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Chapter Twenty-Four

Philadelphia Freedom

"Come on, just try a little bit. It might be really good," Abby pleaded, holding a spoonful of lumpy, greyish… something.

"Does that look like it could… possibly be anything good to you? If you're so… convinced, you eat it," Tony said, pressing his lips firmly together.

Disgruntled, she regretfully put the spoon back on the tray. "But you have to eat something, Tony. You're all skin and bones, and you won't get better if you don't fuel your body. It needs energy to heal."

"I'll never be… hungry enough to eat that, and I'm… not skin and bones. It's only been a few… days," he said, rolling his eyes.

Abby could be so dramatic.

If hospitals wanted people to regain their health and get out of bed so that other, sicker people could get into them, why on earth would they feed them such unappetizing mush? That crap only makes you feel worse. Maybe they did it on purpose so your hunger would drive you out, seeking better options. Whatever it was, Tony wasn't about to eat that slop. Not even Gibbs could make him do that.

He wasn't sure when Abby and the silent FBI guy who was standing outside his door arrived, but he was certain there was a reason they were here and Gibbs wasn't. He just hadn't been able to wheedle the information out of Abby.

Yet.

"I know there's something going on, Abs. You better… tell me before my blood pressure monitor starts… going crazy," he said, putting on the face that had melted an untold number of women's hearts.

He wasn't above a little manipulation to get the information he needed. He'd spent a lifetime doing it. Abby, however, was one of the few women who'd ever been onto his game.

But he knew her weaknesses, too.

"Just put those puppy dog eyes right back in their sockets, mister. I'm here with you. That should be enough," she said primly, picking up the dreaded spoon of mush to try again.

Tony scowled.

"If you take just one bite, I'll tell you where Gibbs is," she said tauntingly.

He didn't believe her. He was fairly certain that Gibbs was back at the office since Abby was here, and he wasn't. Tony wanted to know why Gibbs was there, and that wasn't what she'd offered. Abby could be very tricky, but he wasn't born yesterday. The thing to know about her was that she was a terrible liar, so he just had to catch her at it, and she'd fold like a cheap suit.

"Did they catch Warren or Barrows? No, never mind. If they had, there'd be… no need for Lurch over there," he said, jerking his head towards the door where his bulky FBI guard was standing sentry.

"Be nice," she said, trying to frown but he could see the sparkle in her eyes. "No sign of any of the bad guys yet, but they can't hide forever. Tim is tracking them."

Tony winced. "Probie won't let 'em get… away. He'll use some… incredibly boring, dweeby computer program to cross sample… search parameters in a keystroke or something," he said, observing the way Abby's body relaxed as they chatted, and he jumbled together words that he'd heard McGee use.

Although he still wasn't able to walk or talk too long, his breathing was improving, and he could mostly get his sentences out without gasping.

"What else has he been doing now that… most of the abandoned buildings in the… city have been searched?" he asked.

She perked up excitedly.

"He's been searching–" she stopped suddenly, eyes widening with that familiar expression that she'd said too much.

"Searching for what? A date? Anxiety meds? A good… tailor?" Tony asked, rapid fire. Well, as rapidly as he was able with lungs shredded like Swiss cheese.

Abby remained silent, chewing on her lip nervously.

"Abby, what has he been searching for?" he asked.

"Well… he and Sacks found something, actually," she said, looking anywhere but at him.

"He and Slacks found what? Is he really… working with Slacks now? That has… to be the most unlikely… duo since Timon and Pumbaa. He's… going to have to do better than that… if he wants to make it up to… me," Tony said distastefully.

"Oh, Tony! He really is trying to make it up to you. He knows it was stupid, but he really wants to earn your trust back. He agreed to work with Sacks because it was such a good idea," she said.

"Is this idea the reason why Gibbs… went to the office? What did McGee find?" he asked.

Abby began twisting her fingers, eyes glazed. "I can't tell you. I'm sure Gibbs will when he gets here. I don't know what's going to come of it, anyway," she said, giving away a little more in her distress.

"That means it's something… Fornell can't act on alone, so it… can't be case related. What else? Must be… something to do with my partners," Tony said, the word tasting sour taste on his tongue, "leaving me… out in the cold."

