Chapter 13
Tony was aware of five men staring at him with various levels of hostility and anger. And then there was Gibbs, who just looked saturnine. Tony raised his chin and came to something approximating attention. "Of course, Boss. I saw a strange man approaching you from behind with at least two weapons. He didn't announce his presence, and he reached into his coat like he was reaching for the gun in the shoulder holster."
There was a brief silence, then Tate said, "I was reaching for my PDA," he snarled. "And how the hell do you know how many weapons I'm wearing?"
Tony glanced at Gibbs for permission to answer. He gave a slight nod. "They ruin the line of your suit," he said. "You need lower profile holsters."
Steinman let out a laugh. "I have often noticed that, Tate," he said. He turned to Gibbs. "What's his name again?"
"Tony Vellucci," Gibbs said.
"Bird dog, bloodhound and Rottweiler, huh?" Sullivan said thoughtfully, gazing at Tony. His expression was intent but not readable. Tony couldn't even guess what was going on behind those eyes, but he suspected that he didn't want to know.
Gibbs gave him a nod and returned to his seat. Tony resumed his relaxed pose against the wall. Sullivan waved Mark and Rudy out, but both men were looking at Tony with something akin to alarm. They'd apparently assumed that the docility he'd shown thus far was normal, and that he wasn't really dangerous without weapons.
Tate carried out his business with Steinman and left again, glaring at Tony through narrowed eyes. Tony ignored him, which had to piss him off. Throughout the rest of the meeting, Tony couldn't miss the appraising looks from Steinman and the fulminating looks from Sullivan. He simply remained in place, against the wall. Fortunately, the meeting didn't last much longer, and soon they were out in the limo again. Evening was drawing in, and Tony thought dinner sounded good. He'd just rather not eat another meal with Sullivan in attendance.
They pulled into the parking lot of a restaurant, heading off that thought. The drive back to the hotel was too long anyway for Tony to wait. They were seated at a large, round table, and Sullivan managed to sit beside Tony, with Gibbs on the other side. This position tried to have an effect on Tony's appetite, but plain old DiNozzo good health asserted itself firmly over the emotional reaction.
Finally, towards ten at night, Sullivan let them out at the hotel. The four of them rode up to the eighteenth floor together and Tony remembered suddenly that there was a suite at the end of this journey, and the opportunity to sleep without being observed.
Not surprisingly, as soon as they got to the suite, they made straight for the bathroom. It had been a long drive, and Tony noticed Rudy heading through the door into the adjoining room with like speed. Poor Mark was stuck. On the other hand, Tony had to wait for Gibbs to finish, so he wasn't much better off.
"Turn that water on, Tony," Gibbs said. "After all those eyes on you, I want to clean you all over."
Tony turned the shower on and turned up the setting, but he was a bit taken aback by the fervency of the declaration. They took their turns at the toilet, then Gibbs spoke to the air. "Director, can you hear me?"
"Loud and clear, Gibbs."
"There were half a dozen illegal acts mentioned today. Have we got enough?"
"Not nearly," Morrow said. "You know that. Besides, we want him for treason, not petty larceny."
"He won't be able to commit treason from Leavenworth," Gibbs pointed out.
Tony blinked. "What's wrong, Boss?" he asked.
"Agent Gibbs, clearly something is troubling you. Can you explain your concerns?"
"Most of it wasn't verbal, but I'm disturbed by the amount of interest Tony is generating," Gibbs said. Tony sat down. He'd been trying not to think about it. "Of the four guys we met today, only one of them showed no interest at all. And Sullivan's practically drooling."
"We might be able to use that," Morrow said, and Tony bit his lip, not altogether sure he liked that idea.
"Rape isn't treason either," Gibbs snapped, and Tony felt the color drain from his face.
"I wasn't suggesting –"
"And seduction won't put Tony in the right position to get information. This jackass doesn't tell his lovers anything. They're objects, not people."
