Chapter 4
Monday, November 29, 1999
...So my wife has all these boxes of canned goods and jugs of water all stored up in the garage and I can hardly pull my car in. We already have a pantry full of food, but she's convinced that the end of the world is coming the second the clock strikes midnight on new years. Stupid Y2K crap....Tony? Tony ya listening?” Detective Alex Sanchez asked.
“You say something? Sorry I couldn't hear you over my yawn.” Tony replied after shutting his mouth from his monstous intake of breath.
“I asked what do you think of this Y2K shit?”
“All I know is that I'm planning on heeding Prince's advice and partying like it's 1999. So if the world ends, at least I'll be too drunk to notice.” Tony replied, only half-heartedly paying attention to his partner's latest rant as he examined the body on the ground.
Tony stood up with a wallet in his hands that he found on the victim's body and opened it, hoping it would give him a clue as to the identity of the beaten and bloody young lady lying face down in the dirt on that dreary and damp autumn morning. Inside he found several credit cards, a few dollars in cash and bingo! A driver's license and a military ID.
“What you got there?” Alex asked.
“What does it look like, Sanchez?” Tony took in the photo of the smiling red-head before reading the info on the Military ID “Ashley Donovan. Born September 3, 1978. She was in the Navy, Seaman, E-3.” He informed Alex, showing him the green ID card.
“Shit!” Grouched Alex.
“What?”
“She's Navy.” He groaned
“So?” Tony asked wondering why he cared.
“So that means we got to call the feds in on this one.”
“Yeah, so?”
“So, that means we have to call NCIS.”
“Yeah, I know that. What's the big deal?”
“Sorry, Tony. Sometimes I forget that you weren't working with us the last time we had to deal with NCIS. There's this asshole that works their major crimes...Gibbs or something...Came here when some sailor was found dead in a crackhouse downtown just before you came on board. Took over the whole damn case, even brought in his own ME and acted liked he owned the place, shouting orders at us and treating us all like a bunch of idiots. Hopefully, his ass has retired by now. Anyway, I wish you luck.”
“Luck? What do you mean, luck?” Tony asked.
“Well, you're the junior here, you can call this in to the Navy. Let's just pray it's not that bastard we get again.”
“Thanks a lot, Sanchez.” Tony called out to his partner's retreating back as he walked away. “Now who's the bastard?” He muttered under his breath.
OOOOOOOOO
“You DiNozzo?” A gruff voice asked.
“Yeah, Just a sec.” Tony didn't look up as he typed his notes from the Donovan case into the computer. He hadn't yet mastered the art of typing without looking at the keyboard, in fact he hadn't quite mastered using more than one finger at a time to type, so his concentration was all on his work.
“Ahem” The man's throat cleared impatiently.
Tony looked up into cold, blue eyes.
“Something I can do for you?” Tony asked.
“You tell me. You're the one that called about Seaman Ashley Donovan.”
“Oh, you must be from NCIS.” Tony realized, standing up.
“Special Agent Gibbs.” The man introduced himself by way of flashing his badge for Tony then pointed to an older gentleman in a tweed suit standing next to him. “Dr. Donald Mallard, our ME.”
“A pleasure to meet you, Det. DiNozzo.” The doctor held out his hand and Tony gave it a friendly shake and a nod.
“You guys got here quick, I just called a few hours ago.” Tony pointed out, putting his hands on his hips.
“Don't care much for wasting time, especially if I want to get here before you guys screw up the case for us. Now, where's the body?”
“Guess there's no beating around the bush with you, is there Agent Gibbs?” Tony smiled, but Gibbs merely crossed his arms in irritation.
This Gibbs guy was a bastard, just like Alex warned, but he had some experience with bastards and could handle him. After all, he grew up with Anthony DiNozzo Sr. as a father whose picture was located in the dictionary next to the word 'bastard'.
However, his smile began to fade as Gibbs narrowed his eyes and Tony feared he might spontaneously combust from the older man's pointed gaze. Tony wasn't easily intimidated, but something about this guy just shouted 'Don't mess with me or I'll seriously ruin your day.' That's when he came to the conclusion that Gibbs was more than just a bastard; he was a scary bastard.
“Alright, body's in the morgue, I'll show you the way.” Tony got up to show them to the morgue, but Gibbs held up a hand to stop him.
“No need. Ducky knows the way.” The hardedned agent nodded to the doctor.
“Ducky?” Tony had to ask with a grin, tickled by the doctor's nickname.
“Indeed, it is a rather humorous moniker bestowed upon me during my formative years at Eton.” The doctor began with a Scottish brogue. “Since my last name is one in the same with said water fowl, it has stuck with me all of these years. Actually there is a rather interesting tale about the first time I was ever called...”
