Chapter Five

DISCLAIMER: However much I wish it was so, I do not own these characters. I'm going to simply let them play for a little bit and then put them back a little happier.

WARNING: SLASH story! You have been informed! If you do not like the idea of two men together, pick something else to read.

A/N: I sincerely apologize for the long time in between chapters, RL has really been kicking me around. My ongoing medical issues and my mother being diagnosed with cancer chased any muse I had far away. Thankfully, they have started to creep back and I'll keep forcing them to come up with ideas when I can grab one. I will not abandon this story, it will be finished, but it may take a little longer. Thanks for sticking by me, now on with the show… ;-)

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Leroy Jethro Gibbs sat at his desk contemplating the picture he held in his hands. NCIS Agent Mark Adler, Age 39, single, no kids, no wife. His parents were dead and he had no siblings, his job was his life. Reading through his extensive file, Jethro had learned that the man was a master at undercover and excelled at marksmanship and interrogations and he could easily pass as Tony's older brother, down to the same shade of green eyes, their resemblance was striking.

He recalled seeing the agent around occasionally and remembered thinking he was looking at an older version of Tony. Fortunately, Gibbs was one hundred percent certain that his Tony would not be sharing Agent Adler's fate. Adler, though well liked by his co-workers, lived a private, solitary life. He had no girlfriend or boyfriend that they could find and had seemingly given up the one-night stands he was famous for in recent years. However, no one he worked with could actually pinpoint when that had occurred, nor did he change the face that he presented to the world.

He seemed to be the same, intensely focused, yet jovial person. Always ready to lighten the mood with a joke, but never letting that get in the way of a case. No one could remember when the stories of his conquests stopped and he always seemed rather adept at steering any conversation away from his private life.

An inventory of his apartment and interviews with his neighbors told an entirely different story. He was obsessively neat and had a taste for quality furnishings. The pictures McGee and Jardine had brought back could almost pass for a spread in a better living magazine. The place was all done up in black and white and there was not even a stray sock tossed casually around, everything had its place and everything was all put away in those places. Gibbs noted that Adler had spent five years in the Navy, so the tidiness was not unexpected, the lack of nearly anything personal in the apartment was. It almost looked like Adler was a guest in his own home.

The only items of a personal nature were a beautiful blue angelfish swimming in a pristine bowl, with a picture of his deceased parents on their wedding day on the table next to it. His parents had come from old money and had left him a tidy sum on their passing, but he hardly touched it, living mainly on the income from his job. They learned that a ten year old neighbor child was entrusted with the care of the fish (named Stella) when Adler worked late. The little girl (Amy) and her mother were very upset to learn the reason for Adler's absence and Jardine had placed the fish with them to care for, since the apartment would now be closed until his murder was solved and there really was no one else to take it.

Jethro felt an overwhelming sense of sadness as he reviewed these facts. It was quite clear that Mark Adler had lived a lonely life. His co-workers all said that he enjoyed office get-togethers, but they had stopped inviting him in recent years, all of them assuming he would have other plans. It seemed painfully obvious that was not the case, and that theory was backed up by neighbor interviews. When he was not working, Adler was home, alone. None of them had ever seen anyone other than Adler coming or going from the apartment.

Jethro sighed as he looked at the pictures of the apartment again. After this case was closed, he wondered if anyone would remember him or mourn this man's death for long. Wiping his hands down his face, he looked up to see Tony talking with Cassie and Dwayne about the case. A warm smile spread over his features as he listened to his husband's smoky voice discussing suspects and he reveled in the life emanating from Tony. A chill passed over him, dimming his smile, as he recalled the awful dream he had that morning. His mind had overlain Tony with Mark Adler's life, and really, not that long ago, the similarities would have been even more pronounced. Tony had endured the same lonely existence before they had gotten together. Jethro started in his seat a little as he realized how true that was and why this case bothered him so. The first time he had gone to Tony's apartment, after the Wendy debacle, the scene was nearly identical to the pictures that were now strewn over his desk - no clutter, no knickknacks, obsessively clean and only a picture of his mother adorning the mantle over the fireplace.

These two men had been living the same life, only at different stages of it. Jethro could easily see that previous version of Tony turning into Mark Adler in ten years time if he and Tony had not gotten together. Thank God they had and his Tony had allowed that lonely version of himself to fade away.

Sighing again, Jethro leaned back in his chair, brooding somewhat, after thoroughly depressing himself comparing Tony's old life to Agent Adler's present, now past, one. Shaking himself out of it, Jethro sat back up and called up the known facts surrounding Adler's murder to go over them again. While hopelessly tragic and sad, comparing Adler's lonely existence to Tony's old life did nothing to help solve his murder.

'Okay, ambushed walking out of his favorite coffee shop by a known street thug, who is also known to take contracts for whoever can pay. Suspect shot and killed by Adler's partner who exited the shop behind him. Great. No one to interrogate, unless…'

Jethro jumped up from his desk and barked out, "Jardine, with me!" as he grabbed a folder and charged out of the bullpen at full speed, Jardine running after him, trying to keep up.

