Chapter 8:
Reviewing cases from neighboring cases was a daunting task. There were numerous cases where the victims had similar COD’s in relation to what they were looking for. The trick was going through the list of evidence trying to find a pocket calendar that held the signature markings that the previous three-man team of killers had used.
Then there was the fact that the men and women in charge of the other precincts were getting curious as to why NCIS was going through their files. A few had gotten the bright idea of closing off access to their files in hopes of being read in on the situation. Fortunately, after a quick call from Director Sheppard they decided it wasn’t worth the hassle.
“Let me know if you need me to make any more calls,” Director Sheppard told Gibbs after hanging up with the latest disgruntled Chief of Police.
“Hopefully by now word has spread around to just stay the hell out of the way,” Gibbs replied from his seat across from the Director.
“Word does seem to get around awfully fast whenever your name is mentioned,” the Director teased.
Gibbs smirked. “It does save everyone a lot of time that way.”
Returning his grin, Sheppard asked, “Is there anything else I can do to help?”
“Not at the moment,” Gibbs answered.
“Is Tony doing ok?” she pondered.
Gibbs paused before answering. “He’s holding up for the moment. I’m more worried about how he will be once this is over.”
“And depending on the outcome of the case…” Sheppard stated.
“Exactly,” Gibbs replied, glad that she saw his train of thought.
“What about you?” she asked. At Gibbs’ stare, she explained. “This can’t be any easier for you than Tony.”
Gibbs sighed. He wasn’t one for talking about his feelings, and knowing that the Director knew that, Gibbs gave her the best answer he could. “I’m right alongside Tony on this one.”
The Director nodded, accepting the answer for what it was. Leaning back in her chair, she decided to help Gibbs in the only way she knew how. “Once you have completed your investigation, I’ll see to it that you and your team gets some time off.”
Seeing Gibbs about to speak, she held up her hand, indicating that she was not done talking. “You said so yourself, you are worried for Tony and pending the outcome you are not sure how well he will be holding up. You also stated that you are in the same boat as him. The rest of your team is no doubt feeling the tension as well. I think everyone will be ready for a small break and it will give you all a chance to recover from this.”
Gibbs raised his eyebrows at her but didn’t say anything. After a few moments of silence the Director asked him if he had anything to say.
“Just waiting for permission to speak,” Gibbs told her. Sheppard rolled her eyes as Gibbs continued. “I was going to request leave for my team anyway, but you are not sending us for psychological evaluations. We will take care of things our own way, by ourselves.”
“I figured as much,” she responded with a smirk.
Gibbs gave her a nod as he stood up. “Thanks, Jen.”
“Anytime,” she said as he left her office.
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Spending hours behind a desk on the phone and in front of a computer were not Ziva’s idea of fun. While she knew it was important to examine every possible angle in hopes of finding a lead, it still frustrated her to no end.
Glancing up across to McGee’s desk, she couldn’t help but be a little envious of her fellow teammate. McGee was more at home with a computer than Ziva would ever be, typing away with an impressive speed. While Tony was usually more capable of going through information looking for that needle in the haystack, today he seemed to be almost as anxious as her to get out of the office.
Shifting her gaze to Tony, it was hard not to notice how agitated he was. Given the circumstances it was not surprising, but Ziva had to wonder how long he was going to last before he had to let off some steam. A fleeting look back to McGee told her that she was not the only one who noticed. This long without anything solid to go on was difficult for them, but for Tony it was even worse.
Gibbs had gone up to the Director’s office a little while ago to deal with the issue of uncooperative police departments. With Gibbs around Tony had been calmer, appearing to be so engrossed in what was on his computer that he was probably not even aware of what was going on around him. Once Gibbs was gone, however, Tony had problems focusing. He’d tap his pen on his desk, shift positions in his chair every few minutes, muttering to himself, the list went on.
When Tony’s phone rang it came with relief, breaking the silence of the bullpen. After a brief conversation Tony was standing up and heading for the elevator. “I’ll be in Abby’s lab,” he told them as he walked past their desks.
Once he was out of earshot, McGee turned to Ziva and said, “That couldn’t have come at a better time.”
Ziva couldn’t agree more. “Abby does seem to have a keen awareness of Tony’s state of mind.”
“I just wish there was something more we could do. Until we catch a break…” McGee trailed off.
Ziva nodded her head in understanding. “Then let us hope that we catch a break soon.”
With that said they both returned to their computers, determined to find something in the masses of old cases.
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Tony drummed his fingers on the side of the elevator as he rode down to Abby’s lab. Her call couldn’t have been timed more perfectly. He had a vast amount of nervous energy that usually made him feel like he could go for a ten mile run, and sitting behind his desk was not improving matters at all. He felt useless, going over information from surrounding districts in search of something that may not even be there. Tony had considered the possibility that Vaughn could be the first new victim, but the fact that it was a Marine was too much of a coincidence for him to ignore.
