A/N A reviewer requested that I try to get into Director Vance's head and shed light on his inexplicable behaviour and so I have attempted to do so even though it was messy and uncomfortable. Let's just say I'm not exactly empathetic to the good Director even in later seasons where the writers have attempted to humanise him. Frankly after the threats on his life, inviting Typhoid Mary (oops Eli David) to break bread with him with seemingly no security made me even more incredulous that this guy oversees a federal agency. *Shrugs* Anyway after cruising around in said head for a while, I developed a theory about his antipathy towards one Very Special Agent. Also, someone requested that I name the chapters so that it is easier to keep track of them. After many attempts to do just that I concede defeat. I know it is possible to do because I've seen it done but I'm no McGee or Abby when it comes to technology so if anyone can walk me through the process using the KISS method I'd be truly grateful. For now I'll settle fpr naming the chapter on the page if not the index.
Beta: This story has benefited greatly by the awesome beta-skills and input of Arress and I want to extend huge thanks to her for all her assistance. And you all know the drill... any boo-boos are my bad :) Special shout-out for Arress - this chapter was extra long and she is a saint!
A/N Thanks to everyone who reviewed, alerted or faved this story. I appreciate your support and hope you'll enjoy this chapter. Just to remind evryone, in this story Jimmy takes on the role of narrator and is written in 1st person while everyone else is written in 3rd person pov. As the timeline jumps around a lot I've also begun using dates to help with the timeline. HTH :)
An Eye for an Eye Leaves Everybody Blind
Chapter 8 Give 'em Enough Rope...
Dr. Jimmy Palmer March 24th 2012:
It was 36 hours since I'd heard from Dr. Mallard about the John Doe that they suspected might be Tony. When Tobias heard that there was a backlog at the lab on DNA tests of almost a week, he'd exploded, and then organised for the sample to be shipped ASAP to the FBI to be processed. Hopefully, we should have a definitive answer about if it was Tony or not any time now.
I've been treating a little girl today and as I did so, I couldn't help but make comparisons to our favourite senior field agent. She was seven years old, had huge green expressive eyes and gold blonde hair that will probably darken as she grows up. Although missing both front teeth, she had a grin that lit up the examination cubical and she was shy in an endearing way. Apart from gender, Lucy is pretty much how I imagine Tony was like when he was a child. And before you laugh yourself silly, I have to say that coming to know Tony over the years, he admitted to me he was a shy child and I think that his brash exterior is just a front to disguise the fact that he still is.
It's just that he learnt courtesy of being the brunt of bullies when he was sent to boarding school so young, that the best defense was offense. Even before being shipped off to RIMA, he attended 'the best' prep schools where a culture of hazing meant that bullying was rife, and as a sensitive child, he suffered accordingly. So, resourceful, or as the child development experts prefer - resilient - he set about creating a super confident Tony who wasn't a victim anymore. He used his father's rules about weakness that DiNozzos don't cry, pass out or ask for help, to fashion his guise along with his father's charm and charisma which he'd inherited from him, and a strong sense of morality that he hadn't.
The humour, though, was pure Tony, who found that aggression could often be deflected by jokes and laughter and if not, it sure provoked the bully enough to get the whooping over and done with quickly so he didn't have to die a hundred deaths anticipating it. Better to get it over with as soon as possible he told me once. I figured it was also what gave him the edge in dealing with Gibbs for so long.
Frankly, I thought it was barbaric to send such a young little boy to boarding school, especially one who had recently lost his mother at the age of eight. Bad enough to be bullied at school, which I had been occasionally, but at least I came home to the loving nurturance of my beloved mother at the end of the school day. Tony had no chance to escape the torment, however, and Ducky who had been sent to an equally snooty English boarding school assured me that these posh institutions practically celebrated entrenched hazing and outright bullying, believing it made men out of boys.
The sad thing was that Tony probably found it the lesser of two evils when it came to being at home with his alcoholic father. And how sad was that? I was glad that I hadn't been born into money. I wouldn't trade my loving mother and our home, even if money was tight during my childhood, for the so-called privileged and ultimately loveless life that Tony had endured.
It's a pity that Tim never seemed to understand why Tony teased him so much when he joined the team because he'd been a victim of bullying like Tony, but never figured out how to overcome it. Which was pretty ironic when you stop to think about it, since he had so much practise, and yet Tim chose to go to work in a law enforcement where bullying was so common, not unlike the military life that he'd been raised in. With his timidity, stammering and inability not to barf at the sight of blood, not to mention other bodily fluids, and don't get me started on the normal manifestations of decomposing bodies, it seemed an odd career choice. He was not skilled at dealing with people, preferring to relate to computers, making him a prime target for the type of hazing that would have made his past experiences pale into insignificance. Like I say, ironic, and with his deer-in-the-headlights expression and weak stomach, he might as well have tattooed victim across his forehead just to save time.
No doubt his family gave him a lot of well-meaning and ultimately useless advice to ignore the bullies and they would go away and he was so much better than the bullies. While the bolstering of his self-esteem seemed to have worked a treat since Tim often thought he was superior to his colleagues, the advice about ignoring the bullies was clearly flawed. It's kind of like telling someone to ignore a suspicious looking lump or bump and hoping that it will go away; sometimes it might be benign, but most of the time ignoring it just makes things worse.
Right or wrong, when you knew that the person next to you was watching your back in potentially life threatening situations, cops and agents wanted to know that their colleagues wouldn't cave at the slightest provocation or threat, which was probably one reason why hazing was tolerated, even encouraged, by many superiors. So Tony set about trying in his own unique fashion to help McGee man up and throw off his victim mentality.
Tony told me some pretty horrendous stories about being hazed at various PDs, and even when he'd first come to NCIS. Outraged and naïve at that stage, I asked him why Gibbs hadn't stepped up and helped him and he'd shrugged. He'd said that hazing was even more endemic, and yeah he used that word, in the military and as a Marine he probably thought it was a good thing. So when Tim became a fixture and was so obviously a target, Tony made sure that any hazing was designed to help him develop, throw off his victim mentality and grow some balls. I wonder how that awfully green agent would have fared if he'd been subject to the degree of hazing that Tony had endured, or if he realised how much Tony shielded him from.
