Chapter 22
Gibbs sat on the side of the bed and gently ran his fingers through Tony's hair. It seemed to be the only thing that calmed the man down when the nightmares hit - and they still hit almost every night. It had been almost six weeks since they had rescued Tony but he was finally on the mend. Well, physically at least. Mentally was a whole different story.
It had been absolute hell in the beginning. First Tony was denied treatment at Bethesda because he was a terrorist slave. Gibbs was holding the Emergency room staff at gunpoint, forcing them to treat Tony when the Administrator of the hospital entered the room. The Administrator instructed the staff that they would be treating the patient, no questions asked. It seemed he had received a mysterious phone call that he refused to speak of.
Once Tony was stabilized he was finally admitted to a room, but it was several hours before Gibbs saw the doctor who would be treating his slave. Ducky was sitting by his side, trying to keep him calm so that he wouldn't pull his gun on the nurses, when a young man walked in.
"Good day, gentleman," the man said smiling. "I'm Dr. Brad Pitt, and no, I'm not related to the actor. I will, however, be the doctor taking care of your…"
"Tony," Gibbs snapped. "His name is Tony, use it!"
"Of course, if that is what you wish," Dr. Pitt replied, his smile wavering.
"Dr. Pitt," Ducky jumped in. "Are you not a pulmonary specialist? Are Anthony's lungs affected?"
"Well, no," Dr. Pitts said as he ran his fingers through his hair. "It's just…"
"That no one else agreed to treat a slave," Gibbs completed the sentence. "Isn't that right?"
Dr. Pitt looked guiltily down at his shoes and gave out a deep sigh. "Yes, that's true," he said and then raised his head and looked Gibbs in the eye. "I, on the other hand, volunteered to be his doctor, especially after learning how he was injured. I have never agreed with this slavery law of our government, but when I see these so-called slaves abused like this…well, I'm proud to serve as his physician."
Dr. Pitt and Gibbs had become good friends after that. He was one of the few people Gibbs would trust with Tony. Actually, he was the only one in this damned hospital he trusted. Well, him and Emma, the nurse Dr. Pitt personally assigned to Tony's care. Gibbs suspected there was more there than a professional relationship, but he kept his opinions to himself.
Gibbs looked up at the sound of the door opening up, his hand immediately going to his side arm. He released the breath he didn't even realize he was holding when Balboa entered the room. "Jesus, Balboa, you trying to get yourself shot?"
"Well, that wouldn't be my first choice," Balboa grinned.
"What are you doing here? I thought you were assigned to interrogate that bastard, Falco?" Gibbs asked. Gibbs hadn't been happy when the Director informed him that Balboa would be the one to interrogate Moretti. He wanted to be the one in that room with that…that prick, but Morrow had said he was too close to the situation. Ya think? There was only one thing that kept Gibbs from marching into that room and breaking that son-of-a-bitch in half and that was Tony. He was not going to leave his boys side as long as Tony needed him.
"Mind if I sit?" asked Balboa.
Gibbs shook his head and sat close to Tony's side when a thought came to mind and he brightened up a bit. "Unless you're here to tell me you finally got that asshole to implicate DiNozzo Senior in all this."
"Nope, sorry," Balboa said ruefully. "The man's a nut job. All Moretti does is sit there with that infuriating grin on his face and ask where you are. He refuses to talk to anyone but you."
"I told Morrow I should've been the one in that room," Gibbs growled in anger. "I could've gotten that bastard to talk."
"Yeah, well, not that I'm defending Morrow or anything but he wanted the man talking, not broken into little pieces and spread all over the room." Balboa smirked. "Besides, your boy needs you. You're right where you should be."
Gibbs looked at his sleeping lover before turning back to Balboa. "Yeah, I was. Was being the ultimate word. Now I need to be in that interrogation room," Gibbs said, despite the uneasy feeling he had about leaving his boy's side. "I think Tony is well enough for me to leave for a couple of hours…"
"Noooooo!" A low moan came from the bed. "D-don't leave, p-please."
"SSSHHH, it's going to be okay, Tony." Gibbs turned his attention to Tony, ran his fingers through his sweat soaked hair and spoke calmly. "I won't be gone long and I'm sure Balboa here would stay with you until I got back."
