Chapter 19
After fishing Tony out of the ravine and reconvening at the house, Palmer sighed.
It wasn’t that he didn’t like being brought over to solve cases or mysteries, it was just that it was late and he really wanted to go home for what was left of the day. He still had three Autopsies to take care of in the morning.
Chasing after something that only Tony saw made him wonder if it was an aftereffect of the Trio reaching majority. Having two reach it so close to each other had to be making some kind of effect on the man.
“Okay,” Tony rejoined them after having had a shower. “The first thing I really want to know is when’s the last time that freaking ditch was cleaned out? Then, I’m going to ask Collie what the hell is in those boxes upstairs and why the bathroom’s locked up tighter than Snape’s personal stores.”
“Tell me you haven’t actually been trying to sneak into them,” Mac grinned.
“I was hanging around last year when a First Year Snake said how complicated the security was. Anyway, I’d really like to not break the door down if I can help it.”
“Collie probably might, anyway,” Palmer thought to point out.
“Yeah, but it’s her own door. She can break it down if she wants to. In the meantime, however,” Tony shook his head. “Maybe Collie’s right to think that someone’s been sneaking past the wards. I’m gonna have someone stay with her until we figure this out.”
“That reminds me,” Palmer raised a finger. “Why aren’t we doing this on Friday or something?”
“Couldn’t take the chance this guy would disappear.”
“But wouldn’t they have done it before tonight if they were going to?”
“I don’t think so,” Deeks shook his head. “Maybe they’re looking for something and they haven’t found it, yet.”
That made sense.
They didn’t want to chance someone finding whatever it was until they investigated. They most certainly didn’t want Collie to be hurt when frustration finally allowed the lurker to lash out when they couldn’t find their item of interest.
“Now I propose,” Tony told them, “that we split up. Palmer and Mac will go upstairs to check out the footsteps we heard earlier. Deeks and I will go outside to check if they’re still around. Palmer, Mac, keep your radios on. We’ll see if we can figure out just how many people we might be dealing with here.”
Not having any other plan or reason to suggest otherwise, half of the group went back upstairs while the other half went back outside.
Palmer checked his radio as he and Mac ended up back on the landing. “How do you think we should do this?” he wanted to know.
Mac sighed and put her hands on her hips. “I want to check that room upstairs again. We’ll go back to Collie’s room to see if we can hear those steps again, but I want to go up first.”
Having no objection, Palmer agreed and followed her up.
The room was still the same as when they went up the first time, nothing seeming to have changed in the interim. They examined the locked bathroom door with their own eyes – still unable to open it – and took another sweep of the room.
“Huh,” Mac suddenly chuckled. “Remember when Tony told us about this stuff being here since the Muldoons moved in? I think he was trying to tell us to look at the boxes.”
Palmer did and had to laugh at himself.
A lot of the boxes towering around them had titles like Vince’s First year or Cousin Eric’s, Things to be Donated, etc.
“Tony really does observe, doesn’t he?” Palmer wondered aloud, yet another wave of awe washing through him at his friend’s abilities at finding clues and solving mysteries.
“Yeah,” Mac smiled slightly. “But then, he’s had practice. Hey, Palmer? Tony’s been himself, right? I mean, he’s been eating and everything, right?”
“I haven’t heard otherwise. Why?”
“Well,” she leant against the locked door with crossed arms. “After the funeral, I was really worried about Tony. And Eames, for that matter. The both of us know something of how close the three of them were and you know Tony as well as I do. Once he adopts someone, he adopts someone. I worried because Tony is someone who takes care of everyone else and Sh- Sherlock,” she swallowed and trailed off. Merlin, Tony must be feeling so guilty on top of feeling like a failure.”
“I know,” Palmer sighed. “And he’s trying to hide it for the Trio’s benefit. As glad as I am for those three, I think Tony hasn’t had enough time to really … mourn.” And Palmer really didn’t.
After the summer high of the Weasley wedding, he and Mac watched in concern as Tony pulled into himself before and after the funeral. He used the ready distraction of everyone else to hide from them and they all had left him alone without putting up a fight to do what he more or less wanted. When Tony did allow himself to get involved with them and their activities, he’d been blank and withdrawn – which was a damn sight better than the plastic smiles and pretty lies of ‘I’m doing okay’ because at least being depressed was being genuine no matter how much Tony hated to show everyone else his feelings of hurt.