Yet when all was said and done, Tony might have come across as a wise-cracking, tough guy, impervious to all the slings and arrows that life threw at him, nothing could be further from the truth. But like my patient little Lucy, the real Tony, the one that was my good friend was essentially still a pretty shy, sensitive guy who seemed to let all the harsh barbs from his team roll off his back, but in truth, he bled more than most. He was just extraordinarily adept at not letting it show, believing that any bleeding should occur in private.
So, while there were plenty of superficial similarities between Lucy and my friend, it was while studying the X-ray films of my patient that I was struck by the similarities. She had a spiral fracture of the radius, and combined with some suspicious bruising that could have been caused by an adult gripping too hard, she was immediately identified as being at risk of being abused. Having viewed Tony's films over the years when Dr. Mallard was treating him, I knew that there was evidence of very old spiral fractures as well as chip or corner fractures of the metaphyses of long bones. (Oops jargon, my bad… metaphyses are the wider part at the end of the shaft of a long bone like an arm or leg bone.) A chip fracture is also highly suggestive of child abuse since it generally occurs during forceful twisting or jerking of an extremity. To have evidence of both types of fracture was pretty damning in my mind and I suspect for Dr. Mallard, too.
Tony always maintained that his father was too drunk to lay a hand on him, but I'm afraid that didn't wash with me. Clearly he was sober enough at times to find and marry at least three ex-wives and spend their money. And there was the time that Tony revealed that he'd been physically disciplined by his father at Halloween and couldn't sit down until Christmas. But perhaps to a child like Tony, that wasn't viewed as abuse because he thought he'd done something wrong, or perhaps his father hadn't actually put his hands on him; probably used a belt or some other implement. And not surprisingly, seven-year-old Lucy also refused to implicate anyone, claiming she had fallen out of a tree. Given a hospitalisation for a severe concussion six months previously and a new stepfather, I was not buying her denials either.
It's easy for people like me to question how children who were victims of abuse could want to protect their abusers, since I'd been brought up in a loving home where I was nurtured and loved, but it's complicated. First and foremost the abuser is usually closely related to the victim, and as such they are able to get into the head of a child and convince them they deserve the abuse because they are bad or evil. Then there is the issue that a victim is usually small and vulnerable and often afraid to tell anyone, especially if they had tried to get help in the past and were punished. Third reason is that like adult victims of domestic abuse, they often feel weak for letting it happen and ashamed. Often they still love the abuser, especially if it is a parent or a sibling, and finally, it can often be a combination of all those factors. Really, when adults can become trapped in abusive relationships, it shouldn't come as a surprise that children are so vulnerable and unable to protect themselves, especially emotionally.
Looking into Lucy's huge green orbs as they filled with tears at my questions about what caused her bruises and her concussion, not to mention her fractured radius, I vowed that unlike Tony, I wouldn't let her slip through the cracks. Even if my friend had really been killed by an assassin sent by Eli David, I would honour his memory by becoming a champion of children who have no way to defend themselves.
After admitting Lucy because of her suspicious injuries and the previous one, I checked again on the status of the Child Services social worker. I really wanted to talk to her before I went off duty. Since it was quiet, for now at least, I checked my phone to see if Ducky or Tobias had called with news, but there was nothing yet. Grabbing a cup of green tea, I had a sudden overwhelming need to read the letter that Tony had left for me when he disappeared three years ago. For so long I resisted reading it, believing Gibbs' vow that he would find him and bring him home. Knowing that Tony would probably say stuff that he might regret, believing that he wouldn't survive, I fought the lure of his letter until I lost faith in Gibbs' ability to find him.
I'm not looking to blame him for not delivering on his promise; I want to make that crystal clear. It was my bad for grasping at straws in the first place since I know how determined Tony is and if he didn't want to be found, well, the chances of anyone finding him weren't great. Hopefully, that will hold true for Samuel Rivkin, too. I guess you can call me an optimist, and even though I have seen plenty to make me a cynic, I have always been a guy to see the glass as half full.
I really can't believe that I'm telling you this since it's my guilty pleasure and everyone has to have one, right? Well, I'm a closet reader of fan fiction, especially ER, Grey's Anatomy, Chicago Hope and House. I've even checked out the fan fics about Thom E. Gemcity's Deep Six books. (I wonder if he has a clue about how Agent McGregor is portrayed in some stories, especially the slash ones, since I think he would probably be horrified if he knew.) Anyway, even when a case is hopeless and I know as a doctor that the only outcome is a terminal one in real life, when the writer of a fan fic uses a completely unbelievable deus ex machina plot device that the rational doctor in me is mocking, the perennial optimist in me is going 'ahhhh, how cute is that?' I just love happy endings, perhaps because they are so few and far between in my real working life.
But waiting for confirmation on the identity of John Doe, combined with the silence for so many months, even though we now knew why the postcards had stopped coming, had sapped my optimism. Actually, I think it had sapped everyone's optimism, and we had come to accept Tony's death as inevitable unless Rivkin could be apprehended, and even then, what was to stop Eli from just dispatching another assassin in his wake? Although it must be pretty galling that after three years Tony had managed to stay one step ahead of a Mossad trained assassin…at least until now.
Standing and going to my locker, I found the manila envelope that I had placed his letter in to keep it as pristine as possible. Despite frequent readings, when I held it I felt like I still had a connection to my friend, that a tiny part of him was encapsulated in it; after all, he had written this message for me. The pragmatic Dr. Jimmy would say that it was just DNA in the form of epithelial cells, but Abby would no doubt counter that Tony left behind his energy, seeing as she buys into all that stuff (and I guess in this instance anyway, I do too). What I do know is that Abby has laminated her own letter from Tony, and I suspect that she sleeps with it at night. I wasn't sure if she still slept in the coffin or not and I wondered how Tony would feel about spending his nights in a coffin with Abby, even if it was vicariously. Knowing my friend, I guessed he would probably get a laugh out of it.
Sitting down and sipping the last of my tea I began to read it again.
Hey Jimbo,
Don't worry, this isn't going to be a sappy offering or anything like that, but I do want to thank you for being such a good friend. I know that most people don't even realise we're pals, but in the last couple of years I've come to think of you as one of, if not my best friend at NCIS. I'm grateful that you bothered to look beyond the smoke and mirrors to get to know the guy behind all the crap. You're a really smart guy, Jimmy – well obviously, since you're going to be a doctor… and a damned good one too I'll bet – but most smart people don't bother giving me the time of day. You did and I'll always cherish our friendship.
