Chapter 6:
Director Sheppard glowered as she saw the two men standing so close, it was apparent that Jethro was supporting the Italian. Her scowl deepened and her eyes narrowed when Tony moved jerkily, placing himself between her and Jethro, his mouth set in a hard thin line, his stance protective and territorial..
“Director.” he acknowledged curtly, his green eyes fierce and bitter. “What can I do for you?” He asked as he sidestepped in front of Gibbs, effectively blocking the older agent from moving around him. The action caused Gibbs to frown at him, but Jethro didn’t attempt to move around the younger man again, not wanting to set off a more excessive reaction. He simply stood slightly behind and to the right of the younger agent, covering Tony’s six.
“I came to see how you were doing Tony. From the few reports I’ve received on your condition I was led to believe that you weren’t doing very well. I was worried.” She stated solemnly, trying to put sincerity into the words.
Gibbs barely cut off a snort of disbelief to this and he felt Tony tense again as he shifted closer to Gibbs, his stance widening, readying for battle. At this, Gibbs spoke, his voice harsh and angry. “Stop with the bullshit, Jen. What are you doing here?” He demanded, placing a hand low on Tony’s back, trying to soothe the younger man.
“Really Jethro, can’t I simply be concerned? Despite what you think, I didn’t want Tony to get hurt.” She told them, thinking to herself, `I just wanted him gone.’
“No.” Gibbs stated simply.
The quick decisive statement caused Sheppard to pause a moment before she continued. She was here on a mission and she needed to complete that mission before her little Mossad colleague joined into the fray. She couldn’t allow Jethro to distract her and pull her off track with his growl or his protective nature. The fact that his protectiveness was directed toward his agent rather than her was a point of frustration and displeasure for her and had jealously threatening to rear it’s ugly head, however, she was a professional and she fervently hoped that she managed to cover it up before she continued. “Well, I was concerned, especially when I heard about the incident with the doctor the other day. I was thinking that perhaps you would be better off at a private facility, rather than at this hospital.” She directed her comments to Tony rather than Gibbs, knowing what the way the verbal sparring did to her. “In fact, I’ve made some calls and a facility is expecting you the day after tomorrow. I figured I could speak with your doctor and get him to sign transfer papers.” She gave Tony a small tentative smile, hoping it portrayed her genuineness.
Tony merely stared at her, his emerald eyes unreadable, his nostrils flaring, then he smirked as he caught the pungent odor of apprehensive sweat mixing with cheap perfume, indicating her deceit. He didn’t trust the director on a good day and with his heightened senses he could feel her anxiety and see unmistakable desire flare in her pale brown eyes every time they settled on Jethro, causing him to step closer, possessively, toward the older man, a low rumbling echoing through his chest. He did not want this woman to get near his boss and he was about to tell her to go to hell; when Jethro spoke, his voice was dismissive.
“No thanks, Director, I’ve already made arrangements to have Tony moved.”
“Really? Where?” she asked, trying to appear more concerned than calculating.
“That is need to know information, and you don’t need to know.” he told her, echoing her response to his own demands about Tony’s undercover mission. “Now if you’ll excuse us, we need to go take care of the paperwork.” He said as he brushed past her, with Tony following behind him with a possessive smirk. Director Sheppard turned to follow them, only to be neatly cut off by Kate, who stood blocking the exit from the room, staring at her with a glare worthy of Gibbs, her dark chocolate brown eyes flat and hard as steel. The director stifled a scream of rage as she watched the withdrawing backs of the two men, her eyes shifting angrily to Agent Todd.
“Get out of the way, Agent Todd.”
“Sorry, Director, but I can’t do that.” Kate told her firmly, re-enforcing her stance.
