Chapter 5:
It wasn't an easy thing to talk about and Tony couldn't blame anyone for not wanting to be the one to explain things to McGee and Ziva. Besides, it only made sense for him to start things off. After all, he was technically the first one on the trail of the killers. Who better than him to inform the rest of the team of what was going on?
"Well," Tony hesitantly began. "The three men that made up this team of hired killers liked to leave a calling card on their targets."
"So they picked a pocket calendar?" Ziva said curiously.
Tony nodded. "I know, not exactly the ideal thing to pick, but it is pretty smart. Considering how many people actually use a planner of some sort, you wouldn't think it odd when you find something like that at a crime scene."
McGee caught on to his line of thinking. "So unless someone knew what they were specifically looking for, the calendar would just be passed over as part of the victim's belongings."
"Exactly," Tony said, glad that his explanation wasn't confusing anyone yet.
"Is there some sort of special feature on these calendars that make them stand out from an ordinary one?" Ziva asked as she began to understand the significance of this piece of evidence.
Tony looked at Gibbs, Ducky and Abby to see if they wanted to intervene on the conversation yet. They all shook their heads and encouraged him to continue.
He nodded and then turned to McGee and Ziva to continue. And as Tony went into further detail, Gibbs realized that he was giving them the same explanation that he had given Gibbs and Ducky years ago.
"Most people who carry something like this usually have a lot written in it.."
Flashback
"…but the ones that the killers left behind are empty of any personal notes. The only thing written are the words' job interview', and it's marked three days before the victims death," Detective Dinozzo saidwhile he held the door open to the conference room for Agent Gibbs and Ducky
"You had better have more than that," Gibbs demanded as he moved to stand by the window
Tony rolled his eyes. "Of course I do. That's just what tipped me off that there might be something more going on."
"Ah, yes. I can see how your curiosity would be peeked," Ducky said approvingly as he took a seat at the table
Gibbs also secretly approved. Not many investigators would have remembered such a seemingly insignificant detail from previous cases and have the sense to investigate it further. Dinozzo took initiative on his own to figure out what was going, despite the fact that he did not have support from his partner or his captain.
"Anyway, as I started looking a little closer at the cases, apart from the calendars and the injuries which led to their death, the victims didn't appear to have anything in common," Tony continued. "Initial background checks were pretty standard. I would have dug deeper, but that's when Captain Taddins sort of pulled the plug."
Gibbs didn't like the sound of that. "What do you mean, he pulled the plug?"
Dinozzo sighed. "He thought I was looking for something that wasn't there. He's been monitoring everything I do around here to make sure I don't waste any more time on some crazy hunch."
"And what is your so-called crazy hunch?" Gibbs asked.
"Not really sure. I know I don't have a lot to go on, but I also know that there is more going on here than what everyone else seems to think," Tony answered honestly. "It could be the work of a serial killer, but I don't have any kind of profile worked up yet."
Gibbs and Ducky took in the young detectives words carefully. They had both been in similar circumstances like this before, where the higher power ignored what they were being told. In order to prove whether or not Dinozzo's instincts were correct, they were going to have to request the case files and evidence that Dinozzo had been locked out of. It was going to be complicated; sharing jurisdiction was never as straightforward as it should be
Gibbs respected how upfront Dinozzo was being. He wasn't trying to be a big-shot, trying to impress the federal agents. He was just doing his job.
"Hey! What do you think you are doing?" Captain Taddins shouted at Tony as he entered the conference room, with Starks hot on his heels. "I clearly remember telling you to drop this nonsense about a serial killer being on the loose!"
"You also told me to assist Agent Gibbs and Doctor Mallard," Dinozzo replied calmly, clearly not bothered by his captain's outburst.
Captain Taddins' face flushed red as he got even angrier."You listen, and you listen real good, Dinozzo. I've had enough of your theories. Consider this your last warning."
"And consider this your only warning. If you don't hand over the case files and evidence that Detective Dinozzo wants to examine, I'll have my boss call your boss, and you can explain to him why you refused to cooperate with a federal agency," Gibbs interrupted Taddins threats, his voice carrying a threat all its own.
Taddins, Starks and Dinozzo turned to look at Gibbs in shock. Ducky was the only one in the room who wasn't surprised by his demands.
