Death Of A Conspiracy
Rating: T
Disclaimer: I don't own them. I am merely borrowing them. Some of the characters you don't recognise are mine though!
Author's Note: I'm not really sure where I'm going with this at the moment, but decided to post it anyway. Please tell me what you think so I can decide whether ornot to continue...
A huge thankyou to Kate who has been a great help and gave me some great ideas.
Tony frowned and looked at his watch again. Gibbs was late… ? Tony grunted and raising an eyebrow at McGee, who looked like he hadn't slept at all in the last week, looking just as Tony felt. Technically, that's how Tony should look, seeing as he'd been framed for murder just a few days ago. McGee raised his eyebrows and left in the direction of the head.
"Where's Agent Gibbs?" Jen asked, walking into the bullpen
"Right here, Madame Director," Gibbs replied from behind her, before sitting at his desk
"Jethro, I've told everybody here not to call me that," Jen responded tersely
"Or you'll do what, Jen?" Gibbs snapped
"Special Agent Gibbs, a word with you in my office?" Jen asked, but it was more of a command
Gibbs tilted his head to the side and glared at her. Tony looked back and forth between the two like it was a tennis match; the tension was thick enough to cut a slice off. Then, the phone rang. Gibbs glared a moment longer before answering; he nodded a few times than hung up.
"Gonna have to pass on that lecture, Madame Director," Gibbs informed Jen, then addressed his agents as he walked out of the bullpen, "DiNozzo, gas up the van, Kate, get Ducky,"
Tony dropped his bag and stared after his boss, his mouth agape. McGee chose that moment to walk back into the bullpen and frowned at Tony.
"What're you waiting for, DiNozzo? A written invite?" Gibbs growled from the elevator
McGee glanced between Gibbs and Tony, quickly figuring out that they had a case, "Tony, you're gonna start catching flies,"
Tony closed his mouth and looked and McGee with a slightly distraught expression on his face, then morphed back into something resembling Tony, "Probie, tell Ducky we have a case, and find out where the hell Ziva is,"
"She's taken a personal day," Jen informed him, who was still in the bullpen, glaring after Gibbs
"Does Gibbs know?" Tony asked
"He doesn't need to," Jen replied, walking back to her office
Tony stretched and yawned, pressing 'print' on his report. The case had simply been a suicide, not that suicides were simple. But there wasn't the usual run-around trying to find out the whom and why. Frowning, Tony recalled the event from this morning. Gibbs hadn't even noticed that he'd told their colleague, their dead colleague, to do something. Or at least, if he did, he didn't say anything. Tony closed his eyes and tried to stop the tears that he knew he'd shed if he continued thinking about the wonderful, smart and charming woman known as Special Agent Caitlin Todd, formally of the Secret Service. Taking a few deep breaths, he got his tear-ducts under control and thought about how Gibbs had been acting strangely of late. It hadn't been anything noticeable, at least not to the casual observer. But Tony was not just a casual observer, he was a trained investigator, a damned good one and he noticed things. Sneaking a glance towards his boss, he saw Gibbs was staring at his monitor. Tony cocked his head, take this for example, to the casual observer, Gibbs was lost in work, but to Tony, Gibbs was somewhere off in space. Ever since that… 'incident' – cause he couldn't call it anything else – on the rooftop, Gibbs hadn't been the same. Subtle differences in his personality, like how he handled suspects, and his drive… He was more determined before, if he wanted something, he got it. He didn't let anything go. And then there was the 'other things'. He no longer checked his reports before signing them off and sending them upstairs, probably what 'Madame Director's' problem was this morning. And Tony wasn't just speculating, he had tested the theory, sending a botched report passed Gibbs and retrieving it before the Director had looked at it.
At times, Gibbs could be really vague and stared into space more often, sure, he'd done it before, but now he did it a lot more often. Tony sometimes got the impression that Gibbs didn't know how to act around the rest of the team, just some of the things he'd done or said…
And then the event this morning…
"DiNozzo, am I going to be waiting all night for your report?" Gibbs barked
"Just finished it, boss," Tony replied.
