Gibbs stared at the closed elevator doors, not really seeing them. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Tony had a job offer...and he was thinking about taking it.
Like Abby, Gibbs initially thought Shepard had finally offered Tony his own team. She had made a point of telling Gibbs how well she thought Tony had done in his absence. Gibbs assumed she was just waiting for an opening to become available to make an offer.
He had also assumed Tony would take the job. It was only logical that he would. He'd earned it after all. It was something Gibbs had been trying to brace himself for. He told himself that losing Tony to another team was better than losing him to the plague or a bullet.
Gibbs shook his head. He thought he still time to get used to the idea. Six months, maybe even a year. But Shepard already offered Tony a team of his own. She'd made the offer months ago---and Gibbs hadn't known! He'd never even suspected Shepard had already made a move.
Why the hell had Tony turned Jenny down? He hadn't given Abby an answer. Not really. He'd just hinted that having is own team wasn't something he wanted. Gibbs found that hard to believe. They'd butted heads on more than one occasion since his return from Mexico because Tony had gotten used to being in charge. There was no doubt in Gibbs mind that the younger man liked being team leader and was confident in his ability to handle the responsibility.
His confidence wasn't misplaced. While Tony didn't do things the way Gibbs did---something everyone had taken great pains to point out to Tony if the office gossip was to be believed---but some of his ideas, like reorganizing the truck, were actually very sound. And even though they didn't call their team exchange of ideas and information "campfires" any more, there was no denying that a "campfire" was exactly what they were doing. He was ready to lead his own team, even if Tony hadn't declared it from the roof top the way Gibbs had told Shepard he would.
Gibbs eyes narrowed. He hadn't understood then why Shepard was so insistent he tell Tony he'd done a good job. It made sense now. She was either hoping Gibbs offering a compliment would encourage Tony to take the position she was offering, or she was betting that getting a compliment, however minor from Gibbs, was all it would take to convince Tony to stay. With "La Grenouille" still in the offing then, Gibbs was fairly confident Shepard wanted the latter.
From what Tony said to Abby, a compliment or small show of appreciation might have done just that. Was it possible that Shepard knew Tony well enough to know how he'd react? Did she know Tony better than Gibbs did?
Gibbs frowned. He'd told Tony more than a few times he'd done a good job...hadn't he? It wasn't all head slaps, damn it. So he didn't hand out compliments every day, so what. He didn't mollycoddle his people. Tony knew that. And he should know he'd done a good job without having to hear it from Gibbs. He was an adult, not a child. It was stupid to consider leaving because he wasn't told he was appreciated.
But--even Abby had said it was nice to know she was wanted. And she shouldn't have any doubts on that issue. So it wasn't inconceivable that Tony might want the same.
"I don't treat him any differently than I do any--" Gibbs muttered to himself, stopping when he realized he was speaking aloud, and knowing what he was about to say was a lie.
He set the bar high for everyone on his team, but he was harder on Tony than the others. Tony was his senior field agent. Gibbs didn't just expect better from him, he demanded it. He thought Tony understood it was meant to be motivational, not judgmental. Obviously, Gibbs hadn't communicated as well as he thought.
He was also wrong to think getting past the two year anniversary meant Tony no longer thought of leaving government service. Gibbs expected Tony would be a lifer, like him, if not with NCIS, then maybe another agency. The FBI was a natural choice in light of how often Fornell had hinted that Tony's talents could be put to good use there.
He found himself wondering if Fornell had ever offered Tony a job. Gibbs would kick his ass if he had. Tobias can go find his own damn talent, Gibbs thought silently with a snarl. It wasn't like the FBI didn't have recruiters all over the place.
Gibbs sighed. It had never occurred to him that Tony would consider leaving law enforcement. The younger man would never be happy with some corporate job--except that Paladin didn't sound like a corporation like Tony's father ran. At Paladin, Tony would still get to carry a gun, could see exotic locations, and would probably still be putting himself in danger.
