Disclaimer—Not mine.
A/N: So, so, so sorry for the really long delay in getting this chapter out to you! I don't really have a good excuse except that RL has been a major issue lately and hasn't left me with any time or mental resources to get this out to you. I will try and do better next time. This chapter is shorter than normal so sorry about that. So please read and leave me a review! I'd really appreciate it.
Chapter Four
Changes
The sky was black. Not even the stars shone through the thick blanketing of clouds that covered the night. Even the moon had hidden itself lending its help to the two figures as they stole silently into the night. The taller of the two was constantly on edge; watching and waiting for any sign of disturbance. Carefully the two almost invisible figures moved from cover to cover until they reached their destination.
The taller one walked slowly into a dark narrow alleyway. Stopping and leaning against the wall about half way down the figure blended into the wall so that someone passing by would take no notice. After waiting a few minutes another figure moved stealthily from the dark end of the alley. He made like an alley cat moving swiftly and silently he stopped next to the other person and quietly said, "Here is what you asked for. Everything is as you asked for it to be. There three sets of identities for each of you, which should get you through until you can make some for yourself. There is also $500,000 in cash. That should be enough for you to live on until things settle down."
The other man nodded and after a minute's hesitation handed over a blank envelope saying, "In three months time I need you to deliver this to him. He will know what to do with it and he will keep you safe. I promise."
"I . . ."
"Look I know it's hard but this is important. I need to know that you are safe from these psychos as well."
"I can take care of myself. I have been for years."
"Please." He begged, "It's important." He reiterated, "They will come after you. And he will help you to the best of his ability I promise."
"Alright, alright. But I'm not making any guarantees..."
The man nodded and without another word took off into the night.
NCIS~NCIS~NCIS
Ducky could take it no more! They had been sitting in this blasted room for over two days with Gibbs either ignoring or avoiding him all together. He did know what had gotten into Jethro but he certainly was going to find out. Slamming his teacup down on the table he exclaimed, "I don't understand you Jethro! You know that this is violating Anthony's and that young woman's rights as humans and yet you do nothing! Shouldn't you at least attempt to call the judge and explain the situation to him? Perhaps this is the very thing we need to have all of the foolishness stopped!" Ducky stopped his rant for a second when he realized that not only was Gibbs not listening; he hadn't even bothered to acknowledge him.
In a fit of blind fury Ducky stormed over to Gibbs and ripped the paper that he was reading out of his hands. He leaned so close to Gibbs that their noses almost touched he was about to continue with his scolding when there was a sudden pounding on their door. Ducky continued to glare at Gibbs for a second longer before going and opening the door. He was rudely pushed out of the way by Dr. Krandle who was followed by several armed guards. The doctor rushed past Ducky and head straight for Gibbs.
Gibbs for his part didn't flinch; didn't even stop reading the paper.
Dr. Krandle grabbed him by the front of the shirt and forcibly shook him all the while demanding; "Where are they?!"
Gibbs looked at the doctor evenly and said, "I have no clue what you are talking about. We haven't left this room for two days."
The expression in his eyes unnerved the doctor. It was collected, calm, and so cold you could almost feel yourself freezing from it. Doctor Krandle let go of Gibbs and said, "Arrest him. He is violation of the agreement."
NCIS~NCIS~NCIS
Three Months Later;
Gibbs walked slowly with a guard on either side of him. The guards had made sure that the handcuffs were on nice and tight causing them to cut into his skin. He and his team were being held on contempt of court because they refused to help with the search for DiNozzo and Layla. After that first mating at the center they had mysteriously disappeared.
They finally reached the judge's chambers. Gibbs hoped that this would be the last of these meetings. The centers' lawyers were insisting that he had helped Tony and Layla escape, but the evidence was showing that he hadn't left his room. It made matters worse when they went before the judge and he plead the fifth causing quite an uproar.
This was the third time that they had brought him before the judge and the same thing happened every time. He would go in for about an hour and then he would go back to his cell. The rest of the team had finally been released because they had proven beyond a doubt that they didn't know where Tony had gone or where he would consider going. They were however all on administrative leave since they were all close to Tony and all had the potential to help him.
Gibbs was forcibly yanked out of his thoughts when the guards stopped suddenly forcing Gibbs to run into one of them. The guards smiled at each other a little before roughly removing the cuffs. Gibbs massaged his wrists and before he stepped towards the door leaned over and whispered something to the guard closest to him. The man quickly jumped back and Gibbs walked into the judges' chambers smiling, recalling the look of horror on the man's face.
He quickly schooled his features and sat down in his usual chair across from the judge. He was the only one in the room at the moment, which surprised him, but decided to take a moment to appreciate the silence. It wasn't long before he heard the urgent whispering of his team as they came into the room; it was all cut short when Abby suddenly squealed in delight and rushed over exclaiming, "Gibbs!"
The whole team was on him in minutes. It was the first time that they had all been in chambers together since Gibbs had been charged with contempt. He had been ordered into solitary confinement for the duration of his sentence and was only allowed visits from his lawyer. So he and the team had not seen each other in three months. There was a general hubbub of greetings and exclamations until the judge walked in saying, "Alright everyone settle down, settle down. We have a lot of business to attend to."
