Chapter 14. Confrontation, Part 2

Kort sunk into the chair. His mind raced as he tried to realize the implications of the Deputy Director's words. They had left him at the mercy of NCIS in general, and DiNozzo in particular, a man who he'd never liked, a man who he'd secretly wanted, and once tried, to kill.

Not that DiNozzo would know about that. There is no way that he would, that he could. But, he seemed to know everything else, and the CIA let DiNozzo interrogate him. Confusion reigned in Kort's head.

Did the CIA know that he'd had one of his men set the bomb? Kort's eyes shot around the room looking for a way out. His mind wasn't working correctly at the moment, between racing through his thoughts, and stopping to examine the thoughts he was having.

Peripherally, he did notice that he wasn't alone in the room, and he did notice that that person was looking at him with a smiling glare. But, at that moment, it truly didn't fully register to him.

Until the voice spoke.

"Wow, Trent. You've been disavowed, like Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible. Too bad real life isn't like the movie's, right Trent?"

He snapped his eyes to DiNozzo's face. The way they were sitting at the table, his eyes were also drawn to the mirror image of himself. He saw his face. Confusion. Betrayal. Fear.

"You know the meaning of 'disavowed', right, Trent? It comes from Old Latin, means 'DiNozzo owns your ass," the voice was laced with malice, and aggressive anger was at it's base.

Kort made his first conscious decision since the door closed. He placed back on his mask. The one that showed only what he wanted to show. Arrogance, mixed with condescension. It was how he treated the world, because that's how the world had treated him.

DiNozzo saw the mask fall into place, and decided to shake him up again. "Trent, why did you blow up my car? Thought I was in it, or maybe your target was Jeanne?"

Kort's mask, never completely in place, failed entirely. His mouth gaped open. He knew. It was impossible, but he knew. This wasn't a random guess. He met DiNozzo's eyes, and saw a feral gaze meet his.

DiNozzo was tired of the game. "Let me tell you a story, Trent. My dead Petty Officer was just the tipping point. Once he was killed, there was no way that the sale of spare parts out of the Navy Yard wasn't going to be uncovered. So, you had your buddy, Mike Davis, go and get the parts you had in storage. It was a big job, needing an eighteen wheeler.

"But, Davis...Did you know he was CIA too, Trent?" Kort, his mind whirling, was able to latch onto this thought. It entered his head, was heard, processed, and considered. It took a moment before the true implications of it were made manifest.

DiNozzo smiled. "You didn't, did you? Mike Davis was spying on you, like you were spying on Rene. Why do you think that was, Trent? Did the CIA not trust you? Did the CIA doubt the information you were sending back to them? Or, did they know you would turn on them and take Rene's business to a whole new level?

"I, personally, would bet on a combination of the three. I mean, you were there to spy on Rene, to help get him off the streets and into a cell, but you couldn't do it, not even after twenty years. Then, he dies, and you take over. The CIA was using you, and you let them, but never totally. You would buy and sell weapons, and the CIA would watch where they went, and take out the ends, leading back to the middle men. But, you weren't giving the right information, keeping some back. They'd never know.

"Enter, Mike Davis. He's CIA too, although you didn't know that. And what's he's sending back doesn't jibe with what you've been sending back. They begin to wonder. Is he on the sidelines, is he getting ready to step in if anything happens, or is he on his own program.

"But, getting back to my Petty Officer, when he's killed, you know we're going to investigate even deeper now. So, you call up Davis and tell him to move everything. He gets a truck and starts loading. And, he's also on the look out for anyone in law enforcement. They're the last people he wants to see. So, finally, it's loaded. He dismisses his men and starts to drive away.

"As he's moving it, he notices someone that's been after him for a very long time. Davis has to stop him. Davis has tried to kill him before, and the man has tried to kill Davis before. But, Davis has the upper hand, he's seen him, and the other man doesn't know he's there.

"Davis is in a residential area. And, he's in a huge truck, but somehow he gets ahead of the car the man's driving, and runs a red light, smashing the car. He gets out to check, but the man's still alive. He's thinking quickly, the cops will be here soon. He decides to kill him before the cops can get there.

"But, the cops get there in record time, due to the government plates on the car being called in. So, now he's just going to lay low. He'll take the arrest for reckless driving, make bail, and find him again. But, Davis isn't familiar with D.C. When it's a government vehicle, just in case, the FBI gets involved.

"Okay, he can fake out the FBI. No problem. But, Davis has really bad luck today. Not only did he have to load the truck in haste, not only did he not kill his target, but the FBI Agent investigating is one of very few Agents who can identify the signature on the bill of lading."

DiNozzo looked at Kort curiously. "I mean, what are the odds that the FBI would get called in, and the responding agent would recognize a signature of all things. So, now he's screwed and just decides to wait it out, knowing that you'll get him loose soon.

"Then, another disaster. He isn't allowed a phone call. He can't call you. And, you don't know what's coming, and you get picked up." DiNozzo looked at him in silence.

Kort finally cleared his throat. "Who was driving the car?"

