Tony was in the office it was early he was alone as was often the case. Most of his coworkers would not be in for at least a half an hour yet. They were not currently assigned a case so the agenda for the day was going over cold cases and prepping for a court case that he was to testify in next week. Kate was the next agent into the office. Her desk phone started ringing as she was settling in for the day and putting away her bag.
"Special Agent Todd speaking how may I help you?"
"This is the office of Siobhan Mays, the Chief of Police in New York City, I am looking for Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo. Is he available?" the voice said over the phone.
Kate looked at the receiver strangely. NYPD Police Chief looking for Tony?!? Must have something to do with one of the cold cases Tony was working on. She dismissed the call at the same time saying sourly "Tony could you please have your calls routed properly I'm not your answering service. NYPD on line 3 for you."
Tony's mind started whirling. There were very few reasons for the NYPD to contact him and none of them were good.
"DiNozzo"
"Agent DiNozzo, this is the office of Siobhan Mays. I am calling to inform you that Melissa Kendall and Dave Davis were involved in a job related shooting last night. Chief Mays asked me to call and inform you that Officer Kendall is in critical condition at NYU Medical Center. Officer Davis is in stable condition. I have been asked to have you come to New York as soon as possible."
Tony had paled at the news. It was as he had feared. "Is Siobhan available can I speak to her?"
Kate had been listening in to the conversation, after initially dismissing it. She noted how pale Tony had become and then she realized he called the NY Chief of by her first name.
"No Agent DiNozzo she is at the hospital."
Tony became frustrated at this. He did not have Siobhan's number with him and he didn't want to call the rest of the family, he knew they would be upset by this already. They wouldn't consider his call a burden but he did, "Can you connect me with her or give me a contact number so that I may reach her myself?"
As an afterthought he added "Has anyone contacted Agent Standish?" He knew that Siobhan and Ezra didn't get along all that well, heck Siobhan didn't like Tony much either. He knew this call had been made on behalf of Mel's parents. He was already checking online for shuttle flights from DC to NY.
"I am sorry sir but I cannot connect you to the Chief. Her cell number is 212-555-5000." He heard the shuffling of papers in the back round. "So far we have not been able to contact Agent Standish."
Tony swore softly under his breath. The time difference to Denver made it possible that Ezra was only asleep and just not hearing his phone. The last time they had spoken he wasn't scheduled to go on an extended undercover assignment. That was only a week ago but things can change quickly. If he had a chance Ezra would have tried to call someone and let them know he wouldn't be available but he still could be on an assignment. He would try to contact Ezra himself before trying any of his supervisors. Tony booked his flight for 2 hours in the future and powered down his computer as he finished his conversation with the receptionist for Chief Mays.
"Thank you for calling me. I will be there as soon as I can get a flight and I will contact Agent Standish myself. I will call Siobhan with the particulars."
Tony was mentally going over the contents of the bag that he kept packed and in his car and what he had in his locker at work. He decided to just take the bag in his car and if he needed more he could buy it in NY. He had taken his laptop with him this morning so he could do work if needed. He didn't need a place to stay the apartment that the family had in the city would be enough. If not then he could grab a hotel room.
He was already calling Siobhan's cell phone from his own as soon as he hung up with the land line.
"Siobhan, what the hell happened?!!"
Tiredly the woman on the other end of the line answered "She was out chasing two suspects with David and they separated. The suspects shot at them and they called for back up it never came. I found out later that she has been the target of harassment because they found out about her religion and ancestry. They think she is an Arab so they left her out in the cold."
Tony started yelling into the phone "You were supposed to protect her! When you got them involved in all of those special projects to help you because they could read and speak Arabic and Berber you PROMISED ME that this wouldn't happen!"
Kate had been watching Tony with increasing concern. He was acting very much out of character. Tony didn't do emotions, he was shallow and didn't care that much about anyone other than himself. Certainly not about people she had never heard him speak about before. As he got louder Kate spoke up before he did something rash with the phone.
"Tony are you OK?" Kate asked sharply concerned about him since he never used profanity and rarely lost his temper.
Tony ignored Kate as far as she could tell but his next comment was much calmer. He took a deep breath before he continued. As he was speaking he was emailing both Gibbs and Morrow to tell them about his need for emergency leave. Morrow would accept it, he was fairly certain Gibbs wouldn't.
"Ok! Alright I'm sorry I am calmer now...I know you haven't been able to contact
Ezra but you got everyone else? They are all coming? OK OK. I will keep trying Ez and I know how to get through to his bosses if I still can't get through to him. I don't think he is on assignment now but you never know. I do know that it is way too early in the morning for him to be awake so that may be why we can't reach him. I will be arriving at JFK at 1015 on Jetblue."
Tony disconnected the call and grabbed his gear and gun getting ready to leave. He was exiting the bullpen when Kate asked him "Hey where are you going and what should I tell Gibbs when he asks where you are?"
"Tell Gibbs to call me if he needs me he knows the number. Tell him to fire me if he needs to he knows the number. If he really wants to push it tell him I quit." Since his birth family never cared for him it made it all the more precious that the family of his heart needed him. Gibbs and NCIS weren't anywhere near as important.
Tony got on the elevator as McGee got off. McGee looked at him as he said the words ‘I quit' and asked Kate "What was that all about?"
"I am not sure McGee but I hope Tony knows what he is doing."
Tony came out of the elevator and entered the garage. He took out his phone without checking for cell coverage. This was his latest toy, a gift of a satellite phone. Thinking of whom it came from caused him to pause and take a breath lest he let grief and fear overwhelm him.
He tried to call numerous numbers for his cousin in Denver and all came back with no answer. That wasn't surprising it was still way too early for the man to be awake but he would have thought that one of the phones ringing would have woken him. Grinning to himself he thought again he knew his cousin could sleep like the dead.
Tony stood there a minute and weighed his options. Sighing he decided to leave for the airport while he pondered his next move. He hadn't run into his boss yet but the longer he stayed on NCIS property the more likely he would. He didn't want to explain in person to Gibbs why he was leaving or where he was going. The email he had sent had only a request for time off with no reason given. His only regret is that it wasn't Joe who called him then they wouldn't have been overheard. The conversation could have taken place in any one of a number of foreign languages.
Tony started the car and pulled out of the garage. He noticed Gibbs turning into the garage as he was leaving. I hope I still have a job when I get back Tony thought as he started driving to Dulles.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Crossover with Magnificent 7 ATF, NCIS, and Macgyver, multiple OCs deals with post 9/11 terrorism issues and living in America if you are moslem and not terrorist.