The judge gestured for them all to take a seat and preceded to produce two bourbons and several sodas while the small crowd of people all took their seats.
Holding out one of the bourbon filled glasses, the judge looked at Gibbs and smiling slightly asked, "So Jethro have you found the answers to our questions?"
Gibbs leaned back in his chair and took a slow sip of his drink before saying, "I found some pretty interesting information on Krandle. The center is legitimate, but Krandle himself and half of his staff are more than a little suspicious. They just appeared on the Guardian scene about ten years ago. With none of their previous whereabouts documented and yet Krandle and almost half of those in question contain credentials and reputations that would require at least ten years of documented education and good deeds to build. Something isn't adding up here and my gut says it's got something to do with Agent DiNozzo and his mate."
Gibbs cringed slightly having to speak about Tony in such a clinical way, but he figured it was better to remain as impartial as possible in case someone was listening in who shouldn't be.
The judge was quiet as he contemplated all of this information. The rest of the group sat stunned in the background. They had not been let in on this little information seeking expedition. They had all been worried for Gibbs in one way or another and now felt a little like they had been betrayed. They looked at each other and saw that they were all feeling much of the same thing. Gibbs pulled them out of their silent communications as he leaned forward saying, "I need to come out now so that my team and I can focus on following up these new leads and finding Agent DiNozzo, James. I've gotten all I'm going to out of my contacts. Now it's up to us."
The judge nodded and said, "I agree. I'm actually surprised that it lasted this long. You're losing your touch old man!"
Gibbs snorted and said, "No! But my contacts are suspicious people. You know how they are."
The judge laughed quietly and began to sign some papers. After a few minutes he handed them over to Gibbs and said, "Give these to the guards at the door. You are hereby released. All of your personal belongings will be returned to you immediately. If there are any problems please contact me."
Gibbs took the papers and shook the judges' hand, "Thank you James."
"It was my pleasure Jethro. Please tell Agent DiNozzo hello for me and let me know if there is anything he needs."
Gibbs nodded silently before turning to his team, who were still in shock, and gesturing for them to head out. They all seemed confused but did as they were told. They were stopped out in the hallway by the two guards. Gibbs pushed his way through the group so that he was standing in front of them all. The guards looked slightly wary as Gibbs continued to stand there smiling an evil little smile at them. Finally Gibbs slammed his release papers into the closest guard's chest saying, "Read it and weep boys, we won't be needing your assistance any longer."
With that Gibbs shoved his way past them and called out over his shoulder, "I would expect a call from your boss. He might want to have a few words with you."
Gibbs gave a small laugh at the satisfaction he felt from the look on their faces. It wasn't his thing to draw out retribution like that; it was more something Tony would do. He was more of a strike quickly kind of guy, but he figured that maybe it was time to try out some of Tony's methods. Lord knew they got results.
~~NCIS—NCIS—NCIS~~
Somewhere in the middle of Nowhere.
Tony lay next to Layla and watched her as she slept. They had been together on the run, for a little over a month now. Things, he thought, had never been more different and wonderful all at the same time. He was finding that there was a side to himself that he never really knew existed. He found that there was such a deep running pool of emotions that kept coming to the surface and shocking him. The fact that it had been an interesting couple of weeks to say the least had not helped. They hadn't had as much time as Tony would have liked to pick out their destination, seeing as they had fled in the middle of the night, but this was a very good choice. It was still dark out, but the moon shone so brightly that he could clearly see by its light.
Now that they were past their first mating, they were able to take the time to get to really know each other. Tony found much to his amazement that it was incredibly easy. He realized now just exactly how off his other relationships had been. Things with Layla just seemed to happen. He didn't have to try as hard and it seemed to be the same for her as well. They had spent countless hours talking and just being in each other's company. Tony reveled in the simplicity of it all.
He moved slightly and had to stifle a moan as the movement jarred his injured shoulder. He had tried early on to mask it and soon found that she could get around his defenses and quickly discovered that denying it outright was a guaranteed route to a dressing down comparable to Gibbs's.
Layla was a feeler, making it impossible to keep anything from her. The only time he got away with hiding his pain or discomfort of any kind was when she wasn't there. The same went for his thoughts and emotions. He very quickly gave up on hiding anything from her. It wasn't like she made him uncomfortable or anything with it; she just always knew what he needed when he needed it. She never pried, never asked him to talk about it, but was just there with whatever he needed to make him feel better.
He sighed a little when he felt her moving next to him. It didn't take long for her to be awake and starring just as intensely as he was. She gave him a small lopsided smile and quietly asked, "Do you need a compress?"
Tony grimaced slightly at the thought; the compresses, although effective, stunk and were very uncomfortable. At first she hadn't given him a choice, but as the weeks passed and she was certain of his healing she became more lenient with them.
"No," he said shaking his head, "I just moved wrong. It's ok now."
He held his breath for a minute as she studied him. After a second she nodded silently and scooted closer to him; laying her head on his good shoulder. Tony wrapped his arm around her and gently placed a kiss on her head. He sighed contentedly and drifted off into sleep.
TBC…..