Is that sentiment to girly for you? How about I'll prize, revere, appreciate, value, treasure (no delete that – too girly too), apprize, esteem – you can pick the most manly one and insert it into the earlier sentence. But serious thank you, Black Lung, I don't know what I would have done without your support, especially when I led the team. Actually, I do know; I would have left NCIS. Did I say thanks yet?
Ya know, Jimmy, with the benefit of hindsight, it probably would have been all to the best if I had left NCIS after Gibbs took off to go drink Coronas in Mexico. That way: Jeanne wouldn't have had her heart ripped open, Jenny wouldn't have died in an abandoned diner in the desert, Gibbs never would have had to mourn another lost love, I wouldn't have had to kill Ziva's psycho boyfriend and she'd still be alive, Gibbs wouldn't have been forced to choose a screw up like me over his surrogate daughter who was the apple of his eye, he wouldn't have to regret and second guess that decision for the rest of his life and last but not least, Sacks wouldn't have died instead of me. Shit, Jimmy, I've hurt so many people I can't begin to deal with the pain I inflicted on the people that I call family. Did I mention that Ziva would still be alive and Gibbs wouldn't be in pain again?
I hope one day you can all forgive me for destroying your lives, but I know that I don't really deserve forgiveness after killing Ziva. Everyone loved her so much; she filled the void that Cate left behind. Jimmy, why the Hell did Rivkin have to be so drunk that night? He should have been able to take me out easily, and I really wish that he had. It would have been much easier on everyone all round.
Gremlin, I know you and Ducky were hurt when I pushed you away while I was in hospital, but trust me, it was only because I didn't want you in danger because of me. After 'meeting' Eli David, somehow I just knew that he would demand retribution and I know he won't rest until he has it. And even though there's a part of me that would welcome that oblivion right now, the mongrel in me is damned if I'm going to let him take his pound of flesh. He nurtured an assassin instead of a daughter and if he'd been a little less worried about his loss of face as the Director of Mossad when we were in Tel Aviv and more of a father, he would have ensured that she spend time in Israel grieving. I might have fired the gun that killed her, but that bastard loaded the bullets and forced me to pull the trigger.
Still, what's the good of wasting time with 'if only'? It won't bring her back and it won't quench Eli David's thirst for vengeance, or Gibbs' remorse for choosing me instead of Ziva. Of course, he only chose me because Ziva gave him an ultimatum, you know. One tiny miscalculation on her part which then led to her breaking into my apartment; so uncharacteristic. She was usually so good at 'handling' Gibbs. Why did she have to do it and why am I still alive, Gremlin?
Anyway, I know you're going to make a great doctor, Jimmy Palmer, MD, and an excellent medical examiner, but more importantly you're an even better person and friend. Look after everyone for me, especially Ducky. He's not getting any younger and I know Ziva's loss will hit him hard. Cate's death was much harder on him than he ever let on to anyone and I know his mother's ill health has taken its toll, too. Tell him how much I appreciate his friendship over the years.
On a purely practical note, I've left instructions with my lawyer that I have given you my car since everyone else has a vehicle and you always appreciated my taste in cars. He'll take care of the paperwork. A doctor should have a car that makes a statement, but a luxury car says greedy, grasping medico while a classic car says, cool, confident professional. Similarly, take what you like from my apartment. You and Abby can fight over the DVDs since no one else is likely to want them.
Okay, time to say goodbye. No sappiness I swear. James Palmer, thanks for the memories. I'll miss you.
I'll try to find some way to let you know that I'm fine if I can.
Your friend,
Anthony DiNozzo
Coming to the end, I sat quietly, my eyes threatening to overflow. It was typical Tony! Full of self-deprecation, good humour, his mercurial thought processes, his intelligence, sensitivity, his guilt and alacrity to assume the burden of everyone else's failures and foibles and total cluelessness to the fact that he was a far better individual than he gave himself credit for. A far better individual, more principled, courageous, generous and caring than just about anyone I know.
And to someone like me who knows him well and could read between the lines, the letter also spoke of great pain and despair, and I'm pretty sure a shrink would say that the suicide ideation was a definite concern when viewed in the context of what had happened. If Tony is still alive, I worry about what sort of shape he is in, always looking over his shoulder, moving around continually, worrying that he might endanger those around him, not daring to connect with anyone for three years. For such a social creature, it didn't bear thinking about, and yet I still prayed that my friend was alive and a miracle happened and he came back home. I told you I was an optimist!
Placing the letter carefully inside the manila envelope so I didn't need to fold it, in hopes of preserving it longer, I conceded that perhaps laminating it wasn't so crazy, or I could always make some copies of it, I guess. But either option would probably diminish the connection I feel from holding the paper in my hands that he had written on. Shrugging, I was about to check my phone when a call came through. Expecting it to be Dr. Mallard or Tobias, I was momentarily floored by a stranger requesting to speak to Dr. Palmer. I told him I was Dr. Palmer.
He quickly identified himself, "I'm Dr. Spencer Reid – PhD, not MD, from the BAU at Quantico. Special Agent Fornell said that you might be willing to help me. I'm writing a paper for Psychology of Violence on the serial sexual predation and marginalised populations. Would you be prepared to meet me for lunch or dinner… my treat, of course?"
I have to admit that I was curious about why he'd want to talk to me since I didn't work in the forensic field anymore, but before I could probe his motives my pager went off. Damn it!
"Look Dr. Reid, I'm afraid I have to go. Can I call you back later to discuss this a bit more?" I asked hurriedly.
The FBI agent laughed gently. "Sure, that would be fine, Doctor. I guess getting time to talk when you're on duty is pretty difficult. Call back anytime, day or night and thank you for your time, Dr. Palmer."
Hanging up, I called the triage nurse to see why she was paging me and she informed me that Ms. Shauna Lam from Child Services had arrived in the ER and was hoping to speak to me. Telling Sarah I would be there STAT, I hung up and headed to the ER waiting area, promising Tony and Lucy that I would do my utmost to make sure that one seven-year-old didn't slip through the cracks.
As I rounded the corner and prepared to locate Shauna Lam, and seriously who would do that to their kid anyway, my cell beeped and I glanced down. Finally! It was from Tobias and was typically brief.
DNA of John Doe not DiNozzo. Cheers T Fornell. PS Dr. Reid will call.
