Chapter 3
Friday, December 5, 1997
Tony bit down into the raspberry jelly-stuffed donut and relished in its delightfully, sugary and oh so fattening flavor.
“Mmmmmm. This is so good.” He stated with a mouth full of the delicious pastry to his partner, Roy Bourge, seated across from him.
“Up yours, Tony. I hope you choke on it.” Roy growled.
“Awww, poor Roy. Diet making you a little grouchy?” Tony teased with a pouty lip as he chewed happily.
“You just watch it, Buck-O. One of these days you'll be married and your wife is going to put you on a crazy, no-sugar diet and we'll see how grumpy you get.”
“No way. See, 'cause unlike some people, I'm smart, so I'm never getting married.”
“Yeah, right Tony, you about as smart as the gum stuck under my shoes, especially when it comes to women. With all the girls you go out with, one of these days you'll end up in love, then you'll get married, then you'll find yourself with three kids, a mortgage, driving a rusty minivan to work everyday and wondering where all of your youthful energy and physique went.”
“I think you're talking about you, Roy.” Tony laughed.
“Put a sock in it, Kid.”
“How about a donut?” Tony asked with a cocky smile as he took another gigantic bite out of his donut, eliciting a balled up piece of paper to be thrown in his direction.
After eighteen months on the Philadelphia police force, Tony had found that Roy was one of the few people he could actually stand to work with and in turn was one of the few that could stand to work with him as well.
Tony found the same problem in Peoria. After apprehending John Harvey Thomas when he and his partner discovered the dismembered and dessicated remains of his mother, father, sister and brother-in law in the trunk of his broken down Cougar when he was just a rookie cop had caused a stir in the Peoria community and Tony found himself being the center of attention with only weeks of experience under his belt. His partner, Allen was promoted and went on to be a detective while Tony himself was moving through the ranks far faster than many of the other officers ever had at that point in their careers. This hadn't won Tony any respect though, only engendered a sense of jealousy and hostility towards him that followed him from partner to partner to partner until he gave up making any friends and left for greener pastures in Philadelphia.
Even though he left Peoria nearly eighteen months ago, he still found that same kind of resentment present in his fellow cops here because he was good at what he did- really good. After only spending a couple months on traffic patrol, Tony was promoted to detective and brought up to narcotics and had already been a part of several large undercover operations.
Many of the other cops on the force held the belief that Tony only made it into narcotics because of his youthful good looks that allowed him to blend into the college scene where they found a lot of the drugs being dealt. But the truth of the matter was that Tony worked his ass off to get where he was. Sure, he was young and it did help him with his undercover work, but no one knew how hard he studied for his detective exam or how he went to the firing range on his days off to improve his marksmanship nor that he ran several miles everyday so he could stay in shape.
It was not only that, but for many reasons Tony was excellent for undercover work. The first and foremost of which was his seamless ability to blend into any environment. He could be hanging in the ghetto one day and the next schmoozing it up with high society types in their mansions and people would honestly have no clue that Tony might not be one of them.
There was also the fact that he spoke Spanish fluently. This was in large part thanks to his Cuban nanny Rosita, who practically raised him since he was a toddler. However, the fact that he had a nanny growing up was something he kept a closely guarded secret from his fellow narcotics detectives. If they ever found out about his upbringing amongst the Long Island elite, he'd never be able to live it down.
And lastly, but certainly not least of all was his ability to interrogate. His methods were unconventional and to most of his fellow officers it seemed like he did nothing but prattle on about movie scenarios or joke around, but it worked well for putting the person he had in there at ease and allowing them to open up to him. Many times he got what he needed while his colleagues ranted and shouted or pounded their fist on the table only to have their interviewee clam up.
But now Tony was becoming a victim of his own success. What he truly wanted and what he had been working so hard for the last year and a half was to become a homicide detective. However, he was so good at narcotics now that none of his bosses were willing to let him transfer.
He was frustrated enough to the point where he was considering another change of scenery. He sent feelers out to other cities and heard that Baltimore was looking for homicide detectives, so he went ahead and sent in his resume. A few weeks later and he was asked to come in for an interview, which he felt went well. Now it was all about waiting to hear back from Baltimore and as soon as he knew he had another job lined up, he'd be out of Philly so fast, even the Flash couldn't catch him.
“Tony, Roy, Get in here.” Lt. Chavez, the precinct head of Narcotics called out across the bullpen as he poked his head out of his office door and beckoned the two partners to enter. “Got an assignment for you.”
“What ya got, Lt.?” Roy asked as he and Tony walked into his office.
