Chapter 17:
The walk to the main building was short, and since it was still relatively early Gibbs and Tony did not have to wait long to turn in their keys to the cabin. Gary and his son Ray entered just as they were finishing checking out.
"Good to see we aren't the only early risers here," Gary called out to them in greeting.
"Actually I think he just wanted to get a head start on drinking as much coffee as possible before we head out," Tony said with a laugh as he moved out of Gibbs' reach.
"And you were the one who wanted to make sure he got more than one breakfast," Gibbs replied smartly.
Laughing at the pair, Gary shook his head and quickly checked out himself before rejoining the group. Together they walked down the hall to the dinning area that they had been in the night before. And, just as before, Jim and Jason were already there waiting with the tour guides. Gibbs and Tony exchanged a brief look, acknowledging that they were on the same page. It was quite the coincidence for them all to be here together a second time.
"Good morning. The breakfast buffet will be open in a few minutes. In the meantime there's a fresh pot of coffee sitting over in the corner," greeted Myers.
At that both Tony and Ray burst out laughing as both of their dads went towards the coffee. They quickly took their seats and Ray explained to the rest of the group, "Coffee addicts."
The breakfast buffet was opened a few minutes later and everyone made small talk while they ate. Once they were done Erikson and Myers led them outside towards the bus that would take them to the drop-off point.
"We just need to do a quick check to make sure we have all of the equipment first before we go," said Erikson. "So if anyone wants to use the restroom now would be a good time. It's a two hour drive."
The group dispersed for a few moments, and while Gibbs went with Gary to fill up their thermoses with coffee, Ray headed into the souvenir shop and Tony headed towards the restrooms. Once inside a stall he quickly pulled out his cell and text-messaged McGee on his and Gibbs' observations of Jim and Jason Canton and requested a more thorough background check on them. McGee quickly confirmed via text-message that he would get right on it.
A few minutes later everyone re-grouped outside and eventually boarded the bus. Although they were a small group, everyone had to sit next to someone as all of their equipment was taking up most of the space. Erikson and Myers sat together right up front behind the bus driver and Jim and Jason sat a couple rows back on the opposite side.
Ray suggested keeping the coffee addicts together, so he and Tony shared a seat on the same side as the Canton's, one seat in between them. Gibbs and Gary sat on the side of the tour guide's, one seat behind their sons.
About half an hour into the drive, Gibbs and Gary started getting annoyed at Ray and Tony with their whispering conversation.
"So you sure there's enough to last the two of them?" asked Tony quietly.
"Yea, I'm pretty sure we'll make it through," responded Ray just as quietly.
"You need any help carrying any of it?" offered Tony. "Cuz if your dad downs as much of it as mine does, that's got to be a few extra pounds of coffee your lugging."
Ray nodded. "It might be a good idea to split it up a bit, just in case."
"What are you two talking about?" asked Gary, whose curiosity was beginning to get the better of him.
"Nothing," replied Tony and Ray at the same time before bursting out laughing again.
Gibbs rolled his eyes, and reached over across the aisle and smacked Tony across the head.
"Hey! What was that for?" asked Tony with a start as he turned around and glared at Gibbs.
"For whatever it is that you are not doing," Gibbs replied evenly as he returned the stare.
Turning back around in his seat, Tony whispered to Ray, "Oh yea. We are definitely splitting up the coffee. Otherwise, knowing how my luck goes, they are gonna chug it down before the day is out and we're gonna be stuck with two caffeine deprived nutcases."
"Agreed," Ray said with a nod.
Quietly they formed a plan to unload some of the coffee into Tony's bag without getting caught. Afterwards, they decided to be quiet the remainder of the ride before Tony got any more head slaps or Gary started questioning them again.
"They're clearly up to something," Gary said to Gibbs quietly as they kept an eye on their sons.
"No doubt," agreed Gibbs. "The question is what."
"Just so long as they aren't planning to try and tip our rafts any," Gary said.
