Chapter Fifty
Tony stood up after a good five minutes on the floor and let Gibbs just hold him. Gibbs led him to a bench where they could sit and talk for as long as needed. Although he wanted to hear some of the expert witnesses talk about what they had found that linked Kaminski to both the rape and attempt on Tony’s life, he knew that dealing with Tony’s emotions was so much more important right then.
“I messed up,” Tony sobbed, tears still occasionally leaking and falling down his face. “I pointed out Kamisnski and the jury were all impressed and then the defense made me look like I let him try to kill me if I’d known who he was and the stupid thing is I should have recognised him, I can’t tell you how many times I looked at his picture on his file and wished I could catch that SOB, and then he walks into my hospital room with a syringe full of heroin and I’m too stupid to actually do anything than let him give it to me. Why didn’t I know who he was, Gibbs?”
“I don’t know why you didn’t recognise him, Tony, I wish I had the answers for you, but you gave a good statement today. You were clear, you were concise and you made it obvious that what you went through was very traumatic and once Abby and McGee and Ziva have told the judge and jury about how he planned the whole thing, they’ll want to put him away for many, many years and that’s what we want,” Gibbs told him, hugging Tony tightly, and rubbing circles on his back to ease the hiccupping that came with crying for so long.
When Tony calmed down, Abby appeared in the hallway of the courthouse and looked around. She spotted them on the bench and came over to sit with them.
“Hey guys, how’s it going?” she asked, trying to keep the mood light.
“You’ve just given evidence?” Tony asked, swallowing down a hiccup he could feel trying to escape.
“Yep, it was easy - wish I could say the same for these clothes,” Abby replied. She was dressed in what she described as her ‘court clothes’. A light blue suit with a white blouse underneath. She wore glasses that had fake glass in the rims so that she looked like she needed them but didn’t go blind from wearing them. She also had heels on, which made her wobble when she walked.
“I appreciate the effort, Abs,” Gibbs said, placing a kiss on her forehead. “Hey, would you mind grabbing me and Tony a cup of coffee?”
“Sure, I’ll buy, my purse is in here somewhere,” she replied, digging through her handbag. She hobbled off and Tony sighed deeply.
“It’ll be okay, DiNozzo, I promise you that. Kamisnski will go down for at least the attempted murder charge, if not for the illegal trading and arranging the hit on you, not to mention the possession of $10,000 worth of heroin,” Gibbs said, reassuring Tony, who took a deep breath in, then out.
“I’m going to go give Abby a hand before she gives herself third degree burns trying to balance everything,” Tony told him and before Gibbs could reply, he was off in the same direction as Abby had gone not a minute beforehand.
It only took them five minutes to find and pay for three cups of coffee, with sugar added to two of them - one for Tony and the other for Abby - and the one for Gibbs left black and strong, just as he liked it. Between the two of them they managed to carry them back to the bench where Gibbs was waiting.
“We should really get back in there,” Gibbs said, taking his coffee from Tony and taking a sip. He grimaced, the coffee here was worse than the stuff he’d drunk all those months ago when Tony had been in the ICU. It would do, but he’d have to find some decent coffee at some point to take the taste of that crap out of his mouth.
Abby and Tony nodded and followed Gibbs back into Courtroom one where McGee was on the witness stand giving the evidence he had collected from Tony’s apartment, Woodman’s apartment and the hospital when Tony had nearly been killed by Kamisnski. Abby had already told the judge and jury how she’d matched fingerprints off the pay slips, needle and syringe to Kamisnski, it was now up to both Ziva and McGee to say how they’d come to find them. It was going to be a long day.
~*~
After the court returned from lunch, ex-Special Agent Lee was called to the witness stand. She had agreed to give evidence against Kamisnski in return for a lighter sentence of sharing classified information and endangering people’s lives. Tony had been interested to hear her testimony because he still couldn’t understand why she’d turned against him in the first place, so he sat up a little straighter when she was brought up from custody and place in the witness stand, her hands cuffed behind her back.
It was weird for them all - McGee and Ziva having joined them after they had given evidence - to see Agent Lee in cuffs and an orange jumpsuit that identified her as a felon. They had worked alongside her since Tony had been promoted to Team Leader whilst Gibbs was taking his ‘retirement’ in Mexico. When Gibbs returned and she was moved to the Legal department, they still saw quiet a bit of her as she took it upon herself to be the one to issue their warrants. It all made sense now because she’d done that to be able to feed information to Kamisnski about Tony, but at the time it hadn’t seemed to be anything sinister.