Gibbs suddenly found it hard to breathe. Who would look out for Tony? He didn't eat right or sleep enough. Who would watch his six on the job? Gibbs had lost track of the number of times Tony had been concussed, shot at, or hurt in some fashion while working. He needed good back up. It was Gibbs' job to watch out for him.
It had to be him, because it was obvious no one else was watching out for Tony well enough. Gibbs had only been gone for a few months and Tony had gotten himself wrapped up in an unsanctioned undercover operation. Admittedly, he should have been able to trust Shepard, and his team should have been there to back him up instead of being kept out of the loop. If Gibbs had been there none of that would have happened--but he hadn't been there to watch out for Tony. Gibbs swallowed hard. He'd let Tony down. He'd failed him.
Gibbs glared at the elevator doors, his hand crumpling the paper top of the bag of donut holes he was still holding. He'd been on a beach in Mexico when Tony needed him. He'd been hanging out with a guy he thought he could trust to always do the right thing, only to find Mike wasn't the man he thought he was. Mike had a vendetta he never told Gibbs about and a son in the Marine Corps he neglected to mention.
Gibbs grimaced. He'd trusted Mike. And the man had put him in a position where he had to lie for him--more than once. Worse than that, Mike had given Tony another concussion to add to his collection.
Gibbs shook his head. Tony shouldn't trust him to watch his six any more--his leaving, keeping secrets--that should have made Tony question his loyalty at least a little. Yet, he was clearly willing to follow Gibbs anywhere, without hesitation.
Tony never showed any doubts--except to when it came to thinking Gibbs didn't trust him. How could he think Gibbs didn't trust him? He gave the younger man his badge, his gun, his team!! So what if he was still a little confused on details at the time? That didn't mean he had just passed off something so important to anyone handy. He thought Tony understood that...and he likely would have if not for the way Gibbs had come back.
Gibbs scowled. Shepard had been right. As much as it hurt to admit it, while he was in Mexico, things had moved forward without him. It was stupid to think he'd be able to pick up as though he'd never left---even though that was exactly what he tried to do. Just dumping things on Tony's desk and taking back his team without so much as a thank you hadn't meant to be an insult. In hindsight, Gibbs realized that's exactly what it had been. He hadn't meant to shove Tony's face in being demoted---not really.
And yes, Gibbs had been pissed about being lied to about Tony's undercover op, but he understood Tony was following orders. Gibbs wouldn't have lied to Mike, but given what he knew of the man now---he wasn't sure he could trust Mike enough to share details of an undercover op.
Gibbs gasped. Maybe Tony's faith in him wasn't as absolute as he thought. Maybe it hadn't just been orders that kept him from saying anything. How could Tony keep working for a guy he didn't trust to watch his six? Was that the real reason he was considering leaving?
Gibbs bit his lower lip. No, that couldn't be it. Tony still followed his lead without hesitation. He still did whatever Gibbs asked the same as always. And he had told Abby he had absolute faith that Gibbs would come if he called about a case. So he clearly still trusted him when it came to the job. But maybe he was starting to have doubts. Maybe he wasn't as confident as he used to be that Gibbs could be relied on. He obviously didn't think Gibbs would come if he called for any reason not job related. That was not only wrong---it wasn't true.
He cursed silently. How could Tony know that I would jump any time he called, Gibbs asked himself. It wasn't like he'd ever discussed anything with Tony that wasn't case related. Or invited him out for dinner. Or made Tony feel completely welcome in his home rather than grudgingly offering him a place to stay when he needed it. Or failed to take advantage of an opportunity to make Tony the butt of a joke.
Shit. His second ex-wife was right. He really did suck when it came to communicating with people he cared about. That thought brought him up short. Of course he cared about Tony---but not like that. No. Gibbs neatly cut off that line of thought. Tony was a teammate, a subordinate---he couldn't, wouldn't think of him as anything else.
He forcefully refocused. Tony seemed to understand him better than anyone ever had so it was easy to assume he knew how important he was. Gibbs shook his head. He knew better than to just assume. Not being in the habit of explaining himself was a piss poor reason let anyone on his team believe they personally didn't matter to Gibbs---least of all Tony.