Gibbs shook his head. "I don't think it will be anything like that. They wouldn't risk ruining the coffee."
"Point," said Gary, still keeping a watchful eye on the pair. "Guess we'll just have to keep our eyes open."
"Can't hurt to have a back-up plan of our own, though," Gibbs said with a grin.
Chuckling, Gary asked, "What do you have in mind?"
And so while Tony and Ray made their secret plans, Gibbs and Gary made some of their own.
By the time the bus had pulled up to the drop-off site each 'team' had their plans laid out and set in motion. The bus was quickly unloaded and while Erikson started hooking up the rafts to air pumps, Myers started passing out life jackets and oars.
While waiting for the rafts to be filled with air Tony checked his phone to see if McGee had gotten back to him. There was a brief message that said 'Nothing new.' Looking over at Gibbs Tony darted his eyes towards the Canton's and briefly shook his head no. Gibbs gave a brief nod in confirmation of understanding what Tony was telling him.
Once the rafts were filled with air, everyone stood near their designated raft watching as Erikson and Myers demonstrated how to pack their supplies into the raft securely. Next they instructed the group on how to use the oars to push themselves off rocks if they were to get stuck and how to paddle through the rapids while still being able to enjoy the ride.
"Alright, does anyone have any questions?" asked Erikson. Everyone shook their heads no.
"Ok, then put on your life jackets. Please carry your raft down to the edge of the water, dragging it will rip the material and water will get into your raft," instructed Myers.
Following the tour guides, everyone carried their rafts down to the water and prepared to set off. The water was relatively calm at this point in order to make the departure easier to handle.
"Ok, now company rules for this trip are that dads take the back seat and sons take the front seat," Myers told them once they had all settled their rafts into the water. "Don't ask me why, but for some reason its what our boss wants."
"I think it might have had to do with his own father-son trip he went on with his dad years ago," Erikson said with a smirk. "Not that it tells us much."
Gibbs and Tony exchanged looks with Gary and Ray then shrugged. Didn't matter much to either of them. Tony, Ray and Jason took their places at the front of the raft. Erikson set off first, and then Jim followed, pushing the raft out into the water a bit more before getting settled in the raft. Tony and Gibbs went next and Gary and Ray brought up the rear with Myers.
Both Gibbs and Tony knew before hand from studying the maps where the rapids picked up more and where the water was calm enough for you to drift along. They didn't want to run into any surprises along the way and wanted as much of an advantage as possible.
The day was starting to warm up a bit, but it wasn't excessively hot. Random sprays of water in their face as they moved down the river kept them comfortable. There wasn't much chance for conversation with the rest of the group, having to make sure there was enough space to maneuver in case one raft got stuck and to avoid collisions.
Soon the first patch of rapids came up. They weren't much, but the water was certainly carrying them further along at a faster pace. Both men cut through the water effortlessly, keeping up a strong pace, which helped them avoid getting trapped on any rocks easily. Ahead of them Erikson and the Canton's seemed to be having the same ease that they were having. Behind them it seemed that Gary, Ray and Myers also came through all right.
Being placed in the middle of the group gave Gibbs and Tony an easy viewpoint in which to keep track of the tour guides and everyone else. It also allowed them to monitor the path that they were being led on as well. As the water calmed down once more, Gibbs reached towards the middle of the raft and pulled out two bottles of water, using one to tap Tony on the shoulder. Just because it wasn't scorching hot out didn't mean they shouldn't keep hydrated.
Tony glanced over his shoulder, grabbed the water bottle and said, "Thanks."
Gibbs nodded his head as he took a drink from his own bottle. Noticing Tony staring at him, he asked "What?"
"You ok?" Tony questioned.
"Is there a reason why I shouldn't be?" Gibbs retorted.
"You're not drinking coffee," Tony pointed out. "Don't tell me you already drank your thermos dry."
Gibbs rolled his eyes. "No, I did not drink all of it. Don't go getting worried."
"Yea well, I'm the one sitting in front of you while you have an oar in your hands," said Tony. "I have every right to worry."
