Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS and I'm not earning any money from this.
Family Ties
"DiNozzo!" barked Gibbs.
"Uh… boss?" Tony had been lost in memories of the past and so he hadn't heard Gibbs' question.
"Do I really need to repeat myself, DiNozzo?" The growl in Gibbs' voice told the younger man that saying ‘yes' would be a dangerous move.
"No, boss." His eyes darted to Kate who, taking pity on her now endangered sibling, slipped him a piece of paper ~ Victim. Background ~ Tony figured he now definitely owed Kate. He took a deep breath before continuing. "Lt. Cmdr. Gulia Diablo. 36. Italian American. Clean record – not even a parking ticket. No known living relatives." Tony paused, frowning. "Boss…"
Gibbs waited a minute for DiNozzo to continue, "what DiNozzo?!" He snapped after it became clear that DiNozzo wasn't going to continue any time soon.
"I… I shouldn't be on this case." Tony's frown deepened, a look of bewildered defeat colouring his face.
"Oh for God's sake! Why not diNozzo?"
- Tony what are you doing? Gibbs is seriously pissed.- Kate couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her eyes widened as she realised that Tony wasn't joking.
"Conflict of interest boss." Tony stated. He looked Gibbs in the eye and the older agent was taken aback by the pain and confusion in his subordinate's normally animated green eyes. His first instinct would have been to demand that DiNozzo elaborated on this conflict of interest and pronto but Gibbs could sense that this wasn't the place.
"Fine. McGee, Kate, start looking for all possible suspects. I want to know everything there is to know about Lt. Cmdr. Gulia Diablo. Who she dated in high school, what her favourite cereal is, how she spent her free time, her favourite brand of candy bar, what she had for tea last night."
"On it boss." Kate said immediately, moving towards her desk. McGee echoed her before moving to his own desk. Gibbs began to walk out of the room, while Tony just stood watching his colleagues set to work.
"DiNozzo, you're with me." Tony silently followed his boss to an interrogation room. He sat down when Gibbs motioned for him to take the seat on the opposite side of the table. - This isn't an interrogation Tony. It's just that there are only two seats in here. No need to panic. Keep calm, you're doing the right thing here. You don't want to risk Gulia's killers getting off scot free because you failed to mention that she was your sister.- Tony kept psyching himself up; preparing himself for whatever Gibbs was going to say to him. Gibbs sat down opposite Tony, reminding himself that this wasn't an interrogation, he was just going to talk to his agent and find out whatever it was that made him feel that he couldn't be on the case. If it was a personal reason then they would sort it out.
"Start talking DiNozzo." Tony stared at a spot on the table.
"Her records are… well, they're wrong."
"What do you mean her records are wrong? The Navy does very thorough background checks." Tony got a strange smile on his face that Gibbs decided looked very creepy on the young man.
"Yes they do but her family did a much more thorough job of covering up her past. They have more experience than the Navy and better motivation." This time it was Gibbs' turn to frown. - Who the hell is this family and how the hell does DiNozzo know so much about them.-
"What is she? Royalty?" Tony laughed, which pissed Gibbs off. "DiNozzo," he growled.
"Sorry boss. It's just that… well, they're not quite royalty but they are treated similarly. Although royalty doesn't quite command as much respect." Gibbs wasn't amused.
"God help me DiNozzo if you don't start explaining quickly, I'll…" Gibbs let the implication of a threat hang in the air. Tony looked back down at his hands, took a deep breathe and let it out slowly. This was it; there was nowhere left to hide.
"Gulia was born into a well known and very powerful Italian family." Tony paused thinking about how he could continue.
"You mean like the mafia?" Tony shook his head. - Damn Gibbs, close but if I have to tell you the truth then you're going to hear the whole truth.-
"No boss I don't mean like the mafia; I mean The Mafia." Neither man spoke for a while; they just stared at each other. Gibbs was trying to figure out where Tony got his information and Tony was trying to figure out how much of the truth Gibbs could take in one sitting. Gibbs broke the silence.
"DiNozzo, how do you know this if her past was covered up so well?" Tony closed his eyes as he gathered his thoughts together. - I guess you're gonna hear the whole truth in one sitting then boss.-
"She's… was… my sister." Tony forced down the lump that was forming in his throat. "I was supposed to look after her. I gave my word that I would always protect her. Instead she's dead and I've failed in both my duty as brother and job as a special agent. Oh Gulia I'm so sorry." Gibbs watched as Tony's face became clouded with grief and regret. - Shit! The kid's just lost his sister. Why the hell didn't he tell anyone sooner? Whoa… Tony is mafia? Not now Gibbs. Now is not the time for dragging that out of him. That would definitely be pushing that second ‘b' too far.-
"Christ Tony. Why didn't you say something?" Tony's head shot up and he glared at his boss. An irrational anger shone from his eyes. For some reason it scared Gibbs a little, not that he would admit that.
"YE! Sure boss! What should I have said? Hey boss, guess what. You know that stiff lying in Ducky's morgue? Well her surname isn't really Diablo and she's not really an only child; she's mafia! Oh and guess what else. She's my sister. Would that have done it for you boss? Is that what you wanted me to tell you?" Tony stood up, scrapping his chair on the floor. Gibbs thought for a moment that Tony was going to try and square up to him, instead he just stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind him. Gibbs waited for a few minutes before following him out. He rounded the corner just in time to see the elevator doors closing with Tony inside.
Tony waited for the lift to start moving before he hit the emergency stop button. He sat down in the corner of the elevator and hugged his knees to his chest. He knew he was crying only because the moisture from his tears was soaking through his trousers. He just sat there rocking backwards and forwards muttering "God I'm so sorry Gulia. Gulia please don't leave me. I'm sorry." Gibbs watched the younger agent from the camera room, wondering what he was going to do next.
Family Ties – Part 2
Tony sat on the overcrowded train, staring out of the window. Ordinarily the large number of people on the train would have caused all of Tony's senses to go on high alert, watching out for anything hinky, as Abby would so eloquently put it. Today however, although his body appeared to be looking out of the window, his mind was lost in thought.
- I wonder who will be at the meeting. Obviously my father will be, and wherever my father goes so do his bodyguards. I hope he still has Luigi and Mario fulfilling those posts. Perhaps my brothers will be there too. It's possible, unless they're out on a job. -
Tony had mixed feelings about this meeting. He was looking forward to seeing his family again because, although he had chosen to leave that life, he had had a very good relationship with his family. His father's temper was unpredictable and Tony knew he had definitely failed in his duties. His brothers had never gotten to know Gulia but they still believed strongly that you should protect your family, no matter what the cost and that older children should protect their younger siblings even more than the parents. Tony hoped that they stretched that belief to mean even from the parents because then he would be safe. - Gulia I'm sorry. I shouldn't be worrying about saving my own ass now because I wasn't covering your back. I got too wrapped up in my family at NCIS that I forgot who my loyalties should have been with. I hope that you can forgive me. –
Tony smiled as he imagined Gulia looking at him the way she always had when he messed up. A lopsided smile danced on her face as she tried to stop herself from laughing and instead look stern. Her eyes would sparkle like emeralds being hit by the sunlight. She would point her slender finger at him and in her most exaggerated Italian accent say "Antonio Zito don't you dare go beating yourself up over little things like that. I would be very unhappy if I heard that you were feeling sorry about something you had no way of stopping." At that point both of them would start laughing so hard they were almost crying. Tony never felt bad about whatever he had done after Gulia spoke with him. She was one hell of a little sister; the best anyone could ever hope for.
