Every Rose Has Its Thorn
Part 4 – A Discovery and a Diagnosis
When Tony arrived at the guard station with Faith, Ziva was waiting. She gave the Commander a curious look as Tony bid her farewell but did not comment. She did inform Tony that Gibbs wanted them to confirm Faith's story and they headed for Georgetown, with Tony driving.
Once at the pub, they questioned the two bartenders on duty. Tony recognized the woman, so he chose to interview her while Ziva spoke with the unfamiliar male bartender. Both confirmed that Pratchett was a regular, they had seen him with Faith a couple of times a week for the past month, and both hinted that he didn't seem to think the relationship was exclusive.
"Maybe Commander Coleman discovered that he was…paying the field," Ziva suggested after they had reported their findings to Gibbs.
"Playing, Ziva. I doubt it. Commander Coleman never struck me as the jealous type. What do you think, McGee?"
"To be honest, Commander Coleman never struck me as the dating type, but then again I don't know her as well as you do, Tony."
"Oh, really?" Ziva raised an eyebrow and glanced at Tony.
"They worked on several cases together before I joined the team," McGee replied.
"So what type does she strike you as, McGee?"
"Very…organized. Not likely to be involved in something so messy."
"I agree," said Gibbs, earning him surprised looks from his team. "Looks we're back to the ex-wife."
"Told ya," Tony mouthed at Ziva and she made a face as McGee rolled his eyes.
They finished out the rest of the day and as Tony headed home, he called Faith, begging off for the night. He still wasn't feeling completely up to par, and he figured it was best to play it safe. He didn't want to give Gibbs more a reason to bench him.
XXX
"Tony, with me."
"Boss?" He stood and turned to Gibbs as he ignored the worried looks his teammates were giving him.
"Pratchett's ex-wife is on her way here. We're meeting her in the Conference Room."
"Got it." Tony followed Gibbs while the other two members slowly resumed their work.
Karla Pratchett was sitting at the far end of the table and she looked up at the two men with apprehension when they entered the room.
"Mrs. Pratchett? I'm Special Agent Gibbs, and this is Special Agent DiNozzo. Thank you for coming in."
"It's Ms. Dennison. I've resumed my maiden name," she replied, already on edge, and Tony knew Gibbs' had used her married name to get that very reaction. "What's this about? They said it had something to do with Trey?" The expression on her face when she mentioned her ex-husband's name spoke volumes.
"I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but your ex-husband is dead, Ms. Dennison," Tony said. Karla's eye's widened in shock, but Tony was fairly sure he detected relief as well.
"When did he…?"
"Sometime late Friday night. He was found in his apartment Monday morning."
"How?"
"He was poisoned."
"With what?"
"We'll get to that. Can you describe your relationship with Lieutenant Pratchett?"
She stared at them for a moment before Tony noticed a flash of anger in her eyes. "Oh, I get it. Always suspect the wife…ex-wife."
"Reasonable assumption," said Gibbs.
"Not in this case. Most people that really knew about our relationship would have expected it to be the other way around, that he'd kill me."
"And why is that?"
She sighed. "Trey has…had a jealous streak a mile wide. Unfortunately for me, it didn't show up until after we were married. While we were dating, he was…a gentleman; charming, attentive. Maybe a little possessive, but…he didn't change until about six months later. He forbade me from seeing anyone outside of work: any of my friends, both male and female. He didn't want me to divide my attention between him and anyone else. At first I…I thought he was just insecure. He's been married once before, and his wife cheated on him. But after a while…I couldn't take it, Agent Gibbs; the isolation. I filed for divorce, gave up most of what I could have received in a settlement, just to get it over with. Trey was livid when he received the summons and…if my brother Kevin hadn't been with me, I hate to think of what would have happened." She caught the shared look between the two agents and let out a disgusted snort. "My brother is deployed in Afghanistan. Has been for the last five months, hence the restraining order I had to put against Trey. I know they don't really work, but Kevin insisted I needed to do something."
"Why?"
"Trey was stalking me. He'd wait for me to come home, fling accusations, threaten me…I was desperate to keep him away. I think Kevin...may have spoken to Trey before the last deployment, and he backed off."
"And moved on." Tony watched her carefully as he revealed that little bit of information. "Started seeing someone else."
"Poor woman," snapped Karla. Gibbs and Tony shared another look before Gibbs continued.
"Can you tell us where you were this past weekend, Ms. Dennison?"