Then there was the consulting case in Oregon that Tony caught while ferrying Deeks, Palmer and Mac home.
Since then, it was like Tony had buried his feelings so deep that Palmer almost believed Tony half-convinced himself he was fine, his smiles seeming less forced as time went on. Palmer still couldn’t believe how good an actor Tony could be when he didn’t want anyone to pry, which Palmer had had every intention of doing.
It hadn’t been until the teaching news broke that Palmer began to hope that things would start getting better now that Harry, Ron and Hermione would be around, but now he was starting to wonder if that wasn’t taking a few steps back, after all.
The Trio was still hurting, too, and Tony was just the type to downplay his feelings to focus on them.
Palmer worried his lip.
Maybe this was a bad strategy in the long run, which would make Tony’s meltdown even worse and more devastating when it finally happened. And there was every indication that it eventually would, because Tony couldn’t keep teaching forever.
He wouldn’t have the distractions of a teacher when January came.
That’s when Palmer was really going to worry. And with no Trio around 24/7…
“What are the chances that we can get the Trio to work in America?” he slumped miserably, already dreading the future. “They seem to be holding Tony together right now.”
“I think you’re right,” Mac ruffled her hair in agitation. “He doesn’t want them to worry, so he doesn’t show anything. And he’s Tony, so he really doesn’t show what he doesn’t want us to see.”
“And he can’t actually show anything at NCIS, since they don’t know that 1) Tony has magic or 2) he knew Sherlock,” Palmer added. He couldn’t help bitterly wondering if they would incorrectly conclude that it was another undercover ploy.
It hadn’t helped that Tony was supposed to be undercover now, either, though Eames had helped with his WitSec explanation last year.
“So what can we do?” Mac shook her head. “We both know that Tony’s gonna let it build up until something finally gives, but what can we do?”
“Maybe let the kids deal with it right now,” he shrugged. “I trust them enough to come to one of us if they need to." Being closer to Tony, it seemed like the ideal short-term plan.
Mac didn’t have anything against it, either, and Palmer wasn’t sure she could find a better plan except to let the Trio know that they were available, but Mac suddenly went quiet as she pressed her ear to the door.
“What?” Palmer straightened.
“Go downstairs,” she quietly told him. “Listen if you hear anything and tell me on the radio.”
He didn’t think twice before racing down to the room right below. He stood right under Mac’s position and nodded to himself.
“Mac,” he spoke into his radio. “Someone’s walking up there.”
“I know,” she answered. “But there’s something else, too. I’m hearing … you know that sound you make when you scratch a cardboard box? That’s exactly it.”
“Do you want us to go back to the house?” Tony chimed in.
“I still can’t get the door open,” Mac told them. “Palmer, is someone still walking? Can you tell?”
“Yeah,” he reported. “But… it’s … different now. It’s not the same person walking up there.”
The heavy steps from before were now replaced with …
The best he could explain was when Mac was in her element and she walked – glided – with ease.
It sounded like a woman’s footsteps, too.
He relayed the new development.
“But how?” Mac wanted to know. “No one got past me and the door’s still locked.”
“What the hell’s going on?” Deeks wondered. “Want us to come back?”
Palmer listened to the steps growing fainter. “No… something’s going on.”
After a few minutes, the footsteps were gone altogether.
“I can’t hear anymore,” Mac reported.
“I don’t, either.”
After more silence, Mac spoke. “Tony? What do you want us to do now?”
“Hold position,” he instructed. “If you can’t do anything more, meet us back at the Crescent.”
Palmer and Mac did as told, ears open to anything else going on.
After a half hour of no activity, however, they were confident that nothing else was going to happen.
“Anything, Palmer?” Mac checked for one last time. “Nothing up here. And the door’s still locked.”
“Nothing down here, either.”
Mac then switched her radio dial to include Tony and Deeks – both teams having agreed to use separate channels to keep from startling the others into premature attack. “Guys, we’re going back downstairs.”
Neither heard anything in answer, but Mack rejoined Palmer in Collie’s room before long.
“Are you guys at the Crescent, already?” Palmer asked Tony and Deeks, the pair making their way back down to the kitchen. “Hello?” he frowned at the radio. “Tony? Deeks?”
“Are you guys in the kitchen, yet?” Deeks finally answered.
“Yeah, why?”
“Can you guys tell me if you can see Tony?”
“What do you mean?” Mac frowned. “He’s not with you?”
