Chapter Three

It was five in the morning and Gibbs entered the bullpen. After four hours of sleep he was ready to get to work. Today the FBI forensic scientist was arriving, as well as Fornell and a team of FBI agents. McGee and Jardine were setting up shop in MTAC. Before he left they had already established protocols, collected intel from the CIA, and shared intel with Homeland Security. This left him and Ziva with finding their rolls.

After taking off his overcoat and tossing it behind his chair, he sat down with his coffee and took a sip. One of top tasks today was getting a chance to talk to DiNozzo. In the three years since he had left Gibbs' MCRT still had the best closure rate, but it did lose two percentage points. Gibbs knew that Tony was worth more than two points. His training of McGee made sure that the closure rate didn't fall any further. He needed to talk to his old SFA.

The elevator ding drew him out of his thoughts. He turned and saw Tony in an overcoat and loose fitting Armani black suit get off the elevator. Gibbs grinned. Tony was carrying a coffee and holding a brown paper bag. He saw Gibbs and walked over the bullpen.

"I guess my old desk is Probie's now," he said.

"Use it. He won't be in until seven thirty," said Gibbs.

Tony placed his brown paper bag down and his coffee, slipped off his overcoat then sat down. Gibbs noticed that he wasn't wearing a tie, but he had a blue dress shirt with the collar unbutton. It looked like the fashion plate DiNozzo was gone. He opened the brown paper bag and took out a croissant egg and sausage sandwich and a pastry.

"It's been years since I had a breakfast like this," he smiled. "Have you ever had pizza in Bahrain?"

"Nope," answered Gibbs.

"It looks like pizza, but it's not pizza. It's missing the olive oil dripping from the crust and that distinctive pizza flavor," he said.

"You've missed DC," said Gibbs.

"At first, Gibbs, I missed it real bad. I thought it was my home," he said then took big bite of his croissant sandwich.

Gibbs didn't hear any accusations in his tone, just acceptance. He stopped believing DC was his home.

"You stopped missing it here?" asked Gibbs.

"Eventually," he said then looked at Gibbs. "Eventually, I realized that DC wasn't home. It was just a place where I lived for a long time. In some ways it was just like my time at the military academy, a place to stay and learn and not much else."

"It was home, DiNozzo, and you had family here," said Gibbs. "You have family here."

"Family forgets about you," he said. "I've known that my whole life. I forgot it for a while, but it finally came back to me."

"I didn't forget about you," said Gibbs. "I tried to get you home, but Vance didn't want you back."

"He told me that he wanted me out from your shadow in order to become my own agent. I guessed that worked. Vance saw that I fucked up with Jenny, even helped cause her death, and he did the right thing. I am a better agent now," said Tony.

"What happened to Jenny wasn't your fault. She orchestrated that. If you and Ziva were there, you'd have ended up like Jenny. She died the way she wanted to die," said Gibbs.

"Maybe, maybe not," said Tony. "It doesn't matter now. That' all in the past. In the end I learned from being an agent afloat and then working in Bahrain. I am a much better agent now."

"I still think of you as part of my family, DiNozzo," said Gibbs.

"Yeah, sure, I'm like a cousin," he said then took another bite of his sandwich.

"Tony," Gibbs said softly trying to make a connection with his former agent.

"Gibbs, I heard from Abby for nine months, but then things got busy and I didn't have time to return her emails. I went from investigating murders to hunting terrorists. It's busy work. Anyways, Abby was the only who sent me an email or tried to stay in touch with me," he said. "See, I was a cousin to this family at best."

Gibbs could feel the hurt coming from him, but he wasn't going to press. Tony's father failed him most of his life and he failed Tony. Tony had a lot of defenses up, a lot walls holding people back. He had to prove to Tony that he was family, not just say it.

"What do you need from me?" he asked.

"I need you to run the hub; including making sure the forensics evidence leads to food investigations and not dead ends. We are on a time table. Ulman will have at least three or four more operations planned before he heads back to the Somalia or wherever he is going to hide this time," said Tony.

