Warnings: Same as the last couple of chapters.
A/N: Hi everyone, sorry for the delay in updating. I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Tony changed before going into NCIS. Nothing fancy, just a fresh pair of jeans and a polo shirt, but all signs that he had been painting were gone. "What's the emergency?" he asked, anxiously upon arriving.
Tim glanced up from the plasma screen to see his partner enter the bullpen. In the last hour they had complied a horrific amount of evidence to suggest that Merchant had not been working alone the last few months before he was released from prison. Series of unfortunate "accidents" had occurred to many people not directly connected to the case. "We have a serious issue," he said.
"How serious?" Tony inquired, as a sickening feeling crept into his stomach.
"Merchant's not just targeting the people involved in this case; he's targeting their families," Ellie answered.
"In the last month alone, four separate people have died from suspicious causes but police never found any evidence," Tim said, stepping aside to let Tony look at the plasma screen.
Tony could feel his throat tightening. This new piece of information clearly put Leah and Jack in harm's way. And they're heading home to D.C as we speak. "Are we sure? The only connection these people have is that they were close family and friends of those involved in the case."
Ellie glanced at Tim. "Well… the more information we dug up, the more we found out who Merchant was sharing rehabilitation time with—these deaths match the M.O's for four different murderers in the same program as him."
"Great. He's supplying these guys with new victims," Tony hissed.
"Looks that way," Ellie said.
"Any idea where Merchant is. I'd like to take him out myself."
"Gibbs headed over to the rehab facility with Fornell. They had fresh new arrest warrants for those four."
"He's hoping one of them flips on Merchant."
Tony felt like breaking something. That anger, the one that he had just talked about with Rachel, began to bubble up inside of him. If he wasn't careful, he was going to blow up. "Maybe I should find the idiot judge who thought it would be a good idea to put Merchant into a minimum security facility."
Tim tossed the clicker onto his desk and was going to sit down as he murmured, "He had an ankle monitor. Metro was supposed to keep an eye on him…"
Before he knew what was happening Tony was in his face, inches away from him. "An ankle monitor? For a serial killer? Do you think that's a good solution, Agent McGee!"
Never in his time on the team had Tim seen Tony this enraged. It was like something inside the other agent had finally snapped, unleashing a firestorm. "What? No! Come on, Tony… you know me better than that! Listen… we can't change the judge's decision… all we can do is find Merchant and arrest him and make sure he doesn't get out of jail the next time."
"Simple as that, huh?" Tony asked, snapping his fingers for emphasis. "Guess you would think so since Delilah is safe."
"Tony," Gibbs voice was barely audible, or that could have been because Tony had just been shouting. "My office, now."
Glaring heavily at Tim, Tony spun on his heel and stormed off towards the elevator. Tim stood there at his desk, mouth hanging open slightly, blinking rapidly. "Boss, I…"
Gibbs waved him off. "Not your fault, McGee. Keep working. I'll cool him down," he said, before following Tony into the elevator.
Tony was standing in the corner with his back to Gibbs, appearing to do some breathing exercises. The team leader closed the elevator door and flipped the emergency switch. He stood there, patiently waiting for Tony to speak. "I'll break his neck," the senior field agent finally said.
"Whose? Merchant's or Tim's?" Gibbs asked, attempting some humor to lightening the mood.
"Merchant's," Tony snapped, turning about to face Gibbs', "If he comes near Leah or my son…"
"Fornell and I have discussed putting them in a safe house," the former marine replied, calmly.
"Not your house I hope. No offense, but your house hasn't had a great track record when it serves as a safe house. I want my family safe."
"Already sent a team to clean the cabin."
"Really?" Tony scoffed. "Your cabin? What am I supposed to do with a toddler son in a one room cabin?"
"DiNozzo," Gibbs sighed, resisting the urge to head slap him, "not my cabin."
He was breathing heavily. Tony felt helpless. His family was in danger and he wasn't with them to protect them. He couldn't lose them now, he was fighting so hard for them. "I'm going with them," he stated. "Put me on their protection detail or I walk, Gibbs."
It had never even crossed his mind to not put Tony on the protection detail of Leah and Jack. Fornell had questioned it, given Tony's current mental state, but the former marine knew his senior agent; he knew that Tony was the best man for the job. "I know."
Tony set his jaw. That was too easy, he thought. "You know something," he said, reading Gibbs silent gestures. "You found out something when you went to that rehab."
Gibbs didn't reveal much in his expressions or body language. He didn't have too, Tony had already figured things out, put the pieces together that he knew more than he was letting on. "Merchant was tipping these guys off to fresh victims. Those four other killers have been taken back to maximum security but we can't be certain where Merchant is heading next; they haven't seen him at the rehab center for days. For all we know, Leah is his next target."
"Over my dead body," Tony snarled.
