Tony had lost count of the number of door bells he had rung. The number of people he had stopped to talk to and the number of 'jogger people' he had tried to catch up with. He walked up to the next house and rang the doorbell.
The door opened seconds later to reveal a man maybe a year or two younger than him, by the name of Terry Wallace. Tony extended his hand. "Hi, Hello My name is Anthony. I am looking around the neighborhood."
"Look, ah...." Terry started, cutting Tony off and appearing agitated.
"Anthony...Tony actually." Tony said. "I realize I may be catching you at a bad time. But please...it will only take a...."
Just then a loud thud resounded from inside the house. To Tony, in his experience, it sounded just like a body hitting the floor.
Terry turned back and looked behind him, an expression of fear on his face. Tony took this opportunity to whisper into his microphone his need for backup.
Tony stepped forward. His hand reached, automatically for his gun. But he withdrew his hand quickly. He didn't want to rattle Terry any further. "Look, I work in security. I would be glad to look around the place for you." Tony volunteered.
Terry shook his head vigorously. "That is not necessary." He cast another weary glance over his shoulder. "My daughter. She's home. She probably fell. She practices gymnastics in her room sometimes."
Tony nodded his head, but he wasn't buying it. He pushed his way into the house. Seconds later Tony was on the floor a knife was buried, to its hilt, in his chest.
Tony groaned and tried to move. "Ziva, Tim where the hell are you?" He then passed out.
"Who the hell is he talking too?" By this time, Terry had been joined by two other men, George and Chris, and a woman, Beverly. Beverly asked the question as she bent down and ripped Tony's shirt open, having seen his microphone.
"He's wired!" Chris said, mortified at the possible implications.
The last man, George, was older, gray-haired. He was the leader, it seemed, of this little faction of the larger group stated. "He's a fed."
The other three looked at him, shocked. "How do you...?"
At just that moment, Terry immediately bent down and ripped the device off Tony's body and threw it to the floor, stomping it into tiny pieces. He then found Tony's ID and handed it to George.
"NCIS." George stated, nodding.
"What is that?" Beverly asked.
"Navy Cops! Get him the hell out of here! Take him out the back gate. Take him into the woods. Take Ms. Fisher with you." George sighed. "I hadn't planned on having to get rid of two bodies today."
"He's still alive." Bevely said.
"Well, he won't be for long." George said looking down at Tony as he handed Terry a handkerchief. "Here, take and clean your fingerprints off the knife."
The jarring of the knife in his wound caused Tony to moan and groan and open his eyes. He grabbed Terry's arm, leaving his blood on Terry's jacket just as Terry was finishing cleaning the knife. Terry then used the handkerchief to pick up the pieces of the microphone. He folded the handkerchief and the pieces and put it in his pocket to dispose of later.
Tony spoke Ziva's and Tim's names again, not realizing the microphone had been ripped off his chest and destroyed.
Tony heard noise at his left and he looked over just in time to see Chris and Beverly carry out an odd shaped carpet. He was not conscious during their conversation and did not realize that this carpet, in fact, contained Ms. Fisher.
Tony was losing consciousness again, but he heard part of conversations. "She was too nosy for her own good, Bev.... Bring the rug back.... Don't want to clean up blood.... Put him deeper in the woods."
Tim looked at his watch. The hour had passed quickly. "Ziva!" Tim said, getting Ziva's attention. "Shouldn't Tony be back by now?"
Ziva then looked at her watch. She nodded. "Long ago."
Ziva and Tim realized at the same time, to their horror, something really could have happened to Tony. They checked the recording device they had previously turned off, rewinding it and then hitting play. They didn't have to listen long. They hear Tony's conversation with Terry. They heard his call for back up. They then heard the sickening sound of Tony being stabbed. They heard him fall to the ground and then his final plea for help to them before the device was destroyed.
Tim and Ziva stared at each other in horror. "Tony said Terry, McGee, see how many Terry's live in this housing development with at least one daughter."
Tim's hands flew over the keyboard and they had their answer seconds later. "There are two." tim said. "At 425 and 612 both on Howard Avenue."
Ziva and Tim jumped out of the car. They found Howard Avenue quickly and easily. The development had its own street system. And thankfully, they had picked up a map at the information center when they had first entered the development.
