CHAPTER 3

Tony cried, "What? No! My dad would never have anything to do with that woman!" He started coughing so hard he choked, but as soon as the coughing diminished, he struggled to sit up again.

Fornell stood and placed a hand on Tony's chest. "You stay down, DiNozzo, or that nurse'll come back in here and toss me out."

Tony made a frustrated sound and wiped his mouth.

Fornell said calmly, "Until we find Beals' phone and find out who he called, we don't know if he was working with someone. C'mon, DiNozzo, you were a cop. You know we have to look at everyone, including your own family."

Tony shook his head. Not Dad. Not him. Senior was far from perfect but he'd changed over the years. Okay, so maybe he'd never quite got rid of his con-man persona, but he'd never do anything to hurt his own son. "No," he choked out.

"Take it easy. It looks like Mrs. Tozier made most of those calls, but not all of them. There is evidence Senator DiNozzo and she go way back. Were you aware of that?"

Tony looked at Agent Fornell like he had two heads. "No," he said in a hoarse voice.

"Mrs. Tozier worked on your father's election committee when he was first in politics, over forty years ago. Now she's going to run for Governor," said Fornell.

Tony covered his eyes and shook his head in disbelief. Forty years ago? Dad had known her from way back yet he'd never mentioned her? There was something more, Tony could see, and Fornell was about to give it to him with both barrels.

"Okay, how about this? You're connected to Robert Tozier." Before Tony could speak, Fornell said sharply, "I know it's all business between the two of you, working towards a common cause and all, but he is planning to run against you again, and considering he's lost to you every time so far…That has to be a pretty hard hit to a man's ego…"

Tony shook his head. "You don't know Robert. We're friends," he said tersely. As far as Rob's political aspirations went, well, Tony wasn't running again anyway, so let the best man win.

"From what I can determine, Frank Beals was under his mother's thumb. She called all the shots. Maybe the mother and both of her sons conspired…"

"No way!"

Fornell continued despite Tony's protest, "And with you out of the way…"

"No!"

"Just something to think about."

Tony wanted to yell, and grab the FBI agent by his shirt, and shake him hard enough to scramble his brains. Instead, he said, speaking slowly and firmly, "Not Rob. Hates his mother. She's a converter. Fucked with his mind all his teen years." Bad parents – that was one of the things that had brought him and Rob close together, complaining about their childhoods over beers. Compared to what Rob had gone through, Tony had had it easy. He swallowed hard but it appeared that Fornell knew all this from the way he was looking at him.

It was true that Robert had been campaigning for Tony's 3rd District seat, and had lost every one of the past three elections, but Tony had never met such a straightforward, decent guy. He decided to let Fornell know about his decision to leave politics, so he'd stop thinking that Rob was a suspect. "I'm not running again, and Robert Tozier knows about it," Tony said softly, wishing he could shout the words. "I'm no threat. That's confidential, Fornell." He added wryly, "Like my medical records are supposed to be."

Fornell digested that information and asked, "But does his mother know that?"

No, because it hadn't yet been announced that Tony wasn't going for another term. Tony had told Robert, in confidence, that he was leaving politics at the end of his year. Despite the horrific upbringing Robert had endured with his unbalanced mother, he was an honorable man. He never would have repeated Tony's business to anyone, especially not to his mother. "Nobody knows except my family…and I mentioned it to Rob."

"Gibbs told me what Frank Beals said when he was holding you hostage. The man sounded like a fanatic who had targeted you for your political views. My men just found evidence at Beal's apartment that he was following your activities; there were notes, timetables, even photos. There were also clippings and notebooks full of writing about your collaboration with his half-brother, going on about how you turned Robert against his own family. Beals thought there was a conspiracy between you two to ruin his mother's business and to subvert her chance at a bid for the Governor…"

Tony asked in disbelief, "Because we were campaigning to stop conversion therapy being used on kids? Their mother…She…Jesus, that's why Rob wouldn't have anything to do with her…the things she did under the guise of counseling gay kids…This whole thing is as crazy as Beals' whacko conspiracy theories."

"When we find Beals' cell phone, we'll find out who he called, get some insight," Fornell concluded.

Tony crossed his arms. "Hurry up and find it then."

"I'll keep you in the loop, Congressman."

Tony reluctantly nodded. "You'll know where to find me," he said, being a bit sulky. Tony rubbed his chest; it ached from coughing and he felt drained.

