Gibbs could see Shepard’s lips moving, but he wasn’t really paying attention to what she was saying.
He hadn’t heard a word she said after she’d gone from asking for a briefing on the case to ranting about Benoit, the CIA and everything else about the case that had pissed her off. None of that really mattered. And the speed with which she was speaking insured no input or participation from Gibbs was required.
Gibbs sighed silently, and tried to at least look like he was listening. He was more interested in thinking about last night, and this morning, than paying attention to anything Shepard had to say. He clenched his jaw and did is best not to smile as he remembered just how damn good last night had been.
Two orgasms in one night hadn’t happened in a long time. Hell, having two the following morning was just as rare. Gibbs felt like he should be glowing he felt so damn good. It had been so tempting to strut into the office smiling and whistling. But that was definitely aberrant behavior for him, and while Miri might have some idea of why he and Tony were late coming in, Gibbs wasn’t sure he wanted anyone else to know. At least not yet. Not until he’d gotten a firm handle on where this thing between them was going.
Gibbs frowned, as he remembered the shift in Tony’s mood after he’d given Gibbs an incredible blowjob and before they’d gotten in the shower together. Something had been off, but he hadn’t been able to pin down what it was exactly. He wasn’t sure what caused it either.
Gibbs hadn’t been overly silent, which used to set off his ex-wives. Hell, he hadn’t said too much either. And nothing he’d said or done seemed to be the cause of that momentary melancholy. At least he didn’t think so.
He consoled himself with the thought that whatever it was, it hadn’t lasted long. And Tony had said yes to having dinner again. That thought made Gibbs smile.
“Jethro, are you even listening to me?”
“No.” Gibbs knew answering honestly was the wrong thing to say, but he was done indulging her whims. If all Shepard wanted an audience, she could pick someone else.
She glared at him. “Damn it, Gibbs, this is important. You, of all people, should know that.“
Gibbs glared at her. “What I know is my team did a damn good job last night. Mission accomplished. And I know you are pissed about how it went down, but there isn’t anything I can do about that. Not unless you want to take on the CIA, which is an option but one I know won’t end well. They aren’t going to let go of their pet weapons dealer without a fight, not when everyone involved seems to think keeping him on their leash is for the greater good.”
“Benoit should be rotting in jail not flying off in his private plane!”
“I agree with you, but I don’t know what you expect me to do about it.”
Gibbs understood her wanting justice for her father. He did. Probably better than most. But unless she was going to go rogue and put a bullet in the man’s brain herself, there wasn’t much Gibbs could do to help her. They weren’t going to get approval for an operation to take Benoit down. Not while he was considered an asset to the CIA. And when he was no longer useful to them, it was likely Trent Kort or someone equally close to Benoit who would be tasked with the job of putting him down.
Shepard looked thoughtful. “The CIA isn’t all powerful, Jethro. NCIS has resources too. We need to find a way to get close to Benoit. A way to bring him back to DC and get him away from the CIA.”
She nodded slowly. She looked at Gibbs. “Benoit has a daughter. Her name is Jeanne.”
Shepard smiled as she’d said that. It made Gibbs uneasy. He had a feeling he wasn’t going to like where she was going with this.
“She is a medical resident here in DC. By all accounts, she and her father are close.”
Gibbs’ jaw tightened. He couldn’t help feeling sick at the idea of using a man’s daughter against him. If Benoit loved his daughter, he would have kept her away from his business. Gibbs had done is best to keep Kelly innocent of the things he’d done as an active duty Marine, and there were things he’d done as an agent he would never have wanted her to know.
It worried him that Shepard knew about Benoit’s daughter. Why hadn’t that little bit of information come up before? When exactly had she learned about Jeanne? How long had she been thinking of using his daughter to bring down La Grenouille?
Oblivious to what Gibbs was thinking, Shepard continued speaking. “If we got someone undercover, someone who could keep an eye on her and--“
“Don’t think we’ve got anyone qualified to work at a hospital.”