"We'll follow the evidence," said Gibbs. "Have you thought about one of my people on your mobile team?"

"You want me to take Probie?" asked Tony.

"Ziva. She's a field agent. Jardine and McGee to follow electronic and intel tracks, but Ziva needs to be in the field," said Gibbs.

Ziva. Tony knew he didn't need any distractions and she was a distraction. All his time on board a ship as agent afloat he thought of the night they shared. Yeah, he'd hooked up three or four times with women the past three years, but Ziva was the woman he could never get out of his mind. Yet, Gibbs was right. Ziva was a field agent and one with skills he could use.

"She's on the team," he said then finished his sandwich and washed it down with some coffee.

"I'll tell her," Gibbs said.

"Tell her if she questions my orders she is off the team," he said.

"I will. She'll follow your orders."

"I hope so, Gibbs. I'm not as easy going as I was when I was your SFA," he said.

Tony stood up, put his overcoat over his arm, grabbed his coffee, and then his pastry.

"I should get up into MTAC. If Agent Morse shows up, tell him I'm in MTAC," said Tony.

"I expect that you and I will talk again," said Gibbs.

"I don't think it can be avoided," he smiled then he headed off to the stairs and up the stairs.

Gibbs sipped his coffee.

NCISNCIS

Tony sat in MTAC along with Morse and Fornell. Fornell's team had touched down in San Diego on a FBI Gulfstream and was investigating the sailors. They had also arranged to have all relevant evidence flown to DC for Abby and Dr. Adam Moss to go over.

"I'm thinking Navy bases and facilities are at the most risk with SU," said Morse.

"Ahh, Jimmy, you still think like a recon marine," smiled Tony.

"If I'm not mistaken, Tony, Saleem has a grudge against NCIS and the Navy," Morse said.

"You'd think that, but he's made his navy statement. He killed Chad, almost killed me, and now I'd say he wants to do maximum damage in the states. Hitting only military targets would cause public outrage more than fear. He needs to hit non-military targets to cause the most fear and pain that he can," said Tony. "We need a few clues to discern those targets."

"CIA is after Fawad, DiNutso, we can hope they succeed," said Fornell.

"I won't hold my breath, Tobias," said Tony. "If there is one thing I've learned these past three years, it's that the CIA has come to rely too much on satellites and drones for intel. They miss things."

McGee and Jardine entered MTAC. Tony looked at his watch. It was eight o'clock in the morning.

"Late to work, McProbie," he said as McGee passed by where he was sitting.

Tim looked at Tony. He looked like the same man, even still called him Probie, but he could tell that he had changed. There wasn't as much fun in his voice.

"Gibbs was giving us the rundown on what we needed to do. Jardine and I are going to set up shop in here," said McGee then patted the laptop under his arm.

"Whatever you need, Tim, tell me and you'll have it," said Tony. "I need you to pull some rabbits out of your hat."

"I'll do the best that I can, Tony," said McGee. "Find me an electronic trail and I follow it wherever it will take me."

"I know, Tim," Tony nodded.

Tony then looked at Jardine.

"Nikki, isn't it?" he said.

"Yes, it is," she hesitantly replied.

"Nikki, I'm going to need all the intel you can find or steal on Fawad Al-Sistani and Azzam Nazar. If we capture Fawad, he might have intel on the targets Saleem is after, and a single photo of Nazar would really be the Holy Grail for us. He's one of the best bomb makers out there. Use whatever sources and methods you need. If anyone gives you trouble, then let me know and I'll have either the SecNav of SecDef clear the way for you. Okay?" he said.

"I do my best, sir," she said.

"Call me Tony, Nikki," he said.

"Okay, Tony," she smiled brightly.

"Get to work," he said. "Probie, just a second."

As Jardine continued down the steps with laptop to the tech area of MTAC, McGee stayed and waited for Tony to speak.

