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"Choice& Consequences"

Chapter 5.

Pearl Harbor.

Less than 10 minutes later, Jo parked her jeep in front of NCIS Field Office in Hawaii.

Tony got out of the car and stopped in front of the building.

My new job. My first command after being Agent Afloat for four months.

He took a deep breath and, to his surprise, he didn't feel nervous as he expected.

"This way, sir," Jo's voice brought him back to reality. "Your team is waiting for you." She smiled as she opened the door.

Tony nodded and followed her inside.

As soon as DiNozzo entered the main room, he had a bad feeling. He couldn't place it, but he felt that there was something wrong.

Something Tony didn't like, but what?


DC.

Gibbs was at his desk trying to work but he was too distracted by all that had happened over the last two days.

"Boss?" McGee's worried voice brought him back from his musing.

The Team Leader just looked at his Agent... no, his SFA.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, why shouldn't I be?" he scowled trying to 'scare' the younger man and show him that Tony's sudden goodbye hadn't affected him a bit.

"No... I mean... nothing," Tim stuttered and got back to his work while Gibbs returned to the file in front of him but, at that moment, their case was the last thing on his mind.


Pearl Harbor.

All people in the room turned and stared at the newcomer.

To be honest, a few were not pleased by his young face, but a majority of them sighed in relief. They had feared that the new Team Leader would be another very seasoned Agent who was just waiting for retirement and that TPTB had sent them to Hawaii wrongly thinking that, in that natural paradise, nothing bad would happen.

Tony stared back, but didn't smile his usual wide smile. That uncomfortable feeling he had felt when he had crossed the threshold was still there and, after what had happened in DC, the new Team Leader was determined to not let his guard down too soon.

"Agent DiNazzo!" a baritonal voice made him turn to his left. A short mustachioed bald man with too many pounds around his waist was walking towards him with a very happy smile.

Tony smiled back and shook the man's hand but didn't miss the irritated glances of the agents in front of him and Jo's annoyed sigh.

"Agent Lee," Tony said.

"DiNazzo, I'm so—"

"DiNozzo," Tony corrected him but it seemed the older man didn't understand his mistake. "It's DiNozzo, not DiNazzo," he explained. Out of the corner of his eye, Tony saw the man behind Lee shaking his head.

They don't like him. Everyone seems annoyed and fed-up. Not the best place to work in... but there's something more that bothers me…I just can't place it.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry," Lee smiled. "Well, we're happy to have you here so quickly. Come on, let's have a chat in my office." He turned and guided Tony to a small room clearly built after the rest of the building.

Tony nodded his 'thank you' to Jo and followed Lee into his office.

"You've your own office," Tony observed as he sat down in front of the older man.

"You can bet on that!" Lee exclaimed, grinning. "I'm the boss and I want my space to work in peace. We need to keep a certain distance between us and our subordinates," he winked.

A fake half-smile was Tony's only answer.

That's what bothered me!
I felt tension and distance in this office.
It's going to take time and lot of work to build real team harmony.


DC.

The day passed, eventless: no new leads or news on their current case.

At 1800 Gibbs let his agents go home and he followed them a few minutes later.

While he was driving home, he got a call from Vance who told Gibbs he'd be over at about 2000.

After arriving, Gibbs sanded for an hour in the lame attempt to relax, then he took a long shower and started cooking his famous steaks.

"Cowboy-style steaks!"

Gibbs grinned as Tony's voice echoed in his mind.

Oh, DiNozzo...what happened to us? What did the hell happened?


Pearl Harbor.

Agent Lee showed Agent DiNozzo around the building but, despite Tony's multiple requests, he didn't bother to introduce him to his future team.

"Since you're already here, would you mind if I use my remaining holidays so I can pack and get back to my beloved Texas ASAP? I've enough of all this sand, sun and sea," he laughed loudly but he was the only one.

The more time Tony spent around Lee, the more he didn't like this man and also understood why Vance had needed to reorganize the Hawaii field office.

"No problem," Tony nodded. "Enjoy your holiday/pre-retirement," he tried to joke back.

"Perfect!" the older man cheered as he rummaged in his pocket and extracted a bunch of keys. "The blue one is for agents' curricula," he started gesturing with his head towards the file cabinets that adorned one wall of his office. "The yellow one is for current cases. The red one for Autopsy reports of the current cases. The silver one is for the door of this office," Lee explained before giving Tony the keyring.

He took his bag, left his room and shook the other agents' hands. Tony noticed that no one showed any sorrow or tried to fake a tear.

As soon as DiNozzo was sure that Agent Lee had left the parking lot, he turned and again he saw all agents staring at him.

Tony took a deep breath and, though he was going to talk to his agents for the first time, he didn't feel nervous. He was excited and felt very confident.

"As you know I'm going to be your Team Leader," he addressed all the people in the room. He looked at his watch. "I'll give you two hours to eat and gather all intel you need to report me about all the cases you're investigating right now."

The older agents widened their eyes in disbelief shocked by his 'demands'. Tony noticed this attitude, mentally took note and added, "A lot of things are going to change in this office. I hope to have your cooperation and help." And, with these words, he purposely gazed at the agents he felt didn't like him.

"I am your boss now and, though I'm younger than some of you, I demand respect for my role and my orders," he very seriously added. "I'm not a tyrant, so I'm ready to listen to your ideas and suggestions, but the last word is mine. We are a team and as a team we need to work."

Silence.

"Now go. I need to make a call," he said as he entered Lee's office.

This room is going to disappear very soon! Tony thought as he called Vance, unlocked the drawer with the agents' file and looked inside.