DiNozzo continued in a calm voice, but the murderous rage was just below the surface. "Supervisory Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs." Kort visibly winced at this, his defenses completely destroyed in just twenty short minutes.

DiNozzo stood and moved to the door. As he placed his hand on the door knob, he turned back. "Gibbs had a passenger." Kort looked up, no emotion on his face, as if his face couldn't decide what emotion to show. "Jasper Shepard. He's in NCIS custody now."

Kort visibly deflated. If they had Shepard, there was no where that was safe for him, aside from a jail cell. He didn't hear the door open, didn't hear DiNozzo talk to the agents outside. He didn't feel the agents stand him up, frisk him, and cuff him. He heard and felt nothing.

DiNozzo was standing outside Observation, watching as Kort was led away. Just before the three turned the corner, Kort had to be dragged. He had fainted.

The door next to him opened and out stepped Ziva, McGee, Abby, and Ducky. They all circled him, Abby wrapping him in a hug and the others simply rubbing his back and shoulders. DiNozzo's eyes didn't leave the corner that Kort had disappeared behind, his eyes still murderous.

After a minute, Vance came out. He looked at the five and considers holding off on what he must do. But, he doesn't. "Special Agent DiNozzo. I need to speak to you in my office, immediately." He turned to the rest. "I believe that all of you have reports to write," he said as he turned away, not looking to see if DiNozzo followed.

As the other four rush to defend him from Vance, Tony holds up his hand. He steps out of Abby's embrace and moves to follow Vance.

As they made their way to the elevators, DiNozzo didn't wonder what Vance wanted to discuss with him. He knew that it would require all the mental stability he could muster, and after the last hour with Kort, it wasn't what he needed it to be. He mentally prepared for what was coming, without thinking what might happen.

Before he realized it, he was walking across the catwalk overlooking the bull pen below. His eyes were drawn to the windows, seeing that the sun was setting yet again. He'd spent most of the day either in Interrogation or Abby's Lab. He'd missed the entire day, completely caught up in the case.

As they entered the outer office, DiNozzo finally broke the silence. "Director, can I have a minute to call Palmer to check on Gibbs?"

Vance picked up a message from his secretary and read it in silence. "Doctors have taken him off the drugs that were keeping him comatose. They're also cutting down on the pain killers so he'll wake up." Vance looked at DiNozzo. "I had my secretary call while you were finishing with Kort."

Vance opened the door to his office and walked through, followed by DiNozzo. He pointed to the chair in front of his desk, indicating that DiNozzo should sit there. Vance moved around his desk and sat, taking a moment to notice that DiNozzo was standing halfway between the desk and the door, his arms folded. His face unreadable.

"Agent DiNozzo, please take a seat," Vance said. DiNozzo, internally, was surprised. Vance's voice wasn't laced with his normal aggression and curtness. He seemed almost fatherly. Outwardly, DiNozzo didn't react, but internally, confusion was too tame a word to describe how he felt as he sat.

Vance let out one chuckle. "Long few days," he said, noticing DiNozzo's face going tense immediately. "Is there a problem?"

"Not at all, Director. Just the last time you said that, I had five thousand new best friends and lived in a floating city." DiNozzo's voice showed the anger he still felt, even after all this time.

Vance regarded the younger man for a few moments before speaking. "It wasn't a punishment," Vance stated. He frowned slightly as DiNozzo chuckled without humor. Vance decided that the reason he'd asked him back would have to wait for a few minutes.

"You don't like me, do you?" DiNozzo was taken aback by this.

"You are the Director, my personal feelings about you don't matter," he answered.

"Didn't think so," Vance said, chuckling. His voice turned hard. "Special Agent DiNozzo, I know you feel that you should have stayed here, that you would have found the mole faster if you hadn't gone to the Seahawk. I stand by my decision. But, the location you were sent to wasn't a punishment. While everyone was at Director Shepard's funeral, I had a team figure out where to put everyone. McGee and David were easy. Director David in Tel Aviv wanted her back for the duration of the mission, as we had indications that it had something to do with Israel. McGee's talents were a perfect fit for the Cyber Crimes Division, and kept him close to support Gibbs if necessary.

"You were the problem. With your mental state, the only thing that they weren't allowed to consider was a Team Leader position. You would have been your own worst enemy there, and ruined any team you were put in charge of. That, and, the fact that you'd have to be demoted to come back made that untenable, and I didn't know if you'd take the demotion. There was the possibility of various positions, from Agent Afloat, to an undercover mission, a liaison position at the FBI or CIA, but none of them gave the possibility of getting you back quickly. The quickest was Agent Afloat, so that's what I decided. Hate me for it if you want, but I mad my choice and I stick by it."

DiNozzo wasn't expecting the explanation he was given, or any explanation at all. But, he wasn't ready to give up his anger just yet. "So, you sent away the two most experienced agents, and protected him with a computer geek who is at the bottom of the group at the range?"

