Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize. Except for the mistakes those are mine.

A/N: There are so many great fics out there that are based on Jibbs during their time in Paris, I wanted to do them and Paris, but I didn't want to simply rewrite the few things we know from the show. Instead I thought of this. Shorter than usual, I know. I just wanted to make you curious. This is AU, I don't want to give too much away so everything will be explained as the story continues. I'd say this takes place during, well when Gibbs still had some part of the Kelly in his basement.

Warning: -

Enjoy*

It was cold, dark and wet, making it almost unbearable to be outside. There were a few lampposts burning, illuminating only certain parts of the deserted harbour, making it easy to move in the shadows without being noticed. The mission was simple; get in, wait, and bring him in alive. It was clean cut. But the way the dull orange lights flickered, didn't seem like a good omen – especially not to him.

There was movement in his peripheral vision. He could hear the soft squelching her boots made in the pools of rain water, as she moved swiftly across the old asphalt, without being detected except by him. All his senses had been fine tuned. He could see each person's silhouette as they hid in the shadows; hear his partners soft shallow breathing as they lay in wait. His skin tingled lightly as the soft misty rain clung to him.

There was a sense of foreboding looming over him, clouding his instincts.

The murmur of voices echoed around them, bouncing of the metal containers that lined the harbour. Shifting his feet, he looked over the row of steel drums he was hiding behind. He felt his partner move with him, assessing their situation from a different angle. The assassin a few feet away from him did the same, scanning their surroundings for anything suspicious.

Jethro shifted again, this time a little more uncomfortable. His clothes were soaked right through to his skin, chilling him almost to the bone. He could feel his muscles stiffen more with each passing moment. He'd been crouched in the same spot since the sun had disappeared and the lampposts had flickered to life. Tony shifted next to him and he knew that he too was struggling with the cold weather.

Dimitri – their assigned target – stepped into the flickering orange light, his dark hair slicked back and a cigar in one hand. It was hard to discern which was smoke and which was his hot breath as they mingled in the cold air. He laughed – a loud obnoxious sound as it drifted across the empty harbour. The other man seemed nervous, and it was probably because there were two of Dimitri's henchmen behind him.

Jethro ground his teeth together he wanted to shoot the SOB right where he stood. Dimitri had been evading prosecution for far too long, and the fact that he was actually the FBI's responsibility didn't bode well with Leroy Jethro Gibbs. It meant he and his team were being used to do their dirty work, but the higher-ups saw it as an opportunity to return long over due favours.

They waited for the right moment, the moment the other man passed the briefcase to him before announcing themselves.

Jethro felt his stomach twist.

There were two gunshots to his left. He hadn't seen the bodyguard hiding, and he knew he'd made a mistake to think that there'd only be two watching out for Dimitri. Ziva was quick, taking him down with a double tap to the chest and a head shot. The other two had hit the ground before they could even think about lifting their weapons.

Jethro reminded himself that they were supposed to bring the man in alive, that all this would be for nothing if he gave into the urge to put a bullet right between his eyes, not to mention that Tobias would be on his case for months if he killed him.

They all moved forward, weapons still drawn and the smell of blood and Cuban Cigars becoming stronger.

He still had his weapon trained on Dimitri, despite the fact that his hands were in the air – he knew enough about the Russian Mafia to know that they couldn't be trusted. Tony was already cuffing the buyer, reading him his rights as he marched the man to the arriving squad cars.

Jethro relaxed his stance slightly to ease the pain in his knee. He looked over to where Ziva was jogging towards him, having fallen behind when she'd taken down the other guard.

Looking up he saw the glint of silver as Dimitri reached for his weapon.

Instinct kicked in and Jethro killed before he could be killed.

The Russian dropped to the wet asphalt, his blood seeping through his designer suit. Jethro holstered his weapon, watching as Ziva rushed to the man's side to apply pressure. It was to no use, he was dead before he'd even it the ground.

