When Levon’s cell rang it took Tony by surprise. He’d been so immersed in catching up with Ducky he’d actually forgotten his fate was being decided in an interrogation room upstairs.
“You guys finished?” Levon nodded in response to Joe’s answer. He then asked if they’d been able to get Jeanne to admit she’d lied. He gave Tony a thumbs up.
Tony let out the breath he’d been holding. Not that he’d ever actually doubted Gibbs, but there was always the possibility Jeanne would stick to her story. Tony would never have expected her to accuse him of murder in the first place---so he wasn’t sure he could accurately assess what sort of fortitude she might bring to bear when squaring off against Gibbs.
“Are we clear to leave?” Levon asked.
If the answer was yes, then the FBI had dropped the case. Tony didn’t plan to leave right away in that event. He still wanted a chance to talk to Abby and McGee, but it would be nice to have the case closed and not have to worry about it any more. If Joe’s answer was ‘no’ then only Jeanne’s statement as a witness had been discredited and the FBI was still looking at Rene Benoit’s death as a murder.
Levon’s brown eyes met Tony’s. He shook his head. Tony sighed. It was too much to hope for that Fornell would just drop it.
“We need to talk about the case and strategize a bit more.” He tilted his cell phone away from his mouth to address Tony directly. “There some place we can meet up to run through the numbers again?”
“I’d suggest Abby’s lab,” Ducky said before Tony could respond. “She can ensure privacy.”
Tony nodded in agreement. Abby’s lab only had two security cameras, and it wouldn’t take much for her to block them or shut them off completely if need be.
“Got a consensus here to meet up in Abby’s lab. No idea where that is but I’m sure Tony does. Guessing Gibbs can get you there if you haven’t already beaten him unconscious and found somewhere to dump the body.” Levon grinned. “See you soon.”
Levon snapped his phone shut and returned it to his belt clip. “Okay, kid, let’s go do this thing.”
As they headed for the door, Levon turned back to look at Ducky. “You’re coming too, aren’t you Ducky?”
“I’d love to.” Ducky smiled broadly, bright and eager, clearly delighted to be included. “I have missed your campfires, my boy,” he said patting Tony on the shoulder.
Tony ducked his head shyly, pleased to know not everyone had hated the one major change he’d made as acting team leader. He’d modeled his campfires after things Joe had talked about working for his unit in Houston. At the time, Tony had simply thought the campfires would expedite sharing information and exploring theories of the crime being investigated.
Until he started including them directly, Tony hadn’t realized how isolated Duck and Abby had been from the team’s collective thought process. He hadn’t understood how they might have felt about not being fully included in each development of the case either. Under Gibbs it was far more common that the contributions of the ancillary team members would only be made known to them while Gibbs or another team member was in the morgue or the lab. Ducky and Abby often wouldn’t know until the reports were written the actual details on the case’s resolution.
“I don’t understand why Gibbs wouldn’t keep something that worked,” Levon commented as they stepped into the elevator.
“Gibbs prefers to do things his own way.” Ducky shrugged.
“In other words he’s either stubborn, stupid or a bit of both.”
“He can be.” Ducky chuckled. “Having known him so long, I must admit that in spite of his somewhat contrary nature I do believe him to be a good and honorable man.”
“Figure you are right about that.” Levon smiled.
Tony knew if Levon hadn’t thought Gibbs was on the up and up, he’d have never insisted Tony talk to him or invited Gibbs to fly on Ezra’s plane with them. That wasn’t to say Levon actually liked Gibbs. He just didn’t think him as much a shithead as Joe did. But then Joe tended to regard slights to his family as nearly unforgivable---especially when Tony was the only blood relative he could still freely interact with or rely on.
The music escaping from Abby’s lab wasn’t her usual noise---pounding drums, screaming guitars and shouted lyrics. It was jazz. The sort Tony liked to listen too when he was relaxing at home. Joe had introduced him to it when he’d lived with Tony not long after quitting law school. It had been a favorite ever since.
Tony cocked his head to one side, eying the closed door with suspicion. Not only was the music wrong, Abby rarely closed the door. Maybe they’d moved Abby’s lab to another part of the building; had finally given her the added space and updated her equipment she was always begging for. It would be the sort of reward she deserved.
