Granger walked back to his office. It was 5:00pm. The two and half hour video conference was mercifully short and disappointingly useless. Vance held a weekly meeting with the Assistant Directors who reported to him. It could be a useful meeting but the jerk in the Florida office ruined any chance of that. The guy played politics with the job. He carried on a like a child who wouldn't get his way. Granger hated people like that.
He put his diary and the messages from his Executive Assistant on his desk and sat down. It had been a long week. Only 30 minutes more until the end of the day. He poured a glass of water from the jug on his desk. He hadn't fully recovered from the hospital stay after his car accident and poisoning. The doctors suggested he increase his fluid intake. And he knew they weren't referring to scotch.
Granger opened up his inbox to see what had gone wrong in his absence. An email from NCIS Legal requesting a meeting with Hetty, Agents Callen, Blye, and himself. It seems they had a problem with one of Agent Blye's witness statements. He'd send Hetty in his place. The problems with the witness statement didn't sound serious enough for his attendance at the meeting.
An email from the Chief of Police in San Francisco requesting a meeting to discuss mutual challenges faced by NCIS and San Francisco. Meetings with local police in major cities were important to establish and maintain relationships. A good relationship is a useful thing to call on if intelligence and extra resources were needed. Although Granger's NCIS team was based in Los Angeles, they often travelled interstate and internationally. All of which reminded Granger he needed to go to Honolulu to meet with the Chief of Police. The date of the six monthly meeting was due in two months. Granger prepared an email to instruct his Executive Assistant to schedule meetings in San Francisco and Honolulu, and book flights and hotels.
His new Executive Assistant, David, was previously one of the Intelligence Analysts. David had Hetty and Nell's vetting and recommendation. Granger still felt regret at not attending his previous Executive Assistant's funeral. He was still in hospital when Lisa Manning's funeral was held. Hetty told him she and the office had contributed flowers for the funeral. Her death stung deeply. Granger knew Hetty felt it too.
David's knowledge of ongoing intelligence concerns combined with excellent organisational and communication skills was a godsend. It freed up Granger's time and energy to focus on improving the morale within Ops. The staff had been understandably affected by the death of two co-workers and the treason of another.
Granger saw that Hetty had submitted her fortnightly report. He flicked his eyes past the outstanding and closed investigations. Granger noted that Callen had been granted leave for next Thursday and Friday. He'd overheard Callen and Sam discussing it. It seemed Callen was taking his girlfriend to Santa Barbara for a long weekend. Granger wished Callen well; but he knew as well as anyone else how well-laid plans could go astray. Especially in this line of business. Granger hoped nothing urgent came up next week so that Callen could take his leave.
Granger finished up his emails and reviewed his diary for Monday morning. Monday looked like another long day too. For the one hundredth time he wondered if he was getting too old for this job.
There was a knock at the door and Nell poked her head around the corner. 'Ahhh, Hi' she smiled nervously.
Granger stared at her.
'Ummm, we're all going down to the pub for a drink after work. And we're wondering if you'd like to come with us?' Nell asked.
Granger and Nell heard Deeks yell 'Nellosaurus? We're leaving!'
Nell's face flushed with embarrassment. 'We were just about to go' she said to Granger.
'It's been a tough week. I could use a drink' Granger said.
Nell smiled 'I'll let everyone else know. We'll wait for you while you shut down your computer. Kensi has first shout so you don't want to miss that'. Nell left Granger's office.
That's what had been missing from his career, he thought. People who liked each other. It's why it took him so long to understand this team. He wasn't used to a group of law enforcement or intelligence officers who weren't trying to back stab each other to get ahead. Granger pulled his mobile phone off its charger, locked his office door and went outside to meet his team.