"You exaggerate too much," Gibbs told him.
"Or not enough," Tony said with a grin. "It all depends on how you look at it."
"Is that so? So in this case your point of view is the one that counts?" Gibbs asked.
"Yep," Tony confirmed as he passed back the water bottle. "And I know of several people who would agree with me."
"And would those people willingly admit that out loud?" teased Gibbs.
"Depends," Tony said.
"On what?" questioned Gibbs.
"On whether or not you are around and how much of your daily intake you have already had," answered Tony.
Gibbs had to laugh at that. Tony was one of the few people that was actually brave (or stupid, depending on who you talk to) enough to speak up about his coffee habit. However blunt Tony was, he was also honest and tended to mix in some humor along with whatever he said.
It wasn't just about his coffee habit though. Gibbs could recall several times when Tony had confronted him about his temper or checked his attitude. He seriously doubted that Ducky or Abby would have ever said 'Moby Dick' to him. Gibbs had found out later that everyone at NCIS had heard about the incident and were wondering how Tony was still walking around alive and well. Gibbs snorted to himself. Most people were still wondering what Tony was doing on his team. Gibbs figured that if they hadn't figured that out by now, then maybe they were the ones who shouldn't be working at NCIS.
Eventually the water slowly started to get a little choppier. Erikson called out from the front of the line, "Get ready for some rough water. Just keep paddling and make sure you have a tight grip on your oar, you don't want to loose them."
Myers repeated what was said in case Gary and Ray were not able to hear.
As the water started to move faster, Gibbs and Tony stopped keeping their main focus on the rest of the group and started paying closer attention to the motion of the water and the upcoming rocks. Then up ahead they noticed that Jim and Jason were being pulled off to the side suddenly, but they kept paddling. They managed to avoid hitting some rocks, but instead ended up moving down the river backwards. Working together they were able to quickly turn back around before any other rocks presented a problem.
Gibbs and Tony seemed to hit the same current that Jim and Jason had. They started drifting towards some rocks, and the idea of being turned around did not sit well with Gibbs.
"Use your oar to push against the rocks," Gibbs shouted out to Tony as they neared the edge.
Tony nodded his head and reached out with his oar before they got too much closer to the rocks. They were still moving down the river, but managed to avoid getting caught in the rocks. After a few more pushes Tony managed to push off far enough to get back towards the middle of the river. They rode through the rest of the rapids without any more trouble and soon caught up with Erikson, Jim and Jason in calmer water.
"Hold up everyone," Erikson told them as they regrouped. "Seems the Starks' got stuck on some rocks back there."
Turning their raft sideways, Gibbs and Tony looked back and saw Myers paddling over towards Gary and Ray as they tried to free themselves. They had gotten trapped between a pile of rocks. A moment later Myers reached them and used his own oar to help pry their raft free. It took a couple of tries but finally the raft slid away and they rode out the rest of the rapids, making their way towards the rest of the group.
"Everyone ok?" asked Erikson.
"Yea, those rocks just got in our way back there," Gary replied with a laugh.
"Maybe now would be a good time to stop for lunch," suggested Myers. "There's a decent area up ahead where we could stop."
"Sounds good to me," agreed Erikson. "Everyone ok with that?" At everyone's nod, Erikson said, "Ok. It's just a few minutes up ahead. We will be pulling off on your left side."
Erikson started off again, and everyone followed in the same line as before. Tony didn't need to turn around to know what Gibbs was thinking; he was thinking it too. This would be the first possibility on this trip for Erikson and Myers to make a drop. They were going to have to keep an eye on the two to see if either one tried to go off on their own.
A few minutes later Erikson started to veer off towards the left. Jim and Jason followed closely and soon both got out of their raft to carry it up on shore. Gibbs and Tony slowed their pace until they were done so that they weren't tripping over each other. They placed their raft next to theirs, and Gary and Ray came up next to them with Myers bringing up the rear.