Tony didn't wipe away the tear that ran down his cheek, instead he let it fall; a reminder to himself that he would never again be able to look to his sister for support. No longer would she hold him in a tight embrace that took away his pains and fears. Her small body had held such strength and her intelligent mind was capable of amazing compassion. He closed his eyes and remembered being hugged by her; one hand on his back, supporting him, the other behind his head stroking his hair in such a calming manner that he felt nothing in the world could ever go wrong. He would put his arms around her shoulders and bury his face in her neck. He remembered how her hair always smelt of strawberries and how safe it had made him feel.
Remembering the last time he spoke to his boss, Tony's face once again found a little smile. - Sorry Gibbs but your hugs can't compete with my sister's. Thanks for being there when she couldn't though. -
Tony had sat in the elevator for at least ten minutes before his phone had started to ring. It was Gibbs. Not wanting to answer the call, Tony had just gotten up and set the elevator moving again. He had known his face was stained by the tears he had just shed and that his cheeks and eyes would be puffy and red but he hadn't care. He had walked straight past Abby and ran up the stairs to Gibbs' desk. "I'm sorry boss. I…"
"DiNozzo. Walk with me." Tony had hung his head and silently followed Gibbs down the elevator and outside. "Are you ok Tony?" Gibbs had asked with genuine concern in his voice.
"No. I need some time off to go and tell my family about Gulia's death. I have to tell them that I failed her. No-one else can tell them, it would be too dangerous." Gibbs had just nodded.
"I will give you as long as you need. Do you want someone to go with you?" Tony stopped walking and stood staring at the pavement before facing his boss, tears glistening in his eyes.
"No. I have to do this alone. To tell them how I failed them all." Tony's shoulders shook as the tears began to fall again. Gibbs couldn't bear to see such grief on the young man's face and stepped forward, putting his arms around him.
"Shhh... Tony. It's going to be ok. It wasn't your fault, she was involved in a hit and run, you couldn't have stopped it even if you had been standing right next to her. It wasn't your fault." Eventually Tony managed to stop crying and pulled away from Gibbs' embrace. He sniffed loudly, choking back the last of the tears.
"Thanks boss but it's not going to be ok. I should have been able to do something. Well, thanks for the support. Is it alright if I leave straight away? I should be back in a week" - If I'm still alive - Gibbs had nodded silently before patting Tony's shoulder and heading back to work.
That had all happened yesterday. That night Tony had called his father and told him that they needed to talk, it was an emergency. His father had replied with, "Fine. Little Italy Pizzeria, 1900hrs tomorrow. Come alone and don't be late." Tony knew the drill and repeated what his father told him before hanging up. He out his jacket against the window and tried to get some sleep. It was going to be a long night tonight and he would need his wits about him.
Family Ties - Part 3
Tony glanced at his watch, 18:57, good, he thought, being too early is as bad as being late. Straightening his tie, Tony walked into the restaurant and told the waiter that he was meeting some friends. The older man nodded politely and motioned for Tony to follow him. Tony took a deep breath; he had butterflies in his stomach and was beginning to feel sick. -You have to do this Tony. Things can't get any worse. If they kill you, you'll be reunited with Gulia. What if I'm not? What if she's in heaven and I get sent to hell? No! Cut it out Tony! They aren't going to kill you! And if you do die, you will be reunited with Gulia! Now pull yourself together; you have to get at least on thing right!-
The first thing Tony noticed as he approached the table was the black baseball cap worn backwards. Luigi Diablo, his childhood ‘guardian' and one of his best friends. Sam allowed his mind to wander back to the day that Luigi had become forever engraved in his heart a young boy's hero. Tony had been about six years old at the time. It had been a sunny day and Luigi and Tony were playing catch in the grounds behind the house. Tony had been using the glove he had just got for his birthday.
They'd been playing from when the sun was hidden just behind the roof of the house until it was almost in the middle of the sky, when Tony felt something warm dribble down his ear. Luigi had started to laugh and when Tony had wiped his ear he saw why, bird poop.
"Argh! That's disgusting!" He had shouted, glaring angrily at Luigi for laughing at him. Luigi had shaken his head, the way adults do at the things children do and say.
"No Antonio. I've heard that it's lucky." He walked over and picked Tony up, putting him on his shoulders. "Now you'll play like a superstar." Luigi looked up at Tony and grinned, his eyes shining with amusement.
Tony had spent the rest of the day with his ‘luck cap' on. He had been crushed when his father, spotting the bird poo on the hat, had told him to throw it in the trash and not bring such filthy things into the house again. After reluctantly doing as his father had instructed, Tony had gone in a sulk. However, when Luigi had seen the change in mood, he had asked Tony what was wrong. Tony had put on the big puppy dog eyes and stuck out his bottom lip.
"Pops made me throw my lucky cap in the trash and now I'm gonna be really unlucky." Luigi had obviously fallen for Tony's little display, or at least he let Tony think that he had, because he had taken Tony by the hand and led him to his room. He had sat Tony on his bed and dug out an old baseball cap from the wardrobe. Luigi had pointed to the rabbit's foot and four leafed clover badges that his mother had sown on for him and told Tony,
"These are both lucky. If you wear this cap you'll be twice as lucky as when you wore your old cap." He pulled the cap down onto Tony's head, gaining an ear to ear grin in return from the young boy.
"Thanks Luigi!" Luigi smiled in return.
"You're welcome Antonio. Now go wash your hands and face ready for dinner." Tony ran to wash up and had been on top of the moon for the rest of the evening. To this day Tony still loved to wear baseball caps; he just didn't believe in luck anymore. But that's another story, for another time.
Sitting opposite Luigi, Tony could now see was Marco DiNozzo, Gulia's childhood ‘guardian'. The man who had gotten both he and Gulia hooked on Movies and how they could be compared to things that happened in your everyday life. Marco had been more of a teacher than a friend to Tony and Gulia but they had enjoyed all of his lessons. Tony remembered the last lesson with such clarity because the events that had followed it had impacted his life so greatly.
Marco must have sensed that all was not right and that soon something bad was going to happen. After all mafia families weren't known for being safe. That day he had taken Tony and Gulia to the cinema. Luigi had a job to take care of for Tony's father; Luigi wasn't just good with children, he was also an accomplished hit-man. Tony was twelve at the time; Gulia had been ten and a half. Back then that half had been very important to her.
Tony remembered that Marco had looked decidedly cramped in the small movie theatre seats. They had seemed big enough to Tony but then Tony was small for his age. Tony couldn't remember what the movie was called or the exact plotline but he did remember what it had been about. It had been about a family who suffered a tragedy and as a result had been separated. Later one of the children had, unknowingly, betrayed the parents. Tony remembered that the movie had made him feel sad and even a little afraid. He swore that he would never do that.