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Rhea observed the exchange between the two men and the director. The scents of deceit, calculation and arousal were so thick she could almost taste them in the air. Her sensitive nose twitched, and a small smile played around her lips. She watched as Agent DiNozzo kept himself between his life mate and the perceived threat, his instincts clearly in working order, even if he didn’t understand them. She noticed that his external injuries were almost healed and that he was following his instincts naturally. She’d also noticed how in tune Agent Gibbs was to the younger agent’s behavior, automatically following his lead, showing his trust in the Italian, while doing his best to keep the other man calm. She smiled to herself watching as they made their way to the exit of the hospital, the older agent matching his speed to the younger man’s. Pulling out her cell phone she hit the speed dial., as she followed the two men to their car. She sent a quick nod to a black man, in a nondescript sedan, as he picked up the surveillance of the new breed, as the phone rang.
“Atlas.” came the brusque greeting.
“It’s Rhea, sir. The two agents just left the hospital. DeMarcus is tailing them.” She reported.
“Good. And the Director?”
“Definitely hiding something. She tried to get Agent DiNozzo to go to a private facility for care. Both men turned her down.” She told him dryly.
“Good. Anything else to report? Did they receive the file?”
“I delivered it to the Goth’s lab this morning before she got there. She and the M.E. were going over it when I left. It may not be enough help, sir.”
“Why?” He asked curious.
“I believe that Agent DiNozzo and Agent Gibbs are life mates.”
“You believe or you know Rhea?”
“The scent of their arousal was thick and heady in the hospital room before they were interrupted by the director. And Agent DiNozzo gets very territorial and protective toward Agent Gibbs in the presence of people he isn’t used to and those he perceives threatening.”
“Hmm. That could pose a problem. Maybe we should make contact sooner rather than later.” Atlas told her thoughtfully. “We don’t need him attacking people and creating unwanted and unnecessary attention.”
“Yes sir. I’ll take care of it.” Rhea assured him.
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It was late in the evening when Abby, Ducky, and Gerald pulled up to the cabin. It had taken them a few hours to gather all the evidence they had collected from the warehouse, the research into Ladocourt Labs, and the mysterious file documenting the experimentation on Tony without drawing too much attention or suspicion. After seeing Gibbs and Tony in the hospital, the director had come back to headquarters and demanded an update on Tony’s case. Of course Abby had babbled in techno-speak and Ducky had simply babbled as he was apt to do, until Sheppard had gotten frustrated and left them alone. Kate and McGee had followed Tony and Gibbs to the secluded cabin knowing that, with half their team out of the office they were out of rotation and there was no point in returning.
The three entered the cabin quietly, looking around. Kate came out of the kitchen smiling in greeting, and then showed them around, putting Ducky’s and Gerald’s bags in the second bedroom, and Abby’s with hers in the third. They went to the living room, where Gibbs slept in a recliner, just outside the front bedroom and McGee was sprawled on the couch, also asleep, the T.V. in the corner flickered silently.
“Where’s Tony?” Abby asked in a whisper, afraid to wake the two sleeping men.
“He’s in the front bedroom. The trip from the hospital wiped him out and Gibbs ordered him to sleep.” Kate replied softly.
“Bossman didn’t stay in there with him?”
“For a bit, but once Tony went to sleep, he wanted to hear our reports. Why?”
“Just curious.” Abby told her, then turning to Ducky, “Should we wake them and tell them what we found or wait until morning?”
“Let them sleep, Abs.” A new voice spoke and four heads turned to see Tony standing in the doorway of the front bedroom, wearing faded jeans, his leg brace, his chest and feet bare.
“Oh, my God.” Kate breathed horrified and shocked as she took in the angry red incisions that covered Tony’s chest and stomach. Slowly her overly bright brown eyes met Tony’s as she murmured, ‘I’m so sorry Tony. Those must be very painful.”
“Nah, not so much as they itch.” He shrugged off her concern in his normal manner, then tilting his head as he took in her three companions… “Hey Duck, Gerald.”
“Anthony, can I take a look at those incisions real quick?’’ Ducky asked.
“Sure, in a bit, okay Duck?” Tony agreed. His eyes traveled over Gibbs assessing, then he looked to Kate as he asked, “How long has he been asleep?”
“An hour or so.” Kate replied. Then to the others “I have sandwiches and soup in the kitchen if anyone’s hungry.”