"Gibbs, there is no pulse." Ziva informed him, the look on her face hard to read in the dim light.

"Yeah, Ziva, I wouldn't expect him to have one." Jethro snapped at her, knowing that he had blown the doors wide open on this one. He'd defied orders and he was now going to have to pay for it.

Tim McGee broke into a sprint the moment he saw the flash of a gunshot going off, followed closely by the tell tale clap that seemed louder than usual in the deserted harbour. His hand had gone to his holstered weapon immediately, drawing his Sig in fear. Tim slowed his sprint to a jog when he saw that both his team mates were still standing.

"Boss! What happened?!" Tim shouted. The drizzling rain had picked up again and was drenching all of them down to the bone. Tim holstered his weapon, adjusting his cap to keep the cold rain water out of his eyes.

3 weeks earlier

The click-clack click-clack of a pen echoed in the deserted bullpen, it was late – somewhere between two and three in the morning – the usual time for them to still be at NCIS Headquarters. For once they weren't swamped with an unsolvable case or even paperwork – they were just simply waiting around for when the proverbial bomb went off.

What had started out as a simple routine investigation of a small time weapons ring on Quantico Marine Base had turned out to be far more complicated than either of them thought. It hadn't been long before the FBI showed up on their doorstep demanding that they hand over the case, but their friend over at the Hoover building hadn't been thinking straight, Tobias Fornell had inadvertently unleashed the wrath of Leroy Jethro Gibbs.

Ziva rolled her neck from side to side, groaning as the muscles pulled, why they had to stick around she didn't know. Gibbs had disappeared hours ago, telling them to stay put until he came back. Looking around the office she saw Tim fast asleep behind his desk, his face pressed against his keyboard.

Reverting her gaze to where her partner was slouching in his chair, she frowned when she noticed he had put on his sunglasses and was quietly muttering to himself.

"Tony," Ziva tilted her head to the side, "what are you doing?"

Tony turned his head lazily, his sunglasses sliding to the tip of his nose, his lips were slightly pursed as he regarded the woman across from him, "What is the meaning of life, Ziva? What is our purpose? Why are we here?"

"You mean besides Gibbs slapping you on the back of the head?" She smiled when he glared at her, "I do not know, Tony, I have never thought about it."

"See that's your problem, Ziva, you don't think there for you don't know." Tony waggled his finger at her before pushing the sunglasses back up his nose and reclining even further in his seat.

"Have you been taking painkillers again?" Ziva looked at Tony concerned, he had taken a nasty fall down a flight of stairs while they had been chasing a suspect and she assumed he had taken something for the pain.

Tony frowned, running a hand through his hair as he turned to look at her, "No." he cleared his throat sitting up straighter. "I don't really remember." Straightening his desk he yawned and turned to look up at the catwalk. It had been a while since they had seen anyone go in and out of MTAC. "You see anything yet?"

Ziva shook her head. Whatever was going on upstairs, it was above their pay grade.

They had been in MTAC for nearly six hours, waiting for someone over at the FBI to either find their Director or someone else who could tell them why they had to hand over their case. Jethro looked over at Tobias, who seemed to be chewing someone's ear off. Jethro glared at the large screen in front of him, willing it to either tell him what was going on or have someone pop up and tell him he could have his case back.

He didn't appreciate Tobias marching into Headquarters as if he owned the place and taking his case – then to be stone walled when he tried fighting for answers because it was in every way his case. Leon was on the phone with someone else – either the Attorney General or the Director of National Intelligence, or SecNav – he wasn't really sure which one, all he knew was that the Director of the FBI was currently MIA.

"I don't care Agent Sacks, you find Melvin and you find the Director! And I swear by all that is holy if you don't find them you won't have a job!" Tobias snapped from somewhere in MTAC.

Jethro smirked as he listened, if DiNozzo heard his long time arch enemy was in trouble he'd be rubbing it the man's face for years. Pressing his thumb and index finger against his eyes he rubbed them, trying to force the headache away so he could concentrate on what was going.