After the movie Marco had stood Tony and Gulia side by side and grasped their shoulders. He knelt down in front of them and looked them straight in the eye.
"You children gotta make me a promise. No matter what happens and no matter how far from your family you end up, you will always remain loyal to your family and look out for each other"
Tony clearly remembers that h had pulled his eyebrows together in what he had hoped was an adult-like frown and asked,
"Why Marco? What's gonna happen? Where we gonna go?" Marco had shaken his head firmly and squeezed their shoulders tightly. His tone had been more urgent, maybe even desperate, the second time.
"No Antonio. That's not what you need to worry about. You both have to promise me, promise each other, that you will always stay loyal to your family and always look out for each other. Promise me!" Marco's glare had frightened Tony.
"Okay Marco. I promise I will always be loyal to my family and always look out for my little sister."
- I guess I've already broke at least half of that promise, huh? - Tony thought sadly.
Marco had nodded at Tony before turning to Gulia.
"Gulia?" Gulia had looked at Tony; he could see the worry in her eyes. Deciding to make good on the promise he had just made, Tony had wriggled out of Marco's grasp and pulled Gulia's curly black hair.
"Come on Gulia. You gonna watch my back?" Gulia had laughed and chased Tony.
"Sure I'd watch your back ‘Tonio but I'm too little" Tony had stopped running and put his arm around his little sister's shoulders.
"You'll get bigger and you're always gonna remember you're a Zito aren't you?" Gulia had looked at Tony as if he was out of his mind
"Ye, course I am ‘Tonio."
"Promise?" Gulia had nodded enthusiastically.
"Great!" Tony had looked at Marco and asked, "Okay now? We both promised." Marco nodded once in agreement. That had been the end of their last lesson from Marco.
Tony was now close enough to the table to see that his older brothers were sitting opposite each other on the far side of the booth. Vincent and Joey were the spitting image of each other, identical in every way except their left ears. Joey's was missing the top half; instead he had a thick scar over the top of it and another along the side of his head, in line with the top of his ear. Vincent and Joey had taught Tony everything he knew about chasing, and possibly catching, women. They had also taught him how to put on the appearance of a persistent skirt chaser while really looking for other information; this wasn't just useful for mafia hit-men on a job but was also very useful for cops undercover.
Seeing his brother's facing each other and talking animatedly reminded Tony of the time they had first taken him out - to show him the meaning of life, they had told him. He had been 16 years old and already very interested in chasing girls; they had been 21 years old. It had been the first time that Tony had seen any member of his family, other than Gulia, for 3 ½ years and he was already using the surname ‘DiNozzo' by that point in time. Many things had changed since the happy days of his childhood, but his brothers were still an amazing double act. They reminded Tony of a show he had watched not long before he had to leave home, MASH. His brothers were Hawkeye and BJ but Vincent and Joey definitely had more of a taste for guns and were more likely to take your life than save it.
It was the first day of his spring break; Gulia was staying with a friend for the first few days and was going to meet him at their adoptive parents' home on the third day of their break. Joey had picked Tony up from school in his new sports car, earning Tony a few piercing looks from his classmates, he knew that he would have a lot of questions to answer when he got back to school and that he would, likely, have to lie in response to 90% of them. Tony hadn't cared about that at that moment though, he was too mesmerised by the fact that he was going to ride in the best sports car available on the market. He'd also hoped that he could convince Joey to let him have a go behind the wheel.
They had driven for a couple of hours when Joey pulled over on a quite road and offered Tony a chance behind the wheel. Tony could just make out a cop car in the distance and knew that Joey wasn't just offering him a chance to drive the car for the hell of it, he was testing him; everything was a test with The Family. Tony nodded eagerly.
"Yes please Joey!" Manners, he had been taught from an early age, were also very important to The Family. Tony knew that he was old enough to legally drive a car while supervised and that Joey was old enough to supervise. He also knew that the cop had probably seen him and Joey swap places and would be watching him like a hawk. He took a moment to familiarise himself with the controls, it had been a long time since he had last seen the inside a sports car. He checked that the road was clear before indicating and pulling out. He took advantage of the swift acceleration in the car but didn't break the speed limit. Stopping at the stop sign he checked both ways before setting off again. Tony knew that he had passed the test when Joey turned and waved at Vincent, who was standing next to the cop car, talking to the copper. Joey instructed Tony to pull over; Tony did as he was told. Vincent soon caught up with them and the three brothers set off again, with Joey back behind the wheel.
The twins took Tony to their favourite clothes shop. They had him try on numerous outfits before deciding that he one that he should wear to their lesson consisted of a pair of expensive black Italian leather shoes, smart black trousers and a dark blue silk shirt with the top 3 buttons undone. Tony had grown a lot in the last 3 years; he was no longer small for his age, his muscles were well defined and many people thought, before they got to know him, that he was older than he was. The style of clothes that his brothers had picked out for him had made Tony look like he was only bout a year younger than them.
That night Joey and Vincent had taken Tony to a local nightclub. There he began the longest lesson of his life. Joey and Tony had sat in the corner watching Vincent ‘at work'. Vincent was flirting with a beautiful blonde girl who was lapping up all of his attentions. Anyone who had walked past the pair would have sworn that Vincent was putting all of his energies into getting the girl's telephone number and they would have felt that they had been proved correct when Vincent walked back to join his brothers with her number on a napkin in his pocket. Tony was soon to learn that this wasn't the case.
"Hey Vince" Joey had greeted his brother upon his return. "What were the couple to your right talking about and who was the man sitting at the far end of the bar?" Tony had looked at Joey in confusion but he soon turned that to a look of stunned admiration aimed at Vincent when he began to talk.
"Ok. The man at the bar was new to this bar; he had to ask where the restroom was. He was waiting for someone who was obviously late, was called James or Jimmy and this wasn't the first time he was late or had stood up the man at the bar. The man kept looking at his watch and muttered ‘come on Jimmy, why do you always do this to me?'" Vincent had paused to take a breath and watch the couple in the corner. "The couple in the corner are cops. They're looking for a female suspect who is known to frequent the bars in this area. There are also cops in several other bars on this street. The suspect is between 5'3 and 5'6, is Caucasian, slender built and has a slight limp when she walks in heels." Tony had opened and closed his mouth several times before his question found its way out.
"How do you know all that?" Vincent had looked at Tony as if the answer was obvious.
"Well Antonio, firstly the guy keeps cocking his head to the right as if listening to something in an earpiece. Secondly they keep pointing out white females with either a limp or flat shoes on to each other. Thirdly the female cop tilts her head down and to the right when describing the women and all of the women she describes when doing this have fitted into the categories that I just listed. And finally I heard them say that Smith and White weren't having any more luck in that new club just up the street. Then they said that Benson and Eames' possible sighting two doors down had been a false alert and that they were to keep looking."
