Chapter 2
McGee watched as Ziva returned to her desk and picked up her phone "Ziva, what the h-" But she cut him off with a sharp hand gesture as the line connected.
"I'm collecting. A case. I need you back in DC, ASAP. The director has arranged a priority flight for you…. How fast can you get to the airport?... Yes, very important… highly time sensitive…he's, um, not here right now… yeah, it's case related," Ziva hung up and looked over at McGee "That help'll be here in 2 hours. I'm going to see what Abby got off his stuff, then to the airport to pick up our help. Keep looking for… anything." Ziva turned, leaving McGee standing in the middle of the bullpen, looking very confused.
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Ziva walked into the lab and, yelling over the usual music asked "Abby, waddaya got?" Abby turned down the stereo and turned to Ziva without her usual overactive pep.
"The blood is definitely Tony's," she sighed.
"How about prints?"
"Well, my prints are on his keys-long story, your prints are on his badge and the clip from his SIG, McGee's partial is on his backup- not sure why- and, uh, Gibbs' prints are all over his backup and its holster and his keys. Tony's are everywhere, obviously." Abby rattled off quickly.
"Any others?"
"Nope."
"Oh… okay, so the perp must have worn gloves. This stuff obviously hasn't been wiped down." Abby nodded. "Did you run the serial numbers from the guns?"
"Why? We know they're Tony's." Abby looked confused.
"Just want to make sure we have our plates covered."
"It's bases and I'll check the serial number on the SIG against Tony's service record and I'll run the backup through the DC firearms registry. Should take about a half hour." At Ziva's look she said "There are a lot of people with guns in DC. Lots of feds and cops with lots of back up guns. Tony has, like, eight or something. Again, it's a long story."
She pulled up Tony's service record and his SIG Sauer and compared the serial numbers "Yep, its Tony's." She grabbed the backup and started the search.
"I'll wait. I wanted to ask you, could you drive me to the airport to pick up a, uh, specialist that's flying in to help us out on this case, since its only me and McGee?"
"Sure. Does after the search is done work?" Ziva nodded.
The program ran through every registered firearm in DC and came up empty. "Hunh. I guess he didn't buy it in DC. Maybe one of his old jobs, or he went to Virginia or something. I'll have it run it against the Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Illinois."
"Illinois?" Ziva looked confused.
"Peoria, Tony's first job," Abby told her.
"Right. How long?"
"Hour and a half, maybe two." Abby shrugged. "I'll have it run while we go to the airport." She shrugged off her lab coat and grabbed her keys and they headed for the parking garage.
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About halfway to the airport, Abby spoke "So who exactly am I looking for, anyway?"
"You'll know when you see them." Ziva had a mischievous glint in her eye and when Abby tried to glare an answer out of her, she merely raised an eyebrow.
They found a parking spot and then headed into baggage claim. They stood there waiting, Abby looking aimlessly around with no idea who she was looking for, then "Oh my god, Gibbs!" Abby sprinted across the room, oblivious to the looks she was getting and launched herself at Gibbs.
"Hey Abbs." Gibbs laughed as he hugged the goth tightly, smiling at Ziva as she joined them. "Wow, Abbs, DiNozzo not been bringing you Caff-Pows! or something?" He smirked as she let go.
Abby looked down, sobering up immediately "No, he brings me lots of Caff-Pows!" She mumbled.
"Abby? What's wrong?" Gibbs was bewildered.
"Gibbs, Tony is missing," Ziva told him and Abby broke down completely.
Gibbs swallowed hard and took Abby in his arms. "When?" He asked finally, voice laced with concern.
"We think Friday night." Gibbs looked at her sharply and she elaborated quickly "He didn't show up this morning…" She looked down at her watch "actually, yesterday morning and he's never late." Gibbs gave her a strange look "Not anymore. He's always there before me, always leaves last. We have witnesses that say he arrived home at approximately 2330 Thursday night and left at 0500 Friday morning."
"Any idea what happened?"
"Well, we went to his apartment and we found… blood on the pavement and Tony's keys, badge and guns in the bushes… covered in blood. Abby confirmed it was Tony's. It looks like someone got him halfway from his car to the building." Ziva sighed.
"Who are your suspects?"
"We don't have anything. No leads. Nothing. That's why we called you… McGee is currently sitting in the squad room looking highly confused and trying to find… anything."
