TAP9


Tobias ushered Tim away from the Director of NCIS, as his team got to work processing the scene. "Are you sure that you're OK, Tim?" He asked, as he looked the younger agent over.

"I'm fine." Tim insisted, but Tobias wasn't buying it. He could see that Tim was trying to control his emotions, he upset and hurt, but most of all he was furious. That Porsche was the first and only indulgence he had ever allowed himself to have. It was his reward for a job well done when Deep Six was published. He couldn't believe that someone would do that to him. "I warned Pete to watch his back. What if he is their next target?"

"Pete's a big boy, Tim. He will be OK." Tobias reminded him, patting Tim's back gently in reassurance. "We'll catch the person who did this and you will get your car fixed. Everything will be OK."

"I told Vance, I'm done. Today was my last day." Tim told Tobias firmly. The look on the older man's face told him that Tim had taken the hard line with the agency because of what had happened to his car.

The employee parking lot was where he was his Porsche was parked, in a secure underground car park on a secure Naval base. That means that the amount of people that had access to the parking lot was restricted to NCIS personnel. "Is there the slightest chance that this was case related?" Tobias asked, he too suspected DiNozzo or Sciuto, but they had to do their job properly and investigate.

"No." Vance said stepping in, using the question as an opportunity to insert himself into their private conversation. To him, it was obvious that Gibbs' FBI agent friend, Fornell and the resigned Agent McGee had become friends. He wondered if Gibbs knew that they were friends. "But, NCIS will happily provide the FBI unfettered access to McGee's most recent cases."

"Thank you Director, excuse us." Tobias said and took McGee by the elbow and lead him further away from Vance to make sure he wasn't overheard. "Any chance it could be an ex with an axe to grind? Andy?"

"Definitely not. Andy doesn't even know that I am still on the East Coast, let alone where I work. And besides Pete, there hasn't been a guy in years. Since Andy." Tim grinned at him, knowingly. Tobias liked seeing the blush that graced his friend's face whenever Pete was mentioned. He could tell that his friend really liked the man.

Gibbs' arrival, in search of the Director, had ended Tobias and Tim's private conversation. "What are these punks doing here, Director?" Gibbs asked Vance, seeing a full FBI team of agents and crime scene techs, as well as his friend Tobias standing beside his former agent.

"Investigating a crime, Agent Gibbs. Maybe you should try it sometime." Agent Tom Stewart quipped. "I'd like to have a have a chat to you about -"

"What the hell happened to your car, McGee?!" Gibbs interrupted, finally noticing what it was that the FBI were working on.

"How the hell should I know?!" Tim retorted.

"Well don't go thinking that Tony or Abs did that!" He demanded. Gibbs truly believed that neither his lab tech Abby or his senior field agent, DiNozzo would be that spiteful. But the words that were painted across the windscreen spoke to him, as someone who was privy to the particulars of that particular operation.

"The FBI are handling the investigation, Gibbs." Leon Vance told the MCRT team leader. "McGee, you can go home. Come in for an exit interview tomorrow. You can turn in your badge and gun then. Was there something you needed Gibbs?"

"You, in MTAC. Commander Abraham's is being less than cooperative and demands to speak to a superior." Gibbs snapped.

"The Commander can wait until I am ready, Gibbs." Leon Vance argued, with his parking lot covered in FBI agents, he wasn't about to let Gibbs call the shots.

Once the tow truck had arrived, they loaded McGee's beloved Porsche onto the back and the crime scene team packed up their gear. The FBI cleared out, minus Fornell and Tom Stewart. Tom answered to Tobias, but he would be getting his own team and Tim would be moving into his position.

Tim was sent back up stairs to straighten up his desk and clean his files for a final time. He was adamant that he wasn't coming back, now. While Tobias and Tom got the security footage from the security office. Abby had been hanging around the security office and had tried to fight, tooth and nail, to get Keith to refuse to hand over the footage. But Keith had wavered, on Vance's orders.

When that was done, Tobias came by to speak to Gibbs who was in a foul mood. "Good luck with your case." Gibbs smart-mouthed to his friend, as his friend left.

