"Okay so I get not talking to the FBI, but didn't he realise telling us the truth would have been a lot more helpful?" Kate slammed shut the file cabinet between McGee's and DiNozzo's desks. "When we first spoke with him we were asking about his son, we didn't even know about the damn money!"
Her voice was getting higher and louder the more she ranted, to the point McGee really did fear for his own life. He hoped she didn't get this worked up every time they had a difficult case, from what he'd seen up to now Kate had come across as the most grounded off of team Gibbs. If she turned out to be as insane at DiNozzo he was in big trouble.
Risking a glance up when the bullpen fell suspiciously silent, McGee suddenly became overcome with guilt. Kate was dejectedly slumped against her desk, arms folded defensively across her chest, gaze fixed to the floor. He was forgetting that despite her often displayed irritation with Tony, deep down, she really did care about her partner.
"Maybe he thought he was doing the right thing?" McGee suggested lightly, hoping the idea that Mr DiNozzo may have had good intentions for misleading them would make her feel better.
"The right thing McGee? Really?" Kate all but screamed at him.
Kate marched up to his desk and McGee shrunk back, only just catching himself on his desk before he completely fell out of his chair. Daring to look her at her looming over him, hands on hips, foot tapping a rhythmic cadence spelling his doom McGee didn't dare say another word.
"Let it go Agent Todd." Gibbs glided casually in the bullpen, coffee in hand and looking more relaxed than he had all week.
Kate spun around and stepped towards Gibbs. McGee righted his chair and took a few deep breaths silently thanking the boss for his immaculate timing.
"He wasted our time!" she shouted, "I can't believe you're being so calm!"
McGee froze, the unexpected explosion at Gibbs making him too afraid to move, like he thought the world might end if he so much as blinked.
"I said let it go," Gibbs said dangerously, sitting down at his desk without giving Kate a second glance, "What we got?"
McGee did manage a blink. It broke the spell of terror he was locked in and as soon as he realised Gibbs was looking at him quickly blurted a reply.
"We put a bolo out on Bell, and updated the one on Miller about the car, but no hits yet." McGee swallowed, feeling a sweat break out on his forehead when Gibbs continued to stare, "er unfortunately the front gate footage is missing, it's er been erased maybe, possibly a computer error Abby, um, Abby's going to see if she can recover anything from it."
McGee clamped his mouth shut. He hated being put on the spot like that, especially when he had nothing of use to report, even more especially when Gibbs was in a bad mood. He found himself missing Tony's presence by his side, though it annoyed him when DiNozzo butted in and tried to take credit, he usually saved him from making a complete idiot out of himself. Like he was doing now.
Kate joined Gibbs in glaring at him, arms still folded looking cross, as if he was to blame for their lack of progress.
"I've called and updated Fornell." She eventually turned away, breaking the strained silence, "he should be filling in Miller's handler now."
Gibbs sat back in his chair, running both palms over his face into his hair. "So what we have is nothing?"
McGee deflated, wishing he could slide off his chair to hide under his desk. It was pretty rubbish, considering all the information Tony had managed to give them after seeing the hypnotist.
"Well it would help if the people who knew the truth would tell us everything and not send us on wild goose chases!" Kate started off again.
"Get back on it," Gibbs dismissed them both.
McGee redirected his attention to his computer, once again checking the bolo's on Miller and Bell. Out the corner of his eye he could see Kate was still stood by Gibbs' desk, waiting patiently. They worked in silence for another minute before Gibbs, surprisingly enough, broke first.
"Something else on your mind, Agent Todd?" He snapped angrily.
McGee prepared to duck and cover.
"How's Tony?"
He heard Kate asked softly, in direct contrast to the formal Agent Todd and McGee relaxed some.Gibbs did too.
He dropped his shoulders and sighed. "Not great."
McGee didn't think he'd ever heard that kind of defeat from the boss before and for the first time, believed he actually knew how Gibbs felt. Mulling over the events of the last few days, starting with the shootout in the 7/11 right up to not much more than an hour ago when they'd listened to the cries echo down the empty halls from the family room, McGee found it hard to accept how so much had happened in such a short space of time.