Conference Room NCIS DC 27th May 2009 1130
FBI agents Lina Reyes and Tobias Fornell were interviewing Director Leon Vance not in an interrogation room but the Conference Room at NCIS, in deference to his position as Director of NCIS, and also the Secretary of the Navy when it was his turn. The Powers That Be had been decreed that they conduct their official interviews with the director and SecNav with kid gloves while still crossing every T and dotting all the I's into the death of Mossad Liaison Officer Ziva David and Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agent Thomas Sherman. Personally, Fornell was more than happy to throw both of them into an interrogation room in the Hoover building, but playing politics was a frustrating and ultimately awkward dance that they had to observe. And so they were giving these self-serving bastards' treatment that other persons of interest were denied, and that didn't sit well with him… well, with either of them.
While Tobias was still reeling from the death of his second, Ron Sacks, and his failure to prevent DiNozzo from fleeing protective custody, he had to admit that he was impressed with his colleague. If Gibbs was a pit bull terrier when it came to a case, he realised that Lina was a bulldog and if anyone had a chance to out-stubborn the lead of the MCRT then it would be Reyes. She had something in her brown eyes that reminded Fornell of Gibbs when he had the smell of blood, and he had the feeling once she bit down she wouldn't let go.
He was grateful for her assistance on the case since the involvement of such big players made it that much more complex. Damn it, he hated working political cases, but he owed it to Tony and Ron to see it through and be professional about it. Lina Reyes, meanwhile, was desperate to have the feather in her professional cap of dethroning the director of a federal agency and his boss. So, it was fair to say she was pretty darned motivated! As far as Fornell was concerned, motivated was good… damned good!
While Reyes had taken point on the interview with Gibbs, they had agreed to tag team with the two bigwigs, trying to keep them both off balance. Leon Vance had experience in interrogation techniques and wouldn't simply roll over. While SecNav didn't come from a law enforcement background, as a career politician he was skilled at covering his ass, hiding the bodies and thinking on his feet, so he wouldn't be easy to crack. Neither of them would, so any advantage that the two wily and experienced FBI agents could call upon was all to the good.
Of course, they had a few aces up their sleeve with Tony's sworn statement (which they doubted that the pair knew about) and Gibbs, too, had been pretty upfront. Well, at least when it came to what orders had been issued from his two bosses at any rate. His own answers when he was asked to explain his behaviour or his rationale for his actions, or lack thereof when it came down to it, in not taking action when he discovered the unauthorised activities of Officer David, were more difficult to ferret out. Still, that was not pertinent to Vance and Davenport and their interviews. The pair also didn't know that the FBI had the footage of Eli David's interrogation of Tony or Ziva David's…yet.
All were good reasons for the FBI conducting the investigation, not NCIS. The advantage being that Vance didn't have a chance to know in advance what evidence they had incriminating him, which meant he didn't have time to come up with alternative explanations or excuses. The last time Tobias had an NCIS director in his sights, ironically he had been using DiNotzo as a shield to try to conceal the fact he was certain that Jenny Shepard had killed Rene Benoit. He knew she had, but couldn't prove it because although she had means, motive and opportunity, Gibbs had covered her six, probably because she had been his probie and lover in a former life.
Couldn't figure out why he covered her miserable ass, though, because Tobias knew that Jethro was furious with her for using his SFA on an unsanctioned undercover op, but he figured it was a misguided Marine thing. Luckily this time around in his 'Whack a Director Op", Gibbs evidently didn't feel the same compunction to cover for Vance or SecNav, since he'd already given a damning statement. A statement that thankfully would make it awkward for either man to weasel out of facing some extremely serious questions. If nothing else, any political ambitions would be well and truly squelched.
Reyes was attacking Vance on the issue of dragging an injured agent to Tel Aviv without medical clearance and throwing him to the Mossad wolves. Frankly, Fornell was struggling to understand the questionable symbiotic relationship between NCIS and Eli David. Surely the CIA or NSA would be a better fit, but it wasn't just because of Leon Vance, since it had its genesis during the reign of the previous director, who also seemed to be a toadie of Eli David. Frankly, it seemed - in his humble opinion anyway - that the association could be seen as parasitical rather than beneficial, given by what had gone down after SecNav's security conference. The one that was thinly disguised as a poker game…yeah, right…that's why Eli had sent his Kidon poster boy to spy on them and killed Sherman in the process…
"So, you're saying that you obtained medical clearance that it was safe for Agent DiNozzo to fly to Tel Aviv?" Reyes probed.
"You already know that's the case, Agent. It's in his file." Vance responded calmly.
"There is a medical clearance, but it hasn't been sign off by DiNozzo's physician or the consulting ER doctor that treated him. Either of which would be the obvious choice to make the assessment since they had examined him and had access to his medical records. Yet you sought the opinion of a Dr. Potts in Virginia who hadn't examined him?" She asked dubiously.
Still unruffled, Vance nodded. "I faxed him the relevant records and it was his opinion that it was safe for Agent DiNozzo to fly." He couldn't resist a smug smirk.
Fornell picked up the interrogative slack. "Ah, yes, Dr. Potts. General Practitioner registered in the State of Virginia and under investigation for issuing fraudulent medical certificates." He was heartened to see that this item of information had shaken the director.
"It seems that his gambling addiction has become so serious that word has gotten around that he is willing to sign off on just about anything that requires a doctor's signature in return for cash. But you already knew that, since according to the good doctor he was your go-to guy when you needed a pet medico." Tobias felt like they had just managed to land a blow on the former boxer. Good!
"What, you thought he was just your own personal rent-a-doc, Director? Truth is that you gave him the idea of becoming a gun-for-hire when he signed off on your medical records for eye surgery back in Annapolis." Seeing the director watching him speculatively, he backed off on that particular subject for the moment. He couldn't help thinking about the file on Leon Vance that had been sent to him anonymously. Although it had been set up to look as if it had come from the CIA, Fornell was suspicious, not to mention reluctant, to show their hand too early.
Special Agent Reyes obligingly leapt back in. Despite the fact they hadn't worked together before, they were starting to anticipate each other and develop a rhythm.
"So, anyway, Director, we had ourselves a nice chat, Potts and me. He's so very helpful and willing to co-operate. I can see why you are keen to use the guy. So, anyway, can you take a look at this ER report from the night that Special Agent DiNozzo was injured attempting to arrest Officer Rivkin when he went to Mossad Liaison Officer David's apartment to ask her some questions?"
She flicked across a medical report that the director duly examined before responding. "Okay."
