The Bonds that We Save: Chapter Three
~NCIS~
Gibbs checked the backdoor again, making sure the newly installed motion sensor lights were set for the backyard. Walking quietly down the hall, Gibbs stopped briefly in the doorway of the living room. Tim and Jude had lain down in their sleeping bags about an hour ago in their sleeping bags, which were set up on the living room floor. They were both now fast asleep, comics strewn between them. Arthur, who was lying next to a slumbering Tim, picked his head up briefly before he yawned, stretched, and laid his head back down next to his owner.
It was now well past eleven o’clock. When Tim had brought his blanket and pillow down to the living room with extras for Jude, Gibbs had realized that his son didn’t want to be alone, and that made his heart ache just a bit, so he had retrieved the sleeping bags from the garage and set them up in the living room where Gibbs she could keep an eye on them.
Standing there watching his son sleep peacefully, Gibbs couldn’t help the anger that rose up inside of him. Tim deserved to feel safe. He deserved to be able to take a walk with his dog and not be accosted by his past. “Damn it Cathy. What were you thinking?” Gibbs whispered to himself as he walked into the living room. Tim had somehow ended up with most of his sleeping bag underneath him, so Gibbs pulled the blanket off the back of the couch and laid it over his son. He patted Arthur on the on head before quietly leaving the room.
Hearing footsteps on the porch, Gibbs detoured to the front door to let Ziva in. She had called with good news that there had been footage of Cathy leaving the park. After taking her coat, Gibbs ushered her into the kitchen where Tony, Ducky, and Jackson were waiting.
Accepting a cup of coffee from his father, Gibbs sat down at the kitchen table. He took a sip of the almost too hot beverage, while he waited for Ziva to set up the tablet. When he had arrived at Ducky’s house, outwardly, he had appeared calm, but inside, he had been an intense mix of emotions. As soon as he had gotten inside the door, Tim had run up to him and had given him a desperate hug; which Gibbs had returned just as fiercely.
He had listened as Tim had told his version of events in which he called the scratches on his arms an accident. Once again, Gibbs was sure Tim was trying to protect his mom, by downplaying what happened. When Tim had gotten to the part of the story where his mom had tried to take him away, Gibbs had adopted a blank expression because inside all he felt was anger, and he didn’t want Tim to think he was angry with him. Tim hadn’t done anything wrong. This was Cathy’s fault. First, Cathy puts their son in danger by abandoning him, then put him in further jeopardy by stealing money from the mob, and then to top it all off she tried to just walk back into his life and take him away.
“Ms. McGee shows up at one-fifteen, driving a red sedan,” Ziva said, breaking through Gibbs’ musings and pointing at the grainy black and white footage on the tablet. “Unfortunately, the cameras pointed towards the park are very low quality, and even with enhancements, her license plate is unreadable, but we are checking with local rental offices to see if anyone matching her description has rented a vehicle.”
Gibbs watched intently as Cathy parked her car across the street from the bus stop, got out and sat on the bench underneath the awning. A few minutes later, Tim and the puppy walked into view before stopping abruptly in front of the bus stop. The awning blocked the view, but a few minutes later, the bus pulled up, and Gibbs saw Tim board, followed by Cathy who then got back off.
Cathy stood on the sidewalk for several minutes with her arms crossed before she turned and got back into her car. Gibbs sat back in disappointment; there wasn’t anything there that they hadn’t already heard from Tim.
“Wait,” Ziva said, fast forwarding a couple of minutes, and they watched Cathy sit in her car until she finally drove away. “There is more.”
Gibbs leaned forward, watching as a large man jogged into frame and then stood stock still, watching Cathy’s vehicle as it passed. The man waited there for a moment before he turned and walked back the way he came.
Rewinding it and pointing at the screen, Ziva said, “See how he reaches behind him and under his jacket. Those movements made me suspicious, so I had the techs down in cyber compare this image to all of Shea’s known associates.”
Ziva paused and with a few taps on the tablet’s screen brought up another picture. “We believe this man is Ian O’Shaughnessy. An alleged hit man, he’s been with the family for over fifteen years. I made a quick call to Fornell, and he confirmed that O’Shaughnessy was on their short list of suspects for the man who shot Liam and attacked Tim and Tony.”
Gibbs squinted at the blurry image in comparison to the booking photo next to it, and was amazed at what computer geeks could do with such grainy pictures. “Tony, does he look familiar?”
