While Tony was running upstairs to reach Ziva’s apartment, he couldn’t stop thinking over Gibbs’s suspicions over Dr. Atwood. He was a little divided. Dr. Atwood was a strange man, but Tony didn’t have the heart to believe him dangerous. The man stroked him as gentle and compassion in an odd way. ‘Like a father should be’ his subconscious supplied. In the other hand, there was Gibbs and his infamous gut feelings. ‘Sure he seems a little on the edge these days, but his gut feelings are never wrong’.
Shaking away his conflicts and doubts over the situation, he focused on the task at hand. They had just arrived at Ziva’s floor when a man, dressed in what Tony considered the ugliest suit he had ever saw, leave her apartment, carrying a package under his arms. Before Tony could blink his eyes, Gibbs had reached the man, immobilized him against the corridor wall and started to question his identity; the older man was in full grizzly bear/ marine mode.
It didn’t take long to Ziva showed up over her door with her guns at hand, ready to help her fellow Mossad Officer. Her eyes were blazing in fury and only the fact that she had recognized them in seconds had prevent her from shooting first and ask questions later and for that, Tony was extremely grateful.
“Gibbs! What the hell are you doing here?”
“What do you think?” Gibbs shouted back
“We got a phone call warning that you were in trouble” Tony offered as an explanation “We came here to rescue a damsel in distress”.
“That sweat pants you’re wearing are the only distress I’m suffering. Where did you get them? Salvation Army??” Ziva said, allowing the familiar banter with Tony to calm her.
“Actually, they belonged to Gibbs.” Tony quipped back smiling and eager to hear Ziva’s excuse herself out of that situation.
“Are you just about done?” Gibbs said impatiently.
“Excuse-me! What about me?” The trapped Mossad Officer said, getting the attention from the NCIS agents.
Ziva picked up the package on the floor and after eyeing her fellow officer, said “This is Officer Gavish, The Israeli Embassy courier. My apartment has been compromised and he was send here to pick up some documents and relocate-me to a different one.”
Gibbs speculated a few seconds over these informations before letting the man go. The Mossad Officer didn’t take long to disappear from the floor, looking warily over his shoulders all the way though the elevator.
“And you didn’t call me, why?” Gibbs asked her.
Ziva looked into his eyes for a moment and answered him “Protocol.”
Snorting his opinion over her answer, he walked into her apartment, followed by his agents. He knew he had to do something fast, because someone was playing with him and his team and whoever was doing this made it seamed something disturbingly easy to do. First Ducky, then Tony and now Ziva… the phone calls… Gibbs needed to get control over the situation!
“Call McGee. Tell him to bring Dr. Atwood in. I want to ask him some questions. Call HQ and have them send a team here to process the scene.” He said looking at Tony and when the young man left to make the phone calls he said to Ziva “When are you getting the tapes?”
It was true that she was a little pissed with his father over the 24/7 surveillance team on her door step, but today she couldn’t be happier at her father indiscretion “How did you…”
“When?” Gibbs repeated.
Ziva took a deep breath and said “In a couple hours.”
“Get those tapes and meet us back at the HQ. You have an hour.” And eith that he left the apartment.
Ordinarily, when you’re working, you don’t always pay attention to every single detail around you; you trust your own abilities to do it once and do it right since there isn’t enough time to second guessing yourself while chasing a suspect, handling hostage negotiations or trying to survive in the middle of a gun fire. You’re mostly blind to the small errors that can cost your career or your life.
Gibbs had learned this lesson the hard way: he had lost his family once by trusting their safety in someone else’s hand; an error that he paid dearly with his wife and daughter’s lives. He thought he had learned his lesson, but then Ari came by and proved him wrong, his second error cost him Kate’s life, but he knew better now.
He could never pinpoint the reason, but the night Atwood was brought to question in on of NCIS room’s, he knew he was about to make another one and was determined not to let it happens, no matter the costs.
He was in room 4, waiting for the thing to happens. McGee and Lee drove Robert Atwood and his wife to NCIS, since there wasn’t a nurse to stay with the catatonic woman during the interrogation. She was currently being cared by DiNozzo, that being the perfect excuse to keep the young NICS agent away from the procedure. The less contact he had with Atwood, the better.
