Spotsylvania County, Virginia
The three female private eyes from the Charles Townsend Detective Agency in Los Angeles went undercover in order to discover why the local police had closed the Janie del Prado/Michael Morton case.
Kelly Garrett "joined" the Spotsylvania County Police Department as a rookie officer, "fresh out of college".
Sabrina Duncan arrived at SCPD headquarters the afternoon of Kelly's first day, as a "reporter" from "Police Magazine".
Jill Munroe, clad in her best - and tightest - top and Daisy Dukes, snooped around the SCPD garage, making "friends" with the officers there. And asking questions about the del Prado/Morton wreck.
John Bosley - Mr. Townsend's representative - showed up at SCPD as a "concerned citizen, newly moved into the neighborhood".
They all were made by the end of the first day.
Fairfax, Virginia
"Our. Worst. Case. Ever." Jill whined into the phone in a room of a five-star Fairfax, Virginia hotel.
"I honestly didn't expect much to come of your investigation, Angels, so don't beat yourselves up," Townsend replied from his mansion in Los Angeles - the Angels and Bosley hearing him on speaker.
"The sheriff was pretty open with us," Kelly added.
"They're not trying to hide anything," Sabrina said. "They don't believe it's anything more than an open-and-shut case."
"A sad wreck that took the life of a promising young woman," Bosley said. "Nice of them to let us find the Marine, though."
"Actually, they are deferring to NCIS," Townsend replied, "since he is a Marine and they have jurisdiction in cases involving former Marines."
"They have a BOLO out on the guy but because of 'budget cuts' they can't have their detectives fully investigate it," Kelly added. "You think they'd rather not be bothered with this?"
"Looks that way to me," Jill said. "They have a detective monitoring the case, whatever that means-"
"In name only," Bosley said. "They're letting us do the foot work."
"And NCIS," Townsend added. "Speaking of NCIS, Angels, grab your gear."
"Our what, Charlie?" Sabrina.
"'Grab your gear' is what Leroy Jethro Gibbs, the Special Agent in Charge of the Major Case Response Team at the Washington field office, tells his agents when they prepare to investigate a crime scene," Townsend said. "You will be working with him and his team on this particular case."
"I hope he's easier to work with than the Spotsylvania County Police were," Kelly said.
"He has his ways, I'm told," Townsend answered. "I am assured by the NCIS Director, Ms. Jenny Shepard, that Agent Gibbs and his team will give you their full cooperation. They will have the lead, we will assist. And Director Shepard is expecting you."
Washington
"Ziva. DiNozzo. Find Brian Dempsey," Gibbs said to his Senior Field Agent, Anthony "Tony" DiNozzo, and Officer Ziva David, the liaison to NCIS from Israel's Mossad Agency.
Minutes later, Tony and Ziva hopped in an SUV in NCIS's evidence garage, and took off to find Brian, the one of the drug-running Dempsey brothers who wasn't keeping a very low profile.
Special Agent Kate Todd looked on as the SUV drove away from the garage.
Nearly a year ago, she almost died on a rooftop in Norfolk, Virginia; only a stiff wind saved her from having her brains blown out by a bullet from Ari Haswari's sniper rifle - and only luck kept her and Abby Sciuto from being shot to death by Ari at the Navy Yard.
They found the bastard. She wanted to pull the trigger herself.
Instead Ari's half-sister did the honors, and as her reward was added to Gibbs' team as Mossad liaison by the new director, Jenny Shepard, herself.
That made for a year of the most awkward working environment Kate had ever found herself in.
She in essence was being forced to work with the half-sister of the man who tried to murder her; her friend and teammate Abby; and their leader, Gibbs - and that's not counting Ari's bomb that nearly killed Tony, McGee and herself.
Who in their right mind thought that was possibly a good idea?
Jenny, that's who. And she was the boss.
While Kate worked more closely with Gibbs, Ziva found herself assigned to Tony, which at first didn't bother Kate; she and Gibbs had worked cases numerous times in the past couple of years, and she found him to be much more professional and pleasant to work with than the immature DiNozzo.
But then Kate got assigned to work with McGee, and immediately she was impressed with how much the young agent had learned, and especially how he stood up to Tony and his antics. She stood by him when he was wrongfully accused of killing a D.C. Metro detective, and helped him in the case involving his sister, Sarah.
Kate also noticed changes in Tony. She couldn't deny that he was slowly maturing, acting more like a man than like a childish jock; Jenny's ultimatum to Kate to "stop acting like a bitch" to Tony actually helped improve things (as did Jenny's order to Tony to "stop acting like a kid").
And Kate saw that she actually admired the guy, and even liked him.
Deep down, she really liked him. And, she was jealous of Ziva.
Ziva not only worked the bulk of the team's cases partnered with Tony, she also bantered with him more than anyone else on the team. Initially most of it was the same old Tony she had tolerated for her first two years at NCIS; then it...changed.
Tony was looser, having fun, and acting like an adult, in a way that Kate found to be appealing.
Two months before, when the major's son showed up at his high school with a bomb strapped to his body, and Gibbs was taken hostage, Tony had to step up and lead the team.
