As Tony slid out of the air ducts like a snake, he saw exactly what he needed. He grabbed the spray can and matches and went to go wait by the door to the garage. When one of the guards drove into the garage he immediately stepped out and started yelling at Tony to get the hell out of the way. That's when Tony lit his match held it out in front of the can and sprayed. Flames erupted from the can and even though it didn't hurt the guard it distracted him long enough for Tony to knock him out. Tony then grabbed his I.D card and jumped in the truck. He was off the property and long gone before anyone would figure out he was still alive and had stolen a guards truck and card to escape. Once Tony had driven a couple miles he headed into an abandoned field and dumped the truck, he then walked another three miles to get to the nearest car rental place. He rented a ford charger in cash and was on his way to Boston. Ten hours later he arrived in front of his apartment building and walked inside. When he opened the door he found the NCIS team all sitting on the couch along with his father. His team were standing around the island in the kitchen talking silently. As soon as he let the door close loudly everyone looked at him and Willow came over to him looking very pissed off.
"Willow, I just had a very long day. I need to go upstairs and pass out for a while before you yell at me for letting cops into our headquarters." Tony said exhausted throwing his keys on the bar counter next to him.
About an hour later Tony came down the stairs to see the same seen he had when he first arrived home. He sighed and rubbed his face before heading down the rest of the stairs. "Okay, now we can deal with this. Me and my team are going to stand out of your way while you arrest Nickels. I'm sure that wont be hard to do. Papa, I need you to go into witness protection. So you guys..." Tony said pointing to the NCIS team. "are going to fly back to D.C. and finish this case. Then you will find a new agent to take my place. We..." He said pointing to his team. "are going to keep doing what we do best. Con the big corporate guys to help the little guys." Tony finished up his speech and walked into the kitchen to get something to drink. Sasha followed him there.
"Do you really expect these people to just forget about you and go on with their lives?" She said in a whisper leaning against the sink as he reached into the cabinet to grab his secret scotch. "Really, your going to start drinking again now with a bunch of cops around?" She said angry.
"I'm throwing it away." He said opening it up and dumping it down the drain. He watched as the liquor swirled down into his pipes and out of his system and house. Sasha just rolled he eyes and walked away with an angry strut. Obviously trying to impress him (which it did).
"DiNozzo, do you really think we're just going to forget about you and get on with our lives." Gibbs said standing up to face him. Sasha just smiled and gave him a I-told-you-so look. Tony just rolled his eyes and stared at Gibbs then looked around at the NCIS team.
"Yes, I do. I'm a criminal and a thief, and I always have been and I always will be. Nothing is going to change that. I have to admit it I have come to like you guys, and I thought I would never like cops, but I have. But we come from different worlds and we can never be friends. No matter what you want. It's just that simple." He said looking at the NCIS team. He looked from Gibbs to Ziva to MeGee. He felt bad that he was doing this to them, but it had to be done. They were assets, and they always will be. The one rule that can never be broken by criminals is never befriend an asset. It gets too complicated and it's just to hard to say goodbye.
Tony then turned on his heal and opened the door for the NCIS team. They all stood up and looked at him, then grabbed their coats and walked out the door not saying a word with their heads down. Gibbs stopped when he got to the door. He looked at Tony for a second then slapped him on the back of the head, that slap said the words Gibbs couldn't speak, that slap told Tony goodbye and we will never forget you, no matter what you want us to do. Tony handed Gibbs his rental car keys before he left. Micheal gave DiNozzo Sr. his plan ticket to Albuquerque, New Mexico, his new I.D. card, his passport, and his new job application. David then told him it was time to go and that he would drive him to the airport. When DiNozzo Sr. got to the door that Tony was still holding open he stopped and gave Tony a big hug whispering in his ear to keep safe. Tony returned the hug and said thank you. Tony closed the door after his father and went to go sit down on the couch. He was tired and sad. He needed something for his head and he needed something for his emotions. But no matter what he took he would always have another reason to drink. For now though he was going to look over some cases with Sasha while Willow played with her pet spider, David took his father to the airport and Micheal played with his computer (more like hacking into the White House email). Tony thought maybe things could get back to normal, but he knew in the back of his mind nothing would ever be normal for this group of criminals ever again, and it never has been normal. That was one of the things Tony was going to miss about his undercover job. The fact that he was able to experience the life of a normal law abiding citizen instead of the life of a criminal. Tony looked up from the paper work in front of him and looked out the window as a plan soared into the sky and he whispered "I'm sorry." Then went right back to the papers and pushed everything about Ziva, and MeGee, and Abby, and Ducky, and Director Vance, and Director Shepard, and Kate, and especially Gibbs and the look of sadness on his face as he left his apartment, out of his mind and heart.