Balboa looked from Gibbs to Tony and back, his mouth hanging open in shock. After the torture Falco had inflicted on Tony, he never figured Gibbs would ever trust his slave with anyone, especially someone Tony didn't know that well. He quickly closed his mouth at the glare he was receiving from Gibbs. "Uh, yeah kid, I'll stay here with you while Gibbs is gone. You'll be safe with me."
Tony turned fear filled eyes to Gibbs, silently pleading for him not to leave. He knew this Balboa fellow was a NCIS special agent and a friend whom Gibbs trusted, but so was Falco Moretti at one time. Tony didn't think he could trust anyone outside of Gibbs' team anymore.
"How about if I stay here with you and Agent Balboa?" Ducky said from the doorway. "Would that be all right with you Anthony?"
Tony gave out a huge sigh of relief when he saw Ducky walking into the room. He knew now he would be safe while Gibbs was away. There was safety in numbers. No matter how bad it had gotten with Falco, he had known better than to do anything in front of witnesses. So even if Agent Balboa wanted to do anything, he couldn't in Ducky's presence.
"Will that work for you, kid?" Balboa asked with a smile. He then turned serious as he leaned towards the bed, hesitating when he saw Tony cower away from him. "Hey, listen ki…Tony. I swear to you, as God as my witness, that you will be safe with me." Seeing the wary look in Tony's eyes, Balboa explained further. "I do not now nor have I ever supported this slavery law. I uphold it only because it is the law and I'm a Federal Agent, but I would never, ever, do anything to you or anyone else like that freak Falco did. In fact, if I had my way I would put him in a windowless room, alone with Gibbs and walk away."
"So, what do you think, Tony?" Gibbs asked, laying his palm against Tony's cheek. "You think you can handle being here without me if Ducky and Agent Balboa stay with you? I promise they won't let anyone near you that shouldn't be here."
Tony turned his face into the soft caress of Gibbs hand and nodded his head in agreement. Tears spilled from his closed eyes and down his cheeks as he fought to keep the feeling of being abandoned at bay. He knew Gibbs would be back and that he would be going home soon with his lover but he couldn't stop the sick feeling in his stomach.
"Tony, are you sure you'll be all right?" Gibbs was growing more and more concerned as he watched Tony cry. "If you'd rather me not leave…"
"No, no, I know you have to go. I'll be alright, honest." Tony gave Gibbs a small smile. "Just promise me something."
"Anything, babe." Gibbs smiled back. "You want me to bring you back his head on a pike?"
Tony snickered and said, "No, I don't think I ever want to see that man's face again. But…will you promise to come back soon? I-I'll miss you."
"Cross my heart," Gibbs said as he made an X over his heart. He leaned down and gave Tony a gentle and loving kiss, pulling back just enough to whisper against Tony's lips, "I love you."
"I love you too," Tony whispered back.
***NCIS***
Gibbs stood in the observation room staring at the man on the other side of the one-way mirror. He had called the Director and he had agreed to allow Gibbs to speak with the prisoner. Gibbs had then called security and instructed them to take Falco Moretti to the interrogation room and shackle him to the table. "Make sure the cuffs are tight," he had ordered gruffly.
Gibbs had left him there for the last hour, alone and restrained, while he watched. The problem was that it didn't faze Falco in the least. In fact he just continued to sit there with that infuriating smile on his face, like he had something up his sleeve, or he was invincible.
The door behind him opened but Gibbs never turned around. He knew who it was and he knew why he was there but he had no intentions of allowing anyone to dissuade him. "Something you need, Director?"
Morrow stepped up to the window, his hands in his pockets and his eyes fixed on the other room. "You going to just stare at him or are you going to talk to him?"
Gibbs didn't respond at first but after what seemed like an eternity he spoke. "Just letting him stew for a bit. Maybe get him off his game."
"With that shitty-assed grin he's sporting," Morrow said. "He's isn't bothered in the least."
"Yeah, I suppose not," Gibbs replied and then turned and headed for the door.
"Hey, Gibbs," Morrow called out and waited for Gibbs to stop and turn around. "Are you going to be able to do this without ripping his head off?"
"It will be hard, believe me," Gibbs said, his heart racing. "I want nothing more than to give him a taste of his own medicine. I want to do to him what he did to Tony. I want…" Gibbs closed his eyes, dropped his head and took some deep breathes. When he raised his head he was once again in control. "But I want that bastard father of Tony's more and I can't get that without the help of that man in there. So, yes Director, I can do this and not rip his head off."
