NCIS
The new intern grabbed absently for her coffee; black with ΒΌ cup cream. Finding the cup, Rhiana took a drink and instantly knew there was something different. Almost gagging at the sudden difference, she set down the foam cup and looked across the table, instantly regretting her absentminded guess-and-grab for her coffee.
"Special Agent Gibbs!" she gasped and saw her coffee in his hand. "I'm sorry; I was reading the newspaper..."
"It's fine, Agent Stoller." Gibbs switched the foam cups around, correcting the small issue.
"But your coffee..."
"It's fine." The end argument was far from over. Grabbing her purse, Rhiana placed three dollars on the table and quickly stood, grabbed her coffee and newspaper, and departed from the picnic area outside the main building. Gibbs merely stared at the fluttering money when Tony skipped to a halt beside him.
"Boss, we've got a case," Tony said and saw the paper money being folded in half, quarters, and placed in Gibbs' wallet.
"Then let's go." Jethro snagged his coffee before anyone else had the same idea.
----
Exiting the elevator, Gibbs saw McGee and Ziva scouring over the flat screen. "What have...?" Tony started when Jethro gave him a sideways glance that let Tony know his job as Special Agent in Charge was over. Setting his coffee down, Gibbs joined the other two in front of the screen.
"What have we got?" he finally asked and Ziva started talking.
"Chief Petty Officer Ben Stoller. He was found dead beside his vehicle early this morning by a truck driver. They expected foul play when they found tire tracks leading back onto the road about a quarter of a mile away," Ziva explained and Gibbs hated asking the next question, but didn't show it.
"Any family?"
"Special Agent Rhiana Stoller, she works here as a computer networking intern. They transferred her here from Quantico."
"There you go, McGeek, someone to share interests with."
"DiNozzo..." Gibbs warned as McGee switched to the crime scene photos. As the images slipped by, Gibbs thought of the three dollars he had burning a hole in his wallet.
----
"Agent Stoller?" Tim asked and the petite girl looked up from her newspaper; she was on break but decided to spend it in the basement with the computers.
"Yes?" she asked and raised a sleek eyebrow at Tim.
"There's been an accident. We're sorry to say that your brother..." he didn't get to finish when Rhiana's eyes welled to the spilling point; this was the last thing he needed.
"Ben was murdered, wasn't he?" she asked quietly, letting the newspaper droop.
"How did you know?" Tim asked and saw the same report on the screen in front of her as what was on the flat screen.
"I browse for his name every now and again. Suddenly, this afternoon, he was listed as deceased. I thought it was an error in the system, but I guess not," she sighed and Tim swallowed, he hated do this part of the job.
"Agent Gibbs wants to talk to you in the Director's office..."
"Aw, crap. He's going to give back that three dollars, isn't he?" she asked and crumpled the newspaper slightly.
"What three dollars?"
"I accidentally took a drink from his coffee." Rhiana made a face and Tim half-smiled.
"I wouldn't worry about it," he said and Rhiana smiled, but it soon formed a pout, eyes glancing back at the screen to her brother's file. Sighing, Rhiana gathered her cup of coffee, the newspaper, and her laptop before following McGee into the elevators.
----
Jethro sat patiently in Director Vance's office, waiting on Tim to convince Rhiana to pay the Director a visit. There was a knock on the door and the two men shot a glance towards the doorknob as it began to turn. McGee entered first, Rhiana following closely; she was carrying a lot of stuff.
"Help her out, McGee!" Gibbs ordered and Tim jumped as Rhiana startled as well, almost dropping her laptop, but managing to keep a hold on her coffee. Tim gently pried the laptop away from Rhiana's hands and set it on the table beside him; the newspaper was the next to be set down, but Rhiana kept a strong hold on her coffee, not letting it out of her hand.
"Special Agent Stoller, I'm sorry to hear about your loss," Director Vance said and Rhiana nodded.
"Ben was a great guy, I don't know of any reason why someone would want to kill him," she whispered and sat down in one of the chairs that sat across from Gibbs and the director; Tim politely excused himself and left the three to talk.
----
"Psst, McGeek," Tony whispered to him as Tim walked briskly down the stairs to sit at his station.
"Drop it, Tony. It's very serious that they're talking to Rhiana. She might lose her internship and be shipped back to Quantico," Tim said and Tony flicked a piece of paper at his teammate. Tim reacted angrily, but Ziva spoke first.
"Do you honestly have anything better to do?" she asked and leaned against Tony's desk, a defensive nature buzzed about her.
"Not really, Agent David," Tony shot back and Ziva snatched a piece of paper from his desk, creating havoc as she kept the unbeknownst unimportant paper away from Tony.