McGee warned him that Atwood had already called a lawyer, who was being expected at any minute in HQ, so he didn’t have much time alone with the suspect; also Ziva’s tapes were being analyzed by Abby down the labs.
Robert Atwood walked calmly inside the room and, after greeting Gibbs with a nod of his head, sat in front of him. The man’s calm green eyes looked straight into Gibbs and waited for him to explain the reason why he had been brought to NCIS. His hands were folded over the table, showing perfect control over his own emotions: that man wouldn’t be baited into answer anything he didn’t want.
Gibbs pulled one picture from his files and laid them over the table, close to Atwood’s hands was a copy of the picture showed in Andrew Smith’s driving license. “Do you recognize him?”
“He does look familiar, but I’m afraid I can’t tell his name.”
“Andrew Smith, High School professor. He attacked you in the hospital on the day we met. Do you recognize him?”
“The man Tony stopped that day? I’m sorry! I didn’t pay much attention to his face. Are you pressing charges for his attack on Tony?”
Gibbs picked another picture from his files " one that showed Smith’s body dumped by the river " and put over the table. “His body was used to lure my team a few days ago.”
Atwood picked the first photo and looked it briefly, before reacting “He is dead?”
“Did you have any contact with him after that day?”
“No”
“I see.” Gibbs brought a third photo over the table, one that showed Smith walking around the Hospital corridors “You sure about that?”
Rubbing his hand over his face, Atwood looked tiredly at the pictures. “Look! Do you have any idea on the number of people I attend at the Uni Hospital everyday? I didn’t kill him if that’s what you’re implying!”
“I don’t believe in coincidences, Dr. Atwood... This man attacked you the day we met and a few days later he shows up dead dressed as a sailor when a maniac tries to kill one of my people.”
“So, I not only killed him, but attempted to kill your agent?”
“Where were you last Thursday, around 7 a.m.?”
“I was at home with my wife!” Atwood said loosing patience.
“What about last Friday? The traffic cameras showed your car parked around Agent DiNozzo’s building the night he was attacked!”
That hit the nerve, since Atwood visibly palled in anger “I would never hurt Tony in any way or form! How dare you say such a thing?”
“Then what you were doing there?” Gibbs eyes narrowed. When Atwood failed to answer him, he kept going “He looks too much like your dead son, doesn’t he?”
“No! Don’t drag my son into this! It’s true that I went into his neighborhood that night, but I never leaved my car! The cameras must have showed you this too!”
“And where were you this afternoon?”
“You know perfectly well where I was, you had me followed! I saw you today outside the hospital! You know I have nothing with this, you’re a simple jealous of my friendship with Tony!!
Gibbs snorted his opinion over Atwood’s idea of friendship and continued “I KNOW you’re the one targeting my team and I just wanted to show you phone calls don’t work on me!” Gibbs said standing up from his chair to collect the photos and leave the room when Atwood’s lawyer entered the room accompanied by none other then Director Shepard.
“What the hell is going on here? I warned that I was coming, you had no right to initiate the interrogatory without my presence, Director Shepard!” The man said turning back to speak with the Director.
“Mr. Godspeed…” Jenny Shepard started to talk with the man.
“Larry! Thank God you’re here! This man is mad! I want a restraining order to prevent him from coming any closer to my family!”
“Director Shepard?”
“He isn’t under arrest. Mr. Godspeed, he was only brought for questioning. Tell me Agent Gibbs, have you asked him anything?”
“Only a few questions Madam Director.” And Gibbs could see that she wasn’t pleased with his answer.
“Did he ask for his lawyer at any moment?”
“No, Madam, I didn’t even know he had one coming.” He said looking into her eyes.
Still staring at Gibbs, Sheppard said to the lawyer “Are you satisfied Mr. Gospeed?”
“Not at all, Director, and I’ll be filling a complaint first thing in the morning to prove it. Come on, Robert. I’ll walk you out.” And they left, leaving an angered Director behind themselves.
“What did you do, Jethro?”
“I know he did it! I have every reason to believe he is fixated on Tony and that he is dangerous. You know I’m right.”
“He has a valid alibi for every single attack on your team! Your own agents " even you " confirmed his presence in someplace else at the attack’s time!”
“Damn it!” He said punching hard the table “I don’t know how he did it, but I know it is him! Someone’s is helping him!”