"From seven until nine PM at I was at my niece Hannah's dance recital in Alexandria. I stayed with my sister-in-law, Laurie, Friday night and the three of us went shopping on Saturday at Potomac Mills. I can show you my receipts if you like. Saturday afternoon we went to Laurie's nephew's soccer game. His team won, by the way. 4-3. Saturday night we all went to a cookout at Peter and Marisa's. That's Laurie's brother and sister-in-law.
"One big happy family alibi," commented Tony and Karla rolled her eyes.
"You asked. Sunday I caught a flight to Denver at 8:15 AM from Reagan National. Landed at DIA at 10:05 AM Mountain Time. I returned home at 9:15 last night. Check it out."
"We will," said Gibbs. "Do you know of anyone who had a grudge against your ex-husband?"
"Not off the top of my head. I've been avoiding him for the past six months, Agent Gibbs. I wouldn't know who else he's pissed off during that time frame."
"What about before?"
She appeared to seriously consider his question. "I can't think of anyone. Trey was very good at putting up a front. He had a lot of people fooled."
"You said that people who knew about your relationship knew he was the potentially violent one. If he was so good at fooling people…?"
"They witnessed an outburst or two, and their views started to change. That, plus they know me. I don't lie, Agent Gibbs. It causes way too much trouble."
"True." He met her angry gaze for several moments until she finally dropped it and sighed.
"Will there be anything else, Agent Gibbs?"
"Do you know who has access to Lieutenant Pratchett's apartment?"
"No. He gave me a key, but I gave it back to him when I filed the order. As I said, I don't know anything about who he's been with for the last six months, and I don't want to know. Is that all?
"We'll be in touch. Don't-."
"—leave town, yeah, I know. I watch TV, Agent Gibbs."
Tony called for a guard to escort Ms. Dennison out and after she had left he turned to his boss."
"Well?"
"Looks like someone did Commander Coleman a favor."
"Looks like it. She doesn't know about Pratchett's temper."
"Uh huh."
"Boss, I—"
"Let's see what Ziva and McGee have turned up." Gibbs turned to leave without even a backward glance at his senior agent and Tony sighed.
"Yes, Boss."
XXX
"What's new, McGoo?"
McGee looked up as Tony and Gibbs approached and gave Tony an annoyed look.
"I've found a few more possible irregularities in bids on contracts that passed through O'Neill's office. I could get a better idea if I had the originals, but those are apparently still regulated to hard copies. At any rate, I think I've found a pattern. O'Neill is assigning contracts to companies that have indirect links to his father's firm. It's well hidden, but I think I could make a case for it if I could get my hands on the originals.
"You might get that chance, Agent McGee," said Vance as he descended the stairs from the catwalk.
"What do you mean, Leon?"
"The SecNav is concerned about these discrepancies that McGee has uncovered, as well as the connection to Lieutenant Pratchett's death. He wants us to put someone on the inside and catch them red-handed."
"Who?"
"Agent McGee."
McGee looked up at the director with a startled expression on his face. "Me? With all due respect, Director, I—"
"Don't have much undercover experience, yes, I know. You do, however, have a working knowledge of their system and the computer skills to get the information. I expect Agent DiNozzo will help you with the rest."
"Sir?"
"You have until Sunday to prepare. We'll be sending McGee in to the Lab Monday morning. I expect you all to be ready, Agent DiNozzo."
"Nice of you to ask before commandeering my team, Leon."
"I don't need to ask, Gibbs. They're my team, too." Vance headed back up the stairs, and Gibbs followed, silent and obviously fuming. After both men disappeared from view Tony turned to his teammates.
"Love to be a fly on the wall for that conversation," he said with a grin. Tony noticed McGee's expression and the grin faded.
"You up to this, Probie?"
"What? Of course. No problem. It's just…damn, I don't have much time to get ready." He immediately started typing and Tony walked over to sit on the corner of his desk. He lowered his voice and leaned closer to his partner.
"Tim? You'll do fine. You've got me to teach the ropes, right?"
"I know, Tony. Thanks. It's just…"
"You're worried you might be next up for a little arsenic cocktail?"
"Or anti-freeze, since we're not sure which one was the actual cause of death."
"You'll be fine. Just don't drink the water." Tony gave McGee one of his patented DiNozzo smiles and the younger agent just shook his head as a slight smirk formed on his face in return.
