Work Text:
Immortal, Invisible .
by Starbucks Sue
Gibbs shook his head as his wayward agent almost tripped over the knee knocker in his eagerness to arrange his flight to Puerto Rico and finally allowed himself a chuckle as Tony disappeared completely from his sight. He knew that Ducky would tell him he was indulging the young man and in a way he knew he was, but Tony had a valid point, visiting the Base Exchange at Roosevelt Roads Naval Station was a legitimate line of enquiry and it could throw up something pertinent to the investigation. The other benefit, from the weary senior agent's point of view, was that it would keep his two subordinates apart for a few hours which would at least give him some breathing space.
This case was difficult for all the wrong reasons. Kate was convinced that Seaman Macdonald hadn't committed suicide, however so far the only basis for her reasoning was that he was from a Catholic family and that he was wearing a St Christopher medal at the time of his death. Unfortunately her own strict Catholic upbringing with a secure home life, two caring parents and close knit family, just didn't allow the trained profiler to be impartial in this case and her insistence that the young seaman had not killed himself was frustrating Gibbs and pressing a lot of Tony's buttons, particularly when she kept pushing the issue of suicide being a mortal sin.
Gibbs had quickly realized he would have to keep his eye on them both. It was tempting to have a quiet word with Kate to get her to back off, trouble was it would only serve to fuel her curiosity and he knew she would start probing for answers which was the last thing he needed right now, especially as she was still curious over Tony's behavior during their interview with Macdonald's mother.
In the two years Gibbs had worked with Tony he had, by chance, learned a lot about his agent's childhood. Some of the memories had been very difficult for the younger man to recount and most had never been voiced aloud to anyone before. Gibbs knew there was no way that he would ever break the confidence of the vulnerable and hurting young man who had opened up to him on those dark nights.
With his typical Italian heritage, Tony had also been brought up in a Catholic family, but to the DiNozzo's it had all been about business and appearance, ensuring that the boy was seen attending Mass with his parents and doing his duty as an altar server. Tony's childhood couldn't have been more different than Kate's and he was all too familiar with the dark side of life, cherubs and angels had never featured very strongly in young Anthony DiNozzo's experience of religion.
Tony's parents marriage had been one of convenience. His mother had the right appearance and breeding to look good on his father's arm, be the consummate hostess and the perfect little wife, staying in the background until she was required for social functions. She even did her duty in providing a son and heir, pleasing both her husband and in-laws. Through the years, as the DiNozzo empire grew and her husband's alcoholic rages got worse, she also started drinking to escape from the hell that her life had become.
In the end she just couldn't live with the cold and loveless existence, the last straw was learning that Tony was being sent away to school and distraught with the thought of losing her child, the only light in her dismal existence, she took an overdose of sleeping tablets washed down with alcohol and brought it all to an end.
As Gibbs made his way back up to the deck, interested to see what cover Tony had managed to invent for himself at such short notice, he groaned inwardly at the sight of an obviously indignant Caitlin Todd storming towards him.
"Gibbs, surely you didn't give DiNozzo permission to go swanning off to Roosevelt Roads, I mean just because he's always wanted to go to Puerto Rico doesn't mean he can disappear off in the middle of a case." Annoyed at the lack of trust she had in her partner he had to force himself to calm down before he replied.
"Yes Agent Todd I did and since when do I have to justify my decisions to you." The anger flashing in his eyes was at odds with his calm tone as he responded to her accusation. "For your information, if you had been listening to your partner, you'd have realized that Tony has a valid point. If the Base Exchange has been selling ceremonial swords to enlisted personnel it is very likely that not only Seaman Macdonald but other men on the Foster may have purchased them as well. If Tony can get descriptions it will give us some leads as to who else may be involved. The fact that the Base Exchange just happens to be in Puerto Rico is purely coincidental."
Seeing the flight mechanics getting the helo ready for take off he threw one final glare at his stubborn agent and without waiting for a reply walked over to where the pilot was talking to another man who had just joined him. As Gibbs walked up, the Petty Officer turned and gave him a very familiar grin.