Neither he nor Gibbs had ever come face-to-face with Morris, but the chance of him coming back for revenge wasn’t entirely out of the picture. After all, they had each killed a member of his ‘team’, effectively ending the trio symbolism. Killing a Marine would effectively draw them back into the search.
Tony sighed. He wasn’t even sure anymore if he was thinking in a straight line anymore, or if he was just looking for an excuse, no matter how outrageous it seemed, just to re-open the case.
When the elevator stopped and the doors opened to let in the loud music that Abby had selected to listen to, Tony for once welcomed it. The music pushed his thoughts out of his mind, leaving him in a strange sense of peace and quiet. Abby was at her computer when she waved him over to sit in the chair beside her. He sat and for a few minutes basked in the presence of his friend and the tension in his shoulders started to lessen.
After programming the computer to run some evidence, Abby turned down the music so that it was merely background noise. Looking at Tony, she could easily see what the case was doing to him. Knowing that words were not something he needed just yet, Abby stood up and gave Tony a hug. His arms returned the hug with such intensity that in any other circumstances would have made Abby cry.
“Thanks, Abs. I really needed that,” Tony told her in earnest as the separated.
She nodded as she replied, “Yeah, I could tell.” She then punched him in the shoulder before telling him, “Next time don’t wait so long to come down here to get one!”
“Yes, Abby. Whatever you say, Abby,” Tony stated as he rubbed his shoulder. Abby packed a mean punch when she wanted to.
“Good. So, how are things going upstairs?” Abby asked.
“Oh, you know the usual. McGee is working his inner computer nerd and Ziva is imagining how Gibbs took things a step farther than Internal Affairs did with Starks,” Tony replied casually.
Abby looked at him in surprise. “How did you find out?”
Tony smiled. “Believe it or not, there were a few decent guys in Baltimore. They told me what they knew, and I filled in the gaps on my own. Besides, did you honestly think I missed the look that Gibbs and Ziva gave each other down here earlier?”
Abby gave him an innocent smile. “I guess I was just kinda hoping you were too relieved to have everything off your chest to pay much attention.”
“Well, you weren’t the only one. What made you think that something like what Gibbs did would have stayed a secret? That kind of stuff is the stuff that legends are made of,” Tony said in awe.
“Gibbs thought you had been through enough, he didn’t want to add to it. Besides, he was only doing what he thought was necessary,” Abby explained.
“We had just met, how could he think it was necessary?” Tony questioned. “I mean, if he did something like that now, I would get it. Gibbs protects what’s his and all that. But back then?”
“You make it sound as if it was a lifetime ago,” Abby said.
“Practically six years is a lifetime to some people,” Tony pointed out.
“Only when they move every two years or so,” Abby retorted. “So when are you going to tell Gibbs that you know?”
“Well, I was thinking never, but it might be a bit longer than that,” Tony replied.
Abby punched him in the shoulder again. “Don’t give me sarcasm, Dinozzo. I’m serious. He thinks you don’t know and he should know that you do know, it isn’t right.”
“But it was right for him to not tell me?” Tony questioned.
“Gibbs thought he was protecting you, what’s your excuse?” Abby demanded an answer.
Tony shrugged. “I don’t know. Can we not talk about this now? Did you get the list of employees that have worked in the vicinity of the warehouse within the last few months?”
Abby glared at him. “Fine, I’ll drop it for now, but don’t think that this conversation is over. And yes, I did get the list. You can use my computer at my desk to run through the names.”
“Thanks Abs,” Tony said as he gave her a peck on the check before moving towards her desk to get back to work.
She smiled as she shook her head. “Only for you, Tony. Only for you.”
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When Gibbs had returned to the bullpen and noticed the empty desk of his senior field agent Ziva had informed him that Abby had called Tony down to her lab a little while ago. Knowing where he was had put Gibbs’ mind at ease. Abby would know how to handle him best after the day that they had had. He decided to give the pair some time alone before he headed down to check on them.
Both McGee and Ziva had reported that while there were countless cases in which the victims had similar injuries that resulted in their death much like Vaughn’s and several others from years before, none had a pocket calendar left with them or in the surrounding area of the crime scene. McGee had tossed out the idea that Morris might change his patterns if he was unable to find new partners to re-create the trio signature.
It was a reasonable theory, but there was no way to know for sure. It was discouraging not having anything tangible to work with. While Vaughn had grown up in a rough neighborhood, he had done a good job of keeping himself out of trouble. Even after further scrutiny the team had come to the conclusion that there was no reason for anyone to hire someone of Morris’ trade to take Vaughn out.
Deciding that McGee and Ziva could use some time outside of the office, Gibbs sent them to question a wide range of people who had come in contact with Vaughn over the years, just to be sure that they hadn’t missed anything. The relief on Ziva’s face was obvious as she hurried to get her things and get to the elevator. Even McGee seemed grateful for the chance to stretch his legs some as he stood up to stretch.
