“Oh, come on, you can do better than that,” Maggie taunted Ziva, sending her flying across the room. They had been meeting to work out for the past few weeks. Ziva had been very frustrated at Maggie for holding back. Ziva was very proud of her abilities, and hated knowing that Maggie wasn’t giving it her all. “Remember, I’m not any stronger than you in this form. But I do have better senses, so I can tell when your heart rate or breathing will change, and can anticipate your next move. I also have many years of experience on you. But you are an excellent fighter; very well-trained...” Maggie’s speech was cut off as Ziva caught her with a hard hit to the solar plexus, knocking her down. Maggie gasped, searching for breath. “Okay, I’ll shut up now.” She rubbed her chest that was already feeling bruised.
“You will heal, correct?” Ziva confirmed. Maggie smiled. Now she was getting the hang of it. Since their conversation, they had been becoming better friends. She still didn’t know if Ziva had talked with Noah, but she knew they weren’t together. Maggie sprang to her feet and resumed her fight stance. They circled the mat, ready for action.
“Let’s move!” Tony interrupted them. “We have a case. Gibbs is already on his way to the scene.” The girls rushed to the edge of the room to grab their things and raced up the stairs without changing. Tony chuckled, thinking this was way too easy.
They burst into the bullpen to find Gibbs, McGee and Diamond sitting quietly at their desks, working.
“Something I can do for you ladies?” Gibbs asked; cocking one eyebrow, amusement showing on his face.
“Tony!” they cried foul. The object of their annoyance laughed as he stepped off the elevator.
“What’s up?” McGee asked, looking from the faces of the girls to Tony’s huge smile.
“Tony just made us run up here like a cat out of hell,” Ziva explained.
“Bat out of hell,” McGee corrected. Ziva looked confused.
“Why would a bat be in hell?” she asked.
“Why would a cat be in hell?” he countered.
“Have you ever owned a cat, McGee?” Gibbs asked. Ziva laughed.
“Tony told us we had a case and that Gibbs was already gone,” she explained.
“In that case, nice hustle ladies,” Gibbs said with a smile. “I’m going for coffee,” he rose from his seat. “Want one?” he asked.
“None for me,” Ziva said with a grimace.
“I have my own,” Maggie said, indicating her thermos.
“Is it still hot?” he asked.
“Not really,” she admitted.
“So come with?” he asked. She shrugged her shoulders and grabbed her bag.
“Why not?” she replied.
“Anyone else?” Gibbs offered. When no one moved to stand, he moved to the elevator.
“So, Ziva, it looked like you were kicking Maggie’s tail,” Tony commented.
“Not exactly,” she responded rolling her eyes, still annoyed with him.
“Come on, it was just a joke,” he said laughing. Ziva smiled. Tony had been pulling practical jokes ever since he came back to work after Kate’s ‘passing’. As much as she hated being the butt of his sense of humor, she was happy to oblige if it helped bring him out of his funk. “Okay, so I’m still not forgiven,” he continued.
“You still aren’t forgiven for yesterday’s prank call,” she reminded him sternly. He laughed in remembrance.
“You’re too gullible,” he accused.
“If there’s anything Ziva is not, it’s gullible,” Noah interjected.
“Thank you,” she said to him.
“But you have to admit,” Tony continued, still laughing, “that look on your face…” he was laughing so hard, he could barely catch his breath. His laughing proved infectious. Soon McGee began laughing with him, remembering Ziva’s expression. Eventually, Ziva gave in and was able to laugh at herself.
“Okay, so I’ll give you that one, but this has to stop, Tony,” she said, trying to be serious. Their conversation was interrupted when Tony’s phone buzzed.
“DiNozzo,” he answered. “On my way,” he said, rising from his seat. “The director needs to see me,” he explained, making his way up the stairs, still laughing.
“Have a seat, Tony,” Director Shepard said, a huge smile on her face. “You look good,” she said with good humor.
“So do you,” he said suggestively, wagging his eyebrows. She laughed.
“It’s good to have you back,” she said honestly.
