Chapter 3 – Promotions

Gibbs

Gibbs wasn't normally one to worry about his people. DiNozzo and McGee were the best, which is why he had picked them for his team. He trusted them to do what was necessary to complete their mission and come home afterwards. But DiNozzo was still a no show and McGee had been gone for nearly six hours.

Nothing worried him more than the thought that his boys could be hurt or worse. They weren't family by blood but from their shared experiences, they were as close to family as anyone. And it wasn't lost on him that he was old enough to be their father.

Well that wasn't entirely true. Tony was only fifteen years his junior. He was, however, old enough to be Tim's father. Or as he preferred to think: Tim was young enough to be his son. He didn't feel quite as old that way.

But that wasn't the point. They were all undercover trying to take down a very dangerous mobster. And he couldn't put it out of his mind that something had gone very wrong.

Why else would Tony be called in for a special meeting? If he had been discovered, that meeting could have been a cover to dispose of him. And as for Tim, the same could go for him. And the more he thought of it, the more he believed it. If it hadn't been a setup, Tim would have been home hours ago.

Normally he would work in his basement when he couldn't sleep or if he needed to calm his mind. But stuck in McGee's apartment, that wasn't an option.

Sitting alone in McGee's dark apartment seemed to conjure horrible scenarios which all seemed to end with the pair dead. When McGee had left, he tried to take a nap, but every creak and footfall jolted him awake. The sounds seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. It was disconcerting and reminded him of a time he had hoped to forget. Once, he even swore he could smell fresh wood, tree sap and the acrid stench of gunpowder before his eyes snapped open and he realized he was in Tim's apartment. He had given up on trying to sleep after that.

The hours passed slowly, marked by a clock in the adjoining apartment. As the hour crew late, he found himself staring at the door in anticipation any time he heard footsteps approaching the door. He would tense and then let out a frustrated sigh when the footsteps continued on.

Unable to sit still any longer, he stood and began to pace in the darkness. Unfortunately, Tim's small apartment didn't provide a long distance to pace. A dozen steps in any direction and he was at a wall. But it did give him something to do and soon he fell into a rhythm, easing his mind.

From the neighboring apartment, he heard a clock chime. He paused to listen. He had long lost track of time.

One. Two.

Two o'clock. He growled in frustration. Too many things could have gone wrong tonight and he hated not knowing what was going on.

He glanced at the door, half tempted to go out and search for his people, but he thought better of it. It would be just his luck to leave just as Tim returned home. No, he was better off staying.

Leaving his pacing, he entered the kitchen and opened the ice box hoping that there was a least one more beer left. He fished a lighter out of his pocket and paused a moment to brush his thumb over the engraved eagle, anchor and globe. Pulling himself from his revelry, he returned his attention to the ice box. He was about to light his lighter so he could see when he heard keys rattling at the door.

Gibbs shut the fridge door and backed up into the shadowy corner of the kitchen, drawing his pistol as he heard a key in the lock. He couldn't tell who was at the door, but there were at least two of them.

Suddenly the door opened, and light spilled into the apartment from the hallway.

"I've never seen you drink that much, McGee," Tony said.

"I had four drinks in six hours, Tony," McGee replied. He felt cool relief wash over him. His boys were safe and together. "Hardly a binge. Well five if you count the one in Jimmy's apartment. But I never had an edge. Did you think was going to get drunk tonight?"

"Since I've never seen you drunk, I was wondering," Tony replied as he shut the door, cutting of the source of light. "You're such a goody two-shoes that you don't like to drink at all."

Gibbs relaxed and straightened which caught Tony's attention.

"Shh, someone's here," Tony said. He heard DiNozzo draw his pistol.

"Yeah," Tim said. "It's…"

But Tony cut him off as he turned the corner. "Stay there McGee while I check this out."

"Tony, it's…"

"Hands where I can see them!" Tony said.

Suddenly Tim turned on the light and he was faced with DiNozzo holding a gun on him. "Relax Tony. It's Gibbs."

"Oh," Tony said relaxing. He tucked his pistol back into its holster. "Hey Boss." Tony turned on Tim. "You knew he was here? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Until now, I couldn't because we were surrounded by other people," Tim countered. "And I tried just now. You wouldn't let me finish speaking," Tim replied. Tim looked at him. "I found Tony, Boss."

"I see that," Gibbs replied, his nose wrinkling as he tucked his pistol away. They smelled of booze and cigarette smoke. "You two decide to go out on the town?"

"Well it wasn't our idea," Tony replied.

"Then whose idea was it?" he demanded. After waiting six hours, he was annoyed that he had worried about his young agents while they were out at a club drinking hooch.

"James Napolitano's," Tim replied. He felt his annoyance disappear instantly. Well that changed things. "I couldn't exactly refuse his offer to take me out for a drink."