“Then find this someone and fast! I’ll try to calm the things between us and Dr. Atwood” Seeing Gibbs about to protest she said “That might give you the time you need to sort things out!”
“Fine!” Shepard had left the room when Gibbs phone rang, Abby had finally finished the tapes analysis.
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Back in the Bullpen, Tony was talking non stop with Mrs. Atwood in order to occupy his time. He wasn’t happy at being left out of the investigation and kept in the dark, but someone had to do the job, someone had to keep company to Mrs. Atwood.
He knew she was catatonic, but Tony couldn’t shake the feeling he was being watched by the woman like a hawk. It was a little unnerving and to keep himself grounded he started to babble over old movies while he considered if he should offer her anything to eat or drink. ‘Maybe put some music?’ He thought.
Not knowing what else to do, he talked. “It won’t be long until Dr. Atwood is back, Mrs. Atwood. So you don’t have to worry…” The woman didn’t blink “… Right! So, I’m going to shut up now.” He said and took a deep breath to prevent his babbling.
Ziva showed up good 15 minutes later to find Tony playing a soft music over his computer while sorting out the mess of paper work over his desk. “Where is everybody?” She asked him.
The look of hope shining through Tony’s eyes would make her laugh if she didn’t have a certain image to maintain. Grinning at the chance of actually chat with someone he said “Gibbs is in room 4. McGee is in the lab with Abby. Where were you?”
“Working.” She quipped back smiling.
Before he could said anything, he was summoned by the Director’s secretary to her office. “Ziva, meet Mrs. Atwood. You’ll be keeping her company while I talk to Jen.”
“What??” Ziva said indignantly at Tony’s retreating form. “Wait!”
“Got to bounce” He said happy at getting out of the Bullpen and leaving Ziva to deal with the catatonic woman. He didn’t need to get in the office, as the Director met him on the hall to explaining to him as fast as possible the situation and what was expected from him.
He was to drive Mr. and Mrs. Atwood back to their house and smooth feathers to prevent them from filling a complaint against Gibbs and NCIS " a mission to similar to La Grenouille’s one for his liking; one that landed him directly into the lions' den.
The photos showed a disguised woman breaking into Ziva’s apartment. Mostly of her hair was hidden under a cap, but you could still see some brown hair falling from the cap. Only the information came too late.
Dinozzo failed to report back from the Director’s new assignment and the Atwood’s house was found empty. There was no sign of NCIS vehicle near the Washington area for long hours until the Police Department informed them about an accident involving an abandoned car and a goods train in the outskirts of DC.
Several years of hard military training prevented Gibbs from pointing the sheer stupidity in the Director’s actions. No logic in sending a stalker away with their intended victim. The Gunnery Sergeant stood silently, blue eyes staring at the NCIS Director for long moments before he made a heist exit from the office.
“Gear up!”
“Boss…? Tony...”
“You deaf, McGee? Gear up! We have a crime scene to investigate”. Gibbs said, unable to look at Tony’s desk.
The NCIS team arrived one hour after Police Department informed them about the accident. Half an hour earlier thanks to Gibbs shortcuts.
The car was left on the tracks about 10.30pm and a goods train had smashed into it a few hours late. Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs walked the 100 meters that separated the original point of impact from the carcass of the car, searching for any leads that could point him to Tony’s current whereabouts.
He was pissed at the crime scene condition, knowing it was deteriorated by EMT, Firefighters and every single available LEO around the area. The chances of finding any leads were dwindling very fast as Aby’s hacking revealed him that all Atwood’s bank accounts were closed 2 days ago.
The extensive damages of the car did not impress him for he knew that no body or blood was found on the inside; the only victim of the accident was the driver of the train, who now sported a small cut over his left eye.
He walked around the scene without caring about the Firefighters warning against a possible explosion since the damned train was powered by LP gas. Looking at his left, he saw that McGee and Ziva were following his example, flashlights illuminating the area around the collision.
They needed to find something and they needed now.
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It was just like the dreams promised to her: beautiful house on the suburb, a big garden, a dog, her husband working on the table and their son sleeping on his bedroom. It was a nice place to her family, away from nosy people, several hours away from that damned city. They drove for hours with their son sleeping in the back of the car, tucked away from peering eyes.