"Cool," was all Tony could think to say in reply. The twins nodded and a new round of drinks was bought. Tony couldn't remember the rest of that night with any degree of accuracy. He had spent years afterwards perfecting and practising the skill that Vincent had demonstrated for him. So much so, in fact, that he was now well known as a womaniser.
Tony was just a few paces from the table now and could, quite clearly, see his father sitting between Joey and Luigi with his back to Tony. Seeing his father brought back the memory that Tony kept forever suppressed at the back of his mind, never to be thought of or analysed but, at the same time, never quite forgotten.
Tony had been 12 ½ but considered himself too old to be worried about the ½ anymore. Gulia had been 10 ¾ which would, by the end of the day, change to ‘nearly 11' because she felt it made her sound older, ready to take on the responsibilities of her role in The Family. They had been out on a rare family outing with their father, mother, older brothers and Luigi and Marco. Their mother had said how happy she was to be able to spend time with her four babies all together. Tony was glad that she had been so happy that day, it made it easier for him to remember her smiling.
They had stopped at a café on their way to the park. Tony remembered his mother was telling a joke that her friend had told her the day before, when the car drove slowly past. He wasn't sure what it was that made him look at the car but he had felt compelled to turn and face it. What he saw made his eyes widen in fear.
"Gun!" He had screamed, whilst pulling Gulia to the ground. Luigi had crouched between the children and the gunmen firing at the car in an attempt to protect Tony and Gulia. Marco had leapt and knocked Tony's father to the ground, using his body to shield the oldest Zito from the bullets. Joey and Vincent had grabbed their mother but as they were pushing her to the ground a bullet had sailed through the middle of them, slicing the top of Joey's ear off, and burrowed into their mother's head. Tony could remember seeing her fall to the ground in slow motion and how he had looked into her eyes and been unable to see his mother's soul looking out of them. He remembered the intense cold he had felt looking into those unfocussed eyes and how frightened he had been by her unmoving features. When the pool of dark red blood had begun to form around her head he had shut his eyes and pulled his sister closer to him, then he had silently thanked God for not letting his baby sister see what he had just seen.
When The Family caught up with the people who had killed Tony's mother they had found an FBI agent amongst their ranks. Normally they would have just shot the agent along with everyone else involved but Tony's father that they were at the beginning of a new mafia war and so made a deal with the FBI. He promised to return their agent to them, unharmed, if they promised to take Tony and Gulia into a witness protection scheme. He told the FBI that they could make sure that no-one at home gave the youngest Zitos' identities away if the FBI could make sure that the got a fair chance at a new life. A deal was made and Tony and Gulia were whisked away straight after the funeral. They spent 2 weeks in an orphanage, learning all there was to know about their new identities. They were given names that they would feel at ease claiming were their own and then they were adopted by a reasonably wealthy family who believed that boarding school was the only way that children gained a proper education. Tony had just been glad that he and Gulia were kept together. He knew that his father hadn't let them go out of compassion but rather as assurance that the Zito bloodline would still continue even if the expected war wiped out the whole of The Family.
Tony had caught the attention of the table by now and knew that soon the moment of truth would be upon him.
Family Ties - Part 4
Luigi stood to allow Tony's father to exit the booth. Tony held his arms behind his back and tilted his head forward in a show of respect and submission. Tony wasn't surprised to note that his father was beginning to look his age, he had been involved in a brutal war with the Martello family for the last 20 years and he had already reached the ripe old age of 43 before the war had started. Tony looked up at his father when he put his hands on either side of Tony's face. He gave Tony a kiss on each of his cheeks before stepping back to get a better look at his youngest son. He wasn't disappointed by what he saw.
"Antonio, I see you have grown into a fine young man and, don't get me wrong, I am happy to see you, but what are you doing here? You know it is dangerous for you to be seen with us. It is dangerous for you because the Martellos may link you to this family and it is dangerous for me because they may decide to use you against me in an attempt to win this war." Tony lowered his head again before speaking.
"I know sir and I'm sorry but I have some news that you need to hear. When you hear what I have to say then maybe you'll decide to kill me yourself. If the Martellos shoot me, it'll be nothing less than what I deserve." Tony's father's face had hardened and his expression went cold, he motioned for Marco to stand to allow Tony to sit between him and Vincent. Tony took the hint and sat down next to Vincent; Marco, Luigi and his father all took their places at the table. Tony suddenly felt trapped by the men around him and wished, for a moment, that he had asked his boss to watch his back. Then he remembered why he had had to come in the first place. His father's deep growling voice pulled him from his thoughts.
"Start talking Antonio. What have you done?" Tony studied his fingernail for a moment before speaking.
"Three days ago a hit and run driver knocked down and killed a Navy Lieutenant commander. Her face had impacted with the car and was almost completely unrecognisable, one of my colleagues said that he doubted even her mother could recognise her now. All I could think was her mother is dead but I recognise her." Tony paused, now wasn't the time for tears. He looked up at his family, wondering if they had cottoned on to what he was trying to tell them. They hadn't. Luigi, Marco and his brothers were looking at him with confused expressions, while his father was looking unimpressed.
"Touching story Antonio" he began sarcastically before making his tone more threatening. "So you discovered what? Some skirt you had once chased? Get over it, people die every day." Tony looked straight at his father, his vision blurred by unshed ears. Swallowing the huge lump in his throat, Tony forced himself to continue."
"No sir she wasn't just some skirt I once chased. She was a bubbly woman who loved life. She is also going to be buried under the wrong name if something isn't done to stop that. See, everyone in her new life thinks her name is Diablo, Gulia Diablo." Tony heard Marco's strangled gasp.
"Baby Gulia is dead?" Tony nodded slowly. Vincent and Joe looked to their father for a clue as to how they should react to the news, they didn't really know Gulia the way the others at the table did. Their father just sat there staring at Tony in shock, anger beginning to show on his face. Luigi showed no reaction at all, he was working there would be a time for grieving but right now a car that had been sitting across the road from them ever since Tony's arrival had about 70% of his attention, 29% of his attention was focussed on looking for other possible threats, while just 1% of his attention was focussing on what was being discussed at the table. Tony's father took a deep breath and squared up his shoulders.
"You were supposed to protect her. You gave Marco; you gave her, your word that you would always protect her." Tony saw the meaning behind his father's words all too clearly; he had failed in his duties and had broken his word. That was unforgivable. Tony was surprised by and thankful for, his father's next words. "Normally I would kill someone who had failed The Family as badly as you just have. However, for the same reason that I let you and Gulia leave the life of The Family I am going to spare your life. I need to know that, if all of The Family is wiped out, there will still be a Zito left to carry on the family line. You will never again contact us because, while you may be carrying our bloodline, you are not a member of The Family and you are not welcome in our part of town anymore." Tony nodded in defeat and Marco stood to let him out. When Tony was about to walk away from the table he turned around to say a final goodbye to his family. None of them would look him in the eye so Tony turned around and walked out of the Pizzeria in silence, his eyes on the ground and his shoulders slumped forwards. The meeting, he thought, had gone surprisingly well.