"And this is the report that you faxed to Dr. Potts along with the x-rays taken that night by Agent DiNozzo's doctor?" She pressed.
"Yes." The director responded, obviously taking a leaf out of Gibbs' book with his brevity.
Reyes and Fornell were pros, No way were they going to let a reaction clue Vance in that he'd just dug his hole deeper, but he was going to find it hard to get out of this fiasco. Moving on and changing direction to keep him off balance, Tobias took over again. The director's scowl indicated their game plan of alternately asking questions and changing direction was impacting on him.
"Would it surprise you to know that Dr. Mallard and the ER Doc…" he pretended to search the medical file for the guy's name even though he already knew it, just to annoy Leon further. "Ah, yeah, Dr. Napier, both stated that they would not have signed off on medical clearance for Agent DiNozzo to fly to and from Tel Aviv at that time. He required further monitoring before the risks of him flying with his injuries made it safe. What do you have to say?"
"Not a lot, Agent Fornell," The director responded coolly.
"So, it doesn't surprise you?"
"Not really. Doctors frequently disagree, which is why it's always wise to get a second opinion, which I did."
"No, Director, you didn't consult either Doctors Mallard or Napier. You went to a doctor who had never examined the patient. Why would you do that?" Fornell questioned.
Vance shrugged. "It was imperative that we reached Tel Aviv ASAP. I knew that Dr. Potts would be sympathetic to National Security and he agreed that DiNozzo was fine to fly. And clearly he was correct because DiNozzo was fine. So, it boiled down to medical opinion."
Fornell wondered if he'd be so blasé if he knew that Potts, in an attempt to head off further damage to his chances of keeping his medical licence, had folded like a cheap set of cards, well and truly ratting Vance out.
"So, the fact that DiNozzo's pulmonary specialist almost had kittens when he discovered that someone had signed a medical clearance for his patient to fly doesn't concern you at all? Or the fact he's vowing to bring Potts up on charges of medical negligence?"
"Like I say, a matter of medical opinion and anyway, Potts has been vindicated. DiNozzo was fine."
"Hardly, Director; he had an undiagnosed fractured collarbone that would have been diagnosed and treated appropriately if he had been monitored for the obligatory 48-hour period that airlines and medical authorities deem mandatory, or at least prudent, after sustaining the type of injuries that Agent DiNozzo had. You failed in your duty of care to ensure he received adequate medical treatment. And we'll get to the fact that he was further injured whilst in Tel Aviv under what I have to describe as questionable circumstances."
Vance remained impassive. "There were more important matters at stake. Matters of nation security, and Agent DiNozzo understood that it was his job to take one for the team after the FUBAR he left me to clean up. And regardless of whether other doctors' opinions disagree with the medical clearance to fly, I dotted the I's and crossed all the T's when I obtained a signature on that form from a licensed medical practitioner. You and they may not like it, but it was all above board, and there's nothing you can do about it. Especially," Vance smirked, "since the paperwork is all in order."
He sat back looking smug, believing he had outmanoeuvred them. Reyes and Fornell by tacit mutual agreement had decided not to enlighten him at this stage that it was him that had just been played. They had obtained the copy of DiNotzo's medical records he'd received from Vance and surprise, surprise, there had been no mention of Tony's scarred lungs. The quack had turned white as a sheet when informed of his past history as a survivor of the plague.
Jumping back in again, Lina moved it along. "And, of course, you informed Special Agent DiNozzo of the risks of him flying long-haul after sustaining the injuries that he had, especially combined with his pulmonary medical history?"
"No."
"No?" Reyes demanded, outraged even if she had already suspected that to be the case. Exchanging glances with Fornell, the message was clear. Calm down, breathe and don't let him get to you. Nodding slightly to let him know she got the message, she tamped down the emotions. "Why the Hell not… with all due 'respect' Director?" Lina queried with sarcastic emphasis on the word respect.
Sighing mightily, he huffed, "National security, Agent Reyes. There are times when the needs of the individual need to be sacrificed for the good of the many. This was one of those times."
"You keep citing national security, Director. What exactly was so damned important it justifies putting a federal agent's life at risk that couldn't have waited at least a few days?"
"Need to know, and I'm afraid your clearance isn't high enough to be read in, Reyes."
Fornell wasn't going to accept that crap, but for the moment he was happy enough to let Leon think he had won that round. He wagered it had something to do with that damned file that someone had sent him, but it was early days yet and they could wait, or as Dr. Mallard would say, they would bide a wee.
Taking his turn, Fornell changed the subject once again. "So, what was the thinking in having DiNotzo go over to Israel? Forensic evidence supported his account of what happened, he was following Gibbs' orders in keeping an eye on Officer David," At this point Vance was unable to contain his surprise and Fornell took mental note of it. "Rivkin had been given ample opportunity to leave the country after his unlawful elimination of terrorist suspects, and once it became clear that he was implicated in the death of a federal ICE agent, had been spying on a meeting of US agencies and Ziva David had been passing him confidential Intel from NCIS and lying about her activities, what was the purpose of ordering an injured Special Agent DiNotzo to fly to Israel?"
"Diplomacy, Agent Fornell. Mossad are assisting us in a matter of…"
"National security," Fornell interrupted with heavy irony. "So, how far were you prepared to take diplomacy, Director? What deals did you make with Eli David over Agent DiNozzo?"
"That he could question the man who was responsible for the death of his valued operative," Vance replied. "It was simply inter-agency professional courtesy, nothing more."
"Then why didn't you demand the same inter-agency professional courtesy when Rivkin killed ICE Agent Sherman, Director? Why didn't Eli David surrender his assassin to explain his actions to our satisfaction?" Fornell countered, still smarting that he and Gibbs had signed off on Sherman's death, which but for the doggedness of Tony, would have gone down as an accidental death.
Sighing, Vance re-joined, "Because, Fornell, we need their co-operation on this matter more than they need us. We needed to placate Director David and keep him on side."
Got'cha ya bastard! Vance had just admitted to knowing that Rivkin killed a federal agent before DiNotzo went to Ziva David's apartment; that he knew when he was down in Autopsy when they'd closed the case.
"Henceforth your comments to DiNotzo that he had to suck it up and take one for the team; basically that he was expendable."
"Precisely!"
"So, how far were you prepared to go, Director?"
Vance frowned. "I don't understand your question, Agent Fornell."
