Disclaimer: Nothings mine, neither NCIS nor the Sixth Sense
A/N: And update again. I'm hoping to keep this speed up from now on so that you'll have a new chapter roughly once a week. The next chapter is already halfaway done. This chapter was hard to write and I'm happy that it's finally out of the way.
Much thanks for your reviews and an extra big thanks to Ktwesterna for beta'ing this thing and making it more Gibbish and Tonyish and Abbyish and Duckyish! :) You're great!
On a side note, don't you hate it when you work on a story and have already an idea for the next that's eating you're brain? I've had an idea for another NCIS fic - one that got nothing to do with the 'The Day' series - weeks ago and it's killing me because I don't find the time to write something down except for quick notes. My SGA story is already on hold cause I want to concentrade on TDIB, I don't need another one. Arggghhh! Lend me your strength guys. Lend me your strength...
Their Day in Baltimore
Chapter 08
When Tony arrived at the station the next morning, still limping slightly, the first thing he saw was Mike's worried face and that was enough to make him feel even more miserable than he already did.
Mike was an old school cop, one of those hard boiled old men, a la Dirty Harry. Even though he was the most compassionate man Tony had ever met, he could count the times the old detective had actually shown that side of him on one hand. So, the only reason for Mike to look so openly worried was that something pretty bad had happened since they'd last seen each other.
The young Italian feared the worst and prepared himself for another victim of their serial killer and to tell another wife or parent about the death of their loved one. But then he followed Mike's gaze and discovered the real reason for his uneasiness.
And who could blame him?
Even Tony was beginning to feel slightly uncomfortable as he watched the two men in the large office on the other side of the bullpen. The wall that was taken up by a big window allowed him a perfect view although a part of Tony wished that he wouldn't have to see quite so much.
Doctor Donald Mallard sat at the table, his head bent over some papers, probably the autopsy report. The white mop of hair was in a disarray and the glasses sat slightly askew on his nose. His shoulders were slumped and he absentmindedly took a sip of his tea from time to time. Tony thought that he, for the first time since he knew him, looked his age.
The thing that stood out the most however was his right hand that was steadily tapping the table top.
Something about the motion made Tony uneasy. He didn't know Ducky all that much but, somehow, he just knew that such a behaviour was unlikely for the old ME. He'd always remembered the man as the calm haven back then. It had seemed like nothing had been able to faze the Scotsman. But this nonstop tap tap tap was anything but calm and collected. It seemed restless and almost a little bit anxious.
Gibbs on the other hand, was even more stiff and unmoving than usual. He stood with his back pressed against the wall - the wall that was farthest away from the older doctor, Tony noticed with dread - and a cup of coffee clutched in his hand. He was staring at the clipboard where they'd pinned the pictures from the crime scene. While Tony couldn't see his face, he could imagine that it was completely blank and expressionless.
As far as Tony could see, there was no arguing going on between the two NCIS agents. But he had the distinct impression that it would have been better than the stiff atmosphere that seemed to radiate from them or the way they forcibly tried to act as if the other wasn't even there.
Tony almost expected to hear some kind of gloomy soundtrack. One of those that always played in his beloved horror movies, just before the cute little blonde walked into an abandoned building and got eaten for her stupidity.
The thought made him smile, but it didn't last.
Because, with a sinking feeling, he realized that whatever had happened between the two men must have been his fault too. The tension between them was almost palpable. It was pretty obvious that the they'd had a huge fight of some kind.
'And what a coincidence that it happened not even 12 hours after you walked back into their lives.' Tony thought bitterly while he made his way towards the office.
He was honestly beginning to regret ever calling Gibbs. Until now, all it had accomplished was him feeling even more worthless than he already had. Now a longstanding friendship was falling apart, and to top it all off, they were no closer to finding their killer than they'd been last week.
Tony had the overwhelming urge to flee and never look back, but that was not an option. If it wasn't his pride that was holding him back, it was definitely his obligation to the victims and their families. And of course his desire to catch this sick bastard and send him to prison for the rest of his life.
Mike met him in front of the door and made an exaggerated 'after you' gesture. A weary sigh escaped Tony's lips before he steeled himself and opened the door with a little bit more force than necessary.
"Good morning my fellow crime fighters! Ready to face the scum of Baltimore?"
The grin on his face felt awkward and shakyand it crumbled even more when Gibbs merely shot him a murderous glare in response.
And then the weirdest thing ever happened.