"He'll be okay," Kate broke into the comfortable silence, sounding a little more like her usual self.
"Where is he?" McGee added quickly, shamefully realising they hadn't seen anything of DiNozzo since he'd interrupted Gibbs' interrogation of his father.
"Sleeping down in autopsy, Ducky's watching him." Gibbs informed them swiftly, barring any further questions, "did you see the shrink out?"
"Yeah," Kate perked up, her expression lightening, "Mary told me to tell you she has your number."
She turned to him with a suggestive smile, but McGee didn't want any part of it. The red headed psychiatrist had made it very clear about her interest in their boss. The question about wives was extremely difficult to dodge, especially when he'd accidently blurted that at least one had assaulted him with a golf club.
Kate looked about to add something else, when thankfully they were interrupted by Gibbs' ringing cell phone.
"Gibbs." He glared at the pair of them in turn, making McGee swallow reflexively. "Yeah Abs I'll be right down."
.
"Abby?" Gibbs appeared in her lab, fresh Caf-Pow in hand.
"Here," he heard her muffled dejected response and tracked her to the floor under her desk.
Crouching down Gibbs looked at her with a rare open expression. The kind he hid from most of the world.
"What's up Abs?" He asked innocently, preparing to hear whatever had upset her, in no doubt that if it was about Tony it might well upset him too.
Abby's expression transformed from completely dejected to outright aggressive in less time than it took him to order coffee.
"What's up? What's UP?! How can you ask me that?" she promptly slid out from under the desk and stood with a grace and agility Gibbs wished he still possessed. "Tony is hurting, some crazy person wants to do god knows what with him and all anyone cares about is some stupid MONEY!"
"Abby!" Gibbs couldn't help but shout back, stunning her into silence.
He was all set to remain calm until her last comment hit him hard. He didn't care about the money. His only concern was Tony's safety, which was maybe why they had made so little progress. He was so focused on keeping him safe he wasn't taking the necessary risks to solve the case. If they had nothing by tomorrow Gibbs didn't see as he had any other choice, he'd request another agent to be lead investigator. It was either that or let someone else take Tony to a safe house and there was no way he trusted anyone other than his team with that job.
"Gibbs-" Abby tapped his arm, her expressive green eyes telling him she was sorry.
"You said you found the doctor Senior paid instead of a ransom?" He cut her off and moved them along, back to the reason for her call.
Abby didn't look too happy, but after some internal conversation where she appeared to come to some understanding with herself she started talking animatedly again.
"Well McGee actually gave me the idea, use of ECT outside of mental institutions was experimental in the '70's, but even then anyone using it would have had to be registered with the health authority so I checked their databases and got a hit." She turned to here computers and brought up a list of names, "I mean it's not just a matter of hooking someone to jumper cables, the charge is strictly regulated and the probes attached to the head-"
"Abs," Gibbs waved dismissively, "The name?"
"Yeah, well okay, but can I just say," she spun around to face him, an angry frown marking her features, "after my okay maybe non-extensive research, the number of organisations and people still using it today is incredible and I say "people" because no real doctor would ever consider using it and especially not on a child. Did you know ECT is considered a workable treatment in gender reassignment? That's completely f-"
"Abby," Gibbs nudged again, "Who was the bastard?"
"Um, yeah, his name was Charles Ingram," Abby dropped her expressive hands and clicked a few buttons on her keyboard highlighting and enlarging an obituary on the screen, "and he's dead."
"Good." Gibbs said before he could censor his glee.
"Really?" she looked at him sideways.
"Well yeah," Gibbs cheered, letting slip a tiny, barely visible grin, "one less body to bury."
"Wow, you really are out for blood," she said quietly, watching him, "I'm sorry, for before, I know you don't care about the money."
Gibbs smiled gently and kissed her cheek.
"Good work Abs," He started to walk away.
