Grounded In Truth
Chapter 9
by WCUGirl
Gibbs stormed into the bullpen and threw his bag down on the chair and set his coffee cup down firmly on the desk. Without a word, he turned and stormed up the stairs to the director’s office. Cynthia was sitting at her desk and she nodded, granting him access as he strode past her without even acknowledging her.
Director Morrow was waiting for Jethro when he entered the office. “I’ve spoken with the SecNav,” he said without preamble. “We have the go ahead to do whatever we see fit with her. He personally assured me he would back our decision 100%. While he could excuse some interoffice ramblings, he cannot excuse the loss of an op that cost a considerable amount of taxpayer’s money, as well as threatened our national security.
Gibbs sat down in the chair across from the director’s desk. He squeezed the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. God he was tired. He knew that his whole team just needed to go home and get some sleep.
“I say we get rid of her,” Gibbs said. He was honestly tired of dealing with her attitude, and her behavior in the last week was absolutely inexcusable. “If we don’t get rid of her, I think she should be moved out of active cases. She doesn’t need to be in the field. She’s too much of a liability. She nearly cost me my son,” Gibbs continued. “She nearly got Tony and me both killed.”
Morrow folded his hands and leaned over his desk. “Tell me exactly what happened, Jethro,” he said.
xxx
It was nearly dark when the team had arrived back at headquarters, and it was well into the evening when they were finally released. Paperwork had been completed, reports had been written, and all that was left was three days off and time to rest. Tony patted his dad on the shoulder as he walked past him towards the elevator.
“Hey Tony? What’s your plan for the evening,” Gibbs asked.
“Gonna go home and try to sleep,” Tony said.
“You know you can call if you need me,” Gibbs said. “If you want to come to my house you’re more than welcome.”
“I know. I appreciate it.” He gave his dad a soft smile and stepped into the elevator.
xxx
Tony tossed. He turned. He laid on his back. That hurt, so he turned onto his side. That hurt too, so he turned to his stomach. Ah blessed comfort…which immediately kicked his brain into operation and then he was wide awake again.
For two hours, Tony tried his very best to sleep. But his mind was awash with images that just wouldn’t stop. Memories of his parents. Questions about Blackadder. Thinking back over the op and all the things that went wrong there. Tony sighed and looked at the clock. Eleven thirty. Great. He didn’t want to go back to work"he’d finally just been allowed to leave! He also didn’t want to go to his dad’s because he knew his dad was exhausted and if Tony showed up it would only make him worry.
Tony rolled out of bed and pulled on some jeans and a button down shirt. He slid his feet into his brown leather flip flops and grabbed his cell phone and his car keys. He didn’t know where he was heading, but he knew that DC nightlife had plenty of things to entertain him until he was tired enough to finally sleep.
xxx
The club was hopping. Synjades had everything in it anybody could ever want in a club, and then more. There was music, there was drinking, smoking, drugs, some bondage action in the back for those into that scene…for Tony it equaled escape"he could go here and be anonymous. No one here knew he was a federal agent, and no one here needed to know that. He could find someone to have casual sex with, dance with, drink with, or just enjoy the people watching by himself. He ordered a vodka tonic and turned to look at the crowd.
It was hard to be sure with the blinking strobe lights and the twinkle from the disco ball, but Tony thought he saw Abby out on the dancefloor. He watched for another minute, and then once he was sure it was her, he turned back to the bar, ordered a bloody mary. He paid and thanked the bartender then took the two drinks out onto the dancefloor. He walked up to Abby facing her, so he was sure not to sneak up on her. She smiled and waved.
Tony held out the drink to her. “Got you a bloody mary,” he called over the music. “You just don’t seem like a sweet drink kind of girl.”
Abby nodded. “I love bloody marys,” she called back. “Let’s go sit.”
They moved off the dancefloor to a nearby table and sat down. “Figured you’d be in bed after the week you’ve had,” Abby commented.
“Tried to be. Want to be,” Tony replied sipping his drink. “Couldn’t sleep. Too worked up I guess.”
“Wait til the adrenaline crashes out,” Abby said. “You’ll sleep like a baby then.”
Tony nodded. “Problem is, in a job like this, it’s hard to have enough down time to get the adrenaline to wear off.”