The tapping of Ducky's fingers that had filled the tense silence until now, suddenly stopped and the doctor raised his head long enough from the papers to give his friend a look that Tony couldn't quite read. Gibbs couldn't have seen it, since he was turned away from the ME, but the weight of his gaze must have been enough. Because for a fraction of a second, the Agents shoulders seemed to slump in defeat before straightening once again. His gaze didn't exactly soften but, when he lifted his cup to take a sip, there was an almost unnoticeable nod in Tony's direction and a mumble that could have been a 'Good morning'.
The tapping continued like nothing had happened and Tony wondered if he hadn't just imagined everything.
'What the hell is going on here?'
Mike cleared his throat. "Yeah... well, I'm afraid we don't have much to go on. We have no witnesses. We don't even have the location of the actual murders, and the two victims have nothing in common that would give us a lead. For god's sake, they don't even use the same shampoo!"
The old detective grew more and more frustrated with each and every word and Tony could certainly sympathize with his partner. They had reached an dead end. The nightmare of every investigator. Their only hope was that the guy would make a mistake when he killed his next victim. The very thought made Tony physically ill.
The ringing of a phone interrupted the tense silence that followed Mike's exclamation. It seemed to take Gibbs a few seconds to realize that it was his phone before he pulled it out and stared at the display.
The smile that crossed his face as he answered the call was disturbingly feral.
"Your timing is scary Abs. What've you got?"
The voice of a woman filled the room. Gibbs must have put her on speaker so they could all hear what she had to say.
"Nice to hear your voice too Bossman. And you know that I always know when you need the awesomeness that is me. It's my sixth sense. Not the creepy kind, like seeing dead people or something like that. Though I guess that could be pretty cool from time to time... I'm sure it would be a neat party trick-"
"Abby!" Gibbs growled and the young woman seemed to be familiar with that tone of voice.
"Alright, alright. It's just that I watched the movie yesterday and at the end I was so like 'No way!' I mean, how freaky unexpected was that, huh?!"
Gibbs rolled his eyes and rubbed his temples as if to soothe a headache. That's when Tony decided that he liked this Abby chick. Good taste in movies and the ability to annoy Gibbs without even being in the same room? That was definitely a winner.
"Yeah I know." he said, and moved a little bit closer to the phone in Gibbs hand. "M. Night Shyamalan is a genius."
Had Tony known Abby, he would have known that she was currently nodding her head furiously, causing her pigtails to fly through the air.
"Oh man, you don't have to tell me."There was a beat of silence. "Hey, who are you?"
Tony was about to introduce himself when Gibbs cut him off. He'd watched the brief exchange with unreadable eyes and Tony wondered what he'd done wrong now.
"Either you tell me why you called immediately, or no Caf-Pow's for at least a month."
"Oh that...that's just mean!" Abby whined. "Fine, be that way. You still remember what I told you about the way the victims were arranged?"
"I believe the word you used was gross."
"Well they are! But there was something familiar there and after Ducky sent me that sample of the paint, which is, by the way, from a label that you'll find everywhere in Baltimore, that feeling got stronger, and I knew that it had something to do with a painting I'd once seen, so I called my friend Jason. The art student I was dating a few months back, remember?" Gibbs remained silent in lieu of an answer and Abby huffed. "Of course you don't. Anyway, so I describe the poses to him, and he's like 'Of course I know that painting. It's pretty famous.' and I'm like 'What?' and he again 'Yeah sure.' and then I-"
"ABS! The point?"
"The Vitruvian Man by Leonardo da Vinci!"
Mike raised an eyebrow. "The vitruwhat?"
"The Vitruvian Man!" Abby sounded even more excited now. "It's a drawing by da Vinci that is based on the correlations of ideal human proportions with geometry. You know, the guy standing in a circle and a square?"
By now Ducky had risen from his seat and joined the three men. "Yes of course. It's a splendid drawing indeed."
"I asked Jason a little bit about da Vinci and he told me some interesting things. For example, it was Leonardo's noble aim to let the observer feel the emotions that his work provoked. If it was a piece of sadness, the viewers were supposed to feel the exact same sadness in their own hearts. And he also once said that artists were God's grandchildren because they had the ability to create infernal figments of the imagination."
Gibbs looked doubtful. "What's that got to do with our suspect?"
"Don't you see?" Abby asked. "When we see his victims we certainly feel their pain, don't we? Ducky told me they died exceptionally painful deaths."