Now it was Tony’s turn to squint at the screen. “Boss, the man had a ski mask on the whole time, and I was knocked silly before I even saw that. I am mostly relying on Tim’s memory of that day.”
A voice from behind them said, “He seems like he might be the same height, and the eye color is the same, but I’m not sure.”
Gibbs turned around and, seeing Tim standing in the doorway, stood up. “Is everything ok?”
“Yeah, I was thirsty and wanted to get some water. I was wondering if I could talk to you a minute?” Tim asked in a low nervous voice.
Seeing Tim take a fleeting glance behind him, Gibbs looked back over his shoulder and saw Tony, Ziva, Jackson, and Ducky watching them. “We’ll be right back.”
Looping an arm around Tim’s shoulders, Gibbs guided his son past the living room where Jude and Arthur were still sleeping and down into the basement. Gibbs flicked on the overhead light, and sat Tim in one of the chairs and then sat in another one across from him.
Although they had spoken briefly this afternoon, it had taken on more the air of a debriefing than of real talk. At the time, Gibbs had wanted to have all the information of what had happened as quickly as possible in order to not let Cathy’s trail grow cold, but now seeing Tim’s face downcast while he traced one of the scratches that ran down his arm, Gibbs knew he should’ve taken more time to make sure his son was okay.
He cleared his throat to grab Tim’s attention. When his son looked up, he asked, “How are you doing?”
Tim sat up straighter, squared his shoulders, and said in a voice a bit too casual, “Fine.”
Gibbs pursed his lips in frustration. He could see by the haunted look in Tim’s eyes he was anything but fine. His son had been through a lot in the past year, but he couldn’t force him to confide in him if he did not wish to. Seeing how stiffly Tim was holding himself, Gibbs thought that maybe Tim was barely holding it together. So Gibbs tried a different tactic, “What did you want to talk to me about?”
Tim looked more than a little relieved at the change in subject, and he said, “I was getting a drink of water and then I remembered something that I forgot to tell you earlier.” Tim stood and withdrew a piece of paper out of his pocket. He hesitated for a moment before he handed it to Gibbs.
With his concern growing, Gibbs opened the paper and saw it was a phone number. He wanted to sprint upstairs and have Tony and Ziva immediately run the number and try to get a hit, but then he saw that Tim was looking everywhere but at him. He had tears in his eyes. “Hey. Come here,” Gibbs said, standing and opening his arms. Tim stepped into the hug with a hitch to his breath.
Tim held onto him almost desperately, his face buried in his chest, but Gibbs still heard him ask, “Are you going to arrest her?”
Gibbs tightened his arms around his son for a moment, before he drew back looked him in the eyes and said, “I’m sorry, but I need to find her and talk to her. She is in danger. The Shea family will not stop looking for her or their money, and as long as they are looking for your mom, both of you are in danger.” Placing one hand against the side of Tim’s face, Gibbs added, with a hitch in his voice, “I will do everything I can to keep you safe. Can you understand that?”
Tim stared at him for a long moment before he nodded and gave him a weak smile. Gibbs gathered him in for another hug and, kissing the top of his son’s head he said, “I love you.”
When he heard a whispered I love you back, some of the weight that had settled on Gibbs chest when he had first heard Cathy was back seemed to lift. No matter what happened with Cathy, Gibbs knew that the two of them were going to be okay.
~NCIS~
Tony was trying to act nonchalant as he lingered in the hallway waiting for Gibbs and Tim to come back. He was worried. This whole situation could blow up in spectacular and very painful ways. Not only was the Shea family back in town, but Cathy showing up out of the blue was just plain awful. Tony couldn’t help but run a hand through his hair his fingers passing over the scar he still carried from his last encounter with Shea’s hitman whose name apparently was O’Shaughnessy.
On one hand, maybe this could finally bring Tim some closure with his mother, but on the other, Cathy McGee had all but painted a bullseye on Tim’s back. Until she and the Shea family were dealt with, Tim would continue to be in danger. Tony thought of Tim, Gibbs, Jackson, and the rest of the NCIS team as his family. Tony barely had any relations to speak of, and his father only seemed to notice Tony when he needed something. And it was true, he had been a bit taken aback by Gibbs asking him to be Tim’s guardian, should anything ever happen to the older man. To be trusted with such a responsibility had at first terrified him, but then he thought it over, and when he realized that they were already a family, it had settled something in Tony. He loved them. That was something that still had the power to surprise and humble him. He had also realized they loved him as well. This was his family and he would protect it.
