Chapter Text
So much had changed aboard the Yard since that fateful day in May. Tim leaned back against the side of the Lincoln town car which his security detail preferred to drive him around in and watched the activity around the Forge Building which housed NCIS’s headquarters. It had taken most of a month to clear the site while he argued back and forth between the National Trust and the various engineers before finally deciding that the Trust was right and the engineers could lump it. In the end, they’d compromised so the exterior would be restored to the original appearance while the interior would be reinforced and upgraded to modern building codes yet keeping as much of the original appearance as possible.
Tim’s eye drifted down to the filled in but not yet paved over crater where Vance’s SUV had been parked. Just behind it were the arched windows of Abby’s lab, a place Tim doubted he’d ever voluntarily set foot into again. Too many ghosts and too many memories for him to be comfortable there. Still, he couldn’t help but smile as he looked down at the grimy stuffed animal he held in his arms. “Hey, Bert. Didn’t mean to abandon you. I’ll get you cleaned up soon. Promise.” The muted roar of a high powered engine pulled Tim out of his memories of Abby and her farting hippo. He absently wiped his eyes as he turned around to set the hippo safely in the backseat of the Lincoln before straightening up to greet Tony as the man exited the other car.
“Damn, Probie, she’s sweet.” Tony grinned as he climbed out of the Porsche. He moved slower now with a slight limp but without the cast he’d had on for the better part of the last two months. “You really want to sell her?”
“Yeah.” Tim nodded and leaned back against the Lincoln again. He patted the rear quarter panel of the big black armored car. “Sandoval doesn’t like the idea of my driving anywhere on my own but especially in a ‘death trap like that’. So, I have this beast instead and one of the detail drives me.”
“Considering the threats Fornell’s relayed from Gitmo, I’m not surprised.”
“Sandoval’s not convinced that my father’s going to obey the agreement either.” Tim sighed tiredly but cast a smile at the lead Marine of his detail. “I’m still trying to convince him to let me move off Anacostia-Bolling.”
“Not a chance in hell, Probie.” Tony took up a post beside him leaning against his car. “Until all the trials are done, you’re not safe. Hell, as a Cabinet member you get a detail and higher security anyway. I think you’d rather have the Marines over the Secret Service. They’re a bit stuffy. At least the Marines understand a man has needs.”
“And just when am I supposed to find time to date?”
Tim watched Tony think about this for a few minutes before the older man slumped a bit. “Right. That would be a problem. You could date Laurel…”
“Two words, Tony. Fraternization Policy.”
“At least you didn’t say ‘Rule Twelve’.” Tony smiled and patted his shoulder. “It’ll get better once the trials are over. Sandoval and Malachi might stop beating you up by then.”
“Ah, but there’s always physical training for the Marines.”
“Gibbs didn’t…”
“Gibbs retired for medical reasons. It’s in his personnel file. So he doesn’t do all the training an active duty Marine does and that I stupidly volunteered to do with them. He was healthy and active enough to pass the qualifications but not to remain on duty.” Tim shifted a bit against the side of the car so he could face his friend. “Just like you have been hiding more than a few things in your file.”
“Do we have to talk about that?”
“I’d rather talk about that than those trials.” Tim sighed again as he thought about all the paperwork and testimony he’d spent hours going over with JAG. At least some of the bit players were either pleading out or making agreements to save public face. It was Jarvis and Pierce’s trials for high treason which were getting the most publicity and complicating the search for a new SecNav. “When were you going to admit to the Masters in Criminology or that you’re just a dissertation away from a Doctorate?”
“Um…” Tony shoved a hand through his hair. “Never, if I could have gotten away with it.” Tony looked away from him toward the building. “I thought you were going to mention the citizenship thing.”
“There’s that too.” Tim chuckled softly. “Though I can’t say anything as I’m not the one who approved your application. You’re a damned good investigator, Tony. And like Gibbs, I don’t waste good. So the dual citizenship that you never mention doesn’t matter to me. The dissertation does. I want it done. I want my Major Crimes Unit Chief to be the most qualified man for the job.”
“Sure…” Tim watched as his words sunk in on the other man. His eyes widened almost comically wide and his jaw dropped as he stared for several minutes before snapping his mouth shut again. “Your what?”
“Major Crimes Unit Chief.” Tim grinned. He loved the rare occasions he could shock Tony. “I’m stealing the staffing and unit style of the BAU for our Major Crimes Response Teams. You’re going to have a small team of your own. You’ve earned that but that team will also have at least two companion teams. You choose and assign cases to those teams but keep the most high profile complex ones for your own. I’ll get Agent Hotchner, the BAU’s chief, to explain it to you.”
“Some people aren’t going to like the change.”
“Tough shit.” Tim all but growled the words. “I’ve been going over our personnel records, staffing plans and organization charts. NCIS is way behind the times, Tony. Of all our divisions, OSP is the most up to date in organization, execution and equipment. MTAC was a close second in equipment but the rest of the agency is lagging. It needs a good shaking up or two. I’m going to start here at Headquarters. If it works, I’m spreading it out across the board.”