“Thanks, Jenny,” he said, leaning back into his chair.
“What I have to tell you is a little disappointing,” she said. He leaned forward, resting his elbow on his knee, and met her eyes. “The position I needed you for IS no longer. I mean, it literally no longer exists. The SecNav’s office did some restructuring, and the position is gone. I’m really sorry Tony, I wanted…”
“Don’t worry about it,” he interrupted her. He smiled, “I really like working with Gibbs and the rest of the team. I’ll be the first to admit that when Gibbs was gone, I enjoyed leading the team,” he stated.
“And you did a marvelous job,” she added with a smile.
“But I’m perfectly happy working right here,” he admitted. He met her eyes, his smile mirroring hers. “Listen, this may be a little out of line, but, um, I was wondering if you wanted to have dinner with me sometime?” he asked, a little uncomfortable.
“Oh Tony,” she said, disappointed. “I can’t. I think you are a heck of a guy, and under other circumstances I would jump at the chance, but I’m your superior and…”
“Don’t worry about it,” he blushed, embarrassed. “I thought you might say that; I was just hoping…”
“I’m really flattered,” she added sincerely.
“Yeah,” he said, still embarrassed. “Well, I’m gonna go… sorry about that.” He left her office, significantly less jovial than he entered.
Jenny Shepard rested her head on the desk in front of her. She didn’t know what to do. She had seriously been tempted to agree to Tony’s proposal of a date. What was she thinking? She wasn’t interested in Tony. Was she? Well, it didn’t matter anyway. Jethro wasn’t the only one who had rules about interoffice dating, based on experiences. She assumed she only felt sorry for Tony’s loss and wanted to help him get back to himself.
“It’s chilly out here,” Maggie commented to Gibbs. He gave her a cursory glance.
“You think?” he replied. It was at that moment she realized she was still wearing her workout clothes. She blushed. She had been so wrapped up in Tony’s prank and then in Gibbs’ invitation that it hadn’t occurred to her that she needed to change. No wonder Noah gave her such a funny look as she left the office. Gibbs smiled at her discomfort. Maybe this wasn’t as easy for her as she claimed.
“People are staring,” she said under her breath.
“Do you blame them?” he asked, a laugh in his voice. She smiled. He had a point. Suddenly the hilarity of the situation hit her and she began to laugh. He smiled at her, bringing his eyes to meet hers. The good humor immediately evaporated into a kind of uncomfortable tension.
“Look, Jethro, I’m sorry if I made things awkward between us when I first came to NCIS. I find you very attractive. You are the perfect kind of man for me. I’m afraid that I let my feelings get the better of my good judgment. I’m sorry for stretching your personal code of rules to the point that you even considered, for a moment, breaking one for me…”
“For a moment?” he interrupted. “I’ve been seriously considering breaking certain ‘rules’ about twenty times a day since that day you propositioned me in the elevator.” He smiled and stopped walking.
“What is it?” Maggie asked, looking around.
Gibbs nodded back in the direction they came from, “We passed the coffee shop a few blocks back,” he admitted. “I guess I was distracted.” She chuckled.
“Me too,” she said softly.
“Maggie, I really think we should give this thing a shot,” he suggested, clearly uncomfortable.
“Jethro, what about…?” she began.
“Seriously,” he interrupted. “I don’t want to make myself into a hypocrite, but there are so many interoffice relationships at NCIS right now, I don’t think anyone would notice.”
“Well,” she suggested, “if you wanted to keep it a secret, I know people heard you shut me down a few weeks ago. As far as the rest of the office is concerned, we barely tolerate one another and are just getting back to a decent working relationship.”
“What about Abby?” Gibbs asked. Maggie laughed.
“She’s just as in the dark as the others, Jethro,” she said with a smile. “I didn’t tell her about that night…” She saw his face relax in relief.
“So, it’ll be our little secret?” he confirmed. She smiled in agreement, and rose up on her tiptoes to kiss him. He met her halfway, kissing her deeply. The kiss was sweet, and a promise of things to come. He gave her a conspiratorial wink before buying her coffee.