Finally, the basement door opened, and Gibbs and Tim walked out into the hallway. Tim’s face looked splotchy, so Tony knew there had been tears. “Hey, Tim.”
Tim gave him a wobbly smile, but whatever he and Gibbs had talked about must have ended okay because Tim looked a lot less sad than he had earlier today. Tim gave Tony a quick hug, which Tony returned before ruffling the teen’s hair, causing an indignant yet good natured, “Hey!” from Tim.
Tim walked back into the living room and got into his sleeping bag. He managed not to disturb a still sleeping Arthur, but Jude had woken up in the interim, and the two started talking quietly. Tony was glad that Tim and Jude had each other to rely on. It was hard growing up the way they had, and having someone who understood that to talk to was good for them. Made him wish he’d had had a friend like that when he was a teen.
“Hey Tony, were you waiting for me?” Gibbs asked, stopping just before they reached the kitchen. Tony could hear Ziva, and Ducky talking quietly. Jackson had retreated to his room to read but made them promise to come get him, should they hit upon anything new.
“Yeah boss this might not be the best time for this, but I wanted to say I have thought about it and I want to be Tim’s guardian. You guys are my family,” Tony said, his words falling out of his mouth in a rush as he tried to convey his sincerity.
A look of relief passed over Gibbs’ face, before he surprised Tony by pulling him in for a hug. In shock, Tony stood stock still for a brief moment before he returned it.
When Gibbs pulled away, he said in a quiet voice, “Thank you, Tony. Let’s go talk to the others I have some new information about Cathy that will hopefully lead us right to her.”
~NCIS~2:00am
O’Shaughnessy woke to the sound of the door bell being leaned on, hard. “All right … All right … I’m coming,” He shouted groggily, as he staggered downstairs and to the front door. He hadn’t gotten any real sleep since he started watching the Gibbs’ residence so he found himself dropping off unexpectedly, especially once everyone in the house across the way gone to bed.
Without looking through the peephole, O’Shaughnessy ripped open the door with a loud, “What?”
He felt the blood drain from his face when he saw Shea and two others standing on his porch.
“Hello, Ian,” Shea said sharply, as he brushed past him. Shea pulled the hat off his head and handed it to O’Shaughnessy, before smoothing his brown hair back into place.
Watching his boss take off his jacket and start looking through the rooms, O’Shaughnessy tried to remember the other two men’s names as they followed Shea around while he explored the first floor. They looked familiar, but the shock and fear that was running through him at Shea’s unexpected appearance was making it hard to think.
“Boss, what … how …” he stuttered before stopping himself. He wanted to ask What are you doing here? but Ian knew that would just set the other man off. Shea had no patience for questions, unless he was the one doing the asking.
Instead of answering his unasked query, Shea pointed at the stairs. “Is your equipment up there?”
Not waiting for O’Shaughnessy to answer, Shea and the two goons trotted up the stairs. Ian felt sweat break out on his forehead. What was Shea doing here? Had his boss changed his mind about letting him handle the situation? Was he about to take the one-way car ride that he had once promised Liam?
Following closely behind, Ian managed to squeeze past Shea’s associates and shot them both a glare as he passed. O’Shaughnessy then opened the back bedroom door for his boss, explained to him the set up, and showed him how he kept tabs on everyone in the residence.
His boss nodded and then said, “This is very thorough. Good job.”
Ian let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding at Shea’s approval.
Just as he was starting to relax Shea spoke again. “I’m taking over. The feds are on my ass trying to find anything to pin on me. I barely was able to get out of Chicago without one of them tailing me. If Cathy surfaces again, we need to be the ones who find her.”
“Hopefully she will make contact with Tim again, and we can nab her then,” O’Shaughnessy said, feeling the tension in the room grow as Shea started to pace back and forth. The calm cool collected boss he was used to was gone. The feds must be getting very close for Shea to be this anxious.
O’Shaughnessy opened his mouth to continue, but his boss abruptly stopped pacing, and stared out the window at the Gibbs house. “We’ve run out of time. The feds raided the offices a few days ago. They didn’t find what they were looking for but if they get their hands on those accounting books, they will. I am tired of waiting for Catherine McGee. I have a plan. It’s time we went on the offensive. It’s time we took control.”
