Chapter Forty-Nine
Tony fidgeted the whole time he was waiting to be called into the courtroom. He couldn’t find a position that was comfortable and he was worried that what he said wouldn’t be the right thing which was stupid in itself because he was a trained Federal Agent and had given evidence in cases before to help with prosecuting felons. However, it was different when you were talking about your own rape.
He went over his testimony in his head what felt like a thousand times to be sure that he had it right, Dr. Clark has prepared him for talking about what had happened a lot and in a way he was grateful for the first shrink he saw in the hospital - the one that caused him to have a panic attack and near seizure because he’d shown Tony how heartless some people could be when listening to him describe what had been the worst night of his life. It had prepared him for telling his story to a JAG lawyer, to doing as deposition and now to telling it to a bunch of strangers - none of whom knew Tony well enough to care, but at least Gibbs would be there, watching him, and mentally holding his hand.
It surprised him when he looked at the clock on the wall and saw that only thirty minutes had passed; it felt like he’d been there for an age. A bailiff appeared and looked around the room that was filled with various people who needed to give testimony - not all of them were for Tony’s case and not all of them were for cases that would be heard today, but all of them were held in seclusion so as not to taint their testimony before it could be heard before a judge and jury.
The bailiff turned and looked at Tony. “Are you Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo?” he asked.
“Yes,” Tony replied.
“Follow me, you’ve been called into courtroom one.” Tony got up and followed the bailiff as he made his way through the corridors and into the courtroom. Tony was shown to the witness box and had the chance to quickly glance around and lock eyes with Gibbs. His breathing slowed, even though he hadn’t been aware of it speeding up and he relaxed. He’d be fine so long as he could see Gibbs.
“Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you, God?” the bailiff of the court asked, holding out a bible that Tony had placed his left hand on, the other was above his shoulder.
“I do.”
Tony looked around the courtroom again as the bailiff sat down and the trial continued, he recognised the prosecutor as the JAG lawyer that had been at his deposition, but not the defense, he was most nervous about answering any question the defense lawyer put up because he knew they were trying to get Kamisnski off the hook and would do anything to disprove his rape and subsequent attempt on his life by their client.
“Good Morning, Special Agent DiNozzo, how are you feeling today?” the JAG lawyer - Lieutenant Andrew Watson - asked, with a smile on his face.
“I’m fine, thanks,” Tony said, coughing slightly as his throat seemed to dry up the second he spoke. He took a sip from the glass of water in front of him.
“Can you tell us what happened to you on the evening of Sunday April 13th of this year?”
“I was attacked and raped, sir.”
“I see. Did you receive any medical attention?”
“I did, but not for the rape.”
“Then why?”
“I took an overdose of Vicodin directly following the rape.”
“Why did you do that?”
“Objection! Our job here is not to speculate the mental stability of Special Agent DiNozzo,” the defense lawyer said, standing up and rolling his eyes at his colleague.
“Sustained, please keep on the right path, Lieutenant,” the judge said, to which the Lieutenant in question nodded and looked at Tony.
“What happened to you on the 16th April of this year?” Lieutenant Watson asked Tony, continuing the questioning.
“I was given an almost lethal dose of heroin into my IV that caused me to have a cardiac arrest and almost die,” Tony replied, keeping to the script they’d agreed before that day.
“I see, were you conscious when you were given this injection?”
“Yes.”
“Would you recognise the person who gave it to you?”
“Yes.”
“Can you see them in this courtroom?”
“Yes.”
“Would you be able to point them out to the jury?”
“Yes,” Tony said and pointed clearly at Kamisnski, his eyes on Gibbs the whole time who was keeping him going. He felt so uneasy in the courtroom with Kamisnski just a few meters away from him, so close and his very presence made Tony feel so very uneasy, as if someone was clutching his heart and squeezing it tightly every so often.
The jury gasped and made notes when Tony pointed directly at Kamisnski and then it was what Tony dreaded the most, it was the defense’s turn to question him and see if his answers could help them win the case. Tony hoped to God they couldn’t.
“No further questions, your honour,” Watson said, sitting back behind the table on the prosecution’s side of the courtroom.
“Do you wish to question this witness, Lieutenant Marrow?” the judge asked the defense, a JAG lawyer - Lieutenant Jeffery Marrow. Apparently he won most cases he took on and had been a personal friend of Kamisnski so it was no surprise to anyone when he took on his case with the intention of winning and showing what a liar Tony was and how he’d actually been the one harassing Kamisnski and not the other way round.
“I have a few questions, your honour,” Marrow said, as he stood up from behind the defense’s table and walked over to stand opposite Tony.
Tony took another sip of his water as his throat felt as dry as the Nevada desert, he looked past Marrow and at Gibbs who gave him an encouraging smile, he knew it was meant to make him feel better, but it didn’t because he felt like whatever he said in answer to the defense’s questions would be the wrong one and would bring Kamisnski one step closer to freedom - something he was desperate not to happen.
“Special Agent DiNozzo, isn’t it true that it was not, in fact, Lieutenant Commander Kamisnski that raped you?” he asked, a smug smile on his face that Tony wanted to wipe off.
“No, he didn’t.”
“Yet you and your partner, Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs continued to harrass him on several occasions?”
“No, Gibbs didn’t know I had the file on Kamisnski. He only found out after Kamisnski was linked to the money on Woodman,” Tony said, regretting every word the second he said it.
“But once your partner had the file, isn’t it true he baited Kamisnski until he could arrest him on proper charges?”
“You’d have to ask him that, sir. I was in the hospital.”
“Yes, about that. Why did you let Kamisnski inject you with heroin if you knew what he looked like?”
’Shit,’ Tony thought. “I…I…I didn’t recognise him then,” Tony said, stammering.
“Yet, you recognise him now?”
“Yes.”
“Are you sure?”
“Objection! The witness has already declared that he is sure to the whole court,” shouted the prosecutor, coming to Tony’s rescue. He wanted to get out of court and away from the slimy defense lawyer.
“Sustained, please stay on topic Lieutenant Marrow,” the judge said, giving Marrow a look that could be compared to one of Gibbs’ stares.
“Sorry, your honour. No further questions.” He left Tony sweating and sat back down behind the table, where Kamisnski leant over and whispered something into his ear, his eyes on Tony the whole time.
Tony got down out of the witness stand and was led out of the courtroom, where he collapsed against a wall and sank to his knees. He held in the tears until Gibbs came up behind him and wrapped his arms around him and then he let them out. If he’d messed up in that courtroom, Kamisnski would be free and then he’d never be safe again, not until he or Kamisnski were dead, whichever came first.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Who will catch DiNozzo when he falls?
Chapter End Notes:
I am not a laywer so this is researched and as accurate as I could make it.
Enjoy!
Enjoy!