Not waiting for them to leave, Gibbs left to head down to Abby’s lab, thinking that it was time to give the two of them a break as well. He had no doubt that some fresh air would be good for Tony as well.
Gibbs found Abby finishing up on some fingerprint scans and saw Tony at her desk working on something on the computer.
“He’s running the names of the employees that work in different areas around the warehouse to see if Morris is repeating his old patterns,” Abby informed him before he had the chance to ask.
Nodding, Gibbs asked her, “Have you come up with anything?”
“Not really. So far all of these fingerprints match names of employees on the list that Tony has. So unless he turns up something funny these prints are pretty much useless,” Abby said. “There were the usual traces of dirt which can be found anywhere on Vaughn’s uniform, all of the blood was his, and his blood work came back clean.”
“McGee and Ziva haven’t come up with anything either. I sent them out to question a few people that knew Vaughn just to be sure, but I doubt the motive to kill Vaughn was personal,” Gibbs said.
“None of this makes any sense,” Abby sighed. “I hate to see Tony go through all of this for nothing.”
“You and me both, Abs,” Gibbs agreed.
“You should go talk to him,” Abby encouraged him with a shove towards her desk.
Gibbs gave her a questioning look. “About something specific or just this case in general?”
“Both, neither. It doesn’t matter, just go talk to him,” Abby shooed him away.
Knowing Abby well enough that she had a purpose whenever she shooed him away like that, Gibbs examined Tony closely as he approached the younger man. There were the expected signs of stress and agitation, and when Tony looked up at Gibbs he could see that his eyes were guarding something. Obviously whatever he and Abby had recently talked about was still heavily on his mind.
“Most of the names on the list check out, Boss,” Tony informed him, guessing that Abby had told Gibbs what he was working on. “There are a few that couldn’t hurt checking out. There are no pictures on file, and any records only go back a few years at most.”
Gibbs nodded his head in agreement. “McGee and Ziva are out working on how Vaughn might fit into this. Let’s go see if we can turn up anything on these guys.”
Saying goodbye to Abby, Gibbs and Tony got into the elevator. As soon as it started to move, Gibbs reached out to halt the motion. Facing Tony he gave him a questioning look that demanded an honest answer to the silent question.
“It’s nothing to worry about, Boss,” Tony tried to assure Gibbs.
“If it’s nothing then you can tell me about it,” Gibbs told him, knowing better than to read into the false appearance of serenity that Tony was trying to present.
Tony groaned and leaded back against the wall of the elevator, crossing his arms. “What did Abby tell you?”
“What do you think she felt the need to tell me?” Gibbs questioned, knowing that he was beginning to frustrate the agent.
Glaring at Gibbs, Tony decided to give his own cryptic response. “Abby thinks I need to tell you something even though she doesn’t think that you need to tell me.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Gibbs demanded.
“Is this an interrogation?” Tony shot back as he pushed himself off the wall to fully face Gibbs, who took the opportunity to smack him on the head.
“In here we are not boss and subordinate. I am trying to help you, Tony. I can’t do that if I don’t know what’s going on in that complicated head of yours,” Gibbs told him in a stern voice.
The slap to the head seemed to break Tony out of his spell and now he seemed unsure of how to proceed.
“Whatever it is, I promise you I won’t get mad at you if that is what you’re worried about,” Gibbs said, trying to put Tony at ease.
Tony sighed. “You say that now, Boss. This isn’t something that you can fix with one of your stares, you know.”
Gibbs gave Tony a soft smile. “I kind of figured that. If it were that easy then it would already be fixed, whatever it is.”
Tony was silent for a minute before deciding. “If I tell you, I know there’s going to be a long conversation coming. I’ll tell you now, so you have some time to deal with it however you want, but I do not want to have any part of this conversation in this elevator or anywhere else here at the office. Deal?”
“Deal.” Gibbs didn’t even hesitate to agree. Whatever it took to get Tony comfortable enough to talk to him, he was willing to do it.
“Okay,” Tony said, knowing Gibbs would keep his promise.
When it was obvious that Tony was still having trouble working up the nerve to tell him, Gibbs said, “Just say it, Dinozzo.”
Hearing his last name snapped him out of whatever zone he was in and did as he was accustomed to being ordered to do.
“I know what you did to Starks after he came to visit me in the hospital.”
Chapter End Notes:
Author's Note: Thanks to all who reviewed and sent messages encouraging me to write more. Sorry I took so long to update, got caught up in school and work and such. Now that I am on winter break hopefully I can manage to update a bit more often lol. I know, I know, cruel of me to leave you at the end like this on the holidays, but I have already started working on the next chapter so I'll try not to keep you waiting long to find out what Gibbs did. Course if you have any suggestions to what you want to see done to Starks feel free to message me! Always up for adding to the fun/torture of a bad partner! Lol. Happy Holidays to all!