Rejoinder

"Look up, Son," Jethro ordered, then waited for the agent to comply.

Tony met his gaze but pursed his lips. He made his face unreadable.

"You have four weeks left on this assignment, Dinozzo, just four. Further, you have my word that four weeks and one day from today you will be slipping into this bullpen and back on the job with your team. This agent afloat post is temporary and was always meant to be temporary. Believe me, because I refused to consider lending you to the ship until I had that guarantee. Always the reason it was assigned to you is because the director knew you could solve the case."

Jethro spread his hands outwards and indicated the rest of the MTAC room. "Out of a federal agency full of candidates with every kind of qualification, your credentials topped them all. And Tony, that makes me proud."

His boss's explanation and sentiment elicited a response. Tony sat up straighter and regarded the other man. Jethro knew his words resonated. The years of their partnership had certainly not rendered him oblivious to Tony's desperate need for his boss's approval.

"Now give me bottom line. How does it look onboard?" he questioned, and Tony's demeanor changed instantly to his professional one as he proceeded to update Jethro.

"Down to three I think have been in cahoots embezzling from payroll, but an additional two share the guilt through turning blind eyes to the crime. I want to wait for the next pay period on Friday to lower the boom, though. That way I will not only have them caught in the act, but will have them caught in the act while simultaneously being video streamed to the commander's office."

Gibbs nodded his approval. "Good job- does the commander know?"

"I just gave him a sit rep this morning. He had no idea this was taking place under his watch. His suspicion had centered on some kind of hacking scheme from far, far away, in another galaxy, I suppose."

Gibbs rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "It must have thrown him."

"Yeah, well, any confusion on his part probably comes from his approach to leadership. He makes every decision a communal one. Personally, I would not give him credit for having the ability to decide which breakfast cereal to choose all by himself, much less figure out who is engaging in illegal activity on his carrier."

"That may be true, but he runs the ship," Gibbs reminded him, arching his brows to emphasize the point.

"Barely, I guess," Tony conceded.

Gibbs cleared his throat. "Dinozzo, has Fletcher treated you unfairly? Has he done anything personally that would make you question his authority or place you in ethical quicksand?"

The younger man recognized the line of questioning and tone of voice as the same one Jethro Gibbs employed when he planned to tear his senior field agent out of the frame.

Changing to a lighter tone immediately, he attempted to circumvent the reprimand.

"No, actually, he likes me. I just have no respect for him, I suppose," Tony admitted, grinning. "He reminds me of Treat Williams in The Devil's Own, kind of ingratiating."

Checking Jethro's response to that, he did not bother to continue with a defense.

Gibbs crossed his arms across his chest.

"Tony, be quiet now and make sure you listen," his boss ordered. "I want to talk to you."

Savvy to what response would bring on the full wrath of Gibbs, the younger man quickly obeyed. Steeling himself he regarded Gibbs with trepidation.

His boss's tone of voice only surfaced when Jethro planned to light into him about something Tony had done wrong.

"No matter how you feel about Fletcher, he is your current boss," Jethro began.

Forgetting his own vow of silence, Tony replied indignantly. "Only temporarily, though, and personally, the man barely knows how to lead," the agent attempted to defend himself.

Gibbs evidently did not appreciate the rationale and raised his voice and pointed towards the younger man emphatically. "I don't care, Tony. I do not care. That man is your superior and your boss away from my watch. You will not treat him with disrespect no matter what your justification."

Tony opened his mouth to speak but then thought better of it. He scowled instead, and focused upon the console in front of him.

That was such a Tony response, an almost little boy reaction that he had seen hundreds of times, that Gibbs had to stop himself from smiling. "I am not through, Tony. Look at me right now and keep your full attention on me."

Knowing better than to refuse, Tony did as he was told, and waited for the lecture to resume.

He knew his boss only too well.

"Got it, and I am paying attention," he assured Jethro.

"Good, and this is the deal, the bottom line where you and I are concerned. If I speak to Fletcher again and he tells me that you have been anything less than civil to him, you will regret it."

"You spoke to him, to Fletcher? Wait, he tattled on me? He just wants me in trouble! Boss, you just heard one side of the story, his! It is not fair to just blame me."

Jethro shot Tony the look that meant the younger man had no credibility in the discussion.

In typical Tony fashion, he threw himself dramatically against the chair back and scowled in annoyance.

"I will repeat myself just once more, Anthony. Straighten up and change your attitude with this colonel by yourself, immediately, or I will do it for you. Am I absolutely clear, Son?"

Gibbs watched his words permeate and once more found himself struck at how his senior field agent could maintain control when upset. Tony had the talent of chameleon emotions that he adopted as the situation necessitated.

Honestly, he was under no illusion that the agent would extend fawning deference to Fletcher in the future, but he could guarantee that Tony would make any further encounter with the man one with which Gibbs would approve.

"Do I make myself clear?" Jethro repeated.

Tony nodded a reply, but Jethro insisted, "Verbal response-"

It took another fifteen or twenty seconds before Tony accepted the directive. "Yes, Boss, yes sir, I understand. No matter how I really feel, I will pretend only admiration for the man." He tilted his head and regarded Jethro hopefully to see if his answer proved satisfactory.

Gibbs grinned. "That will be fine, and just what I have asked that you do."

Then narrowing his eyes he repeated, "Make sure that I do not get another call about your attitude, Tony. If he dials my number it had better be to compliment me on the stellar agent I have lent to his command and to his ship."

"Believe me, I have no intention of pushing him to tattle again, Boss. I got it." Tony assured him. "This is the finish of it, ok?"

"Ok, Son, I trust you to follow through with your promise," Jethro smiled. "Now remember that you will be back in Washington soon."

Gibbs signaled to the MTAC operator that the conversation was finishing.

"Bye Boss, and tell Abby I miss her," Tony waved at the camera. "And Boss, I will make you proud of me here, proud of the agent afloat."

Jethro shoved his hands in his pockets, raised his chin and met Tony's gaze. He spoke hurriedly before the last of the video feed dissolved the image. "You already make me proud, Anthony, every day."