Gibbs shook his head although she couldn't see it. "That's too far-fetched Abs."
"But what about the paint, Jethro?" Ducky cut in. "What if our killer didn't just want to let us feel their pain, but immortalize it as well? On a canvas maybe."
"So what? We are dealing with a deranged artist?" Mike crossed his arms and stared at the ceiling before shrugging. "Well, I've seen weirder things."
Gibbs was beginning to get frustrated. "No Abby, that's not enough. What you've got is just a theory, and not a strong one. We can't base our investigation solely on some slight similarities to a painting."
"But Gibbs-" Abby tried again but Gibbs wasn't listening anymore. While he'd talked to Abby, he'd secretly watched DiNozzo from the corner of his eye. The young detective had been unnaturally silent during the whole thing and was currently flipping through a bunch of papers with a concentrated expression on his face. Gibbs was momentarily stunned how young the boy looked like that. Brows furrowed and the tip of his tongue sticking out from the corner of his mouth. He felt a smile creep onto his lips, and he was just about to allow it when Tony began to grin from ear to ear and bounce on his feet.
"Hah, I knew it!"
The NCIS agent walked closer to look over the young man's shoulder. "What is it?"
Tony seemed to be startled by the close proximity, but dismissed it in favor of telling them what he'd found out.
"Well, when Abby talked about Leonardo da Vinci, I knew that I'd heard that name before in connection with this case." He pointed at the papers in his hands. "Alan Lowe and his wife were art lovers. They collected art and visited various exhibitions over the years. And now the one million dollar question lady and gentlemen: Who was their favorite artist of all time?"
"Leonardo da Vinci!" Abby and Ducky exclaimed at the exact same time.
Tony grinned and winked at Ducky. "Exactly. And it gets even better. Mrs. Lowe told me that they were regulars at a bar called 'Mona Lisa'. It's a meeting place for soon-to-be artists and other art lovers, especially those of Master da Vinci."
Gibbs had to admit that Abby's theory was beginning to take shape, but he was still doubtful. "Okay but what about Corporal Speer? His wife never mentioned any passion for art."
Tony snorted derisively. "The lovely Mrs. Speer didn't tell us much of anything. I really think we're on to something. I say we go pay her another visit." At Gibbs raised eyebrow he continued. "Come on. This is the first valuable lead we've gotten since this started. It beats sitting around and doing nothing."
"Listen to him Bossman!" Abby piped up. "Whoever he is."
Tony didn't understand it but he already felt some kind of connection with the woman. Her quirky attitude was getting to him and he really wanted her to know his name as well, but Gibbs interrupted him once again. "Thanks Abs. Call if you get something."
Without waiting for an answer he hung up before addressing Tony again. "Alright DiNozzo. You're with me."
The Italian shot a little glance at his partner. It felt weird taking orders from someone else and going out to speak with a family member without Mike, but he still wanted to spend as much time with Gibbs as he could, no matter how badly it was going right now.
The old detective certainly didn't look happy, but he didn't object either. "Well, while you talk to Lowe, I'll go to this bar. Ask around a bit. Maybe someone's seen something."
Gibbs then turned to Ducky and the two of them just seemed to... stare for a moment. The old doctor was the first to look away.
"I'll go back to the motel, if you don't mind Jethro. I'm feeling a tad worn out.
The young Italian looked anxiously from one to the other. Watching them was more than just plain uncomfortable now. It was outright painful.
Gibbs finally nodded stiffly. "You do that Ducky. Get some sleep."
Neither men moved, so Tony felt bold and pushed Gibbs a little bit into the direction of the door. Everything to just get out of here. Before they disappeared he watched over his shoulder and gave Mike and Ducky a little wave. "See you later. Wish us luck."
As they made their way towards Gibbs car, Tony thought about their newest theory – if you could even call it that – the new situation between Gibbs and Ducky, and of course his own personal crisis with the old Marine and added silently, 'Because we are so gonna need it.'
TBC
A/N: Okay, first? Mr. Night IS a genius, especially for 'Unbreakable' *loves this movie to death* and second: you don't know Da Vinci's Vitruvian Man? Go google him.
And last but not least: TONY'S FATHER AT NCIS! Liked it? I have to say that I'm mostly content with the episode, although there are a few things that could have been delved into a little bit more, for excample Tony's plaque incident and why his father wasn't there. That came a little short. But Papa Gibbs was awesome!!! :)
