Probable Cause

Disclaimer: You know the drill. I own nothing except my demented sense of imagination.

Chapter 2

Almost before he even realized he was moving, Tony scrambled over to his partner and stopped. He steeled himself before reaching forward and placing two fingers against Tim's bruised neck. His heart stuttered in his chest when at first he didn't feeling anything, but when he pressed harder he was able to detect the faint, slow beat beneath. Immediately he pulled out his phone and dialed, silently praying for a quick response.

"Emergency services."

"I need an ambulance at 1746 Westwood Place NW, Apartment 3, and fast."

"Your name, sir?"

"Tony DiNozzo. Victim's name is Tim McGee. He's been stabbed." Did I…? Oh God…

"OK, Tony." Tony could hear the faint sound of computer keys clacking. "My records show the police have already been dispatched to that address."

"I don't care. We need an ambulance, NOW." He noticed that Tim's pulse had weakened. Come on man, don't do this…

"Yes, sir, it's on its way. Can you describe Tim's condition?"

"His condition? He has a freaking knife stuck in him! His condition is not good!"

"Sir—"

"Just get someone here…please." He turned his attention to McGee. "Hang on, Tim. You don't get to die on me, you hear me? Come on." He brought the phone close to his mouth and yelled, "what the hell is taking so long?"

"Sir, I need you to stay calm—"

"I am calm! Where is that bus?"

"Sir, the police should be there at any moment, and -"

"FREEZE!"

Ah, crap…

"Yeah, I got that."

"Put your hands in the air, now!"

Tony slowly raised his hand holding the phone above his head, but the other he kept on McGee's neck. He had the sudden, if slightly irrational feeling that if he lost physical contact with Tim, he would lose him for good.

"Both hands!"

"No…I'm not letting him go." He heard the sound of a gun's hammer being pulled back. "Listen. My name is Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo, NCIS. I'm going to reach into my pocket for my ID." He dropped the phone and slowly lowered his hand, praying he wasn't dealing with some trigger-happy rookie. "This man is my partner: Special Agent Timothy McGee. I came to visit him and found him like this." He finally reached his pocket and carefully, using two fingers, slipped his ID out and tossed it behind him. "I've called for an ambulance. He's still alive, and I'm making sure he stays that way. Got it?" He waited, registering the sound of the gun being uncocked and the continued slowing of McGee's heartbeat. Hang on, Probie. Just hang on…

A commotion behind him signaled the arrival of the EMTs, and suddenly he was joined by two men in blue jumpsuits. He moved out of their way and shifted his contact point to McGee's right arm which was stretched out past the younger man's head. He could barely feel the weak beat at McGee's wrist, but he didn't let go. You can do it, Tim. Stay with me. He listened as the two men talked back and forth in medical jargon, barely understanding a thing they said and finally managed to look up at the other occupants of the room. A uniformed officer was holding Tony's ID and staring at him warily, while another man in a suit and dark overcoat stood next to him, studying the scene. Tony didn't recognize him, but he guessed the man was from the detective division of the state police. He shot the man a questioning look.

"Lieutenant Doyle," the man responded. "What happened?"

Tony felt a twist of fear in his stomach. "I'm not really sure. What do you know?"

"Call came in to dispatch, a report of an altercation. Someone heard two men yelling and decided that it sounded bad enough to call the police." His eyes narrowed as he regarded the agent. "Your turn."

"I…Damn it. I need to call Gibbs."

"Jethro Gibbs?"

"You know him?"

"By reputation only. You work for him?"

"We both do," he said, nodding towards McGee. He took a moment to see what the EMTs were doing to his partner and turned away and he felt a wave of nausea at the sight of the work being done to save the younger man's life. He saw an odd, thoughtful look cross Doyle's face as he pulled out his phone and dialed a number, turning away from Tony as he did so. The officer continued to watch the senior agent with just a hint of fear in his eyes.

Soon the EMTs had McGee ready for transport. When Tony released his hold on his friend, he felt such a sensation of loss that he nearly fell as he staggered to his feet. The two men rushed McGee out of the apartment to the waiting ambulance and Tony tried to follow but was restrained by the detective.

"You partner is in good hands. Now tell me what happened."