Gibbs watched Tony leaving the pizzeria and took in the younger man's body language and how sad he looked before following starting the car's engine. It was a sure sign that Tony was deep in thought when he didn't react to the sound of the car engine starting. He drove past Tony and pulled up not far in front of him. This time Tony noticed the car and Gibbs saw him reach for his weapon. His eyes widened when he realised that he hadn't brought his weapon with him. Gibbs could see the fear in his eyes and rolled his window down before calling out to Tony.
"Tony! Quit standing there and get in the damn car!" Gibbs had almost laughed at the confused expression on Tony's face and the way he had replied automatically.
"Boss? Uh… coming Boss!" Tony got in the car and Gibbs allowed himself to breathe a sigh of relief. There had been a few moments when Gibbs had thought that he was going to have to run into that restaurant to back Tony up. He had followed Tony from NCIS to his home and then to the train station. When he found out what train Tony was going to be on he had jumped in his car and drove to the station that Tony would be getting off at. He had called Abby and explained that Tony was going into a potentially dangerous situation and that he needed her to trace Tony's cell. She had wanted an explanation, he had growled, she agreed to do what he wanted. Typical Abby, thought Gibbs.
Abby had given Gibbs directions over the phone, explaining Tony's whereabouts to him constantly. When he had got to the restaurant he had thanked Abby before hanging up. He had picked up his binoculars and focussed in on Tony. Gibbs had been a little surprised by Tony's reaction to the older man when he stood up to greet Tony. Everything about the way Tony had stood screamed submission; Tony had never seemed the type to completely accept someone's authority, Tony always tried to see how far he could push someone, without crossing the line.
When Gibbs had seen how uncomfortable Tony had looked when he first sat down he had been tempted to walk into the restaurant and ask for a table, just to let the young man know that he was there for him. Then Tony had started talking and Gibbs could see that the story was difficult for him to tell, he had known that his presence would have just made it more difficult for Tony. When the discussion had become more heated Gibbs had reached for his gun and was about to go in when he saw the taller man, he suspected that he was a bodyguard, was looking straight at him. Gibbs had known instinctively that if he left his car now he wouldn't reach Tony alive and he could very well put Tony in even more danger. - Shit - he had thought - well done Gibbs, you just left one of your people in danger because you took to long to get your ass into position. If DiNozzo is hurt now, it will be on your head. -
Gibbs turned to look at Tony, who was sitting silently beside him in the car. He put a hand on the young man's shoulder and squeezed it gently.
"Come on Tony I'm taking you home. I want you to take as long as you need off, but I want you to do it in a safer neighbourhood than this one." Tony turned to look at Gibbs a blank look on his face.
"He kicked me out of The Family boss. How can I bury my sister if I'm not a part of The Family anymore?" Gibbs frowned at that. He put a hand on either side of Tony's face and turned Tony's head to face him, but Tony refused to look Gibbs in the eye.
"Tony look at me." Tony did as he was told. "You have a family, all of your co-workers at NCIS. Your sister was Navy. That puts her in our family too. If your heart thinks of Gulia as your sister then she was your sister." Tony nodded slowly and lowered his eyes, he closed them briefly and then looked back up at Gibbs.
"What should I put on her grave Diablo or Zito? Her friends know her as a Diablo but she was born a Zito." Gibbs shook his head; he didn't know how to answer that. He moved his hands from Tony's head and patted him gently on the shoulder before setting the car moving again.
"I don't know DiNozzo. Maybe you could just put ‘Gulia, beloved sister' on it. Now it's time to head back. I've got an investigation to complete and you need to get some rest and have some more time to grieve for your sister. There will be a lot of stuff for you to take care of soon enough and you need to be ready." Tony was nodding off, the lack of sleep over he past few days catching up to him.
"You know, you're kind of scary when your nice boss." Gibbs just smiled and glanced at the now sleeping man.
"Sweet dreams DiNozzo." He whispered as he drove towards home. - I'm going to find the bastard who killed your sister Tony and, when I do, I'm going to make him pay for the pain he caused you. I promise you that. -
Family Ties - Part 5
"Ok. Gibbs. We'll see you tomorrow then." Kate hung up the phone and paused for moment before turning to McGee, who was looking at her expectantly.
"Gibbs is on his way back. He said Tony wouldn't be in for at least a week and that he'll be back by tomorrow. What've you got for me?" McGee handed Kate the non-descript brown file, which contained every known detail about the victim, it wasn't a very thick file.
"Not a lot sorry, Kate. She was orphaned at 10, adopted at 11 by a well-to-do middle class family and attended a co-ed boarding school before attending Yale and finally joining the Navy. No criminal record, kept mostly to herself. Her colleagues aren't sure if she had a boyfriend but they did say that she was seen quite a few times with a handsome man in his 30s, they were of the opinion that he was either a good friend or a brother though. Oh and uh… Lt. Cmdr. Diablo was adopted by a couple, who also adopted a young boy, who was 12 or 13 years old when he was adopted. The children were adopted on the same day and went to the same boarding school. However I can't find anything on the boy." McGee started to get nervous, he was sure that Kate was going to get mad like Gibbs does when he hasn't done a good enough job, even though he'd tried his best. He understood why Gibbs got mad; it made McGee push himself to do even better, to become a better agent. IT still scared the crap out of him though.
"What do you mean you can't find anything on the boy? There has to be something, Gibbs will go mad if he gets here tomorrow and we tell him there was a boy that the victim grew up with and that we know nothing about him. He will be seriously pissed off though if we tell him that she was regularly seen with a man, who could be the same person as the boy but we're not sure because we know nothing about him either." McGee nodded slowly. - I know you're right Kate but I couldn't find anything. -
"I know but I tried everything I know and all I came up with was dead-ends, sealed records and walls which claimed my clearance wasn't high enough. I couldn't even hack my way through them!" McGee had an earnest schoolboy expression on his face that begged Kate to believe him. Kate frowned slightly, thinking about what McGee was saying, but didn't seem to know he was saying. - Sealed records? Well that's normal for minors but what's with McGee's clearance not being high enough, and him not being able to hack through it? This all smells, suspiciously, like Witness Protection, but what had the boy seen? And why had he been placed with the same family as their victim and at the same time? -
"Ok McGee. You keep working on the visitor, see if he left a name anywhere, and get some of her friends to talk to a sketch artist, let's see if we can at least get an idea of what he looks like to give to Gibbs tomorrow. I'm going to talk to some of the people I knew when I was with the secret service, maybe I can get some of those records unsealed." McGee nodded, grateful that Kate had given him something to do that he could achieve before Gibbs got back.
After getting a few dead ends on the telephone, Kate bit the bullet and called Fornell. She arranged to meet him later that day, via video conference in MTAC. McGee was in an interview room with a sketch artist and a couple of the victim's colleagues. Kate was about to begin another search into the boy's background when she got a phone call from a very excited Abby, telling Kate to come down to Abby's lab because she had something. Kate quickly made her way to Abby's lab, glad that at least someone had been able to get something.
When Kate got into the lab Abby started talking very rapidly about all of the things that she had done to get to the point she was at. Normally Kate thought Abby's run up to the information was fun but today she really needed something she could work with, quickly.