That night, Kate saw what kind of leader Tony could be, and her respect and admiration for him grew immensely. The next morning, she heard some of the same banter, the same jokes, from DiNozzo that she saw going back to Air Force One; and yet, this was a man who was growing up, and maturing into a potentially great agent and leader.
That Tony, Kate thought, she could follow.
And care for. And love.
If only Ziva wasn't in the way.
If Kate spent the bulk of her time working with Gibbs and McGee - and down in Abby's forensics lab - and liking Tony from afar, she at best tolerated ZIva. Because of Ari, and Jenny, she had to work with Ziva but she didn't have to socialize with her.
Gibbs hadn't pushed it and in fact told Jenny more than once to back off when the director wanted to 'bring them together'. Abby didn't push it, either, after the slapping incident between herself and Ziva; Abs was accepting Ziva in her own way, but still felt loyalty to Kate.
Kate and Ziva found an acceptable medium, allowing them to work together. It held, even when they ended up arguing over some minutae in Abby's lab that was broken up by, of all people, Jimmy Palmer.
He, Ducky, McGee and Tony had accepted her, Abs and Gibbs slightly less so, but more than enough to regard her as part of the team. And, eventually, so did Kate.
Even if she did wish more and more that it was McGee, not DiNozzo, that Ziva was paired with.
"Got work to do, Kate?"
Gibbs appeared right behind her - he tended to do that, and after nearly three years working with the man still hadn't figured out how he managed to do that.
"How do you do that, Gibbs?" she said.
"What I'm really interested in, Kate, is how we work the Dempsey brothers case and the dead model and her missing Marine husband," Gibbs answered, as he motioned for Kate to follow him into the elevator.
"I thought Jenny told you not to follow up on them," Kate said, as Gibbs hit the button for the third floor.
"Jenny told me to concentrate on the Dempsey brothers," Gibbs said. "Kinda hard, though, not to follow up on the model and the Marine when the model's parents ask for help."
"Help?"
"Yeah, Kate. Help. As in take the Janie del Prado case."
"They're asking us to take the case," Kate replied, "that the Spotsylvania County police closed, that San Diego said it had no jurisdiction over-"
"County police may have closed it, Kate," Gibbs said, as the elevator opened onto the third floor; he and Kate walked out toward the bullpen. "Doesn't keep us from reopening it. And San Diego doesn't have jurisdiction; the death happened in our back yard. Our jurisdiction."
Gibbs walked past McGee to the big monitor in the bullpen.
"McGee," Gibbs said to his now junior field agent, "you have the del Prados up?"
"On the screen, boss," McGee replied.
The faces of Antonio and Melody del Prado appeared on the monitor.
"Agent Gibbs?" Antonio said.
"Yes, Mr. and Mrs. del Prado," Gibbs replied. "This is special field agent Kate Todd, and junior field agent Tim McGee."
"Our condolescences to you for the loss of your daughter Janie," Kate said.
"Thank you," Melody said. "Janie was our-"
"Melody!" Antonio interrupted, holding up his hand to quiet her. "Agent Gibbs. I understand it is your field office, not San Diego, which has jurisdiction over the case involving our beloved - and deceased - daughter."
"That's correct," Gibbs replied. "San Diego and Camp Pendleton didn't have jurisdiction because her death happened in Virginia. That's why San Diego told you it couldn't investigate the case."
"I assume you're up to speed, including the fact those hillbilly cops there closed the damn case," Antonio said, angrily.
"Yeah, but that doesn't prevent me from reopening it," Gibbs answered. "Which I intend to do."
"Can you find what happened to Janie?" Melody, in tears, pleaded.
"Darling," Antonio said to Melody, "we know WHO murdered her. My question to you, Agent Gibbs, is how quickly you can find the bastard."
"Mr. and Mrs. del Prado," Gibbs replied, "we are going to do everything we can to find out what happened there. We will investigate all aspects of this case-"
"Agent Gibbs, I understand your team is handling another case," Antonio said. "Are those young people the two agents who will help you investigate my daughter?"
Gibbs looked at Kate, wondering what in hell del Prado was talking about.
"Mr. del Prado," Gibbs retorted, "all of my agents are more than capable of handling any investigation assigned to them-"
"So that means you will assign your senior agent and the Mossad officer to this case," Antonio demanded. "Or must my lovely wife and I settle for the former Secret Service agent and the technical wizard?"
"Excuse me?" Kate said, incredulously.
"Sir?" McGee said, also incredulously.
"Are you questioning my ability to investigate this case, Mr. del Prado? And what does the makeup of my particular agents have to do with anything?"
"Antonio, Ms. Shepard said that they could use assistance-" Melody said to her husband.
"The Director said they could use the help," her husband answered. "Which is why we're sending the girls from the agency to help them."
"Mr. del Prado," Gibbs said firmly. "'Girls from the agency'?"
