Before they reached the Director's office, Gibbs turned to the others. "When we come out, I want the identity of the third victim, as well as the man who was seen leaving the bar with the girls. I want him in here for questioning," he barked, and then turned to escort Maggie into Director Shepard's office.
As soon as the door had closed behind them, Gibbs turned and locked it.
"Was that really necessary?" Jenny asked.
Gibbs gave her a look that squelched her questions. He turned to Maggie, "Are you okay?" he asked with genuine concern in his voice. "I'm sorry…"
She smiled, "I'm fine; you were great."
Shepard and Murphy looked from one to the other, and then Murphy's face broke into a smile.
"What?" Jenny asked. "I don't understand…"
"Jen, Maggie didn't do this," Gibbs said with conviction.
"Well, I don't believe she did either, Jethro, but we have to…"
"No, Jen, I'm saying I KNOW she didn't do this," he interrupted her. "I was with Agent Sullivan last night during the time of death."
"Oh," she said, still confused. "When you say ‘with', what exactly are you implying?"
Maggie began to speak, softly but with confidence, "Director Shepard, we never intended this to come out like this and would like to keep it under wraps. Jethro and I have been seeing one another romantically for a few weeks now."
"I spent the entire weekend at her house, Jen. I know she didn't go anywhere last night," Gibbs defended.
"But how do you know she didn't leave and come back," Jenny questioned.
"Because we weren't exactly sleeping," Gibbs said in a way that implied she should have figured it out. Both Maggie and Director Shepard had the grace to blush. Gibbs didn't waver.
"So you were ‘together' for the entire window of time, Jethro?" Jenny asked, her cheeks darkening even further.
"Yes," they answered in unison, Maggie's cheeks flaming to match the Director's.
The door knob rattled as someone attempted to open the locked door, at the same time Director Shepard's phone buzzed. "Yes, Cynthia?" she responded.
"Morgan McMann is here to see you," she informed her in her most professional tone.
"Thank you, Cynthia," she answered. "Tell him we'll be with him in a moment."
"Yes, ma'am," Cynthia said disconnecting.
Jenny gave Jethro a look of approval, "I now see why you locked the door."
"Jen, I don't want any fabricated evidence of her alleged involvement in this to get out. I promise you we will find out what really happened here," Gibbs said.
Director Murphy nodded his head. "Because of the nature of the crime, all other government agencies have been kept out of the loop on this one. We have already classified the entire investigation. Since I'm sure the press will have a field day once they get wind of it, we need to make up a temporary cover story to lead with while we work out the particulars. If you like, I can take the lead with the press, and you can continue working the investigation. I trust Agent Sullivan implicitly."
"Works for me," Gibbs said, shaking Murphy's hand again. "Maggie and I will get back to work and leave you to McMann." Jenny nodded in approval as Gibbs and Sullivan headed back to the bullpen.
"Okay, people, make me proud," Gibbs said as he entered the bullpen.
Immediately, everyone began talking at once, including Abby who had come upstairs to wait for Gibbs. He held up his hand. "Let's try this again; Abby?" he asked.
"Thank you," she said, happy to get to go first. "I have two things. First, the third victim is Aimee Rega. We aren't sure how she, Seaman Jones and Sophie McMann were connected. And!" she continued before he could start talking. "I ran the saliva samples taken from the victims again. It still shows as matching Agent Sullivan, but the percentage match is different. I did some further testing, and the composition of the saliva is changing, Gibbs. I think someone altered a substance to disguise it as her saliva and planted it on the victims." He kissed her hard on the cheek.
"What else?" he asked.
"Um, that's it for me," she said with a wince. "I'm sorry."
"Get back to the lab. Find out what that substance is and how it got there," he said, smacking her on the rear. She squealed.
"Gibbs!" she squeaked as she ran for the elevator.
"Okay, Tony," Gibbs turned his attention to Agent DiNozzo.
"Ziva and Noah are out searching for our mystery man even as we speak," Tony said.
"That's it?" Gibbs was disappointed.
""No, Boss," McGee answered. "I was able to pull up a clear image of the man from footage taken from one of The Cheshire Cat's surveillance video cameras. Abby's computer is doing a facial recognition search right now. She also contacted Noah telepathically and allowed him to see the man's picture through her eyes. He and Ziva are no longer running blind, although Noah does not recognize the man. He is not a vampire or one of the werewolves with which he is acquainted."
"How long?" Gibbs asked shortly.
"Any time now, Boss," he answered. When he realized he was finished asking questions, he made his way to the elevator. "I'll go check on that."
"You do that, McGee," Gibbs said, shaking his head.
"Tony, we need the connection between these girls, and now," he commanded as he stalked toward the elevator. "Morgan McMann is in with the Director and Murphy right now. They are fabricating a story of sorts to explain things away until we figure them out. None of the information implicating Sullivan is to get out. None of it," he said firmly.
"You got it, Boss," he answered, remembering how much stress the team was under when it was him being framed.
"Boss?" Maggie asked before he disappeared. "Can I do anything at all?"
"Stay out of the way," he said as he disappeared into the elevator.
"So, Roy Sanders…" Noah began.
"Can we not start?" Ziva asked. "Why do you insist on batting me?"
He smiled. "It's baiting," he corrected her. "And I do it because it's fun. I want you, Ziva," he said as he watched her intently. He could hear the change in her heartbeat when he said the words. He smiled seductively.
"You said you would back off," Ziva reminded him.
"That was when you weren't seeing anyone else. I can't afford to back off now."
"The way I see it, it won't be fair until I have sex with Roy. Then I will be equally tempted by the both of you, and my choice won't be blamed on your… abilities."
Noah threw back his head and laughed, making her look at him with an expression of both confusion and annoyance on her face. He met her gaze and his features softened. "Having sex with Sanders will make you feel tied to him and want him physically for the rest of your life," he admitted. "But it will never make you want him as much as you want me."
"That's what I'm afraid of," Ziva mumbled under her breath.
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