"You have got to be kidding me," Taddins said. "Detective Dinozzo knows how to spin words, Agent Gibbs. You would just be wasting your time."
"If you really believe that, then you won't mind proving him wrong," Gibbs challenged, knowing that Taddins would take his words as an insult.
"Just what are you insinuating, Agent Gibbs?" Taddins asked as his hands moved to his hips in an effort to make himself seem more of a threat.
Gibbs smirked. "Not a thing. But if you are so sure that you are right, then there should be no reason for you to refuse my request. Unless of course you know he's right, and your trying to cover up…"
"Don't be ridiculous!" Taddins interrupted Gibbs. "And don't think I don't see what you're doing here, either."
Gibbs said nothing, choosing instead to stare at Taddins, daring him to refuse.
Taddins gave a huge sigh, as he was obviously annoyed at being manipulated in his own station. "Fine. You can have whatever you want. Starks and Dinozzo will work with you, as this is still shared jurisdiction."
"But Captain," Starks spoke up suddenly. "You can't be serious."
Taddins turned to Starks and said, "This is no longer up for debate. I'm tired of having my orders ignored. Once this whole mess is settled, we can get back to some real police work around here." Taddins said the last part while glaring at Dinozzo, who returned the glare.
"If you will just wait here, Agent Gibbs, and I'll see to it that everything starts getting sent up here for you," Taddins continued.
"No," Gibbs said. There was no way he was going to trust the Captain to not interfere in some way while they worked this case.
"Excuse me?" Taddins asked exasperated.
"Have everything packed up. We are working this case from NCIS headquarters," Gibbs ordered. At this point, the only one he was going to trust to go over the evidence thoroughly was Abby.
Taddins huffed and rolled his eyes as he walked out of the room, indicating for Dinozzo and Starks to start getting things together.
Starks walked up to Dinozzo and said, "I hope you're happy. Now we both get to be the laughing stock of the entire precinct!"
Dinozzo didn't appear too concerned. "You exaggerate too much. Besides, you've already protested enough that people will know you are working under duress."
Starks seemed momentarily stunned by Dinozzo's remark, before turning and stalking off.
"Well, that was fun," Dinozzo remarked casually as he turned to face Gibbs and Ducky
"Believe it or not, that is the norm for us," Ducky said.
Dinozzo snickered. "I don't doubt it."
"How much cooperation am I going to get from your partner?" Gibbs asked. If he was going to be a problem, then he could stay in Baltimore as far as Gibbs was concerned.
The detective shrugged and gave a simple answer. "He'll do what you ask, but he won't be happy about it."
Gibbs had the same impression. He would rather not have to deal with the man, but he also knew that it would only complicate matters further if he refused to have him included in the investigation.
"Well, if you will excuse me, I think I'll go see if I can't hurry things along," Dinozzo said as he gave each man a nod and left them alone to wait.
"Seems we are getting more than what we expected with this case," Ducky observed.
Gibbs nodded. "And people wonder why I have issues with other people. When they act like that…"
Ducky understood his friend's frustration. "I totally agree with you, Jethro. But I was actually referring to Detective Dinozzo."
Gibbs gave Ducky a questioning look. "Something on your mind, Duck?"
Ducky gave him a knowing smile. "I'm sure it hasn't escaped your notice that you are in need of new agents."
"Are you suggesting that I start recruiting while on an active case?" Gibbs asked.
"Oh come now, Jethro. Surely you can see that that boy has potential," Ducky replied. "Look, you don't get anywhere when you interview someone. And even if someone does manage to mull through and get placed on your team, they don't stick around for very long. Why not replace an interview with an actual case?"
Gibbs had to grin at that. "So what you're saying is that if Dinozzo can survive working with me on this case, he can survive working with me on a regular basis?"
"Exactly!" Ducky said, obviously pleased with the way the conversation was going. "You're known for being a bastard, and so far he doesn't seem to be intimidated by you."
"I think he's too busy dealing with the stupidity around here to be intimidated by me," Gibbs said as he pulled out his cell phone.
"So what are you going to do?" Ducky questioned.
"Call Abby to let her know she's got a lot of work ahead of her," Gibbs said with a knowing grin as he began dialing. "And while she's waiting for us to get back, she can pull Dinozzo's file."