"Help her, Probie, and if someone stonewalls her, let me know," he said. "We'll break that wall down."

"I'll take care of, Tony. She's part of my team," McGee said.

"And your part of my now," smiled Tony.

McGee grinned then nodded and headed off to join Jardine. Suddenly, Pamela Cook entered MTAC and walked down the aisle stopping right by where Tony sat. She cleared her throat to get his attention. He looked up at her.

"SAC DiNozzo, Director Vance wants you in this meeting with the reps from SecDef, SecNav, and White House," she said.

"I'll be there in a minute, Pamela," he said.

"I'll tell him."

NCISNCIS

Ziva sat at her desk not knowing what to do. So much for keeping my distance from Tony. I am going to be working with his team. She showed no emotion to Gibbs, but she was hoping that Gibbs would get McGee on Tony's team.

"Hey, you look like you are going to burn a hole into your computer with your eyes," the voice of Joe brought her back to reality.

She looked in front of her desk and he stood there with a smile on his face. He was dressed in a black cashmere overcoat and black suit with red power tie. She looked into his eyes and saw that he was nervous.

"Why are you here?" she asked.

"Some greeting for a boyfriend," he said with a hint of hurt in his tone.

Ziva got up and came around the desk and gave him a hug and kiss then she stood back and looked at him.

"What are you doing here?" she asked again.

"Better," he smiled then he nodded to the mezzanine where Tony was trying to not look down at them. "I have a meeting to meet him. The SecDef, SecNav, and White House have sent aides over to be read in on what is happening and put us in the loop. The word on the street is that DiNozzo will get the job done, but he tends to do it his way."

Ziva found she couldn't look at Tony, who was now talking to a man and woman.

"I know. I worked with him for three years," she said quietly.

"I checked up on him and some people love him and some hate him, but it's hard to argue with his track record. How did you like working with him?" Joe asked.

"I trust him to protect my six," was all that she was willing to say.

Joe smiled. He knew that Ziva respected and trusted those like Gibbs who she could depend on in a fight. DiNozzo must be like Gibbs.

"Well, wish me luck, I have to get up there," Joe said.

"Luck," she said with a sly smile.

Evan Mercer was from the SecNav's officer, while Ellen Torres was from the White House. Tony introduced himself to them, as he attempted to ignore Ziva and what appeared to be her boyfriend. He should have known that absence did not really make the heart grow fonder.

"We should head into Vance's office and get this briefing started," said Tony.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Joe coming up the stairs. When he got to the mezzanine, Tony walked up to and offered it hand. Joe shook it.

"I guess you are from the SecDef," said Tony.

"Joe Stanton," smiled Joe.

"Well," Tony said turning to the other two, "let's get this show on the road.

The meeting went longer than it should have because the White House especially wanted more information than was available. Tony explained that they were just collecting intel and evidence. Torres, who seemed interested in Tony, kept pushing him for more.

"Listen, I could make shit up and you wouldn't even know it. I'd prefer to be honest with you, Ellen," Tony said with a flirtatious smile.

"I'd prefer that, also," she said coldly, as she knew that Tony was about to put her in her place.

"So, here is some honesty, the longer I stay here repeating the same shit, the less time I get to push and push for results. I still have a mobile team to put together and we are expecting evidence flown from San Diego to arrive in an hour or two. If nothing else, Ellen, we might have something positive in twelve or fifteen hours," Tony smiled. "May I please get back to work?"

"I see no reason why SAC DiNozzo has to entertain us," said Evan Mercer, who had a smirk playing on his lips.

"I agree," said Joe.

Ellen Torres looked at Tony and said, "If you get anything, I expect to hear from you."

"Listen, I've put Agent Gibbs in charge of the hub, which will handle the flow of evidence, intel, and communications. When we have something, he'll get in touch with you," said Tony.

Vance heard this and choked on a laugh. Everyone, except Tony, looked at him.

"I swallowed my gum," said Vance, who then glared at a highly amused DiNozzo. "SAC DiNozzo, why don't you get back to work and I'll finish up here."

