Abby's call came in on the computer 5 minutes after they left NCIS. On the computer screen Abby looked so tiny in the huge lab.
"Gibbs, I got a hit on the other set of prints. I'm sending it now" Abby said as she was tapping on the keyboard.
An image appeared on the computer in the car.
"The guy's name is Daniele Tacconelli. He got a record a mile long; Assault, aggravated assault, robbery etc. You name it, he's done it".
"You got an address?" Gibbs asked and McGee got out his notepad.
"Yeah, but there's something else you should know first, Gibbs"
"What?"
"Daniele Tacconelli has been tied to the Italian Mob" Abby said.
"He's mafia?"
"Yep. According to his FBI-file, he works for the Valentino family here in Washington".
Gibbs was about to say something, when McGee interrupted him.
"Wait boss, the Valentino family?"
"What about ‘em, McGee?" Gibbs asked.
"That's the family Harold James stole the million dollars from…"
For a minute no one spoke. Gibbs stared at the road as the pieces of the puzzle started to come together in his mind. Suddenly everything was starting to make sense. Harold was not only a con. He was a stupid con. Stealing from the Mob?
"So, that's why Harold James changed his name to Jerry Holmes; to hide from the Mob" Ziva said, thinking the same as Gibbs.
"Yeah. But they found him and killed him, and now they want their money back" Gibbs said.
"And Tony got in the way…" McGee said.
"…yeah…" Gibbs answered and grabbed the steering wheel harder.
For a few seconds no one spoke. Then Abby broke the silence,
"Hey Gibbs, did you know that his name, Daniele, means ‘God is my judge'"
Gibbs' lips curled up, "God won't be saving him this time" *
__________________________________________________
The Green Leaves retirement home was a beautiful place. It consisted of a main building and two adjacent buildings, where the residents had their apartments.
A nurse led them down to the garden, where Giovanni DiNozzo was sitting with his newspaper. Gibbs suddenly realized how little he knew about Tony's family. He knew Tony didn't have any contact with his parents after they cut him out of the will. From what little Tony had said, it sounded like a good thing. The things he'd told were not happy childhood memories. But Tony never mentioned his grandfather. The nurse told them that Tony came by once a month or so to see his grandfather and play poker. Gibbs had no idea.
Giovanni ‘Big G' DiNozzo was sitting on a bench with a small table in front of him.
"Mr. DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked and reached for his badge.
Giovanni DiNozzo looked up and eyed Gibbs suspiciously. Then he turned his attention back to the newspaper. "Who wants to know?"
The first thing Gibbs noticed about the old man was his eyes. They were Tony's eyes.
"My name is Special Agent Jethro Gibbs, NCIS" He showed him his badge. "This is Special Agent McGee and Officer David."
Giovanni looked up in surprise, "Navy? You work with my grandson?" he asked and put the paper down and waved his hand for them to sit.
"Yes, Sir. Tony is a part of my team".
Giovanni looked around the group. Like any true DiNozzo, his eyes rested a little longer on Ziva.
"I'm guessing this isn't a social visit. Where is Anthony?" He focused his gaze on Gibbs.
"I'm sorry to tell you, but Tony was shot this morning. He's at Port Smith Trauma centre."
Giovanni stopped his movement, "How bad?"
"He's in critical condition. Right now he's in surgery"
Giovanni looked around the garden. Then he looked at Gibbs, "Is this because of Jerry?"
"Jerry Holmes? You know what Tony was working on?"
Giovanni suddenly felt extremely guilty. This was his fault.
"Jerry Holmes was my friend. He died two days ago, but something wasn't right about it, so I asked Tony to check it out".
Gibbs felt a sudden rage against the old man in front of him. How dared he bring Tony into this?
"Tony found out that Jerry Holmes wasn't his real name. His real name was Harold James. He once stole a whole lot of money from some very powerful people and the money was never found".
Giovanni couldn't help smiling, "Well, I'll be damned. Guess his stories were true then".
"Tony was found in Jerry Holmes' old house. Do you have any idea what he might have been doing there?" Gibbs asked.
Giovanni thought for a minute. Tony would have laughed at him and asked how it was going with the Alzheimer's. Always ready with a joke. The old man closed his eyes. Gibbs leaned forward, afraid that the old man was getting sick or something. Good looks obviously ran in the DiNozzo Family. It was easy to see that Giovanni had been a handsome man back in the days. And even at 86 there was still a certain charm to the man. Same charm Tony showed his surroundings every day.
Giovanni looked up again, "Did Anthony say anything about a key?"
"He never said anything about what he was doing. A key?" Gibbs asked. Finally they were getting some answers.
"It might not be it… but before Jerry died, he kept rambling about some key, I needed to find. What it was for or where it was, he never said".
McGee joined the conversation, "Could it be in his personal belongings here?"
Giovanni shook his head, "The staff didn't find anything, but that's also strange. His stuff was picked up by his son".
"Wait, his records never mentioned a son?" McGee said.
"That's because Jerry didn't have one". Giovanni pointed his finger at McGee to emphasize his point. Just then Gibbs' phone rang. He excused himself and walked away.
When he got back, both Ziva and McGee got up.
"That was Ducky. Tony's out of surgery".
