A/N: Even though this story has special interactions between the characters (Tony and Ziva, McGee and Abby), it's not the main focus of the story, just adding a little spice to the story.

"Martino, what's going on? Not that I didn't want to see you but given the circumstances I think I deserve some kind of an explanation." Tony inquired. To say he was confused would be the biggest understatement of the year. It was like trying to learn a foreign language from a teacher who speaks an entirely different language she's teaching and that you understand.

"Tony, please sit. We have much to discuss." Martino replied. Tony eagerly sat down in a chair across from Martino as he explained himself.

Flashback: 20 years ago

Martino was visiting Tony's dad because he said he had important matters to discuss. Even though he never got along well with Anthony DiNozzo, Sr., he was still his brother, so whatever he had to say he would listen to. He was told to meet him in a local bar in DC. He was nursing a beer when Anthony walked in. He quickly took a seat next to him, ordering Scotch on the way in. Anthony looked very tense, like he was nervous about something.

"Anthony, it is good to see you. I take it that there was a specific reason for me to fly all the way from Italy to come here besides catching up?" Martino inquired. It was fairly obvious that whatever he wanted to talk to him about, he couldn't do over the phone. He didn't have access to a secure phone line, so whatever he had to say must be damn important.

"Martino, it's good to see you, brother." he replied nervously. "I have a really big favor to ask of you. I already know you're a professional assassin so don't even try to deny not knowing how to fight." he fired off.

How the hell does he know that? Ok yes I was the top assassin money could buy, but I'm retired. "Anthony, if you're asking me to kill someone forget it. I'm retired you know that." Martino fired back angrily.

"Martino, just hear me out. This isn't just some simple contract kill, but probably the biggest favor I could ask of you. If you didn't already know my son Anthony is on his way to becoming a cop. The bridge we once had when he was younger is burned down, so nothing I have to say will affect him. Despite what me may think, the reason why I want him to inherit the family corporation is not to become rich, but to keep him safe. Being a cop is dangerous stuff, and I don't want him to get killed. Martino, I'm asking you to be his guardian angel until he either decides to quit being a cop. Please, I really care for him, and even though we don't have the most stable father-son relationship, I love him, and he's all I got left." Anthony explained.

At first, Martino was just going to tell Anthony to screw off, but hearing that it was his nephew that needed protection, he complied immediately. Anthony Jr. was like a son to him, and having personal experience in life-threatening situations drew his attention. He knew that there were several gangs in America notorious for cop-killing, and he'd be damned if he let Tony be added to that list.

"I'll do it, brother. Tony's like a son to me, and I'll make sure he's safe." Martino replied. As he was getting up, Martino whispered in Anthony's ear, "I will do everything I can to protect him, but if he truly wants be be a successful cop, he has to acquire his own instincts himself. From personal experience, there is only so much others can do to protect someone else. There is no amount of guards a person can have to make them completely safe. I have to keep him ignorant of my protection, otherwise his mentality will fail him. I will keep him away from all harm in his first years, but you must understand I can only help him later on so he stay's alive. I will not spoon-feed him." With that, he walked out of the bar, contemplating situations Tony could find himself.

"So my entire life, you've been keeping me alive?" Tony asked incredulously. "Oh of course, Tony! Did you honestly think you had nine lives?" Martino inquired. "Well, it kinda seemed like it, I had a lot of close calls..." Tony trailed off.

"Well before you ask the inevitable question of all the situations I saved you from, let me answer a few big ones. Let's see...I sedated that serial killer Jeffrey White so he couldn't slit your neck in time, altered the drugs going into your system so it was guaranteed you survived the plague, adjusted the fuse on the bomb in your car during your undercover operation, drugged Michael Rivkin, hmm I was actually in that Somalia camp convincing Saleem to keep you alive, kept Jonas Cobb under constant surveillance to make sure he didn't kill any of the people you hold dearest, and Harper Dearing was just luck." Martino explained like he was reading from a textbook. Tony's jaw was down so low you could fit the bottom of a wine bottle in it. "What...the...hell..." Tony drifted off. "Then how come you couldn't save my team from those kidnappers!?" Tony shouted, suddenly angry from all the lies in his life, as well as the fact that his family could be dead.

"Tony you must understand that as I grow older, protecting you and those you hold dearest becomes increasingly difficult for me. There was no way I could have known that Arash would try to kidnap your team all at the same time." Martino explained.

"Wait, who's Arash? And what does he want with my team?" Tony inquired. "Arash Ulman, brother of Saleem Ulman. He captured your team as an act of revenge for his brother who was killed by your team." Martino said. "Well what the hell are we waiting for!? We have to go help them!" Tony said standing up. Martino put a hand on Tony's shoulder, forcing him to sit down.

"Tony, what is your plan? Run into a terrorist compound filled with 40 or so terrorists, kill them all, and still somehow get to your team in time? That is downright stupid. Arash won't kill them, not until he captures you too. Since you were the one to come up with the op, he holds you directly responsible for his death even if you didn't pull the trigger. At this moment he is currently giving them just enough food and water to survive. Once he captures you, he will torture all of you at the same time, that is just simply his moral code. Eventually your team will die if you don't rescue them, that much is true. But knowing him, you have approximately one year before he chooses to kill them. You need to train for this, train for the inevitable." Martino explained.

"Training? What the hell can you train me that i don't already know?" Tony asked. In the blink of an eye, he was lying face down on the floor, hands pinned behind his back with a breakfast knife pressed against his neck. Martino started chuckling as he explained himself, "Oh Tony, you should know that I am a retired assassin. I was the best hitman in the world. From killing Mossad Operatives to infulential political figures, I was the best at what I did. I retired a long time ago because I simply got bored of it all. I can teach you how to fight, how to detect people without using your hearing or sight, I can even teach you how to shoot a bullet so it ricochet's into their head!" Martino explained.

"Holy shit! You were an assassin!? And you can really do all those things?" Tony exclaimed. "Yes and even more, but I was joking about the whole ricochet thing, that's just some seriously crazy shit. However I did manage to ricochet a bullet into a guard's leg one time by accident." Martino sighed happily. He stood up and straightened his jacket. Tony jumped up with glee and stuck out his hand. "Well what are you waiting for, Batman? Let's do this!" he exclaimed.

30 minutes later...

"Ouch!" Tony exclaimed as he was flung down onto the gym mat for the eighth time. "How the hell can you do that!?" he exclaimed. They were doing a drill on how to sense someone by simply using the displacement of the air to determine what they're doing and where they are. The task was simple: Martino would have to wear earplugs and a blindfold, and Tony had to land one punch somewhere on his body. Every time he threw a punch, Martino would grab his wrist with one hand, turn around so his back was to him, and fling him over his shoulder, sending him to the gym floor. He had to admit, it was pretty cool, but frustrating as hell.

He decided to try another approach: he would leap towards him and tackle him to the ground! Yes! There's no way he could counter that, right? He tried to tackle him from behind, only to be sidestepped, grabbed by the front of the neck so he wouldn't fall to the ground, and then got slammed into the ground.

"What the hell!? He's like Ziva 2.0!" he thought to himself as he got up again. He decided again that he would try to bring him to the ground, except he would jump on top if him. He quickly jumped up and plummeted down towards Martino. As if he was moving at the speed of light, he stuck up his hands so he caught Tony by the stomach, and threw him across the gym, landing him several feet away from Martino.

Martino then took off the blindfold and earplugs, chuckling to himself as he went to go the bathroom. "Training with this super insane crazy ninja guy is gonna be a bitch..." Tony thought to himself as he went to go get a drink of water.