Tony returned to his desk and started to check Karla Dennison's alibi. He had to pause after a few minutes to stretch his hands, trying to rid them of that strange, tingling sensation he had felt yesterday. He briefly wondered if he was getting carpal tunnel before resuming his work. He discovered that Gunnery Sergeant Kevin Dennison was in fact in Kabul, and had been for five months. He did brief background checks on the rest of Karla Dennison's family, and the limited information he found matched Karla's story.
By the time he was almost finished with the checks, Gibbs had returned to the bullpen. The lead agent's expression was stormy, but controlled, and he spoke to McGee in a low voice before announcing to the team that they would be preparing for the op this weekend.
Tony barely managed to suppress a groan. He had been hoping for some time to talk to Faith, to repair the damage sustained in their budding relationship by Gibbs' interference, but it looked like he'd have to wait.
The rest of the day as well as the rest of the week was spent preparing McGee's cover and refining the necessary skills he would need to complete the mission, both technological and personal. Tony noted, not without pride, that his Probie had come a long way in attaining some of the finesse required to do undercover work since he had joined the team. He had acquired some of Tony's skills, obviously through observation, and Tony helped him with the finishing touches. Tim still needed work on "instant falsehood", and his expression was still too open to be completely deceptive, but the confidence the younger man had been lacking before was there, and, Tony noted, at just the right level.
"My Probie's all grown up," he said with a grin as Tim completed the latest task. It was Sunday, just hours before the op would start, and Tim was putting the finishing touches on his uniform and his new identity: Lieutenant Terrence Matheson, recently transferred from Norfolk and assigned to the Naval Research Lab.
"I look like my father," Tim muttered as he stared at his reflection in the mirror. Tony had to admit that McGee looked more at home in the uniform than he would have. He wasn't sure why, but the attire really seemed to suit the younger man.
"That should be a good thing, shouldn't it?"
McGee frowned. "I feel like a kid playing dress-up. I guess that comes with the territory, right?"
"Undercover isn't child's play, McHale's Navy," Tony said as he clasped McGee's shoulder.
"Yeah, I know. A lot of our undercover ops have ended rather badly, come to think of it."
"You'll be fine, McPessimist."
"What about you?"
"What about me?"
"You feeling OK?"
"Fine. Why?"
I don't know…you just haven't seemed quite like yourself lately."
"And here I would have thought you'd consider that a good thing, McGee."
Tim made a face. "Only sometimes."
Tony chuckled. "Don't worry about me, Tim. I'll be fine."
XXX
Gibbs kept the rest of the team busy working on cold cases while McGee was undercover at the lab, and Tony realized with some surprise that he missed the younger agent's presence. Abby made frequent trips to the bullpen to check on their progress and to wonder (a little too loudly for Tony's headache-sensitized ears) how McGee was enjoying his "vacation."
Tony made contact with McGee every night after he left the Research Lab, and while Tony could see that McGee was frustrated by his lack of ability to get O'Neill to talk about Pratchett, he was rather excited by the other aspects of the assignment. He managed to get in a fair amount of detail concerning the cool toys he had seen at the lab each night until Tony cut him off and got him to focus back on the case. McGee had managed to get more information on the shady contract bids, and was certain that by the end of the week they'd at least be able to wrap up that aspect of the case.
After regaling Tony with all that he had done that day, McGee finally stopped and studied the older man.
"Are you sure you're OK, Tony? Because seriously: you don't look good at all."
Tony groaned. He'd gotten the same question from both Ziva and Gibbs earlier that day, and the truth was he felt as bad as he must have looked to get that reaction. He'd seriously considered going to see Ducky but had finally decided he'd rather not deal with the fallout. While the M.E. always assured confidentiality, Gibbs was damn good at guessing what was on Ducky's mind most of the time.
"I told you before, McWorrier, I'm fine. I think I'm allergic to something I tried at dinner last night."
McGee studied Tony for a long time, enough to make the older man uncomfortable.
"What?"
"We're in the middle of a poisoning case, Tony. Aren't you just the least bit-?"
"No, I'm not, McGee," Tony snapped, surprised at the sudden surge of anger he felt.
Tim crinkled his eyebrows in puzzlement at the senior agent's tone. "Sorry, I was just…I was just worried, that's all."
"I'm more worried about what O'Neill will do if he figures you out. We've been here too long, McGee. Time to go."
"Right. OK, see you tomorrow, Tony."
"Don't make me say it, McGee."
"I'll be careful." McGee headed for the car he was using and Tony waited until the younger man had driven off before he returned to his own vehicle. He hated to admit it, but McGee had a point. If it had been anyone else…
Tony shook his head. His head was telling him one very distressing thing, but his gut was telling him something else, and at the moment even he wasn't sure to which he should be listening.