“Duck.” Gibbs interrupted.
“Right, it is a rather long story. I apologize, I do tend to prattle on.” Ducky addressed Tony with a sheepish little grin before turning to Gibbs. “I shall call you when I am finished, Jethro.” With that, Ducky headed for the exit and Gibbs turned back to Tony, his face unreadable.
“Show me what you got on the case.” The agent demanded.
“How about a 'please'? Tony joked, forgetting that Gibbs was not easily amused.
Gibbs only stared at him and knew he was pushing the older man's tolerance..
“Right. Coming up.” Tony grabbed the file off of his desk and handed it to Gibbs, who began to read it then held it back a few inches as if the print was too hard for him to read. Tony might have made a wisecrack about the older man's vision if he didn't think it might land him in the hospital, so instead he decided to just tell Gibbs what he knew about the case.
“The body was found on the east side of town on the grounds of Lake Clifton Eastern High School. The area is known for its drug dealers, prostitutes, gangs and things of that nature. Apparently, she was beaten over the head with a large branch found near the body. Victim had a wallet on her when we found her and we're running the prints now to confirm her identity since the face was too messed up to compare it to the photo on the ID. But the victim's, height, approximate age, weight and hair color are a match so far.” Gibbs just nodded and Tony continued.
“I did a quick background check on Seaman Donovan; she's been in the Navy since she graduated from high school, same high school by the way, where the body was found. She was on emergency leave. It turns out the Grandmother that raised her died last week and she was back in town for the funeral. The only other family member listed is a younger sister: Christy Donovan, age18. She lived with the Grandmother and has a rap sheet about mile long for drugs, underage drinking and get this...She was accused just a couple of months ago of elder abuse and of stealing her Grandmother's social security checks by none other than....”
“Ashley Donovan.” Gibbs answered for him.
“Bing! Bing! Bing! Give this man a prize!” Tony exclaimed in a game show host voice.
Gibbs wasn't amused and shot the younger detective a deadly look. Tony gulped and cleared his throat, not wanting to get hurt.
“So where's the younger sister?” Gibbs asked.
“We're working on it. According to neighbors she hasn't been seen since the funeral two days ago. She could be just about anywhere in town.”
“What makes you think she's still in town?”
“I used to work narcotics in Philly. I know drug addicts pretty well and going by Christy's rap sheet and the number of times she's been in an out of rehab, I would say she's into them big time. An addict like her wouldn't want to leave town where she knows the dealers she can go to when she needs her next fix. I've already sent out a BOLO across town for anyone matching her description and for the '91 Buick her sister owned that's now missing. When my partner returns, I was planning on canvassing the neighborhoods where she's been known to hang out.”
Tony sighed bit at the mention of his partner. While he wouldn't bad mouth his partner in front of Gibbs, the truth was that Alex really wasn't all that great of a detective and often used his seniority over Tony to pass off the majority of the workload onto Tony and take the credit for it. And now in the middle of this case, Alex had gone off on an extended lunch break when his wife called and threatened divorce if he didn't come home and help her with some crisis or another with their two year old. Alex's marital troubles only helped to solidify Tony's determination to never get married.
“So you're just gonna wait here all day for your partner? Is there no one else for you to take as back-up?” Gibbs asked
“No. What else can I do, Agent Gibbs?” Tony began defensively in frustration, matching Gibbs' stare without fear. Of course he wanted nothing more than to be out there looking for their suspect. He felt about as useful as a screen door on a submarine sitting on his ass at the station.
“The department is stretched thin as it is. All the other homicide detectives are up to their eyeballs with their own cases and department policy prevents me from going out into the field without back-up. So yeah, I have to wait till Alex gets back.”
The phone on his desk suddenly rang, forcing Tony to break his angry stare-down with the NCIS agent. He snatched it up and answered it.
“Det. DiNozzo...Yeah, I did...What!?....you sure?....Dammit!...'kay, thanks” Tony sighed and looked at the receiver a moment, chewing on his bottom lip in thought before looking up into Gibbs' questioning eyes. As he hung up the phone, he tried to process the information he was just given and piece things together.
“What?” Gibbs questioned. Tony sighed.
“That was our forensics lab. Looks like we're keeping the body. Prints don't match those of Ashley Donovan, but they did turn up a hit on our own database. Guess whose....” He challenged Gibbs.
“Christy Donovan.” Gibbs answered grimly.
“Bingo.” Tony pointed to the silver haired man and beckoned him to join him at the computer. Tony pulled up the info from forensics and a mug shot popped up. Ashley and Christy could have been twins if it weren't for the fact that they were two years apart in age.
