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Chapter 8

Tony made a disgusted face and pushed his tray away just as Gibbs walked into the room. The beef broth, lime jello and ginger ale didn't look at all appetizing. Tony knew something was wrong when Gibbs just walked in and sat down, not saying anything about the fact that Tony had passed on his meal.

"What's going on, Boss?" Tony asked.

"I...what happened when you got back to the car, Tony."

Tony shook his head. "Too much static on the tape. There was...That was what they said, what they claimed."

"DiNozzo, what do you mean, claimed?" Gibbs stood and began to pace the room.

"What's going on, Boss?" Tony asked again, following Gibb with his eyes.

Gibbs just looked at him, waiting for an answer.

"When Ziva was in here.... She was in here, right?" Tony asked, knowing Gibbs would know the answer. Tony figured that was, at least, part of the reason he was in his present state.

"She was."

Tony nodded and continued. "She told me, keep repeating that there was too much static for them to hear me." Tony paused. "But that's not true."

"What happened then, Tony?" Gibbs asked. He felt for Tony, seeing he was struggling with what he was remembering.

"They had cut off the mic, turned down the volume, whatever." Tony's anger returning as he remembered. "I...They made a joke of it. They said they had gotten tired of hearing my voice. Though I think me coming back shot made it just a little less funny."

Gibbs never verbalized a response. He simply was not capable. He just paced the room, his jaw clenching and unclenching. His fists balled up so tight his fingernails were digging into his palms. He looked for something to throw, his anger increasing exponentially. When he could find nothing, he kicked the trash can. The action immediately brought nurses to Tony's door. Gibbs waved them away. They left when they saw that their patient was okay, and that Gibbs was cleaning up the mess he had made.

Tony opened his mouth, then snapped it shut. He was stunned when he realized the ramifications of what he had just said. Ziva had lied to him, tried to convince him of a huge lie to save her own skin. His partner had tied to coax him into believing a lie. He couldn't wrap his mind around it. And McGee, McProbie, had gone right along with it. Of course, his ass was just as much in a sling, now, as hers was, Tony reasoned.

Tony found his voice again. Gibbs stopped pacing and listened. "I lit into them in the car, Gibbs. When I got in Ziva was doing a crossword puzzle and McGee was using his damn PDA thing to check his email."

Gibbs was off pacing again, and the look on his face scared Tony. He had never, ever seen Gibbs this angry. Gibbs ran over the facts in his mind, things were coming together. Tim and Ziva were covering their asses. Tim had disabled the mic, instead of destroying it as Ziva had suggested. They had to make it seem like it had been broken all along, or had gotten broken when Tony was shot or running from his shooter. They had doctored the audio tape to cover up for the fact they had turned off the sound. And, of course, Ziva had come into Tony's room, NOT to check on the condition of her partner, but to try to convince him of a lie.

Gibbs turned abruptly on his heel and left. He knew Tony would understand his rapid departure.

Tony watched his boss leave. He had no idea what was in store for McGee or Ziva. But he, sure as hell, was glad he was not in their shoes.

TBC
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