Shepard arched an eyebrow. “Agreed. We don’t have anyone with medical expertise, with the possible exception of Dr. Mallard and his assistant. And I doubt sending someone in as support staff would work if they couldn’t actually get close to her. Doctors rarely mingle with the cleaning staff or the aides.”
She clucked her tongue. “We need someone to build a rapport with her, establish a level of trust that would get us the information we need. That’s why I was thinking more along the lines of a romantic liaison.”
Shepard’s smile grew. Gibbs’ unease grew along with it.
“She’s not going to tell a mere coworker about her father’s operation, but she would open up to a boyfriend. La Grenouille might not come back to the US to visit her often, but to assess a new love interest, a future son in law, he likely would stop by. He’d probably even shake his CIA handlers so he could have time alone with his little girl.”
Gibbs’ gut clenched. He didn’t like what she was proposing. Putting a bullet in Benoit’s head was one thing, seducing his daughter was another. Gibbs would kill someone for using his daughter that way, and he couldn’t see Benoit reacting any differently if he cared about her at all. Gibbs couldn’t see how such an operation would end well for anyone involved.
“Is there any evidence the daughter is mixed up in his operation?”
Shepard snorted. “She’s his daughter. She’s not exactly an innocent.”
“Do you have any evidence she’s involved?” Gibbs asked again, his tone clipped and hard.
“It doesn’t matter whether or not I have hard evidence.” Shepard glared at him. “She’s a way in.”
Gibbs began to realize that Shepard’s interest in La Grenouille might be more of an obsession than he’d thought. Her cooperating with the CIA had been coerced by the circumstances, but she clearly wasn’t giving up entirely on bringing Rene Benoit down.
“It matters, Jenny,” Gibbs said softly. “You know it does.”
“No, it doesn’t,” she argued back, her tone fierce and defiant. “I had a chance to get him, Gibbs. For the first time in years, I was this close,” she held up her thumb and forefinger, the digits less than an inch a part, “to having the bastard in jail and getting him to pay for what he’s done.”
“You are prepared to make this woman nothing more than collateral damage? Is that what you are telling me?”
“She wouldn’t be any more damaged than I was when--” Shepard abruptly stopped.
Gibbs knew what she’d left unsaid. She was collateral damage when her father killed himself because of Benoit. But whatever Rene Benoit had done, it was ultimately her father who’d pulled the trigger. He’d been the one to pick suicide over facing the consequences of his actions. And even if Benoit had been the one to pull the trigger, he at least had taken out Jasper Shepard without involving Jenny directly. What she was proposing would deliberately put Jeanne Benoit in the line of fire.
“I think DiNozzo might be an excellent choice to woo her. If his reputation here is anything to go by he won’t be averse to creating an intimate relationship with a beautiful woman. Not to mention his skill at undercover work. He’d be perfect for the assignment.”
“No.” Not just no, hell no, Gibbs thought fiercely. “You are not pimping out my agent--“
“He’s not your agent, Gibbs, he’s mine.” She smirked, blue eyes cold. “He’s not even on your team any more so it’s not like you’d even be affected, Jethro.”
Gibbs’ stiffened. She wasn’t wrong about Tony not being on his team, but she was dead wrong about Gibbs not being affected by her wanting to use Tony as some sort of whore. And she was most definitely wrong about Tony not being his. He’d been blind and stupid before, but Gibbs knew better now. He and Tony might not have talked about it in specific terms, but Gibbs was sure of his own feelings on the matter. Tony was most definitely his.
Even has he thought that, Gibbs knew if Shepard went to Tony, the decision would be Tony’s to make, not Gibbs’. Undercover assignments were usually voluntary, but Tony would follow orders if he thought one was being given. Tony respected the chain of command, but had always deferred to Gibbs when on his team, considering the older man the only link in the chain he had to listen too.
