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Chapter 13

The car stopped in front of Tony's apartment complex with creaky tires. Tony was never so glad in his life that Ziva was driving. He was never that fast home, but right now he didn't care that they broke dozens of traffic rules on their way here. He just wanted to see his daughter.

When Tony has told the team what happened, they hurried after him and caught up with Tony in the parking lot, where Ziva silently took the car keys from Tony's hand and went to the driver side. Since Tony wanted to be with his daughter as soon as possible, he didn't start a discussion and went to the passenger seat.

As soon as the car stopped, Tony jumped out of the car and ran to his apartment. He lived with his daughter on the fourth floor, but he was too impatient and anxious to wait for the lift to arrive and hurried up the stairs. He was out of breath on the third floor, his lungs just weren't the best after the plague, but he pushed further. His daughter's safety was more important! When he reached the fourth floor, he saw Jo and Lu standing outside of Lu's apartment. „Jo!"

„Daddy!" Jo turned around when she heard her dad's voice and ran in his arms. Both clung firmly to each other and didn't even think of letting go. Right then, the team had made their way to them and when they saw that they were alright, they pulled their guns and began to sweep the now destroyed apartment for the intruder.

„Are you alright, Jo? You're not hurt, are you?"

Jo pressed her head into the gap between Tony's shoulder and neck and nodded. She didn't want to let go. „I'm alright. I got just a little frightened when I opened the door."

Tony tightened their embrace while he lifted his head a little to see through the open apartment team stood in the middle of the room and looked at the damage. Tony was shocked from what he could see. Everything was pulled from its place and he'd be surprised if anything would still be whole.

He gave Jo a kiss on her forehead and broke slowly the embrace. „Would you do me a favor and go with Lu in her apartment while I'll go to the others and assess the damage?"

„Sue, dad." He gave her one more kiss on the head and waited until Jo and Lu were safely inside Lu's apartment. He took a deep breath and went to the others.

It was as bad as he was afraid it would be. Everything was destroyed and broken. The wardrobe besides the front door looked like someone aimed with an ax on it. Wood splitters were laying everywhere on the ground and Jo's and his jackets were shredded. The shoes that normally were neatly lined up besides the wardrobe were now scratched in a pile on the floor.

The living room didn't have that much luck either. The chairs and the table were torn apart and the vase which stood originally in the middle of the table was thrown to the ground. The sofa and the armchairs were now useless. The upholstery and the cushions were ripped open and the feathers of the cushions were scattered everywhere in the room. The TV was pushed to the ground and Tony had no doubts that if he turned it around that the screen was broken. The DVD's which stood normally on the shelve, which hung now on one side, were straggled all around the room and the disks were broken. Pictures, of Jo and him, were lying on the floor.

However, what hurt the most was the now damaged piano he got from his mother. Though the feet were still alright, the one responsible for this chaos did great work with it. Huge scratches were in the wood and some of the keys were pulled out. One pedal hung a little like someone stepped on it very powerful and Tony didn't want to know what damaged was done in the inner life of the piano.

In the meantime, the others have assembled in the living room. Gibbs was on the phone, Ziva scrutinized the room again and McGee looked sympathetically to Tony. Tony looked resignedly at the remains of what once was his home. The dishes in the kitchen were lying in shards on the kitchen floor. The cupboard doors have been torn out and the food which was in the fridge was lying between the shards.

He was just about to go to his own room, Jo's room and the bath to assess the damage there, when he remembered his goldfish Kate. He searched the room for her and he was worried that he wouldn't find her. He named the goldfish in memory of his dead partner Kate and he'd be damned if he couldn't find his goldfish. Ziva noticed his searching look. „Everything alright? What are you searching for? Is something missing?"

Tony didn't answer and continued to search silently for Kate. She must be here somewhere!

Suddenly Tony saw something flashing beneath a big piece of wood, as the sun shined in that direction when Gibbs moved a little from the window. He ran over to it and lifted the wooden piece. Underneath laid the remains of the water glass of Kate. The goldfish was lying on a big shard in a heap of water but she was still alive. Carefully, so that Kate wouldn't fall off of the shard or that he'll lose the rest of the little water on it, he hurried to the kitchen. Thank god that the sink is still intact. He turned up the tap and pressed the plug over the drain, so that the water would remain in the sink. When enough water was in the sink, he turned off the tap again and laid the shard with Kate on it as gently as possible into the water. Slowly, Kate swam off the shard and Tony removed the shard out of the sink so that she wouldn't hurt herself. Maybe he should go with Kate to a veterinarian as a precaution. He didn't know if it caused any damage that Kate was so long on a shard with little to no water on it.

„Either you have just really bad luck or you seriously annoyed somebody…" remarked McGee when he again took in the damaged apartment.

Ha! Bad luck his ass. This was certainly no bad luck. Tony knew exactly who did this and why it was a maneuver of Cole. The only question was what triggered him to make such a risky move? Cole wouldn't destroy his whole apartment if he didn't want to send a message. But Tony couldn't think of anything that he did that could annoy Cole that much. He hardly saw him in the last two days. He couldn't have annoyed him, even if he wanted to. The only thing he did was calling two of his contacts. Cole couldn't have found out that two agents of other agencies were sniffing around, could he? And if he indeed found out about that, then Cole has more powerful friends than he thought. He has to be even more careful with his investigation. He didn't want to think of what could have happened if Jo had been at home.

„Nevertheless, this must have caused a lot of noises. Why has nobody contacted the police?"asked Ziva.

„Most of the residences are at work. Most of them weren't in the building when this happened."