“We got a tip from a credible source that anabolic steroids and a whole pharmacy of prescriptions drugs are being dealt from within Globe Gym. We're not sure if it's one of the employees that's got the dope or a regular client at the gym, so I need you to go in and pose as a client, see who's the dealer. It's a pretty simple op, so it'll just be the two of you. DiNozzo, you'll be our inside guy and Bourge, you'll be back-up. Questions?”
“Yeah, why is Tony going on the inside again? I haven't been undercover in over a month.”
“Because, Roy. This is a gym. Who's seriously going to believe that you work out?” Tony countered teasingly, pointing to Roy's rotund midsection.
The Lieutenant sighed.
“Tony's going in because he is closer in age to those who might be dealing or buying the drugs, no offense Roy, but Tony's going in this time. Now go get moving.”
“Fine.” Roy shot an irritated glance towards Tony as they headed out of the lieutenant's office and Tony returned it with a smug grin.
“Yeah, yeah...yuck it up, pretty boy. Mark my words, one of these days I'll find a way to wipe that damned smile off your face.”
OOOOOO
Later that afternoon, Tony walked in from the cold, December wind through the entrance of Globe Gym wearing a sweat suit with a wire underneath his t-shirt and Roy listening in from a non-discript van across the street. He was greeted by a pretty little brunette in a pink, tight-fitting workout outfit. Just his type, he thought, but reminded himself that he was there for work and not for pleasure. But who said you couldn't combine the two? He figured.
“Hi!” She started excitedly with a gigantic, perky smile as he walked in. “Welcome to Globe Gym. How can I help you?” Tony couldn't help but smile back- he was definitely going to enjoy this assignment, especially as he looked around and noticed several other beautiful and fit ladies working out on the various pieces of equipment around the gym.
“Hi, I'm looking to get a membership.” He flashed her one of his patented disarming smiles as he leaned onto the front desk nonchalantly. She grinned back even further.
“Great! Just follow me and we'll get you all set up.”
Thirty minutes and several forms later Tony was signed up and being led on a tour of the facility by Stacy, the same brunette that met him at the door.
“...And over here are the cardio machines, treadmills, ellipticals, stair climbers and over there are the free weights. You lift? You look like you're in pretty good shape.”
“I don't mean to brag, but I did play a little college football and basketball so I like to keep my body in peak physical condition. You'll probably see me in the weight room a lot, I'm trying to build a little more muscle, but I just have the hardest time doing it.” It really wasn't a lie per se, he did work out a lot, he just didn't have the gigantic biceps that a lot of the men in the gym at that time were sporting as they grunted and heaved their way through multiple sets of heavy weights.
Stacy leaned in a little closer to Tony and spoke softly to him as though she were passing on a secret.
“Well, you know a lot of these guys do more than just lift weights to get those bodies."
"Yeah? So what's the secret to their success?" Tony asked.
"You know...supplements, vitamins, protein shakes. If you want, I can show you our line of products later."
"Sure, sounds good." Tony agreed. He decided he was going keep an eye on Stacy, perhaps she might know more about who was dealing the drugs and steroids around here. He just needed to stay with her and work his magic on her in order to win her trust then it was just a hop, skip and a jump to catching their dealer.
Tony followed Stacy around the gym as she showed off the equipment, enjoying the view of her tight Lycra short shorts from behind. When they made it back to the front of the gym again at the end of the tour, Tony found himself surrounded by a gaggle of lithe and lean ladies who all greeted Stacy happily.
“Hi everyone! I'll be down in the yoga room in a few minutes, 'kay?” Stacy addressed them. The group of scantily clad women moved past them, some giving him appreciative and seductive looks as they walked by, piquing Tony's interest as he watched their tails.
“So, who's that?”
“Oh, those are some ladies from my yoga class.”
“You teach yoga?” Tony smiled, he always imagined what it would be like to date a yoga instructor and thinking of how flexible she must be and all the implications that entailed brought a bright smile to his face.
“Yeah, class starts in a few minutes, so I better go.”
“Maybe I could come and join you.” He suggested, not wanting to let her go without at least making an impression on her, not to mention she might have more information on who might be dealing the drugs in the gym.
“Sure, if you like, but it's Bikram Yoga.”
“Sounds good.” He had no clue what that was, but it was yoga, how hard could that be?
“Do you have any idea what that is?”
“Sure.” He lied. “Done it bunches of times.” He could see that she wasn't buying it.
“Okay, but it's mostly women in the class, I hope that won't intimidate you.” She said.
“All the better.” He winked and she grinned, shaking her head.