Ziva and Tim moved quickly and quietly around one of the houses on the end of the street. They both knew the development was surrounded by woods. Ziva and Tim felt compelled to check there first before checking out either home. They found Tony laying 50 feet from the back of a neighboring yard. He was lying on his back. The knife had been removed and he was bleeding steadily. Blood pooling under his body. Ziva bent down beside him. She stroked his cheek, but got no response. She then pulled his shirt back off his wound. She took off her jacket and folded it. She still didn't get a response when she shifted her weight to press her jacket against the wound.
Tim called 9-1-1 and then called Gibbs and reported Tony's injury.
Gibbs was completely confused and started firing questions at Tim. How did Tony get stabbed? How did Tony end up in the woods? How had they escape uninjured?
Tim admitted his and Ziva's mistake and Gibbs told them he would deal with them at the hospital when he saw them. He told them that they had better pray that Tony survived this. Tim and Ziva sat in the waiting room outside surgery. They had seen nurses and doctors pass them. They had seen Gibbs pass by once and just glare at them. Neither had ever seen Gibbs so angry.
Gibbs returned to waiting room several minutes later. He was so mad he couldn't see straight and he had wanted to calm down, at least a little.
"I need to get this straight." Gibbs said, pacing the floor in front of where they were seated. "You turned the radio off, WHY?"
"Tired of listening to Tony talk." Tim answered just barely above a whisper and looking at the floor afraid he would see the murder in Gibbs's eyes that he very clearly heard in his voice.
Gibbs stopped pacing. He stood directly in front of McGee. "Speak up, I didn't hear you!"
"We got tired of listening to Tony." Ziva pitched in. She was louder, but her gaze also never left the floor.
Gibbs began to pace again. Anger coming off him in waves. "GET OUT!"
They both looked up shocked to see Gibbs pointing towards the door.
"And I don't mean just out of this room. I mean out of THIS hospital. You are not to see or speak to Tony until AFTER I have spoken to him! That is, if he survives this! The director is waiting for you at NCIS!" Gibbs said after he had stepped back and Ziva and Tim stood. "I told him I didn't give a damn what he did to you! GO!" Gibbs said, pointing again. "NOW! GET OUT!"
By this time Gibbs was visibly shaking with rage. He leaned back against one of the waiting room walls and closed his eyes, willing himself to calm down. He opened his eyes again when he felt someone near him. Abby and Ducky stood there looking at Gibbs. They both knew him well enough to know he was angry, but neither could ever remember having seen him this angry. They approached with caution.
"Duck...those two." Gibbs started, shaking his head.
Ducky nodded. "I know." Ducky had been floored when Gibbs had called and told him what had happened to Tony. He considered himself a good judge of character and was shocked he had had it so wrong.
"How is the lad?" Ducky asked.
"Still in surgery." Gibbs sighed. He sat down and Ducky and Abby joined him. "The knife penetrated his lung. They are not sure if this scaring will cause Tony more problems." Gibbs wiped his eyes. "They, too, said he had lost so much blood...."
Abby, who had been crying before, started crying harder. She put her arms around Gibbs and hugged him tightly. "How could they do that to him? How could they hurt Tony like that? They are supposed to be his friends."
"He will be OK, Abby." Gibbs said, comforting her.
"Our Anthony has nine lives, Jethro." Ducky stated.
"I know, Duck, but how many has he used up? I've lost count." Gibbs asked, leaning his head back against the wall and closing his eyes.
Vance paced the floor behind his desk. Gibbs' call had shocked him. He had had to time to take time to process what he had been told. And even now, with the two offenders in front of him, he was still stunned.
"I cannot even begin to tell you what a HUGE procedure violation you two have committed. Such a grievous violation should result in immediate dismissal. Not to mention the disrespect to your Senior Field Agent. I may not approve of Agent DiNozzo's methods, but I do approve of his results. He is a great agent. He must be for Gibbs to have kept him around for so long. At any rate, Gibbs has given me sole discretion in this matter. He has just asked to be informed of my decision." Vance stopped pacing and stood still. "Perhaps to your advantage, you two have skills much needed in NCIS. Agent McGee, your computer skills are invaluable and second to none. Agent David, your knowledge of Mossad gives our agency an important, distinct advantage in terms of our relationship with Middle Eastern countries." Vance paused again, crossing his arms behind his back. "I, however, need to decide if your skills are enough to keep you around. While I am deciding that, however, you two are on suspension, effective immediately. You will hand in your gun, your badge and your security pass. I ask you now to clear your desks in case your employment is eventually terminated."