"Do you really think the kid's father is behind this abuse and torture incident?" Morrow asked.
"Not just this incident," Gibbs explained. "I think he's behind everything."
"What do you mean everything?" Morrow's eyes opened wide in surprise as realization dawned on him. "You can't mean…that's not possible." Morrow lowered his voice as if he were afraid someone would over hear their conversation. "That was an FBI operation. There's no way his father could possibly be behind it."
"You don't know Senior like I do," Gibbs growled through clenched teeth. "That bastard has more power and influence than you could ever imagine and he has his hands in practically everything. Hell, he was able to arrange for the slave reclamation center to issue a warrant to remove Tony from my care. If it hadn't been for that agreement the President signed Tony would be in his hands right now."
"Why am I just now hearing about this?" Morrow asked.
"Because I have no proof," Gibbs snapped back and then calmed himself down. "My team has been doing some digging and has found a lot of questionable activity but the bastard is good at covering his tracts. We have been able to connect him to Moretti but that was when he was 18. We haven't found any recent connection so again, no proof."
"I want you to keep me informed on anything you find," Morrow instructed. "I'll start pulling some strings and see what falls out. If this kid has been set up by his father…If I or the President inadvertently helped that man frame that boy in any way…" Morrow shook his head in disbelieve. "Just keep me informed."
Morrow watched as Gibbs nodded and then walked out the door, shutting it behind him. He turned back to the window as Gibbs entered the interrogation room and his gut twisted in anticipation. Well, this should be interesting.
***NCIS***
Falco looked towards the door as it opened to see Gibbs standing there. "Well, well, well, if it isn't the great Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Did you finally get over your fears and decide to come talk with little ole me."
"Oh, it wasn't fear that kept me away, trust me," Gibbs smirked as he took the seat on the other side of the table. "It was the Director. He was afraid I'd rip your head off and present it to Tony as a gift."
"Ah, Tony, such an awesome sex toy." Falco leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, his tongue running across his bottom lip in a lascivious gesture. Letting out a self-satisfying sigh he opened his eyes and looked at Gibbs, a salacious gleam in his eyes. "So, how is our little slut? Is he going to be ready, his hole wide open and already slick with lube, for the next time you leave him in my custody?"
"That's never going to happen again, Moretti," Gibbs replied calmly, despite the fact he was seething inside.
"That's Agent Moretti," Falco snapped back, the smile slipping away.
"Not anymore," Gibbs sneered. "In fact, if I have anything to say about it, and I do as Tony's owner, your next title will be slave."
"For what?" Falco laughed, that aggravating smile back in place. "Taking my pleasure from a slave, a low life sex toy? I don't think so."
"For abusing a slave owned by someone else," Gibbs barked back. "And Tony is no sex toy."
"Oh, but he is," Falco insisted. "Why, he's no better than a blow up doll you can buy at a sex shop. The only difference is he's breathing and he's government sanctioned. Oh, and he can scream, and what a scream that slut has. Why he had my cock so hard…"
"ENOUGH!" Gibbs yelled, his hand slamming down on the table. "I'm not here to play games with you, Moretti. I came here for two reason and two reasons only. The first is to find out why," Gibbs began. "Why you would do something like this to someone who considered you a friend at one time."
"A friend? Is that really what you just said, a friend?" Falco asked incredulously. "A friend doesn't screw another friend like you screwed me."
"Screwed you," Gibbs asked, shocked. "How the hell did I ever screw you?"
"How! You left me behind," Falco shouted. "What ever happened to that Marine motto you use to spew all the time? You know the one where you never leave a man behind. You sure as hell had no problem leaving me behind in Europe."
"Leave you be…" Gibbs said, finally realizing what Falco was saying. "I didn't leave you behind. I was transferred here to DC and you were to continue our assignment in Europe. That's not leaving you behind. I had no control over that."
"The hell you didn't!" Falco screamed and tried to stand but his shackles abruptly stopped him and he fell back hard into his chair. "All you had to do was say something and I would have been transferred with you. I should have been your Senior Field Agent, not that fucking whore, Todd."
"What makes you think that just a word from me would have changed anything?" Gibbs asked.