"How far were you willing to let Mossad go in 'interrogating' an innocent man who had done nothing but his job, following the orders of his team leader? Would you have also stood by and let them lock him up and throw away the key in the name of diplomacy?"
Vance remained silent, but his expression spoke volumes. "I take it by your non-response that would be a yes," Fornell spat out.
"What do you expect, Fornell? This is high stakes diplomacy, not Tiddlywinks. DiNozzo's a big boy. He knew that every time he went to work, he might not go home again."
"I expect that Special Agent DiNozzo would have modest expectations that his director would not sell him out to gain some sort of quid pro quo when he had been in the right and the Israelis had been breaking the law. Tell me, would you have sacrificed any agent or just DiNozzo? If Special Agent McGee had killed Michael Rivkin trying to defend himself, would you have dragged him, injured and at risk, on a dangerous long-haul flight? Would you have allowed Director David to torture him while trying to force him to admit to something he was innocent of? Would you have stood by and allowed him to be incarcerated if Mossad had demanded it, all in the name of goddamned diplomacy?" Fornell persisted.
Vance snorted. "McGee would never have gotten into that kind of mess in the first place."
Fornell smirked. "Got that right, Director, 'cuz if Rivkin attacked McGee, he'd be in the morgue, but let's suspend disbelief for just a minute. Would you have subjected McGee to the same treatment that you subjected DiNozzo to?"
"Look, Agent, that's not a fair question. Agents like McGee are valuable resources; they are the future of the agency. You protect your resources."
"So, that would be a no, then by the sounds of it." Fornell glanced at Reyes, disgusted.
Again she chimed in, not letting Vance develop any momentum, although she still had one important question she needed to know even if she already really knew the answer.
"Tell me, Director, in the name of diplomacy and national security, if Eli David had demanded Agent DiNozzo's life in retribution for Rivkin's, would you have stood by and said 'Yes Sir no Sir, three bags full sir.' Would you have let one of your agents, an agent doing his job for his country and defending his life against a killer, to be executed to keep Director David happy?"
Vance scoffed. "That's an outrageous question."
Fornell noticed he hadn't actually answered the question.
"Yes, it is, Director, but answer it anyway," Reyes persisted.
"Of course not!" He glared at Reyes who glared back.
"What about it makes it an outrageous question, Director Vance?" Lina taunted.
"You're suggesting I would sanction the execution of one of my agents."
"Still not getting why you think it's outrageous, Sir. You were happy enough to drag him off on a long-haul flight that carried considerable risks to his health, even his life. You were happy to stand by and let your counterpart torture him when you knew that he had done nothing unlawful and he was injured. You admit that you would have allowed him to be imprisoned to keep Director David happy, so I think it is a fair question to pose."
"Well, Agent Reyes, I think it's outrageous. You're suggesting that I would sanction execution. And frankly, it's ridiculous to suggest that Eli would execute an agent of an ally." He grimaced, realising he'd miss-stepped.
Fornell leapt into the fray. "Not so ridiculous, I think, since Eli David has turned his failed Kidon assassin loose to terminate Special Agent DiNozzo, Director. Should I remind you that the late Special Agent Sacks is proof positive that he certainly has the cojones to do just that? And Officer David stated that both she and her father had the power to order DiNotzo's death when you arrived in Tel Aviv. I find it hard to believe that you would not have considered the possibility."
"Officer David was joking, Fornell."
Lina snorted. "Witnesses all agree she was lethally angry with DiNozto, that she was distraught, that she was grief-stricken at Rivkin's death. And yet you would have us believ that Ziva David would joke about killing her partner when she made no secret of the fact that she blamed for killing her lover? You really want to go with that answer?"
"Exactly, Ziva was distraught. We say things we don't mean."
"I suppose the fact that she almost executed him shortly after he managed to trick her father into an unintended confession that Rivkin was operating under his orders in front of witnesses, was her joking. Or would that be because she was grieving and not because she knew that she wouldn't face any consequences from her superiors; more likely to be given a commendation? C'mon, Director, she was a highly trained operative quick to throw her superior training in her NCIS team mates' faces. She was either emotional, which would suggest that her training wasn't as successful as she proclaimed, or she knew exactly what she was doing. You can't have it both ways."
"She was upset," Vance insisted.
Fornell decided to rattle the cage a bit…just a bit. "So, when you told the pilot of the C130 that you wouldn't be staying long and would be one short on the return trip, you weren't talking about Special Agent DiNozzo?"
"I was talking about Officer David. I knew that her father wanted her to complete the mission that Rivkin was supposed to complete."
"So, it had nothing to do with the comment that you made to Dr. Potts when he expressed doubt about DiNotzo flying 12 hours to Tel Aviv and then another 12 hours back again so soon. According to the good doctor, you laughed and told him that his health wouldn't be an issue. He said you implied that he wouldn't be on the return journey." Fornell stared at the NCIS director and saw a flicker in his eyes.
"The doctor is mistaken, I'm afraid." He insisted, and the two agents were pleased to see that he was beginning to sweat.
"So, you wouldn't have allowed Director David to kill DiNotzo as payback for killing Rivkin?"
"Already asked and answered, Fornell."
Maybe, but definitely not answered satisfactorily, Tobias concluded at Lina, he knew that neither of them were satisfied with Vance's response either.
Cursing the fact that Vance was required in MTAC to supervise an op when they had him rattled, they both knew that they would have to stop soon and pick it up again later on that day. If it had been your average federal agent under investigation, they would have been stood down pending the outcome of the investigation, but Vance and SecNav still had supporters in high places. Still, they had managed to get Vance to incriminate himself several times, so it had been a productive 'meeting.' As they were finishing up, Lina surprised him by asking a question that hadn't been on the agenda, but perhaps he wasn't as surprised as much as Director Vance was, though.
"Tell me, Director, Special Agent DiNozzo… who does he remind you of? It's clear that you've despised him since you first assumed leadership of the agency, and yet you'd never worked with him prior to your stint as acting director. So, whoever he reminds you of must have really pushed your buttons. Who was it… your father… a coach… a teacher... a co-worker? Haven't you ever wondered why he's held in such high esteem by just about everyone that's ever worked with him? He might be the biggest pain in the butt."
Fornell smirked at that description, knowing that Tony had irritated Reyes on the case of the attempted murder of Navy Lt. Commander Micki Shields almost as much as Gibbs had.