“Ducky, did they move"“
“Oh, no, my boy, it is still Abby’s lab.” Ducky smiled. “She’s taken to keeping the door closed only since this latest upheaval.”
“But the music isn’t her usual stuff.” Tony shook his head, more than a little dumbfounded. “It’s like night and day"“
“I know.” Ducky’s smile faded a little. “She’s been playing your musical preferences since you left. Something of an homage to you, I believe.”
“Seriously?” Tony’s mouth dropped open. “She’s been playing Jazz since I left?”
“Yes.”
Gibbs said he had been missed. Ziva had echoed that sentiment, but this was far more than just words. This was a length Tony never would have expected Abby to go to. He wasn't Gibbs, so Tony hadn't thought his absence would have warranted the same sort of obvious, grand display from her.
“I should warn you now, she has pictures of you posted on the wall.”
Tony nodded, unsurprised. Gibbs had mentioned that when they’d talked in Houston. “Gibbs said she had a few"“
“Not a few dear boy, hundreds.”
“She some kind of stalker?” Levon asked, wary brown eyes giving the innocuous closed door a suspicious glance.
Levon and Joe had dealt with a stalker once before. It was a young woman who’d been so fascinated with Joe at one point she’d threatened to kill anyone that stood between them. Levon was at the top of her hit list. She had taken a shot at him, her aim good enough to give him a bullet burn across his upper arm before Joe and Legs had taken her down with a shot to the chest and one to the head. Joe and Levon both had good reason to be uneasy when it came to dealing with obsessive types.
“Oh, no, not like that,” Ducky assured Levon before Tony could. “Abigail is just…well, she’s rather a free spirit and very expressive with her emotions.”
“Abby wears her heart on her sleeve, Levon.” Tony said, torn between being pleased by her having displayed so much unhappiness at his being gone and sorrow for having caused her any pain at all. “She’s not dangerous, Cowboy.”
Ducky smiled, trying to further reassure at Levon. “The pictures are a tribute, not a shrine. But to see so many photos of oneself on display can be a bit, well, off putting. I thought a little forewarning for Anthony might be prudent.”
Levon nodded, but Tony could tell he was reserving the right to make his own call on whether or not Abby might be dangerous. Tony understood. It wasn’t like Levon really knew Abby. It was enough that Levon was prepared to give her the benefit of the doubt on just his and Ducky’s say so.
Tony turned the doorknob, frowning when it didn’t give. He looked over his shoulder at Ducky. “She never used to lock the door.”
“She still doesn’t most of the time, but with the FBI in the building asking questions and naming you as a prime suspect"“
“Better safe than sorry,” Tony nodded. He knocked on the door, rapping out the rhythm to ‘shave and a hair cut, two bits’ with a grin. He’d teased Abby once about a ‘secret knock’ but never thought they’d actually need one.
The music was abruptly silenced. Tony grinned, knocking again, whistling the ‘two bits’ part. He was still grinning when Abby opened the door. “I don’t know the password, so don’t even ask me.”
She laughed, pulling him in to the lab. “I couldn’t come up with a good password,” she said with a grin of her own. “I am never good at that sort of thing. At least not when I’m flying solo.”
It was a moment of déjà vu for Tony. Abby had often been his coconspirator in silly, off the wall shit that made sense to only the two of them. No one in Houston played with him quite the same way. He’d missed it.
Glancing around, Tony quickly noted the abundance of pictures of himself Ducky had warned him about. In spite of Ducky’s warning, he hadn’t imagined quite so many. Shots of him covered most of one wall, and he found himself wondering where she’d gotten them all. He didn’t notice any duplicates. He wasn’t quite sure what to make of the number he saw repeated on yellow sticky notes affixed to every machine in the lab until he remembered Gibbs saying Abby had counted the days he was gone.
Rather than dwell on how uneasy it made him feel that she had so many candid shots he hadn’t even been aware were taken, and that she’d actually counted the days, Tony looked away. His eyes quickly found McGee and Ziva. They were standing near Abby’s computer.
Tony smiled at Ziva, pleased to get a smile from her in return. It felt natural. It was almost the way things had been before he’d left.