Then he turned to O’Shaughnessy with a wild look in his eyes, “This will be over and done within the next forty eight hours. Understood?”
As Shea and his two silent associates went downstairs, Ian knew either both Cathy McGee and the journals were found in the next forty-eight hours or he would be joining Liam.
~NCIS~
Sunday afternoon
Turning the page, Tim found the question he was looking for and asked, “The monetary value of all the finished goods and services …” He stopped abruptly when he heard the front door close.
Tim had been quizzing Jude for the past forty-five minutes for a test. They were huddled around the coffee table, books and papers spread out between them. Jude needed the practice and they both needed the distraction. Jude’s test was coming up in a few weeks and he was super nervous about it. Seeing Jackson bringing in the Sunday paper, Tim sat back with a huff. He had hoped it was Ziva with news about his mother.
His father was making phone calls and doing as much of the work from home as he could. He didn’t want to leave Tim unprotected. Tony was also working from the house. Gibbs and him had set up a bit of a command center in the kitchen. Ziva was back at the office. She was coordinating the search for Cathy from there. Ducky had gone to the store to get groceries for dinner. Tim and Jude had offered to go with him and help, but Gibbs didn’t want Tim out of his sight. Tim hadn’t intended to overhear Gibbs’ conversation with the F.B.I. but he had. Apparently, Shea had disappeared from Chicago, and his dad was afraid he was headed here. So Tim wasn’t allowed to go anywhere without his dad until this was over.
Tim actually appreciated that mentality, because it meant that his father cared about him. Not that his mother didn’t care about him, but he could admit at least to himself that his mom more often than not was more worried about herself than him. With Gibbs, he felt protected.
Sharing a look and a shrug with Jude, Tim returned to the study question. They took a break after another hour. Walking into the kitchen, Tim playfully gave Jude a shove and said, “See and you were worried.”
Jude, blushing a little, said, “Shut up.”
“You got every one of those questions right. I think you will be more than ready come August,” Tim shot back, going to the fridge and grabbing two sodas, one for him and one for Jude. Seeing Tony’s tea glass empty on the kitchen table, Tim asked, “Do you want more tea, Agent DiNozzo?”
Tony, who had been hunched over his laptop, gave a quick yawn behind his hand before saying, “No, thank you, Tim. I think I am going to start in on some coffee. It was a long night and will be a long day as well.”
Tim was reaching into the cupboard for a coffee cup, just as Gibbs entered the kitchen, talking on the phone.
“I don’t care how you do it. I want answers today.” Shutting his flip phone with force, Gibbs turned to Tony and continued, his voice laced with frustration. “The power was out at NCIS. It came back on within minutes, but everything has to be rebooted, and it will take at least an hour to get everything going again.”
“You want me to head down there and keep an eye on things?” Tony asked, coming to stand next to his aggravated boss.
“No, Ziva is already breathing down their necks, and adding you to the mix won’t hurry things along any,” Gibbs said, before blowing out a heavy sigh.
He gave Tony a quick pat on the back, and then turning he saw Tim and in a softer tone asked, “Oh, hey Tim, Jude. How is studying going?”
“Good. Jude will pass with no problem,” Tim said.
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Jude said with a self-depreciating smile. “We still have a lot of questions to go through.”
“I’m sure you will do fine. Ducky was just telling me the other day how well you were making progress,” Gibbs said, grabbing his mug from the table, pouring himself a cup and reaching for the mug in Tim’s hand when a shout from outside froze everyone.
“Fire!”
Tony and Gibbs ran out of the kitchen with Tim and Jude at their heels. They raced through the front door. They stood still, briefly in shock as the smoke and flames burst out of the back of the Diaz’s house next door. There were a couple of neighbors on their cell phones, who were standing in the middle of the street, presumably calling 911. Tony leaped down the stairs in one jump.
Tim and Jude were about to follow when Gibbs turned suddenly and said, “Go back into the house and stay there.” When they hesitated, Gibbs pointed back over their shoulders, “I mean it, go inside.”
Tim watched as Gibbs ran down the stairs and followed Tony who had already kicked in the front door and entered the house. There was smoke bellowing out the door and some of the open windows.
“Come on boys. It will be okay,” Jackson said, as he herded them back inside and shut the door behind them.
Both Jude and Tim ran into the living room and opened the curtain, in order to follow Gibbs orders but still be able to see what was happening. Tim couldn’t help swaying back and forth anxiously as he watched the flames move from the back of the house to the front. He felt Jackson come behind them and sit to one side of the window.
