ok. so where’s the sequel?
i really, really want a sequel,
because this is one of my
top 10 favorite stories...
well written, fairly well in
character, good Gibbs &
Tony.
nicely done.

A solid, well-written closing chapter. Nicely done.

After the influence this story has given me, making the wheels turn in regards to my story featuring, not just referring to, Tony's time at military school, I think one of the characters I'm working with will have a father in politics, at least one, a newly-elected state governor or somesuch. That'll be it, no similarity to Senator Webber. But it gave me the idea, in a roundabout way.

Michael Webber is doing well at processing his father's death. He has long since given up on any emotional attachment to him, but I think he hoped for a more thorough form of justice than this. Painful as it would be to have the family name dragged through the muck, if John Webber was at the center of it, it would ensure justice could be done. Dead, he will almost definitely be swept under the rug and the full extent of his crimes downplayed or hidden.

2004, a year after Iraq fell to the American invasion. That was not a good year, chaotic as it was out there, and 13 years later the consequences of the fall of the Saddam Hussein regime are with Iraq and the world still. War is hell as it is, but there have been, are, and will be men who don't care about what it does to the willing and unwilling participants and simply work to line their own pockets with gold at those people's expense.

Tony is in-character as ever, cracking jokes even after his latest near-brush with death. That's him, all right. It seems like he and Michael Webber will stay friends even after the revelations from the past and the events of the present, and that's a good thing, indeed.

You know, military schools, when they are presented or mentioned in fiction on those rare occasions, are almost never depicted in a good light. Michael Webber's references to RIMA make it sound as if it was, well, just a school like any other, with its ups and downs, and all in all seems like Tony did all right there.

This is the third complete story of yours that I have read and reviewed, chapter-by-chapter. Just remember, reviews are indeed love, and I have some NCIS fics of my own that could surely use the feedback... hint, hint. Well, regardless, you have done excellent work on this story. You really have. Thank you for all your hard work on it, and I look forward to reading some more work of yours in the future.

Oh, boy. Gibbs and Kate and Fornell unquestionably did the right thing, but man, oh, man, you do not just shoot a US Senator. That kind of thing will get noticed in other countries, nevermind the fame/infamy it will garner within the United States. The political fallout from this is going to be a living nightmare.

Superb depiction of the dynamics between Fornell and Gibbs. I understand Gibbs' anger at the stupidity of releasing Webber, but Fornell, as ever, stays calm and reminds Gibbs of the facts. And when they're closing in on the location of Michael and John Webber and Tony, it is Gibbs to sternly reminds Fornell what the facts are. And it speaks of the mutual trust and respect between them that when Gibbs asks "How many times have you known my gut to be wrong?" and Fornell just swears quietly and draws his weapon, following Gibbs and Kate.

Great work on this chapter. Time to go read 24. Oh, a sequel! I love sequels. Well, when appropriate and when they are properly executed. Look forward to that. Okay, NOW on to Chapter 24.

Au contraire, my good Senator! There IS worse luck than going to prison. There is death, and it's like you want that to happen for you. Oh, wow, so a judge releases him- on bail, I presume- and he goes and does this. You make it extremely plausible that Webber would do so, but man, he's gonna dig himself into a hole so deep that not even the sun will be able to reach him.

It makes me shiver reading this. You write Senator Webber so well. His excuses and justifications for his behavior sound quite real, almost too real.

Thanks for the heads-up on another story you have. I don't read or write crossovers much, but I appreciate you mentioning it. Okay, on to Chapter 23, gotta find out how this ends.

You really are good at this, you know that? Incredible. I've heard of this kind of depravity, this kind of sickness in grown adults, even men of power and consequence. You communicate the way that this new discovery from Tony's email makes him feel. The realization that you were being watched even in such private moments, that someone was photographing you as you were a guest in their house... it makes ME feel unclean, just thinking about it. Tony surely feels violated, even if John Webber never went as far as we know he wanted to with Tony. Treason and pedophilia- and over the course of so many years. Senator Webber must get up VERY early in the morning. He sure will continue to in a whole new way, as he passes through the offices of NCIS and the FBI on his inevitable journey to prison.

Oh, hey, good to see Fornell again. On to Chapter 22.

Excellent work on some additional backstory on the Webber family, and on Tony. I agree with Michael Webber that Tony has this "confident, man of the world, frat boy manner" and that it is "more mask than substance" as Gibbs remarks. That's how he was in high school, and it's how he's been ever since then. That's a truthful and pointed statement you make in this chapter about Tony.

I don't know how Michael Webber handled being in this unenviable position for so long. Terrible that his mother died right as he was having to fight another battle on it. I know she must have hated it so much, being forced to leave son to lousy excuse for a husband by himself.

Director Morrow is right. Even the best people involved in this case have a reason to want it kept quiet. It would be bad for morale, among the troops and the public, to say the least.

Ah, yes, lawyers. They get a bad rap, but they're not such bad guys when you need one. Even so, there's definitely some mercenaries and slimeballs among them, no question there, and it's hard to respect them for doing their job when they're defending someone as despicable as Senator Webber.

On to Chapter 21.