"Not going to come to that," Gibbs said. At least it better not.
"This is my wife and son; NCIS cannot botch this, Gibbs!"
"We're doing our best to stay a step ahead of Merchant, Tony."
Tony threw him a glare, green eyes smoldering with fury. "Do you even understand what's at stake!" he shouted, his voice deep and gruff. "Do you get what's happening to me!"
Gibbs thought back to Shannon, telling him that everything was going to be fine, that NIS was keeping them safe from the drug cartel… "I lost my family while they were in protective custody, Tony. I absolutely know what's at stake… what's happening to you right now."
He reeled back, rocking on the balls of his feet. Tony suddenly felt like a dumb ass. Of course Gibbs knew. If anyone on his team knew how he was feeling at the moment it was Gibbs. "Boss… I'm sorry… I forgot… I didn't mean to imply that you don't get this."
"It's fine, DiNozzo."
"No! It's not! Shannon and Kelly… they were your girls… Shannon was your soulmate."
"And I've… come to grips with it. Tony, I can't change what happened to Shannon and Kelly," Gibbs said. "But I can make sure that Leah and Jack do not meet the same fate. Ok? Let's focus on our job, not the past."
"Focusing, boss, promise," Tony whispered. If only I could get a hold of my damn emotions! "It's… hard, boss. They're my family… I don't know what I would do if I lost them."
Gibbs took a deep breath, vowing that it was going to do whatever it took to make sure that nothing happened to Leah and Jack—that nothing happened to Tony.
It was close to eight when Leah pulled into the driveway. Shutting the car down, she sighed, exhausted, but happy to be home. Looking in the backseat, Lincoln gazed back at her with his big brown eyes, tail wagging; Jack was fast asleep, head titled at an awkward angle and softly snoring. "Welcome home," she whispered.
Jack whined in his sleep and the dog gently laid his head across the toddler's lap. Leah smiled and decided that it was time to get them into the house. She got out of her car, shut the door, and headed around to the back to pop the trunk open. Leah had just opened the trunk door when headlights moved across the driveway. Turning, she saw a car pull in behind her.
Tony got out of the passenger side. "Don't unpack. Just get back in the car and come with me."
Leah was confused. "Why?"
"We're staying at Gibbs' tonight."
"I'd rather just stay here..."
Tony moved towards her, grabbed her by the arm, roughly, and steered her in the direction of the driver's seat. "It's not up for debate. Get in the car and drive to Gibbs' house."
Leah wasn't happy with his rough treatment of her. She was about to reprimand him on and then she remembered the suicide note in her purse—she couldn't afford to get angry at him. "Fine. I'll see you there," she said, giving in and closing the door shut. She watched as Tony slammed the trunk door closed and then got back into the Charger.
As it pulled out of the driveway, she glanced at the dog. "Guess we're going to Gibbs' house instead. Don't worry, he likes dogs. You're going to love him."
Early the next morning NCIS transported Leah and Jack to the safe house they referred to as the cabin.
It was an old house, hidden by trees and hedges that had not been trimmed for years. At one point the Victorian home had probably been a bright shade of yellow, but now it was diluted thanks to years of being exposed to the elements, peeling away in some places. Leah wasn't sure why the agents referred to this house as the cabin until she got inside and saw that there was no paint on the walls, just exposed wood planks and beams. It felt like a cabin…
Leah set their bags down and held tightly to Jack. This house was not childproof. She was nervous about putting her baby boy down and letting him take off and explore. He was just like his father, he would find some kind of trouble to get into.
The heavy front door shut them inside. Leah heard the locks as they slid into place. She glanced at Tony going from window to window to draw the sheer curtains closed.
"Agents are posted outside. Don't be alarmed if you see someone walk by the window," he informed her. "They're just there to make sure you're safe."
"How long do you think we're going to be here?" Leah asked, her voice wavering slightly. "It's just that this house… I'm not sure how safe it is for Jack…"
Tony stepped towards her and he pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I went through the house myself last night and made sure all the outlets were plugged and cleaning materials were out of the reach of little hands."
Leah looked down at Jack, who smiled sweetly at her. Maybe it wasn't exposed outlets or chemicals in the reach of her son that was causing the root of her fear… perhaps the serial killer targeting them, the idea that this case could severely hurt Tony's road to recovery… "I just wish we could go home…"
He reached out with his free arm and pulled her close to him, pressing her tightly into the nook between his arm and shoulder. "You're safer here."
She turned her face towards him and buried it against his shirt. "I know," she whispered. "It feels like it's never ending, we move from one crisis to the next. When is it going to stop?"
Truth was, Tony didn't know. He had no answer to give her. They were in desperate need of turning a new leaf, he just wasn't sure how they were going to accomplish that at this point. Right now, if felt like the world was firing everything it had in its arsenal at them and they would be lucky to make it out alive.