"And?" Ziva asked.
"He said, we should come to the hospital".
Giovanni got up, "Special Agent Gibbs, I wanna go see my grandson. Got room for an old man?"
Gibbs nodded his head and turned to leave. Giovanni picked up his jacket and his cane and followed. He walked up to Ziva and put his arm under hers, "I can see what Tony was right when he talked about you".
"Sorry?" Ziva asked a little confused. But Giovanni just smiled.
__________________________________________________________
Ducky was waiting for them outside Tony's room in the ICU.
"What's going on, Ducky?" Gibbs asked. The concern was evident in his face.
Ducky was about to say something when he noticed the elderly gentleman who was standing along side Ziva.
"Hello, I don't believe we've met", he extended his hand to the stranger.
"Ducky, this is Mr. DiNozzo, Tony's grandfather. Mr. DiNozzo, meet Dr. Mallard. He's our medical examiner" Gibbs explained and the two shook hands.
"I can tell by the expression on all your faces that Anthony never told you he had a grandfather" Giovanni said.
"I'm afraid so. Anthony didn't…" Ducky answered.
"Ducky…" Gibbs was getting impatient.
Ducky's face turned serious again, "Well, it seems that our young Anthony has been through quite a ordeal on the operating table. He's lost a lot of blood and he went into what we call hypovolemic shock. It means there isn't enough blood in the body to keep up the oxygen supply for some parts of the body and it took quite a while before they were able to restore his blood volume"
"What does that mean? In English, Ducky" Gibbs said.
"When a body is without oxygen for so long, there is a high probability that the shock condition will become permanent. It can cause sepsis, uncontrollable bleedings, brain damage or in worst case multi organ failure. Unfortunately there's no way of telling what will happen".
"What are his chances, Dr. Mallard?" Giovanni asked.
"I'm afraid I don't know, Mr. DiNozzo. He's stable at the moment, but we don't know what will happen in the next few hours", Ducky turned to Gibbs, "which is why I thought it best that you all see him now".
"He's not dying, Ducky. He'll make it". Gibbs said.
Ducky just smiled and hoped Gibbs' gut was right as always.
"You can see him now, but only for a few minutes. Abby's in there now"
Gibbs walked up and opened the door. Then he stopped for a second. The room was bright as the window faced west and the sun was setting. It was bathed in a beautiful orange light and the sunrays were clear. Tony's bed was standing in the middle of the room, but it didn't look like it was Tony lying in it. Even in the yellow light his face was pale and his entire chest was covered with bandages. He had a tube in his mouth which was hooked up to a respirator to help him breath. There was a silent wheezing coming from the machine and a single beep indicated his heart rate.
Abby was sitting by his bedside, her head resting on the bed. She was slowly running her fingers through Tony's hair, softly whispering something to him and she didn't notice Gibbs as he walked up to her.
"… it means invaluable and that's what you are, so you can't just leave.."
Gibbs placed his hands on her shoulders and she lifted her head from the mattress.
"Been reading in the book of names lately, Abs?" Gibbs asked.
Abby got up. "My cousin is having a baby, so I was trying to find a really cool name for the baby with a cool gothic meaning" Her smile didn't even come close to her usual smile.
Gibbs kissed her on the head before she walked over to Ducky and Gibbs turned to the pale figure in the bed. He felt anger rising in his chest and it took hold of his heart. The shooter was going to pay.
Ziva had walked up on the other side of the bed and was holding Tony's hand. She bent down and whispered something in his ear. Then she placed a kiss on his forehead and left.
McGee walked up to the end of the bed, didn't really know what to do with him self. He finally just touched Tony leg and left. Gibbs walked up close to the bed, bent down and whispered, "The order still stands. I'll take care of the rest".
Giovanni walked up behind Gibbs and Abby pulled out the chair for him and he sat down by the bedside. He took Tony's hand.
"We'll find the shooter. I promise" Gibbs said and Giovanni nodded.
Gibbs walked over to the other. "Keep an eye on the two" he said to Ducky and Abby.
"Of course, Jethro" Ducky answered. "Oh, Jethro there's one thing before you go"
"What?"
"I don't know if it means anything, but Dr. Parker suddenly remembered something from the trauma room".
This got Gibbs' full attention. "What did she remember?"
"Well, Tony was conscious for a minute or so in the trauma room and he whispered something to one of the nurses. She doesn't know if she heard him right because of all the commotion and..."
"What did he say, Ducky?"
"she thought he said 'chandelier'. Does that mean anything to you?"
Gibbs turned on his heels and stormed out of the ward. Ziva and McGee ran after him.
"Boss, where are we going?" McGee said while trying to catch his breath.
"Back to the house"
Author's Chapter Notes:
The team goes to see Tony's grandfather...
Chapter End Notes:
Thank you so much for all the feedback! It's been so great. Sorry about all the misspelling:-)
Author's note:
* The name Daniel is an old Hebrew biblical name from the book of Daniel. Daniel was cast into a den of lions, but was saved by God, therefore ‘God is my judge’; Only God can judge him.
Author's note:
* The name Daniel is an old Hebrew biblical name from the book of Daniel. Daniel was cast into a den of lions, but was saved by God, therefore ‘God is my judge’; Only God can judge him.