Many considered Jethro Gibbs to be stoic, unflappable, and a force to be reckoned with; he wondered what those people would say if they saw him now. He was sitting on the concrete stairs, staring at the door that led to the ghostly remnants of Tony’s tortured cries. The team leader had not been able to enter that room knowing the pain that had been mercilessly inflicted upon his senior field agent. If he were honest with himself, all he wanted to do was to run away and never look back at the nightmare of this past year.
DiNozzo had finally been able to recall most of what had happened to him but Gibbs knew that Tony had managed to omit some of the more sordid details. He realized that in order for the young man to truly begin to heal, he would have to acknowledge those memories and deal with them before they managed to consume him. If only he could do the same.
Just hearing some of what Tony had been subjected had been enough to turn his stomach; he couldn’t imagine how DiNozzo managed to live through such indescribable hell and maintain his sanity. “How’d you do it, Tony?” he mumbled to himself.
“He’s a formidable opponent. It took a lot to break him.”
Gibbs visibly tensed at the sound of Trent Kort’s familiar accent; this was the man ultimately responsible for nearly destroying DiNozzo’s life. The team leader purposefully ignored Kort’s jibe, knowing that he had to maintain a calm appearance, although the fire burning within him was spiraling out of control.
“So tell me,” Kort pressed, obviously nonplussed by the former Marine’s lack of emotion. “How is Agent DiNozzo doing?”
“He’s fine,” Gibbs icily replied.
The sound of Kort’s laughter made him shudder. “I doubt that, Agent Gibbs. It will be a long time before Agent DiNozzo is fine, but you already know that; he doesn’t bounce back as quickly as he used to. Of course, I can’t take full credit for that,” Trent declared. “Getting caught up in Director Shepard’s private war can really wear a man down.”
“She underestimated him. Just like you did.”
“Why do you believe that I’ve underestimated Agent DiNozzo?” Kort wanted to know.
It was Gibbs’ turn to smile. “Because he’s still alive. Despite everything that you did to him, he’s still alive.”
“I guess that something can be said for sheer stubbornness.”
“Or the will to live.”
“Call it what you want to Agent Gibbs,” Kort conceded. “Just so you know, I could have had your agent killed several times over.”
“Why didn’t you?”
Kort shrugged. “There really wasn’t a need. He started living his life as Todd Gibbs and got lost in a bottle. I figured that I didn’t have a lot to worry about. There wasn’t a need for anymore blood shed as long he couldn’t remember anything.”
“But now?”
He watched as Kort stood up and opened the door to the basement. “I guess that depends on how much of his memory has returned,” Trent answered. “You were never supposed to find DiNozzo; so I guess you could say that you’re the one who has placed his life in jeopardy again.”
“I never stopped looking for him.”
“I know. Director Shepard often spoke of your obsession with finding him; I think it made her nervous.”
“I really didn’t care how she felt about what I was doing,” Gibbs growled.
The former Marine found Kort’s smile as irritating as his laughter. “Obviously. I think that you and I are more alike than either of us care to admit.”
Gibbs was tired of playing games with the CIA operative; he wanted answers and he wanted them now. As long as Kort remained a threat to Tony’s life, he would not let his guard down. “I didn’t come here to exchange insults; I came here to find out what the hell is going on and why you...” The team leader took a deep breath and blew it out as he attempted to force DiNozzo’s recollection of his captivity to the back of his mind.
“Why what, Agent Gibbs?” Kort taunted.
“Why Tony?” he blurted out, trying desperately to rein in his tumultuous emotions.
“I had to know if La Grenouille told him anything about me or about the operation that I was about to take over. Secrets in the wrong hands make dangerous enemies.”
“So you think torturing him was the only way to get those answers?”
“Sometimes I have to use whatever means necessary to get what I want,” the CIA agent grinned. “Sometimes those means are not always pleasurable.”
The team leader felt the knot in his gut pull even tighter. Kort demonstrated no remorse for what he did to Tony and that realization alone was enough to fuel his anger until it was now rivaling a blazing inferno. “Do you have any idea what you did to him?”
“I actually didn’t do anything to him, except ask him a few questions.”
“Of course not,” Gibbs seethed. “You didn’t want to get your hands dirty.” He pushed himself up and was now face to face with Kort. “You may not have physically hurt Tony, but what you did to him was just as bad.”
“And what exactly did I do to him?”
Gibbs shook his head, refusing to rise to Kort’s bait. “I’m not going there with you. What I want to know is was it worth it? Did you get the answers you were looking for? I certainly hope so; I want you to be able to think about those answers for the rest of your life while you’re rotting away in prison.”
“I’m not going to prison,” Trent stated, arrogance dripping from his words like venom.
“We’ll see about that,” Gibbs vowed.
“If you’re thinking that Agent DiNozzo is going to be the one to put me away, I’d think again.”
He refused to answer, letting his silence speak for him. There was no doubt in his mind that Kort would pay for what he did to Tony; he would not let atrocities inflicted upon DiNozzo go unpunished. “When I found Tony, I made a promise to myself that I would discover who hurt him and make them pay.”
“And poor Steve did pay with his life,” Kort pointed out. “And I’ll remind you, it was by Agent DiNozzo’s hand that he died.”
“Self defense.”
“You can probably make that claim but it would never stick up in court, at least not in any of the courts that I know of; Steve was brutally murdered and DiNozzo’s DNA is everywhere. Truthfully, DiNozzo probably wouldn’t even make it to court; I have a feeling that he would be taken out before he could testify.”
Gibbs shoved Kort against the way, his arm firmly pressing against the man’s throat. “If I ever hear you threaten my agent again, I will personally take you out and I promise that no one will find your body.”