“Thought we could surround this intruder and went down opposite ends of the path to the Crescent. I’ve been sitting here for five minutes and Tony’s still not here.”
Palmer shot a look at Mac.
“Hold on, Deeks,” she caught his gaze. “We’re on our way, now.”
“But how? Why?” he wanted to know. “Tony knows –”
“ – to always bring back up, yeah, I know,” she nodded, sliding the glass door open and stepping out. “Merlin, Palmer, Tony spends so much time with Muggles that I wonder if he’s forgotten to keep his guard up here, too. Not even being close to the school will keep him from getting attacked and there is obviously something going on around here.”
“Well, yeah,” Palmer shrugged. “But it’s different, especially with Harry up at the school and all. There’s supposed to be security measures in place.”
“Yeah,” she snorted quietly. “Supposed to be. And yet, here we are, chasing something that has slipped past Dumbledore’s defenses.”
“He’s not all-knowing, Mac, hard as it is to believe.”
“I know. I’m just saying. Even the most airtight strategy has a few holes for everyone to find after the fact.”
They quieted as they moved down the slope, tensing as they allowed themselves to be surrounded by the trees. The very curve of the head of the clearing was where the Crescent sat out of view deep within the tree line, Palmer letting his eyes roam the trees like he knew Mac was doing beside him.
“Wait,” she suddenly stopped in the dead center of the clearing, grabbing his arm. “Look.”
“What?” he looked at where she pointed. A very faint light was making its way down the path from the left. “Is that Tony?”
“Deeks,” Mac called on the radio. “You came in from the right? We’re seeing Tony come from the left.”
“I did. Okay. I’m heading that way, now,” the blond answered, his light shining brightly within the trees in the surrounding darkness. “Stay there and tell me how close I am.”
“Standing by.”
Mac and Palmer watched Deeks move down the path toward where Tony’s light slowly drifted to a stop. Deeks’ light moved toward it and they watched from the center of the clearing as the blond suddenly came to his own stop feet from where the Italian stood. “Am I close? He should be close, right?”
“What does that mean?” Palmer jolted, the whole scene raising the hair on the back of his neck. “Tony’s right in front of him.”
“Deeks, are you certain that you aren’t seeing anyone?” Mac’s eyes were locked on the pair of lights when Palmer glanced over at her before turning his own bewildered gaze back to the tableau unfolding in front of them.
“I’m beginning to think that I probably should with that tone in your voice, but I’m not seeing anything or one out here. It’s like I’m alone in the middle of the woods from the Blair Witch Project … and I’m not sleeping tonight,” he added as an afterthought, shiver almost audible.
“But he’s not alone,” Palmer shook his head. “Tony’s right – ” he blinked as one of the lights went out. “He was – huh?” Unease definitely started setting in as he and Mac looked at each other before racing over to where Deeks still stood.
“What’s going on?” he frowned when they burst through the trees and he got a good look at them. “Did you see Tony or not?”
Palmer shrugged and shook his head, not knowing what to tell him as Mac attempted to explain. They’d seen something, but they didn’t know.
“Alright,” Mac was breathing kind of shallowly as she looked around. “We’re going to find Tony and then we’re going to get Dumbledore out here. No one is going anywhere alone, we stick together. Deeks, why would the two of you split up?”
“Hell if I know,” he shrugged. “I thought it was kind of odd, too.”
Anxiety was on the heels of unease as Palmer tried finding any sign that Tony was nearby and messing with them.
He prayed Tony was nearby and messing with them.
“Tony?” he tried. “Are you out there?”
Mac tried on the radio, but silence greeted them.
“I don’t like this,” Deeks crowded closer to them.
“Why would he want to split up?” Mac asked herself. “It doesn’t make sense. He knows better.”
Palmer moved around so his back was to her side. His eyes caught nothing outside the beams of their lights. “Locator spell,” he blurted.
“If he’s not answering, it’s the only option,” Mac sighed before performing the spell. They looked to see her wand pointing back toward the wall at the end of the property.
“What’s he doing back there?” Deeks looked in that direction before glancing back at them.
“One way to find out,” Mac looked at them each in turn before squaring her shoulders and leading the way.
They did eventually find Tony – sitting on the ground, back against the wall, motionless as his flashlight laid beside him to illuminate the forest clutter.
When they got closer, they saw Tony’s green eyes blankly staring out into the darkness and found him ice cold to the touch.