“It was the younger sister that was killed. Perhaps she stole Ashley's wallet, and being sisters and looking so similar, we just assumed she was Ashley. Either way, looks like it's your sailor we need to be tracking down as a suspect now. ”
“Grab your gear.” Gibbs ordered.
“What?”
“I said. Grab. Your. Gear.”
“I'm not one of your agents, Gibbs. You can't just order me to follow you. I have to clear it with my boss.”
“Just do it. Rule #18: It's always better to ask for forgiveness than for permission and we don't have time for permission.”
“What kind of bullshit rule is that? I'll get fired.” Tony countered.
“What's more important? Catching a killer or your job security, DiNozzo?” Blue eyes bored into green and Tony took only a heartbeat to make his decision. He reached around and pulled his weapon out of his top desk drawer, loading it and shoving it into his shoulder holster. He grabbed his jacket and began following the already moving Gibbs towards the door.
“So where are we going?” Tony asked as he rushed to catch up to the older agent.
“Ashley Donovan just killed her only sister and last remaining relative. I got a feeling I know where she might go.” Gibbs answered, walking with a purpose towards the exit without turning around. “Where is Grandma buried?”
OOOOOO
Tony drove the sedan around the cemetery for the third time. Ashley Donovan wasn't anywhere in sight and he was beginning to think that all of this was a complete waste of time. By now, Alex had to be back at the station and was fuming that he left without him. No doubt he was already complaining to the captain and the paperwork to have him written up, suspended or even fired was being drawn up. It wasn't like this was the first time Tony and his partner had clashed. It was no secret that Alex never wanted Tony as a partner. In his eyes, Tony was a snot-nosed kid that was always trying to show him up. But all Tony wanted to do was his job.
“She's not here, Agent Gibbs.” Tony sighed.
“I can see that, DiNozzo.” Gibbs replied testily.
“What now?” Tony asked.
“We go back.”
“Yeah, sure. We go back.” Tony stopped the car and fumed. “I just risked my job for your hunch and you were wrong! Now it's my ass on the line and I'm not going back there until we've got your little sailor in the back seat of this car!”
For the first time Gibbs' lips curled up at the corners into a little ghost of a smile. Tony was taken aback. Was that approval he saw behind those hard, blue eyes staring back at him? Tony wasn't sure what to make of it, but it felt good to receive some measure of respect from the seasoned federal agent.
“Okay, Where do you think we should go?” Gibbs asked and Tony grinned.
“Over the river and through the woods, Gibbs. To the Grandmother's house we go.”
OOOOOOO
Ashley and Christy Donovan's Grandmother's home actually was situated over the river and Tony took the highway towards the Francis Scott Key Bridge that spanned the width of the Patapsco River. Gibbs wasn't much of a conversationalist and the pair was mostly silent as the older man wasn't interested in responding to any of Tony's small talk.
Tony headed for the bridge when his cell phone rang and he fumbled for the phone as he drove.
“DiNozzo.” He answered, knowing who it was without even looking at the caller ID. “Yeah...I'm with agent Gibbs now...I know...I was done waiting for you, Alex.” Tony's voice grew agitated and Gibbs took notice of the change in Tony's tone and posture, but said nothing as he continued his conversation with his partner back at the station.
“You'd been gone for hours and we have a job to do and....I know....Fine you go to the captain and you tell him that I'm...” Tony's voice trailed off when something caught his attention to the right.
“Aww Shit! I gotta go, Alex.” Tony hung up the phone suddenly as his eyes caught sight of a '91 Buick parked along the side of the Bridge at its highest point.
“DiNozzo!” Gibbs exclaimed as Tony sped up, and shot over to the far right lane, cutting off several cars before slamming on the brakes when the sedan made it to the Buick.
Just above the concrete divider that separated traffic from the edge of the bridge, Tony saw a shock of long, red hair blowing in the breeze.
Tony was out of the car first and ran to the edge, looking down.
“DiNozzo!” Gibbs shouted, but Before Gibbs could stop him, he was already climbing over the concrete divider and down towards the young lady that stood on the ledge, staring into the cold and fast moving currents of the river below.
“I got it, Agent Gibbs! Call the station!” Gibbs wasn't used to being ordered around by cops, he usually didn't tolerate it but for some reason this DiNozzo guy was different and he whipped out his cell and muttered as he dialed, cursing the younger man's headlong rush into danger.
Tony approached cautiously, not wanting to startle the woman and make her fall.
