A Cry for Help Part 32a
Probably 2 parts...
McGee smiled and nodded as Jack regaled him with a story from his childhood. He wasn’t really listening to the older man, but he appreciated Jackson’s efforts to keep him entertained. The junior agent had too much on his mind. For the first time in a long time, he was nervous about talking to Gibbs. What would the team leader think of SecNav’s proposal? Would he convince Tony to accept it, or would DiNozzo refuse to simply look the other way?
For all of Tony’s faults, the senior agent wanted to see justice served; one of DiNozzo’s characteristics that McGee actually admired. He was like Gibbs in that sense and Tim knew that because of their sense of right versus wrong, it was going to be difficult to sell them on the SecNav’s plan. But of course, Davenport knew Tony’s achilles heel and had factored that into his plan.
He ran his hand through his hair, as if it would help clear the cobwebs from his mind. He had to be able to think clearly and the events of the past week had left him exhausted.
“Are you all right, Tim?” Jack asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I just want to get this over with. I want everything to get back to normal.”
“I would say a normal day is something that you don’t get very often,” Jack said.
McGee thought for a moment. “Now that you mention it, when you work for Gibbs, a nice quiet day at the office is a rarity. Even if we’re not working a case, something is always going on.”
“I can imagine.”
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m looking forward to having Tony back in the office. He tends to keep things,” Tim paused, searching for the right word. “Lively.”
“I bet he does. He’s worked with Leroy a long time now.”
“Right at eight years, I think.”
“He must like his job and the people he works with. I’m not sure I’d have turned down that job offer in Spain.”
Confused by Jack’s last statement, McGee muttered, “Huh? What job offer?”
“You know what I’m talking about. He told me all about it a couple of months ago when he drove up here for the weekend.”
“Tony drove up here to spend a weekend?”
“Yeah. Something wrong with that?”
“No, nothing at all,” McGee quickly assured Jack. “I just can hardly picture Tony spending the weekend with…”
Jack arched his eyebrow. “An old man?”
“That’s not what I meant. I just never figured that Tony…” McGee sighed in frustration. “Never mind.”
“Tony allows you to see what he wants you to see.”
“I know that.”
“Are you sure about that? Evidently there’s a lot about Tony that you haven’t quite figured out yet.”
McGee’s cheeks flushed slightly. “You’re probably right,” he admitted. He truly had no idea that DiNozzo had been offered his own team; how many more things had Tony managed to keep hidden not just from him, but from everyone?
“How did you find out about this promotion?”
Jack shrugged. “It just came up in conversation.”
“Just out of the blue?”
“It’s amazing what kind of things come up if you’re willing to listen.”
McGee realized that he wasn’t going to get anything else out of Jack. Apparently the elder Gibbs was satisfied just giving him something else to mull over. He would have to file this in the back of his mind to consider later; right now, he had to focus on the task at hand.
“McGee!”
The young man startled at the sound of his name. Ziva was standing in the doorway, motioning for him to join her. McGee nodded as he stood up, taking note of the rage in her eyes. Something was wrong. Where was Gibbs?
He joined Ziva out in the hall way. “Follow me,” she instructed.
“Where’s Gibbs?” he wanted to know.
“Waiting.”
“Waiting? Waiting where?”
Ziva smiled as she pushed open the door to the men’s room. “Right here,” she replied.
Knowing better than to question why they were meeting in the men’s room, McGee simply acknowledged Gibbs and locked the door behind him. “Boss, I’m sure glad to see you.”
“What do you got, McGee?”
“SecNav is prepared to make Tony an offer and he strongly suggests that he take him up on it.”
“McGee!” Gibbs barked. “I need details!”
“Secretary Davenport will not pursue the IA investigation against Tony if he agrees to the following terms.”
He saw Gibbs visibly bristle. “What investigation?” the ex-Marine inquired.
“SecNav is prepared to launch a full investigation into the failure of Tony’s last undercover case,” McGee explained.
“How can he do that? His cover was blown and Vance didn’t pull him out,” Gibbs recalled. “Tony didn’t screw up! Vance did!”
McGee was glad that he wasn’t the one Gibbs was angry at. He had a feeling that the team leader would have a few choice words of his own for SecNav. “He also said that he would make sure the contract on Tony’s life was nullified and that he would take care of Vance,” the younger man added.