"Abby! Please, what did you bring me down here to see?" Abby stuck her hands on her hips and frowned, pretending to be mad at Kate for interrupting her.
"What, Tony's not here so you have to take on the Gibbs role?"
"Abby, please." Abby went over to her computer and pointed for Kate to look at the big screen. Abby's fingers flew over the keyboard as she ran Kate through what she had found.
"Ok I was working through the Video footage that we got from that couple. They really should by better quality stuff next time they want to make a video diary of their holiday. Anyway, I managed to clear up the number plate on the car. I traced it back to this man, Sammy Martello. Now for the really good bit, Sammy Martello is only the son of the leader of a mafia family, which is currently at war with another mafia family. This second mafia family, the Zitos, uses members of two different families as bodyguards and protection details. Do you wanna know who those families are, it could just be coincidence." Kate turned from looking at the information of Sammy Martello on the big screen to looking at Abby.
"Yes please Abby. Oh and could you put the video footage back up, I think I may have seen something." Abby grinned and took a long drink from the Caff-Pow drink before turning to face the computer once again.
"The families are Diablo and DiNozzo. That's too hinky to be a coincidence Kate. What do you see?" Kate was staring at the frozen video footage. Her focus was a little way up the street from the car.
"Abby can you take this back to just after the car hits the Lt. Cmdr. I think we may have another witness." Abby typed a number of keys in rapid succession and up came the frame Kate wanted. Kate's instinct had been right; the man did turn to look at the crash. She pointed to the man and asked Abby to centre in on him. Abby did so and when she cleared up the picture, both ladies stood there in absolute shock. It was at that moment that McGee walked in.
"You are never going to believe who Lt. Cmdr. Diablo's colleagues described to the sketch artist." McGee looked at the picture on the big screen and paused. "Ok. Maybe you will."
"What did you find out McGee?" Kate asked, after tearing her eyes away from the picture of Tony on the big screen. The look of absolute horror which covered his face was heartbreaking for her to see.
"I… The colleagues of the Lt. Cmdr. They described Tony. They couldn't quite agree on the description but when I saw what the sketch looked like I showed them a photo of Tony. They all said that it was him." McGee handed Kate the sketch artist's drawing. Abby suddenly began to pace up and down the lab. She waved her arms around as she spoke.
"Oh man, this is too weird! We have a Lt. Cmdr. with only a skeletal history who happens to know Tony. Tony is witness to her death but doesn't tell anyone. A mafia hit-man runs her over and Tony goes to tell the family, who Gibbs thinks may be dangerous. If it was an intentional mafia hit, and not just coincidence, then it's possible that the Lt. Cmdr.'s family isn't really dead but is mafia. If that's the case then why the hell is Tony the one who is going to tell her? Informing the family isn't normally a job done by NCIS unless it's one of our own, or we know the family, personally." Kate and McGee were beginning to get dizzy watching Abby walk backward and forwards while, at the same time, trying to understand what she was telling them.
"Abby, McGee, start closing up this part of the investigation. We know who the car belonged to so we can start chasing that angle of the investigation now. I think it would be best if we left Tony's possible involvement out of our reports. However, if you want to keep yourselves covered then I can't stop you from putting Tony's name in to your reports. I have to go to a video conference with Fornell in MTAC now. I will try and find out everything I can about that boy who was adopted with Lt. Cmdr. Diablo. When you've wrapped this up call it a night, I'll see you tomorrow morning." With that Kate left the lab and headed for MTAC. Abby turned to McGee and whispered to him her best conspirator tone.
"Come on McGee, we can wrap this up and run what we've found out past Ducky. I bet he'll have a ton of theories." McGee nodded and groaned. It was going to be a long night, listening to Ducky and his strange stories.
In MTAC Kate wasn't having much luck with Fornell. She folded her arms across her chest and glared at Fornell.
"I need the information on this boy, Fornell. It could be the vital key to breaking our case." Ok, she was twisting the truth a little, but she really needed the information to save the team from Gibbs' wrath.
"I'm sorry agent Todd but I can not give you the information you want. The boy would still be in grave danger if the information were ever to be leaked. His job and his past would also collide, meaning that it would, quite possibly, lose him his job too. I understand that he has become quite attached to his job and if he lost it all hell would break loose. Think of a very angry Gibbs and times it by 4 ½. I'm sorry agent Todd but I can't risk any of that happening." Fornell cut the video feed. Kate left MTAC and decided that there was nothing more she could do tonight and so she headed for home. She could do her report for Gibbs there just as easily, and in more comfort.
Unknown to Kate, McGee and Abby were also just exiting the building. Their meeting with Ducky hadn't gone as well as Abby had hoped. Ducky had told them straight up that he had no opinion on the case, other than his opinion that the Lt. Cmdr. had been killed as a result of the impact of the car hitting her, and that they should stop trying to find out Tony's link to it before they put more people in danger. When he was ready Tony would tell them what they wanted to know. They had left a little disappointed and a little more curious. However their respect for Ducky meant that they would do as he said and stop trying to find out why and how Tony was involved. Tomorrow Gibbs would be back and maybe he would clear things up a little.
Family Ties - Part 6
Gibbs strode into the office, bright and early as usual. As he took a swig of his coffee, he was pleasantly surprised to note that he was the last of the team to arrive. The fact, that the three members of his team who were working on the current case were huddled in a corner whispering, had Gibbs' curiosity piqued. As he got closer Abby, who was facing him, made an obvious change in subject.
"So I managed to clear up the driver's head and I now have a clear picture of the side his face. It's definitely the owner of the car, unless he's got a twin brother, which he hasn't because McGee checked out his family tree." Kate made a seamless transition from whatever they had been talking about to the case.
"Great works Abs. McGee how did you get on with the car owner's background?" Gibbs had expected Kate to take the hint from Abby but he was impressed by how well McGee cottoned on, the young agent didn't bat an eyelid.
"Sammy Martello, 32. He is the youngest son of Vincent Martello, who is the leader of the mafia family, which is currently at war with the Zito family. We may have another problem though." McGee paused and Gibbs took that as his cue to announce his presence.
"What problem McGee?" Gibbs almost smirked when his team jumped slightly, despite the fact that they had already known he was there.
"Uh… Martello's mother is some kind of foreign diplomat and it turns out that her and her sons have diplomatic immunity. Even if we can prove, without a doubt that Martello killed her and that it wasn't an accident, we can't touch him. We couldn't touch him if he confessed." Gibbs growled in anger. He looked at his team's faces and saw fear on McGee's, slight apprehension on Kate's and amusement on Abby's. They thought that he was going to take his anger out on them. - Not this time Gibbs. This time you're gonna save it all for the bastard who deserves it. -
"Just get me a solid case. I'll worry about making sure justice is served, one way or another." The sinister sound to the end of Gibbs' sentence gave Kate, McGee and Abby the creeps. Kate steeled herself before turning to face Gibbs.
