“Whoever said anybody has a right to give up?” - Marian Wright Edelman
Why couldn’t his marriage have been as simple as this?
He’d found her car easily enough and discreetly followed behind Kate when she left work, and later when she left home with Tony in tow, which he was pleased about; Kate not wanting to leave him behind showed she was feeling insecure about the entire situation, which was exactly what he and his associates wanted.
For now at least.
When he’d first been approached, he hadn’t quite understood what was being requested, but now he couldn’t believe quite how well things were falling into place. Especially when Kate pulled over outside the police station and got out the car. He knew it would only be a matter of time before they worked out who was behind the calls, no matter how careful they had been to protect their identities, but hopefully not before receiving their surprises; he was the man with the contacts and it would’ve been a shame to have wasted all his resources on Kate Todd who, according to his main source, was nothing more than a two-bit whore, if she spoiled his game too early.
It helped immensely that he had an insider who provided him with all he needed to know about this woman; he needed his insider to keep him up to date on any changes, but he knew she needed him more than either cared to admit, especially now since he was back in the States permanently. The only thing she hadn’t given him was a reason he was to go after this couple, specifically this Kate character; now was not the time to wonder about her motives, he had a call to make and a package to deliver.
This little outing had come too early for his liking, and deviating from plans wasn’t something he or his insider liked to do willingly, but if this woman wanted so easily to play their game then so be it. He only hoped his men were will within the area to get in quickly and make the drop.
When his phone rang a little over an hour later and his man told him everything was in place, he couldn’t have been more relieved because just at that moment, his target walked out the police station and got back in her car. The ball was back in his court now and all he had to do was follow her home, wait for her reaction and he was done; as far as he was concerned he‘d have nothing to do with the rest of the game, he would just be the chauffeur for the other two when the time came, sink into the background and he‘d have no worries.
Simple.
***
Walter Patrick Davis had thought he’d seen it all in his fifty-seven years.
The assassinations of Kennedy and King; the rise and fall of Presidents; national and international scandals. Man, woman and animal sent to space, the invention of the cell phone and the increasing popularity of computers. He’d seen a lot which made him happy, but nothing had made him prouder than the day Tony DiNozzo approached the front desk with a genuine smile on his face for the first time in years, and the cause and effect standing right beside him.
His heart had gone out to the boy when he first arrived to work with him and he’d instantly taken him under his wing. Having not had the chance at a family of his own, Walter looked on Tony has the son he’d longed for, and he made sure Tony knew that he would continue to do so for the rest of his days.
He clearly remembered the day Tony told him he was engaged; the kid had been so happy and it made him happy and when he learned Tony had called off his engagement, the poor boy looked like hell and Walter had felt it too. It had been obvious even to Walter, that while Tony may have loved her to some extent, the girl hadn’t been what he was looking for.
Kate Todd, however.
The second he seen Kate arriving in the building that first morning he knew she’d be perfect for Tony; even when he knew nothing about her, she could’ve been an axe-wielding maniac, but she was certainly easier on the eyes than that harpy Tony’d been with before.
Walter had been so caught up in Tony’s excitement that he almost forgot about the package that had been left at the front desk for Kate just a few short minutes before she had walked through the door. He‘d only stepped into the back office for a few minutes and when he returned, the small, padded brown envelope was laying on the desk with Kate‘s name typed on a white label.
Whoever had left it either didn’t know which apartment was Kate’s, or there was another reason for not placing it in her mailbox.
Walter thought back to anyone who may have delivered it, but for a Monday, the hallways had been pretty quiet; the early morning mail delivery from Paul had been the highlight of his day, if he didn’t count the two guys who’d come in a little over an hour ago and headed straight for the elevators. He never paid them much mind as they crossed the hallway, but he heard them arguing about something and whatever it was sounded heavy. He didn’t recall having seen them leave, but he‘d been so caught up with Tony and Kate that he wouldn‘t have noticed if they‘d slipped out anyway.
He watched Kate carefully as she came back to the desk to pickup her package, noticing how she tensed slightly as she looked over the plain brown envelope which incidentally enough had no postage stamp or return address. He couldn’t blame the girl, having heard through Tony what had been going on lately.
He just hoped they were strong enough to get through whatever was going on together.
***
The words had cut through her like ice.
He loved her, or at least thought he maybe possibly did, which more or less amounted to the same thing in her books. Kate had stared at Tony until the traffic around them had started moving again and she turned automatically to resume their course home. He obviously didn’t know what he was talking about, he didn’t love her. He’d lost it through lack of sleep, that had to be the reason he was spouting nonsense like that.
She’d gripped the steering wheel until her knuckles turned white, focusing solely on getting home in one piece, but she could feel Tony’s eyes on her when he wasn’t looking around at the other cars. She knew what he was thinking, because she had felt it too; they were being watched or followed or something.