Tobias ended his call, sliding his BlackBerry back in his breast pocket he emerged from one of the dark corners in the room. He sharpened his glare when he saw Jethro smirk at him, he was going to hear about this every time they had a joint case.

"That was the Attorney General," Leon stepped away from the dimly lit workstations were one of the tech agents were waiting for a call to come from the FBI. "he's given the go ahead for Agent Fornell to read us in on this operation since his new Director has gone missing."

"New Director?" Jethro looked at Tobias with a raised eyebrow, he hadn't heard anything about a new Director.

"If you had turned the TV on you'd know this, Jethro." Tobias growled at him.

"I've been busy." Jethro scoffed, the last thing he was worried about was who the new Director of the FBI was, "Can we get back to why you're here in the first place?" He gave his friend and arrogant smirk.

Leon rolled his eyes and took a seat in the front row, fishing through his jacket pocket for a toothpick. Placing the piece of wood between his teeth he motioned for the tech at the workstation to leave. He looked back at Fornell, his brown eyes hard as he glared at him, they had already wasted too much time.

"Over the last eight years, we've been getting closer to catching the leader of the Bratva Mob." Fornell scrubbed a hand over his face, "We've been after these guys since the 60's during the Cold War. A three man team caught up to them once, but they didn't have much on them."

"Bratva?" Vance asked, unfamiliar with the word.

"It's Russian for 'Brothers' or 'Brotherhood'." Jethro supplied. He'd heard of them before, they were ruthless killers and ran everything from weapons smuggling to sex-trafficking.

"They've become arrogant, sloppy even – and that led us straight to their front door. But since you busted through the door guns blazing they've panicked. Dimitri, as he is exclusively known, has arranged for a deal in three weeks. From our intel they'll be selling most of their weapons shipments in DC."

"What's this got to do with my case?" Jethro barked irately, he wasn't going to allow the FBI to strong arm him into handing over his case.

"Those Marines where contracted by the Russians." Fornell placed his hands on his hips, he couldn't allow NCIS to ruin everything he and his team had put together.

"Which makes it my case, Tobias." Jethro growled in frustration. "Let me charge them – when we're done I'll give you the case reports."

Leon reached inside his jacket pocket the moment his phone started ringing. He abandoned his seat for a more private spot in the dark room. Taking a deep breath he answered his phone as respectfully as possible. The whole case was grating on his nerves, he didn't like the fact that the FBI had kept the whole situation under wraps.

The phone call didn't last long, Leon ended the call, "Gentlemen if you'll please step outside, I have the Attorney General waiting."

Jethro grumbled under his breath and marched up the small walkway leading out of MTAC, he crooked a finger at Tobias motioning for him to follow. They made their way onto the catwalk, leaving their sparring for a moment in the secured room.

Jethro scanned the squad room until he found the bullpen. His whole team was still there, fast asleep behind their desks waiting for what would come next. He shook his head when he saw DiNozzo with his sunglasses on, wondering if he should have let the kid stay at home. Cracking his neck he rested his arms on the cool metal railing, watching the rainfall outside the large windows.

He was aware that Tobias was right next to him, clearly tense about what had gone down.

"So you lost your new Director huh?" Rubbing salt in his friend's wounds was probably a bastard thing to do – but that was what the second 'B' was for.

"You really don't know who it is, do you?" Tobias leaned against the railing as well, resting his back against it so he could see the door to MTAC opening when Vance stepped out.

"I don't really care, Tobias." Jethro said with a laugh. He was in desperate need of coffee, and he didn't know whether he could chance slipping out for a few minutes just so he could get a cup of his bitter brew.

"Good, I'll keep it a surprise then."