"Protection detail is already in place," the FBI agent said, jerking a thumb in the direction of the closed curtain at the door. As soon as Tony opened his mouth to protest, Fornell said, at his stubborn look, "Two agents 'round the clock. It's not up for negotiation, Congressman DiNozzo."

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There was still no word of Jethro by the time the FBI agents decided to move Tony upstairs. To be fair, it was a smooth operation, and quick, and Tony soon found himself transferred to a more comfortable bed in a private room that came with its own vetted staff. The whole set-up was cushier than any hospital stay that Tony had ever experienced, but a hospital was still a hospital, no matter how much they prettied up the room. And, despite the VIP treatment and the courteous and caring nurse assigned to him, there was one important thing missing: Jethro.

Tony was exhausted, and just wanted everyone – except for Jethro – to leave him alone. He said as much to Fornell, and was given the bad news that nobody had been able to locate Jethro Gibbs. "Looks like he checked out," said Fornell, looking displeased. "I told him I needed to talk to him. Knowing him, he probably lipped out the side door."

Disappointed beyond belief, and feeling worse than he'd done all day, Tony turned on his side, as much as his bruised ribs would allow, and closed his eyes. So that was that. So much for Jethro saying he'd make sure he saw Tony as soon as his own medical exam was complete. Oh well, it wasn't like Jethro owed him anything. The opposite in fact. And he had his horses, his guests as he called them, to take care of. It didn't matter. Tomorrow he'd be out of here. He had work to do, and was slated to appear on The People's Word TV show on Friday. He was supposed to give a report at that Congressional task force meeting, but that wasn't until next week. God, too much to think about.

The FBI agents were talking in low tones in the doorway; someone was there to see the congressman. Tony looked up hopefully, only to find his Chief of Staff, Eric Flaherty, in the doorway. An FBI agent was barring his way, but Tony waved him in.

Flaherty had been with Tony since the first day he took office, almost six years ago, and he was a good man to have by your side when the going got tough. As with most of Tony's staff, they'd been friendly but not friends, worked long hours together, enjoyed striving towards a common goal. Flaherty had about ten years on Tony, and he knew the political scene better than anyone. They had the occasional drink together, and had dinner with each other's families at least once a year. He was always cool and collected, so now, as Tony saw Flaherty's expression of deep concern, he realized how much his abduction had affected everyone.

"I'm okay," Tony said. Of course he started coughing, and Flaherty moved closer to the bed. For a moment, Tony was afraid the guy was going to take his hand. It was bad enough being seen weak and banged up like this, but the last thing Tony wanted was anything that even hinted at sympathy. "Just…sit."

"Congressman, they wouldn't allow anyone in, and the others…" Flaherty looked Tony over, taking in the bruises and his black eye, and he seemed distressed. "We were very concerned."

"It's all right," Tony said quietly, trying not to strain his voice. He could see how his kidnapping had affected his right-hand man, and now he was hospitalized with some very visible bruises to remind everyone of his ordeal. His whole staff must have been going out of their minds, not knowing for five days if their boss would turn up dead, or would be returned safely once they had followed pre-set instructions and paid the ransom. Tony said casually, "Just bruises, but I'm staying the night."

The black and blue marks on his neck and face must look pretty bad, from the troubled expression on Flaherty's face. "Flaherty…Eric…seriously, it's only a shiner. I had worse bruises when I was five and the little girl next door fought me for a Tonka truck." Tony could see that Flaherty wasn't buying into him downplaying his injuries. He was too tired to keep up the charade, so he said, "Look, I need you to keep everything under control for me. Don't want anyone to be alarmed. Not the staff or my family."

"Everyone's been calling or emailing, saying how relieved they are you're free, wishing you well. Hundreds of letters have been pouring in every day. Even the President sent you a personal letter, and he made a formal statement about your release, decrying the kidnapping and thanking your Marine/NCIS friend for his brave action. He–"

"Okay…enough. I'll go through everything with Lydia tomorrow." Tony coughed a couple of times, took a sip of water, and then laid his head on the pillow with a sigh. "I plan to make that People's Word interview, so call them. I'll work from home over the weekend, and can be back in the office on Monday."

"But sir…" Flaherty stared at Tony in disbelief. "We should postpone the interview. That's only two days away."

"No way." Tony grasped Flaherty's forearm. "I need to show everyone I'm doing fine. Don't make this more of an issue than it already is. I'm counting on you." He waited until the man nodded, albeit reluctantly, and then Tony closed his eyes. Damn, dealing with all this crap was exhausting.

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