Gibbs finished his phone call and walked over to them. "You and Amelia can't stay here. You'll stay in my guest rooms for the time being."

„That's not necessary, Boss. Jo and I will stay at a hotel until things are cleared."

„No argument. It gives me at least some time to spend with Amelia. I've informed Vance of this incident and told him that you won't be in today. Today you're going to spend time with your daughter."

Tony gave him a thankful smile. „Thanks, boss. I'll talk to Jo and then we'll pack the few thinks that aren't completely destroyed."

It was 10pm when Tony was found sitting in Gibbs basement. Gibbs told them to feel at home when he dropped Tony and Jo off at his house and then he left to join the team at NCIS. After all they still have a case to solve. Vance sent some forensics to his apartment to secure traces and evidence and gave orders to get the security tape of the small shop across the apartment. Maybe it caught a suspect on it. It won't be easy but Gibbs promised that they'll work his case at the same time as the Fallon case.

But for Tony there was no new, or to be more specific, there was no new case he wasn't already working on for some time. He knew exactly whom he can thank for the destroyed apartment. But now he's definitely gone too far. He was walking on a thin line with his visit at his home and meeting Jo and Lu, and with his current move he overstepped this thin line, entering an area he should never have. A personally area and Tony could not and will not tolerate this. If Cole was ready to go to such extreme measures then he has to end this for once and for all, before one of his family, blood related or not, will get hurt by their little personal war.

Tony was pulled from his thoughts when he heard how somebody came down the stairs to the basement. He looked up and saw Gibbs descending the stairs, carrying two bottles of beer.

„Lost in thoughts, DiNozzo?"

„Well, at the moment my thoughts are one of the few things that are still whole."

Gibbs took a seat on a chair besides Tony and opened the bottles. After he passed Tony one of the bottles, they drank the first gulp in silence. „How's Amelia?"

„Better. She went to bed half an hour ago. It was more the shock than anything else that got to her. I've tried to keep all the bad things from her and that is the reason why this was so shocking for her and you have to consider that this all happened at home. A home that should be safe from things like that, a place you can feel protected." Tony stared at the wooden object Gibbs was building in his basement for the last few months. "Don't get me wrong, even if I tried to not let her see the real world, there is a point at where I can't keep her in this little bubble, believe that the world is like in those Disney movies and she knows how the real world ticks. But I think there is a difference between knowing it and experience it. But she caught herself again. She behaves like the all grown up, self-confident, young woman that she is and she's one of the smartest heads I know, but at moments like today, you remember that she's only 14 years old, that she's still my little girl."

„Even when she's thirty years old, married and with kids, she'll always be your little girl."

„That's true."Tony smiled warmly when he imagined his future with an all grown-up daughter.

They drank the most of the beer in silence. Gibbs suspected that Tony knew more about the incident at his place and as much as he wanted to help his Senior Field Agent, he didn't want to pressure him. But this wasn't just about Tony, it affected Amelia as well and that leaded Gibbs to think that a small shove in the right direction was appropriate. „The way you're apartment looks now, I wouldn't think this as a random break-in. My gut tells me that this is a message for you and I think it arrived just well."

„Oh yeah, it arrived loud and clear."Tony didn't say anything else.

„You know that I'm there for you and Amelia and that you can stay as long as you want. I'm happy to have you and Amelia around. You don't have to go through that alone. I can and I want to help you and the team would gladly help you too, without asking. You just have to say the word and we're by your side."

Tony groaned resignedly. Maybe it's time to let Gibbs in. Even though I still have no solid evidence, it's very clear that Cole has his hands deeply in some dirty businesses. „This whole thing is extremely complicated and goes back some years."

„DiNozzo, if you tell me that you need my help, than you get it. I don't care if it's complicated or that it's going on for years now. It makes no difference to me. We're all a family and in a family they help each other."

„The problem is that if he notices that other people know about this, it will not just be my apartment that's going to be destroyed. Things will get very nasty."

„Who are we talking about?"

„Cole. We're talking about Team Manager Tyson Cole."

„What about Cole?"

„He's corrupt. I have no evidence though, but I know that he's behind an ordered hit. Who knows what else he did or is doing now and he doesn't like it at all that I'm trying to prove him guilty. My problem is that he apparently has some powerful friends and he's always one step ahead of me."

„Who did he kill?"

„There was a young and ambitious politician. His name was Matt Duncan. He and his family died because of a car bomb. I was there when the bomb went off. I was in a hospital for three days. But I am sure that I have seen how Cole's car left the accidental place. I recognized the number plate. Furthermore, he moved and transferred to another precinct. He knew exactly that I suspected something."

„Could you give me the file?" asked Gibbs.

„I have copies of the file. I'll get them for you."

„Do you have some more papers?"

„A few other files like bank documents and other things, but nothing that could harm Cole."

„Don't matter. I want everything you have. I want to be on the same level as you are and then we get this son of a bitch."

„I think we shouldn't tell the others yet. They may be experienced agents, but I'm sure that Cole will notice that the situation changed."

„Alright, but eventually we'll need their help."

„And we'll tell them when the moments right." answered Tony and drank his last gulp of his bee.„Jo and I will look for a new place to live. It's probably cheaper if we search for something new than to renovate the complete apartment and we have to buy new furniture anyway. I've seen mine and Jo's bedroom and have to say that they spared nothing. Don't get me even started on the bathroom."

„Like I told you, you can stay as long as you want. I'm happy to have Amelia around. She brings life into the house."

Tony had to laugh after hearing that. „That's right. She definitely brings life into the house."

Now Gibbs is on board...