She was finally heading to happiness. ‘Such a nice dream’ She thought to herself, caressing her boy’s hair while he slept oblivious to her actions. ‘You grew up so fast, honey. I could barely see it happening, but don’t worry I refuse to lose another moment of your life! No one will keep us apart from now on.’ She smiled.
As if he was sensing that something was wrong, Tony moaned in his drugged state and moved a little further from her. “Boss…” The mumbled plead cut trough her heart, realization setting on her mind. “Don’t worry honey! I’ll take care of him for you. Shhhh… Go to sleep...” It seemed she still had some small final adjustments to do.
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L.J. Gibbs DID not believe in statistics, since they were all a bunch of accommodating lies. A damn collection of interpretation over data designed to tell people what they should be, eat, wear and shit. No one would tell him what he was, how he was suppose to act and specially what he should hope or dream.
Gibbs would tell them, if he so wanted.
Statistically, about 25,500 "of the missing persons are men. About four out of 10 missing adults are white. In sixty percent of cases where a person is abducted by someone they know they are not harmed, but that doesn’t mean that they are found.
If more than two days go past, the chances that they will be found alive drop dramatically. And many of the missing persons cases " like Tony’s " are never solved, which means that every year hundreds of people disappear forever.
Nope, Gibbs didn't give a damn about statistics, tough it was quite unnerving the fact that Tony was missing for more than 48 hours. Swallowing his bitter coffee while driving to Tony's apartment, he thought how much forever meant a very long time for not knowing where Tony was.
But mulling over Tony's possessions was useless, since the his team weren't unable to find any leads over the Atwood's whereabouts. He knew that, but he couldn't fight the urge to do something, anything, but go to his house and surrender to his boat. He was halfway across the town when his cell rang, flashing DiNozzo in red.
“Gibbs.” He answered, almost unable to hide the hope in his voice.
“I don't have much time Special Agent Gibbs, so I need you to listen to me.” Atwood said. “I'm leaving this cell on for you to trace where you can find Tony”.
That sent chills over Gibbs spine. No kidnapper ever revealed the location like that, unless...“What the hell did you do to him??! You..” Gibbs said livid.
“I don't have time or energy to explain anything to you. You want to help him? Come alone and quick. We don't have much time to spare.” Atwood's tirade ended.
Gibbs heard the cell been trough it on the floor and started to hear voices over cell. Frantically, he searched for a pay phone on the street, all the while keeping attention over the conversation he could hear over the phone.
“Robert?” A woman called.
“Yes, dear?
“What are you doing here, alone? Don't you want to help me make dinner?”
“Of course, dear. I just needed sometime to consider our chances.”
Gibbs finally found a damn pay phone a few blocks later, screeching his car to a stop in the middle of the street and getting Abby over the phone.
“It's your dime” Abby greeted.
“Abby!”
“Gibbs!! Where are you? I was looking for you all over the...”
“Not now Abby! Look for the trace you put on Tony's old cell! NOW!! It's still on!” Gibbs shouted.
“I'm doing it!! I'm doing it!” Abby typed on her computer, trowing McGee away for her desk. “It's a residential area an hour away from DC, Gibbs!” She said after a few seconds.
“Give me the exact address!” He said holding his cell and listening the couple discussion get heated.
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“What do you mean, Robert? We have our son back, we have money enough to pay bills, a lovely house...” Antonia reasoned.
“Honey, Tony...”
“Michael!”
“Stop it! He isn't... I... That young man is not our son, Antonia. I wish he was, but he isn't. We can't...”
“Yes, we can! He belong to us now! You told me he never had a real family, remember? We would be his family!”
“But he won't accept us, dear. He won't! And we kidnapped him!”
“NO! You hear me! We brought him into our home! He will see that! He will love us as his fathers” She said, tears running down her face. “Please, Robert...! Don't give up from our family! Please! I can't loose him again! I can't!”
Her hopeful voice broke Atwood's heart and he cursed his family's bad luck. “Listen to me, honey: what could we do? We can't keep him sedated for the rest of his life, it will kill him! And we can't keep hiding from the police.”
“Yes, we can!”
“No we can't. Even now, they're coming for us, for Tony”
Hearing the finality on her husband's voice, Antonia snapped. There weren't any tears misting her eyes anymore, a cold fury emanated from them. Robert Atwood gave an instinctive step back and learned just how insane his beloved wife had become.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.