Jethro rolled his eyes and cracked his neck again. He'd been looking forward to spending some time with his boat tonight. Digging around in his pocket he pulled out two pieces of gum and handed one to Fornell. There was something off about him, he could see it in the tenseness with which he held himself. He was holding something back, something that had to do with either the case or his missing Director.

"There something else you wanna tell me?" Jethro asked as he popped the piece of chewing gum in his mouth.

"Gibbs, don't start with me." Fornell warned as he chewed on the piece of menthol gum.

"Hell, I was just bein' nice." Jethro held his hands up in surrender, a strange smirk curling his lips.

"You're not nice. When your nice, you usually want something, so why don't you just ask me right now."

Jethro opened his mouth to say something but the heavy metal door to MTAC opened revealing Leon Vance. Jethro felt his stomach twist and clench, whatever this was it wasn't good. Pushing away from the metal railing he met Leon's dark gaze and shrugged waiting for him to say something.

"NCIS will be monitoring the Russian and intercept the deal in three weeks time. In the meantime the FBI has some more serious business to attend to." Leon buttoned his suit jacket and checked the time on his watch.

Jethro squared his shoulders, not actually bothered about the mess the FBI was in. They had a lot of catching up to do to make sure they got this Dimitri before he slipped through their fingers. He knew what the Bratva was capable of, and he'd be a fool to let this opportunity slip though his fingers. Jethro nodded at Fornell as he muttered a tense goodbye and headed towards the elevator.

Nodding at the Director, he turned on his heel and headed for the stairs.

"Gibbs," Leon called as he watched Gibbs jog down the stairs, "it's crucial that you bring him in alive."

Present Day

Jethro wiped his face with the drenched sleeve of his jacket. He ignored McGee, preferring to glare at him instead. He could hear the sirens in the distance as they headed for the harbour. This could possibly spell the end of his career. Wiping his face again, he caught his two agents share a panicked look.

The thumping footsteps that came towards them had all three of them look up.

Tony grit his teeth as he splashed through the puddles, despite the fact that he was already dripping wet, the cold water splashing against him wasn't any more bearable. He'd heard the gunshot the moment he had the buyer in the back seat of the squad car. He saw Gibbs kick an empty drum, not even flinching when it toppled over and rolled away.

The blue lights reflecting off of the containers and illuminating the harbour, told them that the FBI had arrived and that this entire situation was about to get a whole lot more complicated.

Tobias zipped his wind breaker up ignoring the rain as it soaked the rest of him. They had left their position the moment the backup team had radioed that the first shot had been fired. By the look on some of the young agents faces it told him something had gone wrong.

Quickening his pace, he barely managed not to slip on some of the old oil spillages that made the ground slippery. He saw the whole of team Gibbs gathered together, when he met his old friend's gaze he knew they were all screwed. Tobias cursed when he saw Dimirti's lifeless body.

"What the hell happened, Jethro?" Tobias stopped next to Gibbs. When he didn't receive an answer he looked up from the dead body to see his friend glare at him, "Why did you shoot him in the chest? Couldn't you just shoot him in the knee?"

Jethro didn't answer, his gut was bothering him too much – in fact the uneasiness in his stomach made him want to be sick. There had to be more of them, his team was supposed to be dead. That's how the Bravta worked, they always made sure they could outnumber any situation.

These men had been sent to die.

The entire crime scene had been a blur, before any of them could so much as process the scene the FBI had swooped in and escorted them out of there. Gibbs and Fornell hadn't said a word to each other since then – and their friend over at the Bureau seemed to be missing. Tony widened his eyes, trying to stop the words on his computer screen from swimming around.

Ever since starting at NCIS he couldn't remember a year, or even a month where his boss didn't get himself in trouble. Tony tilted his head to the side, trying to concentrate on his after action report. The tension amongst his fellow team members and between Gibbs and the Director was palpable. It was strange and for years it had baffled him, the fact that Gibbs had been a Marine who followed orders religiously made him wonder why his boss enjoyed or rather occasionally preferred to defy orders.