"He's right about that," Abby said. "Sullivan isn't your usual BDSM fetish fiend. He's a psycho control freak. His first step with Tony would be intense brainwashing type stuff. Serious behavior modification."
Tony forced himself to relax and sit calmly because a fetal position was sounding appealing right now, and a DiNozzo certainly didn't curl into a ball like a pill bug when danger loomed.
"Well, do you want to pull the plug, Gibbs?"
"No," Tony said firmly before Gibbs could respond. "Like hell am I going to have put up with all this so we could back out before we get anything we can really use."
"Gibbs?"
Gibbs looked at Tony, and Tony tried to infuse confidence and determination into his expression. After a moment, Gibbs shrugged. "We'll keep going, then. How long are we in this for, Director?"
"That depends on what you find out and when," Morrow said. "But I've got someone looking into permanent housing in Alexandria." Tony stared at the wall opposite the tub. That would be long term. "Treason is big, and it might take a while for you to get far enough inside his organization to get in on something like that."
"I see," Gibbs said.
"We'll talk more when you come in on Wednesday."
"Right, director," Gibbs said. "Tony, get in the shower. I'm cleaning you all over, remember?"
Tony nodded and stripped his clothes off, tucking his earwig into the toothbrush holder before climbing into the shower. He wondered if Morrow truly understood what he was asking them to do. If they stuck with this for months, they would probably have to actually . . . it would be expected that they would play at clubs and parties. Sullivan had as good as said so. Gibbs could only get away with the no public demonstration thing for so long.
He finished up and got out, drying off and brushing his teeth before fitting the earwig back into his ear. Gibbs was quicker in the shower, and he was out before Tony knew it. "I just claimed you again, didn't I?" he asked.
Tony's brow furrowed and he looked over at him, not immediately getting the reference. Abby spoke in his ear. "Most definitely. If there were that many guys drooling over him, you want to stake your claim firmly. And it's got nothing to do with your trust of him, it's just a . . . a dominance thing. You need to express it."
"Okay, I see that."
"And if this is going to go long term, there are other marks that will need to . . . um . . . I mean, sex between guys, especially between guys like you're pretending to be is kind of . . . rough. There would be bruises."
"Bruises?" Gibbs repeated, and Tony dropped his head down. She was right. He'd seen them often enough on the boys and young men he'd arrested.
"On his hips, Gibbs, and on his legs. You also probably tie him up, so there should be marks on his wrists from that, and his lips should definitely show signs of aggressive kissing." Gibbs shook his head at the mirror, and Abby could clearly sense his reluctance because she let out an irritated sigh. "Man up, guys. You've got to treat this like any other op where you're pretending to have sex with another agent. If you were in there with a woman, you'd be faking sex like crazy to keep the illusion up."
"I do not leave bruises on women when I have sex," Gibbs said in a throttled voice.
"Well, the rules for sex between men are different, Gibbs, especially guys like Howe and Vellucci. You grab him, you force him . . . I mean, you don't really force him, but you sort of do, and you both get off on that."
"Abby . . ." Gibbs said.
"You don't have to understand it, Gibbs, you just have to do it," Abby said. "It will make Tony safer if you're obviously claiming him."
Gibbs took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "DiNozzo," he said.
Tony stood up straight and turned around to lean his butt against the counter. "Yeah, Boss?"
Gibbs wasn't looking at him, he was looking at the wall beyond him. "After this is over, we never speak of this again."
Tony nodded. "Right there with you, Boss."
"And we shoot anyone who tries."
"Got it."
"Does that include me?" Abby asked.
"Yes," they said in unison.
"Okay," Abby replied in a small voice. A moment later, she cleared her throat. "Now, do you need coaching?"
Gibbs seemed beyond speech, and Tony sighed. "Abby, could you . . . just not. I know how this works. As Morrow pointed out, I worked vice." He shrugged. "It's no big deal, anyway. It's just an act. I mean, it's not like it's Kate in here. Now that would be hard." He grinned at Gibbs. That was a partial repayment for all the gibes she'd thrown at him while he was undercover and unable to respond. Gibbs rolled his eyes.
