"Agent DiNozzo, how's your back? I'm sorry I gave you such a rough time out on the court yesterday. I forget our age difference." Grinning good-naturedly as he strolled through the entrance to the DC Vice department, the older man accepted the file offered to him by his teasing second in command. "It's been four months, and you've knocked me down what, once?" he shot back with a grin, "And just so we're clear, I let you children win. It's good for team spirit, it's a well known fact that I excel at anything to do with a ball."

Agent Harry Murphy merely shook his head with unbelieving eyes.

"Sure thing, Boss."

He instantly corrected himself. Their new team lead had a very certain and curious disdain for being addressed by the common law enforcement colloquial. "I mean sure thing, sir." Rolling his eyes and brushing off the moment, Tony scanned the file in his hands as they made their way to the upper offices. "Where did you get this?" he queried, impressed by what he held. Shrugging, Harry stepped out of the way to allow Tony into the elevator first. "I know a guy who needed a gang run off from his corner store in that area a year or so back. He owes me a favour, I called it in."

Silence lapsed in the elevator as Tony nodded and continued to read. His crisp white shirt crinkled as he drank his morning coffee deeply. A profound frown line gradually appeared as he progressed through the file, unnoticed by his senior agent who was busily rooting through the remaining files he held. "Murphy," Tony murmured as they stepped out onto their floor, "How sure are you about this guy? You convinced he's solid?"

Side stepping an oncoming mail cart, Harry nodded confidently. "A hundred percent. He has no reason to lie. I often drop back to make sure there's no retaliation from that gang or any new ones muscling in. Why do you ask?" Tony's frown line increased as he maintained his aura of nonchalance. "Nothing, it's just by his version of things, there's a significant naval connection at the top rung of this prostitution ring?"

Nodding once more, Murphy held the door to their team's branch of the communal offices with a raised brow. "Yes sir, he's convinced that high ranking naval officers are using their power to both traffic and exploit these women. His store is the main liquor outlet for docking sailors, so naturally he would see all the comings and goings. Thought it was a pretty handy break in the case, what with your connections to NCIS and all. Saves us handing over the case entirely. Orders from above are that we're to open a joint investigation with them if the case progresses any further down the naval route." He gestured towards a towering stack of files on Tony's desk as he threw himself behind his own. "The memo's there somewhere, Grace brought it down from the director's office a while ago."

Sticking his head into his own files as he finished his explanation and reading at the pace that always made Tony feel dizzy, he didn't notice the tight quality that passed across his boss' face at his words. Sitting down slowly, Tony rooted through the monstrous pile of paperwork, until he found the orange sheet that signalled an internal communication. Reading his new director's now familiar hand, he felt his stomach sink to an impossible low. Before he could re-read the straight forward memo for the fourth time, Agent Grace Breslin meandered into view, to land in front of him.

"Morning Boss."

She instantly corrected herself, causing the Vice leader a bout of déjà vu. "I mean, morning sir," she stammered. Tony barely suppressed a roll of his eyes. Four months, it had been four months, how hard could it be to get one simple detail right? He pushed back that eye roll by firmly reminding himself that taking unrelated issues out on his team was something he had sworn not to do. Especially with a team member who could be as intermittently nervous as Grace. Smiling warmly, but professionally, he raised a questioning brow. "Morning Breslin, what have you got for me?"

She instantly relaxed somewhat at his smile.

"I ran down those backgrounds you wanted. Three main persons of interest. Nothing seemed to link them together in the present, so I dug into their past. They were all dishonourably discharged from the Navy within four years of each other. From what I can tell, they never served aboard the same boat, but," she placed a bulky file upon the desk, "They all had the same commanding officer at one point or another during their service."

"Ship," Tony corrected almost absentmindedly as he leafed through the file, "Don't ever let a sailor hear you call their ship a boat Breslin, trust me, it's not pretty." He frowned in thought as she murmured her quiet assent. "Each served exactly two years under this CO, before being transferred and subsequently discharged dishonourably six to seven months later…with no record as to the reason?" Nodding, Grace indicated to the back of the file. "The discharge orders are there, but redacted sir. Whatever it was that led to those sailor's dismissal, the powers that be do not want it to be easily accessible. I've made calls, but to be honest I don't hold out much hope. You know how cagey the Navy can be."

Tony swallowed a snort.

That was quite the understatement.

