A/N: Due to Gremlins in FF's system, this is being reuploaded. New chapter this afternoon/evening.
Chapter 10. Amateur Hour
Lieutenant Commander Davis jumped as DiNozzo slammed open the door. He looked up at the taller man and subtly cringed. DiNozzo noted this for later.
"Lieutenant Commander Aaron Davis?" Davis nodded. "I'm Special Agent DiNozzo, NCIS. But, you probably already figured that out." Davis nodded again. DiNozzo sat across from him. He opened the file and rifled through the contents, not doing much more than making a lot of noise.
"Okay, Commander, can you tell me why you're here?"
Davis started upset, and went from there. "I can. Because that man assaulted me. I was simply going home for the day when I'm attacked at my car by someone claiming to be a Federal Agent. Then he, and some woman, threw me in their car and drove me here. The entire time, making allusions to breaking my bones. And that driving. Who taught her to drive? Who let her have a license? Dear God, I did a ride along with NASCAR and didn't feel as scared."
DiNozzo wiped away some spittle that flew across the table. "Do you wish to lodge a complaint with her superior?"
"You're God damned right I do. That woman is a menace to decent people everywhere."
"Okay. I'm her superior, it's been noted." He started to write on a piece of paper, speaking out loud as he did so. "'Ziva should drive suspects more often.' There. Now, what about the real reason you're here?"
"I told you. I was leaving for the day when I was kidnapped," he yelled.
"Leaving for the day? It's not even noon, and its Tuesday. Can we switch jobs," DiNozzo asked with a smile. Internally he amended his thoughts on Davis. Not a geek. Far too annoying to be a geek.
"Yes, I was leaving early," he said as his eyes dropped slightly.
"You weren't, by any chance, running from those Federal Agents, were you," DiNozzo asked, sarcastic innocence in his voice.
"No. I happened to see them as I was making my way out the door. But, I wasn't running from them."
DiNozzo sat in silence for a moment, simply staring at Davis. No emotion on his face, his mask fully in place. Davis started to shift in the chair as he looked at him. His eyes started to roam the room, but with little to look at, his eyes always came back to DiNozzo.
DiNozzo suddenly sat forward on the table and Davis jumped back. "Whoa, hold on there, Speedy. I'm not gonna smack you around. Relax. I just want to know if you know this man," DiNozzo said as he pulled out a photo of Carmichael.
"Sure. SK3 Carmichael. He works in the warehouse. Don't know him well," Davis stated, his eyes again bouncing away.
"Really," DiNozzo pulled out a piece of paper. "You didn't go personally to his former commanding officer to get him promoted?"
Davis sucked in a breath. "Oh, yeah. Forgot about that. We were stationed at Pearl Harbor together. I was a brand new Lieutenant and he was in my Section. I was going over the personnel when I noticed that he hadn't been promoted to Seaman when he should have been. So, when the Personnel Office wasn't any help, I went to the Base Commander about it."
"And Carmichael thought so highly of you that he asked you to read his promotion warrant? Just for getting him promoted?"
"That's the way he was," he paused, "I guess. I don't really know him, Agent DiNozzo. We didn't socialize much."
"Ah, that must explain it. He was just grateful to you for getting him promoted. Is that why you killed him?"
Davis' face went white. "What? I never...I...He...I didn't know he was dead," he sputtered.
"Really? Because someone," DiNozzo pulled out the autopsy photo of Carmichael, slamming it on the counter as he raised his voice, "put a bullet in his head. And that person was you, wasn't it, Commander?" DiNozzo thought Davis might faint. "Was it before or after he found out about your little money making scheme?"
"Carmichael never knew what I was doing." Davis' eyes shot open, then slammed shut as he realized what he had just said.
DiNozzo paused for several seconds as he stared right into his face. "And what were you doing, Commander?" Davis closed his eyes, realizing that he'd just screwed up. "Why Carmichael?"
Davis snorted. "Because I could. I knew he was gay. He made a pass at me in Pearl Harbor at a club out in town. He was drunk, but I saw him do it again, successfully, to another Petty Officer a few weeks later. I held it over him, either help me or get discharged in a way that would make it impossible for him to get any decent job."
"And what did he get out of this? Aside from your silence, that is," DiNozzo asked.
Davis hung his head. "Just that. My silence. I got him to sign the papers to set up the bank accounts. In return, I'd never mention that he was gay."
"How did it start," DiNozzo asked quietly.
"My cousin, Mike, lives in D.C. Just after I got here, before I checked into the base, we got to talking about our futures. We both realized that we'd never make enough money working for the government, but what could we do? He mentioned that he knew a guy who knew a guy who could maybe set something up for us.