Justice, that's what drove him. He'd break every rule – occasionally his own as well – if it meant the family would get closure. It was only until the explosion a few years ago that they all found out that his drive and determination was deeper than just wanting to be a good Agent.

"Special Agent Gibbs!" The loud voice from the catwalk had them all still for a moment. Hearing the Director sound that pissed off with Gibbs at seven in the morning meant that their boss' decision to shoot the Russian hadn't been the best.

Tony looked at Ziva who seemed to be as worried as everyone else. He met her hazel eyes and cringed slightly, this wasn't good.

Jethro cleared his throat as he got up from behind his desk. He hadn't even bothered with turning on his computer, or even exchanging his wet clothes for something dry. He felt the cold damp material of his shirt cling to him as he clipped his phone onto his belt. Taking long confident strides, he met Leon Vance's gaze as he glared at him.

"When you've finished, go home." Jethro grumbled at his team as he strode out of the bullpen.

"You sure, Boss?" Tony called after him as he jogged up the stairs.

"Don't make me change my mind, DiNozzo!" Jethro snapped at his senior agent.

Jethro watched Leon move the toothpick from one side of his mouth to the other, his dark brown eyes scrutinising him. The other man lifted his chin slightly, looking him over.

"You screwed this up, Gibbs." Leon took the toothpick from between his teeth. He had been furious, given the sensitive information they could have gotten from Dimitri – they could have easily put an end to half of the sex-trafficking rings all the federal agencies were monitoring.

"You think I don't know that, Director." Jethro ground between clenched teeth.

Leon shook his head, not entirely sure how he was going to get one of his best agents out of this mess. Motioning towards his office he led the way, knowing the Attorney General was waiting along with SecNav – the Director of the FBI was at a conference in Geneva and was only due back tonight.

"Don't say a word, Jethro, I'll handle this." Leon warned as they stopped right outside his office.

"I don't regret shooting him, Leon."

"I know." Leon said before he pushed his heavy office door open.

The two gentlemen looked up, ending their quiet conversation, neither bothered to get up when Jethro walked in. They simply glared at him as he took a seat at the conference table with them. Jethro ran a hand over his mouth, this was why he hated politics – it made everyone lose sight of what was really going on. Clearing his throat he sat back in his chair folding his arms across his chest.

Leon placed his toothpick back between his teeth. "Special Agent Gibbs, I'm sure you're aware that we have been discussing what happened last night."

Jethro shrugged his shoulders, he wasn't going to apologise for what happened.

"Agent Gibbs, I'm aware this isn't the first time you've gone against orders." The Attorney General spoke from the head of the conference table, "In all honesty, if you had been my Agent I would have fired you years ago."

Jethro grit his teeth, not looking at the man as he spoke, he'd never taken kindly to someone in a suit telling him what to do when they hadn't even been in the field. He simply stared straight at Leon as he glared at him. He could hear the annoyance in the man's voice grow and he turned to look at him with cold calculated eyes.

"Your Director seems to think different." The Attorney General looked at the Director, "He's tried to convince us that instead of asking for you badge, that we simply suspend you. I'm not sure that is the way to go."

"Agent Gibbs, this could have ended differently if you had gone about the situation more rationally." SecNav looked from Leon Vance to Jethro Gibbs, not sure if he could allow him to simply suspend Gibbs. As of last night they had tried everything to save face before the media blew the incident out of proportion.

"I did what I had to do, mister Secretary. Killing Dimitri hadn't been planned, if the FBI had been so concerned about their suspect, why weren't they the ones waiting in the rain for four hours." Jethro said roughly.

"You're out of line Agent Gibbs. Besides the FBI's business is above you pay grade, do I make myself clear?" The Attorney General snapped from his chair.

"Crystal." Jethro growled back. His gut clenched again and he had to fight to swallow down the bile that rose in his throat. There was more to what happened last night. It wasn't like the FBI – or even Tobias – to let NCIS take care of their business, especially since it involved the Russians. There was more at play here, and the fact that he didn't know was frustrating him.