Back in the bullpen, Maggie gave Tony a glare, and then grabbed her clothes to go change. He laughed. Secretly, she was glad to see him joking around. She stepped into the locker room next to the gym. She set her coffee on the bench behind her and began removing her clothes. She grabbed her towel and shampoo, took one last drink from her coffee cup, and then stepped into the shower. She showered quickly. Just as she was rinsing, she heard footsteps enter the locker room. She knew from the sound of the footfalls that the intruder was male, and not someone from her team. She quietly sniffed the air. She didn’t know the man, but would forever remember his scent – strong cigarette smoke and body odor attempted to mask the smell that was ‘him’, but she was very good. She could also detect another smell… chloroform. She shut off the water, and grabbed her towel so he would not realize she was on to him. She twisted the towel into a makeshift weapon and waited, dropping in to a defensive stance. She heard him move to the edge of the shower stall, his heart beat increasing in anticipation of the attack. She smiled. People were so predictable. She thought to attempt to contact Noah. She was no telepath, but knew that if he was close enough to her vicinity he could hear her thoughts. She mentally screamed her distress call and crossed her fingers. Just as she was about to make her move against her attacker, she heard the footsteps of another person. She listened intently, but was unable to discern if the owner of the footsteps was male or female. He or she walked very softly, as if military-trained. She couldn’t hear anything from the new arrival – not breathing or a heart beat. Vampire. And not Noah, she thought, for he would have made his presence known to her. Dang. She mentally screamed again, as she prepared to defend herself. She put a strong shield up around her mind and prayed this vampire wasn’t strong enough to break through. Vampires weren’t typically predators, but this one was clearly up to no good.
Noah stood up from his desk, “Maggie’s in trouble,” he said loudly, getting everyone’s attention.
“What?” Tony asked, already moving.
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “She screamed, and now I’m getting nothing. But she is so good at guarding her thoughts, I wouldn’t have heard anything she didn’t specifically intend for me to hear,” he explained as he ran.
Gibbs hadn’t waited for the explanation, but had run for the stairway at full speed. The others followed suit. He burst through the door of the locker room to find it vacant. “Cover all the exits!” he shouted. “I’m sure they’re still in the building!” He ran through to the other exit leading from the locker room directly to the gym. He crossed the gym and slammed through the doors to the outside just in time to see a white Chevy Suburban pulling from the parking lot. The SUV had Maryland state tags, but he was unable to make out any of the digits. Darnit!
“DiNozzo! Diamond! See if you can find that vehicle!” he ordered as they rushed to the nearest vehicle. “McGee! See what you can find. 1997 Chevy Suburban, white, Maryland tags. Move!” he barked, as McGee rushed back up the stairs. “Ziva, let’s see if they left anything behind,” he said, helping her search the area. They found Maggie’s coffee and clothing sitting on the bench in the locker room, her towel in the floor of shower stall, and traces of blood on the towel and around the drain. Abby joined them, a bag of gear in her hand. She began photographing the locker room.
“I can’t believe someone was in our basement. That takes nerve,” she said, taking samples of the blood around the drain and bagging the towel. Gibbs suddenly thought to check to see if Ducky or Jimmy had heard anything, and left the room.
Ziva came back from the parking lot. “I have something,” she said.
McGee entered the gym, gear in hand. “I started the system on some searches based on the information we have,” he began. “I thought we could use this,” he said, as Abby came out of the locker room with her bag full of evidence. “I see you’re already on it.”
“I need the gear outside,” Ziva said, taking the camera from McGee and heading out the door. She photographed the shiny disc she had found in the parking lot, and then bagged it. She had no idea what it was.
“No, Jethro, I’m afraid I didn’t hear anything,” Ducky responded to Gibbs’ question. “But I can’t find Mr. Palmer. The boy’s gone missing again…” he trailed off. “You don’t think he was taken with Agent Sullivan?” he questioned.
“No, Duck,” Gibbs responded, “I think he’s somewhere with Agent Lee.”
