Northwester
Immediately after he was escorted out of the NCIS building by Tony and Ziva and put into a taxi, Commander Kieran McGee started to make some phone calls.
"Listen, it's Commander McGee, I need you to dig up everything, and I do mean everything you can come up with about my eldest son's team. If they have any secret or skeletons in the closet, I want to know."
There was silence while he heard the answer of whoever was at the other side speaking.
"I'm especially interested in the little brunette, a Latina, who works with him. I'm sure he's sniffing up her skirts, and I want to use it. There must be some rule against fraternization on the job, and I want to use that against him."
"Really? That's great, call me when you have something concrete." He disconnects.
"No one, no one humiliates me like that and they are going to pay for it," mutters Kieran.
The taxi driver just glanced at him in the rear-view mirror, and kept driving.
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However, without his knowledge, on the other side of the city, the same request had been made from the opposite side of the battle and deft fingers were already tracking Commander Kieran McGee's secrets and skeletons, and plans were being carefully made.
After all, Buchanans don't get mad, they get even. And Commander McGee had tried to hurt one of their own. Well, they were honorary Buchanans, but Buchanans nonetheless. His head and his balls would probably be stuck to a wall, any wall, by nightfall.
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Matt and Temp were back in the bullpen at the designated time, and while they were gone Joy and Tim worked hard to finish any paperwork that might be pending on their desks.
"Boss, according to my research, with the possible exception of the money spent on the fancy trips and the brand new car officer Veseley bought last year, all the money he obtained from the sale of his rare comics has been transferred to this account," McGee puts a bank statement on the plasma, "he was selling only the most coveted comics, checking the market for the demand and selling it at top dollar, to ensure the highest bidder."
Tony whistles, "that's a lot of money for just some comic books."
"Those are not just comic books, Tony," whines McGee, "those are twentieth century pop art classics."
"Ok, let's put it in a way you might understand, Tony," says Joy, with a smile on her face, "if you had the chance of buying one of the original film reels of Casablanca, still in the original Movie Studio box, with the seal intact, how much would you pay for it?"
"Are you kidding, that's worth a couple of thousand dollars! Probably hundreds of thousands!" exclaims DiNozzo.
Joy looks at McGee, who smiles at his colleague's enthusiasm at the hypothetical situation.
"That wouldn't be much different," she points to the screen, "to the people who collect them, the really hardcore collectors, they are willing to pay several thousand dollars to ensure that the comic they have is in top condition. And they are always in contact with other collectors to ensure that the one they have is better. It is a very small niche in the society, and almost everyone knows everyone," she turns to Gibbs, who was watching the explanation, "that's why it was so easy to track down the sales, Boss, once Veseley's comics hit the market, everyone who was someone in the business knew of the treasures he had."
"Still you don't think that these …" Gibbs points to the booklets in the evidence bag, "comics are the reason Petty Officer Veseley was murdered."
McGee shakes his head no, "Veseley was very careful to not reveal his identity during any transaction, he used different P.O. Boxes in his contacts with the collectors, and the transfers of money were made through different banks, being later on transferred to his. Even if someone tried, they would get stuck on the first wire, he would not find the final receiver of the money."
"But you found it out," says Ziva, "how?"
"The only reason we were able to trace it back is because we had the final bank account. Anyone paying attention would start with the first transfer, and try to trace it to several banks, getting lost in the system. We had the final account, then we backtracked to the original deposit."
"Tony, Ziva, any news on your side?"
"Sorry Boss, but he was squeaky clean, no one had ever had any complaint about his job, no secret book with second accounting, no nothing."
"Then why was he murdered? Someone had to have something against him."
Joy looks at McGee, "that's what we're hoping to find out, once we have the chance of speaking with the widow again."
They all return to their own desks, and start to type on their computers again. Sarah had gone downstairs to stay with Abby, until the Buchanan siblings return to the bullpen.
Tony glances at Ziva, then at Gibbs, and decides to talk about the elephant in the room, "Hey McGee, what was that about your father?"
