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Chapter 2

Jethro took the seat Tom pointed him to, already irritated with the whole situation.  He sipped his coffee and ordered his thoughts for the questions he knew he was about to be asked.

“This case has gained the attention of the SecNav, Jethro,” Tom Morrow stated wearily.  “He’s got five different admirals chewing his ear about this situation.  We need to be extremely careful how we handle the investigation.”

“I’ll investigate like I always do, Tom,” Jethro stated with a scowl.

“Jethro…”

“I’m not gonna pussyfoot around just because some flag officers have their dicks in a knot,” Jethro said firmly then took a couple gulps of his coffee before it got any colder.

“At least try to be civil, would you?” Tom asked in exasperation.

“I’ve been perfectly civil to everyone I’ve questioned,” Jethro answered with a raised eyebrow.  “Not a single complaint.”

Tom eyed his agent doubtfully.

Jethro drank his coffee and waited.

“Fine,” Tom sighed.  “Keep it that way, would you?  I’ll handle the politics of it.”

“Great.  That all?” Jethro asked.

Tom gave his agent a flat look.  “No.  Tell me about the case.  A full rundown in case I get called and need to answer questions.  Or deflect.”

Jethro drank the last of his coffee then set the cup aside and leaned back in the chair.  “Petty Officer 2^nd Class Maesson got into a verbal altercation with Master Chief Petty Officer Adler and it escalated to a fistfight.  Despite the fact that he outweighs her by 50 pounds and is eight inches taller, she kicked his ass.  He got in a couple good shots, though, and the Master Chief has two cracked ribs and a grade one concussion.  She declined to leave the ship while healing and barely agreed to sit in a chair while bossing around her mechanics.”

Tom’s eyebrows raised in surprise.  “Tough woman.”

“Definitely no-nonsense,” Jethro said with an appreciative nod.  “She reported that Maesson skirted the line of insubordination frequently – and that it had been increasing lately – but nothing that she felt would make a formal reprimand stick.  Nevertheless, she’s kept a heavy eye on him and thinks that’s why things escalated and why he finally flipped.”

“Is it?” Tom asked curiously.

“No,” Jethro denied with a quick headshake.  “When we talked to Maesson, he couldn’t have been happier to prattle on about all the evidence he’s collected against her.  He feels completely justified in assaulting her and believes that his evidence is going to get him off on all charges.”

“It might if he’s right,” Tom admitted reluctantly.  “We might have “Don’t, Ask Don’t Tell” but it’s still against the UCMJ to actually engage in homosexual acts.  If he’s right and she’s an active lesbian who’s helped other homosexuals hide….  Well, the higher ups might bury it and transfer him to another ship with just a ding.”

Jethro nodded.  “He emailed his evidence to the CO of everyone he investigated.  It obviously went up the chain and that’s why SecNav has admirals ranting at him.  It’s going to be a pain in the ass to look at every incident he’s documented and find out what really happened.  The investigation is going to be a slogging nightmare.  And it’s going to go nowhere.”

“It’s untrue?” Tom asked in surprise, leaning forward.  “How do you know so soon?”

“That’s not what I said,” Jethro said irritably and waved at Tom’s coffee pot.

Tom gave a huff but waved his permission.  “Why do you say it’s not going to go anywhere then?  Is it true or not?”

Jethro stood up and took his cup over to the pot and poured himself a half cup.  He swirled it a bit to help cool it down and returned to his seat.  “I think it’s a mix.  Maesson claims Adler is an active lesbian.  That’s not true.  He claims she’s helped ten male and three female homosexuals hide their orientation and activities.  I think it’s probably true she helped hide their orientation, but not the acts.  I’m not sure yet if there were any acts to actually hide.  My gut says we’ll find that everyone has adhered to the letter of the UCMJ and that nothing Maesson provided is prosecutable.  We’re going to spend a month on this for nothing.”

“How many interviews have you done so far?” Tom asked

“Just four,” Jethro admitted.  “Petty Officer 1^st Class Courtney and his wife Petra and Petty Officer 2^nd Class Ivers and his wife Rosalin.  All have similar stories.  They met and hit it off and decided to marry.   They are perfectly happy and deny all accusations.”

Tom nodded thoughtfully.  “Too similar?’ he asked, then nodded again with Jethro gave an affirmative grunt.  “And what does your gut say?”