"Why, you were Morrow's golden boy," Falco sneered. "He would have given you anything you wanted, but apparently I wasn't what you wanted."
"That wasn't…" Gibbs started before he was cut off.
"Let me ask you something, Gibbs," Falco leaned forward in a conspiratorial way. "Is she a great lay? I mean she must be one hell of a piece of ass for you to take her over me. You know, if that was what you wanted in a Senior Field Agent all you had to do was say so. Hell, I would have dropped my pants and bent over the desk for you if that was all it took. I mean, either way you would have been fucking me over."
"How the hell was I suppose know what you wanted. You never said anything," Gibbs yelled.
"Bullshit you didn't know," Falco snapped back. "You're the great Leroy Jethro Gibbs. You know everything. You should have known this. But, that's water under the bridge. What was the second reason you came?"
Gibbs just sat there for a minute as the shock of what he had just been told finally sank in. Was he to blame for making Falco the sick bastard he was today? He couldn't believe he had missed something that Falco had said was so obvious, but then Gibbs remembered the report McGee had turned up on Falco and Senior. No, he wasn't to blame. Senior had already fucked this guy up when he was a teen and that was long before Gibbs had even met him.
"Tell me about Anthony DiNozzo Senior," Gibbs demanded.
"Who?" Falco asked, acting totally surprised at the question.
"You know damned well who I'm talking about," Gibbs growled. "The man who sent you in here to torture Tony."
"No one sent me in here to do anything," Falco said standing firm. "And one man's torture is another man's pleasure. Besides, I had every right to do what I did."
"Just how do you figure that?" Gibbs asked.
"He was in my custody at the time, therefore I can do with him as I please."
"Wrong!" Gibbs said, now sporting a smile of his own. "The law states, as written and approved by Congress, page fifty three, section twenty one, subsection twelve, paragraph one: A slave maybe placed in another's care for a short period of time if the owner deems it necessary without giving up ownership. Therefore, the custodial person will be held responsible for any damage or injury while the slave is in his or her custody. They may not use, abuse, or force said slave to do anything that goes against the owner's wishes. If said incident occurs the original owner will have the right to request punishment and to have a say in said punishment."
"You're, making that up," Falco said looking like his confidence was wavering.
"Am I?" Gibbs sneered back. "Don't forget I was the top slave trainer in the country a while back. You would think I have the slave law memorized backwards and forwards. Hell, I've forgotten more about the slave law than you will ever know"
"I-I don't believe you," Falco stuttered.
"Fine, don't." Gibbs stood and braced his hands on the table, leaning over until he was right in Falco's face, his eyes narrowing threateningly. "Let me ask you something. Do you really believe that when DiNozzo Senior finds out what a mess you've gotten yourself into that he'll come running and save your ass?" Gibbs laughed and shook his head. "But I will tell you this: either you give me the proof I need to nail Senior to the wall or I go before the judge and recommend you be placed in slavery. Then I will make it my mission to find the most ruthless, sadistic man out there. Someone who would make your sick appetites seems tame by comparison. And then I will personally buy you and give you to that man. Let's see how you like receiving some of what you gave to Tony."
Gibbs stood and walked to the door stopping as he opened it. He looked back at a now pale and sweating Falco Moretti. "You think about it and I'll be back in a while. I'm going for coffee."
Director Morrow turned at the sound of the door opening and watched Gibbs step into the room. "Is that really what the law says?"
"No, but he doesn't know that?" Gibbs said, the smile still on his face.
"So you can't recommend slavery for him?" Morrow asked.
"I can ask, but it will be up to a judge." Gibbs just shrugged his shoulders.
"So that whole, I'll buy you and give you to some sick bastard was all a bluff?" Morrow laughed.
"Oh, hell no," Gibbs jumped in. "If by some miracle of God I could get him thrown into slavery I would do just that and wouldn't regret one minute of it."
"Think he'll give up the kid's father?" Morrow asked.
"I don't know," Gibbs said softly. "The man has a lot of influence and people are scared to death of him. It's going to come down to who Moretti is more afraid of, Senior or me and what he thinks I can do."
"So what do we do now," Morrow asked as Gibbs headed for the door.
"We wait," Gibbs said as he stepped into the hall. "Wait for Falco to decide if I'm scarier than Tony's old man is."
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Tony is recovering while Gibbs faces Falco.