"Why is he confused?"
"I didn't bother to take the time to explain what I was doing to him."
Gibbs absorbed the information for a fraction of a second and then jumped into action, moving quickly towards the door, bag in hand, with Ziva and Abby following in his wake. "Where's the car?" he threw over his shoulder as he walked out the door. Then he saw the Hearse and had no doubt whose it was "Never mind. Found it." He made a beeline for it.
Abby drove while Ziva filled Gibbs in on everything that they had, which wasn't much, but it took a while to communicate because Abby was driving like Gibbs and Tony combined: fast and on a ‘special' shortcut.
Ziva's phone rang and she fumbled around for it, juggling it when Abby hit a particularly bumpy part of the road. "David… McGee, hang-Ow!- No, Abby is using one of Gibbs' famous shortcuts and also, apparently trying to beat multiple Indiana 500 speed record… Indianapolis, whatever, she is going very fast!... I am not speaking ill of Gibbs... I am speaking ill of Gibbs' shortcuts-Ow!..." she cried as Gibbs smacked her "Nothing… what have you got?... Okay… when?... why are we just hearing about this now? We wasted 3 hours not checking out our only solid lead!... Wait, the guy said Detective? Why?... oh, so… oh thank god! We're here! I'll talk to you in a minute." Ziva hung up.
"What?" Gibbs asked promptly.
"Baltimore PD got a call three hours ago from a guy claiming to have a Detective DiNozzo in his custody." She said quickly.
"DiNozzo used be a Baltimore Homicide detective. That's where I dug him up from."
Abby laughed "That is a reallygood story. I mean really good. Very funny."
They got on the elevator "We'll get the rest from McGee in a minute."
They got out of the elevator, Ziva leading this time, Abby just behind her. "Waddaya got, McGee?"
"Hey, Ziva, the cops say it's some guy, Julian Beck, that Tony and his partner at Baltimore PD put away. Actually, Beck shot Tony and his partner, Josh Ford, shot and arrested him. Beck is really pissed at Ford and not very up to date. He thinks Tony and Ford are still partners. Wants to ‘trade Detective DiNozzo for Detective Ford.'" McGee didn't even look up, as he was totally focused on his computer and didn't notice Abby or Gibbs standing there.
"What does Ford have to say about this?"
"Nothing. He left Baltimore PD same time Tony did." McGee answered "I've been trying to track him down. No luck so far. It's like he completely disappeared." McGee continued to stare at the computer intently.
Abby and Gibbs smirked at each other. She guessed Gibbs had something to do with that. She made a mental note to ask about it later.
"What did Abby have?" McGee asked distractedly.
"Abby confirmed that the blood was Tony's and the only fingerprints that Abby found were from us. The SIG is Tony's service weapon, I ran the serial from his backup- nothing in DC, but I'm running it in Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Illinois. Results should be back soon."
"McGee, keep looking for Ford. Abby, Ziva with me. I want to see everything you've got." Gibbs said briskly and turned on his heel.
"On it Boss!" McGee said automatically, then stopped typing and looked up in shock "Boss?!" He said to the closing elevator doors.
Abby, Ziva and Gibbs walked into the lab and Abby went over to her computer. "It's still running," she informed them as Ziva and Gibbs went over to the table with the evidence on it.
Gibbs picked up the backup and looked at it "I can save you some time. Its mine. Registered in Virginia. I gave it to Tony when I left." Gibbs informed them. He picked up the blood covered badge, turning it over in his hands and sighed. "Where are the crime scene photos?"
"Upstairs. McGee's sketches are there too, but you might want to stick to the photos and measurements." Ziva advised, reflecting on the fact that there was a very good reason that Tony always did the sketches.
"Did you check his apartment?"
"Yeah. Nothing. It's much neater than I expected." Ziva said.
"Gun's still in the holster and the safety's still on, clip full. He didn't see it coming." Gibbs surmised, looking up from Tony's SIG.
"That's what we figured. He was tired, it was late, dark and the guy snuck up on him. Probably didn't know he wasn't alone until it was too late." Ziva agreed.
"Did you check security footage from the squad room and parking lot here and at his apartment to get an idea of the time frame? Maybe get a picture of the perp?" Gibbs asked.