Not only did he apparently fail to express himself, he'd somehow managed to convince Tony he wasn't needed on the team at all. How the hell did that happen?
It was Tony, with that Dread Pirate Roberts reference, who'd explained how Gibbs' gut feeling the delivery boy was their "Eraser" could be correct despite the kid's age. And it was Tony who'd suspected Michael Arnett's wife. He'd thought she'd killed him for money rather than because she was an Al Queda operative, but that didn't change the fact she was involved and Tony was the only one who suspected her.
Those were only two recent cases. There were plenty of others where Tony had proven his worth. Just because he didn't always have all the right answer all the time didn't mean he wasn't needed. No one had all the right answers all the time. It was why they were a team in the first place.
Gibbs thoughts were interrupted by the pulsing beat of Abby's music once more leaking out of her lab. He wasn't going to solve anything by standing where he was. He stepped into Abby's lab. With her back to the door she never saw him, and the loud music made it impossible to hear him. He shook his head. She shouldn't make it so easy to sneak up on her.
In this case it was definitely a good thing. He couldn't talk to her now. Gibbs was afraid that with his thoughts so focused on what he'd overheard he'd slip and somehow reveal he'd been eavesdropping on a private conversation. Finding out would piss off Abby, and Gibbs didn't think that would help her come up with things to add to the list of reasons for Tony to stay. He wanted her to have a long, convincing list, so he simply left the bag of donut holes on the counter where she would find them eventually and headed back out.
He hit the button for the elevator, pleased to find the car empty. He wasn't really in the mood to share such a tiny space with someone else. He finished his coffee before getting off. Gibbs gave the cup a dirty look. They never made them large enough in his opinion.
He could hear the usual banter going on between Tony, McGee and Ziva. Gibbs strode purposefully toward his desk. It was impossible to ignore the way they suddenly went silent, guilty, wary looks passing back and forth. Ordinarily Gibbs liked being able to put a damper on their mood and get them to focus on the task at hand, but today he stifled a wince. Was he really that awful to work for?
Gibbs sat his desk, checking his e-mail, discreetly eying his team as they tried to look busy. Everything had been wrapped up from their previous case. And they hadn't gotten another one, so it wasn't like there was anything pressing they had to do right now.
He glanced over at Tony. On the surface, the younger man didn't look any different than he normally did while doing whatever he was doing that looked like work. But Gibbs could almost sense a sort of nervous anticipation about him. He'd told Abby he was getting specs on the job offer today.
Triple his current salary was nothing to sneeze at. Gibbs knew Tony had expensive tastes. Designer labels and the like were not cheap. But he also knew money wasn't the sole motivation for Tony. If it was, the younger man wouldn't have become a cop in the first place much less stayed one.
Gibbs wondered what else Paladin would have to offer. He didn't know much about the company. He briefly considered having McGee research them for him before dismissing the idea. He couldn't tell McGee why he was interested in Paladin, and the junior agent was bound to be curious. It wasn't like Gibbs could say it was related to a case when they obviously didn't have one, and he definitely couldn't tell McGee to keep everyone else out of the loop and expect him to follow through. Not only was McGee lousy at keeping quiet, Gibbs didn't want any more secrets between his team than there already were. Shepard and her stupid vendetta had done enough damage.
Gibbs looked up when Tony's phone rang. Before Gibbs had taken off for Mexico, at least half their case calls had come to Tony. More than one person in the call center was leery of talking to Gibbs directly and considered Tony easier to approach. After his return from Mexico, he found out Tony had made it clear all case calls were to come to Gibbs. But as things returned to normal, old patterns again reappeared, there were still a few who tended to call Tony first.
Gibbs' brow furrowed. Tony's greeting was very casual. Friendly even. The call was probably not a case then. For all Tony's tendency to take a lighthearted, less serious approach, he was usually professional and more reserved when it came to work related phone calls.
"Yeah, Tom, I was expecting a package."
If "Tom" was who Gibbs thought, then he was on duty working security. It wasn't uncommon for security to call and confirm a package was expected. Doing so lessened the chance of something dangerous unknowingly making it through the building. All deliveries were scanned, and double checked, especially after that plague poisoned letter incident.