Ziva and Tim followed Vance down stairs in a daze. A box had been placed on each of their desks and they slowly began to clean out their possessions. "The guards will escort you out of the building." Vance pointed to the two uniformed guards standing by the elevator as he turned and headed back upstairs to his office.
They both surrendered their weapons, their badges and their passes to these men. They were escorted to the parking garage and then to their cars.
Nearly two months later Ziva and Tim walked out of the elevator to be greeted by a huge surprise. Tony was there, seated at his desk. Much to Tim's and Ziva's surprise, they had not been fired. Vance and Gibbs had both discussed the matter in depth with Tony. Tony, too, had realized the value of Tim's and Ziva's individual skills to NCIS. Gibbs had then conceded the point. During the two months Tony had been gone Gibbs', Tim's, and Ziva relationships had been tenuous at best.
In the first few days after Tony had been hurt, Gibbs had been a bear to deal with. Tony was not awake yet. Gibbs left the hospital only rarely to give Vance updates and to check in with Ducky and Abby. He warned Ziva and Tim NOT to come to the hospital. Other than that he had not really spoken to either of them at great length. Days progressed and Tony woke up, Gibbs relaxed. He still had little to say to Ziva and Tim, giving them only basic information when they inquired about Tony's condition. But his mood was much improved.
Now Tony was back and still things were not quite right. Ziva and Tim entered the bullpen and immediately felt the tension. They had not addressed the issue of turning off the radio with Tony. They knew he would be angry. They knew he could be a little hurt by their reasons.
"Tony." Ziva and Tim said in unison, happy to see their friend.
"Agent David. Agent McGee." Tony said. The response was not icy. But it was certainly cool.
"We didn't mean...." McGee started.
"You didn't mean what?" Tony demanded. He had been waiting a long time to have this particular conversation. "You didn't mean for this to happen, or you didn't mean to turn the radio off. What! Did it turn itself off?"
"It was supposed to be a joke." Ziva said quietly.
"A joke, huh. Well, Agent David tell me this!" Tony demanded, rather loudly. "Which was funnier? The part where I got stabbed!" Tony said, standing up. "Or the part where I got dumped in the woods to die!" Tony made no effort to control his anger. "Because I think they're both freakin' hilarious." Tony said sarcastically.
"I'm sorry, Tony." McGee said. "I truly am."
"I am sorry also, Tony." Ziva echoed.
"Yeah, well. I'm sorry, too." Tony said stepping out from behind his desk. He walked over to Gibbs's desk. He took out his gun and laid it on Gibb's desk, followed by his badge. "I'm sorry I put my trust two people who were obviously so unworthy of it." Tony said, turning around to face them. "I guess you'll both get your wish. You will never had to listen to my voice again."
Tony left the bullpen and started towards the elevator.
"DiNozzo!?" Gibbs said in shock. He had not expected this. He got up and followed Tony to the elevator and managed to slip in just as the doors closed.
Ziva and Tim just stood, looking at each other.
THE END
What happens next?
I will leave that up to the reader's imagination.
Story Notes:
After seeing Dead Air one scene in the show bothered me. The one where Ziva and Tim told Tony they had turned off the radio because they were tired of hearing his voice. The people inside the house are the same ones that Ziva met at the picnic. I cannot recall any of their names. But to keep them straight, I made some up.
Author's Chapter Notes:
What if, during Dead Air, Tony had been hurt during that period of non-communication?
Chapter End Notes:
After seeing Dead Air one scene in the show bothered me. The one where Ziva and Tim told Tony they had turned off the radio because they were tired of hearing his voice. The people inside the house are the same ones that Ziva met at the picnic. I cannot recall any of their names. But to keep them straight, I made some up.