“You should…have let DiNozzo stay…dead,” Trent gasped. “He was safer.”
“He’s safe now.”
“No, he’s not. The only way that he will stay…alive is if you…listen to me!”
He was forced to back away from Kort; his fists and jaw were both clenched as he struggled against the urge to kill Trent Kort with his bare hands. “You’ve got ten seconds to give me one reason that I should believe you,” Gibbs warned.
“Because it’s the truth.”
“Your whole life is a lie, Kort,” the agent challenged. “You wouldn’t recognize the truth if it bit you in the…”
“Back to hurling insults, Agent Gibbs? You’re wasting my time.”
“I want answers Kort, and I want them now.”
“I don’t know how many answers I can give you, but I can offer you a deal you can’t refuse.”
“A deal with the devil?” he shot back.
It didn’t escape the team leader’s notice that Kort was attempting to subtly maneuver himself to gain access to the stairs prompting Gibbs to take a step back and purposefully block the other man’s path.
“Don’t look at it as a deal with the devil,” Kort countered. “Think of this as the only way to ensure that Agent DiNozzo stays alive.”
“I just told you that it would probably be in your best interests not to threaten him. He’s been through enough, thanks to you and your friends; I won’t let you hurt him again.”
“Do you honestly think that you can protect him? I’ve already proven that I can get to him anywhere and anytime. If you don’t believe me, consider poor Director Shepard; she never saw it coming and neither will Agent DiNozzo.”
“Bastard,” he growled, his hatred for Kort now rivaled DiNozzo’s. “I’m listening.”
Gibbs watched with trepidation as Kort motioned him inside the basement. “Let’s go in here where we can talk in private,” the CIA agent quietly demanded.
“You can say what you have to say standing right where you are.”
“What are you afraid of, Agent Gibbs? Do the shadows speak to you? Do you hear him calling your name?”
“Talk now or I’m going public with this.”
“Now, that would be a huge mistake; you would be the one signing your agent’s death warrant.”
The former Marine sat back down on the steps, knowing that keeping his distance from Kort was the only way to ensure that he didn’t tear him apart with his own hands.
“I thought you’d see it my way,” Trent gloated.
Gibbs remained impassive to Kort’s taunts; he was more than ready to get the pieces to the missing puzzle that had been plaguing him ever since DiNozzo’s return. His gaze followed Kort as the operative began to pace back and forth.
“I must preface this particular conversation by saying that Agent DiNozzo is a lot stronger than either I or Director Shepard gave him credit for,” Kort began.
“Why was Jenny there?” Gibbs asked.
“Because of her hatred for La Grenouille,” Kort replied. “She was as convinced as I was that La Grenouille had confided in Agent DiNozzo. The old man seemed rather impressed by DiNozzo and judging by several entries in Rene’s private journal, he believed that his secret was safe with the man who had both captured and broken his daughter’s heart.”
“And what secret would that have been?”
“I don’t know. I never could get him to talk about Rene Benoit and what transpired after his car exploded. He gave me no choice but to try and break him and I was successful, or at least I thought I was. I never would have thought that he would fight back hard enough to kill Steve.”
“There’s obviously a lot you don’t know about him.”
“Obviously.’’
“Did Jenny condone the torture?” he quietly inquired, uncertain if he wanted to hear the truth.
“Let me put it this way; she didn’t protest. She believed that perhaps the secret that DiNozzo supposedly knew pertained to her father and she was as desperate to find out if Agent DiNozzo was hiding anything. We were driven by the same cause but we were expecting totally different results.”
“Did you ever intend on letting Tony go?”
“No, but like I said, once he escaped and I was assured that he had no idea who he was, I decided just to, how do you say, lay low and keep and eye on him. Truthfully, if he hadn’t of killed Steve, Agent DiNozzo would have died a painful death.”
“Guess it’s a good thing that he escaped, huh?” Gibbs seethed.
“You could say that. Of course, now he could possibly have a murder charge hanging over his head and we all know how the courts and the media love to get a hold of murdering cops. I know you’ve seen the body; DiNozzo mutilated it and there are going to be a lot of questions and more than likely an investigation and possibly a hearing. Do you really want to put him through all that?”
Gibbs knew all too well what DiNozzo would have to face and he couldn’t imagine having the young man suffer any more than he already had; but he also knew that Tony wasn’t one to back away from doing right. The team leader was also aware that DiNozzo’s time in captivity had changed him and he didn’t feel remorse for killing Steve; Tony had been more worried about Gibbs would think of him than the consequences for taking the life of someone who had inflicted such unbelievable agony on him.
“What do you want?” he finally asked Kort.
“I want to talk to Agent DiNozzo.”
He shook his head vehemently. “That’s not going to happen.”
“Then I can’t guarantee his safety.”
“I’ve got Tony’s back. You won’t kill him like you killed Jenny.”
“I didn’t kill her; it was her own arrogance that ultimately destroyed her. She was a dangerous threat that had to be eliminated. Agent DiNozzo is still perceived as a threat as well…”
“A threat?” Gibbs couldn’t believe the words that were coming from Kort’s lips. He stood up and intentionally blocked Kort’s path. “He’s not a threat to you or your precious organization! If I find out that you’ve been anywhere near Tony, there won’t be enough letters for you to hide behind to save your ass.”
“Let me talk to him,” Trent insisted, clearly unperturbed by Gibbs’ warning. “You can be in the room with us. You won’t regret it.”
“Give me one reason why I should do this.”
“Because I have one more question that needs answered and once I’m done, I’ll make sure that he’s safe and no one can touch him; I can make this nightmare disappear.”
“And how do you propose to do that?”
Gibbs shuddered as a feral grin danced on Kort’s lips. “Secrets of the trade, Agent Gibbs; secrets of the trade.”
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