"Go ahead and sign for it. Send it up when you're done scanning it." Tony arched an eyebrow. "What do you mean you can't?" He shook his head, his expression puzzled. "Hunh. Yeah. Okay. I'll be right down."
"Problem, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked sharply when Tony hung up.
"No, Boss." Tony stood up. "Just a little something I need to take care of."
"Having your mail sent here now?" Ziva clucked her tongue. She'd obviously been listening as closely as Gibbs had. She smirked. "Are you afraid some pissed on girlfriend is going to send you a letter bomb?"
"Pissed off. Pissed on is an entirely different subject." Tony corrected her with a tight grin. "And I've been getting mail at the office for years, Ziva."
Gibbs knew that was true. He often did the same thing. The number of hours they put in on the job made it hard to get anything not sent to the office.
Tony headed for the elevators when Gibbs' barked out his name stopping him. His suspicion that the package was the job offer Tony had been expecting made him want to order the younger man to sit back down, but the defiant expression Tony wore kept him from doing it. Tony had told Abby he'd quit if Gibbs tried to deny him the leave he planned on requesting, and it looked like younger man was prepared to walk at the least provocation. It was the first time in a long time Gibbs found himself wary of pushing too hard.
"Don't be all day."
"Understood, Boss."
Gibbs waited until Tony was in the elevator before getting up. McGee gave him a look, clearly wanting to ask where he was going but afraid to actually do so. Gibbs held up his empty cup before tossing it into the nearest trash can.
"I'm going for coffee." The statement and his actions were enough to answer any unvoiced questions. They didn't need to know he was really going downstairs to the lobby to spy on Tony.
Knowing Ziva and McGee were probably watching, Gibbs hit the button for the elevator. They would see the doors open from their desks, but wouldn't know he didn't get on. He slipped out the nearby doorway to the stairwell and took the stairs down to the lobby at a rapid clip.
He stepped silently out onto the main floor of the building, grateful the stairwell entrance didn't open out into plain sight. He heard the elevator chime, announcing its arrival. Gibbs grinned, pleased to have beaten Tony to the first floor.
He waited in the shadows until Tony headed for the front entrance. Gibbs then moved forward so he could see the guard station clearly without being seen. A young man with long hair tied back in a pony tail, wearing pristine white coveralls, was waiting in front of Tom. There was a small logo on the breast pocket but Gibbs couldn't make it out from where he stood.
"Hey, Tom."
"Tony." Tom greeted him calmly, nodding toward the visitor.
"You Tony DiNozzo?" The man asked quietly, a trace of an accent in his voice.
"I am."
"You got ID?"
Tony blinked, before shrugging and offered the man his badge. "Good enough?"
The man grinned, even white teeth flashing brightly. "Perfect." He held out his hand. "Marco Ricci."
Tony shook his hand. "Nice to meet you."
"Sorry about dragging you away from work, and the whole ID thing, but Pete insisted I hand the keys over to Tony DiNozzo personally. No one else. Period. Not going to get my ass chewed out for not doing what I'm supposed to."
"Keys?"
Marco nodded, pointing over his shoulder with his thumb before holding out a set of what looked like car keys. "She's parked out front. Didn't want put her in the lot until I knew for sure you were around to give her to."
"Parked out front? What--"
"Pete said you might be going on a road trip." Marco made a meaningless gesture with his hands. "Wanted me to make sure you had a reliable set of classy wheels to use before you took off."
"I don't understand." Tony shook his head. "I wasn't expecting--"
"Oh yeah," Marco offered Tony a sealed envelope, "I'm supposed to give you this too. Pete said it was information you needed and it would answer any questions you had."
Tony took the envelope, slipping it into his inside jacket pocket. Gibbs bit back a curse. He wanted to see Tony open it, hoping the younger man's expression as he looked at it would give him some idea of what it contained.
"You want to check out the car? Make sure she's going to be okay for you?" Marco smiled warmly. "If she's not to your liking, I can get you something else. I am supposed to make sure you are happy with it."