"No! It has nothing to do with Timmy. He was shocked and horrified, too, but he knew Gibbs had to be told before Sacks got to Fornell," Abby said, before gasping and slapping her hand over her mouth.

Shoulders slumping, Tony realized the issue, and it dampened the euphoria that getting the info out of Abby created.

"What did Ziva do now?"

She'd been a thorn in his side since her arrival. She obviously hadn't let up, even with him out of the way due to her lack of vigilance. Although, he did have to admit that the idea of Slacks turning his single-minded focus onto Ziva was very satisfying. Maybe he'd even let go of his conviction that Tony actually murdered a bunch of women.

Then again, maybe not. He was stubbornly stuck on that idea.

Abby shook her head. "Honestly, Tony. I've said more than I should already, so please stop asking me. Come on, you owe me. Take a bite of this, and let me feel a little better."

She held up the spoon encouragingly.

Tony kept his lips pressed together, and shook his head like a little kid, his mind reeling with scenarios of what Ziva could've done.

That's how Tina found them when she entered the room, still bundled up from the cold. She couldn't quite control the snort that escaped or the sparkle in her eyes as she watched them.

"Stop tormenting Abby, DiNozzo. She's been a good friend to you," she said, unbuttoning her coat. "Although, I can't see why any friend would seriously expect you to eat that."

Tony smirked at Abby triumphantly.

"But… he has to eat something. You have no idea how weird it is for Tony not to eat," Abby said, eyes wide.

Tina opened her purse and pulled out a twenty. "Tell you what, he probably can't have anything heavy on an empty stomach, but I bet a turkey sandwich with lettuce and tomato would be okay. Why don't you run down to the cafeteria and get him one, while I fill him in on a few things?" she said.

"With bacon," Tony added, grumbling.

"No bacon, but you can have a slice a of cheese," Tina said, amused she was bargaining with a grown man in the same way she did with her kids.

Tony considered the offer, and eventually nodded. "Pepperjack."

Abby beamed and quickly bolted out the door before he could change his mind. As soon as she was out of sight, Tony turned his attention to Tina, and he felt his insides twist and tighten. A ball of lead seemed to settle in his stomach, and his palms grew sweaty. He still couldn't remember exactly what he'd said to her, but he knew it was more than he should've – and it had something to do with Ziva. Before he could even pull his thoughts together to begin the discussion, or a plea to forget whatever he'd said, she beat him to it.

"Have you taken your meds?" she asked, businesslike.

Tony frowned, wondering how she knew he'd pulled back on the painkillers. He'd taken some today, but again at a lower dose. He was more uncomfortable, and his hand throbbed like a son of a bitch, but at least his head was clear. He thought it was a fair trade. He just stared at her, perplexed.

"Gibbs lectured me. Apparently, he thinks you offended me, so he wants me to fix it," she said, a twitch pulling at the left corner of her mouth.

"Ah. He's been cranky cooped up in here," Tony said, knowing the inactivity bothered his boss as much as it did him. That's why it was such a big deal Gibbs was voluntarily doing it.

"No offence taken, Tony – so please take your meds. I don't want you to be in pain, but I also don't want him barking at me about it," Tina said. "The man has serious anger issues."

"You're not telling me… anything I don't know. The meds make me… really loopy, and I think I might've been… talking crazy when you were last here, so you should just… ignore anything I might have said. I was doped… out of my head," he said hopefully, becoming a little breathless.

"No. You weren't talking crazy. You don't trust Ziva, and you're right not to," Tina said bluntly. "She's up to something, and I don't believe this latest snafu was just a language barrier."

Tony narrowed his eyes. "I didn't get Abby to spill… all the details before you arrived. Why don't you… fill me in before we discuss my… trust issues," he said.

If she was going to give a little, he'd give a little, but she came to see him. The first move was hers. She sat down in one of the chairs next to his bed, the comfy one Gibbs had been using. She tucked the longer strands of her blonde hair behind her ear on one side.

"Before I begin, and I will tell you what's going on, along with what we discussed the other day, but you should know… I've already done some sleuthing of my own, and I have no intention of stopping. Are we clear?"