Abby nodded in agreement. “I don’t know how you guys do it,” she said. “I mean I stay in my lab and just run the stuff you guys bring back to me. I get all keyed up looking at the evidence"I can’t imagine what it must be like to work the crime scene and have to photograph it and sketch it and all that. How do you ever sleep?”
Tony laughed. “As I’m proving here tonight, I don’t.”
“Gibbs is the same way,” Abby commented.
Tony raised an eyebrow. “That so?”
She nodded. “He never sleeps either. Always working on the boat.”
Tony tried not to roll his eyes. The boat. He knew that his dad was a skilled woodworker, and had been doing it for many years. But he’d never really considered why that was. The more Tony thought about it, the more he realized, it was probably his therapy. Tony knew it had been his therapy more than a few times. A lot of frustrations could be worked out sanding with the grain of the wood.
“Did Gibbs ever tell you how he gets the boat out of the basement?”
Tony shook his head. “It’s like the best kept secret ever. I’ve looked all over that basement for a secret door or something. I mean there has to be some way he gets them out! He’s built more than one I know.”
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure. Don’t promise to answer, but you can ask me anything you’d like.”
“The other night in the director’s office…when you woke up from your nightmare. I heard you call Gibbs ‘Dad.’ But your last names are different, you don’t look anything alike, which takes away some of the likelihood that you’re actually related. But Gibbs called you ‘Son’ too.”
Tony smiled. “So what’s the question?”
“Are you Gibbs’ son?”
“Yes.”
“Bio?”
“No.”
“Story?”
Tony frowned at his empty drink. “You saw the pictures, Abby,” he said quietly. “Do the math.”
Yes, Abby had seen the pictures. She’d done that much of the math. Now she wanted the full story. “This calls for more alcoholic refreshment,” she stated, collecting their two glasses and heading for the bar. “Don’t go away, mister,” she called to him. He smiled and waved, settling back in his seat.
A few minutes later when Abby hadn’t returned, Tony grew a bit uneasy. Where had she gone? He gave it another couple of minutes then decided to head to the bar to see if she was there. He flagged down the bartender when he didn’t see any sign of Abby.
“She went out the back with some guys I’ve never seen before,” the bartender told Tony. “I see Abs in here all the time, but I hadn’t seen these jokers before. They looked like trouble though. If I could leave my post here at the bar, I’d go check on her.”
Tony got the bartender to tell him what the guys looked like and had him point out which door they’d gone out. “If you don’t see me back here with Abs in five minutes, call this number,” Tony said, handing the bartender a business card with Gibbs’ name and phone number on it. “Tell him that Tony and Abby are in trouble and give him the address to the bar.”
“Yeah, ok no problem,” the bartender said, tucking the card away on the bar where he would see it, but not where anyone could knock it off. Tony thanked the guy and headed out the door.
Out back in the alley, Tony quickly saw that three guys had Abby backed up against the wall. They were leering at her and making grabs at her. One of them leaned in like he was going to kiss her and she slapped him across the face. The guy recoiled for a moment then slapped her face hard.
Tony was on the guy in seconds. Tony pulled the guy off of Abby and slammed him up against the brick wall he’d backed Abby up against only moments before.
“The lady said no; I heard her say it. In this world, no means no, asshole,” Tony said. “I suggest you cowboys head on out, have a good night and listen to the ladies when they turn you down.”
One of the guy’s friends grabbed Tony from behind by his arms and dragged him back. Tony fought and struggled against the guy, but he was strong, he was bigger than Tony and he was mad"a deadly combination. Abby kneed the other guy in the balls and dove into her purse going after her cell phone.
After a ring and a half, Gibbs’ voice answered. “Gibbsgibbsgibbs! We need your help,” Abby exclaimed into the phone as she watched two of the guys hit Tony repeatedly, while the other one still held his arms pinned behind him, further down the alley.
“What’s going on Abby? Who are you with?”
“Me and Tony! I went to this club, and Tony was here, and now he’s getting beat up because he was protecting me and Gibbs you have to hurry! They’re hurting him!”
“I’m on my way Abby, tell me where you are,” Gibbs said calmly, though his gut was screaming and his temper was flaring.
“We’re at the corner of East and Oak Streets,” Abby said, “Out back behind a club called Synjades.”
Through the phone, Abby could hear Gibbs’ tires squealing and she breathed a silent sigh of relief because that sound meant Gibbs was on his way, and it meant he was hurrying. She glanced back at Tony, still being hit over and over again, but now he was hanging limply against the guy holding him up by the arms. They were still hitting him.
