Gibbs and Kate happened upon me and saw me staring at my phone. I had just hung up with my boss who had just told me my career with Secret Service was over effect as soon as the case was closed.
"Sha? What are you doing here?"
I looked up at Kate blinking to clear my mind, "I've been here since last night. I've been watching Abby work."
"Abby?"
"That'd be me," Abby said popping her head out of the lab.
Kate raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. She turned to look at me, I gave her a small smile. Gibbs studied me for a minute and I wondered if he knew what had just happened. He wasn't able to say something before Agent Tobias Fernell from the FBI joined us. Gibbs led us to the morgue where Ducky informed us that our victim died of a cerebral embolism. It appeared to be our victim died of natural causes. Fernell left after demanding that Ducky's results be checked by the FBI and Gibbs asked Kate and I when the President was coming back.
Kate told him he was due back the next day and she was flying out to meet them. Gibbs requested to tag along and then asked me if I would go with them. I informed him I was supposed to keep the Director of the Secret Service apprised of the investigation and would stay behind. Gibbs agreed to me shadowing Dinozzo the next day while he was with Kate.
The next day I was hanging out in Abby's lab waiting for Tony to show up. Ducky joined us and Abby told him she had tested everything and nothing had popped up.
"You know, Abby, nature always proves to be a far more elusive and powerful killer than man." Ducky told her before he walked out.
Abby and I looked at each other, "You don't think..." I started to say.
"There's only one way to find out." Abby stated and turned to type something into her computer.
I took that as my cue to leave and find Tony. I entered the bullpen to find him reclining with his feet propped up on his desk.
"What are you doing here?" Tony asked in surprise.
"Gibbs didn't tell you I was shadowing you today?"
Tony shook his head, before he could say anything else his phone rang. He quickly finished his conversation, grabbed his stuff and walked out.
"If you are tagging along, hurry up" he called over his shoulder to me
I hurried to catch up, "What's going on?"
"I'm not sure," was all he would say until we arrived at our destination.
Once we arrived at our destination I quickly realized that we were at a Crime scene. Tony and I exited the vehicle and walked over to a police officer who was investigating.
"Agent DiNozzo, NCIS." Tony flashed his badge, "This is Sha Callen. She's with me. What do you got?"
The police officer gave me the once over and then turned to Tony. "One dead Marine officer. No signs of trauma." He showed Tony a wallet that seemed familiar to me. "Doesn't appear to be a robbery, there's still cash and credit cards in his wallet." He handed the wallet to Tony. "I've got two shooting already this morning. Since this guy's one of yours, I hoped you might take it."
Tony flipped open the wallet and showed me the ID. I gasped, the victim was Kate's boyfriend, or rather I suppose ex-boyfriend, as Kate had broken up with him just before she left - Major Timothy Kerry.
"Yeah. We'll take him." Tony said.
Just then my phone rang, I answered to find Abby on the other end. She informed me that she found out that the petty officer had been poisoned by a very highly venomous snake toxin. I informed Tony and he quickly put in a call for someone to pick up the body.
Tony and I waited until the body was picked up and then returned to NCIS headquarters. We went straight to Abby's lab where she started to fill us in on the toxin she found. We were officially looking at a murder, a murder on the same plane that the President of the United States was on. This was not good.
Once back at NCIS Tony and I headed to the director to update him. Afterwards he accompanied us to MTAC to video call Gibbs to fill him in. I knew by this time Gibbs and Kate had met up with Air Force One and hadn't been in the air very long. Gibbs appeared on the screen and without greeting everyone asked what was going on with the case.
"Major Kerry is dead. D.C. cops found the body in his car on a street in Georgetown. Ducky and Abby'll update you." Tony switched the teleconference over to open up windows into Ducky's autopsy and Abby's lab so they can contribute as well.
"Another stroke, Duck?" Gibbs asked.
Ducky nodded, "I'm afraid so, Gibbs. But this time there are multiple embolic infarctions. The Major must have received a heavier dose than the Commander."