An uncomfortable wave of unease cascaded through his body like aftershocks, putting him on edge. Damn those pain killers and the effect they always had on him. What had he done? And how deep was he going to be in it with Gibbs once the boss found out what was going on?

Because he would find out… he always did.

"Don't look so apprehensive. You might like what I have to tell you," she said with a small grin.

"Tell me, and I'll be the… judge of that," he said warily.

"Agent Sacks and Agent McGee worked in tandem to re-listen to the recording from the night you managed to plant the listening device," she said.

That hadn't been what he'd expected. "Why? Gibbs said the perps… didn't reveal any of their hideaways."

"That's true, but we stopped listening after you'd rescued the sailor. Things became a lot more hectic after that with the need to rescue him, then your disappearance, and the ensuing search. Sacks and McGee wanted to listen further to hear what happened when they discovered the sailor was missing. They might've said something useful," Tina said.

"Was it still recording?" Tony asked, brow furrowed. It was a good idea, but it seemed too much to ask that it would still be functioning.

"It was. They heard the discovery, but there was too much activity, and the voices weren't close enough to pick up anything useful at that point," Tina said.

"But they did get something?" he asked, interpreting what she wasn't saying.

Tina nodded. "It was Ziva, when she went to retrieve the handbag. She made a comment that it smelled like a pig, and perhaps the bartender wasn't as good-looking as you appeared," Tina said solemnly. "The bouncer took it as you'd expect."

Reeling, Tony felt as if a bucket of ice water had been dropped on his head, and he fought to conceal the torrent of emotion flooding his brain.

"So, she does… think I'm… good-looking," he said shakily.

"Don't do that. You don't need to deflect. You have every right to feel betrayed, and there's no need for nervous responses," Tina said.

Tony sobered, heart still racing. He was surprised the monitors hadn't started screeching.

"No, there's nothing funny about it. I'm guessing… that's where Gibbs is… Fornell told him? How did… he take it?" he asked, hoping his boss would keep in mind Tony's suspicions about their liaison officer.

Gibbs first impulse would be to protect his team – particularly the women on his team. Even though he and Gibbs had come to a mutual agreement that they'd work this out together, Tony needed to brace himself for how this might've gone over. Gibbs probably went ballistic, but he might not be ready to accept it that quickly. He usually needed time to let things percolate. While he wanted snap judgements from everyone else, the boss tended to deliberate.

"From what I saw, he's pissed. He and Fornell brought Ziva into the interrogation room to confront her, so they have it all on tape," Tina said.

Tony's eyes rounded, wishing he didn't miss that scene. Gibbs actually allowed her to be brought into Interrogation? Maybe he really was taking Tony's concerns seriously. It would definitely be must-see TV, and he could only imagine how it might've gone over.

"How'd she take that?" he asked, stunned.

"About as you'd expect. She tried to appeal to Gibbs' honor, wondering why he was allowing Fornell to abuse her, basically," Tina said, the derision clear in her tone.

Tony snorted. "Sounds about par… for the course. She knows how to… manipulate him. What excuse did… she use? That she messed up her American… expressions and didn't mean… any harm?" he asked bitterly.

"You got it. McGee says she messes up her idioms all the time," Tina replied.

Tony nodded non-committedly, his insides churning enough to make him nauseous. He'd bet Tim didn't want to believe it. Probie could be incredibly naïve, and he hated being proven wrong. Gibbs, though… He'd been coming around, but would this be too much, too fast? It was a leap to go from disregarding Tony's contribution to all-out shoving him into the lion's den.

Gibbs asked him not to give up on him, though, so Tony was going to cling to the hope all their progress hadn't been lost.

"Tony, are you all right?" Tina asked gently.

He tried to shake it off. "Whisky, Tango, Foxtrot," he muttered.

"I know. It's a lot," she said.

She paused a moment, letting him regain his equilibrium before continuing with her bombshells. "When I was here the other day, after the nurse gave you your meds, you said Ziva wanted you off the team. Do you think she could've done this intentionally?"

"Yes," he replied without having to think about it.

