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Gibbs was on his phone before they reached door. "Where do we stand?"
"No leads yet," Ziva responded. "So far no one is lying about not knowing him, or his whereabouts. We still have a lot of ground to cover. Our plane only got here two hours ago," she reported.
"Hurry it up," Gibbs ordered. "Our deadline just got tighter. If we don't find him in twenty-four hours we'll lose the investigation." He disconnected the line without waiting for a response.
"Change of plan," he announced when the reached the parking area. "Tobias should go with me to the Pentagon to check with Jeffers' superiors and then to Welling Prospects, where Simpson was employed. Holl, you can go with Agent Sullivan to Jeffers' residence. See if you can find anything; preferably Jeffers, Simpson or a clue to their location."
"Works for me," Maggie said, grabbing her keys from her bag.
"Keep me informed," Gibbs ordered as he and Tobias got into his vehicle and sped away.


The ringing of Mann's phone interrupted the silence in the vehicle. It was one of her team members giving an update on the information she requested on Maggie Sullivan. Maggie continued to drive, her expression not showing that she could hear every word of the conversation.
‘You'll have to speak directly with the director of her organization,' the caller said. ‘Apparently I don't have the proper clearance.'
"That's fine," Mann responded. The caller clicked off as she connected the call.
‘Clearance?' a voice Maggie recognized well barked in Mann's ear. She rattled off the necessary information, and then he continued. ‘NPID is the National Preternatural Investigative Division, originally of the CIA. We are now a separate entity, although we retained the acronym,' he explained. Mann remained silent, not sure how to ask her questions without revealing the nature of her call to Agent Sullivan. ‘We investigate matters related to the preternatural, and deal with things like vampires and werewolves.'
"You're serious?" Mann questioned skeptically. Maggie's mouth quirked into a half-smile. People were always hesitant to believe in things they had never seen.
‘I don't have time to go into the details, but yes, we are very serious,' he responded as he disconnected the line.
Mann snapped her phone shut and stared forward, shaking her head. She was building herself into a nice upset.
"That was Director Murphy of the NPID," Mann said shortly.
"I thought so," Maggie admitted.
"So you're telling me you actually believe in things like that?" Mann asked condescendingly.
Maggie shrugged her shoulders noncommittally. "I didn't say anything. You can believe what you want. It's your call," she answered.
"You aren't going to try to convince me it's true?" Mann questioned almost combatively.
"Nope," Maggie said with a smile. "You can choose to live in ignorance if you want. Like I said, it's your call."
"So now you're calling me ignorant?" she retorted.
"That's not what I said," Maggie said without changing the pleasant tone of her voice.
"I would like to have been a fly on the wall when Jethro found out. I can guarantee you he thinks this is bunk. Trust me, I know Jethro," she said assuredly.
Maggie cocked an eyebrow, "You'd be surprised."
Mann's expression continued to darken. "You don't have to be so condescending," she said in another attempt to provoke Maggie.
Maggie slowed the car and turned to face Mann. "Pardon me, ma'am, but you're the one pressing the issue. Did I try to convince you to my way of thinking? No. Did I try to debate you in any way? No. Yet you seem bound and determined to go toe to toe with me on an issue that we both know I know more about than you do? That's just silly. I tried to be tolerant and allow you to think what you will without debate. Isn't that what you want? Because if you want proof that the preternatural exists, trust me, I could give it to you." Maggie paused a moment to catch her breath. "I don't know if your problem is with me personally, or professionally, but I suggest you get it under control before we get to Jeffers' place." Maggie's face registered her frustration, her eyes flashing with emotion.
Mann sat in shocked silence for a while, and then laughed out loud. "I'm sorry," she said. "I really am. You're right," she admitted. "Can we start over?"
Maggie sat in silence and then turned to smile at Mann. "I don't see why not," she said.
"You make a really good point. I think I purposely baited you because I want you to convince me it's true."
Maggie turned toward her, "The work I do is classified, but you clearly have the necessary clearance. You will, of course, need to keep everything in the strictest of confidence."
"Of course," Mann agreed curiously. "I got that impression from Director Murphy."
"Later," Maggie said as she pulled into a parking space. "We're here."

Flanking the door, weapons drawn, Maggie and Hollis pounded on Jeffers' door. "Federal Agents!" they said in unison.
"Edward Jeffers?!" Maggie shouted. After receiving no response, they kicked the door in together. Mann tossed her a smile, which Maggie returned. They quickly searched the house.
"He's gone," Mann stated the obvious.
"No he's not," Maggie said darting out the back. Mann ran after Maggie but quickly fell behind. She watched as Maggie hopped over the fence and disappeared from sight. She stopped, flipped open her phone and called Gibbs.
"Jethro, it's Hollis," she said. "I think Sullivan is on to something."
"What happened?" he asked.
"We entered the house and everything was quiet. Sullivan took off out of the back of the house. I suppose she saw someone leaving."
"I'm sure that's it," Jethro assured her.
"Jethro, is Sullivan an exhibitionist?" Mann suddenly asked, shocked when she found Maggie's clothes lying next to the dumpster.
"You found her clothes? She can move faster that way. Just leave ‘em there," Jethro responded with a laugh. "Go on in and search the house. She'll be back," he said as he hung up.
Mann began going through the house, taking photographs and bagging possible evidence. A cell phone began ringing in the other room. She picked it up and looked at the screen which read, "Simpson". ‘Surely it can't be this easy,' she thought. She clicked to answer the phone and remained silent.
"Ed, it's me. I don't think it's gonna work. Those two agents are really close," he paused and awaited a response. "Ed?" he asked, starting to panic. Mann disconnected the line, hoping he wouldn't spook. The last thing they needed was him killing DiNozzo because he felt he was no longer needed. She bagged the phone with the remainder of the evidence. Maybe Abby could trace the call. She wrapped up the scene and then headed back outside to check on Sullivan. To say that what she saw was unexpected was an understatement. A man, presumably Jeffers, was cowed in the fetal position next to the dumpster. A large cooper-haired wolf was standing over him, snarling in warning. ‘Am I mistaken, or did the wolf just nod to me?' she thought to herself. When she made no move toward them, the wolf whined in her direction and nodded toward the man. Mann shrugged her shoulders as she approached.
"Easy, boy," Mann said to the wolf, holding her hand out calmingly. Maggie whined. Mann identified herself, handcuffed Mr. Jeffers and took him to the car to wait for Sullivan. ‘Surely not,' she thought as she shook her head. ‘No way.'
Maggie grabbed her clothes in her mouth and jumped into the passenger seat of the car through the open driver-side door while Mann was securing the suspect. Mann eyed the wolf and then the clothes. She stared deeply into the wolf's eyes. ‘You've got to be kidding me,' she thought as realization struck. Maggie growled and nodded toward the road.
"Okay, okay, I'm going," Mann said with a smile, still not sure if she believed what she was seeing.
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