"Thank you, sir," said Tony.

He got up and stormed out of the office before anyone could stop him. Rushing past Pamela's desk, he stopped on the mezzanine balcony and leaned against the railing for a moment. He looked down to see agents busy. In the bullpen Gibbs was on the phone and Ziva was on the computer. Her old instincts kicked in and she looked up at Tony. Their eyes locked onto each other for a moment.

He didn't want memories of that night to flood his memory and neither did she, but they did. Her cheeks flushed red, but she forced herself to look away from him. Tony took a deep breath. She's taken, so don't be an idiot. It's three years, so she probably doesn't even remember you. You were just some guy she worked with and banged once. Get your head in the game, DiNozzo.

He turned away from the railing and headed back to MTAC. Once he entered MTAC again he was caught with surprise. McGee, who was standing beside the tech manager, noticed he entered and called to him.

"Tony, I just got word that a communication from Director David of Mossad will be coming through. He wants to talk to you," said McGee.

Tony rolled his eyes. Knowing Eli David, he knew that Tony was in charge of Task Force: Yale and wanted to talk to him about Saleem Ulman.

"When is the call coming through?" asked Tony.

McGee turned and whispered to the tech manage then turned back to Tony.

"Now," smiled McGee.

Tony walked down to the empty area in front of the large screen. Before he even had stopped walking the image of Eli David appeared: large, imposing, and far from beneficent. He took of his shaded glasses with his left hand and ran his right hand through his more salt then pepper hair. Eli put his glasses back on.

"SAC DiNozzo, formerly Special Agent Meatball, how are you doing?" he said with a smile.

He knew that Tony was promoted to SAC, which meant he knew all about the task force. Tony sighed.

"What do you want, Director David?"

"No time for small talk, I see," said Eli.

"You know what I'm involved in," said Tony.

"Saleem Ulman," Eli said with hate in his tone.

"I'm going to get that bastard, Director David."

"I have no doubts that you will, Anthony. You have worked with Mossad in the past, so I know how you can be when you are obsessed. I am offering help," said Eli.

"What kind of help?" Tony asked.

"Intel and personnel."

Eli noticed that Tony's initial reaction was negative, so he pushed on.

"At the Israeli Embassy at this moment waiting for a visit from you is Officers Malachi Ben-Gidon and Liat Tuvia. They are holding a flash drive with all our relevant intel on Ulman and they have been ordered to follow your orders. I secondment to you until Ulman is caught," said Eli.

Tony knew that he shouldn't trust Eli's intentions but the intel from Mossad would be helpful. He decided to up the ante.

"I want intel on Fawad Al-Sistani and anything you have on Azzam Nazar, also, and I'll consider you generous and accept your personnel as part of my team," said Tony.

Eli smiled. It was a predatory smile that reminded Tony of a panther ready to strike.

"Done. I will have the intel on Al-Sistani and Nazar transferred to your MTAC electronically within the hour. Officer Bashan will be waiting for you at the Israeli Embassy," said Eli.

"Good doing business with you, Director," said Tony then he made the cut signal sign and the screen went blank.

"You're playing a dangerous game, DiNutso, letting Mossad get involved," said Fornell from his seat.

Tony turned and stared at him.

"If I have to dance with the devil to get Ulman, Tobias, then I'm dancing," said Tony, who then looked at Morse. "Saddle up, Jimmy, we are headed to the Israeli Embassy."

"Yes, master," smiled Morse.

"Tobias, let Vance and Gibbs know about this. Also, Now that we have me, you, Morse, and Agent David on the team, along with Malachi and Liat. I want Callen and Hanna from NCIS Special Ops. Tell them to check the crime scene in San Diego before flying out here and I guess we should have someone from Homeland," said Tony.

"I'll get the rest of the team together. I'm a blessed man acting as your number two," smiled Fornell.

"Thank you, Tobias," smirked Tony.