Twelve files in two hours. Tony sighed. I can do that!

He sat down at the desk where Agent Lee had left a big mess. Gibbs would kill him! Tony grinned.

"Vance!" he heard on the other side of the line.

"Direc—Leon," Tony said. He still felt uncomfortable calling his Director by his first name.

"Tony!" the Director exclaimed and he sounded truly happy to hear him.

"We're going to need to change a few things—actually, many things—and I was hoping for your advice and help."

"Sure. I'll be glad to help you—" A very short pause. "Agent DiNozzo."

"Thank you."

"May I call you back later?"

"Sure. I still have a long day ahead."


DC.

Vance arrived at Gibbs' in the exact moment his cell rang. "Vance!" he answered.

"Leon," he heard Tony's voice and it was clear that the new Team Leader still felt uncomfortable calling his Director by his first name.

"Tony!" the Director exclaimed and made sure to show Tony that he was truly happy to hear him.

"We're going to need to change a few things—actually, many things—and I was hoping for your advice and help," the younger man said.

Tony's serious tone hit the Director. I knew that behind that face of clown there was a tough boss.

Vance rang Gibbs' doorbell.

"Sure. I'll be glad to help you—" He paused as he waited for Gibbs to open the door. "Agent DiNozzo," he added with a grin.

The grey-haired man's eyes widened. He waited for Vance to end the call and immediately asked, "How's he doing?"

"He's fine," Vance replied, entering the house and sniffing the air. "It smells good in here!"

"Leon! Stop stalling and show me what made Tony leave!" Gibbs roared.

"Actually, it's not what made Tony leave—it's something he hid to protect the team."

Gibbs frowned.

"Are you sure you want to watch it now?" Vance asked.

"YES!"

"Ok," he nodded. "You might put what you cooked in the fridge, 'cause I'm afraid you won't feel like eating after you watch the video."

"That bad?" Gibbs' blue eyes widened.

Vance just nodded and put the DVD in the player and pushed 'play'.

"Mossad HQ?" Gibbs asked, staring at the screen as he sat down. "Why?" he turned to Vance who sitting next to him.

The NCIS Director just raised his eyebrows.

They watched the entire video in silence; Gibbs' eyes never left the screen while Vance never looked away from the older man.

Vance could see a vein pulsing on Gibbs' temple and the man clenching his fists so tightly that his knuckles were white.

The video ended, but Gibbs did nothing. He seemed frozen but Vance could read the turmoil playing out over his face.

Suddenly the Team Leader stood up but he didn't move. He stayed there, staring at the black screen. His breathing was heavy as if he had run ten miles. His forehead was beaded with sweat and Vance was afraid he could have a heart attack.

"Gibbs?" he softly called, standing up as well and slightly touching the man's arm.

"What are we going to do?" Gibbs asked hoarsely.

"Nothing."

"Nothing?" Gibbs finally looked at his Director. "Nothing?!" he repeated, his voice raised.

"We can't, Gibbs."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean, Leon?!" Gibbs was shouting now.

"Gibbs, we have a case. Remember?" Vance answered calmly.

"Leon..."

"We can't change anything at NCIS. We're investigating all agents and we need to make it look like everything is fine and normal."

"I want her off my team and sued for attacking her superior. I want her to be investigated by IA for this assault and all that happened during Rivkin case," Gibbs said through clenched teeth. His voice was low and scary.

"Gibbs, try to understand. We—"

"Understand?! Understand, Leon?!" Gibbs moved away from his Director.

He stopped in the middle of the room and turned towards Vance. "She assaulted her superior who was already wounded. She pointed a loaded gun at him twice and, if I'm not mistaking, the safety was not on and her finger was on the trigger."

He took a deep breath.

"What if Tony had tried to defend himself?"

He shook his head.

"I want her investigated, charged and off my team STAT!"

"Gibbs, you took her back on the team," Vance reminded him.

"I didn't have all the intel," Gibbs replied.

"You had enough intel to fire her, but you didn't," Vance challenged him and, when Gibbs frowned, he added, "The Rivkin case and what I told you about Ari and Eli's orders when we came back from Israel."

Gibbs closed his eyes tightly and shook his head. With his head bowed he asked, sotto voce, "And Tony didn't say anything?"

"Nope. He wanted to protect the team. He buried his pain and doubts, and moved on 'cause he wanted to respect your decision."

"No," Gibbs whispered. "He didn't say anything because he felt betrayed by my decision. I didn't ask his opinion. I disrespected my SFA but he was ready to move on for his loyalty to me, our team and the only family he had."

Gibbs sniffled and Vance was sure he saw unshed tears in the older man's eyes.

"But you told Tony about Eli's orders... a thing I never told him...I should have told him everything when we got back from Tel Aviv but I didn't and I lost his trust."

Vance just nodded.

Gibbs headed towards the window and looked out. "Trust is imperative for Tony," he said in such a low voice that Vance almost missed it. "He's been betrayed since the day he was born by his father, his relatives and then his partner in Baltimore and... now me."

He turned to Vance and the Director was shocked by how old Gibbs looked now.

"Tony's right. I betrayed him and Kate's memory," then he turned again and returned to looking out the window.

"Gibbs, I..."

"Go home, Leon," he murmured.

"Are you going to fire Ziva?"

Gibbs shook his head.

"Goodnight, Gibbs," the Director said, picking up his bag.

Gibbs didn't answer.


Pearl Harbor.

Oblivious to what was happening in DC, Tony was at his new desk reading the personnel files.

Martin Abner, 47. Marine Corps for 20 years then FLETC and NCIS in Barhein and Norfolk.

TBC


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