“Ashley Donovan?” He asked, holding onto the side of the bridge as he inched towards her, the edge barely big enough for his feet. Tony was never afraid of heights, but his heart was in his throat without the protection of any kind of railing between him and a sudden drop to the river. Swallowing his sense of vertigo, he reached out a hand towards her.
Ashley ignored Tony outstretched hand and tears rolled down the her pale features as wind gusted all around the two, making Tony heart race as it pushed against him. Ashley appeared to not care, but maintained her gaze on the water.
“I didn't mean to do it. Really, I didn't” She cried in a distant voice “She just pushed and pushed. I just wanted to stop her. I just wanted to get her help, but she refused.”
“Ashley, it's okay.” Tony pleaded.
“No, it's not. Grandma's dead. Christy's dead. Everyone I ever loved is gone and it's all my fault. I should have never joined the Navy. Christy just got worse after I left. She literally gave Grandma a heart attack.”
“It's not your fault your Grandmother died, Ashley.” Tony tried to reassure her just as another gust of wind blew around them and he tried not to look down at the water below.
“But I killed Christy.” Ashley shook her head abjectly. “Grandma had only been in the ground a day and Christy was already selling Grandma's things for smack. Then she stole my wallet.” She laughed, a little deranged.
“I don't know why that made me so angry. You think I would have been more upset about what she did to Grandma, but for some reason it was that damned wallet that pushed me over the edge.” Ashley's face contorted in pain as she sobbed and continued her confession.
“So I followed her to the high school where I knew she always went to get high. When she saw me I lit into her and chewed her out. She told me that she was glad Grandma was dead, then she could sell the house and live off that money. I knew she was trying to make me angry, but I just couldn't control myself and I was so angry.....I grabbed the branch from the ground and swung it at her....
“Oh God” She moaned. “It made such a horrible sound and I knew she was dead...I'm so sorry. I just want to die. Just let me fall.” She begged and for a second, the young detective feared the worst as Ashley edged closed to the side and lightened her hold on the bridge.
“Listen to me, Ashley!” Tony called out over the wind and slid closer and closer to her, going slow so she might not notice how near he was getting to her. “You don't have to do this. Just grab my hand and come over here and we can talk. We can get you some help.”
“It's too late for that.” She stopped crying and turned to him with red eyes and a look of peace came over her features. “I'm ready.”
She let go.
“No!” Tony cried and leaped after the falling girl catching a wrist in his hand, landing on his stomach and nearly falling with her.
Tony felt his shoulder separate from its socket as he brought the woman's fall to a sudden and jarring stop, the weight of her body causing him to cry out in pain as tendons stretched and tore, but he refused to let her go.
She screamed, kicking her legs and scratching at his arms as she dangled over the water. The instinctive need for survival overtaking her as she pulled desperately on Tony's arm. He squeezed his eyes tight and growled against the flaming and excruciating pain that shot up and down his arm whenever she twisted. He could feel the tendons in his shoulder snapping and just when he thought he could hold on no longer, he felt a presence next to him and another set of arms grab the woman and lighten his load. Gibbs was there.
The seasoned field agent pulled the girl up and hauled her up and over the divider to safety. A wave of relief washed over Tony. Exhausted and in pain, he could do little more than lay there on his stomach with his arm dangling over the edge of the bridge until a few moments later he felt a pair of arms wrap around his midsection.
“I got you DiNozzo, but you got to help me out here.” He heard Gibbs' voice in his ear, but it sounded distant through the loud pounding of blood rushing past his ears.
“Ashley okay?” He asked, needing to know as he got to his knees unsteadily, while the older man ushered
“Paramedics are here, they got her.” Gibbs reassured him.
“S'good.” He replied as Gibbs climbed over the divider then helped Tony to climb over the divider with only one arm, his injured shoulder causing his other arm to hang uselessly by his side. Once back on the bridge shoulder, he felt his head spin, ut strong arms again were holding him steady. He couldn't help but hiss in pain when a paramedic rushed over and helped him to sit with his back against the concrete divider to get a look at his injury.
“This badly dislocated.” the paramedic started with a frown, poking at Tony's shoulder and causing him to wince.
"No shit." Tony ground out, in pain.
“I'm going to have to get this bone popped back in before I'd feel comfortable putting you on a stretcher. It'll hurt like hell, but once it's all over, it'll feel better.” The paramedic informed him.
“Yeah.” Tony replied through gritted teeth. “Hurt my shoulder... lots of times before...in basketball...I know the drill...just do it.”
The paramedic turned to Gibbs who was on Tony's other side.
“I'll lay him down and I'm going to need you to hold him still.”
“Don't worry, not my first Bar-B-Que either.” Gibbs responded confidently.