XXX
By Friday McGee had collected enough evidence for Gibbs to get a warrant for both O'Neill's arrest and for an official search of its files. Gibbs, Tony, and Ziva led the team that arrested O'Neill, as well as the three co-conspirators Tony and Ziva had identified during their second interview, and Vance called in another team to deal with the paperwork. O'Neill had protested his innocence all the way to NCIS, and continued until they put him in Interrogation, where he asked for a lawyer and fell silent. McGee and Tony watched from observation while Gibbs and Ziva waited in Interrogation with O'Neill.
"I'm glad this is over," muttered McGee as he watched the scene through the glass.
"You think he'll confess?"
"I've had almost a week to observe him, Tony. He's no match for Gibbs."
Finally the lawyer arrived and Gibbs began his line of questions. Tony could almost see the cracks forming in the captain's façade and grinned.
"Looks like you've got him pegged, Probie."
After laying out the case against him for fixing bids, Gibbs turned to the real reason for bringing O'Neill in.
"Tell me about Lieutenant Pratchett."
"What about him?"
Tony saw the faint twitch of O'Neill's eye and chuckled. "This is almost too easy."
"We've got a partial fingerprint on one of the beer bottles from his apartment and the AFIS search included you as a possible. That bottle had a lethal dose of antifreeze in it. What's a matter? He wouldn't go along with your little plan and you had to get him out of the way?"
"Hook, line and…"
"Alright!" O'Neill burst out before his lawyer could stop him. "He threatened to tell everyone if I didn't cut him in. It was self preservation."
"…sinker. I almost can't believe he fell for that bluff, McGee."
"I can."
"I need some time alone with my client."
"OK. While you're figuring out how to get him out of the hole he just dug, ask him why he tried a slower method first."
"What slower method?"
"Arsenic."
"What are you talking about? I didn't—"
"Captain, I strongly advise you to—"
"—no! I don't know anything about arsenic. Look, I told you what I did. You're not pinning anything else on me!"
"Agent Gibbs, I need to speak to my client, now!"
"Yeah, Yeah, you do." Gibbs turned to the window and made a slashing motion, signaling the technician to end the recording, before he opened the door and stepped out into the hall, followed by Ziva. A few moments later they entered observation and watched the scene unfold on the other side of the glass.
"We searched O'Neill's apartment, Boss, and found a bottle of antifreeze, same composition as the stuff used on Pratchett. Video surveillance shows someone of O'Neill's stature entering the building the night Pratchett was poisoned. Abby is working on enhancing it, but…"
"It's not enough."
"But he confessed, Gibbs," said Ziva.
"To one of the poisonings, not both. There's still someone out there who's responsible for trying to kill Pratchett." Gibbs turned to his team. "Find him!" He turned and left the room, leaving behind three worried agents.
"Looks like we're back to square one," said Tony. "Time to question the rest of O'Neill's team."
"And looks like I'm still undercover," added Tim. "Unless you get something out of one of the others."
Tony called to have O'Neill taken to holding and the others to be brought up, one at a time. He and Ziva questioned the rest of O'Neill's crew, but none gave any indication that they knew of O'Neill's plot against Pratchett. Finally, after several long and frustrating hours, Ziva and Tony returned to the bullpen to find McGee dressed in his normal clothing and looking distinctly relieved.
"Op's over," he told them. "Apparently the SecNav was satisfied that the corruption was cleared up, and the Navy's image has suffered enough without drawing out the case."
"O'Neill's lawyer offered a plea bargain. O'Neill will do time for Pratchett's murder, and the rest of the charges will be kept off the table," said Vance as he walked into the bullpen, followed by Gibbs.
"But what about-?"
"Dr. Mallard has determined that the cause of death was ethylene glycol toxicity, not arsenic."
"So the case is over?"
"Officially, yes. All that's left is the paperwork."
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Gibbs growled, prompting Tony and Ziva to scurry to their desks. Tony didn't miss the glare Gibbs sent Vance, but the director seemed nonplused and headed back to his office without another word.
It was after 8 PM when the team finally finished their reports and headed home. Tony was the last of the three to leave, and he stopped in front of Gibbs desk on his way out.
"Boss?"
"Go home, Tony. Get some rest. You look like you need it."
"I think we all do at this point, Gibbs."
