Chapter Text
NCIS MTAC: Present time
Special Agent Nick Torres sat with his feet up on the chair in front of him and stared into the darkened room. It wasn’t often that he got the chance to just sit down and pretend that everything was all right, because that’s what he was doing – pretending. He ran his hand across his face and sighed.
“Fuck!” Nick jumped to his feet, balled his fists and screamed. He screamed until his throat felt raw and there was no air left in his lungs. His legs felt weak and he slumped back into his chair. He lowered his head and sobbed.
∞∞**∞∞
24 Hours earlier
FBI Field Office – Manassas
Tony rose to his feet and rubbed his eyes tiredly as he made his way over to the large pot of coffee that decorated the side table. He grabbed his mug and poured the caffeinated liquid into the mug. He brought the mug up to his face and inhaled deeply.
“Aagh,” he sighed and took the first sip. He closed his eyes and let the coffee feed his soul. When someone snickered behind him, he turned around. He glared at the slim woman that stood in his doorway. She had short cropped red hair and hazel colored eyes that sparkled with mischief.
“Something funny?” He circled the mug with his hands and took another swallow.
“It’s like you’re making love to that coffee instead of merely drinking it.”
Tony rolled his eyes. “Your point being?” He took the mug back to his desk and sat down. He dragged the open file closer.
“That was my point, Boss.”
Tony chose to ignore the red head as he rolled his eyes again. “You know I love chatting with you, Ciara Egan, but you being in my office at five in the morning never seems right. Spill, what do you have?” His cyber specialist kept weird office hours just like him, and it wasn’t strange to see her wandering the halls at odd hours of the night.
Ciara cocked her head. “You’re more worried about the fact that I’m in your office at five in the morning than the fact that you’re still in the office at five in the morning.”
“Who says I didn’t go home?”
She snorted. “For one, you’re wearing the same clothes as yesterday and two, you’re in a very disheveled state.”
Tony looked down at himself and sighed. “True, you got me.” He took a sniff at himself and scrunched up his nose. “I need a shower.” He pushed himself to his feet and made his way back to where a large steel cabinet stood in the corner. He dragged open the second drawer and pulled out a set of clean clothes as well as his toiletries.
“Tony.” Ciara held up her hands. “Stop.” She rolled her eyes as Tony looked at her with a frown on his face.
“You had way too much coffee.” She walked over to the coffee pot, picked it up and without hesitating she poured it out on the plant that stood in the opposite corner.
Tony gasped and cocked his head. “It’s not the first time you’ve done that.” He pointed a finger at her. “No wonder it doesn’t want to stay alive! You’re killing it.” He actually pouted.
“I’m merely trying to educate you on what you’re doing to your own body.” She threw her one hand in the air, the other still gripped around the coffee pot.
Tony growled. “It’s too early, Ciara. Why are you here?” He felt the exhaustion in his bones. Maybe he should’ve gone home last night. But he hated sleeping in the empty house.
Ciara became serious. “We got a possible lead.”
Tony turned quickly, the exhaustion he felt mere moments ago disappeared. “On Thomas Landry?”
Ciara nodded. “It’s still a very thin lead, but we might’ve picked something up.”
“What?” Tony dropped the clothes he had in his hand and made his way over to his office door. He stepped out and realized that Ciara wasn’t following him.
“Why are you still standing there, move, Ciara.”
She shook her head. “Tony, there’s nothing to move for. As I said, the lead is extremely thin.”
“Explain?” He leaned against the doorway.
“I’ve been running an alpha rhythm for the past couple of days, and finally it picked up on something.” She went on to explain what she found.
Tony sighed. He had to agree with her, it was a very thin lead, but after all the years he’d served, the one thing he did know, was that no lead, how thin it might be, may ever be ignored. “Follow up on it, don’t drop this, Ciara. If we want to find that SOB we need to be on top of every possible lead, doesn’t matter how slim it might be.”
The red head bobbed her head in agreement. Her eyes sparkled as she grinned. “Go and shower, Boss.” She pointed a finger at him. “And stay away from the coffee.”
Tony grinned back. “And if I don’t?”
Ciara glared at him. She cocked her head. “Then I’m telling your husband.”
Tony burst out laughing. He closed the distance between them and placed his hand on her shoulder. “My red-head vixen, it’s clear that you don’t know my husband very well.” He continued to grin. “That man is addicted to coffee. He drinks double the cups of coffee than what I do in a day.”
Ciara sighed. “True.” She shrugged. “But I also know for a fact that he, and Doctor Palmer are on your case for neglecting your health. Maybe I should let them know just how much you’re not taking things easy.”
It was Tony’s turn to glare and sigh in defeat. He was well aware of the fact that he’s been burning the candle at both ends. But they had to find Landry. He would not take it easy until they had the man behind bars. “I’ll stay away from the coffee.”
“Good.” With that she moved passed him and exited the spacious office.
Tony sat down with his hip on the corner of his desk. He rubbed his hand across his face. He really needed a shower.
Tony made his way to the private on suite left to his office. He still grinned every time he used the shower. When he was first offered the job, he made a joke and said he’d only take the offer if they provided him with an on suite. No eyebrow was raised and when they returned to him a couple of weeks later, he’d been invited to see his possible new offices and one of the first things they did show him was the bathroom. He’d blushed bright red because it was a mere joke, but now it looked like he was vain. Luckily, his new employer explained that there was a bathroom right next to the office, and that they merely did a bit of remodeling. It made Tony feel a lot better. Two months later he’d started in his new position.