Tony nodded dumbly, following Marco as he headed outside. Gibbs followed as well, careful not to be noticed by Tony or Tom. He didn't want to explain what he was doing there.
Sitting in front of the building, gleaming in the late autumn sunshine was a candy apple read Ferrari. Gibbs jaw tightened, and his hands curled into fists. Paladin clearly had more to offer than just a damn good salary.
Tony's mouth dropped open, and he looked at Marco incredulously, green eyes wide. "You've got to be kidding!!"
Marco raised both eyebrows. "You don't like her?"
"Like her??!" Tony shook his head, awe and admiration coloring his tone in equal measure. He reached out to reverently touch the car, his hand ghosting over the glossy finish. "It's a car like Magnum drove. How could I not like it?"
Marco grinned. "Pete mentioned you were a fan."
Tony laughed, openly joyous. "I can't believe this."
"So you want to take her for a spin?"
Tony looked ready and willing to say "YES", but stopped short. He shook his head. It made Gibbs chest tighten painfully to see the glow in Tony's eyes fade, resignation and disappointment taking its place.
"I can't right now."
"Work stuff." Marco nodded sagely. "Know how that goes." He put a hand on Tony's shoulder. "But she is all yours, my friend, at least for now. So you can fully enjoy her later when you are free to have fun."
"True." Tony grinned. "Thank you."
"No thanks necessary." Marco held up both hands in a gesture of innocence. "Just doing what the chief told me to."
Marco reached into the car and pulled out a motorcycle helmet. He put two fingers to his lips and whistled loudly. A neon green street cycle pulled up a second later. Wearing a full face shield helmet and leather, Gibbs couldn't make out much about the driver. There was a logo on the leather jacket that appeared to be a match for the one on Marco's coveralls.
As Marco moved to mount the bike, Tony stopped him. "Hey, Marco?"
"Yeah?"
"When do I have to have her back to Pete?"
"No idea, man." Marco shook his head. "None of my business, so Pete didn't tell me. Whatever is in the envelope is supposed to answer all your questions."
Tony nodded. He waved to Marco as the motorcycle pulled away, accelerating smoothly out of the lot and into traffic.
Gibbs forced himself to stay in place. He wouldn't get anywhere by demanding answers. He'd already alienated Tony enough for the younger man to be seriously considering leaving NCIS, he did not want to make the situation worse.
He watched Tony pull out the envelope, open it and pull a sheaf of paper. The younger man did a quick read of the top page, laughing at whatever was written there before shaking his head and returning everything to the envelope again. Gibbs frowned. He had no idea what to make of that.
Tony got into the car, a nearly incandescent grin forming as he started it. The car came to life with a growl that was the hallmark of nearly every high performance engine ever made. Gibbs made a bet with himself over whether or not Tony could give into temptation and take the Ferrari on a test drive. He couldn't decide if he won or lost when Tony simply moved the car to the furthest open space in the lot that was still within full view of the security cameras.
Tony not giving in meant Gibbs still had a lot of pull. Pull the younger man might well resent or be chaffing under. Had Tony given in, Gibbs would have had ground to yell at him for being late, to force him to explain where he'd gone and why. As it was, he couldn't even confront Tony about the stupid car unless he admitted to spying on him.
Gibbs slipped further into the shadows as Tony returned to the building. The younger man looked happy, like he was floating. Until he reached for the door, and then it was like someone had flipped a switch. His expression shifted into something neutral, his body posture morphed into something more staid, less upbeat. It was an amazing transformation. No one would ever know looking at Tony that he'd just been handed something he'd dreamed of having since he was a boy.
Gibbs grimaced. He'd forgotten how good Tony could be at undercover work. And it hurt to think this was something the younger man was obviously making a conscious effort to conceal. It was shades of Jeanne all over again.
Gibbs growled. He wanted to punch the wall. He didn't know what to do with what he was feeling or thinking. Coffee. He needed more coffee.
Gibbs told himself when he got back he'd have it figured out. He'd know what to do by then. He'd know what to say. He deliberately ignored the little voice inside him that called him a liar.
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