Tony walked into Director Vance's office, having been called by the man to come see him. "You asked to see me, Sir."
"Shut the door and come have a seat," Vance said from his spot behind his desk.
Tony closed the door behind him and walked over to the director's desk. He sat down in the chair right in front of it.
"It's time to proceed with the next step in the investigation into the disappearances of Agents Gibbs and McGee."
Tony's eyes widened. He knew what that meant, and while knowing it was unavoidable, he wasn't ready. "It... It hasn't been that long, sir."
"It's been over two months, DiNozzo. We wouldn't have waited this long for anyone else. It's time to start moving things along. We need to start advising Gibbs' and McGee's family members to stop expecting them to come home."
Tony pinched the bridge of his nose. He wasn't sure he could do this. He'd resigned to doing it, just like the others, but now that it was time to actually do it, he wasn't sure he could. How was he supposed to look Sarah McGee and Jackson Gibbs in the eyes and tell them their loved ones weren't coming back? How could he even look himself in the mirror after letting them think Gibbs and McGee were dead.
"You knew this was coming, DiNozzo. It was partially your idea," Vance reminded him.
Tony nodded that he remembered.
"It's time to move it along. Gibbs and McGee will be better off when this case is closed," Vance said.
"Yes Sir. Is there anything else?" Tony asked.
Vance shook his head.
Tony got up and left the room. He went back downstairs to the bullpen and grabbed his jacket. "Come on, Ziva, we've gotta go."
"Do we have a case?" Ziva asked surprised. They hadn't had a case in months. They were supposed to be 'looking' for Gibbs and McGee.
"No. We're going to see Sarah McGee. We need to tell her that her brother is probably dead," Tony said quietly.
Ziva's face completely fell and she just sat there for a moment, not sure what to say. Then she stood up and grabbed her jacket before very slowly following Tony to the elevator.
Xxxxxxxxxxx
Tony led the way to Sarah McGee's apartment. Halfway down the hall, he could hear her fighting with someone. He couldn't really hear much of what was said, but he could make out her voice and she sounded pissed.
"It appears we do not have good timing," Ziva commented.
"No timing would be good for something like this," Tony said before knocking on the door.
A very pissed off looking Sarah McGee opened the door a second later. "Tony, Ziva."
"Hello, Sarah," Ziva greeted.
"Sarah, I can see we're interrupting something, but we really need to talk to you," Tony said. He glanced behind Sarah to see a man with grayish blond hair wearing a suit and a woman with curly, shoulder length brown hair.
Sarah stood aside to let them in. She could already tell that she was going to hate what they came to say.
"Sarah, we're in the middle of something. Tell these people to come back later," the man in the suit demanded.
Sarah glared at the man as Tony and Ziva entered. "No. I'm far more interested in what they have to say than what you do, especially considering they're here with information about Tim. Tony, Ziva, these are my parents, John and Laurie McGee."
Tony eyes darkened, remembering everything Sarah told him about what these people did to his friend. They'd pretty much disowned him for choosing a different path than they wanted. What the hell were they doing here now. They didn't care what happened to their son.
"Have you found my son?" John demanded to know.
"Like you care," Sarah muttered.
"Stop saying that, Sarah. We do care," Laurie said.
"Yeah, right! You haven't cared about Tim in almost twenty years. Only now that might be... Only now do you care," Sarah said, barely containing her emotions at the end.
"That's enough, Sarah. Timothy has no one to blame but himself for all of it, even this!" John yelled.
Sarah huffed angrily and went to attack her father, but she quickly felt a pair of hands grab her around the waist.
"Sarah, no! Come on, let's talk outside," Tony said before pulling the young woman out of the apartment.
Ziva, meanwhile, glared at the couple in front of her. Tony had told her how McGee's family regarded him, and she'd seen enough just now to know that it was true. It was disgusted. Even the way her own father had treated her was better than the way these people acted. "Not that I expect either of you to care, but given the length of time that has passed and the threats that were made on his life prior to his disappearance, we have come to the conclusion that your son is dead.
Laurie McGee put her her hand to her mouth and began to cry. "No! No, you must be wrong.
Ziva felt no sympathy for this woman. The tears were not real. They were alligator tears. She had already proven that she had no regard for her own son. "Well, there is no body, so there is no proof that he is actually dead, but after so long, it seems the most likely outcome."
"If there's no body, he could still be alive. Tell her, John," Laurie begged her husband.
"It's unlikely. Maybe if they'd been better at their jobs and found him right after it happened, but the chances are next to zero at this point. He got himself killed," John said.