"Gibbs," Leon warned again. He straightened in his chair and looked at Gibbs, "I'm going to have to ask you to hand in your badge and weapon. It has been decided that you'll be suspended for three months – if I find you in this building before that – I'll have to ask you to resign."

"Three months!" Jethro looked at Leon outraged.

"Watch yourself Agent Gibbs, this ice your on is very thin." SecNav admonished. Standing he buttoned his jacket, looking between the men before him, "I believe we're done here gentlemen."

Jethro remained seated, watching the other two leave the office. He waited long enough for Leon to close the office door. Pushing out from behind the conference table, the chair went rocketing back against the wall. Jethro slammed his open hand on the flimsy surface of the table, his eyes dark with anger and his cheeks flushed.

"Suspension, Leon!" Jethro bellowed.

"It was either that, or you were out of a job!" Leon shouted back. "I don't like this any more than you do, Jethro. We were used to do their dirty work."

"You only realise that now, Director." Jethro let out a frustrated sigh, things had gone from bad to worse. "DiNozzo can be in charge of the team, he's capable enough to take point. My service weapon and badge are in my top drawer."

"Where are you going, Gibbs?" Leon called as the senior agent stormed out of the room.

"To see a man about a dead Russian." Jethro called over his shoulder.

Making his way down the stairs he saw the team's heads pop up one by one as he stormed passed them. "DiNozzo, you got point 'till I get back." Under different circumstances the look of glee on his senior field agent's face would have made him smile.

Tony gaped as he watched the elevator doors slide shut. He looked at Ziva and McGee, who seemed to share his look of disbelief. He jumped when he suddenly saw the Director in front of him, the man's brown eyes looked right through him, and for a moment he wondered if he'd ever see his boss again.

"Gibbs will be absent for a while, I suggest you lot find yourselves a probie to fill the gap."

"We already have one of those, Director." Tony joked, but when he the man simply narrowed his eyes he gulped.

They watched as the Director disappeared into MTAC. Tony turned back to the rest looking at them sceptically, "What the hell just happened?"

Backwards-forwards, backwards-forwards – that's what usually soothed him. Tony had called him earlier, wanting to know if he needed anything, but he knew it was a rather poor attempt at finding out why he wasn't going to go to work. He had simply grunted and ended the call. He didn't want to talk to the young Italian agent, he wanted Tobias to call him back since he'd left him half a dozen voice mails.

Jethro dropped the sander on his workbench, the soothing effect was missing tonight. Opting for the whole bottle, he grabbed the fresh bottle of Maker's Mark and brought it up to his lips. He'd long since gotten used to the bitter taste – sometimes when life got a little to much to bare, he relished the unique taste – the only familiarity in the life he had been so violently plunged into.

Taking another swig of the bourbon, he scrubbed a hand over his face. The silence was what got to him the most, knowing that he'd never hear them moving around again – hear them again. The bourbon burned down his throat again. He thought about calling up Mike Franks, but he didn't want intrude on the old Marine's time with his new found family.

Another slug of bourbon had him crawling underneath what would essentially make-up the small cabin of his boat. Avoiding kicking the saw-horses that kept the structure off the ground, he situated himself neatly between the saw-horses. Unclasping his phone from its clip, he placed the piece of annoying technology on his chest, so he wouldn't have to struggle getting it when it rang. He inspected the underside of wooden structure, trying to find the parts that still needed some work.

Dropping his head on the hard concrete floor, he squeezed his eyes shut against the pain until it subsided. Lifting the bottle of bourbon, he sighed when he saw that there was barely a mouthful left. He hadn't even noticed he had almost emptied the bottle since he'd opened it when he got home. Knowing there'd be a thrumming headache waiting for him in the morning, he closed his eyes again, hoping to sleep off the hangover he'd no doubt have.