“Gut says both men are actually gay but are celibate to keep from crossing the UCMJ,” Jethro answered, furrowing his brows in thought.  “The Courtneys have a two-year-old and the Ivers are expecting in a few months, so they’ve figured that out somehow.”

“Third party?” Tom suggested hesitantly.

Jethro shrugged.  “Maybe.  But the Courtney kid looks like his father so a close relative if so.  I doubt we’ll be able to gather enough to push for a warrant for paternity tests.”

“You’ve not talked to Master Chief Adler about the accusations yet.  Why not do so while you were aboard ship?” Tom asked curiously.

“Just a hunch,” Jethro answered, taking a sip of hot coffee.  “I’m going to talk to her husband first.  He lives on base at Norfolk and is very active in spousal clubs.  He also runs his own business with a number of employees.”

Tom leaned forward and put his arms on his desk.  “You think it’s the husband doing the hiding.”

“It would explain what Maesson had gathered and the actual logistics,” Jethro said with a nod.  “Adler served with the seamen under suspicion, but where would she have met the spouses?  They’re all civilians.”

“She found the seamen and he found the spouses,” Tom mused then chuckled in amusement.  “That’s some teamwork.”

Jethro gave a small smile.  “Yep.”

“Interesting,” Tom said and leaned back.  “He probably arranged the introductions, too.  Maybe even helped the couples marry.  But, even if he did, all you’d be able to prove was that he introduced them.  And even if Master Chief Adler helped, introducing people isn’t a crime.”

“Nope, it sure isn’t,” Jethro said and took another sip of coffee.

~~Pasta!~~

Tony noted the white sedan parked in front of his Norfolk Naval Base home and wondered which of his friends had come early and why they’d gotten a new car.  He pulled into his carport, parked as far in as possible, and eased himself carefully out of his SUV; his knee stiffer and hurting more than usual this week since he’d overdone it over the weekend.  He pulled out his cane and got himself balanced before closing his door.  He heard the doors of the sedan close – two of them – and figured it was Meg and Tilly.  That was good; he could use some help getting the box of diapers for Donna up the walk to her door.

Tony rounded the back of his Subaru and stopped in surprise at the unknown man and woman approaching him.  His hand gripped his cane in sudden anxiety but he loosened his hold almost immediately as he took in the serious, but not grim, mien of his visitors.  He waited for them to approach then nodded at them politely.  “How can I help you, Agents?”

“How did you know we were agents?” Kate asked suspiciously.

Tony raised an eyebrow at the woman.  “Because, Agent…?”  He watched the woman blush then pull herself together.  The man’s mouth barely quirked into a short smile.  The man was obviously senior – older, more in control, his eyes more assessing.

“Agent Todd,” Kate replied, embarrassed to have forgotten her manners.  “And this is Agent Gibbs.”

“Because, Agent Todd,” Tony started, dipping his head in acknowledgement of the introductions, “you are not Meg and Tilly.”

Kate blinked at that answer and glanced at Gibbs before returning her attention to the man they’d come to talk to.  “That doesn’t really explain how you knew we were agents.  Did someone tell you we were coming?”

“No, Agent Todd,” Tony said with a chuckle, shifting his weight a bit more onto his good leg.  “When I heard two car doors close, I thought Meg and Tilly had arrived early.  You’re not them, obviously.  Your demeanor says you’re here on business, on a military base, but you’re not wearing uniforms.  You’re civilian, though your boss looks like former military, and you remind me of agents I’ve met in the past.  It was an educated guess.  Now, how can I help you?  I’ve got guests arriving within the hour.”

Jethro stepped forward when Kate looked taken aback at the man’s reply.  “Your wife was injured recently in a fight.  She’s doing well and will make a full recovery.  We need to ask you some questions about accusations that were levied against her.”

Tony snorted in disgust.  “Another she’s-better-than-me-so-she-must-be-a-lesbian accusation?”

“We took note of how many there have been,” Jethro said dryly and was gratified when the man laughed a little.

“I bet you did,” Tony said, shaking his head.  “Did she call him a small-dicked pansy-ass?”

Jethro grinned for a moment and ignored Kate’s wince of offense.  She was getting better but she still needed to work on not responding to what people said.  “In point of fact, she called him a limp-dicked, pansy-assed, jealous fuckhead.”

Tony grinned wide in delight.  “Fantastic!  Well, I can assure you that my wife is not a lesbian.  Was there anything else?”

“There’s more,” Jethro answered with a nod.  He gestured towards the man’s cane, having also noted the handicapped plate on the SUV.  “We can go inside so you can sit.”