"But there is no one I'd rather have on my team when the bullets start flying." Again, he knew how impressed she'd been that when the killer had attempted to kill Shields, it had been Tony that had spotted the danger first and taken action, before Reyes' agents or the former Secret Service Agent Caitlyn Todd. She'd been keen to recruit him to the FBI ever since then.
Grabbing up her files she got up and stalked out of the conference room and Fornell looked at Vance who was looking like she had socked him in the gut. 'Looks like you scored a direct hit. Way to go, Lina.' The director's smug exterior had been breached. Switching off the audio-visual recordings and sending a copy to his computer, he gathered up his own gear and left, getting in the final word.
"We'll resume this interview," With heavy emphasis on the word 'interview' as he paused for dramatic effect, "At 1600 hours," he stated, before sweeping out of the conference room after his colleague.
An Eye for an Eye Leaves Everyone Blind
Director Leon Vance's Office 27th May 2009 1530 hours
Damned woman! Who the Hell did she think she was throwing down an emotional grenade like that and then stalking out. What was it with women that they always needed to have the last word? Was it inbuilt into their DNA? Problem was that her pitiful need to one-up him had gotten past his defences and hit him right in the soft underbelly. Okay… it actually felt like she'd punched him in the solar plexus and knocked all the breath out of him. A throwaway comment that had hit home and forced him to examine his motives; damn her!
And damn DiNozzo. If he hadn't been so intolerably nosy, he wouldn't have been poking around in things that didn't concern him and none of this crap would have happened. Life would certainly been much simpler for everyone if Rivkin had killed him, as he certainly should have given their respective training and skills. Gibbs would have been pissed off to be sure, but then he was always pissed off about something, so it would just have been situation normal on Planet Gibbs. Leon could have lived with that.
He might have even had just cause to ship Ziva back to Israel. He'd never been a fan of his predecessor's decision to have a Mossad liaison enmeshed in the agency. It was unprecedented and problematic, leastwise because it was Eli's daughter. Despite her much vaunted training, as far as he could see she was an emotional time-bomb waiting to explode. Case in point, her emotional need for male affection, clearly related to her 'Abba Issues' which had seen her form school-girlish infatuations with two individuals in cases they were investigating – one that involved that Navy guy, Lieutenant Roy Saunders who was poisoned by radiation.
The second, even more worryingly, had been a suspect in a murder case when she was undercover as bait. Sleeping with a POI, apart from being incredibly stupid and dangerous, would have totally jeopardised their case in court if her lover had turned out to be the killer. So much for a highly trained Mossad operative!
And her hair trigger temper was of concern, given that she had 'accidentally' killed a suspect when he hadn't shut up when she'd order him to. Although she'd been cleared, Vance wasn't really satisfied that it wasn't a case of people turning a blind eye to her actions rather than her having no complicity in the suspect's death. He questioned that she was justified in striking him in the first place! Thankfully, it hadn't happened under his watch, but it had been concerning nonetheless.
He didn't even want think about the complaints he'd received almost daily from her colleagues and other workers about her threats and intimidation and her perpetual flying off the handle at people for perceived slights when they called her ma'am. It seemed to him as if she was trying to out-Gibbs Gibbs while attempting to scare the crap out of everyone in the whole damned building. But losing it during the Domino break-in when she disobeyed direct orders not to engage a bunch of armed Marines that she had no hope of overpowering, was very sobering and hardly professional behaviour. If they'd opted to shoot her and DiNozzo, which had been a distinct possibility, his career as director would have been over before it even started. Frankly, if it had been anyone else but Eli's daughter, it would have resulted in her being shipped off to Outer Mongolia.
And for someone who had been trained in the art of sexual seduction, she clearly wasn't adept at controlling her own emotions and libido. Her manipulation by Eli's puppet Rivkin should not have managed to get passed her defences with her amount of training. Or perhaps it was simply that her emotional issues had made her unsuitable to serve Mossad as a field operative no matter how gifted or skilled she was or her much vaunted pedigree. Not that she had been really given a choice in the matter by her father, and it was always difficult for a child to live up to the reputation of a famous parent if they happened to follow in their footsteps. If they were forced to follow in their footsteps!
It wasn't that he'd been unsympathetic to Ziva's situation; he was a father after all, and he thought his friend had failed her as a father. But as the director of NCIS he had always been uncomfortably aware that Eli David's control and training of his daughter was absolute and as such she had, upon his orders, killed her own half-brother. A true sibling that by all reports available she was devoted to and loved beyond reason. Leon's concern had always been that if Ziva would kill her own brother on her father's orders, what would Ziva do to mere NCIS team mates or colleagues should Eli require it of her? Leon had often wondered if she would kill one of them if ordered to do so. Clearly, it was a moot point now... not because she was dead, but because she had died trying to kill DiNozzo, one of her team mates, and she had not needed an order from her father.
Shepard had been mad to agree to her being embedded in the first place, but once she had, it was much more difficult for him to shut down the position when he'd taken over the reins of directorship. It was one thing to have a strong cooperative relationship with the Israelis, but to have Eli's daughter in their midst was far too dangerous. Perhaps a garden variety Mossad officer may have worked, but Eli's daughter was a recipe for disaster, since the more she fit in with them, the more she earned her father's mistrust and the more jealous he became. It was simply a no-win situation for all of them. And if Leon was being brutally honest, it had just been a matter of time before something blew up in their faces, but he wished it had been delayed so that it was on someone else's watch.
It had never been his intention that his lightening-like career trajectory would come to a screeching halt in the NCIS director's chair. Ambition was his middle name and Eli David was supposed to be his salvation, as he had been at the inception of his career in Amsterdam, which ironically was also supposed to be his swan song. Now it seemed that Eli would also be his Achilles' heel, all because DiNozzo couldn't keep his nose out of everyone's business.
Stirring up the case of the ICE agent's death once it had been closed, and then he had managed to survive not just one but two Kidon assassins trying to kill him. And apparently Ziva had almost killed him in Israel, too, which would have been much less messy. But somehow the annoying agent had against the odds been able to survive. How was that even possible?
But Reyes was right about one thing, much as it pained him to admit it, even if it was only to himself. Although he'd never consciously thought about it before, his disdain for the juvenile Agent Anthony DiNozzo was because he did indeed remind him of someone…someone he abhorred with every fibre of his being. And he had to admit that the whole line of questioning by Fornell and Reyes had unsettled him and forced him into introspection, which at this point in time when he was fighting for his political life he could ill afford. It was definitely unwelcome, yet the problem with Pandora's Box was once opened, it was impossible to shove all the crap neatly back inside the box and lock it again. It just didn't fit anymore, damn those fibbies and their mind games.