He felt a coating of misery line his lower stomach. Their case had taken tentative steps before a downright plunge into Navy territory in the space of five minutes. There was only one hope for him. The MCRT that he had left didn't deal with matters of prostitution unless there was some kind of dead body along the way. Mercifully, there was at present, no such corpse. He could easily juggle this with a lower team, he had pretty good relations with at least three of them. But they weren't there yet, there will still other and beautifully civilian leads to be explored.

"Murphy," he instructed, "Get your butt over here a second." Ambling over Harry landed himself beside Grace and twinkled down at her. "You look nice today Breslin, did you manage to both capture and eat a small child last night?" Eyes narrowing, the young woman opened her mouth to retaliate, before Tony's throat clearing stopped the pair of them. They had no way of knowing that the inability of their new boss to speak for a moment wasn't irritation, but a bout of hard hitting nostalgia. Murphy and Breslin reminded Tony strongly, and painfully of a younger he and Ziva. Pushing away that frequent comparison, he shot Murphy a quick reproving look before holding up a stack of photos.

"These are the surveillance shots from the main brothel from last week. I know we wrote them off as a dead end, but if there is a Naval connection to this ring, there should be a pattern of repeated faces in keeping with the docking patterns of ships coming to port. Go through them, and look for the CO in this file." Handing both off to Murphy, who nodded immediately and returned to his desk, Tony turned to Grace. "Keep digging into those discharge backgrounds, but run down the possibility of the lower east street gang involvement we spitballed. The whole thing seems way too organised for street gang involvement, but you never know."

She nodded and drifted to her desk without another word.

Looking around the spacious office layout, Tony frowned and checked his watch. "Where is Lakes?" he demanded at large, "It's past nine thirty." Looking over at Murphy, who immediately looked away, Tony glanced at Breslin who was suddenly engrossed in her contacts list. Sighing, Tony was about to fish out his cell when the bane of all banes strolled into the office, complete with morning coffee and a smile. "Morning," Agent Kevin Lakes greeted breezily, settling himself behind his desk, completing the Vice team in total. "Sorry I'm late guys, the traffic downtown was murder this morning."

Tony was rapidly learning that the traffic downtown was murder every single morning.

Before he could open his mouth to express his astonishment that the traffic system was once again in chaos, Grace slammed her desk phone so hard he jerked in his seat. "What's up?" he instantly asked, focussing his attention on her, as did Lakes and Murphy. Scowling at the phone as if it had personally wronged her and her entire family, Breslin sighed. "There's a dead sailor at the second largest brothel, the one we were planning on staking out this week. Called in over two hours ago. NCIS major response is already on scene, we just got a courtesy call." She looked at Tony with angry eyes and he already knew what she was going to say.

"They're taking over our case, sir."

Silence reigned for a moment as Murphy and Lakes exchanged looks of irritation, mirrored by Grace. They were used to being usurped half way and even three quarters of a way through an investigation, but it still stung. Sighing, Lakes recovered first. "Well, it's not the first time we've been pushed out of the action," he muttered, "But then again, with the way this case was going, it was probably just a matter of time. Whatever is going on in that prostitution ring, it's not being governed on dry land. Let the Navy boy's have at it."

Tony's eyes slowly swivelled towards his junior agent.

"Up," he commanded quietly, before jerking his head at Grace and Harry. "You two as well, and listen up. We have put in the ground work on this case. Since I've been here, this case has been our main priority. That's four months of work, four months of man power and you just want to roll over and give it away? Are you kidding me?"

All three agents exchanged looks as they slowly rose.

"Uhh…sir, we don't really have any choice in the matter," Murphy hedged reasonably, "I mean, it's their jurisdiction now, fair and square. We don't have the authority to hold onto the investigation when a homicide falls directly into another agencies territory. If we play our cards right, we might be able to hold onto that joint investigation I was telling you about earlier. But…" he looked around the room again before finding his train of thought, "Uhh…why are we standing again?"

Tony stared for a moment before rooting in his desk for his gun.

"Because we need to be standing, Murphy. You can't keep your hat in the ring if you're sitting down and looking at it." Throwing his coffee into the bin, he threw his head towards the door. "Move it people. Lakes, you're driving. Oh, and try and avoid the traffic this time would you? Breslin and Murphy, when you get to the scene, don't approach. That goes for you too Lake. I just want you three to be within spitting distance of the scene. No badges, no nothing. Don't draw attention to yourselves and stay in the car, ok?"

The three younger agents stared.