She just wanted to forget about the calls and her sudden bout of paranoia and this sudden admission from a guy she’d known two weeks. She didn’t quite know how to respond to him, and Tony seemed quite happy to drive along in silence, but for Kate it wasn’t what she wanted. She didn’t want to conceal any part of herself from this man, cause she truly believed he did love her, and she badly wanted to love him back.
She knew she was a complicated mess, more so now than she had been fifteen years ago, but it all seemed to have culminated to this point where she realised that perhaps, maybe possibly, she loved him too. They’d faced each other at the same time and the shine Kate could see in Tony’s eyes made her own admission worthwhile.
They stopped briefly to pick up a bottle of wine and when they finally got back home, the first thing Tony done was wrap his arms around Kate and tell her, again, he loved her and then dragged her inside so he could inform Walter just how happy she‘d made him. Walter didn’t have to say anything, the look on his face told Kate just how pleased he was for them, that Tony had finally met his match.
As she dragged Tony away, she heard Walter call her back and she turned to see him standing with an envelope in his hand. She hadn’t been expecting any deliveries and if it had been regular mail it surely would’ve been in her box so she was a tad hesitant about accepting it. Looking it over, it was clear it had been hand delivered, but she could think for the life of her who would be sending her anything; certainly not Jethro, or any of her family. Unless he had gotten a hold of her address, as well as her phone numbers, and was now sending her something to remind her of their time together in Paris.
She spied Walter watching her and gave him a smile, turning back to Tony who was waiting by the elevators and obviously itching to get upstairs if the way he was tapping his fingers against the wine bottle in his hand was any clue. He could be such a child sometimes, but that didn’t stop her from enjoying the time she spent with him; he made her laugh and smile, even if he did have the habit of leaving wet towels on the bed and the lid off the peanut butter. None of it mattered, however, when he made up for his misdemeanours in a variety of surprising ways.
In the elevator, Kate took up her stance of leaning against Tony while he wrapped his arms around her shoulders. She kept turning the envelope over in her hands, trying to work out what could be inside, but the only thing she could tell was that whatever it was, it was soft, but that may have just been the padding.
“Hey, when’s this party you were talking about, by the way?”
“Oh, uh May twenty-third. Why?”
“You looking for a plus one?”
“Sure, if you behave.”
Kate’s curiosity got the better of her, as it was known to do, and she couldn’t resist the temptation of finding out what had been sent to her. She tore the top open as Tony looked over her shoulder, but all either could see inside was what looked to be a stack of paper and a piece of fabric. When Kate pulled the cloth out, she dropped the envelope, spilling out a pile of photographs and near enough fell to her knees.
“Oh my god.”
“Kate?”
Tony could feel her shaking against him as she fingered the red silk negligee in her hands and he wondered how a tiny piece of clothing could get her so worked up.
“This…this is mine. It was a gift.”
“How can you tell? There must be millions floating around.”
“I had to do a little repair work on it; the strap was broken and I sewed it back on.”
“Kate, what are you trying to say? That someone’s been in your apartment?”
She looked over her shoulder at Tony, eyes wide when she realised what he’d said and especially after everything that had been happening, knew it was entirely possible. She didn’t know why, but her mind kept drifting back to him and his games and Paris, since it was he who had given her the negligee in the first place.
“Ari…”
“Your ex from Paris?”
“This is the kinda thing he does; he plays games and screws with peoples minds. He gave this to me.”
She held up the negligee before letting it drop to lie with the forgotten envelope and unseen photographs.
“Okay…we’re going to get upstairs and the first thing we’re going to do is call Detective Fornell. If it is this Ari, then they’ll stop him.”
“And if it’s not, Tony? What if it‘s someone else, but I‘m thinking it‘s Ari because I know how he is?”
Her voice was little more than a whisper and because there was nothing Tony could say to that, he wrapped his arms around her tightly and let her breakdown. He’d seen it coming since earlier that day but didn’t know when or where it would finally hit her. If it was this Ari guy, it certainly explained some of Kate’s behaviour, and if it wasn’t, then they had really pissed someone off or they were just plain unlucky.
When the elevator stopped, he let Kate go and she headed towards her door with the wine while he bent down to pick up the envelope and it’s spilled contents. He thumbed through the photographs one by one, all of them black and white surveillance images featuring Kate either alone or with someone. He didn’t like how the calls had quickly escalated into something more in less than a day, but it was the last photo in the pile that sent the shiver down his spine.
It was a color image of Kate, taken while she’d been at work that day, judging by the outfit she was wearing. Her face had been scratched out and across the middle, in barely legible writing, was the first solid proof of a threat; whether it was against himself, Kate or both of them Tony didn‘t really want to know, but for now he‘d take it as against both.
I’m always watching you.
Author's Chapter Notes:
As above
Chapter End Notes:
Deviated slightly from my normal writing format in regards to this story, but I needed to in order to make it work. Also revealed one of my mysteries.