Ducky had suggested that Gibbs go talk to somebody. They'd been told to see the in-house shrink after the incident and they all had, except Gibbs. Well, that's a lie, Gibbs had gone, and stayed long enough to see what colour the couch was, then tell the shrink to forget it, he had more important things to do.
Tony handed his report to Gibbs, and went back to his desk.
"You can go home, Tony," Gibbs said as he sat at his desk
"I've got a few things left to do, boss," Tony protested
"No, go home, get some sleep. We don't need the whole team to stay up," Gibbs replied, turning back to his screen
Dismissed. Tony thought as he got up. To the casual observer, Gibbs was being sincere…sincere? The word isn't in his vocabulary. Gibbs was concerned…and maybe wanted some space… So, until someone persuaded Gibbs to see somebody or something, they were stuck with their 'new' boss…
McGee turned over and put his arm around Abby, sighing. He'd very nearly lost all of this. He recalled how he felt when he found out the man he'd shot was a cop. A shiver ran up his spine, causing him to tightly close his eyes, trying to keep out the unwelcome thoughts. After a while, he opened one of his eyes and looked at the clock, groaning inwardly. He'd been lying awake for hours just, thinking.
"Timothy, you're thinking is keeping me awake," Abby mumbled
"Sorry, Abs," McGee replied, sitting up
"Where are ya going?" Abby asked, grabbing his hand
"To try to sleep on the couch, or maybe…" McGee replied
"No, you're not gonna play games at this time of night," Abby interrupted, knowing what he was thinking, "Come back here,"
"Abs, I don't…" McGee responded
"Now, McGee!" Abby snapped in her best Gibbs voice
McGee sighed and snuggled down, closing his eyes again…
Tony watched as Gibbs arrived late again. He'd been half an hour late yesterday, but today took the cake, one hour and three quarters late for work. All through the week since Probie had killed that cop, Gibbs had been late. And that wasn't the only thing, during their last case; Gibbs had asked Kate to question a few suspects. Thankfully Tony had been the only witness. But he'd done it twice; day before yesterday he'd asked Tony why Kate was late again. McGee had almost passed out, going as white as a ghost. Tony clenched his jaw; he really needed to think of a better way to describe how white the young agent had been. Ziva had merely raised her eyebrow and said something in a language nobody understood.
Gibbs sat down at his desk and frowned, then glared at Tony.
"Problem, boss?" Tony asked, confused
"If this is some kind of joke, DiNozzo…" Gibbs threatened
"Is what some kind of joke?" Tony asked, glancing at McGee, who sunk lower in his chair
"Where the hell is my other computer?" Gibbs asked
Tony looked at his desk and saw the two he had, "Ah, both of them are there boss,"
Gibbs narrowed his eyes, "My other computer, DiNozzo. The one finding out who that bastard is,"
Tony widened his eyes, perhaps it was time to call Ducky, "Ari?" Tony whispered
"What!" Gibbs snapped, getting up to stand in-front of Tony's desk, "You mean, you knew who he was all this time, and you didn't say anything!"
Tony stood up on his jelly legs and leveled his eyes at Gibbs, "I found out the same time you did, boss. And that was at least a year or two ago,"
"DiNozzo, that is not…" Gibbs snapped
"Boss, remember the rooftop? Do you remember that?" Tony interrupted sadly
"DiNozzo, if you don't explain…" Gibbs responded angrily
"Boss, Kate was…" Tony interrupted again
"And why isn't she here yet, DiNozzo?" Gibbs interrupted
"Agent Gibbs, Agent Todd is dead," Ziva said from behind him
Gibbs spun around, "And who the hell are you?"
"Officer Ziva David," Ziva replied
"She filled Kate's place," McGee supplied when Gibbs gave her a blank look
Gibbs glared at them all, then stepped back, "I'm getting coffee, I'm going to forget this happened. When I get back I expect everything to be back to normal! I want Kate in here now! And you," he turned to Ziva, "Gone,"
The agents stared at Gibbs' back as he left the bullpen.
That's it for Chapter 1!...Hope you liked it! Please review!