As Tony stepped into the shower and turned the water on to almost scolding hot, his thoughts kept going back to his new team. Some days it was still hard to believe that he no longer worked at NCIS but was now an FBI agent. An agent in charge to be exact, as he now headed up the second formed ViCAP unit, working out of Manassas. He’d been able to handpick his own team and although in the beginning they’d had some teething problems, they now worked as a fully functional team and in the last thirteen months they’d been able to capture five serial killers. It was an impressive record, but scary at the same time to think just how many serial killers were out there, most of which the general public was unaware of.
Ciara was the youngest, and although she was the geek of the group, she had the knack of explaining stuff in such a manner that everyone understood. Tony knew he was very fortunate in having her on his team.
Tony’s second in command went by the name of Ash Prior. The well over six-foot giant had the softest heart, but at the same time had a temper to take note of. He gave Tony a run for his money when it came to dressing up, and he also used his attire as armor. He’d been an FBI agent for fifteen years and was a profiler of note. The only reason why he wasn’t leading his own team, was because he had no interest in leading. Not permanently in any case. He would regularly take charge when they worked certain cases, but he didn’t want to take it any further.
The last two agents on the team were both junior agents. Daniel Simmons, was athletically built with dark hair and brown eyes from Chinese descent. He’d started his career with the NYPD, but joined the FBI six years ago. He was also a trained sniper and brilliant investigator.
The barely over five-foot Lexi Hunter had blond hair, light brown eyes and knew how to throw a punch. She had a knack in connecting with people, while at the same time, she was an upcoming profiler. She’d already started making a name for herself and she’d only been part of the FBI for three years.
Tony shut down his thoughts when they wanted to go back even further. He didn’t want to think about what led to him no longer being an NCIS agent. At least it had one positive outcome. He and Gibbs had finally pulled their heads from their asses and talked to one another. That had led to them starting a relationship and although Tony was surprised when Gibbs asked to marry him, he didn’t hesitate for one second and said yes. They’d been married now for eight months and Tony enjoyed every day.
He got out of the shower, rubbed himself dry and pulled on his clean clothes. He chucked the wet towel into the laundry basket, made a mental note to take it home to wash it and went back to his office. He picked up his phone from the desk and pushed it into his pocket. He nearly jumped out of his skin as it chirped in his pocket. He smiled as he answered the call. “You found your guy?”
The line remained quiet.
“Gibbs?” Tony frowned. His stomach knotted and he swallowed hard. “Gibbs!”
“I heard you’re looking for me, Agent DiNozzo.”
Tony grabbed hold of the desk as he jumped up and his legs threatened to buckle beneath him. He’d recognized the voice anywhere. He wanted to scream and demand to know where Gibbs was, but he knew the man who had Gibbs’ phone. The moment you projected any emotion, he pounced. “Maybe.”
“Maybe?” The man barked out a laugh. “And that’s the reason why I adore you so much. I tell you what. Meet with me for dinner. I would love to pick your brains. We can have a nice chat. Drink some expensive wine and get to know each other better.”
Tony shivered at the words. If anyone thought that Hannibal Lecter was crazy, then they hadn’t heard the name Thomas Landry. By saying he would love to pick Tony’s brains, he made the agent well aware that he would be the main course. Not just a guest. Tony also knew there was no way in hell that he wouldn’t meet with Landry. Gibbs might not approve, would definitely growl at him, but it wasn’t his choice to make. “Where?”
The crazy man on the other side of the line laughed. The sound came through crystal clear on the tiny speaker as if he were standing right next to Tony. “I will let you know in due course. But first, there’s a few rules you need to abide to. Can you guess at least one of them?”
Tony managed not to roll his eyes. “Don’t tell anyone and come alone.”
“Good man.” He hummed. “What else?”
“Keep this phone with me at all times.” Tony had finally managed to get his legs working again as walked around the desk and made his way over to the cabinet to retrieve his weapon, credentials and keys.
“Mm, I’m going to give you half a mark for effort.” Landry sighed. “You will bring your phone along, but just until you picked up a new one. Then you will get rid of the old one, but more on that later. For now, proceed to that diner your husband likes to frequent. I’ll contact you again in forty minutes time.”
Tony looked at his watch. The diner was at least thirty-five to forty minutes away from his office. He would have to haul ass if he wanted to be on time. He wanted to reply but realized that the call had ended. He grabbed the stuff from the drawer and ran out of the office. He nearly ran over Ciara.
“Boss?” She asked as the larger man nearly barreled straight over her.
Tony grabbed her by the shoulders. His mind was racing at over a thousand miles an hour. For one or other reason he knew that Landry would know if he let something slip. He had to be creative. “Sorry, Ciara. I forgot I’ve got a breakfast meeting and not only am I running late, but I have no idea on how long it will last. I know you’re not my personal assistant, but please phone Torres. Tell him I’m meeting Clarice Starling earlier than expected at Gibbs’ diner. But he mustn’t change his dinner plans. I’m still intending to serve him succulent lamb.” He managed to smile and then he ran.
Ciara stared as Tony ran down the stairs and disappeared from her view. A fond smile decorated her lips. She would definitely call Agent Torres. His voice always made her melt. She turned and walked back to her own office to make the call.
It was only when she sat down behind her own desk that she realized that Tony hadn’t said one word about his team. She knew he’d given them the morning off after they’d cracked a case late last night, but they were supposed to meet here for their debrief at two. She cocked her head, but then shrugged her shoulders. She was used to Tony’s almost erratic behavior. They all were. She was sure there was nothing to worry about. She reached for her phone to make the call. Not once did she think about why Tony couldn’t phone Agent Torres himself. He did have his phone in his hand when he nearly ran her into the floor.