He sees McGee tensing up, and Gibbs turns to him, glaring, almost demanding that he shut up. But his curiosity gets the better of him, and it was greater than his sense of self-preservation.
"Not your damn…" starts Gibbs, just to be interrupted by McGee.
"No, it's ok Boss." McGee turns to Tony, and says with all seriousness he can muster, "it's a long story, Tony, but just to give you the Reader's Digest version," McGee takes a deep breath, and continues, "my father is a worthless piece of shit who spent his entire life trying to make my life hell and to take Sarah away first from my mom, later on from me. When he couldn't, he decided that ensuring that she would have the unhappiest teenage years possible was sufficient. And I've always fought against him. And now, just because Sarah is going through this nightmare, he decided that it was time to crawl out from under the rock he usually stays and make our lives hell again. And that basically sums it up. Any questions?"
Both Ziva and Tony were frozen on their seats, both by the bitterness they could hear in their team-mate's voice but also for the hidden story they could hear in between the lines.
After several attempts, where Tony opened his mouth several times, but no word came out, finally his brain caught up with his mouth and his first words out were, "Did Gibbs know about that?"
He glances at Gibbs, who is glaring at the PC screen as if it is to blame, and growls, "I've found out about it only yesterday," he glances at McGee, "in our talk in the elevator."
"So, when McGee's father came to the Navy Yard today," Ziva looks from Gibbs to McGee, then back to Gibbs, "you knew that it would mean trouble."
"Yes," growls Gibbs again.
"So," says Tony, looking from his bossman to his team-mate, "what do we do now?"
"Nothing," says Joy, leaving her desk and standing up before McGee's, "we'll lay low for a couple of days until the news sharks get tired, and the frenzy about the shooting dies down, but we will do nothing about McGee's father."
"Man, but if he comes threatening Probie, we have to do something," says Tony.
"Yes, we do, but we have to plan it carefully," says Joy, with a smart smile, "and whatever we plan, we can't do it while several TV cameras are turned on us."
"But you are planning to do something," says Ziva, squinting at Joy.
She smiles when Joy looks at her with at twinkle in her eyes, "sure, wanna be part of it?"
Ziva smiles wolfishly, "count me in, whatever it is."
Joy laughs, "bring your paperclips, they might come in handy." The two women turn to Tony, who just looks from one woman to the other.
"I really don't wanna know what you are planning, do I?" says Tony.
Joy shakes her head no, and Tony sees McGee looking at Joy with adoring eyes.
"Sure, count me in," he says finally.
"Ok, Hope will contact you with details."
"Man, what a nightmare," says Tony, leaning back on his chair, defeated.
"What about the investigation on the shooting? How is it going?" Ziva is looking at Joy, who shakes her head no.
"The investigation is being done by the FBI under total lock and key, no one outside of the case is to be informed of any finding unless the Director himself says otherwise," she shakes her head, "we have nothing to do with its investigation, we can't interfere." She looks at McGee, "we're the victims in this crime, all we can to do is damage control."
At that moment, the elevator doors open and Matthew and Sarah come out of it and start walking towards the team.
Matt looks at McGee and at Joy, and nods, "Mission accomplished. How do you want to do this?"
Joy frowns for a second, thinking furiously, and McGee starts closing down his computer, getting ready to leave.
"McGee, give me your car keys," she finally says, and he goes through his pockets and finally throws her the keys to the Porsche, "you go to Abby's to pick up Sarah, and go straight to the lower level and leave the building by the Morgue. Matt, Temp, you get the cars and go to the morgue exit, Matt, you drive my car and McGee lays low in the backseat, while Temp drives her car with Sarah laying low in the backseat. When you see the frenzied movement of the cameras at the main gate, you leave, and don't stop until you reach Johnny's."
Matt studies his sister, "Where will you be while we make our exit?"
Joy boots down her computer, and glances at Gibbs and he sees a furious look on her face, "me? I'll be giving a press conference."