Chapter 1

It was a typical Thursday morning at NCIS: The squad room had a muted hum of conversation as agents slowly started arriving to prepare for the day ahead; a woman from the mail room was efficiently steering her cart around the office depositing letters and packages on individual desks and the morning news was playing silently to itself on the numerous plasma screens strategically placed around the assigned work spaces of the different teams.

Leroy Jethro Gibbs was sitting at his own desk enjoying the calm atmosphere after a gruelling three week long investigation. A seemingly simple case of small manifest irregularities had soon escalated into the hunt for a group responsible for masterminding the theft of large quantities of ordnance from a private company on government contract. Although the seven men responsible were now languishing in NCIS holding cells, Gibbs couldn't let go of his anger. Those weapons had been destined for Iraq and could well have made the difference between life and death for some of the front line troops.

The rest of his team was downstairs logging in the last of the evidence whilst he was reviewing his notes and putting the finishing touches to his final report. He removed his glasses and rubbed vigorously at his eyes; just a few more hours to tie up all the loose ends and then they were out of rotation until the following Monday.

"I knew it was too good to last," Gibbs muttered, when the ping of the elevator heralded an end to the relative quiet he'd been enjoying. Tony DiNozzo emerged, sounding far too cheerful after almost forty-eight hours in the field wrapping up the case.

"I'm telling you Zee-va, ten years from now that guy's gonna be living alone in a penthouse apartment with hair down to his ass and nails like Flojo. We're talking Howard Hughes in the making here," he insisted as he preceded his two weary team-mates to their desks.

"This is another movie reference, Yes?" Ziva stated confidently. "This Howard Humes was obsessive about his personal hygiene just like the CEO of Burnett's Ordnance?"

"Hughes, Ziva and no, not a character in a film," Tony replied before pursing his lip in thought. "Well, I guess you could say that in a way. There have been films about him. The Aviator with Leonardo DiCaprio was okay, but my personal favourite was Tommy Lee Jones' portrayal in the TV movie 'The Amazing Howard Hughes' in the seventies. There were definitely flashes of the manic energy he brought to his part as Two-Face in 'Batman Forever'. Not the best film in the franchise, but still..."

Ziva was looking increasingly baffled at Tony's rambling monologue and was immensely relieved when a growled, "DiNozzo!" from Gibbs brought it to an abrupt end.

A surprised Tony turned quickly and with one look at the scowl on Gibbs' face his whole demeanour changed. "Coffee run, on it Boss!" he announced, depositing his backpack behind his desk and heading back towards the elevator without breaking stride. Nothing soothed the savage beast like a healthy dose of caffeine.

With Tony's swift departure, McGee and Ziva grinned at each other gleefully at his discomfort, until they realised that Gibbs was now glaring at them.

" Reports!" he barked angrily before turning away to concentrate on his own work.

Replies of "On it Boss" and "Yes Gibbs" from the two agents were followed by hurried movements to their desks to busy themselves with paperwork and noise in the bullpen returned to its earlier low-level hum.

However, a short while later the sudden appearance of flashing lights on the plasma screen above his desk drew McGee's attention to the current news item. Police units and an ambulance were parked haphazardly in the driveway of an impressive looking mansion, with a number of uniformed personnel moving purposefully around the area. From the angle of the images it was obvious the footage was coming from a helicopter hovering over the scene. A red banner proclaiming 'Breaking News' was rolling across the bottom of the screen followed by the disturbing words 'Businessman Anthony DiNozzo shot dead at Long Island estate.'

"Um, Boss?" McGee began, before tentatively pointing up at the plasma as Gibbs turned towards him. "Do you know where Tony's dad lives? I mean DiNozzo is a pretty rare surname, I guess..."

Gibbs annoyed expression at being interrupted again instantly morphed into one of worry as he took in the scene above him.

"Where is Tony?" he asked, the use of his senior field agent's first name further underlining his concern.

"Here Boss!" Tony called brightly in response as he stepped around the partition next to where Ziva was sitting. He was holding aloft a tray of coffee and a box of assorted pastries which he then deftly slid onto his desk with a flourish. When his co-workers all turned worried faces towards him he continued, "What? Straight there and back Boss, I swear. Close to my personal best time in fact." Looking over to check a clock on the wall for confirmation, his eyes settled instead on the activity on the plasma screen and recognition dawned.

"Um, is that my dad's house?" Tony looked increasingly confused and concerned. "What's going on?"

Ziva hit the remote to turn up the sound and the news anchor's voice filled the office,"We now go live to the scene where Kathy Reynolds has more."

"Thanks Greg," Reynolds acknowledged before launching into her report. "Initial indications are that a private security firm responded to a silent alarm at the property just after five o'clock this morning. The security guards investigating the possible home invasion then appear to have made a 911 call requesting police assistance and an ambulance. Mr DiNozzo was apparently found on the floor in one of the downstairs rooms with gunshot wounds and was later pronounced dead at the scene."

As if to confirm the reporter's words, a black body bag could be seen being wheeled on a gurney to the waiting medical examiner's van.