"I don't know."

Doyle's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "What do you mean, you don't know?"

"It's… I really need to talk to my Boss."

"He's being contacted."

Tony's gaze fixed on the open door to Tim's apartment, almost expecting Gibbs to appear. He barely heard the detective's questions as his focus remained on the doorway and finally a loud oath drew his attention back to the other man.

"We're taking you to the hospital. Let's go."

Tony nodded. He took one last look around he room before allowing himself to be led from the apartment and out to the waiting police cruiser. He didn't even register the fact that he was seated in the back, behind the barrier, and that the detective sat in the front seat watching him for the entire ride to the local hospital. When they arrived, he immediately asked the doctor that met them about his partner, and was told that someone would check.

Tony was led to an exam room and checked over by the doctor as his clothes were documented, collected and bagged as evidence. He submitted to more evidence collection as his hands were swabbed and biological samples were taken. Finally he was allowed to get cleaned up and was given a pair of scrubs to wear. The police officer now assigned to him took him to the police station and escorted him to one of the interrogation rooms where he was informed of his rights. He ignored the short statement that had been read to him and asked about McGee, but received no response, which worried him much more than his current situation.

He waited in the small, dingy room for several hours, although it felt like eternity. Eventually, as the stress and strain of the day caught up with him, he put his crossed arms on the table and lowered his head to rest on them. His thoughts remained on McGee as he wondered what was happening to the younger man, and just what had happened in the apartment before Tony had woken up.

Why can't I remember? Did I do that to him? No, I'd never…

That temper of yours…you'll wind up in the gutter.

No…no, I couldn't have done that, could I? He's my friend, for God's sake!

Just like her…the apple never falls far from the tree…

No! I'm not like her…I'm not!

Too much trouble…you're a ticking bomb…

No, I'd never hurt him.

What is wrong with you?

Please, no, don't…

You don't remember, do you? You blacked out…

No…

I could see it…in your eyes. You weren't…it was like you weren't even in there.

Please…

You're a liability, a disaster waiting to happen…and it did.

NO!

Tony bolted upright in his seat, his chest heaving as his heart pounded uncomfortably within. He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths as he tried to calm his racing pulse. It didn't really help.

What did I do?

He heard the door to the interrogation room open and looked up as Gibbs entered.

"Boss, thank God! How's Tim? They won't tell me anything, and-" He stopped when he saw the second man enter the room and felt his heart plummet in his chest.

"Director Vance." He glanced at Gibbs again. "What-?"

"Agent Gibbs is here to observe only. Direct your questions to me." Vance's voice was even colder than normal.

"How..." He glanced at Gibbs, but the lead agent would not meet his gaze. "How is McGee?"

"Special Agent McGee is in critical condition and is being closely monitored in the ICU. The blade missed his heart by less than an inch, but it is unclear at this time if he will survive."

Oh, God, Probie, I'm so sorry…

"You have been advised of your rights?"

"Yes, Director," Tony replied after a moment's pause.

"Good. Explain to me what happened, starting early yesterday morning."

"Sir?"

"I have been informed of an altercation between you and Agent McGee in which you verbally threatened him. What precipitated that exchange?"

"I…there was a problem with my computer. I thought Tim…Agent McGee had done something to it."

"What was the nature of the problem?"

"I was missing some of my files, and it took considerable time and effort to recover them."

"What was in these files?"

"Case reports."

"I see. Had Agent McGee ever previously given you reason to believe that he would interfere with official documents on your workstation?"

"No, Director."

"And yet you blamed him without proof."

"Yes, Director."

"In addition to that, you told Agent McGee that if he ever did anything like that again, you would 'kill' him."

"I wasn't serious, Director. It was just talk."

Vance just stared at him. Tony glanced up at Gibbs, waiting for some words of support, but the older man remained silent.

"Moving on," said Vance, breaking his silence. "Later that same day, you were witnessed physically assaulting Agent McGee, and he required treatment for the damage you did to him. Explain."

"I…I don't know what happened." He glanced at Gibbs again. "Honestly, I don't."

"You don't know how you nearly strangled another agent?"