“I could eat.” Tony said with a smirk, following the others limping. As he passed by the older man, he paused, kneeling down to study Gibbs a moment, breathing in his familiar scent with a soft sigh. Satisfied that all was well with the other man, he straightened. Abby laid a gentle hand on his shoulder, dark eyes meeting green in understanding and sympathy.
“Doing okay Tony?” She asked stepping into the hall.
“Yeah, so far, I guess. Have you found out anything new about these people or what they did to me?”
Dark eyes skittered away from green as she tried to hedge her way around the question. “Umm, well Ducky, Gerald, and I have been going over all the files and …”
“Abs, please.” The quiet pleading voice as well as the gentle hand on her arm stopped her midsentence. Turning toward him she sighed,
“You know don’t you? Like you knew Ducky was nervous, you know I’ve got new information.” She stated more than asked.
“I know something has you hurting and sad. I … I can … I can smell it all over you and I feel … I can feel it to, I guess is the best way to explain it. I’m not really sure how to explain it better than that.” He murmured cautiously, waiting anxiously for her reaction.
“You don’t have to Tony, I understand.” She told him, and then wrapped him in a tight, gentle hug, careful of his incisions. Like Kate she had been shocked by his incisions, but had had some time to become acclimated to them, through all the pictures she’d studied earlier. “And yes, I found your file. It details everything they did to you, why they did it, and what they hoped the outcome would be. I just don’t think that we should discuss it until Gibbs is awake and with you.”
“Why? This doesn’t really affect him. I’m the one who needs to know.”
“Oh, Tony, this affects us all, simply because it affects you. We love you, we’re family.” She told him steadily, and then she hesitated, more because she wasn’t sure if Tony was aware how he leaned on Gibbs at the moment. If she didn’t know better, she’d think they were involved romantically. Even if they weren’t romantically involved or headed in that direction, she knew that Gibbs had a calming effect on Tony. “I think we should wait, because he’ll want to be there for you. He cares about you.”
Tony nodded hesitantly, a small smile gracing his lips and a faint blush tinted his cheeks as he glanced back down at the older man slept. He nodded his agreement as his stomach rumbled loudly and he let Abby help him limp to the kitchen.
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“DeMarcus.” The black man answered his phone.
“It’s Rhea, DeMarcus. Report.”
“All is quiet.” He told her. “No sign that any of them were followed.”
“Good. I’ll be there at first light. We need to make sure they understand a few things before they’re caught unaware.”
“Understood. See you then, Commander.” DeMarcus replied before disconnecting the call and settling in for the night.
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The office was dark except for a single lamp on the desk that cast a haunting glow through the office. The man stood at the large bay windows, staring out, and a tumbler of scotch in his hand. He raised the glass to his lips a moment before addressing the woman who stood at attention just inside the door.
“Status report.” He commanded his voice insistent, as he turned from the windows.
Dark eyes met cruel, unfeeling grey eyes, as the woman straightened her shoulders, drawing her head up as she spoke, her tone clear and concise. “Agent Gibbs and his team have moved Agent DiNozzo. We are not sure where they have moved him to, Director Sheppard is investigating their where abouts.”
“We need to get Agent DiNozzo back to the Centre. There are still tests that we need to run before we can determine whether or not the experiment was successful.” A new voice spoke. “We need to get him back so we can assess the extent of his abilities.”
“You said the procedures were successful Dr. Crayton.” The green-eyed man reminded the doctor. “You said that all was left was testing my son in the field. Is there something you haven’t told me? You assured me that once all was done and Anthony’s training was complete; he would follow orders and be completely manageable. Is this not correct?” Dominic DiNozzo asked, his eyes narrowed and his voice low and menacing.
“Yes. I just meant that we still need to run analysis on his abilities, to make sure there are no surprises once his preparation is complete, so that we can secure your influence over him. Especially in light of his resistance to hypnosis and simple manipulations.” Dr. Crayton spoke rapidly doing a poor job of covering his sudden nervousness.
“Yes, we would hate to have our prototype disobey his commands.” The Mossad assassin spoke up.
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