McGee nodded to Tony, stuttering out a greeting. Tony nodded back, trying to put the other man at ease. The stutter reminded Tony of how McGee had acted around Gibbs when he first joined the team. He was so afraid of making a mistake he was nearly paralyzed, unable to stay or do anything with much confidence. Tony wasn’t quite sure why McGee should be nervous around him---maybe if he got a chance to speak to him alone McGee could explain it.
There was another knock at the door. It was perfunctory, demanding. Tony smirked. “Wanna bet that’s Gibbs?”
Ziva rolled her eyes. Abby grinned. McGee just shook his head.
Levon snickered. “No takers, Slick.”
“A better bet would be to see how long it would take him to loose patience and pick the lock,” Ducky offered, blue eyes sparkling with mischief behind his glasses.
“Abby! Open the damn door.”
“Right away, my Silver Fox.” Abby moved quickly to unlock the door.
Tony laughed silently, amazed at the lack of what used to be his knee jerk reaction in the face of Gibbs’ anger. He could see McGee fidget. Ziva’s expression sobered and her focus sharpened. Even Ducky hid his humor, his shoulders squaring as his posture stiffened into something almost formal. Only Abby was completely relaxed, but then she’d never had reason to fear Gibbs’ wrath.
Tony didn’t need fear Gibbs’ wrath either. He wasn’t answerable to him any longer. He’d known that since he left for Houston, but it was something that really resonated for Tony in the place where making Gibbs happy had once been his main objective.
Tony certainly hadn’t missed the intimidation factor. His current team set high standards but not unrealistic ones, and they didn’t just answer to Beaumont---they answered to one another. There was no dominant, father figure treating them like naughty children for joking with each other. Their goofing off was just part of their day to day interactions and never got out of hand. Tony the restraint they showed was in large part because they were on equal footing, and took responsibility for not just themselves but the team as a whole.
Gibbs strode into the room, Joe following only a pace behind. Tony made eye contact with his cousin, gauging his mood and trying to get a feel for how things had gone upstairs. Joe gave him a quick smile but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. Tony already knew things hadn’t gone as smoothly has he hoped just from what Joe had relayed to Levon over the phone, but it didn’t hurt to have it confirmed.
“McGee what have you got on Kort?”
McGee almost looked guilty. “I know you said to find him and bring him here, but just locating him took longer than we---”
Gibbs waved an impatient hand. “Where is he, Mc"“
“More interested in what you’ve got to tell us,” Levon said, neatly cutting off Gibbs.
Gibbs glared at Levon. Levon simply stared back, crossing his arms over his chest as he canted one hip to lean against Abby’s lab table. “Reason we’re having this little pow wow is because of what happened upstairs. And since y’all are the only ones who know what happened, I’m thinking we should start with that.”
Not giving Gibbs a chance to argue, Joe began to fill them in. He ignored the dark look Gibbs gave him with practiced ease. Tony hid a smile. Joe and Levon had a habit of tag teaming people. At some point Gibbs might just catch on that to deal with one, he was going to have to deal with both.
When Joe said it was Shepard who interrogated Jeanne Tony wasn’t entirely surprised. He couldn’t see the Director from staying out of the case---not when her future rested on the outcome.
He supposed he should be grateful Shepard had managed to get Jeanne to admit her statement about seeing Tony kill her father was a lie. He just couldn’t muster anything other than distrust. If not for Shepard, Tony wouldn’t have been involved with Jeanne in the first place, and he was sure Shepard getting Jeanne to admit she lied wasn’t really about Tony at all. It was far more likely she’d assumed that discrediting Jeanne’s statement would be enough to end the FBI’s investigation. Ending the inquiry into how Rene Benoit died was far more likely Shepard’s number one priority than clearing Tony’s name.
Hearing Jeanne’s motives for lying hurt. Tony hadn’t realized she expected him to keep her father safe. He’d tried, damn it. It wasn’t his fault that Shepard refused to give Rene sanctuary or that the CIA wasn’t willing to let him quit. It wasn’t like he’d told Rene to run. After being in the weapons business for longer than Tony had been alive the man should have known better than to try and flee by such an obvious means. Trying to take his own yacht was about as subtle as a sledgehammer. Looking back on it, Tony realized Rene’s choice showed how off his game he was, how scared he might have been with both his life and his daughter’s on the line.
“Surprised Fornell let Shepard in the room.” Levon rubbed his chin thoughtfully after Joe finished speaking.