"Gibbs we've finished sorting out the evidence from the scene, the backgrounds are complete and we are left with one suspect. The next step left is to bring Sammy Martello in for questioning." Kate and McGee waited for Gibbs' response nervously. Abby didn't.
"What you gonna do boss man? You gonna bring him in? Watch out mister Martello, Gibbs is on the war path…" Gibbs turned and gave Abby his patented death glare.
"Yes Abby we're going to bring him in and I'm going to lock him in interrogation until he cracks." Abby grinned; she was feeling a little hyper from all he Caff-Pow she had been drinking.
"What's with this guy Gibbs? He's got you all wound up and you've never met him. And don't you tell me it's because he killed some Navy Officer you'd never met before. I've seen you work other cases before and this is different. Why is this different Gibbs?" Abby returned Gibbs stare, completely unfazed by his death stare. She stood up and stuck her hands on her hips, refusing to back down. McGee and Kate just stared at her in wide eyed disbelief. Gibbs growled again, this time in frustration.
"You're right Abby this is different; this is personal. Lt. Cmdr. Diablo was family to one of our team." Gibbs paused allowing them to think about who he could be talking about. - Tony. - They thought in unison.
"What do you mean our silver haired leader? The Lt. Cmdr. Who was orphaned at 10 years of age had family at NCIS? But who could it be?" Abby mentally slapped herself. -Abby you've really got to stop drinking so much Caff-Pow in the mornings. I know winding Gibbs up when he is pissed off is fun but something is different today and you're going far too far. -
"You're a smart girl Abby so I'm going to give you one guess before I make your head a replacement for Tony's in his absence." Abby waggled her pointing finger at Gibbs and tutted, in response to his threat.
"Low blow Gibbs, low blow." Kate snapped herself out of her surprised stupor and decided to take Abby's shovel from her before she buried herself.
"Gibbs, how can Tony be related to the Lt. Cmdr.? The Lt. Cmdr. was an orphan and she had one adopted brother, who I think was part of witness protection because his past is still classified. Tony can't be witness protection; he's spoken about his rich parents on way too many occasions for someone who is supposed to be hiding from his past." Gibbs smiled and shook his head.
"That's an assumption Kate. NCIS agents don't assume, they check and double check. Tony is a very good actor. He's had twenty years experience at hiding where he came from and has gotten to be really convincing." This time it was McGee's turn to pipe up.
"Boss, if Tony's not who we thought he was, then who is he?" The ex-marine shook his head, his eyes strangely apologetic.
"Sorry McGee but it's not my place to tell anyone, not even his closest friends. Tony is still the person you think he is, he only hides his past from you, and I suspect that he may exaggerate the number of girlfriends he has had, then again I think you already knew that." Tony may tell you about his past when he is ready, but right now he needs us to nail the bastard that killed the Lt. Cmdr. because at the moment he thinks it is his fault that she died and that he failed in duty to protect her." Three pairs of eyes looked at Gibbs intently; he could feel that they could feel Tony's pain. Kate blinked and looked at McGee before turning back to face Gibbs.
"You want me and McGee to go and bring him in for questioning?" Gibbs nodded and the two agents left.
"Abby. I need you to use that video footage and create a presentation that leaves no doubt as to the identity of the driver and that it wasn't an accident; highlight things like the lack of braking before he hit her, speeding up after or before he hit her and facial expression, if you can."
"On it boss man." Abby and Gibbs went their separate ways; Abby to her lab and Gibbs to prepare the interrogation room.
Gibbs stood watching Sammy Martello through the one way mirror. The Italian was pacing up and down; waving his arms around as he spoke rapidly in a language Gibbs didn't understand but was willing to bet was Italian. He noticed a long scar down the right hand side of Martello's face and picked up the phone.
"Abby I need a picture of the right hand side of the driver's head. You're looking to see if he has a scar stretching from the corner of his eye to just under his ear… Half an hour? You've got 20 minutes." Gibbs hung up as Abby was giving him an earful about his deadline.
Twenty minutes later Gibbs stood out side interrogation, ready to open the door and set to work on the unprepared man inside. He had just received a call from Abby, in which she went the long way about telling him that she had managed to pull the driver's reflection off the instrument panel in the dashboard and that he had a scar just like the one Gibbs had described to her. - We've got the little bastard. Now it's time to scare the shit out of him before finding a way to make sure he pays for killing Tony's sister. No-one gets away with hurting one of my team. –
Family Ties - Part 7
Gibbs strode into interrogation. He purposefully ignored making eye contact with the suspect as he took a seat on the chair closest to the one way mirror. He laid out the contents of the folder he had been carrying on the desk and made a sweeping movement with his hand, motioning for Martello to sit down.
"Thank you for coming in Mr. Martello. I take it Agents Todd and McGee brought you up to speed as to why you are here. Just a few formalities left now. We have all of the physical evidence we need to lock you away for a very long time. This is your one and only chance to tell your side of what happened." Gibbs wasn't really bluffing; he did have enough evidence to prove, without a doubt, that Martello killed Gulia Diablo on purpose. However he also knew that he couldn't touch the man because of his diplomatic immunity. It was worth a shot at a confession though. Sammy Martello wasn't fooled. He took the seat opposite Gibbs and leaned back resting his feet on the table.
"Meester…" Gibbs only offered a raised eyebrow in response. "Well whatever your name is, I don't really care. You cannot touch me, I have Diplomatic Immunity. I mighta not speak perfect English but Ima not stupid." Gibbs tried not to let his disappointment show on his face. It was time for plan b, and that would, after all, bring a more righteous justice down upon the young Martello's head.
"No Mr. Martello I can see you're a very intelligent man so I'm going to show you what awaits you if you don't make a deal to serve time in federal institute." Gibbs pulled out the picture of Martello's car hitting the Lt. Cmdr. "This is your car hitting a Navy Officer. I can prove you're at the wheel with some other photos so don't worry about that. I know that you're a member of the Martello crime family, the one that your father is in charge of." Martello sat there, his face an emotionless sheet. Gibbs smiled a creepy smile that didn't reach his eyes. "I also know that the Navy Officer you hit was born into the Zito crime family and that your family is currently at war with her family. "I believe they would be very interested to see this evidence. They might be even more interested to know the route that I will be taking when I take you home again. Now if the car were to break down on the way, that could have disastrous consequences. Don't you think?" Gibbs watched with silent pleasure as he saw the colour drain from Martello's face. - Ha. I've got you now boy. You're going to squirm and make a deal to go to prison. That will make it easier for me to get word to the Zitos about your guilt and let them deal with you. Go on make a deal. -
Martello looked Gibbs in the eye; he could see that the man wasn't joking, so he uttered those immortal words, "I want a lawyer." They were his get out of jail free card normally but now he just wanted to get away from this man, who could put his life in very grave danger. - You're a Martello, why are you scared of this quietly spoken man? Use your family ties to scare him into backing down. - "Before you go get my lawyer though I have one thing to say to you." Gibbs stood and walked over to the door, as if ignoring Martello. He put his hand on the door handle before stopping and using the mirror to look at him.