“Is Tony where I can talk to him?”
“No Gibbs, they’re hurting him! They’re holding him and they’re still hitting him! See this is all my fault because it’s Friday night and I always go to the clubs on Friday night. Anyway I ran into Tony and we were talking and then I wanted to get us some more drinks and stuff so I went to the bar and while I was up there these guys started talking to me and flirting and it was all really great. I thought they were really nice guys so I didn’t protest too loud when they grabbed my arm and shoved me out the back door. I thought they just wanted to have a little bit of fun. Then they started touching me and trying to kiss me and they backed me up against the wall and started grabbing at me, and Gibbs it was terrible, but then Tony came out and he yelled at them to leave me alone"which was good because one of them had smacked me right across the face"and then the guys dropped me and jumped Tony and that’s why I’m calling you because Tony needs you and I can’t help him!”
“Breathe Abby. I’m almost there. Take a look, best you can, is Tony conscious? Can you tell?”
“He’s limp, Gibbs. He’s not fighting at all. Do you think he’s alright?”
“I dunno Abs, we’ll have to see. I’m parking out front now. I’m coming, just hold on.”
Moments later, Abby’s two favorite words echoed through the dark alley. “FEDERAL AGENT!”
The men beating Tony stopped and dropped him. Tony crumbled to the ground in a heap and groaned softly. The guy who’d been holding Tony gave him a sharp kick in the ribs.
Gibbs had his gun drawn and stood calmly in front of the attackers. Without moving his gaze from them, he told Abby to call the Metro Police.
“Should I call an ambulance,” she asked.
“Let me take a look at him first, see how bad off he is,” Gibbs said. Then to the attackers he said, “turn around and face that brick wall right there with your hands on your head.” Once they turned, Gibbs cuffed each of them and then locked them to the dumpster. Satisfied that they were no longer posing a threat, Gibbs turned his attention to Tony. Abby was still on the phone with the Metro PD.
Gibbs knelt next to Tony and gently rolled him to his back while carefully supporting his head and neck.
“Tony, can ya hear me? DiNozzo, you with me?”
Tony groaned and his eyelids fluttered. Gibbs slapped lightly at his face. “C’mon Tony. C’mon snap out of it. Can you hear me? Tony?”
Tony’s eyes slid open and then immediately rolled back in his head. Gibbs shook his shoulder a bit. “C’mon stay with me Tony. Wake up now.”
This time Tony’s eyes slid open and stayed open. He blinked a couple of times and then Gibbs saw his eyes finally focus on him.
“You with me?”
“Mmmh,” Tony assented. “Happened?”
“These idiots beat you up.” Gibbs held up one finger. “How many fingers, Tony?”
Tony glared at the offending finger, squinting a bit trying to get his eyes to focus. “J-just one,” he whispered.
“Good, that’s good Tony. Tell me, who’s the president?”
Before he could answer, Abby was by their sides. “Gibbs Metro is on the way. Do I need to call an ambulance for Tony?”
“I don’t think so Abs; I think he’s alright. What do you say, Tony? You need to go to the hospital?”
Tony managed to shake his head. “No,” he whispered, “no hospital.”
“Ok then, let’s get you up,” Gibbs tucked his hands under Tony’s arms and hauled them both up. Tony’s head swam dizzily and he groaned again and pressed his eyes closed against the nausea that threatened to overwhelm him as the adrenaline rush wore off. “Easy, easy I got ya. Take it easy, Tony,” Gibbs said.
Tony blearily looked around him and saw Abby standing close by, looking awful. She had a bruise already forming on her cheek where those bastards had hit her, and her eyes were filled with tears.
“Abs?”
“Tony are you really alright,” Abby whispered.
“I’m gonna be fine Abs. No hospital needed. Just some aspirin and a bed.”
“I thought bed was where you were heading anyway,” Gibbs commented mildly.
“It was…but I couldn’t sleep. I knew you needed some sleep, so I figured I’d entertain myself for the evening. Abs and I were having a good time til these three idiots tried to ruin our evening. Christ my head hurts,” Tony whispered to himself as an afterthought.
“Both of you, with me, c’mon let’s get in the car. I’m taking you back to my place and tomorrow I’ll take you to get your cars. C’mon.”