"Agent Gibbs," Antonio said. "We hired the Charles Townsend Detective Agency to find out what happened to Janie. They insisted they couldn't investigate without the cooperation and assistance of NCIS...I'm a man of influence here, in Los Angeles - and in Washington. I speak with powerful people daily and am used to getting things done. So after speaking with Mr. Townsend, he and I took the time to call your director, Mr. Shepard."
"Jenny?" Kate said to Gibbs, before rolling her eyes, which Antonio saw and jumped on.
"Young lady, I am impressed with Ms. Shepard, her decision-making skills and her leadership ability," Antonio said. "If she wasn't in such an important position, leading a federal intelligence agency, I would have her as a CEO."
"Would you still...'have'...me investigating this case?" Gibbs replied. "Then allow me to investigate it. Trust me, and my team."
"I do because I trust that you will proceed however Ms. Shepard directs you to," Antonio retorted, "and that will involve the assistance of Mr. Townsend's Angels."
Kate was aghast, McGee stunned at Antonio del Prado's...nerve. Gibbs stood, impassively, not allowing Mr. del Prado to get a read on him.
"Angels?" Gibbs said.
"Mr. Townsend's private detectives, all female, all with police and investigative experience," Antonio said. "Charles is a long-time friend and business associate. I trust him like I trust few others. Melody and I are grateful for his help in this difficult time, and we expect that you will work with Mr. Townsend's Angels."
"I'll make the determination on who I work with, Mr. del Prado-" Gibbs.
"They're on their way to your Navy Yard now, looking for answers, just like Melody and I are," Antonio said. "This is...this is my wife's and my daughter. I will settle for nothing less than the best. I am told you are the best NCIS has, and Mr. Townsend is the best private investigation agency in the country. Together, I expect you to find the bastard who murdered our Janie...Mr. Townsend and I will speak soon with you and your director for a status update. Until then, farewell."
The video feed from California cut out.
"'Farewell'?...'Mr. Townsend's Angels'?...Gibbs WHAT is going on here? What's Jenny up to?" Kate asked.
"I'm going to find out," Gibbs said, as he looked up towards Jenny's office. "Kate: find out everything you can about Townsend's 'Angels' as fast as you can, then call Tony for an update on Dempsey. McGee: use your 'technical wizard' skills to find out about del Prado and Townsend. And where those private eyes are and how soon they'll arrive."
"Boss, I can tell you a little about Antonio del Prado," McGee said, going to his computer, calling up some documents on his screen, then sending the feed to the monitor.
"Antonio del Prado: California businessman, made his fortune in telecommunications, 22nd richest man in the United States," McGee said. "Gold Pacific Broadcasting, based in Los Angeles, owns several TV and radio stations mostly west of the Rockies, as well as Taiwan, Indonesia, Australia, and Japan. Said to have friends on the Hill, some at the Pentagon. Helped fund campaigns for several prominent Republican senators and representatives, and the past eight GOP Presidential candidates. Rumored to have the ear of every actual and wanna-be prominent politician in D.C., according to a Newsweek article from four years ago."
"That would explain Jenny," Gibbs said. "Good work, McGee. If 'Charlie's Angels' show up while I'm upstairs, hold them here and come get me."
At that, Gibbs made his way up the stairs, to confront Jenny Shepard.
Kate decided to call Tony, and get the status update out of the way, as she began compiling info on Jill Munroe and John Bosley.
"Tony," she said, "Gibbs wants an update."
"Tell the boss Brian Dempsey is secured and on his way for his visit with his friends from NCIS," Tony said, while placing an order at an Arby's.
"Hey! I want two beef and cheddars, curly fries, cheese sauce, and a medium Coke," Kate heard Dempsey yell in the background.
"You are the prisoner. You do not get to order food!" Kate heard Ziva yell back.
"Sounds like you're having a great time," Kate joked to Tony.
"Large roast beef, large curly fries with Arby's sauce-oh, sorry, Kate. Real barrel of fun, that Dempsey guy. He and Ziva are getting along famously," Kate heard Tony say, as Ziva and Dempsey argued. "Ask McGee if he wants anything, and what about you?"
"Unless Arby has started serving soy products, or anything healthy, no thank you," Kate said, pulling up background info on Sabrina Duncan and Kelly Garrett. "McGee? Tony wants to know if you want Arby's."
"I'm good," McGee said, as he looked up financials and background on Charlie Townsend and his agency.
"How long before you're back?" Kate asked Tony.
"Oh, probably twenty minutes," Tony answered. "This guy was outside Landover. There's traffic, and we hadn't eaten since breakfast. Where's the boss?"
"Upstairs talking with Jenny," Kate answered. "She handed him another case...dead model, missing ex-Marine husband in Virginia. Her parents, from Los Angeles, dad's apparently knows a lot of people on the Hill and finances their campaigns. Wants us to investigate."
"When we're already working the Dempseys?"
"Get this," Kate said. "The guy hired a private eye agency in L.A. to 'help' us."
The third-floor elevator dinged nearby.
"Help?" Tony said.
"Kate," McGee said, standing and looking toward the elevator. "I think we should get agent Gibbs."
"What's Probie going on about?" Tony said, hearing McGee.
"Tony, I gotta go," Kate replied. "Those private eyes are here."