"So, what's your excuse?" he asked turning his gaze to Tony.

"He's my new body guard," Tim replied with a grin before Tony could explain. Tony rolled his eyes.

"Body guard?" Gibbs asked.

"One of the 'perks' of the job. As Napolitano's accountant, I get a body guard, a new apartment and three hundred dollars," he said.

"A month?" Gibbs asked impressed. "Not bad. A hell of a lot more than we make at ONI."

"Not per month, Boss," Tony said looking at Gibbs. "Per week. You're looking at a McMoney bags now."

Gibbs looked at Tim in surprise. "He's paying you twelve hundred a month?"

"Yeah," Tim replied with a smile. "Jimmy isn't a small fish."

"Certainly explains why there're a lot of bootleggers," Tony replied with a smile. "The pay is better than anything else around. I was doing pretty good before but being his personal body guard comes with a hefty pay raise not to mention a nicer place."

"Don't forget what you're really paid to do," Gibbs said sternly.

Tim's smile disappeared instantly. "Of course not Boss," Tim said as he stood up straighter. Tony nodded quickly as well. "I understand that I'm going to be taking down Napolitano's network from the inside out. Doesn't mean that I shouldn't be happy about being well-paid while I do it. You know, as compensation."

"No, I suppose not," Gibbs replied. "But you can do your actual job and report what happened tonight."

"Well," Tim started but Gibbs cut him off.

"Not you. I know how you got the job." He turned his gaze to Tony.

Tony looked shocked but then smiled roguishly.

"You want to know how I happened to get the job as the personal body guard to Jimmy Napolitano's accountant, arguably the most important man next to Napolitano himself?"

"Yeah," he replied.

"Pretty obvious question, I guess," Tony replied as they made their way to the small table.

"Yeah," Tim replied. "You shot up the ranks pretty quickly. You've been in Napolitano's employment for just over a year and you've already been put in charge of running liquor for his flagship club?"

"You say that like I shouldn't have been promoted," Tony retorted.

"I didn't mean it that way Tony," Tim said hastily. "It's just quick. You were only in his organization for six months before you joined the Tin Angel bootleggers and another three months before you were running its liquor."

Tony's expression darkened, and he wondered what McGee really knew about Tony's time in Napolitano's employment. Six months as an enforcer in Napolitano's employment wasn't a walk in the park and it would be like DiNozzo to protect his younger partner from the hard truths of the world.

"I'd have guessed that Blue would have been next in line," he said, interrupting before the boys began sniping at one another. "Blue's been working for Napolitano for years."

"Except that there are questions about Blue's loyalty," Tony said. He looked at Tony for an explanation. That was news to him. "Oh, Blue is loyal enough. He's been exceptionally loyal to the manager at the Tin Angel. But there have been grumblings that if push came to shove, Blue would side with the Tin Angel first and Napolitano second."

"I'm sure that doesn't sit well with Napolitano," Tim said.

"It doesn't," Tony replied. "But Blue does a good job at the Tin Angel, so Naps won't replace him especially since Blue isn't one to get his hands dirty. He'd rather let his boys do that kind of work. Jimmy needed someone who he knew wouldn't be afraid to mix it up if needed. Fortunately for you, I fit that bill. That's why they gave me the job. Also because I'm his most successful bootlegger to date."

Tim snorted. "Some of that was manufactured."

"Most of it wasn't," Tony said defensively. "It took a lot of work to get onto the team and more hard work to get promoted within." Tony looked thoughtful. "Inside information definitely helped but we didn't always have that. Coulda used it when J.D. was killed."

"Who was J.D.?" Tim asked.

"My predecessor," Tony replied. "J.D. Morris. He brought me onto the team and showed me the ropes. Taught me everything about bootlegging. We got to be pretty good friends before he was killed by one of Pell's boys when they tried to jump us for a shipment three months ago."

"I'm sorry to hear that Tony," Tim said sympathetically. Tony nodded appreciatively.

"Just proves my point that running security for the Tin Angel's liquor isn't easy," Tony added.

"No it isn't," Tim conceded contritely. "Even with inside information."

He agreed with Tony. Running security for any bootlegging run was extremely difficult. Not only did you have to contend with the risk of being nabbed by the police, but you had to worry about the competition. And the competition wasn't afraid to use any force necessary to steal some product, especially the quality stuff that was meant for the Tin Angel.

These days, that meant at least a dozen mid-major players and an untold number of free-lancers trying to make a name for themselves. Napolitano owned over a third of the clubs in Washington, but it was an empire that was constantly under attack. Tony had shared some harrowing stories of close calls with men who were trying to hijack their shipments of booze over the last year.

"Is Blue going to be a problem?" he asked. "You were promoted over him."

