench, "Tobias, what's the problem?"
He heard Fornell sigh, "We've found some worrying evidence in the case I'm heading. The death of a 30 year-old man, Dr. Wicks,"
Gibbs sighed, "Congratulations, Tobias, but you don't seem like the type to gloat,"
"Yeah, well, that's not exactly why I rang," Fornell answered
"So, why did you ring?" Gibbs asked when Fornell didn't say anymore
Fornell sighed again, "I really shouldn't be telling you this…You've never heard of this guy before?"
"No, Tobias, what is this about?" Gibbs asked, getting frustrated
"Jethro, the evidence we found, it points to you. We have forensic evidence linking you to the murder. Three agents are on their way to arrest you," Fornell responded
"What?" Gibbs asked, switching his cell to his other ear and standing upright
"I don't believe you did it, Jethro. I don't think you're capable of that. I know you're can shoot somebody, but only in the course of justice. And this guy… He was brutally murdered," Fornell responded, "He was beaten for several hours before they killed him, there was blood everywhere,"
"And you suggest I do what, Tobias? Run?" Gibbs asked, starting to pace
"I'm not suggesting anything. I'm merely informing you of the situation, telling you what's about to happen. And, I'm offering you a chance…" Fornell replied
Gibbs pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to decide what to do, "If I run, they'll think I'm guilty. Hell, I'd think somebody was guilty if they ran off"
"But it would give us time. At present, they're happy to just close the case, we have a lot of evidence against you, more than enough to put you away," Fornell told him
"And they'd put you away as well for telling me," Gibbs told him, frowning at his stairs
"Gibbs, I wouldn't be telling you this if I didn't think it's worth paying the price. This isn't just a 'normal' murder, he was sexually assaulted, and whoever did this was sick, really sick, there were other things they did…" Fornell sighed, "You'd be crucified if you went to prison,"
"What kinda things?" Gibbs asked as he reached the top of the staircase
"You don't need to know that, Jethro. Look, we may be looking at a serial killer; there were a few murders up near Baltimore with a similar MO. The case files are being faxed to us," Fornell told him
"What other murders?" Gibbs asked in exasperation
"A man by the name of Jim Robbins and another by the name of Bruce Collins," Fornell replied
Gibbs sighed as he reached his room, "How long do I have before your agents get here?"
"Five minutes at the most," Fornell replied
Gibbs swore, picking up his overnight bag from the night before. He ran down into the kitchen, grabbing some food and stuffing it into the bag, "This is a bad idea. What're you gonna tell them?"
"I don't know," Fornell replied, "I'll think of something,"
"Yeah, I hope so," Gibbs mumbled as he grabbed his keys
"What'll you do?" Fornell asked
Gibbs smiled, running out the door, "If I knew, Tobias, I wouldn't tell you,"
Fornell chuckled, "Yeah I guess,"
Gibbs got into his car and listened for a second, "They're close, I can hear sirens approaching,"
Fornell sighed, "I guess this is goodbye then,"
"For now," Gibbs agreed, starting the engine, "Give my regards to the rest of your team, and to mine,"
"Will do, take care of yourself, Jethro," Fornell told him
"Thanks, same to you. Bye, Tobias," Gibbs responded, hanging up.
As he drove off, he passed the unmarked FBI cars traveling to his house. They'd turned their sirens off, but kept their lights on, moving silently through the streets.
Tony turned over and sighed in contentment. He squinted his eyes open to look at the clock: 0319, and they still hadn't been called out. Looked like he was going to get full-nights sleep for the first time in…No, he couldn't think like that, didn't want to jinx himself.
Tony looked at the pillow beside him, wishing Kate was laying there, eyes closed as she slept peacefully. He sighed, he wanted Kate, he loved her so much it hurt. He didn't care what kind of mood she was in; he just never seemed to be able to hate her. Even in her worst mood, or if she came down with the flu or something nasty, he'd still love her deeply. Probably more so. And he had to tell her. He could no longer pretend. It would mean he'd have to resign for them to be together, but to hell with Gibbs and his stupid rules.
Sighing, he closed his eyes and let his dreams take him away. Suddenly he heard a loud crash and muffled shouts in his apartment. Sitting bolt-upright in the bed, he pulled on some boxers, cursing himself when he remembered he'd left his gun in the kitchen. The sounds grew closer, and suddenly his door flew open and what looked like a dozen SWAT and FBI agents swarmed in. He heard them shouting at him with their guns raised, before he was pulled out of the bed and kept face-down on the floor as they roughly hand-cuffed him.
"What the hell is going on!" he shouted
He began squirming again, only to have more men pin him down, one of them putting his boot over his face to keep him still. Eventually they dragged him up and out of his apartment.
"This is bull-shit!" he yelled at them as they dragged him out of the complex
As they exited the outer door, he saw dozens of cop cars littering the street, lights flashing everywhere. There were a few onlookers standing across the road, trying to get a glimpse of what was happening.
He was dragged to one of the unmarked cars and unceremoniously thrown in, one of the men getting in after him to sit beside him, whilst another man got in the other side.
"What's this about!" Tony asked angrily
One of the men sneered at him, "Shut-up!"
Tony growled at him, but kept silent as the car drove off. He watched the landscape go by, and before long knew where they were going. He closed his eyes and shook his head.
"I was really, really, looking forward to sleeping in" he told them, shuffling until the cuffs felt more comfortable against his back, "But no, I get hauled outta bed in the middle of the goddamn night, with no freakin' explanation as to why…Hell, even Gibbs has more courtesy than that, and he's a self-proclaimed bastard, just ask him. It's what the second 'B' stands for" he paused, "First part of his name 'Gib' stands for 'Guy In Back' which is like…"
"I said 'shut-up'" the man told him again, "Don't wanna listen to your shit,"
"Yeah, well I don't wanna pay my taxes or bills. Build a bridge and get over it," Tony replied
That's it for chapter 1...Please review! Tell me if you like it!
