Tony walked into work, dropping his stuff by his desk. Ziva glanced up at him, and smiled. He looked half dead.
"Tough night, Tony?" she asked. He glared at her.
"Uh, yeah! My online date kept me out until four!" he complained, falling into his chair. "I'm so tired." He added, as he pulled a hair brush out from under his desk. Slowly he began to comb through his hair, looking at the computer screen as a reflection. When he was finished, he smiled, satisfied. McGee was sitting at his desk, staring at his computer screen as usual. Tony rolled his eyes, and threw a paper ball at him.
"So what's your excuse, McProbie?" he asked. McGee looked up to answer, but stopped short, his mouth hanging open. Tony stared at him for a minute, and then looked up. Gibbs was coming in. Tony was unsure why this surprised McGee so much when he saw who was behind him.
. There were four kids trailing behind him. Ziva, Tony and McGee all stared at them. There were three boys, and a girl. The oldest was a young man, about nineteen. He had short brown hair that was similar to Tony's in color, and spiked up in the front. His eyes were a dark brown. He wore a pair of simple jeans, as all the kids did, and a gray shirt that said "Army ROTC". The second oldest, the girl, had long light brown hair. It was strait until the ends where it curled up, and it was up in a pony tail. Her eyes were also a dark brown, and she looked about thirteen. She also wore a pair of jeans, and a black jacket that said "Eagles" on her shoulder, and had a printed eagle on it. The last two boys were identical. Both their hair was a sandy-blond color, and they clung to the older two. They looked to be about five-years-old. They wore jeans, and both worse sweatshirts that read "University of Cincinnati". The girl glared at the team, and the two little kids hid behind the older ones. The oldest had a calm expression. Gibbs glanced at all three of the team members.
"They're not aliens." He stated calmly. Tony was the first to recover.
"Okay…but who are they, Boss?" he asked. Gibbs looked the kids over again.
"They are the kids of Petty Officers Daniel and Charlotte Emery." He said. Tony glanced at Ziva.
"Do we know them?" Ziva asked. Gibbs shook his head.
"You don't. They were killed yesterday in a car accident. Ducky and I went to check it out." He explained. Tony was still confused.
"So why are they here?" he asked. The girl glared at him from across the room.
"Because our parents were murdered." She stated, coldly. Tony looked at Gibbs, questioningly. He shrugged.
"We're supposed to look into it." He said, glancing up. The team looked up, and spotted Vance near the stairs. He nodded, and turned to go back to his office. McGee caught Tony's eye, and shrugged. Gibbs headed toward the elevator. Tony glanced at the kids. For the first time, the oldest spoke.
"I'm Josh. She's Jamie and this is Peter and Kenny." He said, pointing to each kid as he said their names.
"Hello. So, Jamie, why do you think your parents were murdered?" Ziva asked. Jamie turned her icy stare on Ziva.
"Because it wasn't an accident. We were shot at, which you would know if they hadn't set the car on fire." She snapped, turning away. Josh sighed.
"We think we were shot at. Before we could get a good look, we had to get out of the car. Our parents were already dead. We just managed to get Peter and Kenny out." He explained, with a pointed glare at his sister. Jamie returned the glared.
"Why would anyone be shooting at your parents?" McGee asked, trying to avoid Jamie's gaze.
"They were both high ranking officers. My mother had been and Iraq and my father to Afghanistan in the past five years. They made a few enemies." She pointed out, catching his eye for a moment. For the first time, Tony noticed Jamie had a backpack on. Gibbs came walking back into the bullpen. He walked up the stairs to the director's office. Vance glanced up as he entered.
"You introduced them?" he asked. Gibbs nodded.
"Where do we take them now?" Gibbs didn't imagine the kids would do well with social securities.
"Take them to the safe house in the south east. I want two agents there at all times." Vance said him away. Gibbs nodded, and headed back down to the bullpen. He beckoned for the team to come. They did.
"Director wants us to take them to a safe house. Two agents are to be there at all times. Tony, you and Ziva have the first shift." He said.
"Well, Boss, I think I would be a lot more help here. I'm not great with kids, you know?" Tony said. This got him a glare and a head-slap from Gibbs. "But I'll manage." He added, rubbing the back of his head.
The kids got their backpacks containing clothes and other essential needs from Gibbs' car. Then, they all got into Tony's car. It was a tight squeeze, but Peter sat on Josh's lap and they all managed to get in. The ride was in silence. Every few minutes Ziva and Tony would exchange a glance, but they never said a word. As they got closer to the house, Tony glanced out his window. There was a car next to them…it had been with them for the past ten miles. He noted that it was a black SUV. He couldn't read the license plate though. He threw a glance at Ziva. She had noticed too. She put her hand on her gun, with a questioning look at Tony. He shook his head. The SUV continued to follow them. First, it just stayed on the left side for a while, but then it dropped back and pulled up on the right. Tony pulled away, but the SUV followed. They were nearing the safety house. They had to get rid of this guy soon. Tony looked over again, and gasped in horror. There was a gun sticking out the window, not aimed at him, but at the kids.
