Chapter 2
The two men stood facing each other, one with an angry look on his face; the other had a determined, steely look on his.
Tony said, “I repeat, I want Ducky to do the post mortem. As you already stated, I AM next of kin, I should at least be able to decide this much.”
“Listen here DiNozzo,” Fornell said angrily, “This is an FBI case, and you have no say here.”
Tony interrupted him “ Yea, now that you bring that up, what kind of case are we talking about?”
“None of your business” Fornell snapped. “Just stay out of it.” He was now regretting coming here in person.
Tony’s eyes went cold, “Fornell, what ever this case is about? Getting into my Fathers business and personal papers could probably help, right?”
Fornell didn’t answer but Tony could see he was on to something. “As his only son, what I say could make a difference. The right word in the right ear?” Tony paused with cold stare, then stepping up into his personal space; he said softly “It could become a long and expensive legal battle that you might not win.”
Fornell stiffened “Is that a threat?”
Tony leaned in and whispered, “Just try me.”
Fornell stared at him for a minute, then his shoulders relaxed slightly “What, are you channeling Gibbs now?” he sighed.
Tony stepped back and said “That a good thing or bad?”
“Neither” Fornell muttered, “Just scary.” He then turned towards the door, motioning for Tony to follow, “Come on DiNozzo, you can call your M.E. on the way.”
Tony decided it would be best to take his own vehicle, getting the address from Fornell he then called Ducky. “Hey Ducky, it’s me.” He said when the M.E. answered. “Sorry for calling so late.”
“That’s o.k, Mother is staying with friends tonight. Do we have a case?” Ducky asked.
Tony sighed, “Not really, it’s a personal favor. And Ducky?” he paused, “Can you just keep it quiet for now? I’ll call Gibbs when I get back to the office.”
“What did you need Anthony?” Ducky said.
Tony answered quietly, “The FBI will be dropping off a,” he paused, “someone I need you to do a autopsy on, see if you can tell me cause of death.”
Ducky could hear the gravity in Tony’s voice, “I’ll be there shortly and Anthony? As long as you realize that if you don’t call Jethro, I’ll have to. I won’t lie to him.”
“Don’t worry Ducky, I’ll take care of it.” Tony replied.
As he arrived at NCIS, Tony decided to go down to Autopsy to wait for his Fathers body to arrive before calling Gibbs.
“How ironic” Tony thought. He had spent most of his childhood “waiting” for his Father and even now, in death, he was STILL waiting for him. He ran his hands across his face and then massaged his temples; he could feel a migraine coming on. It was the middle of the night, he was exhausted and his head was killing him. Tony decided to just bite the bullet and call Gibbs now, not realizing that Fornell had beat him to it.
Gibbs had got the call from Fornell and agreed to meet him at NCIS. As he hung up the phone he thought, “Damn it DiNozzo, why didn’t you call me straight away.”
Gibbs made it to work in record time, meeting up with Fornell at the elevators. They acknowledge each other as they got on the elevator, “Jethro”, then with a nod answered back, “Tobias.”
As the elevator started to move, Gibbs reached over to pull the emergency stop button. He then turned to the man next to him and with a stony face said “o.k. Tobias, what’s going on?”
Fornell sighed and said, “Listen Jethro, there’s not a lot I can tell you. Mr. DiNozzo was to be a material witness in a case; we had him set up in a local hotel. He had his dinner, went to lie down and when one of my agents went to check up on him, that’s when they found him.”
“Why not call me first?” Gibbs asked.
“Listen, I called DiNutso first cause he was next of kin,” Fornell answered “I didn’t have to call YOU at all, I only did it because of our friendship.” He then smirked, “I’ll tell you this much, your boy did you proud. Thought I was dealing with you for a minute there.”
Gibbs allowed himself a small smile, and then hit the button to start the elevator moving. “Wait for me upstairs, I’ll be there shortly.”
As Gibbs left the elevator and approached Autopsy, his phone rang. He looked at the caller I.D.; it was DiNozzo. Just ahead of him was Tony; his shoulders slumped, leaned up against the wall with his phone to his ear.
Gibbs called his name and Tony, talking into his phone. “Hey Boss, it’s me.” Then he realized that the voice came from behind him and that his phone was still ringing. Tony turned around quickly as he closed his phone, “Oh hey there Boss, was just calling you.”
As he took in the look on Gibbs face, he said, “ I take it you heard already?”
Gibbs answered, the words stern but the tone soft, “Should have heard about it from you, DiNozzo.” He stepped a little closer, his eyes taking in the strain on Tony’s face, he asked “You o.k?”
Tony straightened his shoulders and answered with his typical “I’m fine Boss.”
Gibbs knew he was lying but let it drop, “I’ll be upstairs with Fornell, get up there as soon as your done.”
“Sure thing Boss,” Tony said, then added “Thanks.”
Gibbs just nodded to him as he headed back to the elevator. Both of them were thinking, for different reasons that the worst was yet to come.
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.