"You ready?" Gibbs asked.
"Are you?" Tony pulled off his pajama pants and threw them on the counter.
Gibbs stared at him for a moment before doing the same. "Not in the least. Let's get it over with."
Instructing Gibbs on the finer points of gay sex passed the next hour or so in a moderately entertaining if somewhat disturbing fashion. Finally, Tony walked over and grabbed the wrist restraints. He put them on and picked up the straps that were supposed to attach them to the bed.
"What are you doing, DiNozzo?"
"We've been having sex in the bathroom for the last few days, and you're feeling dominant. They're padded, so they don't cut, but they do tend to leave marks."
"What do you plan to do?"
"Attach them to the bedposts and pull on them," Tony replied. Gibbs raised his eyebrows. Tony dug in the bag. "Here, why don't you go squeeze some of this lube into the toilet so it looks like we used it?"
Gibbs blinked at him for a moment, then walked into the bathroom. Tony hooked the straps to the bedposts then hooked the cuffs to the straps and started pulling on them hard. He stopped a few moments after it began to hurt and reached to unhook the cuff. His right hand stopped about a foot short of his left and he stared in consternation. He'd pulled the straps tight enough that he couldn't reach one hand all the way to the other. Hooking the cuffs to the straps one-handed had been easy enough, but unhooking them was nowhere near so simple.
"Um . . . Boss!" he called. Gibbs didn't emerge from the bathroom, and Tony had a feeling he was finishing his getting ready for bed routine. No doubt brushing his teeth to get the DiNozzo flavor out of his mouth. "Boss!" Tony called again.
"Gibbs, I think Tony has a problem," Abby said helpfully. Gibbs dashed from the bathroom and stopped at the foot of the bed. "Um . . . maybe I should have said a little problem," Abby added, sounding embarrassed.
Tony looked up at his boss who was glaring down at him balefully. The door opened and Mark stuck his head in. Gibbs looked over. "Get out!" he growled and Mark, having gotten an eyeful of naked 'Vellucci' tied to the bed, got out and shut the door hastily. Gibbs had already put his pajama pants back on, so he hadn't been exposed. Tony buried his face in the pillow and started laughing with mild hysteria. "Tony, what's the problem?" Gibbs demanded in a low voice.
Tony looked up, mastering his laughter with an effort. "I . . . um . . ." He demonstrated his problem and Gibbs let out an irritated grunt and made short work of the straps. When Tony sat up, he gave him a smack to the back of the head. "Ow!" Tony exclaimed. "What was that for?"
Gibbs didn't answer, he just went back into the bathroom.
Kate walked into Abby's lab. Director Morrow had asked her to persuade Abby, who hadn't left the building since Gibbs and Tony had gone under, to go home and get some rest. The sheer number of empty Caf-Pows and cans of Red Bull in the room suggested that she had been making a definite effort to stay awake.
"Kate, hi," Abby said, covering the mike. "You missed the good part, while Tony and Gibbs were pretending to have sex."
Kate rolled her eyes. She was just as glad to have missed seeing that. Tony was so irritating, to make a comment like that when she couldn't respond. She'd have to find a way to get him back for it later. She looked up at the video on Abby's big screen. Gibbs was sitting beside Tony, doing something to his wrist. "Is he tying him up?" she asked incredulously.
"No, he's releasing him," Abby said.
"You mean he already tied him up?" Kate was appalled.
"No, Tony tied himself up, but he screwed up and wound up with his hands too far apart for him to untie himself."
"Why would Tony tie himself up?" Kate asked.
"For the same reason they faked the sex," Abby said. "To get bruises in the right places."
Kate gazed at the screen pensively. "After what Gibbs said today, I think we should arrest Sullivan for what we've got and hope we find more evidence when we search his place." She squinted up at her partner as Gibbs moved away, realized that he was naked and averted her eyes hastily. "It's too dangerous for Tony."