"Oh. We didn't, uh, didn't … we should have thought of that. But we didn't. Sorry… I guess we just…" Ziva looked down, embarrassed. She should have thought of that.
"You and McGee haven't ever actually been in charge of an investigation. You're used to being told what to do. I know. I'll go over to Tony's place, get the tapes and look over the apartment myself." Gibbs ordered. "Abbs, pull the security-"
"Already did. Squad room and Parking lot. Tony left the squad room around 0130, pulled out of the parking lot a few minutes later, so he probably got home around 0145 or so. No traffic, the way Tony drives." Abby smirked.
"Thanks Abbs. Ziva, with me." Gibbs turned and walked out of the lab.
Ziva followed him quickly to the car pool and they signed out a sedan. Gibbs got in the car and tore out of the parking lot before Ziva had closed her door.
Ziva's cell phone rang and she fished for it. "Officer David. What are you talking about McGee. I saw no such thing. Of course that's what Abby said, too. Because it was a finger of your imagination. Yes, figment, whatever… McGee, just keep trying to find the guy." She snapped the phone shut and grinned evilly. "It is fun to torment him."
Gibbs smirked slightly as he pulled into the parking lot in front of Tony's apartment. They got out and walked over to Tony's car. "Why hasn't this been taken back to headquarters for Abby to look at?" He sounded slightly exasperated.
"I'll… do that now," Ziva said quickly, handing Gibbs the key to Tony's apartment.
Gibbs shook his head slightly as he opened the door and stepped into the building. He took the elevator up to Tony's floor and checked the door for signs of forced entry before opening it.
Tony's apartment did appear as though it hadn't been touched for several days. He did, however, find 13 guns stashed around the apartment. The ones taped to the inside of the oven, behind the plumbing under the sink and in a false bottom in his nightstand were particularly ingenious. The false bottom also housed Gibbs' ID that he had given to Tony along with several passports. He grabbed his ID, figuring it would come in handy. He also found a VCR/safe with Tony's backup documents, cash and ammo. If the apartment had been searched, which he doubted it was either a very good or a very bad job.
When he got back to the parking lot he found Ziva overseeing the towing of Tony's car to NCIS. "Go in the truck with it. I'll meet you back there." Gibbs called as he swept past her.
He was in the car before she had a chance to respond. He drove back to the Navy yard at speeds that would impress Dale Ernhart Jr.
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He entered the bullpen to see McGee typing away at his computer, still looking confused, talking to Abby, who was smirking slightly.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Timmy. Lack of sleep must be getting to you." He heard Abby say as the elevator doors closed. Gibbs figured McGee must have been talking about his sudden appearance. He walked into the office and sat down at his computer matter-of-factly. McGee gaped, open mouthed at him.
"McGee, what have we got?" Gibbs asked, not looking up. When McGee didn't answer after a minute, he looked over at Abby in exasperation. Abby smirked and reached over closing McGee's mouth and then smacking him upside the head.
"Right, um, just that after he left Baltimore Ford never applied for another law enforcement position. He stayed in Baltimore for another year, then all I've got is that his Passport shows he came in and out of the country 4 times in the following 2 years. He went to at least 12 countries. Other then that I can't find any trace of him." McGee summarized.
"Okay. Keep looking. Ziva, see if your contacts know anything, Abby I want you to try to trace that call Baltimore PD got." Gibbs shot off. Ziva nodded and went over to her desk.
"Gibbs, I can't track a call that came into Baltimore from here. I'd have to go to Baltimore. I'd have to do it through the phone." Abby explained apologetically.
"Okay. I have to go to Baltimore anyway. Let's go." Gibbs headed for the elevator and Abby ran to catch up.
"Gibbs…"
‘We'll find him.' Gibbs said firmly.
"Actually, I was just going to ask if I could put a tracker on Tony when we get him back. It would make our lives so much easier." Abby told him firmly.
"Sure. Go ahead. He might not like it, though." Gibbs replied succinctly.
"Yeah, well, that's just too damn bad. He's the one that keeps getting lost." Abby huffed.
"It's not his fault." Gibbs said, with quiet steel in his voice.
"I know, but these things just keep happening to him. I mean, why Tony?" Abby looked at Gibbs pleadingly.
"I don't know, Abs. He's just doing his job too well." Gibbs sighed.