"She's tried to discredit me… sideline me… isolate, and demean me… even seduce me – but I'm still here…like a pesky mosquito, and I think… it's driving her crazy. I certainly annoy her. She's made no… secret that she finds me… incompetent. Her first instinct… is usually violence, but… she's capable of… manipulation to set… me up. It keeps… her hands clean."

Tina placed her hand on his shoulder, giving it a supportive squeeze. He appreciated the effort, but it didn't help much. He wasn't surprised Ziva was trying to get rid of him, but the fact she'd convinced Tim to go along with it, and Gibbs full support was still an uncertainty… well, it hurt. He wasn't entirely sure that the pressure in his chest was only due to his broken ribs.

"Did Gibbs believe her?" he asked hollowly.

"I don't know. I left Observation before they were finished. I had something to do, and then I came here," Tina said.

It was a lot to take in. His partners already left him hanging in the wind in a dangerous situation. McGee insisted it was a mistake, a foolish oversight, and Tony was leaning toward believing him… but he'd had his reservations about Ziva all along.

"Maybe not following… me to the men's room… was more intentional on her part… than she claimed," he said, working it out in his head.

"I was with her while we searched for you, and her expression after we learned you'd been found has been troubling me. It seemed more like panic than relief. After I heard about this today…"

"What?" he asked, feeling more tired than he ever had in his life.

"The only other thing you said to me that day was something about her computer, something in Hebrew," Tina said, prompting.

Tony felt panic bubble up inside. This was all too much, and he felt everything he'd so carefully guarded slipping out of his control.

"Have you mentioned that to anyone?" he asked sharply.

She shook her head. "No, but it made me curious, so I started poking around. The way she's working on your team is more as an agent, not anything that a liaison officer should be allowed to do."

"I'm aware," Tony said, unwilling to elaborate that his protests had gone unheeded.

"Do you know she's the daughter of the Director of Mossad?" Tina asked.

Tony was impressed – she had done her homework. "I do."

Tina looked as surprised at his response as he felt about her knowing about the relationship.

"Well then, her loyalties clearly aren't divided. A liaison is supposed to work between two parties, serving each's best interests. How can anyone believe that if one of the parties is her own father?" Tina asked, outraged.

Tony shrugged. "Apparently there's been… bad blood between the two, but she still came… here to work for his benefit. She never left Mossad."

Tina made a face. "When I heard her defense, that she'd simply misspoken, I knew Gibbs and Fornell had no way to prove that she was lying. But I think there might be a way."

Tony narrowed his eyes. "What did you do?"

"I don't want to blindside you, so I'm going to tell you everything… including what I've already accomplished."

Tony's insides twisted, bile rising in his throat. He was so screwed.

"It seemed odd to me that the only time her idioms actually messed up a case, it's not damaging to her, but only to the one whom she clearly bears a grudge. So, I left Observation while they were still grilling her, and I went out into the squad room where Ziva left her laptop. I cloned it while she was occupied," Tina said.

"Cloned it?" Tony asked, unsure if that meant what he thought it meant.

"I have duplicates of all the files," she said.

"Tina! She's a killer – a trained assassin. Do you have… any idea… what you've… done? You don't want… to find yourself… at the top of Mossad's… hit list," Tony said, concerned.

"I've done exactly what you've been doing. Don't tell me you haven't been digging, too," she said.

"That's… different," he insisted, gasping.

"No, it's not. Don't go all chauvinistic on me. I'm a federal agent, one who outranks you, by the way. I know how to do my job, and I can look after myself," Tina said.

"It has nothing… to do with… chauvinism. That's Gibbs' schtick. I know… first-hand that women are more… than capable. I'm convinced the one… I'm currently partnered with could kill me… with a sheet of copy paper – and probably get away with it. The reason… it's different is that I'm… a known snoop. I'm curious and… intrusive and know no boundaries, so she… isn't as suspicious of me… lurking around as she will be… about you."

"There's more," Tina said, dismissing his concern and his increasingly labored breathing.

"What?" Tony asked, rattled.

"She's been gathering intel, and I suspect she's been sharing it with Mossad – without detection. I think she's become overconfident and sloppy."