The truth… well, the truth was that Leon Vance had seen Timothy McGee when he took over the directorship, first temporarily, and then when Jen Shepard was killed, and had strongly identified with him. He was everything that Vance thought was desirable and necessary in a federal agent. McGee was smart, oozed personal ambition and had a strong drive for power. He wasn't hindered by false modesty and didn't indulge in useless self-doubts. He was computer literate; man, was that an understatement!
The guy was a genius… probably better than himself, and there he was, playing second fiddle to Gibbs and his clearly dumb, juvenile constable plod, senior field agent. It was just so wrong. No, it was obscene!
While their backgrounds were worlds apart, or as the novelist Gemcity would probably say… they were like chalk and cheese, Timothy McGee reminded Vance of himself. In short, he was his mini-me. And when he looked at Anthony DiNozzo, he saw a mediocre yet cocky, smugly self-opinionated agent who cruised along on the coat tails of much more talented individuals and took credit for their efforts. He was a dinosaur who was threatened by agents like McGee and Vance because of their superior skills with computers, technology and profoundly superior IQ's. He still thought that some brawn was all that was required to solve crimes. DiNozzo was the type of man to throw a colleague under the bus or to blackmail a probie to get a result and make him look good.
Vance grimaced, to cut a long story short, DiNozzo most definitely reminded him of his nemesis, Retired Special Agent Riley McCallister. An agent who'd blithely used him on his first NIS mission in Amsterdam, where if not for Eli David saving his ass, that op would have been not only his first, but his last. He'd been expendable to his handler and to Agent Sharp who recruited him. Ha, recruited him, that was a good one… she had blackmailed him because she knew about the switch.
While McCallister had been willing to sacrifice him for the success of a mission, so where was the outrage over that, Special Agent Fornell? But then again, Leon Vance had never fit in with the old boys' club that agents like McCallister, Mike Franks and Leroy Jethro Gibbs belonged to along with the Tobias Fornell's of this world. None of them wanted a geeky black guy from Chicago to join their precious in-group, any more than a dumb, rich jock like DiNozzo would welcome a Timothy McGee.
And just as McCallister did his level best to stymie Leon's career and ambitions after Amsterdam, doctoring his personnel file, since the man knew how to hold a grudge against for him for not dying as planned, DiNozzo hindered McGee, too. Vance saw it as a combination of deliberately derailing him, since DiNozzo was obviously threatened by the skills that McGee possessed, and unintentionally stood in his way. His mere presence in holding down the SFA job was seriously impeding McGee's upward trajectory. When the opportunity arose to get him out of the road and give McGee a shot as senior field agent so he could shine and convince Gibbs he deserved to be his second, Vance had grabbed at it with both hands.
After all, McGee had done extremely well down in cybercrimes, assuming leadership with an ease and ambition that was gratifying to Leon, who viewed him as his protégé. Furthermore, he'd even served as DiNozzo's SFA when Gibbs had retired. DiNozzo's evals on his SFA had been positive, which given his obvious desire to downplay Tim's skills and contributions, was almost certainly a gross understatement of the man's actual achievements during those four months.
He knew that McGee just needed to be given a chance to shine and Gibbs would be forced to acknowledge that he was a superior SFA to DiNozzo. Unfortunately, Gibbs had done an end run around him and dragged his former SFA back to DC again, refusing to see or acknowledge Tim's strengths. No doubt thanks to the old boys' club, McGee had been over looked again.
Leon ignored the scuttlebutt he'd heard from various senior agents and SFAs from the time when DiNozzo had been team leader about DiNozzo covering McGee's butt when he'd been SFA and Tim's less than mature behaviour during that period. He knew DiNozzo's type and there was no way the attention-seeking, cocky former cop would cover for anyone, especially a competitor … well, with the exception of his precious mentor Gibbs who he idolised. McGee was brilliant and Vance was certain that he was more than capable of performing the duties of senior field agent in his sleep. And in order for him to progress up the ladder, he needed experience in a leadership role in the field before Vance could justify promoting him to senior agent.
So, when that pair of unimaginative fibbies started asking questions about if he'd have made McGee face Eli David, it had been a stupid question. Of course, he wouldn't. Agents like DiNozzo were a dime a dozen. FLETC spewed them out year after year, unfortunately, but an agent like McGee happened along maybe once in a generation for a small agency like NCIS. You had to nurture and protect talent like his, not throw it away, and fortuitously as his director, Vance was in a position to do just that. So, it was lucky that McGee wasn't incurably inquisitive and hadn't felt driven to investigate things that were better left alone. And he had to agree that McGee wouldn't have survived an encounter with Rivkin… Hell, Dinozzo shouldn't have survived an encounter with Rivkin. Even drunk, the Israeli assassin should have made mincemeat out of the lightweight agent, who certainly was no Marine.
Smirking, Vance decided that if he'd had to protect his protégé from his friend and Mossad Director, he would have undoubtedly found a way to manipulate the dim-witted DiNozzo into taking the bullet. While he was essentially obnoxious, his only redeeming feature, unlike McCallister who had none, was that he was a loyal SOB. You could convince him to do anything if he thought that his precious senior agent was threatened or in danger. Frankly, he couldn't believe that a joke like DiNozzo, who admittedly had managed to best Eli when interrogated by him, was more than likely going to cost him his career. Ironic really, since McCallister had tried to destroy it often enough and failed, but a bumbling ex-cop had somehow succeeded in dragging him down without even trying!
Things would have been a lot less complex if Eli had just managed to extract a confession out of him, because then the Israeli would have been able to justify throwing him into prison and leaving him to rot. Although, and he would never admit this to anyone, not even SecNav, who understood how important it was to keep Eli David on side, he wouldn't have made anything more than a cursory protestation if Eli had demanded DiNozzo's life in retribution for killing Officer Rivkin, as he'd hinted he may well do before they made the trip to Tel Aviv. If DiNozzo had been imprisoned, Gibbs would have never rested until he brought him home again, but if he'd been executed, he would have had to accept it and move on.
Life would have gone on and Vance wouldn't be looking at trying to save his once brilliant career.