“All right then, follow me.”
Tony stayed on her heels as she lead him to a studio in the back of the gym. From the window in the door he could see six or seven women already inside, laying out yoga mats or stretching and talking to their classmates. Most of them wore little more than sports bras and tiny, tight shorts. Tony was hoping that Roy was listening to all of this. He was going to have a field day making him jealous when all of this was said and done.
Stacy opened the door and Tony was almost knocked back by the hot convection current that hit him as he entered. It had to be over a hundred degrees in the room.
“Whoa, a little warm in here isn't it?” He asked.
“Of course it is, silly. This is Bikram yoga, you know-hot yoga. We turn the heat up to about 105 on purpose. It allows our body to flush toxins and makes stretching the ligaments easier. I thought you said you did this before?”
“Right....I was just confused by all of the different kinds of yoga I've done.” He tried to cover his lie with a charming smile, it usually worked for him and it seemed to do the trick again this time around too as Stacy just smiled and walked in the blazing room. She handed Tony a mat and he made his way to the center of the class between two very gorgeous ladies, both of whom gave him as couple of coquettish smiles. He grinned back and enjoyed the sight of their tight clothes clinging to every curve of their bodies.
Even though it was hot as hell in there, Tony was in seventh heaven. There were somedays where he just loved his job.
Already, Tony was beginning to sweat and the fact he had on a sweatshirt and sweat pants made the oppressive heat of the room even worse. Not only that, but now that he thought about it, he hadn't had anything to drink that day except for coffee with his donut.
“Why don't you go ahead and take off your shoes and sweats and we can get started.” Stacy suggested to Tony. He wanted nothing more than to take off the too warm garments, but he still had a wire on under his t-shirt and it would be quite visible if he were to take off the sweats.
“I might actually keep my sweats on. You know, that way I can...” Tony had to think of a good excuse to keep the sweats on. “you know...cleanse my body of....even more toxins than usual. After all, it's been quite some time since I've had a good... cleansing.” He grinned to the girl next to him.
“Alright, but I have to warn you that the class is 90 minutes long, so pace yourself. Things can get pretty intense in here.” She told him.
Yeah right, he thought to himself. This was just yoga; a bunch of stretching, meditating and saying things like 'ohm', right? How hard could it possibly be?
Thirty minutes later, Tony had totally forgotten why he ever thought that doing yoga with a group of nearly naked women was a good idea. It seemed easy enough the first few minutes as they went through some breathing techniques, and he enjoyed seeing a half-dozen women bending over in various positions, but when the initial warm-up was done, the intensity of the class shot up.
Sweat poured from his forehead as he bent in angles he had never thought were possible before and attempted to hold poses that made him feel like a complete idiot in front of all of these women. He worried that he might actually short out the wire he was wearing with his sweat, even though the thing was supposed to be waterproof. As he wobbled to and fro, attempting to stand on one foot like the other ladies in class did with ease, it became quite apparent to everyone in the class that Tony was a yoga virgin.
By the forty-five minute mark and only half-way through the class, Tony knew he was in trouble when he stopped sweating. He had to admit to himself that he was beginning to get a little dizzy from the heat and from the number of times he found himself upside down. He'd played sports enough times in the hot summer sun to know that when a person stopped sweating was a good sign that heat exhaustion was setting in. Tony should have used his common sense then to just get up and leave the class, but to do so would have been mortifying for him in front of all of those women and knowing that Roy was listening on the other end of the wire, he knew he'd never hear the end of it if he had to leave a yoga class early because it was too hard especially after he teased his partner about being out of shape.
So he pushed on, but as he came up from having his head down on the floor with his legs spread far apart, the edges of his vision suddenly blackened and before he could come to the conclusion that he should have taken a little more time coming up from that position, his knees gave out and he landed on his face, dead to the world.
When he came around again a moment later, Stacy and all of the women in the class were huddled around him with concerned faces. He gave them all a weak and sheepish smile.
“Guess yoga's harder than it looks.” He admitted.
“Are you okay?” Stacy asked, handing him a bottle of water and helping him sit up. Finished up the bottle of water and wiped the sweat from his brow, but wished he could wipe the humiliation he felt away as easily.
“Why don't I help you out of the studio and you can come with me to get some more water.” Stacy suggested then turned to her students. “Everyone, let's say we call it day and we'll meet back up again next week?” There were nods all around and the women began filing out of the studio, many of them giving him sympathetic pats on the back and two of them actually slipping him their phone numbers.