"Wait Gibbs I haven't finished." Abby jumped and dragged him back over to her computers. "I found more. His practice is still being run by his daughter, who is totally against ECT you'll be pleased to know, anyway I called her and she sent me an email of his patient list from 1978 and Bell is on it."
Gibbs blinked, thinking he'd not heard that important bit of information correctly, mashed up as it was amongst the rest of her babble.
"Bell was seeing a psychiatrist, the same one that Senior paid claiming it was a ransom?" Gibbs summed up, expecting her to correct him.
"Exactly!" She grinned brightly, "Coincidence? I think not."
"You have an address for Bell?"
"I've got better than that. After I explained she really wanted to help so she gave me Bell's last known address and is going to email his patient file to NCIS as soon as she finds it."
"And she's doing all this because?" Gibbs drawled, not believing a doctor would simply hand over a confidential record for a second.
"Because I asked nicely Gibbs," Abby said, fluttering her eyelashes at him.
He wasn't so sure about that. Abby may appear harmless, but he'd heard her threaten many people with her world class forensic skills and ability to dispose of bodies without a trace.
"Good work Abs," Gibbs reasoned, happy not to know the truth for now.
On any other case he'd have issue with her turning investigator, but he'd already come to realise this wasn't a normal case and more rules than usual needed to be bent if they were going to solve this by tomorrow. He was about to leave again, contemplating what the connection between Bell and their ECT doctor meant when the paused image on her big screen caught his eye.
"What's that?" He walked over, not believing what, or rather who he could see frozen in the corner of the screen.
"Oh that's the 7/11 footage," Abby shrugged, coming up to stand at his looking strangely embarrassed. "I was checking to see if I missed something."
"Not you Abs, us…" Gibbs flipped out his cell and ordered Kate to the lab, keeping his gaze fixed to the screen. "Rewind it."
"Why?" Gibbs glared at her. "I mean yes bossman!" She grinned, tapping away at her keyboard, "Wow someone's really grouchy."
"Well you bring the footage up and I might actually get to sleep tonight." Gibbs returned.
"Nightmares?" Abby looked over at him from behind her computer, sympathy practically radiating off her.
"Just bring up the damn tape." He muttered, not wishing to embarrass Tony by telling Abby about last night.
"There's Tony," she pointed at the corner of the screen, "and two girls."
Abby chuckled as they watched Tony enter the store and walk over to stand by the magazine rack near the women, clearly eyeing them up.
"Rewind it back to before Tony enters." Gibbs wasn't interested in Tony's flirting, he knew nearly every one of his moves by now, had slapped him for them too.
"That's Hannigan entering the store." She noted and rewound it further.
"Stop," Gibbs held up his hand. "There!"
"Who's that?"
"Bell." Kate surprised them, walking in. "He was following him?"
Gibbs met Kate's shocked gaze and then turned his attention back to the tape, signalling Abby to continue. She let the tape play out and they watch Hannigan enter once Bell is standing near the front of the store circling behind the women. Hannigan approaches Tony, but Bell can be seen in the background dropping back and hiding out of view of the camera, while the scene with Tony and Hannigan play out the same as it did the first time they'd watched it.
"We missed it." Kate sighed.
"We got it now." Gibbs growled angry with himself for not making the connection earlier.
At the crime scene he felt like he'd seen the detective before, but had let the feeling go when Tony had disappeared. He'd been so angry, instead of focusing on the crime scene he'd left, opting to leave two investigators with less than a year's crime scene experience between them to finish up. Morrow should have taken him off the case for that alone.
"So Hannigan wasn't working with Bell, he was tailing him."
Kate's statement drew him back to their current problem. The revelation that Bell, someone yet to do more than stand next to Tony is the one they should be concerned about. And if he really was a patient of the doctor who subjected Tony to ECT treatment what else did they not know about him?
"He obviously didn't want Bell getting close to Tony," Abby picked up her Caf-Pow giving it a big slurp.
"Okay, but it still isn't clear, we don't know who is the real bad guy is here," Kate pointed out. "Hannigan or Bell?"
"Or both." Gibbs added. "I think we've been looking at this the wrong way."