“Not sure he could have stopped her,” Gibbs snorted. “She’s one determined woman.”
Levon shook his head. “Her being a prime suspect"“
“The Director?” McGee gaped at Levon. Tony had forgotten that his old team had only reviewed the case in terms of how valid Jeanne’s statement was. They hadn’t looked at all the evidence the way he, Joe, Levon and even Gibbs had. Although, McGee’s been an investigator long enough, Tony thought, he should have caught it.
“You can’t seriously think"“
“It was her gun, McGee,” Ziva said softly, dark eyes revealing a wealth of emotions absent from her voice.
Tony suddenly felt sorry for her. Ziva had been in the dark as much as the rest of the team about La Grenouille and Shepard’s obsession. That Shepard hadn’t confided in her, asked for her help or input, made it clear that their friendship wasn’t as strong or deep as Ziva likely had believed. Tony’s more practical side couldn’t help thinking that it was really only fair---Ziva probably hadn’t used Shepard as her main confidant either. There were too damn many secrets between the two women for them to ever really be friends on anything more than a superficial level. What amazed Tony was Ziva’s failure to see it until now. Once her loyalty had shifted to Gibbs, Ziva was of less use to Shepard, the same way Tony only became useful to Shepard when his loyalty shifted away from Gibbs.
“Fornell is after Jenny?” Abby asked, sounding just as incredulous as she looked.
“I suspected there might be more to this than met the eye,” Ducky stated quietly. Ducky always was a sharp one. Tony had enjoyed having his insight and observations during their campfires. He would have liked to have had them in Houston.
“Tony was nothing but a red herring,” Levon confirmed, nodding to Ducky. “They had to investigate him because of Jeanne’s statement, but none of the evidence they’ve got really points to him. It’s far more likely they were using her statement as a way to gain complete access to NCIS and the Director.” He frowned. “You guys know that right?”
Joe spoke up before they could even answer what he clearly assumed was a rhetorical question from his partner. “Fornell didn’t just let Shepard do the interrogation.” Joe grimaced, shaking his head. “He made sure she knew Jeanne was in the building. No way was that an accident. I should have seen it sooner.”
Gibbs frowned. “Why would Fornell"“
“Because you would have just focused on getting Jeanne to recant her statement. And what Fornell really wanted was for Shepard to let something slip that he could use to nail her ass.”
Joe sighed, blue eyes meeting blue. “The man played you…probably from the beginning. He played all of us.”
“Son of a bitch,” Gibbs growled quietly.
“Yep.” Levon’s grin was tight and hard and had little to do with humor. “Bastard is smarter than I gave him credit for.”
Tony knew underestimating Fornell was not a mistake Levon or Joe would make a second time. It wasn’t one he’d make more than once either. He’d forgotten that Fornell might not be as skilled as an investigator as Gibbs, but the man was no slouch. He wouldn’t have risen through the FBI ranks if he was. And going after the head of a federal agency was a make or break a career sort of move---it wasn’t one someone like Fornell would take lightly.
“We’re going to need plan B, aren’t we?” Tony asked. The question was mostly rhetorical. For Gibbs to have asked McGee about Kort when he first entered Abby’s lab, he was already expecting to put Plan B into action.
“Plan B? What is Plan B?” Ziva asked, eyes darting from Tony to Gibbs. McGee was doing the same thing, looking both curious and suspicious. Abby seemed pensive, her hands twisting around each other as she nearly bounced in place on her toes. Ducky looked smug and it wouldn’t surprise Tony in the least that he suspected there was a back up plan all along.
Plan B was what Joe and Levon referred to the backup plan Tony and Gibbs had formulated for rescuing the team from Shepard’s quagmire. He’d hoped it wouldn’t be needed, but hadn’t really believed all he’d have to do in DC would be clear his name and everything would be okay. He’d have never even considered Plan B in that case or expected Gibbs to put it motion while letting Fornell interrogate him.
“McGee where is Trent Kort?” Gibbs asked, ignoring Ziva’s question.
“It took a bit of doing, but Abby and I hacked into and decoded"“ he cleared his throat, looking sheepish when Gibbs glared at him. “Right…You don’t really need to know the details.” McGee straightened his spine. “According to his last check in with his CIA controller, he’s staying at a hotel La Grenouille used to frequent when he stayed in DC, The Carlton. He’s in the penthouse suite.”