"Where are you going then?" Lakes demanded, definitely the most confident of the trio. Shrugging into his suit jacket, Tony smiled grimly. "I'm going to get authorisation for you three to get out of the car I'm telling you to stay in." Brushing past the astonished looking agents, he hovered in the doorway for just a second. "Look, just trust me, alright? Do as I say and I'll be with you when I can. Remember, keep clear from the scene. Stay in the car and observe and report, do not engage with anyone and that's an order."

Before they could even gather their jaws up off the floor, he was gone.

"What the hell was that about?"

Shaking their heads slowly at Murphy's incredulous question, Grace and Kevin hoisted their gear bags over their shoulders and silently led the way to the garage, wondering all the while just what in the hell had gotten into their new leader. As they clambered into their car, Tony was already weaving through dense traffic with a grim jaw line. What he was about to do, he did not relish. In fact the thoughts of it were enough to spill a viscous pot of nausea into his gut. But the case demanded it, and if there was one thing he would not do, it was jeopardising his first case because of personal bullshit. With a heavy heart and a half an hour later, he was swinging into a painfully familiar building's car lot.

Stepping out, aware of being against the clock, he wasted no time in negotiating his way through several security checks. He kept his head bowed as he walked, not in the least interested in an impromptu reunion with hallway lurkers. Using his badge and his past with impunity, he sped through the various hold ups along the way. He was being rude, and he knew it, but he also didn't really care. He needed to get in and out as fast as humanly possible. Before long, he was in the all too familiar holding area. Arguing with a new assistant was an obstacle he should have foreseen, but all in all, he wasn't doing too badly.

As the miffed twenty-something dialled a line reluctantly, he waited impatiently. Murmuring so lowly and so fast that he couldn't understand what she was saying, the assistant eventually rung off. Pointing at the door to which she guarded, she raised an unimpressed brow. "He will see you. Five minutes, and no more. He is a busy man. And he does have other, scheduled, appointments." Nodding brusquely, Tony stepped towards the familiar door and rapped politely. A moments silence preceded the even more familiar "enter."

Stepping in, he felt the full weight of times past press upon him. Forcing himself not to see the ghost of Jenny anywhere, he focussed his gaze straight ahead, and looked nowhere else in the opulent room. Rising, Leon Vance raised a brow and offered a hand in tandem. Shaking the hand, Tony knew he was best cutting to the chase. "Apologies for just turning up like this Director," he smiled, "But I have a case to discuss with you." Silence dabbled unchecked for a moment, as the agency lead considered his ex-employees introduction. "I'm afraid however important your case may be to you, Agent DiNozzo, I have a conference to attend for which I am already late. I know of the case you hold however, and I've therefore already authorised a joint investigation between NCIS and Vice."

Tony felt surprise seep through him, but before he could say anything, or ask the all important favour, there came a sharp rap at the door. Heart sinking with the weight of a hundred battle ships, Tony's eyes swivelled to that door. "Director," he blurted, "I had a favour to ask-"

Leon held up a silencing hand.

"I do not have the time or luxury of favours right now, Tony. I'm sorry, but that is the way it is and I'm sure you aware I do not have to allow this joint effort. Please do not make me regret my decision nor bring the ethic of this agency or yours into disaccord." His silencing hand remained in place as he turned to the door and issued another permit to enter. It creaked open at his words, and it took all of Tony's professionalism to keep his eye contact up and his face impassive. Standing in the broad doorway, the new entrant raised a very slow brow as he appraised the occupants of the office, before swiftly and deliberately averting his gaze from one of them.

"You rang, Leon?"

Gathering up his belongings with an air of impatience, the Director sighed at the habitual impertinence. He stared at the two men for a moment, both of whose eyes were fixated upon him, before turning his attention to a growingly enraged marine. He knew what he was doing was not without substantial risk, but he would not deviate from the norms of interagency cooperation. Not for Gibbs, and not for anyone. He threw his hand in Tony's direction and adopted a tone that brooked no argument.

"Meet your temporary partner, Agent Gibbs. I hope you two will be very happy together."

And then he was gone, the door swinging behind him, leaving the two men who would rather be anywhere else in the world behind without a second glance.

Alone.

…

A/N: I know this focussed a little more on Tony and his new role, but because I'm expanding this fic more than I thought I would, his new job and team are important. This story isn't going to see Tony going back to his old job. The next chapter will refocus on the Tony/Gibbs arc. Just wanna say a huge thanks for the support on this story, I'm really enjoying writing it as it's so different to my norm. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.

_Inks

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