“Agent Lee? Why would…?” he stopped as the truth smacked him in the face. He chuckled. “I was wondering why she was always finding an excuse to come down here,” he said.
“Palmer! Lee!” Gibbs barked loudly, stepping out the door. The two guilty parties stepped out of a hall closet, straightening their clothing.
“Mr. Palmer,” Ducky began, “I am appalled that…”
“Later, Duck,” Gibbs interrupted. “Agent Sullivan was abducted from the locker room next door. Did either of you see or hear anything at all?” he asked gruffly. Agent Lee shook her head, but Jimmy looked pensive for a moment and then spoke up.
“We’re always afraid of being caught, so I usually listen pretty well,” he stated. “I heard footsteps a few times, and some numbers on a cell phone being pressed, but no one spoke,” he added quickly.
“You heard buttons being pressed,” Gibbs asked incredulously.
“Well, they beeped,” he said confused. “Like speakerphone was on,” he answered.
“Abby’s lab,” Gibbs ordered the young couple, who immediately moved.
“What do you have for me?” Gibbs asked, entering the bullpen.
“I am running through a list of all the vehicles that match the description, cross-checking the names and addresses against a list of possible suspects Noah provided. Nothing yet.” Gibbs’ expression said what he didn’t bother to. Tim’s fingers raced across the keys as he tried yet another seemingly meaningless search. Gibbs walked past him to the elevator. McGee shook his head. There was no pleasing his boss sometimes, but he understood the urgency.
“Hey, Gibbs,” Abby said when he walked into the lab, not leaving her keyboard – her eyes locked on her monitor.
“Anything?” he asked impatiently.
“The blood on the towel and around the drain both belong to the same person, but not Maggie,” Abby said. “I’ve been running tests on the blood, but it doesn’t appear we have anything matching in our database.” She looked at Gibbs. “Ziva found a small, metal disc of unknown origin,” she pulled up a 3-D image of the disc onto her monitor. “As you can see, it is metallic, has a graphic on one side and some engraving on the flip side. I tested the metal and discovered it to be an alloy of zinc and protactinium, which is weird because protactinium is highly toxic and radioactive. It is also very rare and expensive. We’ve already instructed Ziva and anyone else who came into contact with the material be tested for any affects from contact. Fortunately, we were both wearing gloves and seem to be unharmed.” Noticing Gibbs’ impatience, she forged ahead. “The engraving doesn’t even match any of the languages in my database,” she paused, turning to face the others. “I have a friend at the University who specializes in this kind of thing. After taking my samples and photographs, I sent to disc for him to look at, using all precautionary measures, of course. I told him it was of the utmost importance and expect to hear from him soon. He said he would send the results over with one of the students.”
Her report was interrupted by the arrival of two young students. Both were tall with brown hair, and looked as if they had raided Abby’s wardrobe. One was carrying a packet of information.
“Roisin! Rachel! Perfect timing!” Abby rushed over to the girls, taking the information from Roisin. “I was about to send out a search party,” she commented.
“We got here as fast as we could,” Roisin responded, her blue eyes twinkling. “We only stopped to grab a bite to eat, chat with some friends, flirt with this really hot guy on the elevator…” she was cut off when her friend punched her in the arm.
“We did not!” Rachel interrupted her friend.
“Oww! Rach!” Roisin winced and rubbed her arm.
“Abs…” Gibbs interrupted, reminding her of what she should be focusing on.
“Sorry, boss!” she said, tearing into the information that had been brought to her. “Thanks so much for rushing this to me, girls,” Abby said with a backward glance. “This looks like exactly what I needed.”
“Score!” Rachel said, as the girls left the lab.
Abby perused the materials, looking for something to report to Gibbs. “This says the engraving is an ancient logophonetic text similar to Elamite. It should be read right to left, but even with the key doesn’t make a lot of sense. It says ‘Sleep Holy Honest Forever’ or something like that.” She turned to look at Gibbs. “Don’t worry, Gibbs,” she said. “We’ll figure it out in time,” she promised.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Special guest stars...