They were in Vance's office.
Tony was quietly observing, while Jarvis, Vance, and Gibbs were going over the plan so far. He sat as far away from Jarvis as he could, barely looking at the man.
Some sleep, and medication had done well for him, though he was still slightly feverish and could have done without the nightmares. He at least was dressed in his own clothes and had a shave. Aside the healing cuts and still too pale complexion, he was carrying himself fairly well.
"Are you sure, you're up to this, Agent DiNozzo?" Jarvis asked, interrupting things.
"You're asking now how I feel? How considerate of you, Mr. Secretary," Tony's voice dripped with sarcasm.
"Let's stay on topic, shall we?" Vance steered it right back.
Jarvis turned back to him. "So, we've already contacted the CIA to make them aware of this situation, and someone is coming over later this morning to discuss coordinating our efforts. Mean time, Agent McGee looked into all of Sean Latham's financials, personal or other. He's spread out pretty wide. Shares in several companies. There are dozens of offshore accounts, and several LLC's, which would be the pick, if he were trying to hide or launder money. Most in the Caymans."
"He's like an onion." Tony said it blandly, looking at the table. "You peel all those layers back and he still stinks."
Gibbs gave him an amused glance.
Jarvis continued, "There are less accounts in Switzerland, probably because it has a strong KYC policy, and are more likely to cooperate with our inquiries due to the rise in world terrorism."
"We have to catch him in the act, and follow the trail of the payment to the actual account, and that should also give us some leads on the other chip transactions." Vance was pulling out a toothpick.
"We can appropriate the surveillance room on one of the other O.N.I. ships, right before the sale goes down," Jarvis said.
"So, our spy ship, that spies on spies, spying on another ship in it's own fleet?" Tony asked, to clarify. "And they won't contact The Phantom?"
"Not with a sealed order from the President, they won't," Jarvis said definitively. "And we won't give anyone a head's up. It would be right before the scheduled auction."
"That means we'd have to know exactly when it's going down, and have a buyer in place," Tony said thoughtfully.
"And…Latham has to show, for the end of the transaction, so we're waiting at the other end to nab the bastard. Otherwise, he may disappear," Gibbs said, almost to himself.
"Yes. Agreed. The biggest missing piece is our buyer. Someone with the clout, and with enough cash to pull of the transfer without blinking," Vance said.
"Can't be just a shill, Leon," Gibbs said softly. "Has to be from foreign soil, with reason to have the chip in the first place."
They were quiet for a moment.
"I think I have an idea, who could do it," Tony said with a little smile.
Gibbs raised an eyebrow, as the other two men looked at him expectantly.
"Prince Omar Ibn Alwaan. My Dad's ol' buddy."
"Your father is friends with Ibn Alwaan?" Jarvis sounded shocked.
"Oh, they spend a lot of time around the tables at Monte Carlo. That guy loses millions in the casino, sometimes in one night. He makes Trump look like a little guppy."
"Why would he agree to do it?" Jarvis asked.
"He and my Dad go way back, and…the last time they were both in town, Dad gave him a little unsanctioned head's up on a situation with his son..." Tony tried to ignore Gibbs' scowl.
"Hmph," Vance made the sound and took the toothpick out of his mouth. "Say we could use Alwaan, and he agrees. No one likely goes directly to Latham. The buyer's contact has to be as authentic as the buyer."
"That's where I come in." A voice came from the door, which the receptionist had opened, based on Vance's instruction to bring the CIA representative directly to the meeting after they arrived.
It was Trent Kort.
"Ahhh," Tony's tone was disgusted. "I guess if we're fishing for Latham, we're gonna pull up some bottom feeders along the way."
They all stood up.
"A pleasure to see you again, DiNozzo." Malice dripped from his words. "Though, a bit of a surprise. I'd heard that you were rotting at the bottom of the Tyrrhenian Sea."
They all looked shocked, except Gibbs, of course.
"And pray tell, Kort, where did you hear that?" Vance asked with an undertone of anger.
Kort sighed and looked at them all with his one good eye. He pulled up a chair, taking his time to sit down.
"Please, have a seat gentlemen. We have a lot to discuss."
Begrudgingly they did.
Gibbs noticed Tony's jaw muscle tick, stressfully waiting to hear what the snake would say.
"The CIA became aware of one of the microchips coming into the possession of a certain party in the middle east. I was asked to ascertain the chain of hands the item passed through, to discover the source of the sale, and also recover the chip. I was in the process of…making contacts with the seller, and narrowing in on the chip, when I was rudely interrupted by Agent David's pest of a boyfriend."
"Alright, C.I. Ray," Tony said with sarcastic glee.
Kort's one eye glared at him. With they eye patch, Tony decided it was indeed, pretty creepy.
He continued, "You are aware, I am near retirement, so-"
"Lemme' guess," Gibbs said in a low growl, "You were trying to get in on the action."
"Now," Kort said, "let's not make it sound so…treasonous. C.I. Ray, as you call him, had been sent to "handle" me. So…in fact, he delivered a directive to me, from higher up, to cooperate and then retire, or, be retired."
"Like you retired La Grenouille?" Tony asked in a low tone.
Kort ignored him.
"I am your buyer contact. Once the sale goes down and you have Latham in custody, the other buyers and their chips will be seized by CIA operatives."
"Well, Trent, guess we know you've already been in contact with Latham, since you're surprised by me still breathing and all. Why should we trust anything you say?" Tony stared at him with cold hatred.
The other men all looked interested in his response.
"Because, none of us have a choice."