Stacy helped him to his feet and led him out of the studio. The comparatively cool air outside of the studio was a welcome respite from the oppressive heat and he reveled in its refreshment, taking in several deep breaths and feeling more like himself, but still a little shaky and dizzy.
He followed Stacy to a small room that he figured must be the employee's lounge and locker room. She pointed to a small couch and bade him to sit down which he did gratefully, putting his head in his hands as he was still spinning a bit from his blackout. He prayed silently that Roy hadn't heard the part of him passing out, but knowing him, he was most likely laughing his head off. He was beginning to wish that Roy hadn't insisted on Tony wearing the damn thing.
Stacy went to a small refrigerator and took out a cold bottle of water and handed it to Tony then went to a locker using a small key to open it up.
“I have something here that might perk you up a bit if you're interested.”
“Oh, really? What would that be?”
“Just a little something to get your energy levels up and increase your endurance. It could help to avoid more of that fainting you did earlier.”
“Well, it wasn't like I really fainted I just, you know.....stood up too fast.” He tried to play it down.
“Right.” Stacy dragged out the word as she produced a prescription-type bottle. She walked over to him and shook out a couple of pills. Tony recognized them right away; it was speed.
"What's this?" He asked keeping up the guise of ignorance.
"Just a couple of uppers to make you feel better."
"No thanks, I think I'll stick to water for now." Tony declined the pills and Stacy shrugged.
“Either way, I have lots of other stuff that could help you too." She continued. "Even get you those big muscles like those other guys out there."
Tony's heart sank a little knowing now that Stacy was apparently the gym drug dealer. He was kinda hoping to ask her out after this op was over, but now he was going to have to arrest her instead. It was kind of a bummer, but at the same time, he always got a thrill out of catching criminals even if they were incredibly hot and with the wire on he would have plenty of evidence against her. “Really? What have you got?” Tony asked
“Well, I've HGH, andro, stackers, lots of different kinds of steroids or if you need something I don't have you let me know and I can get it for you.” Tony did a mental pump of his arm in victory knowing that he had her voice recorded through the wire as she admitted that she had drugs for sale. Suddenly, he was glad that he was wearing the wire even if he was never going to hear the end of it from his partner.
“Oh, Stacy, Stacy, Stacy.” Tony shook his head in mock disappointment as he got up from the couch and strode past her, surveying the various vials, pill bottles and needles loaded inside the locker. “I'm afraid the only thing I need from you is to listen while read you your rights.”
“What? You're a cop?” She asked with immediate fury, her former pleasantness and perky attitude poofing away faster than David Caruso's film career.
“Yep.” Tony read her Miranda rights to her. Then seeing how the secret of him being a cop was out, Tony stripped off the hot sweats he had on with a relieved sigh and spoke into the wire taped to his chest under his soaked t-shirt. “You can come in now Roy.”
A few moments later, a very self-satisfied looking Roy entered the room where Tony held Stacy and cuffed her. They led a very unsmiling and cursing Stacy to the car and secured her in the backseat. As they drove back to the station, Roy couldn't help but tease Tony all the way back about his little syncope episode back in the yoga class.
“I can't wait to see everyone's faces when I tell them all that you, Mr. Fitness and Mr. Suave, fainted in a yoga class full of women. This is just too good.” Roy laughed.
“I didn't faint. It was really hot in there and I just got up too fast and blacked out a little, that's all.” Tony argued
“Either way, this is going to be fun! Payback for eating all that junk food in front of your dieting partner and for making fun of my lack of fitness is a bitch, isn't it? Eh Tony?” Roy laughed evilly as Tony frowned at him.
True to his word, Roy spread the story all across the Philly police department, catching on like wildfire and Tony couldn't get himself to Baltimore fast enough to escape that humiliation.
The End
Two more times coming up soon.....
Chapter End Notes:
Disclaimer: NCIS and it's characters are in part owned by me and no profit is made in the writing of this story.
A/N-As a yoga instructor myself, I just couldn't help but create a story where yoga would come into play. However, I am not a Bikram yoga instructor like I've described in this story nor have I ever participated in hot yoga, but I do know enough about it to know that I would probably never make it through a whole class. So no offense to anyone that enjoys that sort of thing though and I apologize ahead of time if I get any of the facts about this particular style of yoga wrong. ;D
A/N-As a yoga instructor myself, I just couldn't help but create a story where yoga would come into play. However, I am not a Bikram yoga instructor like I've described in this story nor have I ever participated in hot yoga, but I do know enough about it to know that I would probably never make it through a whole class. So no offense to anyone that enjoys that sort of thing though and I apologize ahead of time if I get any of the facts about this particular style of yoga wrong. ;D