Tony knocked on the door to Colonel Johnson's office and the older man's voice rang out, calling for him to enter. Opening the door he pushed down the abject terror that was threatening to overwhelm him. It was completely irrational, he knew: the colonel had been nothing but polite and courteous towards him, almost friendly even, but at the same time there was something unsettling the special agent, making him feel uneasy, and that scared him. He forced a fake smile onto his face and slowly moved further into the office. The colonel smiled at him, trying to be welcoming, only serving to make him decidedly uneasy but he slipped into one of the seats in front of the man's desk, gesturing for the colonel to take a seat as well. Ignoring him the older man began wandering aimlessly around the office.

"Colonel, I need to ask you some questions," Tony began.

"Ask away tango-eight," the colonel waved his hand indicating the younger man should speak.

"Special Agent DiNozzo," Tony corrected, standing.

"Sorry," he smiled unsympathetically and approached Tony. "What do you need to know?"

Tony resisted the urge to step back, "Had you noticed Harvey acting differently, strange or unusual in any way, recently."

"No," the colonel was too close.

"Colonel, I'll ask you to respect my personal space," Tony stepped back this time.

"Am I making you uncomfortable, tango-eight?" the colonel used his considerably larger bulk and height to pin Tony against the wall with bruising force. "You want to know why Harvey took off? Why he's dead?"
"Would be helpful yeah," Tony hoped Gibbs would come soon.

"You know he was a lot like you in looks," the colonel commented. "Not so much in mannerisms but close enough that I could pretend. I was normal until you came along."

"He was nothing like me," Tony protested as he was pushed harder against the wall.

"He was," the colonel growled. "So he suffered because I couldn't get at you. He couldn't cope and ran, so he became a liability."
"I don't understand," he really didn't.

"You don't get it," the colonel chuckled. "You just pranced in here, a pretty boy in an expensive suit and then you don't even finish your training you just disappear off to something better."

"You're jealous," Tony choked incredulously.

"No I'm pissed," the colonel growled. "You're mine, you belong to me."

"No," Tony started struggling.

The colonel back-handed the younger man hard aross the face. Not having seen the blow coming Tony found his head thrown backwards, colliding with the wall with a thud. It hurt and his vision blurred slightly but didn't stop him from struggling. Becoming angry with his continued resistance the colonel threw him to the floor and he couldn't help his cry of pain, the concrete flooring wasn't kind to his already bruised body. A knife appeared in the colonel's hand and he approached Tony's fallen figure. As the much larger man towered over him, knife slicing through his shirt and skin, Tony fumbled with his belt, trying to free the hidden knife he kept there. The colonel straddled Tony's waist as the younger man finally palmed the blade. Despite the blood trickling down his chest from where the colonel had destroyed his t-shirt Tony continued to struggle. Curling a hand around the younger man's throat the colonel moved the knife to stab him again. Without thinking Tony lashed out, relying on instinct. The knife sliced through the colonel's throat and the older man let out a strange gurgling noise and collapsed on top of Tony.

The door burst open and in rushed the team with their weapons drawn. Gibbs rushed to Tony's side, pushing the dead colonel off of the younger man. Tony's eyes were closed and he was covered in blood. Gibbs immediately began panicking but the younger man's eyes fluttered open and Tony looked up at him.

"Tony are you alright?" Gibbs demanded. "Are you hurt?"

"S'not all my blood," Tony answered. "Help me up?"

"You sure you're okay?" Gibbs checked again.

"I think so," Tony answered. "Bumped my head again boss."

"Ah jeez DiNozzo," Gibbs helped him up. "How do you always get into these messes?"
"Not my fault," Tony swayed on his feet and promply passed out.