“Guessing that’s not on the government’s dime,” Levon observed dryly.
“Oh, I’m sure it is,” Joe countered, “just not any account the rest of us should know about.”
“We even got a cellphone number for him,” Abby beamed, spinning toward her computer and typing with her usual speed. “I’m not sure how long he’ll have this one since I’m guessing super secret spy types ditch phones about as often as I do Caf-Pow cups, but the GPS feature confirms he’s still at the hotel.” She quickly wrote down the address, room and cell phone number, handing it to Gibbs.
“Good work, Abbs.” Gibbs gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “Ziva, you’re with me. McGee get me everything there is to know on Kort.”
Tony sighed, shaking his head as he watched Gibbs and Ziva leave. He muttered to himself, “Nice to know some things never change.”
Ducky gave him a rueful smile, patting Tony’s shoulder. “He is rather consistent if not always predictable.”
Tony chuckled. “That’s one way to put it, Ducky.”
“I’m not sure I’m of much assistance at this point, so I’ll leave you to figure this out. Don’t hesitate to call if you need anything. I have some paperwork I’ve put off for far too long, but I’m sure it could wait a little longer if the need should arise.” Ducky held out a hand to Levon. “It was a pleasure to meet you.”
“Likewise.” Levon grinned and shook Ducky’s hand. “Might just have to make time for a few more stories once all this is put to bed.”
Ducky laughed. “I’d be delighted.”
It wasn’t until after Ducky left that Tony realized he hadn’t actually introduced him to Joe. Hopefully he’d get a chance to correct that oversight later.
McGee shifting his weight drew Tony’s attention to him. McGee’s expression was uncertain. He looked at Tony, and then looked away eyeing Joe and Levon warily. It was obvious he had something he wanted to speak with Tony, but he didn’t want an audience to do it. Abby looked just as anxious, and seemed to be holding herself in a state of readiness---like she wanted to hug Tony again or start talking at a mile a minute but was restraining herself by force of will alone. Tony idly wondered if she’d pounce on him like an oversized house cat if he suddenly made a break for the door.
Both Joe and Levon gave him quizzical glances. They’d picked up on the same silent cues as Tony and were mutely asking what he wanted them to do.
“Could you guys give me a few minutes?” Tony smiled. “I’d like to talk to McGee and Abby.”
“We’ll just wait in the hall.” Joe’s gaze shifted, eyes narrowing as he took in the pictures of Tony on the wall. Tony recognized the subtle hand movements as Joe checked his weapons. “Keep the door unlocked.”
The small admonishment didn’t faze Tony at all. He already knew how protective Joe could be and that he’d likely draw a similar conclusion to what Levon had earlier when he’d heard about the pictures.
Abby shot Joe an outraged look, not at all pleased by Joe’s insinuation they weren’t to be trusted. “We’re not dangerous to Tony, you know? We love him.”
“Can’t really say much for how you’ve shown it.” Joe looked back at her, a clear challenge in his eyes. “Giving him all those reasons to leave, oh yeah, sister, that’s love all right.”
Abby flushed. Her eyes took on a sheen Tony knew could be either anger or tears. He actually hoped for the former. He hated it when Abby cried. McGee looked ready to defend her---Tony was fairly confident he had no idea what he’d be taking on if he tried to put Joe in his place.
“Joe.” Levon’s tone was mild, but there was no mistaking the reprimand. Abby hadn’t done anything to deserve his being nasty…well, not really. Tony was glad Levon could and would rein Joe in so easily. At this point he was the best one suited for the job.
Joe didn’t apologize, but he didn’t press any more either. Tony thought that would be about as good as it got. Fortunately, Levon was willing to smoothing things over.
“Don’t mind him, ma’am,” Levon said to Abby, his drawl more pronounced than it had been. “Joe doesn’t always use the manners I know he’s got. He’s a good guy once you get to know him.” Levon dipped his head to Abby in a small bow, touching the brim of his Stetson.
Tony hid a smile when Abby warmed noticeably to Levon. McGee relaxed simply because Abby had. Sometimes those good old boy mannerisms and attitudes came in handy.
Levon saluted Tony with two fingers. “We’ll be outside. Just sing out if you need us.”
“Will do, Cowboy.”
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