"How so?" he asked.

"Before I even started investigating, I'd noticed that we had an attempt to breach our secure files in-house. It was from an empty workstation that no one uses unless they have to because the top desk drawer is broken," she said.

"You think… it was Ziva?"

"I know it was."

"How?" he asked, wary yet eager.

"After everyone went home for the night, I lifted her prints off the keyboard. They were the only prints there since the cleaning crew hadn't yet arrived," she said.

"You've got her," Tony said, stunned.

Tina shook her head. "Only for attempting to access FBI data. I think she's done worse at NCIS, but I'll need your help to prove it. I'm not even sure if Fornell would agree to turn this over to our supervisors if it would upset Gibbs, and that's just wrong. I suspect Ziva's up to something that could be a threat to National Security, and if I have to go over Fornell's head, I will. But it would be easier if I had more. I'm positive you have something, too, Tony."

Tony sighed, torn. In his dream, Kate told him if needed help, to ask. It was one of Gibbs' rules. Here it was, being offered to him on a silver platter. He owed Kate, but he also owed Gibbs, and he felt as if his insides were being torn in half.

This was his chance.

"I have a tape recorder… locked in my desk… back at NCIS. It has several recordings… of her speaking in hushed tones… on the phone, in Hebrew. I'm not… positive it's anything," he said.

"But you believe it is. I can tell," Tina said.

"I believe it, too," Abby said, entering the room with a tray full of sandwiches. "You didn't hear her when she came into my lab. She was scary, and really fed up with you."

"Abby! How much… did you… overhear?" Tony asked, aghast.

Had the FBI guard heard, as well? What was wrong with him? Maybe even the lower dose of meds was making him careless. Or maybe the thought of finally getting an ally pushed his confidence over the edge. He was so dead.

Abby rolled her eyes. "I didn't hear anything, but you know I can read lips. I want to help. I can drive back to NCIS while Ziva is still here and get the tape."

"No. Not yet. I need to… talk to Gibbs first," Tony said, alarmed. This was moving too fast. "He won't want… you involved."

"I can go before he knows," Abby suggested tentatively, biting her lip.

Tony knew she was really convinced there was something wrong if she was willing to go behind Gibbs' back. Abby was always loyal to Gibbs. He couldn't allow her to do it, though.

"No. I have to give him… a chance, and tell him… everything," he said, resolute. It was the right thing to do.

"Are you sure?" Tina asked. "You said he wasn't ready."

"I'm sure. I owe him that much – at least a heads-up of what's about… to come down the pipe. He already knows… my suspicions, and I'm cautiously hopeful… that he'll be willing to… investigate – but not if I blindside him," Tony said.

"He's right. Gibbs will do the right thing," Abby said faithfully.

"All right, but even if he decides not to go forward, I'm not going to stop. I want you to know that upfront," Tina said. "There's something here, even if no one wants to see it, and it's my duty to report it."

"I see it. Understood," he replied.

They all took a deep breath, staring at one another as if something momentous had just occurred. The tension was thick and uncomfortable.

"I do have some good news that might cheer you up," Tina said with a small smile.

"What's that?" Tony asked glumly.

This was going to get really messy. Fast. And he'd used up all the energy he had for the day in this one conversation.

"We found Sully – and he's alive. He looks even worse than you do, but he's alive," Tina said, beaming.

Tony's breath caught. "What? How? Is he here? Can I see him?"

Tina shook her head. "Not yet. He's in no shape for visitors. He said he got caught discovering the trap door in the stock room, but that's about all I got out of him before he passed out again."

"How bad is he?" Tony asked, heat thudding.

"Beaten, broken bones… and he's missing three fingers," Tina said heavily.

Tony clamped his eyes shut. That would affect Sully's career. Tony had been worrying about the damage to his own hand. He couldn't imagine what Sully must be going through.

Both women placed a hand on each of his shoulders, squeezing consolingly.

"Don't borrow trouble. He's alive, that's what's important. We'll tackle everything else as it comes," Tina said.

"Seems like… we're tackling… an awful lot, and I'm… worried we're… about to hit… a blitz defense."