“Take care of Vance? How?”
“Secretary Davenport just said that Leon Vance would no longer be the Director of NCIS; he would be reassigned to where his talents would be more suited.”
“And the contract?”
McGee glanced at Ziva and then back to Gibbs. “SecNav didn’t go into details; he just said that he would take care of it.”
“And in order for all this to happen, what does Tony have to do?” Gibbs pressed.
“He has to turn the list of names that he discovered over to SecNav and be willing to deny that the last undercover mission even took place.”
“So Davenport wants to sweep this under the rug? He’s got some buddies on that list and heads could roll,” Gibbs deduced.
“He didn’t say, but that was my impression as well,” McGee agreed.
“There’s one more thing, Boss.”
“Spit it out, McGee,” the ex-sniper growled.
“If Tony doesn’t agree to these terms, in addition to the IA investigation, we will all face disciplinary and possible criminal actions for helping Tony.”
“Bastard!” Gibbs mumbled under his breath. “He’s backing Tony into a corner.”
“I know.”
“What gives him the right to play God?”
“I don’t know, Boss.”
“What do you think Tony will do?” Ziva softly asked.
Gibbs tightly clenched his jaw. “Truthfully? He’ll probably quit.”
“You can not let him do that,” she exclaimed. “It would accomplish nothing.”
“I know that, but Tony’s not going to see it that way.”
“Quitting isn’t an option,” McGee stated. “Secretary Davenport wants to make sure that Tony knows that if he simply quit, he would still be facing charges; in fact, all of us would be facing charges.”
“So, basically he is nailed,” Ziva said.
“Screwed,” Gibbs corrected. “And yeah, Ziva. Tony’s pretty much screwed.”
McGee felt sick. Gibbs was right in that Tony was caught between a rock and a hard place. He couldn’t begin to imagine what Tony was going through and McGee found himself feeling sorry for his friend. Davenport had literally placed his future, all their futures, in Tony’s hand. It wasn’t fair and he could do nothing to help the man who had taught him so much over the past few years.
“Uh, Boss, I have to call Secretary Davenport back in,” he glanced at his watch. “A little over five hours.”
He was forced to quickly step out of the way as Gibbs unlocked the door and stormed out of the men’s room. McGee knew that the team leader was on his way to talk to Tony. DiNozzo didn’t need the added stress that this proposal was bound to create; hopefully, Gibbs would be able to keep Tony calm.
“What do you think Tony will do?” Ziva quietly wondered.
“I don’t know,” he answered.
“Tony should not have to deal with this now. He has barely been out of surgery 12 hours and…”
“I know, Ziva. But don’t worry; Gibbs will take care of Tony.”
Ziva nodded in agreement. “I know, but still…”
“We’re just going to have to trust Gibbs to handle it.”
“I hate waiting.”
“I thought your Mossad training gave you infinite amounts of patience,” he attempted to tease.
“It did, but this is different. This is Tony and he’s my friend. He has been through a lot, especially the last couple of years. I just do not know how much more he can handle before he breaks.”
McGee stared at Ziva. “You really care for him, don’t you?”
“Of course I do. He is my friend and he is my partner.”
“It’s more than that.”
“You are imagining things, McGee. I am currently seeing someone and…”
“I’m sorry,” he quickly apologized. “I didn’t mean to…it’s none of my business.”
“Apology accepted.” Ziva opened the door. “I’m going to see if Jack needs a break from watching Director Vance. Are you coming?”
McGee nodded. “I’ll be there in a minute.”
As soon as the door closed, he darted to the nearest stall and began to vomit. He could no longer hold back the nausea that had been threatening to overwhelm him the entire time he was telling Gibbs about Davenport’s offer. McGee felt used. He had been forced to play the role of the SecNav’s puppet and he found that thought revolting.
After a few minutes, he stood up and walked over to the sink in order to splash cold water on his face. McGee quickly dried his hands and his face before leaving the men’s room. Knowing he wasn’t ready to go back in the waiting room where he would have to face Vance, the young man decided to take a walk around the hospital grounds. He hoped that the fresh air would help clear his mind and that when the time came, he would be ready to do whatever was necessary to help his friend.
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