Lee was asked to place her left hand on the bible and the right just above her shoulder - the cuffs were undone by the officer accompanying her - as she was asked if she would tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. She agreed that she would and Lieutenant Watson stood.
“Ms Lee, how long did you work for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service?” Watson asked.
“A little under two years.”
“What was your reason for applying for the job?”
“My father was very fond of the Navy, enjoyed anything to do with it, I grew up around boats, more so when we moved to America. I was desperate for a job where I could do the things I enjoyed and when one appeared at NCIS, I applied and was accepted.”
“Where was your first assignment?”
“At the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C. I was to work under Special Agent DiNozzo - he was the team leader that replaced Special Agent Gibbs when he left for some personal time in Mexico.”
“How did you find your time working with Agent DiNozzo?”
“He was a good team leader, but he wasn’t very professional.”
“In what way was he unprofessional?”
“He would call me ‘Probie’ - short for ‘probationary officer’ and lectured me if I was late, but let other agents get away with it.”
“Was that your reasoning for betraying him?”
“I love my job…sorry, loved. I am very bitter about the way Agent DiNozzo treated me and then when Agent Gibbs returned, I was just transferred without even a second chance.”
It was possible to hear the hatred in Lee’s voice as she spoke, when she concentrated it was near impossible to hear that she had the hint of an Asian accent, but when she got angry, it became more distinct.
“What did Lieutenant Commander Kamisnski pay you to do?” Watson asked, changing the subject before it went off course totally.
“I was to find out what route Agent DiNozzo took when jogging. I followed him for two weeks and mapped out various routes to look for a pattern. I was to also make notes on any chatter about Tony heard at work and inform him of anything important.”
“Like what?”
“Like when Agent DiNozzo was shot in the shoulder, I told him about that.”
“What else?”
“I was to make sure that if Agent DiNozzo wanted a warrant for anything to do with Lieutenant Commander Kamisnski, I was to delay it and inform him so that he could make arrangements to have it made invalid.”
“I see. Where were you on the night of Agent DiNozzo’s rape?”
“I was at home, with my roommate.”
“And the afternoon, when the attempted murder took place?”
“I was at work. I was arrested that afternoon when Special Agent Gibbs overheard me talking to Lieutenant Commander Kamisnski.”
“No further questions.”
Watson sat back down, while Marrow stood up and strode purposefully over to the witness stand.
“How much did Lieutenant Commander Kamisnski pay you for this information allegedly?” he asked, still wearing the same smug grin.
“It would depend on how important the information was,” Lee told him.
“Give me a ball park figure.”
“Objection, what does this have to do with anything?” Watson asked the judge.
“It does have a point, your honour,” Marrow said.
“I’ll allow it, but get to the point quickly,” the judge said.
“Ms Lee, please answer the question.”
“Between $5000 and $10,000 a time.”
“I see, and how much is the prosecution paying you to give evidence today?”
Lee looked confused, but answered the question anyway. “Nothing. I just get a reduction in my sentence.”
“And the ability to enjoy that hard earned cash sooner rather than later, right?”
“I guess so.”
“One more thing, Ms Lee. Who approached who?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, did Lieutenant Commander Kamisnski approach you or did you track him down?”
Lee paled visibly. “Answer the question, Ms Lee,” the judge pressed when a few minutes had passed.
“I…I…I…I approached him,” she stuttered.
“Thank you, no further questions.”
“The witness may step down.”
Michelle Lee was led away by her guard and sent on her way back to Central Holding. It was coming up to five pm and the judge called for the end of court for the day - they would continue at nine am sharp with Petty Officer Woodman on the witness stand.
Tony was not looking forward to sitting across from his rapist, he could only just cope with sitting across from Lee after the massive betrayal she’d done, but Woodman? He’d actually gone so low in the chain of things that he’d raped another man for a mere $10,000 worth of heroin. To an addict it may seem like a lot, but it was soon gone and anyway, it had been seized when they’d arrested Woodman, he’d never see it again and how could he live with himself knowing how much pain and anguish he’d caused Tony?
He would get through tomorrow the same way he’d gotten through today - with his family by his side.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Who will catch DiNozzo when he falls?
Chapter End Notes:
I have no idea how a courtroom in Naval Law works, so have researched to the best of my ability, but there are bound to be some mistakes as I am not a lawyer either. Please try to enjoy the story if you notice any mistakes, pm me with the correct procedure and I'll be sure to change it. Thanks. Enjoy!
I also apologise for the lateness of this post - haven't been well
I also apologise for the lateness of this post - haven't been well