There was a bang, but it didn't feel out of place, he assumed he'd kicked one of the saw-horses by accident. Smacking his lips a little he allowed sleep to take him again. He'd been drifting in and out of slumber for the last two hours, he hadn't slept on the solid floor for a while, he usually crashed on the couch the moment he came through the door.

"Gibbs!"

Jethro shot up, successfully hitting his head against the saw-horse above him, "Ow, fu-" he stopped himself when he saw the two shoes appear next to him. Moving out from under the structure, he glared up at the owner of the two shoes. Checking his watch he could just make out the time. Squeezing one eye shut, he crawled out from underneath the half finished boat cabin.

Standing to his feet, he met the intruder's gaze with a glare, "You better have a damn good reason for not answering your phone and then showing up here."

Fornell shook his head holding up a hand. Reaching inside his jacket pocket, he pulled out his phone, he placed it against his ear and paced the length of the basement.

Jethro glowered at his friend as he watched him move around the basement. He was growing frustrated with Fornell's almost frantic pacing as he waited for whoever he was calling to pick up. Running a hand through his hair, he tried to locate anything that resembled coffee.

"I have him, sir." Tobias broke the silence, stopping his pacing near the old rickety steps. He placed a hand on the back of his neck, rubbing the tense muscles. He listened carefully, trying to wrap his head around the situation. He could hear the irritation in the other man's voice, looking over his shoulder he could see Jethro hovering close by in order to hear what his conversation was about.

Ending the call he spun on his heel, looking Jethro over as he leaned against the workbench. Slipping his phone back in his pocket he regarded his friend, an arrogant smirk on his lips, "You're going to love this."

Jethro raised a silver eyebrow, "What the hell is going on, Tobias?"

Fornell ran a hand over his face, trying to force away the fatigue that was clawing at him, "Not here. Take a shower, I'm driving you to NCIS."

"Tobias," Jethro pushed away from the workbench, the anger etched on his face.

"Just take a damn shower, Jethro. I'll start the coffee, I can't have you hungover." Fornell moved up the stairs, avoiding the creaking steps as he ascended them, "Oh and wear a suit."

The old black Ford Crown Vic cruised down the dark streets of Washington DC, going unnoticed as it passed the few people still wandering around on the streets. The window was opened halfway, allowing some fresh air into the stuffy interior. Jethro smoothed his tie down, Tobias hadn't said much since they had left, and he knew forcing him into a conversation would only result in more Bureau nonsense. The occasional clench of his gut told him that his instincts had been right, and that they were trying to hide something that had gone wrong before he had shot Dimitri.

The Navy Yard gleamed as they came to a stop at the security check point. Jethro grit his teeth when he remembered his credentials were still locked away in his desk. The two MP's that had the night shift stepped out of the small booth.

"Special Agent Fornell." The young woman greeted as she stood at his side of the car, shining the flash light inside the car she smiled when she saw the other man, "Gibbs."

Jethro waved at the young woman and gave her a smile.

"Director already called, you can go through."

Fornell gave a tight nod. He eased the Ford into the Navy Yard, he scanned the car park, finding the black Chevy Suburban easily amongst the deep blue Dodge Chargers. He saw Gibbs stiffen out of the corner of his eye. He wasn't sure how his friend would react to what was about to happen, if anything he'd probably storm out of the room.

Jethro led the way to the elevator, jabbing the button violently, he didn't like being moved around which ever way suited the higher-ups. The silver doors slid open and he stepped in with Fornell right behind him. The doors slid shut and they started moving.

"Why'd you ignore my calls?" Jethro raised an eyebrow, it was still bothering him that he had been ignored.

"Thought it was Diane." Fornell pulled his face slightly as he looked at Jethro.

Jethro pursed his lips and shrugged his shoulders, "Yeah, I wouldn't have answered either."

The elevator dinged as it arrived on the squad room floor. Jethro felt his stomach twist again as he climbed the stairs to the catwalk. Slowing his strides he let Fornell lead the way.