“All right,” Tony agreed mildly, pleased the agent had suggested it.  “You’ll have to content yourself with the time until my guests arrive.  If you still have more questions after that, we can arrange to meet another day.”

“Agreed,” Jethro said, willing to give on this to keep the man talking to them.  His gut told him this man was essential to unraveling the case.

Tony hummed a bit in suspicion then shrugged and waved to the back of his SUV.  “Since you’re here instead of Meg and Tilly, you can help me with the boxes for Tsukiko.”  He turned back to his vehicle then opened the back hatch and gestured to the boxes within.  “If you two could grab the box of diapers and the formula, we can make a single trip.”  He pulled out his backpack and shrugged it on then picked up the frilly baby dress and stepped aside as Agent Todd moved forward and picked up the box of diapers, leaving the case of formula for Agent Gibbs.

He closed the hatch once the agents had stepped back with their armloads and locked his SUV.  “Come on,” Tony said with a little wave.  “We’re going to leave everything by her door because both Tsukiko and little Donna are sick with a nasty cold and we’re avoiding those germs if at all possible.”

Jethro watched the man walk ahead of them up the pathway between the two front doors of the duplex and wondered at the injury.  The fabric of the man’s jeans didn’t fully hide that the man was wearing a fairly substantial brace on his left knee.  He wondered if the limp and heavy cane support was typical or if it was a bad day.  He also noted the quality of the man’s clothes – the jeans were on the new side and the shirt and shoes were of high quality.

Tony knocked on the left-hand door then pointed to a spot just left of door.  “Just leave the boxes there.  Tsukiko will get them in when she can.”  He got a raised eyebrow from Agent Gibbs but the agents obediently placed the boxes down just as the door was opened.

“Tony!  You’re a lifesaver, thank you so much!”  A Japanese woman exclaimed with relief.  Or tried to.  Her voice was quite hoarse from the aforementioned cold.

“You’re absolutely welcome, my friend,” Tony said with a smile.  “You sound better.”  He ignored the reactions of the agents.

“I don’t feel any better,” the woman said with a huff.  “I’m so tired of being sick.  I’ve got so much to do still.  A lot of packing to do.”

Tony held out the little frilly autumn colored dress.  “Here.  An early present for you.  I know you wanted Donna to have a pretty dress for the going away party on Saturday.  One less thing for you to worry about.  I hope you like it.”

“Aww, it’s so pretty,” Tsukiko cooed.  “Thank you so much.  One less thing to do is the best present right now.  Did the money I gave you cover everything?”

“Short $2.37,” Tony said, waving a hand dismissively.  “Don’t worry about it.  I’d say update your budget, but….”

Tsukiko gave an amused huff.  “But it’ll be different in Mayport.  You sure about the difference?”

Tony nodded.  “Absolutely.  Go.  Rest up.  I’ll see you later.”

The woman nodded and gave a wave and a small smile then closed the door.

“Thank you for helping with the boxes,” Tony said as he stepped to the right-hand door then entered a code.  He opened the door and leaned heavily on his cane as he took the step up into the house.  “Please come in.”

“You have an electronic lock?” Kate asked in surprise.

“It’s easier,” Tony said as he took a right turn into the kitchen area and hooked his cane on the end of the table.  “I entertain a lot and I often have friends come by early when I’m not home yet to help set up.  I change the code every week.  I’m going to make myself some coffee.  Would you like a cup?  May I get you something else to drink?”

“I’ll take a cup,” Jethro said, barely keeping himself from begging for a whole pot.

“You’ll take a whole pot,” Todd said with a huff.  “I’ll take water if you don’t mind.”

Tony glanced back at the agents and grinned as he caught the tail end of a disgruntled look on Agent Gibbs’ face at his subordinate outing his coffee addiction.  “Certainly.  Would you like lemon or lime?”

“Lemon, thank you,” Kate answered in surprise.

“You’re welcome,” Tony answered with a smile.  “Kona all right with you, Agent Gibbs?  Caffeinated?”

“Just Gibbs is fine,” Jethro answered.  “And Kona is fine.  And what’s the point of coffee if there’s no caffeine?”

Tony laughed at the comment as he opened his coffee jar.  “Agreed.”

Jethro watched the man expertly start coffee in a fancy looking machine then pull out a lemon from the refrigerator and start cutting it up with a knife from the expensive looking knife block.  “Do you mind if I ask a personal question before we get started?”

