Chapter 9
Gibbs had a copy of Chris Pacci’s report in his hands. He stared at it. What had he missed? What was he missing? Something was off. He, at first, contributed it to the fact there was no body. He had talked to Ducky about DNA on the body parts. He knew nothing could be done with the ash. Ducky had told him the bodies had burned at too high a heat for too long. He didn’t think there would be any tissue salvageable for testing. But Ducky took samples from all the body parts recovered and sent them to Abby, and Abby, as Ducky predicted, could not run her tests. The car had also yielded no clues aside from posing as a burnt-out car. There had been bullets, plural, found in the car and under the car. Though Gibbs and Co. swore they only heard one gunshot. But that was the proof. Gibbs guessed both had been shot in rapid fire and maybe that was why they only heard one gunshot. Gibbs surmised one of those shots hit the driver, though what was left of his body offered no clues. The second could have hit a tire or the gas tank. But again, there was nothing left to give him any confirmation.
But nothing changed one important fact. Gibbs had read all available reports, and they just confirmed his fears. Tony was truly gone.
A massive memorial service was arranged by Director Vance, and attended by cops and agents from all over the United States. The service lasted for nearly three hours with many of Tony’s friends, family and co-workers standing and speaking. It turned out to be a moving and uplifting experience. Many speakers had the audience laughing, hysterically, telling of Tony’s escapades. Others had them openly sobbing, telling them of Tony’s heroic deeds and about his selflessness in the way he performed his job. They told of his loyalty and service to the agency and those around him.
Everyone fell silent when it came Gibbs’ turn to speak. He smiled when he turned to face the audience. “I know your question. Why did I hire Anthony DiNozzo? It’s so simple. I had already seen what many of you are only learning about today. I…I saw the qualities many of you have mentioned. And…and they more than made up for the …quirkiness, for the excessive, never ending, exhausting talking. I had the pleasure of working with Tony in Baltimore. I hired him days later. He has exhausted me. He has frustrated me. And he has, most definitely, annoyed me, at sometimes. But he never, ever disappointed me. He was an excellent agent. He was a dear friend. He was the closest thing I could ever have to a son. Most of you shook your heads at our relationship. You couldn’t figure it out. But it was truly very simple. It was and is a father’s love for his son. I did love him and I will miss him for the rest of my life. Anthony was one of a kind. He was special and he will be missed.”
NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS
Gibbs carried his copy of the incident report down his basement stairs. He knew he was breaking procedure, having his own copy, but he truly didn’t care. Gibbs needed to know what was going on. His gut, he thought, was failing him. It scared him that he had no clue about what was off or how it was off.
Gibbs and his team had been placed on paid leave. The director had given them a week.
“You know where I will be, on my week off, don’t you?” Gibbs asked the director. He was currently occupying one of the chairs in front of the director’s desk.
Vance nodded. “Doesn’t surprise me, Agent Gibbs.”
“So, I have your permission?”
“Do you really need it?” Vance asked.
“No.” Gibbs replied.
Vance smiled. “I will expect a full debriefing, unofficial, of course, unless you find something.”
“Thanks, Leon.” Gibb said as he got up from the chair.
TBC
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