Tim heard Arthur bark once, and then there was a long pause, before the barking began to become more and more frantic. Worried that Arthur was scared and wanting to bring him inside, Tim nudged Jude to get his attention, and then they quietly left the room.
Opening the backdoor, Tim was surprised when he wasn’t greeted by the pup, so he shouted, “Arthur!” He was practically screaming to be heard over the fire trucks that had just pulled up.
Tim went in the direction of Arthur’s doghouse that was next to the fence closest to the Diaz’s house. Jude went in the opposite direction, disappearing around the corner, in order to search the side yard.
Tim squatted down and looked inside the doghouse only to find it empty. Hearing the barking start again, coming from the side yard, Tim ran around the corner and slammed into what felt like a solid wall. Tim started to fall, but his arm was grabbed roughly in a bruising grip. Three men were standing in the side yard, Arthur was running back and forth between them barking. Jude was on the ground, eyes closed, not moving. Tim opened his mouth to scream. Then the closest man made a shushing sound. A cruel smile spread across his face as he raised his gun and pointed it at Jude.
~NCIS~
Tony gently laid the unconscious elderly woman on the front lawn. Coughing, he staggered back when the paramedics rushed over. Gibbs was met by the newly arrived firemen at the front door of the smoke filled house. They took Mr. Diaz who was barely conscious from him. Gibbs walked over to Tony, and giving him a few pats on the back as the younger man was bent in half, coughing and hacking, trying to get all the smoke from his lungs. “Are you all right?”
Tony stood back up and said, “Yeah, I’m all right.” He looked over to where the paramedics were now loading the husband and wife into the ambulances. With a heavy sigh, Tony asked, “Do you think they will be okay?”
Gibbs wasn’t sure. Mrs. Diaz hadn’t been breathing when they found her, and her husband already had a myriad of health problems. It didn’t look good. “I don’t know.”
They watched as the firefighters battled the blaze. In minutes, the diligent men and women had the fire well under control. An exhausted Gibbs and Tony turned back to the Gibbs house. They had only walked a few steps when Jackson ran out to the front porch, a panicked look on his face. Gibbs felt his stomach drop, and adrenaline flooded his system so rapidly that he momentarily felt dizzy.
Running, Gibbs met Jackson on the porch. “What happened?”
Jackson pointed behind him. Out of breath, he wheezed, “Back … yard … Jude hurt … Tim …”
Gibbs didn’t wait for his father to finish. Instead he rushed past, pulling his gun, his heart beating loudly in his ears, and time seemed to slow as he ran down the hallway. Pushing the back door open with such force it slammed against the side of the house, Gibbs quickly scanned the backyard, gun at the ready. He heard Tony right behind him. Moving quietly but quickly towards the side yard, Gibbs peeked around the corner. The side yard was empty, save for Jude lying on the ground; a subdued Arthur was curled up next to him. The back gate at the far end was open, and there was no sign of Tim. Glancing at Tony, Gibbs pointed to the too still figure of Jude and then went past him praying that he was still alive. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Tony kneel down and check on Jude. Gibbs kept going, walking faster now. The sickening feeling in his gut said that Tim was already gone. Once he went through the gate, he saw he was right. The fire trucks were still next door, and the neighbors were still huddled in groups here or there, all facing the burned house. Tim was nowhere in sight.
For a moment, Gibbs’ mind seemed to grind to a halt. Then the fear was eclipsed by anger. Ducky’s car pulled up into Gibbs’ driveway, and Gibbs ran over, practically yanking the elderly man out of the car.
The startled man asked, “Good God, Jethro, what is the matter?”
“Quick. It’s Jude,” Gibbs bit out.
That had the M. E. moving. Within seconds, he was kneeling down next to the still unconscious Jude, opposite of Tony, and placing his fingers against the side of Jude’s neck.
Tony’s expression was grim as he said, “He’s breathing. I smell chloroform in the air.”
Ducky looked relieved, putting a hand against Jude’s cheek, saying, “My poor boy,” before glancing between Tony and Gibbs and asking, “What happened?”
Tony looked up at Gibbs, who was pacing, speaking rapidly into the phone, calling in an APB. “Tim?”
Gibbs just grimly shook his head as he punched in the numbers for NCIS and Vance.
Chapter Four