Vance shook his head, again surprising DiNozzo. "Cassie Yates was up here, TAD, with her entire team. They were actively investigating the mole, but doing it so quietly that she wasn't doing anything. They had to get permission directly from me to ask a question to a witness or suspect. Their real reason for being here was to back up Gibbs."

Vance saw DiNozzo wasn't happy with it, but he was accepting the reasoning. Slowly. Trust would come later, but for it to start, it had to be based on truth.

DiNozzo took all the information in, considered it, decided to make some quiet inquiries, but believed what he heard. His chin rose from his chest and looked into Vance's eyes. "Thank you, Director, but that's not the reason you asked me up here."

Vance nodded. "No it wasn't. The real reason I asked you up here was to congratulate you on solving the case. I know what you personally went through, and I know of the entire team, you're the only one that hasn't slept. Even Officer David took a catnap at the hospital once the security agents got there. But, you haven't. You've been living off coffee and adrenaline for over forty-eight hours."

DiNozzo nodded. It was all true, but it seemed like a strange reason for him to be brought up here. He wasn't the only one that worked this case, and the rest, while they had slept, hadn't gotten much. He played a hunch.

"Director, you could have done that in front of everyone else. In fact, that would have been better. Give the team confidence in my leadership until Gibbs returns, compliment them at the same time." DiNozzo stood and started to pace. "If I go to them and tell them, and they will ask, what we talked about, and I tell them that you congratulated me, and me alone, they're going to get angry, suspicious, and sink their morale." He stopped and placed his hands on the desk. "Is that what you want to do? Destroy it when its leader is in the hospital?"

Vance looked at him with no expression on his face. DiNozzo finally sat, breathing hard. Vance leaned forward on his arms and looked directly in DiNozzo's eyes. "Special Agent DiNozzo, a Team Leader position has come open in NAS San Diego. I don't need an answer now, but I will need one when Gibbs is ready to return."

"No need to wait, Director. Unless you're willing to transplant the entire team, and put Gibbs under me, then I already have a team."

Vance smiled, again confusing DiNozzo. "About what I expected. It was a serious offer, but I knew you wouldn't take it. In fact, I'm glad you didn't." DiNozzo's head tilted. His confusion was running rampant. "I respect the hell out of you. I just show it differently. I push harder those I know can take it. You were an enigma. If you'd asked me a few days ago what I thought of you, it wouldn't have been complimentary. But, I pushed you harder and farther than I would have Gibbs. Today, you tell me you want a team, and I'll find one for you."

DiNozzo's eyes widened in shock. He didn't know what he'd expected when Vance grabbed him outside of Observation, but this wasn't it. He never saw so many curveballs come at him in one hour, from one man.

Vance opened the middle drawer of his desk, pulling a sheet of paper from it. He held it and a pen out for DiNozzo. DiNozzo took the paper, leaving the pen. As he realized what it was, he looked in shock to Vance.

"Cassie Yates is already here with her team. This leave is good for one week. Sign it." DiNozzo did as ordered. Vance continued. "Down on everyone's desk is the same thing. Tomorrow, I want you all in here to fill out the paperwork on this one. Aside from that, I don't want to see you for a week. If I see you here, this will be put into effect immediately. Other than that, they will all be in my desk."

DiNozzo, dumbfounded, simply nodded. "I'll go get them from the rest of the team, Director," DiNozzo said, standing.

Vance motioned for him to sit. He pressed the button for his intercom, speaking to his secretary. "Have Agent DiNozzo's team report up here, please."

"They've been here since about two minutes after you went in, Director," his secretary chuckled. "I'll just send them in."

The door opened, and a confused group entered. Led by Abby, they all held a piece of paper in their hands. DiNozzo stood and looked at them as they fanned out in front of him. "Did you sign them?" Everyone shook their heads. DiNozzo smiled. "Sign them and give them to me. They won't go into effect unless we come back in the next week. Except for tomorrow when we have to come in to finish up the paperwork" All eyes went to Vance, but DiNozzo spoke. "Trust me."

With a collective nod, pens were produced and the scratching of pen and paper were heard. McGee was the first to finish. He held it out to DiNozzo, who took it, but McGee didn't drop his hand. He held it until DiNozzo shook it, each man staring each other in the eye. Abby was next, and she ended it with a large hug. Ducky shook his hand and clapped his shoulder. Ziva held out her hand to be shook, but once their hands met, they came together and embraced. It was more personal than an Abby-Hug, but it was devoid of any romance. It was simply partners giving strength to the other.

DiNozzo turned and handed them all to Vance, who put them in his center drawer. He handed one more to DiNozzo, who took it quizzically. He let out a small bark of laughter as he saw who's name was on it. "Palmer." He folded it and put it in his pocket.

Vance stood. "Fornell and Sacks are waiting downstairs to take you to the hospital. I don't think any of you are in any shape to drive," he chuckled, and the team chuckled with him. They exited, led by Tony, trailed by Ducky. Before he shut the door, he turned and nodded to Vance, who nodded back.

As they arrived at the hospital, all, except Tony, had to be woken up.