Great follow-up chapter. I admire Michael Webber for doing what he did back in the 1980s, keeping the Senator a safe distance from Tony. Never should Michael have had to do any of that, but in this case the apple did fall far from the tree, thankfully.
Oh, please go and watch Seasons 9-15. I'd love for you to have the additional canon info we have on Tony's high school days, notably the last high school he attended, as specified in S12E14.

Not that you're doing a bad job of writing anything here. It's just that some canon info is available now that was not as of Season 8. I'd get into details but I don't know what you'd be okay with me telling you and what you'd have a problem with.

Anyway. I don't think that Colonel Sullivan is getting out of this as easily as he thinks, although a man who lives like he does behind the scenes, in addition to being a Marine colonel, is not going to admit he's afraid or defeated, even if he is. Not easily. And same goes for Senator Webber. He does not look like he's about to take this lying down. Amazing how many bad guys, in fiction and in real life, get up to their neck in trouble and STILL keep asking for more. But that's not how they see it, obviously.

On to Chapter 20.

The timely rescue of Tony in this chapter was superbly well-written. Man, that was close. Great characterization of both Senator Webber of NY and Stuart, who presumably worked for him as a bodyguard or other staff member.
Quite a surprise to Officer Hobart, wasn't it? Pulls someone on a routine traffic stop, gets a NCIS badge stuck in his face and is drafted into a police raid. For a minor, here-and-gone character, Hobart was detailed remarkably well. His surprise was real and understandable, and yet he adapted well and kept it together in a new and unexpected situation. Someone like that is in a good place, being in law enforcement.

I have to say this again- you write the OCs just as well as you do the canon characters. Your knowledge of the NCIS universe may be outdated by about 6, nearly 7 years now, since Season 8's finale came out in 2011. But your knowledge of it up to that point is STRONG. You know so much about NCIS, about the characters, how they work and how they speak, and you skillfully create OCs where and when you need to and give them life.

Well, now! THIS was an interesting chapter!
Senator John Webber is quite the... "character". For a villain who doesn't turn up by name until we're closing in on the end of the story, he sure looks set to be featured prominently. And Michael Webber, too, looks like we'll be seeing more of both of them. Tony is in a distinctly different situation from before in this story. He's now facing an enemy who knows him- granted, from many years ago, but one who knows him nonetheless.
Ha, figures McGee would get confused about whether Tony's playing the role or actually thinking of becoming a dirty agent. But in McGee's defense, it can be hard to tell when you're listening over the radio.

The Rhode Island Military Academy. Is that what Tony's last high school was called before Season 12, Episode 14? I hope that's not a big spoiler. School name is just different now. Anyway, RIMA has come up before, here and there, another user on here mentioned it as formerly being the name of Tony's last high school. Anyway, when this fictional military academy came up, you had my attention instantly. I was hoping there'd be some chance to integrate a detail or two of this into my story depicting Tony in his 12th grade year, but I've already established enough detail, and have enough pre-planned ideas for the story, that John and Michael Webber won't be able to make more than a cameo appearance. I'd say I could explain it as Michael was forced off to the side by one of the main characters I have in mind, and thus he and Tony never quite became friends in the way they did in your story universe.

Interesting and well-written background about Tony and Michael at RIMA.

Senator Webber definitely seems to have had, and to still have, more of an interest in Tony than just being a would-be mentor to one of his son's friends. Or a would-be partner in black market operations to Tony today. Some quick action is gonna have to happen if Tony's gonna get out of this one.

Damn. Just when I thought the op was wrapping up.
Well, you came up with quite a plausible explanation for why 9/10ths of the radios didn't work. Gibbs is right. That techie's assumptions could have gotten people killed, and it's even more galling that the guy actually found it in himself to defend what he did, even so.
Gibbs and the others are gonna have to move fast on this.

I have to say, I think I may like this one best out of the stories of yours that I've read. I mean, they're all written well and I have enjoyed each of them, but this one has arguably kept me the most consistently engaged. Anyway. Chapter 17 awaits.

Gibbs is made of steel, he is. You continue to depict his adaptability and innovation under pressure brilliantly. Good that Gibbs is aware of things as they develop, including that this is getting to be a little much for Tony. I would say Tony's assessment of what Sullivan was doing in this chapter is correct.
Gibbs and Tony have both been put in a hard spot by those faulty radio parts. I hope there's a good explanation for that, because it doesn't seem it was by Gibbs' intention.

Oh, boy. This is going farther than it probably should. Gibbs and Tony may need a hand in getting out of this one, but then again, they may have to get themselves out of it, somehow.

Ha ha, I can't believe that Gibbs managed to get a head-slap in even during this undercover op.

Wow. For a frigging supply POG this colonel sure gets around. Treason, domination and the black market, all with a Monday-to-Friday logistics officer job. Fascinating.

"I, too, await an explanation." HA. You are just brilliant with your introduction and characterization of each of these bosses and associates that Doug Sullivan has in the underworld.

Indeed- Tony is doing well to watch out for Gibbs, but he had better come up with an in-character explanation for this one.

An excellent chapter, as usual. We meet another of Sullivan's business associates, and given the standard we've gotten used to at this point, Simon Fedorov is positively humane and agreeable.
There is something very dangerous about Sullivan. I hope Gibbs is aware of it, and if not, Tony better alert him to it the next chance he gets.