"A few weeks later, he said it was all set up, all I had to do was set up the accounts and divert supplies to him and we'd both be rich. This was mine. I deserved it. Thirteen years in the Navy, and nothing to show for it. Wife left me for some rich guy in Hawaii, took the kids with her. I don't get visitation because we don't live in the same state.
"This was my time. All those rich CEOs who do nothing but sell their souls for a dollar, this was mine. This was my yacht, my trip to the Caribbean, my villa on some tropical island. I earned this, and the Navy didn't care. So why should I care about it," he shouted, collapsing back in his chair, crossing his arms.
DiNozzo wiped some more spittle from his face. "How long was this going on?"
"Just started. Little under a year. Within another three, I'd have enough for everything coming to me."
"How did you set up the program," DiNozzo asked.
Davis shrugged his shoulders. "Wasn't hard. My nephew actually wrote it as an honors computer science project. He told me all about it and sent it to me. I just changed some lines of code, and voilà, the money rolled in."
DiNozzo stood and made his way to the door. Just as he put his hand on the handle, he turned. "By the way, your cousin, Mike, you said," Davis nodded. "Does he work for the government too?"
"Yeah, CIA. Why," he asked.
DiNozzo waved his hand. "Oh, nothing. A Mike Davis from the CIA was arrested, driving a truck with the supplies you helped steal, after trying to kill an NCIS Agent last night. Since that same agent was investigating this case, I guess that would make you an accessory to murder."
Davis went white as DiNozzo opened the door. He motioned to the two agents to take Davis into custody. They frisked him, cuffed him, and walked him out the door. As the three approached the elevators for the ride down to the cells, they had to drag him along. Davis had fainted.
DiNozzo moved into Observation to join the others. As he stood in front of everyone, he simply said, "that guy was asking to get caught."
Vance nodded. "Some of them do. I don't think he planned on getting caught, but he certainly was amateurish enough to get caught."
Fornell spoke next. "What was he, bipolar? His emotions were all over the place. Or is he going for an insanity defense already?" The other men in the room just shook their head. They had no idea. That would be for a psychiatrist to figure out.
DiNozzo nodded and turned to Fornell. "Since we're obviously working the same case, I'd appreciate you're continued assistance, Toby."
Fornell nodded as he stood from where he'd been leaning on the technician's desk. "I'm going to go down to talk to Mike Davis real quick, find out if his story is the same. Officer David, care to accompany me?" She nodded and they both left the room.
Just then, DiNozzo's phone rang. "DiNozzo."
"Tony, its McGee. I got most of the money. Seems this account has been really active in the past few months. Money's flowing from one end of the country to the other. Hawaii to Maine and all through Central and South America. Some to Europe through the Caymans and the Bahamas, but not much."
"Great. So this money's flying around the world. Check the other accounts that La Grenouille owned in Europe." DiNozzo looked through the other window to see Kort still sitting there, looking bored.
"You got it, Tony. I'll check on them in a minute," DiNozzo heard the sound of the elevator dinging. "Security just called me and said we have someone asking for Gibbs at the front desk. I...Oh, my God." McGee paused. "Tony, I'll see you in a few minutes. I don't think you'll believe me if I tell you." McGee hung up quickly.
DiNozzo just looked at his phone in curiosity for a moment before shrugging his shoulders. He moved to the door and exited, headed toward the men's room.
As he stood there drying his hands, he wondered what else this case could throw at him.
When he exited, he saw at the end of the hall that David and Fornell were returning. He met up with them outside Observation. "Davis corroborated his cousin's story. He did not even attempt to hide it." The Mossad assassin sounded like she was speaking of something that got caught on the bottom of her shoe. She shook her head as she entered Observation, passing Sacks, Vance and DDO Johnson on the way out. She closed the door behind her.
Behind them, they heard the elevator ding and McGee came into view with another man. He was taller than McGee, and although nearly an old man, still carried himself with a carriage that men one-fourth his age couldn't muster. His hair was pure white, but his blue eyes shone with a fierce, lively glint.
Johnson was the first to recognize him. "You're dead."
DiNozzo, Vance and Fornell stood rooted to the floor. Sacks looked curious, but didn't know who the man was. The other four men obviously knew him, from the shock on their faces.
The man spoke, turning to each in turn. "Ah, Deputy Director Johnson. So good to see you again. Director Vance, I've seen you on television, would recognize you anywhere. Same for the two of you gentlemen, Fornell and DiNozzo, right?" As the four were unable to speak, Sacks and McGee just nodded.
The man turned to Sacks. "I don't know you, however. Allow me to introduce myself," he said, holding out his hand. "Major General Jasper Shepard, US Army. Deceased."