Tony glanced back with an amused smile.  “Feel free.  And please sit.”

“Why did you taken your wife’s surname?” Jethro asked as he sat on one of the four stools at the raised half-table tucked to the side of the kitchen. “I know it happens, but I don’t think I’ve ever met a man who had done so.”

“Ah, well, it seemed the thing to do at the time,” Tony said with a chuckle as he brought a glass of water and a small bowl of lemon wedges to the table and sat them in front of where Agent Todd had taken a seat.  “My father is not a good man, Gibbs, and changing my name to Adler provided a layer of protection against him for myself and my new wife.  It honestly provided me with such a feeling of safety that I berated myself for not doing it sooner.”

Jethro furrowed his brow in concern.  He hated hearing things like that.  “Has he been a problem for you?”

“Not since I changed my name,” Tony said as he went back to his cabinets to get mugs and a serving tray for the coffee.  “And I didn’t tell him, nor anyone else in my family, that I got married.”

“So they couldn’t track you down through your wife,” Jethro said, debating whether or not he could get away with looking into the man’s family.

“Exactly,” Tony said as he put cream and sugar on the coffee tray then added a couple of coffee spoons.

“Were you also protecting possible future children?” Kate asked, keeping a light tone but pressing on one of the pieces of “evidence” provided by Maesson.

Tony stilled for a moment and looked back at the agents with an emotionless face.  He turned back and focused on transferring the finished coffee into the serving pot.  “You haven’t gotten to Ophelia’s medical records yet in your investigation.”

Jethro raised an eyebrow at that and tilted his head at Kate to continue that line of questioning.

“No, not yet,” Kate said after glancing at Gibbs.  “In fact, unless there is some reason to go down the path of Master Chief Adler’s physical health, we likely won’t be able to get a warrant for her medical records at all.  She’s…sterile?”

“In a manner of speaking,” Tony answered as he brought the coffee tray to the table and took a seat and stared at Agent Todd.  “So the limp-dicked fuckhead is claiming that her not having babies is proof she’s a lesbian?”

“It’s one of the things he’s said, yes,” Kate said, holding the man’s gaze, pleased when he nodded and looked away to poor coffee into two mugs.

Tony placed a filled coffee mug in front of Gibbs and gestured to the sugar and cream on the tray.  “I see,” he said and chuckled when Gibbs simply started drinking his coffee black.  Tony added cream and sugar to his own coffee and hummed a bit before decided to explain halfway.  “My wife had a hysterectomy to save her life when she was fifteen as a result of several stab wounds.  Repair was impossible.  If you want to know more about that situation, you will have to ask her.”

“I understand,” Kate said, sad and appalled.  “That never bothered you?  That she couldn’t have children?”

“I considered it a boon,” Tony said with a grim smile.  “I didn’t want children then and I’m very happy to still not have any.  Our friends and family procreate more than enough to make up for our lack.”

“And what about your wife?” Kate asked, frowning at what seemed to be a selfish attitude.  “Does she not want to adopt or…get a surrogate maybe?  She still has her ovaries?  They could harvest eggs for her?”

Tony let out a short laugh.  “Ophelia is even more hardcore childless than I am.  She was happy with the hysterectomy.  She used to have horrible cramps and heavy bleeding and considered it a gift from God that that all disappeared.”

Jethro stepped into the conversation since Kate was obviously flummoxed over what they’d learned.  “She’s also been accused of helping Petty Officer 1^st Class Kaiden Courtney hide his homosexuality and arranging a fake marriage for him.”

“Is that right?” Tony said neutrally and took a sip of his coffee while locking eyes with Gibbs.

Jethro took his own sip and didn’t look way.  “That’s right.”

Tony gave a bland, close-mouthed smile.  “Well, that’s interesting, isn’t it?  The truth is that Kaiden Courtney has an unhealthy interest in standing out in the sun in the middle of nowhere to fly radio-controlled planes.  When Ophelia confided this horrible behavior to me, I immediately thought of my friend Petra, who has the same unhealthy interest.  Since I find matchmaking to be an interesting hobby, I insisted Ophelia bring Kaiden home on leave and introduced the two of them at a picnic.  Things progressed as things do between two people with similar interests.  I’m afraid there’s just nothing nefarious to find.”

“Matchmaking,” Jethro repeated.

“It’s an interesting hobby,” Tony said again, bland smile firmly in place.