"Yeah, but he doesn't go around pissing people off like you do, well, he didn't used to." Abby amended.
"What do you mean; he didn't used to piss people off?"
She actually laughed at this "You'd be proud. Ever since you left he's been pissing people off like it's an Olympic sport."
"How bad?"
‘Uh, well, we've gotten multiple complaints from the FBI, CIA and basically every local PD we've come into contact with. It's oddly impressive. I hear Fornell actually used a picture of Tony for target practice." Abby smirked.
"I knew I taught him well." Gibbs voice was full of pride.
They got off the elevator and into one of the agency sedans. Gibbs pulled out of the parking lot as only Gibbs could.
"Hey! Could you try not to kill us please!" Abby shrieked as he passed a tractor trailer at 85 mph with about 6 inches between the two.
Gibbs ignored her.
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They arrived in Baltimore 20 minutes later later, which Abby was sure was some sort of international record.
"Maybe you could have driven a little faster. You only cut the drive in half." Abby said dryly.
"I know. I'm rusty." Gibbs deadpanned.
She gave him an incredulous look as Gibbs killed the engine and they got out of the car.
They walked into the Station to find it in an extreme state of chaos; no one was sitting still and everyone was talking. There were numerous whiteboards set up around the squad room and there didn't appear to be a free phone line in the place. A large man who looked like a typical rent-a-cop walked up to them.
"What are you doing here? This area is restricted to…civilians…" He trailed off as Gibbs flipped his badge an inch from his nose. Abby wondered vaguely when and how he had gotten it back. But then she realized that this was Gibbs they were talking about.
"I want to know everything about this guy," Gibbs gestured at a picture of Ford and I want my Forensic Specialist to have full access to your phone records and a computer." He told the man in his don't-mess-with-me voice.
"What the hell is NCIS?" The man asked confused.
"Naval Criminal Investigative Service." Gibbs and Abby snapped at the same time with such force and annoyance that the man actually took a step back.
"You're Navy cops? What does this have to do with the Navy?" He asked when he had recovered.
"DiNozzo is my boss," Gibbs said, causing Abby's jaw to drop, making her look surprisingly like McGee.
"Your Boss? DiNozzo's a fed? That explains why we've been having trouble tracking him down. Never thought DiNozzo'd get another job. We all thought he was burned out. How long he been at NCSI?" He was surprised. Gibbs wasn't. He thought back to the first time he met Tony as Abby snapped at the man that it was NCIS, not NCSI. DiNozzo had been heading for a burnout when the murder of a young Petty Officer had led Gibbs to Baltimore where he and DiNozzo had fought for control of the investigation from the moment Gibbs arrived. Gibbs had been impressed by how long DiNozzo held out and how far he went to get evidence before Gibbs.
Near the end of the investigation, Gibbs finally gave in, agreeing to share the investigation, but only with DiNozzo, not his partner. Ford had sat back and let DiNozzo deal with Gibbs. Ford was the Senior Partner and treated DiNozzo like he was lower than a Probie. And DiNozzo just kept doing his job, didn't let it stop him. That impressed Gibbs.
Then the PD CSI found a partial on one of the bullets from the gun that killed the Petty Officer. It matched one of the most seasoned cops in Baltimore PD. The PD tried to cover it up, but DiNozzo wasn't one to take that kind of crap. He lifted the bullet from the Forensics' lab and took it straight to Gibbs. DiNozzo knew that it was going to end his career in Baltimore, but he wasn't going to let a murderer walk free. When DiNozzo handed Gibbs the bullet and explained what it was and how he got it was the first time Gibbs had smacked his head.
Abby matched the print, they arrested the Officer and DiNozzo and his partner were fired from the force. Gibbs was waiting by his car when he walked out with his cardboard box. He told him to be at NCIS headquarters at 0800 the next morning and no matter what he said it was definitely
his best choice to date.
"5 years. So how about you stop acting like you have half DiNozzo's skills and intelligence and give me those records." Gibbs tone made it clear that it wasn't a suggestion.
"Of course, sir." The Officer said in an attempt to placate Gibbs. It didn't work and the man scuttled away as Gibbs continued to glare at his retreating form.
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Chapter End Notes:
Thank you to my wonderful beta VanishingP2000! Any remaining mistakes are mine.