Chapter Ten
When they got back to the apartment Tony went searching the Ziva's library and found a large manila envelope for the money. He told Billy to put a note in the envelope telling the ex-wife that they money was for the daughter Annabelle.
"After you leave here then go the post officer, put the money in a box and send it first class to his daughter. She deserves the money no matter how it was earned," he said.
"Got ya, Tony," said Billy, who then paused and looked down at the floor for a moment. "Do you really think Sgt. Barton is dead?"
"Yeah, I'm afraid so, Billy," he said. "He left his emergency money, the flash drives which are probably proof of something important, as well as he left behind clothes, razor, toothbrush, everything. My laptop is on the dining table go get it. We'll check the flash drives."
Billy got his laptop and Tony powered it up. Once it was ready he told Billy to plug one of the flash drives in the USB port. He did and all that came up were numbers. Billy described it to Tony.
"It's in code. We need someone to break the code if we are going to find out why these flash drives are important," he said.
"You know anybody?" asked Billy.
"Tomorrow, you are taking me to NCIS. I have a meeting. Maybe we can get someone there to help us," said Tony.
"What time do you want me here to pick you up, partner?" asked Billy.
"Nine," he said.
"Well, I'm off to the post officer. I guess sending this money to his daughter is at least something, though I'll feel better when we find out what happened to Sgt. Barton," Billy said.
"Billy, Barton's ex, she won't abuse the money, will she?" Tony asked.
"He always said she was a great mother. She put Annabelle first," Billy said.
"Send the money off then and don't forget to add a note so she knows where it came from," Tony told him.
NCIS
Tony's cooking skills were always underused and often for good reason to begin with, but cooking blindfolded as he joked that he had to do now frustrated him still. While attempting to make chicken Alfredo pasta, he cut his hand with a knife dicing an onion, got angry and threw the knife and onion at the wall. After wrapping a kitchen towel around his hand, he skulked off into the living and poured himself a drink. When Ziva got home he was sitting in the living room listening to Miles Davis and nursing his third scotch.
After a good morning where he felt useful again, he took a step back trying to cook. He couldn't remember the last time he cut himself with a knife. There were plenty of times he had been cut with a knife in the hands of other people, but he was fairly adept with one himself, though he had to admit to be an amateur in comparison to Ziva. He knew he had to just accept it was an accident and let it go.
Ziva stared at him. From his body language alone she knew something was wrong and on instincts went into the kitchen to check. There she saw a knife sticking out of the wall and pieces of onion on the floor. After picking up the mess and retrieving the knife, she went into the living room.
"What happened, Tony?" she asked.
He raised his left hand which had a white towel wrapped around it: "I cut myself cutting the onion trying to make us dinner."
"Ahuvi," she said and rushed over to the sofa.
Ziva grabbed his left hand, which made him flinch.
"I am going to take care of you," she said. "I need to see the cut."
"I'm sorry," he mumbled.
"What are you sorry about? People who can see often cut themselves dicing onions. Now let me see your hand," said Ziva.
Unwrapping the towel from around his hand, she saw that he did cut his hand badly. She knew he'd refuse to go to the hospital to get stitches, so she decided to call Ducky and ask him to make a house call.
"I am calling Ducky and he is going to come here and take care of this," she said.
"Please, don't, Zi. I'm sorry I fucked up. Don't bother anyone about this," he pleaded.
Gently taking his face in her hands she kissed his forehead.
"You are not going to be bothering anyone. We all want to help you," she said then she rewrapped his hand and got her smart phone then called Ducky.
Ducky showed up with his medical kit and attended to Tony cut while Ziva made them dinner. After disinfecting the wound Ducky gave him four stitches and then bandaged up his hand. Once he was done he offered a glass of scotch.
"I'll get my own, dear boy," said Ducky.
"How is he?" asked Ziva, as she came from the kitchen.
"Four stitches," Ducky said. "He will be fine."
"I almost have dinner ready for us," Ziva said.
"Thank you, my dear," Ducky said.
She looked over at Tony, who now seemed lost in his own thoughts.
"Tony," she said drawing his attention to her, "is there anything wrong besides the cut?"
"I'll tell you later, Zi," he said.
"I could leave if you two need to discuss something," said Ducky.
"Ducky, you are staying for dinner and I've been rude. I haven't thanked you for patching up my hand," said Tony.
"Anthony, it is always a pleasure to patch you up," Ducky said.
"Thanks, Ducky," he said.
NCIS
Once Ducky left after enjoying a leisurely dinner and coffee, Ziva decided it was time to confront Tony over his pensive mood.
"Tony," she said as she sat down beside him, "you have been in your own head all night. What is wrong? Did it not go well today with Billy?"
"We checked out his buddy's apartment today and if we go by who he was working for I'm afraid that his dead," he said.