But he wasn’t on Gibbs team any more. He was a leader of his own team. A team he obviously cared a great deal about. Gibbs didn’t think he’d abandon them, and for the first time since Tony had come back to DC, Gibbs thought that might be the best option.
He didn’t want Tony to leave, but Rota was far enough from Shepard for Tony to avoid her machinations. At least Gibbs hoped it was.
If Shepard was as obsessed as Gibbs suspected, there wasn’t much that would stop her. What she was thinking of doing wasn’t even a sanctioned operation; Shepard didn’t have the authority to order something like that and she was already planning how it could be done.
She wouldn’t go to the SecNav with this. Gibbs didn’t think for a moment that he would approve…especially not with the CIA’s claim on Benoit. But Gibbs knew Shepard well enough to know the lack of authorization probably wouldn’t slow her down. She’d missed a chance to get Benoit; she wouldn’t miss another.
Gibbs also knew she wouldn’t tell Tony the truth about the operation if she had the chance to approach him with it. She couldn’t lie to Gibbs, but Shepard could probably pull off lying to Tony. If for no other reason than he’d never expect her to be so underhanded, or unethical.
Shepard had been good to Tony when Gibbs was in Mexico. She’d had faith in his abilities, and supported him when his teammates were more hostile than helpful; she’d given him a promotion and a plum assignment. He might have some doubts about her, but not enough to think she’d lie to him or make him party to something illegal.
Gibbs would have to get to Tony first.
“This is wrong,” Gibbs told Shepard, wanting to give her at least one more chance to see reason.
“Why?” Shepard rolled her eyes. “Because some pampered little princess might get her feelings hurt? Please.”
“Revenge isn’t justice.”
“Don’t pretend to have the moral high ground.” She glared at him. “We both know you don’t own it.”
“Never claimed to be a saint.” Gibbs raised his chin defiantly. “But when it came to doing the dirty work, I never involved anyone who didn’t know exactly what they were getting into. That’s a hell of a lot more than you can say here.”
Shepard’s cheeks flushed with color. He couldn’t tell if it was anger or embarrassment but figured he’d made his point. Gibbs nodded curtly before turning neatly on his heel and walking out.
Gibbs moved quickly. He knew Shepard would call Tony, and he needed to get to him before she recovered from his last verbal hit.
Gibbs scanned the bullpen as he jogged down the stairs. He spotted Tony at the desk he’d assigned him and Miri. Tony was leaning over Miri’s shoulder as she pointed out something on her computer screen.
Gibbs was only a few feet away when Tony’s cellphone rang. Gibbs bit back a curse and barked out an order.
“DiNozzo, you’re with me. Now!”
Tony blinked, looking up in surprise. He wasn’t the only one. McGee, Ziva and Bahl looked equally startled to suddenly have Gibbs in their midst and yelling for Tony.
Tony looked down at his phone and then back up, green eyes meeting blue. Gibbs eyes cut to the phone in Tony’s hand and he shook his head. Tony arched an eyebrow, but didn’t question. He handed his still ringing phone to Miri.
“Do me a favor, Callahan, answer that if it rings again.”
Miri frowned, looking from Tony to Gibbs and then back. “Will do, Sir.”
“Thanks.”
McGee stood up. He cast uneasy glances between Gibbs and Tony. “Boss, is there something we should know?“
Gibbs almost responded with a curt ‘no’, before thinking better of it. Tony might have been Shepard’s first and best option, but he wasn’t her only choice. It would be better to buff some of the naïveté off all his team members than leave them in the dark thinking Shepard was entirely on the up and up. But he wanted to warn Tony first.
“I’ll tell you later, McGee. Just hold down the fort until Tony and I get back.”
“Back from where?” Ziva asked.
Gibbs didn’t answer her. He wasn’t entirely sure where they were going, or how long they’d be gone. And really, it was better not to say anything. The less they knew, the less they could tell Shepard.
“DiNozzo.” Gibbs made a follow me motion with one hand.
“On your six, Boss.”
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.