Fornell scanned them into MTAC, noting the frustration on Jethro's face – his suspension meant the retina scanners would deny him access to anything that might contain sensitive information. Seizing the opportunity he opened the door for him and watched the irritation flash across his face. Grinning to himself he closed the door behind them and watched Jethro storm down the small walkway.

Jethro glared at the three men gathered in front of the large screen. Everyone who had been seemingly unimpressed with his actions, were looking at him with something that looked strangely like relief. He looked at Leon who seemed far more tense than the last time he had seen him. Balling his hands into fists at his sides he regarded the men before him.

"This better be good." He looked straight at the Attorney General as he spoke. The man was far too slimy for him to even show him an ounce of respect.

"Recent events suggest that the last three weeks of preparation to stop the Russians have been for nothing." Fornell stepped into view, he could see that Gibbs was only waiting for the right moment to pummel the Attorney General to the ground. Jethro spun towards him, his face set in its usual glare.

"We believe that it was a distraction in order to see where the FBI's weaknesses are." Fornell scrubbed a hand over his face.

"What weakness?" Jethro grumbled irately.

"In our security." Fornell let out a frustrated sigh.

"What's this got to do with me, you suspended me because I acted irrationally." Jethro turned to look at SecNav and Leon Vance.

Fornell rolled his eyes. "The man you killed wasn't the head of the Bravta organisation, he was a fall guy. This thing is more complicated than we thought. Back in the 60's the FBI team who had managed to close in on them had intercept a transaction that involved classified US military documents – detailing where the weaknesses were in our military. The only problem is that – we don't know where those documents are."

"That was years ago, what makes you think they still want it?" Jethro turned to look at the other men.

"Technology might change, Special Agent Gibbs, but a good game plan rarely does. If they get those documents and sell them to our enemies our entire military network could be crippled." SecNav stepped forward.

"Ah," Jethro gave them a sardonic smile, "you want me and my team to find the documents."

"Not exactly." Fornell interjected, "We've recently discovered that one of the agents who had stopped them still have family in the Bureau, family that now runs the FBI."

"What have you drag me here for, Tobias?" Jethro snapped at his friend.

"The Director has been receiving death threats, and given the fact that the Director had gone missing three weeks ago – nothing will stop the Bravta to put out a hit."

Jethro felt the colour drain from his cheeks.

"For the next three months we want you to be the Director's personal detail while Homeland Security clears this up. It would be a better use of your time, and you can see it as redemption for your recent actions." The Attorney General gave Jethro a smug smile.

Jethro clenched his jaw, he saw it more as punishment than redemption. He felt Tobias tug him back as he stepped forward, about ready to give the candy-ass a piece of his mind. He glared at Leon as he was practically dragged out of MTAC.

Jethro yanked out of Fornell's grip as they stepped out onto the catwalk. Grabbing his weapon and credentials from him, he clipped his holster onto his belt securely. He was only partially satisfied that he had them back. There was something still amiss here, he could feel it in his gut.

Fornell looked at his watch, a cocky smile curling his lips, "Come on, Gibbs. Your shift starts at four and goes until you're officially dismissed for the night by the Director."

"I know how it works, Tobias." Jethro snapped. He'd arranged and rearranged more security details than he cared to admit. He started towards the elevator, too pissed off with Fornell to tolerate his smugness. If he hadn't showed up in his basement then he wouldn't have been in this position in the first place.

"You still don't know who the Director is." Fornell stated with a laugh.

Jethro raised his arms in both frustration and outrage, he wasn't sure he could endure any more of this. When Tobias wasn't forth coming with information, he almost lost it, "Fornell. Who's the Director of the FBI?"

Tobias smirked as the elevator dinged.

"Jennifer Shepard."

Is it possible that they actually know each other?

What do you think so far? You know how much I love to hear your thoughts ;)

Thanks for reading.