Gibbs asked, interested, "Dose of what, Abby?"
Abby answered eagerly, "It's venom, from a coastal taipan. It's a highly toxic Aussie snake. Well this junk zaps the nervous system and it clots the blood. You convulse, and then you stroke."
"The toxin is almost impossible to detect." Ducky informed Gibbs.
"Well, the truth is, Abby would have detected it if I hadn't interrupted her while she was ALSing the uniform." Tony said.
"The venom was in the uniform?"
Abby replied to Gibbs' question. "Yeah. I found traces of DMSO in the collars and the cuffs. I think it was mixed with the venom to make it absorbed through the skin."
Tony said, "Major Kerry was the intended target. When he came down with the flu, he didn't put his uniform on until yesterday."
I shook my head at this, Gibbs caught it but didn't comment. He knew as well as I that if Major Kerry was the only target that we would have the dead body. More like the football carrier was the target period, but why and how did they do it.
"How did the terrorist get the poison into the uniforms?" Gibbs asked.
"Well, they both have tags from Dry Doc Cleaners on 19th Street." Abby replied.
Gibbs barked at Tony, "DiNozzo, why are you sitting there on your ass? Get a team and go hit that dry cleaners."
Tony looks behind us to the Director of NCIS, who took his seat and addressed Gibbs. "I've passed that baton on to the FBI. This has all the earmarks of Al-Qaeda; unexpected, well planned, brilliantly executed. But to what end?"
"Wouldn't surprise me to hear Bin Laden on Al-Jazeera bragging about how he iced the President's Ball carriers." Tony commented.
The Director replied, "I don't think that's what he wants to brag about."
I nodded in agreement as Gibbs said, "Eh, neither do I." With that Gibbs cut the connection and ended the conversation.
The Director asked to see me while Tony went back to work. I obliged not realizing at the time that this conversation would change my life in ways I couldn't have imagined. I followed the Director to his office and took the seat he offered me.
"So Ducky tells me that you were once interested in joining NCIS." The Director said as he took his seat behind his desk. His name plate shining his name, Director Morrow, at me, as I watched him sit down.
"Yes sir, I contemplated doing so right out of college."
"What changed your mind?" He leaned back in his chair studying me. "Why join the Secret Service instead?"
I suppressed a frown, what was up with the 20 questions? "I'm not sure entirely. I really liked NCIS but when Kate settled on Secret Service I decided to do the same. Not necessarily because she did but I don't know if I could tell you what changed my mind."
Director Morrow nodded, "Fair enough. If you had a chance to join NCIS now would you?"
"Sir?" I ask cautiously, was this conversation going where I thought it was going?
Director Morrow smirked, "Let me put it this way. Is there any way I can convince you to leave Secret Service and join NCIS?"
I fought to keep calm, "Why would you want me to join NCIS?"
"I've seen you work on this case. You have a keen eye and sharp brain. You'd make an excellent addition to Gibbs' team." He replied casually.
I nodded, 'Well here goes nothing,' I thought as I said out loud. "Well it just so happens I'm in the market for a job. I was informed this was my last case with the Secret Service. Do you still want me know my position with them has been terminated?"
The Director nodded gleefully, "By all means yes. Report to work Monday?"
I nodded and he dismissed me. I rejoined Tony in the bullpen where we continued working the case. I was a bit nervous because I could feel in my gut that this case would be over one way or another today. Sure enough I was right, Gibbs called a few hours later, a reporter on Air Force One had been a terrorist. He had spent years building his cover and planning the attack just like the Harrison Ford movie Air Force One.
The reported had planned out the murder of the ball carrier to get the President to fly on the alternate plane. The alternate plan had minor differences like key locks on the weapons instead of digital. He had made a set of keys for the lock and had tried to make it to the President, after causing a distraction by killing one of the other reporters. Kate and Gibbs, who had grabbed a gun from the now unlocked weapons cabinet, saved the President's life.
