Chapter 1

It was 0700. Gibbs was sat at his desk reading through personnel files looking for a new senior field agent.

He wasn't getting very far though. He kept glancing over to the bullpen next to his at his former team.

Angry at Gibbs for not telling them the truth, once the troubles with the Reynosa drug cartel had been sorted, DiNozzo had gone to the Director asking for permission to form his own team.

Once it had been granted, DiNozzo had immediately offered positions to McGee and Ziva who, much to Gibbs dismay, had accepted.

What made the situation worse was that his friendships with Abby and Ducky had come to an abrupt end.

So there he was without a team.

"Probie, where's that file I was looking at?" Gibbs heard DiNozzo ask.

"I don't know Tony, you had it last."

"Maybe it's with the files you put on Gibbs desk." Ziva put in.

"No, I had it right here and it's gone."

Tuning them out Gibbs turned his attention back to his reading.

Half an hour later, Vance came walking through the squadroom and stopped at Gibbs desk. "Have you come to a decision yet Gibbs?"

Without a word, Gibbs handed over a file. Vance took it and opened it. He then closed the file and looked back at Gibbs. "Agent Malik is transferring here from Colorado. She should be arriving in a couple of weeks."

McGee and DiNozzo who'd been eavesdropping on the one-sided conversation from their bullpen looked at each other. "Isn't Agent Malik's file the one you were looking at?"

"Yes it was." DiNozzo whispered back before raising his voice. "Hey, that's the file I was looking at."

"It was on top of the pile of files you left on my desk."

"So that's where I left it. Anyway that's not important. What is important is that I saw her first."

"She's not an object for you to lay claim to DiNozzo."

"I agree. Plus, if you wanted her for your team you should've put this file in a safe place."

"It was an oversight, I didn't mean to put it in the wrong place. She'll be far better off as a probie on my team than she will on Gibbs team."

"She's not a probationary agent DiNozzo."

"And I'm not looking for a probie, I'm looking for a Senior Field Agent."

"How do you know she'll make a good SFA? Has she had any experience?"

"Until recently she was SFA on Stuart Byrne's team."

"I've heard of him." McGee chimed in. "He's got a reputation as a tough leader with high expectations. He doesn't just have anybody on his team. He expects them to know what they're doing."

"That sounds familiar." DiNozzo quipped.

"Marine Commander Stuart Byrne?" Gibbs looked shocked.

"Former Marine Commander, now Special Agent. You know him Gibbs?" Vance asked.

"He was in the Marines when I was. I thought he retired five years ago."

"He did, but he came back."

"Definitely sounds familiar." DiNozzo decided. "But if he has such high expectations, what made him choose her? She probably went straight to FLETC from university without any experience or knowledge whatsoever."

"So did I Tony." McGee stated.

"Actually, Agent DiNozzo, she didn't. She was in the Marine Corps before she became an agent. But if you read her file, you should already know this."

There was a minute of silence.

"You didn't read the file, you just looked at her photo." Vance stated.

There was no response.

"You're supposed to select agents by their abilities, not their looks. I'm needed in MTAC so I'll leave you all to your work."

"Look, I know how we can settle this." McGee said after Vance had gone. "Agent Malik will be here in a couple of weeks, so why don't we let her decide which team she wants to be on?"

"That's a good idea probie. Of course I'm sure she'll make the right decision and choose our team. We are the best after all."

"Rule number three DiNozzo."

"We're not on your team anymore Gibbs so your rules don't count. Maybe if you hadn't lied to us that wouldn't be the case. If you can lie to one team you can lie to another and I really hope when Agent Malik gets here she does choose us. At least then she'll be safe."

"Well, we'll find out in two weeks time, won't we?"