Gibbs was thinking about everything he knew about that had happened. He was angry. Angry at himself and angry at Tobias. He couldn't prove it but he knew deep in his bones that Tobias was the real reason for Tim leaving. Plus, he was worried for his friend; Tony. Tony had repeatedly broken the law and was facing significant jail time. His dear friend Abby, the woman who was more like a daughter to him, she was going to be punished for her words in that meeting. She had threatened to kill, McGee. Although she should not have done it, he was surprised to see that Tim didn't press the issue with the FBI or with Vance.

He looked up in time to see Tobias board the elevator with Stewart and offer McGee a ride home. He'd see McGee tomorrow for the exit interview, he knew he had to try to make things better with him. He had apologised to the man, then gone back in his word and let the others hurl abuse at him.


Tobias followed Tim out of the car and into the younger man's house. Both exhausted. They'd stopped on the way home for some Indian and they'd done a debrief type chat at first, covering what happened to his car. Then Tim mentioned how everything else had went down.

Tobias had thought that his young friend had done a good job of holding himself up high, today. It wasn't easy to leave a job like that, when it was a job that even Tobias knew he loved. But he had done it. Good for him.

"It's only Monday, Tim." Tobias realised with a dry, serious chuckle. "It feels like it's been a week and it's only been a day."

"I know." Tim replied, sitting up.

"Go on, go have a hot shower and relax!" Tobias all but ordered him. "Pete wants me to make sure you're OK and make sure that you get some rest, tonight. So go shower and climb into bed, I'll lock up behind me when I leave."

"Thanks." Tim told him, his voice small but genuine. "Did Pete say anything else?"

"Yeah, he wanted me to kiss your good night." Tobias grinned at his friend, in jest. "That ain't happening, no matter how much Pete pays me."

That made Tim laugh. It was reassuring to know that Pete cared for Tim that way. That he cared for Tim so much, he asked his friend Tobias to check on him. "Tell him if he wants a kiss so much, he can come over and do it himself." Tim jested, imagining the look on Pete's face when Tobias delivered that one liner.

They were still taking their relationship slow, but things had heated up a little more. But both men were hesitant to turn it up to the next level. It was still so new and neither man had been with another man in a while, so slow was good.

"On that note; good night, Tim." Tobias grinned, as he drew himself off the sofa he'd flopped onto when he had followed Tim into his house.


"Abby?!" Tony hissed, in a low voice. He was on the side walk all dressed in black. He was going to confront McGee, the traitor once and for all. Here he had no Vance blocking his route, no Gibbs to glare at him and depending on her mood, no Ziva to back the geek up. "What the hell are you doing here?!"

"I said I was going to kill him and I meant it." She hissed back, managing to grab Tony and pull him off to the side. At Tony's imploring look, she continued. "Not really, I thought I'd persuade him to drop the charges against you. You know, try to save your job."

Tony took in Abby's appearance. Her long black trench coat, buttoned and tied up tightly. Her dark make up had been retouched and had a smoky touch to it. Her lips painted perfectly in scarlet red lip stain and her clunky everyday boots had been replaced with her thigh-highed, black leather open toed, heels with the silver spikes and studs. He'd bet anyone dollars to doughnuts that Abby had some kind of kinky black leather lingerie on underneath. He'd be wrong! She had nothing on, underneath.

"I'm going to say what I have to say first and leave. You can do with what you will." Tony demanded. That was fine with Abby, if everything went according to her plan. She wouldn't be leaving anytime soon. Sure Gibbs would be disappointed in her, for sleeping with him. But once she explained that she had done it to save Tony's job, all would be forgiven.

Abby followed close by Tony, never more than two feet away from him. The lobby was still open, Tony had learnt through his past visits that the lobby doors got locked at midnight. The hallway lights were dimmed, but not off. Again, Tony had learnt that the lights were dimmed at 10pm, from his past visits to McGee's place.

They knocked on his door, quietly and Tony put his ear to the door to see if he could hear moving around in there. He couldn't hear anything. He nudged Abby to try the door handle, but it was locked. Tony removed his lock picks from his jeans pocket and hissed to Abby to stand guard. He was already in enough trouble with the law, with Gibbs and with Vance. He was pretty sure that the latter was the reason that Gibbs had chewed him out so much, in the first place. He was sure that the tattle tale, Tim had ran to Vance and Vance had come down on Gibbs, for not reining him in.

Hearing the lock pins slide back, Tony noticed that the lock was tight, a lot tighter than it had been in the past. Almost as if McGee had paid to have new locks installed. He grinned to Abby. "As if getting new locks would keep me out, McGeek." He popped the last pin with a flourish and the poor popped open. The apartment was dark and that was a surprise. They had both thought for sure that he would be at home. Licking his wounds after his prized car was damaged, so badly.