Just as Ziva believed she couldn't be more disgusted by these 'people', she was proven wrong. Admiral McGee didn't seem to care at all about his son's supposed death, except of course to blame McGee for it. Knowing this made it just a little bit easier to McGee be declared dead. She felt very bad for Sarah, but now McGee would get the chance at the kind of family he deserved. "I think you are possibly the people I have ever laid eyes on, and I have worked to bring down terrorists! Sarah was right. Your son is dead and you do not give a damn."
"Watch the way you speak to me. You have no idea who I am! I can make your life a living hell," John warned.
"Likewise!" Ziva said in a deadly tone. "Your son was one of the best people I've ever known. He's saved countless lives in five years I have known him! He was a good man. You should be proud of who he was and devastated by what has happened to him, but you couldn't care less, could you?"
"That's not true," Laurie cried.
"He made his own bed!" John growled.
"And you've made yours. You get no sympathy from me," Ziva said before heading for the door, unable to stomach these people another second.
Xxxxxxxxxxx
Sarah was standing outside her apartment building, leaned against the building. Tony was standing right next to her. "You came here to tell me he's gone, didn't you?"
Sarah immediately started to sob. She'd known for a while that it was coming, but that didn't make it any easier to hear. "H...How?"
"It's not like that. We haven't found anything. That's kind of the problem. It's been so long that it's just not very likely we're going to find much, and if we do, it will likely just be remains," Tony said. He hated himself so much right now. He felt no better than Joanne Fielding. She'd done the same thing to Gibbs when she allowed him to think his wife and daughter were dead.
"So you're giving up?" Sarah asked.
"It's been months, Sarah. There was a hit on both their lives and now they're gone. These people weren't looking for ransom or some kind of leverage. They were looking to kill. I hate this too, Sarah, but there's nothing else we can do for your brother now," Tony said sadly. That much at least was true. They'd done everything they could McGee and Gibbs. The only way they could help them now was by letting them go.
Sarah let out a loud cry. "So my brother's dead and I can't ever have a proper funeral for him because there's no body. I'll never really know what happened to him, will I."
"Well, we're still looking for their bodies and for who killed them, but at this point, it's unlikely we'll find much," Tony said. He wanted more than anything to tell her the truth, and it was actually taking every bit of resolve he had not to do it. The only thing that stopped him was knowing that if the Reynosa Cartel thought Sarah knew anything, they'd kill her. Tony couldn't live with himself if that happened.
Sarah slid to the ground and started to cry uncontrollably.
Tony bent down and pulled the young woman into his arms, holding her tightly as she grieved.
Xxxxxxxxxxx
Tony's next stop after leaving Sarah's was to Stillwater. He had Ziva stay back, feeling the need to do this alone. As hard as telling Sarah had been, it was nothing compared to telling Jackson Gibbs that his last remaining family member was gone.
Tony arrived at Jackson's store just after eight at night. He walked in just as the old man was apparently getting ready to close.
Jack turned to see who'd entered his store, prepared to announce that he was closing, but he stopped when he saw who it was. "Tony."
"Hi, Jack," Tony said quietly.
"You didn't come all the way here to tell me my son was found alive," Jack said. He'd learned about his son's disappearance not long after it happened, though the agents had done their best to keep it a secret from him as long as possible.
"Uh, could we sit down somewhere?" Tony asked.
"No. Just say it," Jack said. He didn't want any beating around the bush. He needed to hear it right here and now.
Tony sighed.
"My director wants us start moving the investigation along and start focusing on recovery instead of rescue," Tony said.
Well, that wasn't what Jack was expecting to hear, but that didn't mean he felt any better with it. He almost wished to hear that they found his son's body. It was better than wondering what had happened to him everyday. Those thoughts killed him. "What do you think, Tony? Do you think my son is dead?"
Tony winced at the question. Jack wanted his opinion because he believed he could trust his judgment. He believed he'd tell him the truth. And he wouldn't. Tony would have to lie to this man. "I don't think they'd leave him alive this long. Gibbs is strong, but at this point, there doesn't seem to be any hope.
Jack nodded. Tears began to well up in his eyes, but he didn't let them fall just yet. "I...I guess my only hope now is that he's finally at peace with his girls."
"I definitely believe that," Tony said. That was the only good thing about any of this. Gibbs and McGee were with their family.
"Thank you for coming here, Tony. You can go now. I need to be alone," Jackson said. He'd never been the kind of man to break down in front of people and he wouldn't start now. He would grief for his son quietly.
"I'm not sure that's a good idea," Tony said.
"I'll be fine. Just go," Jack said.
"No, please. Let me drive you home at least. It's not a good idea for you to drive like this," Tony said.
Jack conceded that the young agent might be right about that. "Alright, thank you."
Tony nodded and watched as Jack grabbed his coat and his keys before they both headed out the door.