"You have 30 seconds Martello and then I'm out of here." Martello smiled in what he thought was his scariest ‘gangster grin', Gibbs wasn't impressed.
"If you turn me into the Zitos you will have joined our war. My family will hunt down and slowly kill your family. We will get your father, your brothers and your uncles. We will make them pay for whatever you do. This is your only warning." Gibbs smiled in response and shot his reply over his shoulder without looking back, as he walked from the room.
"No brothers. No uncles. My father passed away 16 years ago. But I have 3 ex-wives; I would gladly give you their names and addresses…" Martello cursed under his breath.
Gibbs stood outside Tony's apartment waiting for the younger man to answer the door. He knew that he could have spoken to Tony over the phone but, as he had told Abby earlier, this was different, this was personal. Gibbs heard the sliding of a dead bolt on the other side of the door.
"Come on Tony, open up. We need to talk." Gibbs muttered quietly as the door slowly opened. When he could see his agent's face he smiled and handed him a cup of coffee.
"You're bringing me coffee boss?" Gibbs raised an eyebrow and shrugged in response.
"Yeah, so… are you gonna let me in or what?" Tony stepped aside, allowing his boss to enter his home. He led the way through to the living room and offered Gibbs a seat. They sat in silence for a few moments before Tony spoke up.
"Uh, boss? Why are you here?" Gibbs played with his coffee cup before looking at Tony.
"I need to ask you a few questions." Tony nodded for Gibbs to continue. "I know that you were a witness to the accident. Why didn't you tell me?" Tony looked Gibbs straight in the eye, Gibbs could see a glimmer of anger and he hoped that Tony wouldn't explode like he had in the interview room.
"It wasn't an accident Gibbs. The driver didn't even slow down after he hit her. I didn't tell you because I didn't see anything. I had dropped my sister off at her door and was walking back up the road when I heard a sickening crunching sound. I turned around in time to see my sister flying through the air and the car speed off down a side road. I didn't see the driver or his number plate." Tony's eyes glazed over, the memories of the recent past still too painful.
"I'm sorry Tony. I know it wasn't an accident. We have video footage of the crash. I really came here to ask you about Sammy Martello." Tony's face visibly paled at the mention of that name, Gibbs could see that it brought back even more painful memories for the young man. Gibbs hated causing his agent pain and he desperately wanted to help him, to ease his pain. He moved to sit next to Tony on the couch and put his hand on Tony's shoulder. "We have him in custody Tony but he has diplomatic immunity and we may have difficulty putting him in prison." Tony squirmed away from Gibbs touch; he could feel the rage building up before he snapped. He began hitting Gibbs as he cried out.
"He killed her! He killed her and he's gonna get away with it. If you let him go, I'll kill him. I'll kill him slowly and I'll film it and send the video footage to his father and brothers. Nobody kills a Zito and gets away with it Gibbs. Nobody." Gibbs grabbed Tony's fists to stop the punches, which were beginning to hurt.
"Tony… Tony look at me. Good, now you have to believe me Tony. He isn't going to get away with this. I have given him a chance to make a deal."
"You are letting him deal?! He doesn't deserve that chance!"
"I have given him a choice. Either he asks to go to prison for a long time or I deliver the video footage of the crime to a Mr. Zito. I also told him that the route I was going to use to take him home might also get slipped to the Zitos and that it could get dangerous if my car broke down on the way. He is speaking with his lawyer at the moment but I think he may choose jail. I do have a bit of a reputation for bending the rules when one of my own is hurt and his lawyer knows that." Tony stared at Gibbs in wide-eyed shock.
"Boss, if you go to the Zitos you could end up in Leavenworth and that's only if my father's people didn't kill you when they jumped Martello." Gibbs nodded and smiled.
"I know Tony. It was a slight bluff I want him to choose jail. It will make it easier to get him to pay in there." Tony frowned.
"What do you mean Boss?"
"I mean that if you want to get accepted back into your family's wings then I can help you. You need to contact your father and find out which prisons he has people in. I will make sure that Martello gets transferred there for a brief period before being moved to wherever they decide to send him. You can tell your father when he will be there and your father can make sure that Martello really pays for his crimes." Gibbs saw a flicker of understanding in Tony's eyes.
"So that way no-one will be throwing their lives away for a Martello and Scumbag Sammy will still receive the punishment he deserves. I'll contact my father if you give me the information." At that moment Gibbs' phone began to ring. He snapped it open.
"Gibbs… He did? Ok good work McGee." Gibbs put his phone back in his pocket. "Martello took the deal. He's being sent to Washington State Penitentiary tomorrow." Tony stood silently and began to pace up and down the room.
"I don't know if I can do this boss. They hate me and rightly so. He said if I ever set foot in their territory again then they would kill me." Gibbs walked determinedly to stand in front of Tony. He put a hand on each of Tony's upper arms to stop him from pacing.
"You don't have to go into their territory Tony. You just need to call them. You need to call them because they can deal out the kind of justice that the law can't. Only your family can get justice for Gulia now. Do you want to get justice for your sister Tony?" Gibbs also wanted to add that Tony nodded slowly and picked up the phone.
Two days later Tony sat in Gibbs' basement. He had been talking to Gibbs as Gibbs sanded the boat. All conversation stopped when the news came on though.
-- Earlier today the son of a west European politician died in Washington State Penitentiary. A police spokesman informs us that there will be a full investigation but at the moment it looks as if it was an unfortunate accident. -- A picture of Sammy Martello was shown just above the reporter's left shoulder before the reporter moved on to another story.
"My family's good at what they do Gibbs. Thanks for helping us make sure that Gulia can rest in peace. My father still hasn't forgiven me but at least he won't kill me next time I have to pass through my old neighbourhood." Gibbs nodded and smiled before turning back to his sanding. The bastard who had hurt his friend had been punished and Tony was going to going to heal from this hurt. He would always have a hole in his heart that his sister had once filled but he was going to be ok. Gibbs ran a hand along the smooth wood and glanced at Tony who was jabbering on about a film that he had once seen and saying how Gibbs' basement reminded him of it. He smiled and started to sand a new piece of wood because he knew that everything was, once again, right in his world.
Story Notes:
This is a death story but it is only original characters that die.
I've tried to use American terminology as much as possible in speech and thoughts becuase this is what the characters would use but I'm not american so it's possible that I've made some mistakes. If I have please tell me as I'd hate to make the same mistakes again.
All feedback is gratefully received. Enjoy.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Tony tells Gibbs he can't work a case coz of conflict of interest. Gibbs tries to find out more and almost wishes he hadn't. Lots of Tony angst.
Chapter End Notes:
This is a death story but it is only original characters that die.
I've tried to use American terminology as much as possible in speech and thoughts becuase this is what the characters would use but I'm not american so it's possible that I've made some mistakes. If I have please tell me as I'd hate to make the same mistakes again.
All feedback is gratefully received. Enjoy.
I've tried to use American terminology as much as possible in speech and thoughts becuase this is what the characters would use but I'm not american so it's possible that I've made some mistakes. If I have please tell me as I'd hate to make the same mistakes again.
All feedback is gratefully received. Enjoy.