Fic: Eternal Father, Strong to Save (Chapter 7)
Eternal Father, Strong to Save (Chapter 7)
Author: thecrystalkey
Summary: Jack Bauer has been framed for the murder of a navy petty officer. Local NCIS calls in the best of the best, Jethro Gibbs.
Spoilers: Season 5 of 24, Season 2 of NCIS
Disclaimer: See Chapter List.
“So?” Gibbs turned to his two senior field agents. He kept one eye on the conference room through its glass walls while he stood in the hall to talk to DiNozzo and Kate in relative privacy.
Kate shook her head when Gibbs looked at her. “I’d just be repeating myself.”
“You’ve got nothing new?”
“You were right about that loyalty going two ways,” she said with a shrug.
“What?” Tony asked. “How do you come up with that?”
“He really wants to get on with rescuing his friend and he knows he can’t do it without help,” Kate explained. “But instead of going around us, he’s willing to work out a deal to keep her, at least temporarily, out of a holding cell.”
“Who else would he call?” Tony asked. “According to his daughter, Chloe O’Brian’s the only friend he’s got who’s still breathing.”
“Buchanan,” Gibbs said.
Tony stared at him for a second. “You’re…not kidding.”
“He’s right, Tony,” Kate agreed. “Buchanan would work with him. And would probably cut us out of the loop if Bauer asked. What I’m wondering is why you said you were still planning to hold her, Gibbs? I thought you’d already decided Bauer was innocent.”
“I still think he is,” Gibbs admitted. “But my gut feeling doesn’t count as solid evidence,” DiNozzo’s muttered ‘since when’ earned him a slap to the back of the head as Gibbs finished the sentence, “and I’m not going to risk losing track of him until I get some kind of physical evidence to back his story up.”
“That all, Boss?” Tony asked.
Gibbs looked at him, lifting an eyebrow in a silent request for an explanation. Kate was wearing that ‘waiting to be impressed’ look that she got when she thought he was talking out his ass.
“I’m just sayin’, it sounds to me like these guys are terrorists and they’re probably after a Navy target. They’ve definitely already murdered Navy personnel and dependents. It should be our case,” Tony pointed out unnecessarily.
“It was our case,” Kate pointed out.
Tony glared. “Except that a CTU agent’s already involved and they’ve got someone on the ground. Even if he is technically a civilian, they seem to consider him some kind of honorary agent. That makes CTU the lead agency. Unless we’re holding the agent that’s involved. Then they can’t cut us out of the loop.”
Gibbs smiled slightly but didn’t say anything.
“Much as I hate admit this, Tony’s got a point,” Kate said slowly. “If you let Agent O’Brian go, NCIS probably gets cut out of the investigation. Is that the real reason you’re still holding her, Gibbs?”
“Not if anybody asks,” her boss said.
“And when you refuse to let her go after you get that evidence? Do you really want to antagonize either of them further?”
“Yeah,” Tony agreed. “I don’t think he likes you very much, Boss. I don’t think she does, either. And I’ve seen both their files. Bad things happen to people who piss them off.”
“As long as we don’t piss Agent O’Brian off in the meantime, it shouldn’t come to that,” Gibbs explained.
Kate exchanged confused glances with Tony. “I’m not following,” she admitted.
“O’Brian and Bauer are both the kind of people that focus on the mission. Unless she has a reason to leave, once she’s set up she’ll only resent having to change her base of operations.”
“And as long as she doesn’t care where she is, neither will he,” Kate concluded, impressed. “Very sneaky, Gibbs.”
“I keep telling you, Kate, don’t work the system when you can work the people,” he answered. “And DiNozzo, you heard that part about not pissing off O’Brian?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” DiNozzo asked, all injured innocence.
“It means leave her alone, Tony,” Kate clarified. “She’s not the type to fall for your so-called charm. And if you push it, you’ll just annoy her.”
“And since you usually ignore me when I tell you not to flirt with someone,” Gibbs added. “Consider this fair warning: if she decks you, I’ll assume you deserved it.”
With that, Gibbs returned to the conference room. Kate, snickering at Tony’s injured expression, followed her boss. Her fellow field agent was grumbling under his breath as he came into the room behind her.
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Chapter 8.