The paramedic moved Tony to the ground and he looked up into the cloudy sky just as rain began to fall on them. He felt Gibbs hold down his good shoulder while the paramedic took hold of his limp arm. He screwed his eyes shut against the anticipation and the pain of the event that was to follow.
“Take a deep breath...” He was instructed and Tony took in a shuddering gulp of air.
“Now blow it out!” He exhaled then growled loudly as his arm was pulled out then up. Tears came to his tightly shut eyes until he felt the ball of his joint slip back into its proper position.
Whatever happened after that was unknown to Tony as his world passed into darkness.
OOOOOOOO
DiNozzo was only out for a few moments, but had been adamant that he was only 'resting his eyes' to Gibbs, refusing to admit that he had fainted. He couldn't really blame the kid for passing out after having his shoulder popped back into place. Gibbs had experienced that enough times to know it wasn't a pleasant experience and it turned out he had snapped a tendon and on top of that, pinched the nerve when the shoulder was relocated, requiring surgery to have it repaired.
As Gibbs walked to DiNozzo's hospital room with a fresh cup of coffee in one hand, he saw two men leave the room and close the door behind them. He recognized them from the ER earlier as the young detective's partner and captain.
“Arrogant prick. Glad he quit, now I can finally get a decent partner. But ya know, it would have been fun to see him busted down to traffic after all the crap he's pulled...” He heard Det. Sanchez mutter to the nodding captain as they walked away without seeing him come from the opposite direction. Gibbs didn't think very highly of those that screwed their partner over and left them to flap in the wind as DiNozzo's just had and he ground his teeth together as they retreated from his sight.
So, DiNozzo had resigned and Gibbs was beginning to see why.
After they were gone, the marine went to the door and opened it without knocking. DiNozzo was sitting up in bed with his arm in a sling and staring quietly out the window in contemplation. Something told Gibbs that this was a far cry from the headstrong cop's normal behavior.
“Ya know.” The younger man began without turning his head from the water streaming down the window as rain poured down from the nighttime sky, sensing Gibbs' entry into the room. “I played basketball and football in college and back then I was certain that I didn't want to do anything else besides play sports, go to frat parties, watch movies and chase after girls for the rest of my life, but then I broke my leg and realized I would have to do something entirely with my life and on a fluke a found myself being recruited to become a police officer in Peoria of all places. Imagine my surprise when I found out how much I loved being a cop and knew without a doubt that this was what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.” He sighed and turned his head.
“But after going from Peoria to Philadelphia to here, I'm beginning to think that policework doesn't love me back. It's like an unrequited love, you know? When you fall for a girl and you're crazy about her and you'll do anything to get her, but she just doesn't like you back all that much, she just hangs out with you because you keep giving her free drinks. That is what this is like.... Like I need to just break things off and start all over again. ”
Gibbs sat in the chair next to DiNozzo's bed and took a sip of his coffee and leaning back.
“I was a Marine for fifteen years.” Gibbs began, making eye contact with the younger man. “Never wanted to be anything else but a jarhead, but things change and I found something just as satisfying as being a Marine ever was.”
“Why am I not surprised you were a Marine." Tony sighed and laid his head back on his pillow, looking up to the ceiling. "I don't think I'll ever find anything that'll be a satisfying as being a cop was. Guess I'll just have to sell insurance...or cars.”
Gibbs just shook his head with a little smile then got up, pulling a business card out of his breast pocket and tossing it onto the table by the bed and tapping his finger on it to make sure DiNozzo was looking at it.
“Call me at this number when your all healed up and ready for that divorce from policework, DiNozzo.” Gibbs couldn't keep the grin off his face as DiNozzo's face lit up.
"Is that a job offer, Agent Gibbs?"
"What do you think?"
“I think you can start calling me Tony, sir.”
“And you better call me Gibbs...or Boss, but never 'sir'.”
“Got it, Boss.”
OOOOOOOO
Later that evening, Gibbs returned to Washington, D.C. with Ducky after arranging for Ashley Donovan to be taken to the local hospital and put on a 72 hour psych hold until she could be arraigned. As he strolled into the empty bullpen, he looked up and saw a familiar face at the top of the stairs.
“Working late, Director?” Gibbs asked Director Morrow as he made his way up the stairs to join the director at the railing at the top, looking out across the quiet office below.
“I had a few things to finish up in MTAC. How was Baltimore?”
“It's still Baltimore.” Gibbs answered with a sigh. Morrow smiled and nodded, then turned to his most trusted and senior field agent.
“It's been almost a month since Burley was transferred and you're still a man down, Gibbs.”
“Nope” Gibbs replied with a slight grin. “I'm not anymore.”
The End
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.