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"Oo-kay then, where were we?" Tony commented as Jethro raced out, Jardine, hot on his heels.

"Ramsey associates." Cassie supplied with a smile. Her smile quickly morphed into a look of disgust as she focused on something over Tony's left shoulder.

"Where did they go?" A harsh voice demanded.

Tony rolled his eyes at the agents he faced, causing more than one smothered chuckle, before turning around with a fake smile plastered on his face to answer, "Well, I don't know Lt. Mann, I must have missed that telepathic message they sent as they left." Tony smirked as he saw his dig about her rank hit home when she flinched.

Turning his back on her in a dismissive gesture as she opened her mouth to reply he asked, "McGee, who was the doctor in the ER that treated Adler?"

"Ahh, a doctor Benoit." McGee replied after quickly shuffling some folders.

Tony huffed out a quiet "Terrific." Before saying, "Okay, why don't you and Cassie go interview her and whoever else was on the team, Dwayne and I will continue to go through the Ramsey angle. Dwayne, I'll meet you down by Abby after I pick up a Caf-Pow!"

Turning around to grab his badge and gun from his desk as his agents scattered behind him, Tony was brought up short by the immovable obstacle of Hollis Mann standing in his way and trying to glare a hole through him. Sighing inwardly, Tony brought himself up to his full height (a good foot taller than Mann) and pasted on another fake smile as he asked, "Something you need, Lt.?"

"What I need Agent DiNozzo is a little cooperation! Myself and my team coordinated this mission and we know it inside and out, YET we have been under utilized up to this point. What I need is for NCIS to take their collective heads out of their collective asses and start including us in any and all discussions regarding this case!" This last part was shouted into Tony's face, which had taken on a deadly stillness that Hollis Mann either did not notice or was oblivious to. She had also punctuated her point by jabbing her finger into his sternum, not a good move by anyone's standards.

Nor did she notice that the bullpen had grown silent during her remarks as everyone stopped to listen and scowl at her words. Two such spectators, team leads Vince Balboa and Ted Franklin, both sporting matching looks of glee when they noted Tony's expression, leaned back against the wall to see the coming show. Franklin poked his elbow into Balboa's side as he whispered, "Watch this!"

Hollis had ended her tirade wearing a smug grin. That grin started to falter as she finally registered the silence around her and the stony look on the man in front of her. She slowly lowered her arm when Tony glanced down at the finger she had jabbed into his chest and looked back up at her with a murderous expression. "Crap!" she thought. "Maybe, I should have vetted this guy a little better." as an evil smile manifested on Tony's face. "Uh-oh." She belatedly thought.

She took a step back as Tony matched her, moving into her personal space and using every inch of his height advantage as he started with, "OH! I'm sorry! It was YOUR coordination on this case that made all the difference! How rude of us to leave you out of the loop!"

She continued to back up with Tony following until her back hit the wall next to the windows, his eyes glittering dangerously as he harangued her the entire way. "Tell me, Lt. Mann, do you think Ensign Davis or Corporal Mason or Agent Adler think you did a good job? I'll bet they don't! Hold on, they can't think about anything anymore because your stellar job of mission coordinating got them KILLED!" Hollis winced as that last part was bellowed into her face.

"Now correct me if I'm wrong, and I'm not, but were you or were you not instructed to assist this investigation? NOT run it, interfere with it or, God forbid, coordinate it!" Tony, in his fury, ignored the snickers he heard coming from the watchers around them, but he did note with some satisfaction the nervous, furtive glances Lt. Mann was shooting in their direction. She was obviously aware they were making a scene and was uncomfortable about it. "Good!" he thought viciously.

"Now, since you seem to have some difficulty in comprehending things, I'll speak slowly with small words - We are in charge of this case. You have NO say in anything, you are here to assist. We do not owe you ANY explanations about how we work or what we may or may not tell you! DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR, Lt.?" Unable to speak after such a public dressing down, Hollis nodded her head and then visibly relaxed as Tony took a few steps back from her.

Her relief was short-lived though as a cold voice to her right said, "Couldn't have said it better myself, Agent DiNozzo! Lt. Mann, my office, NOW!"

She had to swallow the biting comment that rose up as Tony and several other agents in their audience sported evil grins at her discomfort and her being hauled up to the director's office. She forced out, "Yes, ma'am." as she jogged to catch up with the furious redhead ascending the stairs at a rapid clip. Just before she disappeared into the office, she looked back down on the bullpen and locked eyes with a still simmering Agent DiNozzo. He raised one eyebrow as if to say 'You want to go another round with me?'

Her cheeks flushed, she averted her gaze and scurried into the office, not missing the clapping and cheering she heard erupting from the floor below. She really should have paid more attention to Tony DiNozzo the last time she was here, she wouldn't make that mistake again!

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TBC

A/N: I just really wanted to yell at someone and Hollis was a good choice. This was a little shorter than I intended, but I really wanted to update. I will try to update more frequently, but my mother has had another set-back, so no guarantees. Thank you to everyone who has stuck with this and me, you guys are great.