First off, I would like to apologize for the shortness of this chapter. I did the best that I could, hopefully, the next chapter is long, but I can't make promises. I feel kind of bad, I made you guys wait so long for such a short chapter. But hopefully, you like it.
Ok, I am pathetic, but I just noticed something. I'm watching the NCIS marathon on USA, and I was watching Agent Afloat, I just realized that at the end, Gibbs shakes Tony's hand at the end when it goes to black and white. I honestly didn't know that. I have also decided that I like Kate more than Ziva. I don't know why, but something about Ziva rubs me the wrong way. I don't know. One of those things. I'll get to the story now.
Chapter Thirteen
Jethro lay in bed. He was pissed. He was pissed with himself. He couldn't believe that he acted the way he did. He could have blown their covers and for the life of him, he couldn't understand why.
But when he saw that guy putting his hands on DiNozzo , he let his rage take over. He didn't even realize he had moved until he was standing over the bastard and he was holding himself back before he pounded the crap out of the man.
Damn it, he was jealous. He hated watching Tony flirt, it was driving him crazy. He knew that it was stupid, but he wanted Tony for himself. Despite knowing it could never work, he wanted to make the younger man his.
He would get over it. It would be hard, but he would.
Jethro heard the automatic click before the door opened and Tony strode in. He still looked angry.
"Did you learn anything new?"
Wordlessly, Tony tossed an envelope on the bed by Jethro's feet. When he grabbed it, the first thing he noticed was how thick it was. He opened it and realized why. It was full of money.
"There's five thousand dollars in here." He looked up at Tony after he was done counting. The younger agent just nodded. Jethro started to get angry. "Who the hell gave you an envelope with five thousand dollars in it?"
He could tell that Tony didn't want to answer. But after a while, he caved. "Wilbur Griffin."
Jethro's brow scrunched together in confusion. "Why would Wilbur Griffin give you five thousand dollars?"
Tony shrugged. "He didn't say."
Jethro was about to growl when his phone rang. "What?" He snapped.
"Boss, we got it!" It was McGee. A very excited McGee. "We think we know why Keller and Spano were killed."
Jethro pulled the phone away from his ear. He stared down at it for a while, trying to figure out how to work the speaker thing. Fed up, he tossed it to Tony with a grunt.
Tony pushed one button and McGee boomed through cabin. "Abby cracked Spano's passwords. He had files on his hard drive…" Jethro groaned. He was using computer language again. McGee knew that nobody on the team knew what he was saying, yet he insisted on explaining everything in the most difficult ways.
"McGee!" He shouted.
He could hear the boy huff into the phone. He always got annoyed when he had to dumb down his explanations. "Spano was blackmailing people."
The room was enveloped in silence.
"What?" Jethro finally asked after about five minutes.
"We found picture files on his computer. There has to be at least a dozen men here. They're all in… uh, compromising positions."
Tony rolled his eyes. "They're having sex with other men, McGee, it's not gonna turn you gay to say that." Jethro glared at his Senior Field Agent. He desperately wanted to slap him.
McGee started speaking again. "We were able to match the faces to about ninety percent of the names we gave you this morning." He paused. "Samson Grecker, Carter Felswith, and Joshua Jarvey were the only ones without a file."
Tony chuckled his loud obnoxious "Ha" that he said every time he thought he was right about something. "I knew it."
Jethro glared at him again. "That's good work, McGee." He hung up.
He sat there deep in thought before Tony spoke. "Spano was blackmailing powerful men with photos that could ruin 'em."
Jethro finished. "He told them to meet him here so he could collect."
"He was using Keller so he didn't look so suspicious."
"How was he so sure they'd pay up?" Jethro mused out loud. "Anyone of these guys could easily out him if he threatened them."
Tony shrugged. "Look at the guys he was blackmailing. Guys like Griffin would rather pay then risk the scandal. He purposely chose men he could manipulate. Why he left Grecker alone, Grecker's a big guy who's comfortable with his sexuality." He shrugged and pulled off his shirt. "I wouldn't be surprised if Spano was going to blackmail Keller after this was done."