"If we arrested him without sufficient evidence to put him away for a really long time, it wouldn't be any less dangerous for Tony," Abby said.
"How so?" Kate demanded.
Abby didn't answer the question directly. "If we arrest him, he's going to find out who Gibbs and Tony really are. It's inevitable. For one thing, they'll probably get the job of interrogating him. So, he's charged with treason, he loses everything, he goes to prison for life, that's the end of it."
"I guess," Kate said, not sure where this was leading.
"Well, if he goes to prison for a couple of years, he still loses everything, but he comes out wanting revenge while he's still young enough to try and get it, and he still knows who Tony really is."
"He wouldn't be so stupid as to go after Tony at that point. He'd be the obvious suspect."
Abby shook her head. "You don't understand this kind of mindset. Prison is the ultimate loss of control, and Tony, a man he already wants to dominate, will have put him there. He'll come out just as obsessed with Tony as he is now, only angry on top of it. It wouldn't be pretty."
"Now, give me a kiss," Tony said on the audio. "Make it really aggressive. My lips should be swollen afterwards."
Kate turned her back. "This is just wrong." She tried, but she couldn't block the conversation out.
"Wouldn't I already have done that before?" Gibbs asked. "Doesn't the fact that I haven't mean I'm not likely to?"
"Boss, you've presented as a really jealous guy, and there were five different guys ogling me today. Believe me, it's not my favorite thing, either, but you need to just do it. At least we've both brushed our teeth, so it won't taste foul."
"It's just entirely wrong," Kate said in the silence that followed that remark.
"Actually I think it's kind of hot," Abby said.
Kate turned and stared at her. "Okay, the director told me to come make you go home, and it's time."
"I'm not going anywhere till Tony and Gibbs are out of harm's way."
"You heard the director, Abby," Kate said. "He's looking into putting them in an apartment. You can't stay here for weeks."
"I'm not going –"
Kate grabbed the spare headset and got it situated. "Gibbs, can you hear me?" she said.
"Yeah, Kate. What?"
"Abby is refusing to go home and get some rest. She hasn't been home yet."
There was a brief moment of silence during which Abby glared at Kate, looking betrayed. "Abbs, is that true?"
"I've slept," Abby said defensively.
"On the floor of her office," Kate put in.
"Abby, go home," Gibbs ordered. "You'll work better for some decent sleep."
"All right, Gibbs."
"Kate, you go home, too."
"I was going to, Gibbs," she said. "Good night. Good night, Tony."
"Good night, Kate; good night Abby; good night, John boy."
Kate saw the smack Gibbs gave Tony, and the mock glare Tony returned for it. After taking off the headset, she grabbed Abby and propelled her into her office. "Get your bag, I'm seeing you to your car."
Once they were in the elevator, Abby turned to Kate. "I just hate not being able to check up on them at all."
"They're going to bed, Abby. Nothing's going to happen while they're in bed."
"You never know. One of the guys peeked in just before you showed up, and they're not supposed to go in at all unless Tony's alone."
"I don't believe Gibbs is going along with this insanity," Kate said, shaking her head. The elevator doors opened and they crossed the bullpen which felt empty and quiet without Tony cracking jokes at his desk. "He usually freaks out over anything that even suggests danger to Tony, and now he's courting it."
"He's the one trying to end it," Abby pointed out. "Tony's the one who wants to keep going."
"Tony believes he's invincible."
"He's a guy. All guys believe they're invincible."
Kate had to acknowledge that for truth. Even Gibbs seemed to, and he was old enough to know better. "Just think positive. We know where they both are, they're together. It's fine."
"It's fine now, but what about four hours from now? Or six? If I'm not there to look in, I won't know, and –" Abby started to turn back, but Kate grabbed her arm.
"Maybe I should take you to my place and sit on you," she said, dragging Abby onwards.
"No, I'll go home and sleep."
Kate nodded and watched Abby get into her hearse and drive off. Then she went to her own car and hoped that when she got home she'd be able to sleep.