Tony shook his head. "Nah. I spoke with him tonight. He'd much rather sit tight in the Tin Angel rather than risk his neck following McGee around. Now if Tim was a girl it might be a different story." Tim frowned. "I hear he's sweet on one of the Angel's regular singers."

"You're sure that you got the job because of how well you've run the Tin Angel's liquor?" he asked.

"Yeah," Tony said firmly. "Naps said so himself when I met with him before Tim showed up. He said he was impressed with my work especially since I've had an up and coming mobster trying to muscle into the action as of late," Tony said. They looked at him. "Oh, I guess it's been a while since we talked. You might not have heard about this. I don't think it made the papers. So, we were bringing in a shipment from the river."

"You were jumped for your shipment," Gibbs said interrupting Tony because he could tell the young man was ramping up to tell a good story. And as much as he liked a good story, he needed Tony to cut to the chase. And at two in the morning, he had less patience than usual.

He had heard rumors about a gun battle over a shipment of liquor that had been brought in by boat, but he hadn't been aware that Tony had been involved.

"Attempted. They attempted to jump us for our shipment," Tony corrected. "La Grenouille's men tried to ambush us but I took some precautions and they paid off. There was a slight gun battle."

He knew that was an understatement. Rumor had it; four bodies had turned up as a result of that raid.

"The shooting down at the river," Tim mused. They looked at him. "I heard about the shootings from a friend. It hasn't been in the papers." He looked at Tim and wondered what friend would have this information. Only the police or those in the business would have known about the deaths. Unfortunately, Tim didn't elaborate so he made a mental not to ask the young man about his source later. Instead Tim asked, "La Grenouille? Is that Spanish?"

"French," Gibbs supplied. "Means the frog. La Grenouille is a Frenchman. He's been buying up some independent clubs and he took over Scott Pell's collection of clubs and more importantly his supply lines."

Tim looked puzzled. "Wasn't Pell murdered?" he asked.

Gibbs nodded.

"Found him floating down the Potomac with a lead life vest," Tony said. "Wish I could say it was in retribution for J.D.'s death but it wasn't. After bumping off Pell for his clubs, La Grenouille is now the largest owner of clubs behind Napolitano."

"So, what about the shooting at the docks?" Gibbs prompted.

"Right." Tony nodded. "Anyway, my precautions paid off and we were ready when the lead started to fly. We got three of them."

"I heard four," he interrupted.

Tony looked surprised. "Well he must have kicked it after he left the docks because we only found three bodies. They got two of our guys but not seriously. Anyway, they took off when they realized they were going to get themselves killed but I grabbed one before he could rabbit."

"You took someone captive?" Tim asked incredulously. "What did you do with him?"

"I took him but didn't keep him. Call it catch and release," Tony said impishly but his smile quickly faded. "I figured he could warn his boss that we weren't worth messing with if he didn't want dead employees. Although if I'd have known who I had, I would have kept him." They looked at Tony expectantly. "His name was Trent Kort. He was in charge of the failed raid and he's the Frog's right-hand man."

He and Tim looked at Tony incredulously. "Ok so how did you get promoted if you released La Grenouille's right hand man?" Tim asked. "That's a pretty big gaff."

"I know," Tony replied sharply. Tony frowned and shook his head. "But I didn't find out until I asked Blue if he knew Kort since they were both English. Blue tipped me off about him. Lucky for me, I interrogated him in private and no one else knew his name. I'm the only one who knew who we had in hand."

"Good thing," Gibbs replied. "But that may not help you later. Can your boys identify him? If Napolitano finds out you let Kort go, would he pull you from Tim's detail?"

Tony shrugged. "Who knows? If it happens, hopefully by then, Tim and I will have been together for a while and he can request to keep me on." Gibbs nodded. "But I think that chances are slim. We had to move fast to avoid the cops. It took everything we had to get the liquor loaded into our truck off the docks before the law showed up. I don't think that any of the boys got a good look at him. Until I talked to Blue, I didn't suspect that he was anything more than muscle. I mean, who would expect that the frog's second in command to be so hands on?"

"It isn't exactly bright," Tim said. "He could have gotten himself killed."

"Right," Tony replied. "Instead of dead, I just pissed him off. He vowed to kill me if we ever cross paths again." They looked at him, but Tony shrugged. "It's not the first time someone said they'd kill me. No one has succeeded yet."

He didn't say it, but he thought that having someone like Trent Kort as an enemy wasn't a good thing. He'd heard about Kort through his sources and everything indicated that he was ruthless, more than willing to go the extra mile for his employer and that he wasn't squeamish about killing.

"I'm pretty sure Kort was the one that bumped off Pell and gave La Grenouille One Club as an anchor to his growing business empire," Tony added.

"That's a coup," Tim said. "One is exclusive and well-regarded. I hear it's a favorite among congress." Tim smiled a crooked smile. "Which is ironic."