Jethro tore his eyes away from Tony's body and jerked his head back. "You think Spano was enough of a bastard to blackmail his own lover?"
Tony kicked his shoes off. "Spano would do anything for money." He shrugged. "Hell, he probably wasn't even gay."
Jethro thought about that. There was evidence that Keller was the bottom, but there was nothing on Spano. "He was using Keller to get him here, he acted like he loved him so he could get a payday." The more he spoke the louder he got.
Tony chuckled. "He really got you riled up, huh boss?"
That angered Jethro even more. "I don't like it when my victim turns into my perp." There was more to it, but he didn't want to say it out loud. Keller loved Spano, and Spano just used him. It also made him wonder how similar Tony Spano and Tony DiNozzo really were.
Tony didn't seem all that upset about what Spano was doing. He'd seen the young man get emotional on cases before. He didn't break down and start crying by any means, but he had emotions. But now, knowing what Spano had done, he chuckled.
"How was he going to blackmail Keller? He outs Keller, Keller could out him right back."
Tony leaned against the TV stand and sighed heavily. "Would it really have made a difference? Keller would still lose everything. And in the end, Spano would have proof of Keller's sexuality. Keller just had his word."
Jethro knew that Tony had a point. If Spano was really gay, they couldn't prove it. Hell, Keller probably paid for this entire trip. If they were discharged, it would barely affect Spano, he would just go on with his blackmailing scheme. But Keller, he would lose everything. He was a Marine, through and through. A Lieutenant Colonel for goodness' sake. And Spano would rip it away from him without shedding a single tear.
"What do you wanna do about Griffin?" Tony asked, successfully pulling Jethro out of his thoughts.
"What?"
"Griffin. He paid the money. I don't think he would pay if he was the one who killed us." Jethro gave him a look. Tony rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean."
"You sure he's innocent, DiNozzo?" He was still angry, and he was taking it out on Tony.
But the other man just rolled his eyes again. "What's your gut tell you?"
Jethro silently cursed. Tony knew how he thought way too well. Still, he took a minute to really think about it. He knew right away that there was something fishy about Griffin., but he didn't get the feeling that he was a killer.
Without a word, he grabbed his cell phone and dialed a familiar number. Speed dial was one of the only things he knew how to use on his phone.
He picked up after two rings. "Yeah boss."
"McGee, I want you to do something tomorrow."
"What?"
"Bring up one of the files. Wilbur Griffin."
He could practically hear McGee nod. "I will make a copy and drive it down first thing in the morning."
"No," Jethro barked. "No copy, I want the original."
Tony looked at him in shock while McGee was quiet for over a minute. "Um, boss, are, are you sure about that?"
"Wilbur Griffin is no longer a suspect, I'm not going to ruin a man's life for this case, now bring it!" He hung up on the younger man again.
When he looked back at Tony. The man was smiling. "What?" He growled.
He shrugged. "That was very nice of you, boss." He walked over and settled in one of the chairs on the opposite end of the suite. The only way for him to be any further away from Jethro would be to sleep in the bathroom.
Jethro's heart ached again. "Don't get used to it, DiNozzo. Tomorrow we get to walk back to meet McGee again."
He settled under the covers. He could hear the smile in Tony's voice as he spoke. "You always know what to say to get me hot and bothered."
Jethro couldn't stop the grin that spread across his face. Maybe he was being a little paranoid before. Tony was a lot of things, but he was nothing like Spano. He would never hurt someone like that. "Go to sleep, DiNozzo."
His response was the man's light snore.
So, once again, I will apologize for how short it was, but at the same time, this scene was very crucial to the plot. What do you think? Were you expecting that? Did you like it? And most likely next chapter there will be another sex scene, however, it's not going to be full on sex. Sorry. Oh, and head's up, since I am going out of town on FRIDAY, I'll be able to get an update on Wednesday out (if I'm lucky) but most likely I won't be able to get Saturday. So this week will probably only have one update. I apologize, but hopefully it'll be a good update for you all to enjoy. Peace for now!
Bob