"So what do you say Boss, think I pass muster?" The younger agent asked, giving a near-perfect salute to his team leader.
"Yeah, I think you'll do just fine Petty Officer." Gibbs raised his eyebrows as he suddenly noticed the name on the shirt. "Does Petty Officer Holt know you've borrowed his shirt or did you take a trip to the laundry." He asked with an amused grin.
"Boss you wound me!" Tony replied with mock anguish. "Petty Officer Holt was only too happy to help out and lend me his shirt, at least it fits better than the one he gave me this morning!"
Gibbs nodded his agreement, chuckling slightly at the reminder of a very affronted Anthony DiNozzo wearing scrambled eggs down the front of his tailored blue shirt after he'd sleepily bumped into the young Petty Officer at breakfast. "I think the pilot's ready for you, Tony. Be back in six hours and don't get yourself arrested." He cautioned the younger man, the amusement in his eyes softening the warning.
"Yes Dad." Tony replied with a cheeky grin, quickly swinging himself up into the helo before the expected headslap landed, Gibbs was relieved to see the grin back on his face, the shadows lifting, at least for a while.
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Five hours later Caitlin Todd was getting tired and frustrated. She and Gibbs had found possible evidence of a sword fight right where the Captain had suggested in the machine shop but somehow it had led to another somewhat animated discussion with the senior agent over the question of suicide and religion. Despite her assurances to the contrary, Gibbs was still certain that she was allowing her religious beliefs to color her judgment and Kate had become almost argumentative. Initially, she had been so sure of herself but now, reading through the entries in Weylin's diary, she was definitely having second thoughts about the Petty Officer. The young man's mind was so twisted it seemed he was closer to Satan than to God and looking back she was beginning to realize how weak her arguments had been. She still didn't think he'd meant to commit suicide though, everything she was reading pointed to the fact that Weylin had intended to continue his battle with Kinvaris after they left the ship, it just didn't make sense to her that he would kill himself while they were still at sea, before he'd had a chance at revenge.
She sighed as she helped herself to another coffee, she didn't usually drink so much caffeine but it had been two very long days since they'd left Washington and she felt like she was just about running on empty.
She was still somewhat peeved at Tony's impromptu trip to Puerto Rico. Whatever Gibbs said she still felt that he'd indulged the younger man somewhat despite the discovery that three other enlisted men had also recently brought swords at the Base Exchange. There was also something nudging her mind over her partner's behavior throughout the case, from his reluctance to interview Macdonald's mother, his restlessness during her questioning and his odd reaction to the statue of Our Lady of Grace displayed so prominently in her living room, right through to his antagonism over her views on the issue of suicide. If Kate hadn't been so consumed over Weylin's diary she might well have started to join the dots, fortunately for Tony, the thoughts drifted out of her mind as quickly as they'd drifted in as she settled herself back in front of the laptop.
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With the case concluded, Gibbs stood at the railing waiting for the ride back to the mainland reflecting on how easily the deluded young man had lost his grip on reality. In the end the line between real life and the fantasy world of The Immortals had become so blurred to Macdonald that when Zuger had challenged him, he must have believed that he really did have Weylin's powers and that in order to beat his enemy Kinvaris he had to jump overboard to prove that he could walk to the shore and survive. It appeared that the young seaman's real enemy was the invisible hand of mental instability. If only Zuger had owned up to how twisted the game had become they might have been able to help Macdonald, however, it was way out of their hands now.
"Hey Boss." Gibbs had heard the quiet footsteps of his second in command coming up behind him so didn't react when his agent leant in close to him on the rail.
"Do you really think he knew what he was doing when he went overboard." Tony reflected quietly. "I mean, did he really believe that he could survive?"
"Only God knows DiNozzo, maybe he thought he could walk on water." Gibbs sighed, glancing quickly at the troubled young man next to him. The case might be closed but, by the look on his young agent's face, the fallout from it meant that his job was only just beginning.
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