“This being in charge thing is going to your head, Probie.”
“Not really.” Tim laughed again. He shook his head while turning back to watch the construction crews working on the building. After a couple of minutes of silence, he shrugged one shoulder. “They put me in charge. It’s a Presidential appointment which means I get the job until I’m asked to resign, move to a different position like Tom Morrow did or die in office. So, I’m bringing us fully up to date. Training methods are going to change, recruitment, everything I can do to get us more efficient.” Tim paused and debated his next words. “Question for you Tony, we all know about the BAU, right? So why didn’t we consult with them on the Port-to-Port Killer case?”
“It wasn’t FBI, Tim.” Tony rested a shoulder on the car. Tim could feel his stare but refused to twitch in response to it. “It was Navy. All the victims were Navy people there was no need to consult with them.”
“Wrong.” Tim’s response was flat and hard. “I showed all the case files to Reid when he asked about the case. There were four occasions where a good profile of the, as they put it, Unsub given to our field agents abroad might have brought in viable leads and potentially prevented other deaths.”
“But we don’t work with the FBI.”
“No, Gibbs’s doesn’t work with the FBI unless he has to. Hell, we both know he doesn’t like sharing jurisdiction with anyone.” Tim turned to face Tony again. “I consulted with the BAU which gave us leads to solve the bombing and find the real conspirators. Anyone else would have quit with Dearing’s death figuring it was all on him. If he hadn’t been murdered, something the FBI ME figured out, and questions raised by that…”
“We’d have considered the case closed.” Tony sighed and nodded. Tim knew he was conceding the point. “So, what… serial killers get a consult with the FBI?”
“Serial killers, mass killings and kidnappings.” Tim returned the nod with one of his own. “I only put kidnappings in there because most stranger abductions are part of a serial crime not a single one. It’s rare that a murderer only kidnaps one victim Serial kidnappings are somewhat common especially in the cases of children. If we call in the BAU or Fornell early, we might stop other crimes from happening. We need to learn to cooperate with the other branches of the ArmFed, Tony.”
“I’m a cop, Tim. I have that inherent distrust of the FBI too.”
“No, you’re not a cop.” Tim’s lips twisted into a small smirk. “You were a homicide detective. A very brilliant one considering you had your detective’s badge before you were thirty. Now, you’re a Federal Agent being promoted to Supervisory Lead Agent for the whole of Major Crimes after a decade of being a Federal Agent with most of those as Senior Field Agent for the lead Major Crimes Response Team.”
“I’m not getting out of this, am I?” Tony’s resigned tone of voice belied the excitement in his eyes. “I’ve got to ask though. What about Gibbs?”
“Nope. So, start going over the personnel files. I need a list of your preferred agents. I want at least three four to five agent teams. One will be your primary team, under your personal leadership, with two other field teams. Your team, when not out on an active case, will consult with teams in other offices by phone and work cold cases. I want to start trying to close those. We have way too many.” Tim smiled as Tony actually pulled out a notepad and took down notes. “As for Gibbs, I have a different plan in mind for him.”
“Do tell.” Tony frowned at his notepad. “Hey, can we get iPads like the BAU?”
“Going geek on me, Tony? I’ll see what I can do.” Tim chuckled as Tony shook his pen before taking more notes. “I’m creating a new department and putting Gibbs in charge of it. You saw how green I was in Norfolk yet was expected to jump right into being case agent on that base. I was a mess. So, I’m creating a ‘field training’ office. Gibbs will get the rookies out of FLETC, polish them up and help me decide where best to assign them.”
“You want Gibbs to train the probies?”
“I want Gibbs to weed out the ‘administrative’ agents from the ‘field’ agents. Gibbs has a unique knack for finding field agents and polishing them up, but too many people better suited for administration were being assigned as Agents Afloat or to field teams. I think that’s why we have so many cold cases. They just didn’t know what to look for nor had the intuitive instinct.”
“So, they couldn’t find leads and the cases went cold.” Tony frowned. “That explains a lot though. Look how many cold cases we’ve solved when stuck on desk duty. So, Gibbs helps sort and assign agents. Good luck convincing him.”
“Not going to need luck.” Tim smirked. “I’m going to play on his sense of duty. He knows he’ll never do field work again. His legs are too badly damaged to pass the required physical test, but he’s got a lot of wisdom to impart. I’m not losing that.”
“Yeah. Neither of us would be here without his training.” Tony nodded and put his notebook away. “It’ll take a bit to convince him.”
“I know.” Tim gave another nod. “So, why’d you want to meet here anyway?”
“Burke suggested I talk to the Priest assigned to the Navy Chapel about the engagement and future wedding. Said this was essentially my ‘parish’, so I should talk to him. I just…” Tony trailed off with a hint of embarrassment.
“Need a shove to get going?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay.” Tim calmly reached over, put a hand in the middle of Tony’s back, and shoved once. “Get going, DiNozzo. I’ve got your six.”