"Shouldn't NCIS be investigating his disappearance then?" she asked.
"Remember, he was dishonorable discharged," Tony said. "NCIS doesn't investigate dishonorably discharged marines unless they are up to no good. We might be able to sell the up to no good part on this."
"You should talk to Gibbs," said Ziva.
"I'll see him tomorrow. Billy is driving me to the meeting with Vance," he said.
"Billy and you are becoming friends," she said.
"More like mentor and protégé. He is looking for something to do with his life and I can teach him investigative skills. Maybe he can get a PI license and work as one once I season him a little," he said.
"You would like to do that, wouldn't you?" she asked.
"Zi, honey, no one will hire a blind PI," he said.
"Then they are fools because you would be brilliant as one," she said then gave him a soft kiss on the lips. "I think I'm going to go on the computer and look at real estate sites."
"Zi, when we checked Barton's apartment, we found two flash drives. They seem to be coded and I'm betting they have important information on them," he said.
"Ahuvi, what do you want me to do?" she asked.
"I need them decoded but… I really don't want to involve McGee unless it's official. My instincts are telling me that something nasty is going on here. Barton was a good marine. He made one mistake and paid a heavy price for it. If he has been killed like I think he has then he deserves justice," Tony said.
"I will pull his file," she said.
"And I'll talk to Gibbs tomorrow," he said.
"Gibbs trusts your instincts," she told him.
"He trusted them when I could see. I'm not sure that still holds," Tony said.
"You are being foolish. He set you up with Buck because he doesn't want you to waste yourself away doing nothing. I believe Gibbs thinks there is still a place for you in what you do best," Ziva said.
"He wants me to become a porn star," Tony teased.
He would have loved Ziva's red cheeks from blushing if he could see them. Instead he had to satisfy himself with her breathing becoming a little short and when he touched her wrist he felt her increased pulse rate. He knew she was thinking of their sex life.
"You do that very well," she said lowering her voice, "but I believe he is thinking investigating things."
"Oh, well, you can understand my confusion. It's a tossup between sexual prowess and investigative skills with me," he smiled.
"We will test that theory later," she said.
"Why? Are we going to play that braille version of Clue that Abby got me?" he asked innocently.
"No, I am going to strip you naked and hump you until your penis is broken," she laughed then walked out of the room.
Tony patted his crotch: "Don't listen to her, boy, we're up to the challenge."
"I heard that," she yelled from the study.
"I wasn't talking to you, noisy," he yelled back.
"Payback is a witch," she called to him.
"Bitch. Payback is a bitch," he corrected her then laughed to himself.
NCIS
In the navy blue darkness of their bedroom Ziva straddled Tony riding him to an orgasm that left her shuddering and collapsed on top of him, while Tony thought that there was an outside possibility that she had broken his penis. He exhaled deeply, as Ziva had another delayed post coital spasm.
"Okay, you might have broken it," he said.
"That is not all I think I've broken," she sighed.
"If I wasn't already blind, I'd be blind after that," he said teasingly.
She gently kissed his lips and said softly: "Please don't joke about that."
"I'm sorry if it bothers you when I joke about certain things," he said.
"It's just that," she sighed. "I feel guilty still that we didn't to you in time."
"It wasn't your fault, or McGee's fault, thought I'd like him to take driving lessons," he said.
"It's not funny," she said.
"I know. His driving really does suck, though," Tony said. "I'm still a better driver and I'm blind."
Ziva didn't want to laugh but she couldn't help herself.
"Behave," she said then she began to kiss him, at first slowly and softly, but soon they were passionately kissing.
With a moan of sexual excitement and amusement, Ziva broke their kiss. He could fell a bubble of laughter working its way through her body.
"I thought you said I broke it," she said.
After what they had just done for the last hour, he was surprised to find that he was semi-erect. Ziva was amused by his discomfort.
"What can I say, sweet cheeks, you bring out the best in me," he said.
"Hey hmm," she moaned as nuzzled his neck.
"I forget to ask, did you find any house or apartments worth seeing?"
"Yes, I did in Potomac, Maryland, just thirty minutes from DC. It is a five bedroom house. I thought we'd need a master bedroom, one or two bedrooms for future children, a guest bedroom, and a bedroom that doesn't have to be used as a bedroom," she told him. "It is ranch style because I know you'd like to avoid stairs with a two car garage and it is on almost three acres of land."
"A million or more?" he asked.
"Less," she said.
"Thank God for a slumping economy," he said.
"I was hoping to see it," she said.
"Okay, here's my suggestion: call up and ask for a showing and take McGee or Gibbs with because both of them know more about homes than I do. If you like, really like, and think it's somewhere you want to raise children and grow old in then put in a bid at the asking price. Most people will be trying to low ball the asking price. Oh, and hint that you be willing to move your price up if need be," he said.