Tony's legs suddenly refused to hold him up and a background buzzing surged to become a tremendous roar. He swayed drunkenly and desperately reached out to hold onto his desk.

"Get that chair under him!" Gibbs barked as he saw Tony start to go down. McGee and Ziva reacted immediately and managed to manhandle him to the seat.

"'m fine,"Tony managed to murmur, dimly aware of being moved and a comforting hand coming to rest on the back of his neck to keep his head down.

"Sure you are DiNozzo," Gibbs acknowledged, a hint of knowing amusement evident in his reply. His tone turned more commanding as he coached Tony through calming his ragged breathing. As it settled back into a more normal rhythm, Tony was able to lift his head just in time to see Ducky bustle into the bullpen.

"Hey Ducky. Guess my blood sugar went through the floor or something," Tony croaked. "Was just about to have breakfast, honest," he added, pointing at the box of pastries next to him.

Ducky let out a tut of disapproval as he moved past Gibbs to check Tony over. "What have I told you about the importance of a good nutritional start to the day Anthony?" he chided, playing along with the younger man. He silently acknowledged that exhaustion and shock had undoubtedly been equally to blame for Tony's collapse, but knew from experience that he would not be thanked for stating that out loud. He fussed over his patient for a couple of minutes and was finally satisfied when he noticed a little colour was slowly returning to the previously pallid features in front of him.

"Well now, I think that in the circumstances, and in the absence of a good hot, sweet cup of tea, one of these sugary confections will probably suffice for the moment," Ducky announced, before adding, "But don't make a habit of it!"

Tony managed a watery smile in response and reached into the box with a decidedly shaky hand to grab a blueberry Danish. The doctor squeezed his arm reassuringly and moved back a little as the group's attention once again focussed on the plasma, where coverage had returned to the studio.

"...DiNozzo's fortunes have been decidedly rocky in recent years, with both business and marital difficulties. However, his current involvement in plans to construct a prestigious new business complex in Dubai was expected to catapult him back into the corporate big time. It is believed he was instrumental in brokering the multi-million dollar deal through his contacts with certain members of the Saudi royal family. At the moment it is unclear how Anthony DiNozzo's death will affect the project."

"Looks like that trip to Monte Carlo worked out well for my dad," Tony mumbled to Gibbs. "For a little while at least."

Gibbs nodded his head absently whilst giving Tony an assessing look: The young man was pale and shaken yet he was valiantly struggling to regain his composure. The weeks of working practically non-stop had suddenly caught up with him and his usually carefree façade had slipped badly.

The TV anchorman appeared back on the screen and announced, "We're going back to Kathy Reynolds now, where she is talking to Jeffrey Williams, a security guard who was one of the first people on the scene."

Kathy turned to a very young looking man in a blue uniform who was standing nervously beside her. "Mister Williams, what can you tell us about this morning's terrible events."

"Not much I'm afraid, Ma'am. The silent alarm was triggered about five and me an' Luke...that's Luke Trimble, my partner," he added with a wide grin to the camera, "well we was sent to check it out. Found Mister DiNozzo in the library with a bullet hole right between his eyes!"

"So he was dead when help arrived?" Kathy asked, seeking clarification.

"I guess so, but Luke said we should get the police and an ambulance so he called 911" the young man confirmed.

Kathy Reynolds looked surprised that the guard was being so forthcoming, but decided to forge ahead anyway, after all news was news. "Do you know if anyone else was hurt?"

"Nah, I guess not. The staff live in an annexe at the side of the property and don't usually start work until six. Mister DiNozzo's divorced, so he was alone in the main house at the time. Not even his son was there."

"Why would anyone think I'd be there?" Tony asked in a puzzled tone, looking over at his boss. "I haven't set foot in the place since I was twelve."

McGee looked surprised by that revelation and was just about to ask Tony about it when the security guard spoke up again.

"Yeah, the kid, David I think his name is, has been staying in the annexe since the divorce."

"And the hits just keep on coming," Gibbs murmured as he watched Tony's carefully re-constructed mask crumble almost immediately at the seemingly innocuous statement and the emotions of disbelief, hurt and shock raced across his features.

A sudden flurry of activity back on the TV showed an angry looking middle-aged man dressed in the same uniform as the other guard come bustling into sight, pushing past the people milling around the main gates of the property. He grabbed Williams by the arm and dragged him to one side, speaking to him in an urgent whisper. Even though his words were muffled and indistinct it was obvious he was castigating the younger man.

Kathy Reynolds, obviously reluctant to lose her star witness, tried to follow them, however the middle-aged man looked over at her and angrily declared, "This interview is over. Any further questions should be directed to our head office." He then turned quickly and stalked off, pushing the younger man in front of him. The last shot from the camera before it returned to the disappointed reporter was of a hand impacting the back of Jeffrey Williams' head.

Ziva came up beside Tony's chair, a disgruntled look on her face. "I did not know you had a brother," she said almost accusingly.

"Neither did I," Tony answered bleakly.

TBC