Tony had been proud of himself. He had managed to sneak down stairs, leave his message on the windshield and get back before anyone noticed he was missing. He had enjoyed how the scuttlebutt within the agency had blown it way out of proportion. He'd simply left message for the traitor on his windshield. But people were saying that his tyres were slashed and brake fluid had been sprayed all over his paint job, that no panel had survived. Some people were saying that now the FBI were involved. Geez, people were so hard up for gossip they'd invent anything to keep themselves amused.

"No one's here." Abby hissed, in a whisper, causing Tony to fumble for the light switch. In the dark, the room had looks sparse, it was obvious that McGee had done some re-arranging of his furniture, since he'd broken in last week.

"What the hell?!" Tony exclaimed, as he hit the switch on the wall and Abby chastised him for his bad language. "The place is empty, gone. He's been completely cleaned out. Close the door Abs and help me look around for any clues."

Abby closed the door, but she didn't wonder too far inside the apartment. It was obvious as the nose on her face, McGee had moved out. "Tony, I checked his 201 file before I left the office. He never changed an address in there, he is his home. So where's all his stuff?"

"I think we should call Gibbs." Abby said, looking Tony in the eye. "McGee transfers to the FBI and now his apartment is cleaned out. McGee's father is an Admiral in the Navy. His family are Navy royalty. He wouldn't just up and leave the agency like that. Being an NCIS agent meant everything to him. He must be in trouble."

"If he's in trouble, why didn't he go to Gibbs?" Tony asked in a mutter. "We're always supposed to go to Gibbs."

A rattling noise at the front door, had Tony and Abby sharing a panicked look with one another. Someone was trying to get in. They began to look for somewhere to hide. Seeing no where to hide, they headed to the bedroom and closed the door.

Suddenly the front door opened and four Silver Spring PD officers came bursting through the unlocked door. "Silver Spring PD, we know you're here. Show yourselves!"

Abby shot Tony a look that clearly said 'what the hell?' Reluctantly, Tony and Abby slowly ventured out of the bedroom, hands in the air. Just as two officers were about to head into the bedroom. "Don't shoot." Tony warned them. "We're NCIS, I'm going to reach for my badge."

"Don't bother!" the lead female officer ordered. "Down on the ground, now. Both of you."

"You don't understand officer, this is not what it looks like. This is our colleague's apartment. We're not doing anything wrong." Abby protested, refusing to follow the orders of the officers on scene. "We're NCIS. He's been acting strange, we think he's in trouble." Tony knew better, as an agent, he knew that he needed to obey. It would get sorted out at the station. He was sure of it.

"I don't care who or what you are." the male officer retorted. "Fact of the matter is you're both under arrest for an unlawful entry into a premises. Do you have any weapons on you to declare, before we search you?"

"We're not the bad guys." Abby continued to protest. "I don't consent to any search. You're not searching me and if you do I will have you charged. I work for NCIS therefore I am a federal employee and I will have you charges with assault of a federal employee."

"Are you crazy too?" the female lead officer asked DiNozzo, as she cuffed him and removed his side arm from the holster and another officer read him his rights. "Or are you crazy with her or are you independently crazy?"

"I'm not with her." Tony denied, vehemently. "I mean we work together but she has her own beef with McGee. I just wanted to talk out a little misunderstanding we had. We're teammates."

"You said someone by the name of McGee lives here?" The small, petite blond female, junior officer asked, coming back in from speaking with a neighbour. "The building manager said this apartment is leased to a Miss Virginia Watkins. She picked up the keys yesterday morning."

"I think I'd like my phone call now." Tony said, zipping his lips. He wasn't saying anything else. He knew if he did, he'd just be digging a deeper hole for himself.

"You can make it down town, at the station." The lead female officer told them, as they managed to search Abby and get the cuffs on her too. They had succeeded, but not without argument. "You're both coming with us."


Vance and Gibbs were sitting at the diner, sharing a meal and a debrief about McGee. "Ya know, I was still angry that he was leaving. I Should have spoken up in that meeting, set Tony and Abby right." Gibbs said, breaking the companionable silence that had been growing between them for the last five minutes or so. "But I never imagined that anyone from our agency was capable of doing that to his car."