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"What was so similar about the COD's?" Ziva asked, bringing Gibbs back to the present.
Tony looked to Ducky in hopes that he would take over. He needed a breather. While it was easier to recollect the key factors of the case, Tony was just not ready to deal with certain aspects just yet. With someone else explaining things, Tony planned to mentally prepare for McGee and Ziva to find out about what happened at the end.
Ducky understood what Tony was silently asking him to do and gave him a nod before taking over the debriefing. "Examinations of all of the victims revealed that they suffered an assortment of injuries, which suggests torture. From the bruises and multiple broken bones, it is safe to say that the victim was severely beaten, probably from a combination of fists and other hard objects. Throughout the body several burn marks of various degrees would also be found. Then you have traces of polluted water in the victim's lungs, which indicated that the victim was held underwater long enough to swallow some of the water, but not actually drown."
McGee and Ziva took a few minutes to digest the information. Gibbs took the momentary pause to study Tony a little closer.
From the moment that Ducky had started speaking the young agent had gone off into another corner of his mind, away from the present conversation. Gibbs had learned long ago how to read his agent's expressions, and the one he was currently observing spoke volumes to him.
As much as Tony would deny it, Gibbs could tell that he wasn't ready to reveal what went down in Baltimore. Gibbs had already decided that he was going to put a stop to the conversation when it started to head in that direction. They could pick up where they left off after he and Tony had had a talk.
"It would seem that this team of killers liked the number three," Ziva spoke up, breaking the silence.
"Yup. They would all take turns on each type of method," Abby said, drawing attention away from Tony. Gibbs wasn't the only one who had picked up on his quiet withdraw.
"So how did you find a way to catch up to them?" McGee asked curiously.
"That was the result of working several days and my lab equipment," Abby said. "I found what those so-called forensic scientists in Baltimore couldn't."
Both McGee and Ziva accepted this without hesitation. They had seen Abby in action when up against other labs running evidence. She was a force to be reckoned with.
Before anymore questions could be asked, Gibbs stood up and suggested that they take a break and grab some lunch. Fortunately, everyone was hungry enough to readily accept the break without question. While Abby and Ducky distracted McGee and Ziva with options of where they should order food from, Gibbs took hold of Tony's arm and led him out of the lab and to the elevator.
Tony didn't look up at Gibbs nor resist when he was led away from the team. They both rode the elevator up in silence, and Tony followed Gibbs to the bullpen.
Once seeing that Gibbs was grabbing his coat and gun, Tony went to his desk of his own accord and did the same. He was moving on automatic pilot now, not even bothering to put any thought into where they might be going. Instead he put his trust in Gibbs, knowing that wherever they were going, his boss had a purpose.
The pair remained silent the entire trip down to the parking garage and as they drove off. While Gibbs sped around those he thought were driving too slowly, Tony merely stared out the window. He was too deep in thought to offer up any of his usual comments on Gibbs' driving.
He was barely when the car stopped moving not fifteen minutes later until Gibbs put a hand on his shoulder, shaking him out of his dark thoughts.
"Come on, Tony. Time for lunch," Gibbs said before getting out of the car.
Tony opened the door and got out, blinking in surprise once he noticed where Gibbs had taken them. He looked towards Gibbs, who shrugged and told Tony to close the car door already and get moving.
As they walked up to the entrance, Tony couldn't help the smile forming on his face. ‘Trust Gibbs to know exactly what to do,' Tony thought to himself as he followed Gibbs inside the building.
Gibbs had noticed how the stress of the past few hours had suddenly started to evaporate, and knew he had done the right thing in getting Tony out of the office.
They both walked up to a young woman standing by a counter, who smiled and said, "Hello. Welcome to Bob Evans."
Chapter End Notes:
Hey, sorry about the delay in posting. Been a bit busy adjusting to school starting up again, going full time and bouncing back and forth between two jobs. It's crazy, but I am still making time for writing! Made this chapter a bit longer to try to make up for the delay. Some things were finally explained! Hope everyone is enjoying the story so far, I know I am enjoying writing it. Did the flashback a bit different here, hope it goes over well. Please let me know if it doesn't, all of your suggestions are taken very seriously. I write because I enjoy it, but I also want others to enjoy it as well. On that note I will leave you to (hopefully) write a review! Thanks for continuing to read!