"I…one minute I was standing in the elevator with T…Agent McGee, and the next I had my arm across his neck. I stopped as soon as I realized what I was doing and McGee insisted that we see Ducky about it."

"Agent McGee insisted that you receive treatment as well. Why?"

"He…he saw I wasn't myself. He saw that I…blacked out."

This time Vance looked up at Gibbs and Tony watched a few seconds of silent communication between the two men before Vance returned his attention to the man sitting across from him.

"You were examined and treated at Bethesda. All tests were clean."

"Yes, Director. Well, the ones they finished by the time we left. I didn't get the results—"

"All tests were clean, Agent DiNozzo."

"Oh."

"You left the hospital and returned to NCIS. What happened after that?"

"We, McGee and I, went home. Separately. He sent me a text later inviting me over. I went to the store to get a few things and headed over to his apartment. I got there and…"

"And what?"

"I woke up and found Tim."

"So you don't remember what happened between the time you arrived at Agent McGee's apartment and when you found him, near death and with a knife in his chest. Does that about cover it?"

"Yes, Director."

Vance silently stared at him again and Tony looked away. He couldn't even bear to see if Gibbs would acknowledge him at this point.

"An interesting story."

"I'm telling you all I know, Director."

"Well, let me present you with some facts: there is no record of any text message from Agent McGee's phone or a response from yours. There is no record of anyone but you and Agent McGee entering his apartment. Your fingerprints are on the knife removed from Agent McGee as well as elsewhere in the apartment, it what is expected to be Agent McGee's blood. Neighbors reported hearing an argument between two men before the initial 911 call was placed, and there is no record of anyone leaving the apartment prior to the police officer's arrival, where he found you leaning over Agent McGee with blood on your hands."

Tony could feel his blood draining from his face as he listened to the evidence against him.

"I…"

"I'm sure you see my dilemma, Agent DiNozzo."

"Yes…Director."

"In light of the circumstances, I imagine the FBI will be handling the investigation. However, I have requested that you undergo psychological examination prior to an indictment. I will let you know if they find this arrangement agreeable. Do you understand?"

"Yes…"

"Good. You will be transferred as soon as the paperwork goes through." Without another word, Vance stood and walked out of the room. Tony turned to Gibbs one last time.

"Boss?"

Gibbs' expression was unreadable as he stared at his senior agent.

"Boss, please…"

Gibbs turned and walked out of the room. Tony slumped in his chair and let his head sink down until it was resting on the desk. The enormity of his situation finally slammed into him and he barely managed to keep his grief hidden from those who watched from behind the glass.

I am so screwed…

XXX

Vance entered the observation room and turned to Lt. Doyle. "I need you to clear this room."

Doyle's face turned red. "Forget it, Director Vance, I'm not compromising this case so you can-"

"I said clear this room, Lt. Doyle. You may continue to monitor Agent DiNozzo, but I need to speak to my other agent alone." As if on cue, Gibbs entered the room and turned to stare at the figure in Interrogation.

After a few moments of fuming silence, Doyle huffed in disgust. "Fine." He motioned for the other occupants to turn off the monitors in observation and they followed him out.

After the door slammed shut Vance conducted a brief sweep for listening devices before turning to the lead agent. "Hell of a mess, Gibbs."

"Uh huh."

Vance studied the man for whom he had gained a lot of practice reading over the years. "You don't believe he did it."

"Nope. He was set up."

Vance sighed. "I agree. The question is: why?"

"'How' would be a good one, too."

"I will have Ms. Sciuto check for any drugs Bethesda might have missed, but something tells me it's not that simple." He turned to glance at the man on the other side of the glass. "A bigger question: what happened to make him believe he could do this."

Finally Gibbs turned to face him, and Vance caught a brief glimpse of the nearly unbearable grief that the man was feeling. It had taken a considerable amount of convincing on the Director's part to get Gibbs to play along with the hastily constructed plan, but Vance had finally been able to get him to agree. He just hoped all involved would forgive him, in time...

"I don't know the answer to any of these questions, Leon. I wish to hell I did. I just don't know." He turned back to the glass to observe his agent, one of the very few who meant the world to him, and whose world now lay shattered. "But I'm going to find out."

TBC…