The lead agent remained silent, so Tony bid him goodbye and headed for the elevator. He hit the button for the ground floor and swayed slightly as a wave of dizziness hit him. He took several deep breaths and the feeling passed by the time he had reached his floor. Relieved, and blaming the sensation on his very empty stomach, he headed for his car, happy to be leaving the office early enough to make his dinner date for once. He had only been able to see Faith once in the past week, two nights ago, and he was surprised at how much he missed seeing her. It was strange to realize how much he had come to rely on her presence when he needed it, whether to vent the general frustrations of the job, or to just unwind.
When he reached the pub, he was surprised to see Faith gathering up her coat to leave.
"What's going on?"
"Emergency meeting for a case. I'm sorry, Tony."
"Hey, I understand."
"If it ends early enough, I'll call you." She gave him a light kiss on the cheek and hurried out the door. Tony sighed. So much for dinner plans.
He seated himself at the bar and looked around. The crowd was not as large as it had been on previous nights, but there were plenty of interesting sights. Finally he turned and caught the bartender's eye. She smiled and walked over.
"Melanie, right? I guess I'll have the shepherd's pie and a Black and Tan." he said and gave her one of his classic DiNozzo grins, although his heart wasn't in it.
"Coming right up," she replied and sent his order through before pulling a glass and filling it with the two different brews. She set it down in front of him and leaned in a little closer. "Flying solo tonight?"
Tony smirked. "We'll see." She winked and headed back down to the end of the bar as he took an appreciative sip of his drink. He'd always had wine with Faith, but he had to admit he was still more of a beer fan. He wondered if his recent issues were some sort of reaction to the drink.
Or maybe something in it…
He shook his head. The little voice in his head, the cop voice, had been telling him that since the beginning, but his gut told him the idea was ridiculous. Faith was many things, and many of those things he either greatly admired or barely understood, but of one thing he was certain: she would not harm anyone. She might wipe the floor with the opposing counsel in the courtroom, but physically…never. It was one of the things he had learned about her during their time together. She hated violence, disorder, chaos…and her compulsive desire to create order in her world was a direct reflection of that. He could relate to that school of thought himself…
His meal arrived and after he had finished it, he took one more look around the room. The regulars were there, ensconced in their booths, along with some newcomers. He was surprised to find he had no real interest in the array of women present. It was an odd, but somehow comforting feeling, once he hadn't felt in a long time.
He paid his tab and headed out, ready for a good night's sleep or what passed for that in his world. He barely managed to stay awake during the drive to his apartment, and once inside, he leaned against the door for a moment before straightening up and heading for his room.
He only made it half-way.
The headache that had been a near constant for the past couple of weeks suddenly returned with a vengeance and his vision blurred almost to the point of disappearing completely. The tingling numbness in his hands also returned and his keys slipped from his grasp and fell to the floor.
Tony felt his stomach start to twist and churn, and he staggered for the bathroom, all too familiar with what would happen next, and he barely made it before he lost all he had eaten that evening, and then some. He noticed an odd, metallic taste in his mouth and heaved again, only to bring up what was quite clearly blood.
No…
He fumbled for his phone and tried to dial 911, but his fingers wouldn't cooperate. He tried again, this time to hit the first number on speed dial, but before the call could connect the phone slipped from his fingers, hitting the floor with a jarring crash, and he soon followed. Just before consciousness faded completely, he thought he heard someone calling his name…
XXX
McGee raised his fist and knocked on Tony's apartment door. He paused to listen and frowned. No response from inside, although he had seen Tony enter the building just as he had pulled into the parking lot.
"Tony?" he called. He placed an ear against the door and listened. Nothing. He reached into his coat and pulled out his set of lock picks before stopping to consider what he was about to do.
Are you really going to break into Tony's apartment? Seriously? He'll kill you.
McGee decided to take that risk. He had been worried about his partner and wanted to check on him. He was willing to face Tony's teasing or wrath to in order to quell his own fears. Tim quickly picked the lock and pushed the door open before he stuck his head inside the apartment.
"Tony? Are you OK?" He heard a soft moan coming from inside the apartment and immediately pulled his weapon. "Tony?" He carefully made his way deeper into the apartment and paused for a brief second when he caught sight of his partner, collapsed on the bathroom floor. "Tony!"
He rushed to the older man's side and gently rolled him over, gasping when he saw traces of blood on his lips and chin. A quick look around confirmed his worst fears and he felt for a pulse, slumping in relief when he found one.