“But Gibbs I"”
“No arguing Abby. Let’s go, come on.”
Tony, helped by Gibbs and Abby, slowly made their way toward Gibbs’ car.
xxx
Monday morning found Abby back in her lab bright and early. She was surprised to find Vivian in the lab waiting for her when she arrived.
“Heard you had an eventful weekend,” she said. “You shoulda called me; I woulda gone to the club with you. Saved you the trouble of going with DiNozzo.”
“I didn’t go WITH DiNozzo, and we had a nice time…well that is until I got picked up by these really rotten guys who beat Tony up when he tried to protect me. Then we called Gibbs to come help us and Tony was really out of it, and we spent the whole weekend at Gibbs’ house.”
“You both spent the whole weekend at Gibbs’ house? By choice. Are you crazy,” Vivian shook her head in disgust. “I’d have rather spent the weekend in Leavenworth without my gun,” she boldly stated.
Blackadder’s cell phone rang and she snatched it from her belt before reading the name on the caller ID.
“Blackadder,” she snapped. “Oh uh, yes sir, Director. I’ll be right up.”
She hung up the phone and looked at Abby. “I have to go. The director wants to see me,” she said softly, her guts twisting into knots wondering what Director Morrow might want with her on a Monday morning at 0700. It was early yet for Gibbs and Tony to have arrived"they didn’t normally arrive until close to nine.
“See ya,” Abby called after her. She smirked once the door to the elevator closed. “But not anytime soon,” she said softly, turning back to her samples.
xxx
Over the weekend Gibbs explained to both Abby and Tony what would be happening to Vivian. He’d answered their questions"Abby had more than Tony"and assured both of them that their jobs were safe. Tony was uncertain because he’d gotten into such a big fight in the middle of a ‘nonviolent op’"a part of him was scared he might get into some big trouble for his behavior.
“You were reacting Tony. That’s all it was. The nonviolent op became a defensive op when Blackadder blew our cover.”
Gibbs had recalled Tony’s words to Blackadder as they were preparing to leave Rota. “Don’t worry, I still like you” he’d said. Gibbs asked Tony about that statement and Tony had responded after a few moments, running a hand through his hair.
“I dunno boss. I mean I know she has caused a lot of trouble, and I know she lost her focus on this case, but I think deep down she has good intentions. I don’t dislike her"I hate the choices she makes, but I really don’t dislike her.”
Gibbs, who really hadn’t ever liked her at all, if he was honest, was totally baffled by this.
xxx
Gibbs and Tony were both in the bullpen when Vivian stepped off the elevator. Vivian bit back a gasp at Tony’s appearance. If she thought he’d looked bad leaving out of Rota, that was nothing compared to now. His face was mottled with bruises and there were places where the skin had been split from the blows. Jesus he looked terrible. Abby had said that Tony had gotten beaten up when he was protecting her, but she’d honestly just figured a black eye or a bloody nose"this was Abby telling the story after all. She was sometimes known to exaggerate. But this…Abby hadn’t been exaggerating anything.
“Tony,” Vivian said quietly, “are you alright?”
“Oh so now you wanna be concerned,” Tony quipped.
Vivian backed up a half step, surprising herself. “I didn’t mean anything. It just looks like"”
“It just looks like my father and I went three rounds,” Tony ground out. “You know all about that, right? You read it in my file"you saw the pictures. I’m fine, Ms. Blackadder,” Tony snapped.
Vivian blinked. It seems as though the events of last week had finally caught up with her. Tony obviously didn’t feel well still, and judging from the look of him, she thought he might seriously keel over at any moment.
“I didn’t mean anything, I was just noticing that your face has more bruises on it than it did last week when you left,” she said.
Tony rolled his eyes. “Please. Spare me the sympathy.”
Gibbs took over there. “Blackadder I believe the director is looking for you. Quit wasting our time and go see what he wants.”
Vivian stepped up the stairs to the director’s office. Cynthia waved her in and she knocked on the door. She opened the door and peered inside. Gibbs was suddenly right behind her and she almost jumped in shock. Tony was there as well. She opened the door fully and stepped inside, gasping in shock when she saw who else was sitting there.
“Uncle Phil?”
The director stepped forward and gestured toward a chair. “Have a seat Ms. Blackadder.”
TBC…
Chapter End Notes:
Little bit of violence, little bit of angst.