Tony shrugged. "Since no one knew that I let Kort get away and since I had successfully saved the Tin Angel's best liquor from being stolen, that got the attention of Jimmy Napolitano," Tony said returning to their original conversation. "Which apparently was a good thing because when Spooner was killed, his body guard got the axe too, although not literally."

He frowned. No one had been surprised that Spooner had been killed after it got out that he had been stealing from Napolitano. But the brutal nature of his death had been shocking. He saw how it affected Tim and he knew that Tim had more to worry about now than he had a week ago. It certainly upped the stakes of their mission.

"I didn't know Spooner had a body guard," Tim said.

"Neither did I," Tony said. "But then again, Spooner hardly frequented any of Jimmy's clubs. I hear that he didn't like crowds. I guess too many attempts to get at him had Spooner permanently spooked."

"What happened to his bodyguard?" Tim asked.

"Little Ricky told me that he was transferred to a rather dangerous position and odds are that he won't survive it," Tony said. "Regardless of what happened to him, I think what's important here is that I'm McGee's new shadow. It couldn't have worked out much better."

"Not really," Tim replied. "I was worried that I'd have some stranger watching me all day and all night. And when Jimmy told me that I'd be meeting my bodyguard, all I could think of was Gibbs sitting in my apartment and how on earth I'd explain that. You don't know how relieved I was to see you standing in the doorway."

"Yeah I do. It was written all over your face," Tony said seriously. "Lucky for you Little Ricky didn't follow me into Napolitano's study. From your reaction, it would have been a dead giveaway that we knew each other. Then we'd really have been in hot water. You've got to work on that McGee. Now's not the time to have a lousy poker face."

"I know. I was taken off guard is all," Tim said hastily. "Ever since Fornell showed up at the diner this morning, I've been all balled up."

"Fornell?" Tony asked. "That's his name?" Tim nodded. "He's not one of Napolitano's usual messengers. I thought he was a cop."

"Me too," Tim replied.

"Hey," he said sharply. He wasn't in the mood to speculate about one of Napolitano's messengers even if the name did sound familiar. "Did McGee almost blow it?"

Tim winced. He hadn't meant to be so rough on the younger man, but he was tired, and they still had a lot of things to talk about yet.

"Almost," Tony said hastily. "But he didn't."

"We got lucky," Tim admitted. "I never guessed that I'd have a personal body guard if I took a job working for Jimmy. And I certainly didn't expect to meet him tonight before I even signed my contract. I don't work for Naps yet," Tim retorted.

"What do you mean, you don't work for Naps yet?" he asked.

"Oh," Tim said. "Napolitano is going to draw up a contract. Until I sign the contract, I don't actually work for Jimmy. I guess I could back out, but we shook on it which is why Tony is here." Tim looked at Tony. "I'm glad it's you Tony. My real job would have been a hell of a lot harder with some stranger hovering over my shoulder. It was sheer serendipity that you got the job."

"Serendipity?" Tony asked. "What kind of oil can uses a word like serendipity?"

Tim frowned. "It means that it was lucky, Tony," Tim replied sourly.

"Whatever, McGee," Tony replied.

"He isn't wrong, DiNozzo," he said curtly. "When we planned this mission, we expected that Tim would get hired as a low-level accountant and work his way up, just like you. We never expected that he'd be hired to run the books for Napolitano's illegal businesses from the start."

"Overachiever," Tony muttered but Tim grinned.

"It was serendipitous," he said wryly. Tony pulled a face at him and Tim grinned smugly at his partner. But before Tony could retort, he continued, "Focus. We have a lot to plan for and not a lot of time. And in case you two forgot, our jobs just got a harder and the stakes higher."

He was pleased to see that they both nodded and looked at each other. All of the tension between them had evaporated. Tim and Tony might fight like teenage brothers, but no one had your back like your brother when the stakes were high.

"Good. Now that you two are working together, you need to watch each other's backs. We'll figure out a new way to contact each other and set up a new reporting schedule," he said as the neighbor's clock started to chime again.

"Right Boss," Tim said. "And I'll know more once I start on Monday."

He caught Tim's arm. "That's something you need to cut out right now," he said. "Both of you." He watched as Tim and Tony shared a puzzled expression. He waved a finger at them. "No more 'Boss,'" he said. "The wrong person hears that and we're all sunk." They nodded. "Now let's get moving."

Author's Note: Thanks for all the kind reviews! I'll admit that once I got started into this story, it was a lot of fun trying to figure out how the various characters fit into this world. Momcat, I can't respond to you but you said you were reminded of The Untouchables, there's a good reason for that. I'm pretty sure the image of Tim as a mobster accountant came after I watched the movie! Fortunately Sean Connery doesn't exist yet for Tony to drive Tim crazy with his impersonations!