Chapter 5
AN: Actually, this chapter will not be about Gibbs. I think I need to get to Tony and see how he and his new job are going.
DiNozzo didn't know if there was a state beyond nervous. But, he was there. He was so firmly there that he was feeling a little light headed. He had to lean on something to balance himself.
He had no idea what these agents thought of him. He had no idea if news of his D.C. antics had reached these agents and they were expecting to see a clown. He had no idea. And the uncertainty was getting to him. So was the fact that when he got to the island he had only been given time to shower and change. Then he was whisked off to the field office that was being created for him. None of the contractors were familiar with how to outfit a building that would be used for law enforcement. They needed help on pretty much every aspect of the job, except doing the actual work.
Tony had no idea he would be so involved in this aspect of building NCIS. But, he loved the challenge. He spent days trying to pick the best colors for the rooms. He laid out the arrangement of the desks in his bullpen. He even got to plan the layout of other offices and conference rooms.
But, at this point he was tired. Tony had been running on nervous energy and coffee for the past three days. He was in serious need of a break, a couple of days at the beach, something. He only slept a few hours each night. Sometimes making it back to his house. But, most of the time, just laying down on the couch in the lounge/breakroom he had created. His fatigue was beginning to show. But, Tony knew that the first of his agents were due to start tomorrow. And he wanted it all to be ready for them so that they could hit the ground running.
Tony had studied his agent's files. They all had impressive law enforcement careers. Sally Winters was from Buffalo, New York. She was 35-years-old. She divorced, after a 10-year marriage to an NYPD officer. She had worked at the FBI for much of her career, jumping departments a couple of times. But, her longest stint anywhere, thus far, had been with NCIS, giving her nearly 15 years of law enforcement experience. She had no children. She was a very attractive woman. With chestnut brown hair and blue eyes. She was tall, standing 6 feet. And she had a black belt in Karate.
Harley Christian was from Miami, Florida. He was younger than Tony and Sally, at only 25 years of age. He was blonde haired and blue eyed. He had a couple years as a beat cop. He had worked a couple of vice cases. He had become a detective in a couple of years, which explained being allowed to work vice. Plus, he had amassed an impressive amount of computer knowledge. And, judging from his file picture, no one in their right mind would mistake him for a cop. He had a steady girlfriend. And, Tony knew, he liked this kid already.
Byron James Hooper, B.J., was from Tallahatchie, Georgia. He was 29 years old. He was 5' 7'. And had black hair and blue eyes. He retained his crew cut from his military days. He had one child. A little boy, who was now 12 years old, with an old girlfriend in high school. He had also been married, to a cocktail waitress at one of the hotels he'd worked it. It has been on a bet and the marriage had lasted all of three days. His law enforcement experience included U.S. Marine deployment, with two tours in Iraq. He had 6 years of military duty with the past 5 years being in the private sector. He had been night guard at a couple local hotels in the area.
Tony could not help but grin. He loved the diversity of his group. He knew he and Harley would get along. He was sure B.J. would have some great stories to tell. And he loved a good story. His concern was Sally. They were close in age. So, that was a plus. But, what if she had heard about his reputation? Young men like Harley and BJ really didn't care about such things. But, he was afraid that Sally would. He was afraid she could not or would not respect him.
Actually, Tony would not have his have his full team for his first week. Harley needed extra time to wrap up his active cases in Miami. Plus, he had family issues to take of before moving so far away.
Tony had not chosen his Senior Field Agent, yet. He had enough info to do it from the files, for sure. And he was leaning towards Sally. But, he needed to know personalities, too. He needed somebody he could tell things to that he knew could and would keep a secret.. He had to have a special kind of trust. And, no, that trust would not be automatic. It would take time. But he, at least, had to know that he had the right candidate to being the process.
Tony arrived early his first day. He knew that he would be down a man. But, he still had to get his other two agents acclimated to the new office and surroundings. Agent Christian would just have to catch up.
Tony walked around his newly-renovated building before anyone else arrived. He really liked how things turned out. He had chosen a green that was a shade between green grass and olive green. He didn't want to orange of the D.C office. That was too much of a reminder. Plus, he had not really been a fan of the color. But, the green was soothing, organic. His bullpen looked like Gibbs'. That had been the best, most practical, arrangement. But, it would NOT be ran anything like Gibbs'. He would not be like the second B in Gibbs. He would not chase people away who only been loyal to him for years. He wouldn't….
Tony shook his head. That part of his life was over, and he was moving on. He needed to let it go. All of it, except Ducky and Jimmy, of course. And maybe even Abby, after she has calmed down and had time to think things over. And, of course, he as a part of his job would be keeping up with Vance, and Vance with him. But, there was another level of respect and friendship there that Tony was coming to really appreciate.
Tony had talked to both Ducky and Jimmy, at length, about Abby and her reaction to his leaving. They had each called Tony and had told him their observations of what was happening on the team. And Vance had called in a couple times to let him know what he saw with Gibbs and the team. And, of course, Leon wanted to know how things were progressing with the new Honolulu field office.
"Does Agent McGee have a stuttering problem?" Vance asked on one of his 'checking in' calls. "I never noticed it before."
Tony chuckled. "Wow, things are bad for Tim to be stuttering again."
"What do you mean?"
"McGee's not a stutterer. But, in the beginning, Gibbs intimidated him so much he would stutter. Then he got used to Gibbs and his ways. Plus, I was there to deflect, and the stuttering went away." Tony explained. "Full-on Gibbs is not easy to take."
Vance chuckled. "McGee's come to me twice already complaining about Gibbs, about the work load. Gibbs came to me complaining that McGee is slacking off on his duties. Apparently, you did your work, plus most of Gibbs'. Ziva has come complaining that Gibbs is a tyrant. David and McGee are both complaining about the new SFA and the fact that neither got the position. They don't understand how you could get it, and they couldn't. I took the liberty of making them each a copy and highlighting the relevant portions for each of them." Vance sighed. "Ziva refused to accept the truth. Tim wanted me to show him your personnel file." Leon paused and chuckled. "Next week I am going to call them both into the office so I can show them the requirements for a Team Lead."
Tony laughter heartedly. "Thank you, Director. I needed that."
"It's a pleasure. Call me Leon. And, you are going to do well. The people you have under you understand what it means to follow an order, Tony. They will respect you, just show them you deserve it. Be good to them, DNozzo."
TBC
END NOTES: Well, it was sort of about Gibbs. But, the next chapter will probably be totally Tony and his team. I definitely need to write that. Also, just FYI the part about the 2 years of Gibbs and Tony being a two-man team, for two years, is true. It was mentioned in the pilot episode. Most people forget that when they calculate Tony and Gibbs time together.