"I am afraid it's about to get worse for DiNozzo." Vance reluctantly admitted, as he prepared to deliver Gibbs a blow he wouldn't take well. "The CCTV surveillance shows Agent DiNozzo spray-painting that hateful slur on McGee's windshield. The good news is, he isn't the one who slashed the tyres, or sprayed brake fluid on the paint job. The FBI forensics tech team have opened the soft top and found that the poly-acrylic vinyl was completely shredded inside."

"Who else would hate McGee that much?" Gibbs asked, before he backpedalled. "Wait, you said it was DiNozzo? Positive ID?"

"He looked directly into the camera before he did it. Not only was he visually identified, but they run facial recognition and it matched." Vance explained, as Gibbs' cell phone rang and interrupted their dinner.

Gibbs stepped out of the diner to take the call as he could barely hear the caller in the diner.

Rushing back inside, Gibbs threw some money on the table and retrieved his forgotten jacket. "I'm done with them, Leon. I can't help them, now. That was Silver Spring PD. They have DiNozzo and Abs in their lock up, guess what they've been arrested for?"

"Don't tell me, breaking and entering into Agent McGee's apartment?" Vance asked, as he too, grabbed his jacket and tossed some bills on the table to cover his portion of the bill. "That's just great. You realise you can't save either of them, now?"

"Why would I?" Gibbs asked, as he climbed into the passenger seat of the Director's black SUV. "Geez, no wonder McGee had enough. After everything that happened today and your dire warning to them to leave McGee alone. They still go ahead and pull this bonehead stunt."

"You know this means a pink slip, right?" Vance asked, not wanting to upset Gibbs when he informed them of the news. "The Secretary of the Navy wanted blood over the car incident. Imagine his reaction when he finds out about the breaking and entering charges. He is already royally pissed off at losing McGee from the agency. He was a valuable asset to our agency and he took his key knowledge of how our internal core systems operate with him when he transferred to the FBI."

"Sounds like you've had your ass chewed out for that, Leon?" Gibbs observed, eternally thankful that he is not currently in the Director's shoes. But he knows that the moment Jarvis crosses his wake, he will be in Jarvis' cross-hairs, too.

"And then some. Apparently, I didn't fight hard enough to keep him at our agency." Vance explained the situation he'd been in, as he entered motorway to Silver Springs. "You know why I approved the transfer and accepted his resignation? So fast and didn't actively try to stop it. The writing was on the wall. I secretly expected it after the undercover case last month. McGee was beginning to change in the lead up to the case. His attitude was beginning to get snarky and was borderline disrespectful. When I found out what DiNozzo was doing to McGee's home. When I saw the footage ... I wanted to slap the cuffs on him, myself."

"Why didn't you? Could of saved us the mess of having the FBI involved." Gibbs grumbled, as Vance took the exit for Silver Spring. "Tobias is probably kicking back in his office, having a field day with all of this."

"Hardly. Besides the FBI were already involved. His last alleged break in was filmed and witnessed by Agent Stewart who sought out McGee." Vance said, as he cut off a red mini and haphazardly pulled into the parking lot beside the police station.

Leon and Gibbs made their way up the steps and into the building. Stopping at the front desk, they handed their ID's over to the sergeant. who took down he pertinent details. Before allowing them a professional courtesy and leading the Director and Special Agent In Charge to conference room, rather than an interrogation room, while the prisoners were handcuffed and led in.

"Gibbs! Gibbs! Gibbs!" Abby exclaimed, excitedly, as she rushed in and tried to hug Gibbs. Gibbs wasn't having a bar of it. He didn't raise his arms to hug her and didn't try to comfort her distress. "Boy, am I glad to see you? They took my knife and my daggers. they took my spiky cuffs and my shoes. The claimed they were weapons and they took Tony's weapon. Tell them, we didn't do anything wrong, tell them!"

"Probie's in some kind of trouble, Boss." Vance took a step back at Tony's words. He was sure he'd get more information if they didn't realise that he was here yet. "We went by his place, just to talk. Reason with him about leaving. But he wasn't there. His place was empty. It was as if he never lived there. We have to help him. He's just a poor, defenceless probie."