"But…this is a giant commitment," she said.
"Oh and letting a blind man move in with you, isn't a giant commitment?" he teased her.
"You know that I love you. I just want you to be sure," she said.
"Zi, it sounds perfect for us. Let me guess – big kitchen, living, study or office, dining room, and four baths, and there possibility of adding a small apartment or entertainment room," he said.
"I will make arrangements. When do you like t to visit the place?" she asked.
"When we move in," he kissed her.
NCIS
Tony and Billy arrived at NCIS and the Navy Yard fifteen minutes for his meeting with Vance. They stood at security getting visitor passes for the day. Once they got the passes, Tony offered Billy his left elbow then he directed him to the elevator. Before getting on Tony stopped and asked: "My Ray-bans look good?"
"Yeah, fine," Billy said.
"My tie straight?" he asked.
They got on the elevator and went to the top floor. As they exited the elevator Tony knew that all agent eyes were on him. He was finally on display. It was a day he wasn't looking forward to it, but it was also unavoidable.
"People looking at us, Billy?" he asked.
"Like we were on display in a museum," he said.
"Tony," he heard Ziva's voice and in a moment her lips were on his and her arms around him.
"I will take him from here Billy. You can wait in the bullpen with McGee and our Probie," she said.
"Sure," Billy said.
Ziva guided him from there right to the mezzanine stairs. Once they got to them, she said: "Stairs."
He stepped up and continued up them with Ziva guiding him. Cynthia greeted him. He heard in her voice a hint of surprise, which was okay. This was her first time seeing him. They continued to Vance's door, which Ziva knocked on.
"Come in," Vance called.
Ziva opened the door and escorted him into the office. She brought him to the conference table and put his hand on a chair.
"Thank you, Agent David. I'll call you when the meeting is over," Vance said.
"Thank you, sir," she said and left.
"Tony," he heard Gibbs voice.
From the sound of the voice he was sitting across from Gibbs and, of course, Vance was at the head of the table.
"Must feel strange to be back," Vance said to him.
"Well, I finally am no longer bothered by the orange walls," he smiled.
Vance chuckled. Gibbs smirked.
"You disability package is with Cynthia. I thought you could check it at your leisure and if you have any questions let me know. You are here to hear the possibility of continuing with the agency in another capacity. I asked Gibbs to be I know you share a unique relationship," started Vance.
"Tony, listen closely to the offer and think about it before you make up your mind. I think it's a good offer," said Gibbs.
"Let's hear the offer," said Tony.
"Okay," said Vance. "We have analysts who work on intel on terrorism and counterterrorism, but we don't have a case analyst, someone who can read all the case reports, review scene data and offer our MCRTs an informed opinion on cases which have them stuck. According to Gibbs, you have a gift at cracking case, coming at them at odd angles, and I think you could be a valuable asset in that role. How does it sound?"
"It's interesting. Of course there is the problem of technology and my liabilities," he said.
"Like?" asked Vance.
"Computers. I can't use a normal one," he said.
"Because of your disability we can get grant to purchase equipment specifically for you," said Vance.
"Okay, I can see pictures and if I visit a crime scene I'd need a driver, who can act as my eyes at the crime scene," said Tony.
"We have agents who can do that," he said.
"Or I could hire someone I trust," said Tony.
"You have someone in mind?" asked Vance.
"Maybe? But it's too early to talk about that," said Tony.
"You have something in mind, DiNozzo," said Gibbs.
"Staff Sergeant Daniel Barton. He was dishonorably discharge. He beat an Afghan insurgent almost to death for selling information to the Taliban about his patrol. Five of his men were killed. Barton may have been dishonorable discharged but he was a patriot and a good marine, an honorable marine," said Tony.
"What does this have to do with us?" asked Vance.
Tony reached into his pocket and took out two flash drives. He placed them on the table.
"These belonged to Barton. A buddy of his who lost the lower half of his right leg from an IED asked me to help him look for his buddy. You see because he made the cable news channels he could buy a job when he got home and ended up working security for the likes of Mike Macaluso, Jr. and Manny Esteban. I believe he's dead and the reason he's dead is in these flash drives," he said.
"Did you check them out?" asked Vance.
"They are coded. I need someone to break the code," he said.
"So, DiNozzo, you are already working a case," said Vance.
"It sounds like it may be something important, too, depending upon what's on those flash drives," Gibbs said.
"Give the flash drives to McGee and let's see what's on them," said Vance. "Also, get Barton's file…"
"Agent David should have it already," said Tony.
"Really," said Vance.
"I had a feeling you might want to investigate," Tony said.
"Okay, you and your driver and eyes can work with Gibbs team if this turns out to be something, Agent DiNozzo," said Vance.
"We can call this a trial period," said Tony.
Vance smiled: "I guess we can."