It was so simple Gibbs didn't know why he hadn't thought of it before. He received one very blank look from Kate and one of sheer joy from Abby.
"It's a mad mad mad mad world." Abby jumped up and down with excitement, "Tony will be so upset he didn't get it first."
"What?" Kate snapped, face drawn into confusion.
"It's a movie." Abby cheered smiling at him and he had to laugh at the irony. "Lots of different people find out about a hidden treasure under a big W, everybody fights their way to get to it first, but in the end wind up at the same place. They spend so long arguing about sharing it they miss out completely."
"Okay, either I've entered the twilight zone or we've all been spending too much time watching movie's with DiNozzo."
"Don't you get it?" Abby pulled Kate around to face her, "Everyone is looking for the money, but nobody really knows where it is and the deadline is tomorrow when the FBI release all seized assets involved in the case. The first one to get their hands on it wins."
"But if the FBI have had it all this time, surely they'd have found it by now." Kate said sceptically.
"They don't know what they're looking for." Gibbs explained calmly. "Bell, Miller, Senior and the FBI - none of them know where it is, but they think Tony does."
"But he doesn't. Does he?" Abby spun around to face him.
Gibbs shook his head. Tony had been earnest when senior had first suggested it and he wholly believed him.
"So where does that leave us?" Kate complained in frustration.
"That leaves us with several suspects on the loose who want Tony to lead them to missing millions." Gibbs told her straight, pecking Abby on the cheek once again.
"Well they're obviously confident they'll get it." Kate followed him as he walked out.
"Or desperate."
He reached the elevator, pressed the button and waited for the doors to open.
"Point is we still need them in custody to ensure Tony's safety." Kate continued.
Gibbs stepped onto the elevator, Kate at his side and faced the doors as they closed.
"And I'll get them."
Gibbs and Kate walked into the bullpen to find McGee and a very worried looking Doctor Mallard standing in the middle.
"Duck?" Gibbs came to a stop.
Kate went straight her desk.
"Jethro, thank god I was just coming to look for you." Ducky walked up to him.
He looked and sounded extremely worried, giving Gibbs' gut a reason to begin belly flopping all over the place.
"Where's DiNozzo?" He asked with dread.
"That was why I was coming to see you, it seems while I stepped out to use the restroom our young man stepped out too. I was hoping he'd come up here but…" Ducky looked to McGee.
"I was only out of the squad room for a minute, but I haven't seen him boss." McGee confirmed their fears.
Gibbs sighed and pulled out his cell, speed dialling Tony. The phone rang audibly within the room, having everyone looking around for the source. Gibbs though watched Ducky sheepishly reach into his pocket and pull out a ringing phone. Recognising it as Tony's cell Gibbs sighed again. He'd kill him.
.
Tony stepped out into the cool night breeze. The last glimpse of sun was disappearing over the Potomac giving the area a serene red and gold glow. Sneaking outside had taken surprisingly little effort. He'd thought for sure Gibbs would have had a guard posted on him by now, but after waking up alone in autopsy and making his way upstairs without seeing anyone only to enter an equally empty squad room, he decided to push his luck and make a run for the elevator. Since the guards on the door hadn't even stopped him he believed he was free and clear.
Seeing a few people still hanging around Tony started walking, moving away from the main entrance to avoid being seen. After his disastrous session with the shrink and the emotional fallout that followed with Senior Tony knew his temporary freedom would be short lived so aimed to make it last as long as possible. Gibbs was going to put him on lock down as soon as he knew he'd done a runner, but the chance for some fresh air and alone time was more than worth the telling off he was sure to return to.
Even though he did feel reenergised after his nap, and hell it was a miracle he'd slept at all given the trauma of the day, the night air was nicely refreshing against his otherwise warm skin. Refreshing to the point of being rather unseasonably cold Tony belatedly realised after only a few minutes. He probably should have grabbed his jacket on the way out, but who had time for such things when they were on the run? Tony glanced around the side of the NCIS building, checking to see if anybody was following him then walked a little further alone, finally stopping under the squad room windows. That way he felt a better in himself, like he hadn't truly run away from his team, they were just three floors above him. When Gibbs asked where the hell he'd gone he'd be able to point out the window and claim he'd been only feet away, without lying. Still guilt niggled at him, ruining his enjoyment of being outside. Shoving both hands in his pockets Tony closed his fingers around the second packet of cigs he'd managed to procure earlier and pulled one out, clasping it between his teeth.