"Both of you, listen to me, listen very closely!" Gibbs ordered through clenched teeth. He couldn't believe the nerve of these two. Especially after how the day had unfolded. "You two chose to disobey a direct order from the Director. Now you've got to take you pay the price for your insolence. We can't help you. DiNozzo. You're looking at hard time. Abs, you were found with weapons, you resisted arrest and you verbally threatened to harm McGee, rather loudly if I recall. You're both in a world of trouble. You should have used your phone call to call a lawyer, not me."

"Gibbs!" Abby whined again, the MCRT team leader wouldn't have a bar of it. "How can you turn your back on us?"

"Abs, I'm not above the law any more than you are." Gibbs explained gently. "I'll call lawyers for you both, but that's it. I'm done."

"What about Vance?!" Tony exclaimed. "Surely he can make a call, make this all go away. You once told me that I was the best agent that NCIS had. If I go to prison, it's a waste."

"Should have thought of that, before you committed the crime, DiNozzo. You're looking at eighteen months to two years for each offence, served consecutively." Gibbs informed him.

"DiNozzo." Vance said, interrupting the team leader. "I want to inform you of your termination from NCIS with prejudice, effective immediately. You've repeatedly violated the employee code of conduct. You're being criminally charged with multiple B and E offences. As well as a hate crime based on perceived sexual orientation and you're under investigation from the FBI for these crimes. That makes them federal charges."

"No!" Abby hollered, hearing that the Director fired Tony anyway. "McGee's going to pay for this! That's not fair. I mean sure, he shouldn't have broken into McGee's apartment, and he probably shouldn't have spray painted that slur on McGee's car. But he was angry and we've all done stuff we're not proud of when we're angry. I'm sure if you let me talk to McGee alone, I can make him forgive and forget."

"Thank you for your defence of the former Agent DiNozzo's actions, Ms. Sciuto." Vance stated coldly, glaring at her. "You are also terminated from your position at NCIS with prejudice, effective immediately. You've violated your employee code of conduct and the Forensic Scientists Of America Code of Ethics. Let me also assure you. The FBI is taking the vandalism of McGee's car very seriously. It is an acknowledgement of your natural talents that I suspect that you are the other perpetrator of that malicious act. Whether you and DiNozzo worked together or alone is yet to be seen. You are facing hate charges based on perceived sexual orientation. Federal charges, as well as an accessory to B and E. You're looking at prison time too."

"One small problem, Director. McGee's not gay." Abby crowed at him with a smirk. "Trust me, more than anyone I know. When we were together he did some pretty not gay things to me."

"That's enough, Abby." Gibbs warned.

"Actually, he enjoys some pretty satisfying kinky fuckery of his own." Abby smirked again. She was enjoying seeing the men look uncomfortable at her frank assessment of McGee's bedroom skills. "I can't be charged with a hate crime based on sexual orientation, if I can prove that he isn't that way inclined. I have a video. All I need to do is remind him that there's a video...He'll drop all of the charges and we'll be free, Tony. I am positive he doesn't want this video to see the light of day."

"Abs!" Tony hissed at her, wishing for once that she would shut her mouth. "All you're doing is digging a deeper hole for us and adding blackmailing a federal agent to the list of charges. SHUT! THE! HELL! UP!"

A knock at the door interrupted the conversation. "I'm sorry gentlemen, your time is up. The FBI are here to take both of them into custody."


By the time that Gibbs and Vance had followed the FBI with DiNozzo and Abby in custody and Gibbs had preformed his last caring act, as promised, he arranged lawyers for them both. Public defenders at that. He was officially done with both of them.

The two men were exhausted. Leon Vance dropped Gibbs off, back at the diner to collect his truck. "I hope you realise that with DiNozzo and Sciuto in federal custody, McGee still won't come back to the agency." Leon succinctly reminded Gibbs.

"I know." Gibbs sighed, resigned. "Maybe the FBI will be good for him. Like he said. A fresh start. Working for Tobias, a senior field agent. He'll do OK, there."

"He's coming in for an exit interview tomorrow morning Gibbs, I'd like you to sit in on that." Leon asked his subordinate. "Maybe tell him that to his face. You should probably apologise for accusing Fornell of all that crap, too. Way I see it... And I know what I saw. Fornell's been looking out for McGee, been his friend, his ally, for a long while now. It was pretty obvious in the parking lot, earlier today."

"Explains a lot of things, actually." Gibbs chuckled lightly. "Tobias will have his six. Always. Night, Leon."

"Night, Gibbs."