Everyone unpacked their bag lunches from their raft and spread out in the clearing near the water to sit down. Everyone sat underneath one of the trees scattered around the area in an effort to stay in the shade. Gibbs and Tony sat down so that Erikson and Myers were both in their line of vision.
"Everyone having fun so far?" asked Myers after a few minutes.
"The water's pretty rough today," observed Jason. "We've been on this tour before."
"We've had a good amount of rain recently, so the water's bound to be a bit stronger than normal," Erikson explained.
"Have you guys done any of the other tours?" asked Tony in an attempt to keep Jason talking. He was hoping to find out more about them since they hadn't said much since the group had first met the night before.
"We've only done this tour before a few times," answered Jason. "But we've done some tours on the Shenandoah River as well."
"Really? Is the Shenandoah much different from the Youghiogheny River?" Tony questioned with interest.
"Not really," said Jason. "Both have decent rapids to make it enough of a challenge instead of a lazy cruise."
While Tony and Jason continued chatting, Gary stood up and asked Gibbs, "I'd better go stock back up, you need any?"
Immediately knowing what he was referring to, Gibbs nodded. "I could do with a refill."
Watching to make sure that Gibbs and Gary weren't doubling back, Tony quickly turned to Ray. "You got it?"
"Yup," he confirmed as he reached into his lunch bag and pulled out some coffee and passed it over to Tony. "Sine we have to take our trash with us they won't know that you're carrying anything out of the ordinary."
"Excellent," said Tony with a grin as he quickly hid the coffee in his bag.
"What are you guys doing?" inquired Jason curiously.
"Splitting up their coffee stash so we can monitor their intake," explained Ray.
"We don't need them going through all of their coffee before we get back," Tony added.
"You're kidding me, right?" Jason said in disbelief.
"Trust us, you don't want to see either one of them without coffee," advised Ray.
"Its bad enough with just one of them, but with the two of them, we really don't want to go there," Tony said.
Jason shook his head. "I've never seen someone so dependent on coffee before."
"Just be sure not to call them on it," Tony said.
"We don't need them getting suspicious or something," Ray added.
"I won't," promised Jason.
Meanwhile Erikson, Myers and Jim had been talking amongst themselves off to the side, but no one had made a move to leave the general area. Gibbs and Gary returned a few minutes later, carrying their thermoses full of fresh coffee.
"You keeping out of trouble?" Gibbs asked Tony as he sat back down.
"Who me?" Tony asked as he put on an innocent expression.
"That's what I thought," Gibbs said with a small growl.
"Hey, you've got fresh coffee," Tony pointed out. "Aren't you supposed to be in your happy place now?"
Gibbs gave him a quick smack over the head as he took a drink from his thermos. "I am now," he said, grinning as Tony glared at him, but he could see the humor in his eyes.
Just then Erikson, Myers, and Jim came up to join the group. "If everyone's finished their lunch, we can get back out on the water," inquired Erikson.
Everyone nodded and stood up, making sure not to leave any trash behind. Tony and Ray shared a quick grin as they approached their rafts.
Due to the way that they had place the rafts on shore, this time the fathers were the ones who got in first and the sons pushed the rafts out into the water. Just before climbing in, Tony glanced at Gibbs and gave his shoulders a small shrug. Gibbs repeated the gesture, on the same page with Tony. Neither needed words to communicate with the other, having worked together with each other for so long.
It seemed that they did not consider this area to be an ideal place for a drop this trip. That left them to make a drop when they stopped for the night and the next day when they stopped for lunch. The group started back down the river, enjoying the calm waters after having eaten lunch. Tony smiled to himself, knowing that a portion of the coffee had been safely tucked away in his bag. It wouldn't do for him to get bored out here, after all.
Chapter End Notes:
And they're off! Yeah! Lol. I know, finally, right? Hope you all enjoy this chapter as much as the previous ones. As always keep reviewing, and beware! Danger lurking ahead! After all, since when does trouble not follow NCIS anywhere?