"I love it when a plan comes together." He drawled, laughing to himself.
No one was around to comment on his Hannibal impression, which kind of made it pointless, but Tony had bigger things to care about at the moment than lack of an audience. Standing alone in the quiet of the early summers evening he contemplated night number three of Gibbs style protection and felt his cheeks warm at the thought, more nightmares? God he hoped not.
He had never been one to mask his feelings, not quite the macho, shallow guy most believed him to be upon first glance that was for sure. He remembered the first time he met Abby and how she had pegged him for some kind of Ken doll impersonator. Of course it didn't help that when she, being the straight talking girl she was, accused him of actually being a ken doll his reply involved ensuring her that unlike Ken he didn't have a smooth area and offered a demonstration. It had gone downhill from there. Luckily he got hurt not long after which took him out of the field so Gibbs had deposited him in the lab with instructions to help. Of course he'd felt like he'd messed up and it showed so while his defences were down Abby swooped in and begun interrogating him. They talked, without bravado, and discovered that actually, they had plenty in common despite coming from two very different backgrounds. It took more than that one afternoon to connect, but he now considered Abby to be one of his true best friends. He always had played better with girls.
The memory warmed him. Not just because that was something he could remember, but because it was a good memory. Right now he'd love some more good memories. His head was filled with flashes he couldn't explain. Some were clearer than others, and some were down right terrifying. That was what had woken him up. He hoped what he'd seen really was just a nightmare and not a memory because if that was the case he really was quite happy to leave them buried.
If he was going to get through this with his ego intact and keep his place at NCIS he needed to man up and stop falling apart every five fucking minutes. Given he was stood outside in the cooling summers evening, unlit cigarette in hand hiding from the very people Tony wanted to keep it together for, he could conclude that plan wasn't working so well. Kicking at the ground in lieu of himself he guessed he should have known the day was going to be a bad one when he'd started it by waking up from a nightmare screaming and Gibbs squeezing him like Abby's sodding hippo.
That memory alone made him blush deeper. He wondered if that could have been what influenced his hypnotic safe place. He hadn't spoken to Gibbs about that yet either. After the headslap comfortable conversation had dwindled, Gibbs' outright refusal to allow him anyway near the bullpen until he'd gotten some sleep not helping. Tony hadn't taken the instruction well, his number one arguing point being that since he wasn't a vampire, the temperature in autopsy wasn't conductive to peaceful sleep. Gibbs made his point clear with nothing more than a glare and a raised hand, which had Tony lying down immediately without further complaint.
Already feeling like a chastised child Tony stared at the unlit cigarette still in his hand and thought Gibbs would flip if he caught him smoking. He went to put it back in the pack, but hesitated at the last second. His last moment of freedom and last cigarette had such a nice parallel to it. Deciding he definitely deserved one now more than ever Tony popped it back in his mouth, belatedly realising as he patted his pockets down that he had nothing to light it with. Kate had taken his matches when they were on the roof.
Finding nothing he was going to give it up as a bad job when a hand appeared out of nowhere and lit it for him. Tony tried not to choke as he took an unintentional drag on the cigarette, screwing his eyes shut when the coughing made them water.
"Well my, my, haven't you grown up?" A raspy voice said to him.
"Depends on who you ask," Tony instantly quipped, but when he opened his eyes to meet a matching set of green framed by blond hair, he stepped back in surprise.
"Hello Anthony." The woman said, gracefully taking the cigarette from his hand and having a smoke herself.
"Little Shauna Miller," Tony breathed out, trying not to choke again. They stared at each other for a longer than usual moment, Tony quizzically and Shauna with fiery attraction. "Guess I'm not the only one to have done some growing."