"Hang in there, Tony. You'll be OK." He pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed 911.
"Emergency services."
"I need an ambulance, now!" He quickly relayed the address to the dispatcher.
"Your name, sir?"
"Special Agent Timothy McGee, NCIS. My partner, Tony DiNozzo, he needs help. I think…I think he's been poisoned."
"The ambulance is on its way. What are his symptoms?"
Tim gave her what information he could as he tried to rouse his partner. "Come on, Tony, don't do this to me." He patted Tony's face and was finally rewarded for his efforts when Tony's eyes slowly opened.
"That's it. That's good, Tony. Stay with me."
"Wha…?"
"You'll be OK…you'll be OK…"
"Mc…wor…ry."
"Yeah, I'm worried, Tony. What the hell happened?"
"Sick…"
"Yeah, I got that. Where were you? Before you came home?"
"Din…ner…"
"Where?"
"Bil…ly Bo…nes."
"Billy Bones? The pub where you saw Pratchett? Why would you go there?"
"Date…"
Tim shook his head. He would never understand Tony's predisposition to seeking out companionship in the worst places…
Soon the EMTs arrived and started to prepare Tony for transport to the hospital. While they were working, Tim noticed something and immediately hit the first button on speed dial.
"Boss? It's McGee. We need the team at Tony's apartment. He's sick, Boss. I'm pretty sure he's been poisoned. No, not antifreeze. I think it was arsenic…"
XXX
Gibbs burst through the waiting room doors, followed by Abby and Ducky, and found McGee and Ziva already there.
"How is he?"
"Not sure yet, Boss. I went to his apartment and found him passed out in the bathroom where he'd been vomiting, and…there was blood on his face. He says he went to dinner at that pub in Georgetown, that he had a date." Tim flinched when he saw the fury in Gibbs expression and hesitated before he continued. "He didn't say with whom."
Before Gibbs could respond, the doors from the ER opened and a doctor in scrubs stepped through.
"Anthony DiNozzo?"
They all turned to him, but Gibbs was the first to speak.
"How is he?"
"Our initial blood tests have come back positive for arsenic. To produce this reaction, it would have to have been a significant dose. However, urine tests revealed that his body has been processing the arsenic for longer than you would expect if he was only given a dose this evening, as Agent McGee suspects. We will need further tests on his hair and fingernails, but I believe Agent DiNozzo has been exposed to previous non-lethal doses for some time, based on his outward symptoms."
"How long?"
"At least a couple of weeks."
Gibbs and Ziva both swore while Abby and McGee just stared at the doctor in shock.
"What is being done for him?" asked Ducky.
"Agent DiNozzo is being treated with dimercaprol, a chelating agent which quarantines the arsenic away from blood proteins so it can be removed from his system. He is also receiving oxygen therapy. Once urine tests indicate that all of the arsenic has been removed, we can start to deal with the damage."
"What kind of damage?" asked Gibbs.
"Since his exposure does not appear to have been for too long, there should be minimal damage, but he does have the potential for liver and kidney problems, as well as a greater risk for developing cancer. He'll have to spend at least 24 hours receiving treatment, and then a couple of days of recovery time. After that, routine checks for liver and kidney enzymes, as well as cardiac function and carcinogenesis."
"What are his chances for recovery?" McGee asked.
"We caught it early enough, the treatment we are giving him is aggressive, and the exposure time was relatively short. In light of all of these factors, I'd say he has a good chance of recovering fully. However, it will take time. The support a patient receives often has bearing on how well he recovers and it looks like he will have plenty of that.
"He will," Gibbs declared and they all nodded.
"I can take the first shift, Boss," said McGee.
Gibbs studied his agent. The young man was clearly exhausted, but also clearly determined to do what was needed for his partner.
"Thanks, Tim. Abby, Ducky, we need to find out exactly how long he's been dosed. Ziva,with me."
"Yes, Gibbs."
Abby and Ducky followed the doctor to the lab while McGee was directed by one of the nurses to wait until Tony was settled into a room. Gibbs headed for the elevator with Ziva at his heels. Once they were in the elevator Gibbs pulled out his phone and dialed a number.
"I need you to meet me at NCIS. I don't care if it's late. Get there, now!" He snapped the phone shut.
"Are we going to process Tony's apartment?"
"Vance sent in another team, but I already have a suspect."
Before she could ask who, Gibbs opened his phone and dialed another number.
"This is Special Agent Gibbs. When Commander Coleman shows up, take her to Interrogation."
TBC...