Chapter 16:
The team rode together to Austin’s bar, splitting into teams of two after getting out of the car. As much as Gibbs disliked the idea of having Tony out of his sight, he also knew that he couldn’t hover on top of the younger man 24-7. It would suffocate Tony, and that tended to make Tony close up even more so than he was on a regular basis. By pairing Tony off with McGee, Gibbs hoped to keep the line of communication open between the two of them.
Watching as two of his agents crossed the street, Gibbs scanned the area for anything unusual. Gibbs wouldn’t put it past Morris to try something, especially at this point in his so called game.
Ziva observed Gibbs keeping a close eye on Tony and McGee before he turned towards the direction of the bar. She knew that her boss was worried about Tony, hell they all were, but with Gibbs it seemed to go much further than worry over a teammate and friend. She wisely kept her thoughts to herself, however, knowing that Gibbs was not the kind of man who liked to talk about things of this nature.
“We’ll talk to the bartender first,” Gibbs announced, breaking the silence as they neared the entrance. “We make it clear to him that we aren’t investigating him or the activities that go on here. Understood?”
Ziva nodded. “Making terms clear with him will put everyone else at ease, yes?”
“In a manner of speaking,” Gibbs said with a nod.
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Tony felt Gibbs monitoring him as he crossed the street and entered a local sandwich shop that had security cameras positioned over their entrance, with enough of an angle to catch what went on across the street. Tony let McGee take the lead, questioning the owner and asking for the tapes, allowing his mind to think while keeping a sharp eye on his surroundings. He knew all too well that Gibbs was apprehensive about letting him out of the building, let alone out of his sight while Morris was still out there. That made Tony appreciate it all the more that Gibbs had made it possible for him to go outside after interrogating Lewis and allowed him to accompany the team out to search for clues to find Morris.
Gibbs understood Tony’s need to be actively involved in the case, more so than anyone. Although Gibbs had never mentioned it to Tony, the younger man knew that his boss had cases in the past that never seemed to let you go. His investigation of the man had told him as much before he had fully agreed to come to work at NCIS.
“I’m all set here, Tony,” McGee said as he approached him, carrying the tapes from the security cameras.
“On to the next stop then,” Tony said as he led the way back outside and towards the gas station.
“So how are you holding up?” McGee asked, having been worried after witnessing Tony in interrogation.
Tony held back a smart remark, wanting to fall back on his normal coping mechanism of humor and movie references. McGee deserved a better answer than that, especially in light of the support he had been giving throughout the case.
“As well as can be expected, I suppose,” Tony replied, not quite admitting that Morris was getting to him.
“We’ll catch him, Tony,” McGee said with confidence. “I mean, the way he’s aiming at you with everything, it’s only a matter of time before we do.”
Tony let out a dry laugh. “Thanks for that cheery thought, Probie.”
McGee looked confused for a second, before realizing what exactly he had said. “Oh, I didn’t mean it like that, I meant…”
“I know what you meant, McGee,” Tony interrupted him. “And thanks.”
McGee nodded, ending the conversation as they entered the gas station.
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Dean Wilcox was a middle-aged man with an obvious beer belly and thinning hair. His years as a bartender and owner of said bar gave him the insight to know what someone’s business was when they walked in, whether they were regulars or not. He especially had a talent for knowing who was a cop and who was not. It made for good business when he could figure out if there was an undercover cop wandering around, poking his nose where it didn’t belong.
So when the door opened to reveal a silver-haired man followed by a young foreign looking woman, his instincts screamed cop. What was slightly surprising was that they came right to him, not bothering to look around at who was currently in the bar. Usually cops came in looking for one of his customers.
“Gibbs, NCIS,” the silver-haired man said by way of introduction, flashing his badge. “You Dean Wilcox?”
He nodded in reply. “Don’t know what navy cops are doing around here, the customers I get in here aren’t the type to serve in the military.”
“Good thing we are not looking for servicemen then,” the woman said, not identifying herself by name, but Wilcox figured she was with NCIS as well. Cops or feds, didn’t matter, they always traveled in pairs at the very least.
“Well then what do you want?” Wilcox wanted to know, not in the mood to play any kind of mind games today.
“Information. This man,” Gibbs pulled out a photo and slides it towards him, “is not a regular here at this bar, yet we know he was in here recently. He is wanted for several murders. I don’t really care what the hell else is going on around here; I just want to know what you can tell me about him.”
Wilcox briefly glanced at the photo before looking at the pair of agents in front of him. Sensing that they were serious, which was highly unusual for someone in their positions to be ignoring anything illegal, he looked back down at the photo again.
“You’re right, he’s not one of my regulars around here,” Wilcox confirmed. “He came in here with one of my regulars, though.” Although he wasn’t too keen on giving information to cops, Wilcox also knew that sometimes cooperating even just a little went a long way towards getting rid of them quicker. That was always important, getting rid of them as fast as possible with the least amount of fuss.
“Who was the regular that he came in with?” Gibbs demanded to know.
“Guy by the name of Matt Robinson. He is always bringing in a friend or two,” the bartender replied. “I guess you could say that he knows how to get people in touch with certain types, if you get my meaning.”
“What about Morgan Lewis?” the woman asked.
Wilcox snorted. “Morgan talks to everyone, gets him into a lot of trouble.”
“But he was seen talking to this man?” the woman pressed, pointing at the photo.
“Yeah. Sometime last week, I believe, Morgan and your guy left together. Not unusual, Morgan is always trying to scam someone, but it’s usually him that gets the drop.”
“No different this time around. Where can we find Matt Robinson?” Gibbs said.
Wilcox paused, considering his options for the moment. Matt was a regular, and a friend as well.
Sensing his hesitation, Gibbs pressed him. “We need to talk to him about his new friend. Tell me where to find him, and I won’t be back here. If not, I can have this place crawling with agents before happy hour starts.”
“Bad for business, yes?” the woman said with a smirk.
“This time of day there’s no telling where he is, but I can give you his cell number,” Wilcox said. Matt wasn’t that good of a friend, nor was he a threat like some of his other regulars could be.
He quickly scribbled out a number and handed it over, and just as quickly, the two agents were gone. Wilcox sighed in relief, another catastrophe averted.
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Tony and McGee had just arrived back at the car when Gibbs and Ziva exited the bar, with Gibbs talking on his cell. Evidently, they had gotten something useful.
“We have a cell phone number of Matt Robinson, the man who brought Morris to the bar,” Ziva informed them.
“Really? Who did you get to give up that information?” McGee asked.
“The bartender was most helpful,” Ziva replied.
Tony grinned. “Naturally. Bartenders know everything that goes on in their own bar. No trouble from anyone else?”
She shook her head. “We did not even have to question any of the men Abby identified as regulars.”
“Abby’s got a fix on the cell,” Gibbs interrupted them. “Let’s go.”
As they each piled into the car they felt the surge of hope at narrowing the distance between them and Morris.
Chapter End Notes:
Wow, I have really been letting real life get in the way of things. I have 2 jobs now, plus school on top of that. I hope all of those that read what I write understand how crazy things can get. I do not intend to abandon this story; it is just a long process in being completed. Thanks for sticking with me, if you do! Much appreciated!