He turned on the charm, his go to response in an awkward situation and leered suggestively. Shauna, showing her Vegas showgirl upbringing, drunk it all in.
"If I recall I was taller than you." She purred, stepping closer, getting into his personal space.
"Still are." Tony raised himself to his full height only to come off a touch shorter. He then adjusted back to his goofy persona when she clearly wasn't going to shy away, "though those Killer heels might have something to do with it." He pointed at the bright yellow four inch stilettoes she was sporting, her fashion sense as terrible as he remembered. "Dare I ask what you're doing here?"
"Someone called Kate Todd left a message on my phone looking for mom." She cooled it off and stepped back, a shared moment over, no more than echoes of the past.
"And you thought you'd what? Hop on a plane be-cause?"
"She's dead Tony." Shauna blew out smoke after taking another drag on his cigarette before handing it back.
"Who?" Tony gaped, not taking in her words exactly, more the fact that she was stood in front of him.
"My mom, Cancer, five years now."
"Wow. I'm sorry." Tony winced. "You know a call would have been fine, Vegas isn't exactly around the corner-"
"Dad's back." She cut him off, looking everywhere but at him. "But you already know that."
Tony narrowed his gaze, studying her. He was quickly coming to see that she knew more than he was likely prepared to hear right now given what he'd been put through today.
"He found you too?" He guessed, hoping that was the case anyway.
Shauna looked him over calculatingly and avoided his question.
"You know what happened?"
Loaded question. Tony definitely knew he had to be careful here.
"Let's say I've been recently enlightened." He hedged and quickly moved on. "Shauna I'm sorry you've been dragged into this, whatever this is."
"You're sorry?" She gaped at him, "he's my good for nothing Dad, Tony."
"Well it turns out my good for nothing Dad isn't even my Dad." Tony let slip before he could sensor himself, proving Gibbs was right like always, he really shouldn't be left alone.
"No way?"
"Yes way." He instantly replied, matching her tone for tone.
They'd regressed apparently. Same as grown kids act like little kids again around their parents. He and Shauna hadn't seen each other since they were eight and after their brief little flirtation had slipped right back into their previous preteen roles.
"Oh my god, tell me."
Tony blew out a breath, he really shouldn't, but his common sense was being overridden by his mouth, maybe his brain had been disconnected…
"Seems he's my uncle, only found out because some ex FBI agent who our dad's pissed off back in the day wants revenge or something, I don't know."
He tried to deflect and mumble, anything to stop the details spilling out. Why he was telling her this he didn't know. Maybe because she was there, and he remembered her or maybe it was the fact he'd just been put through hell and stupidly left the only people who cared about him to wonder where the hell he was. Shit.
"That's heavy." She laughed and so did he at her dated point blank pronouncement. "Shit Tony, I should've come sooner, but I freaked out when I got the letter, didn't want to believe it. But when I heard this Kate's message I knew I had to come."
"How long have you known?" It occurred to him all of a sudden.
"What do you mean how long?" She stared at him accusingly.
"I only found out I was kidnapped three days ago and I still don't remember it properly, how did you know?"
She stared at him.
"Tony," she paused, took a drag on the last of his cigarette burning down in his hand, "I'm so sorry I didn't help you back then."
Tony didn't think about what that meant, didn't want to, he took the cig from her and put it out.
"There's someone you need to talk to."
Tbc…
A/N: Soooo sorry for the lateness! And that it's not a long one, but to be nice and make up for my rubbishness I didn't cut it off at the cliff hanger ;)
First I should explain that the story was finished, but when editing I felt like I was maybe rushing it a bit to get it posted before my end of year exam. So I've decided to write a few more chapters which is why it's taking so long.
I hope you enjoyed this, not my best I feel, but I've been rewriting it for so long it was either scrap or post. On the Brightside the next chapter I intend to post later today. Thanks for all the feedback and encouragements! Hope you'll all forgive me for the recent delay – fingers crossed I'll make the wait worth it ;) xxx