"You too, Boss." Gibbs watched the man leave, happy he was staying with NCIS.

Gibbs watched as his youngest agent left the Bullpen, entering the elevator. He knew he had to tell Vance what he had done, and his new boss was not going to be happy with his actions. He began climbing the stairs to the directors office, wondering what Leon would have to say about this change in circumstances.

Leroy Jethro Gibbs had made many decisions in his life, quite a few he regretted. Approving Tims transfer out of the building and away from Cyber Crimes would not be one of them. Entering the outer office, Gibbs didn't even look at Pamela Cook, Cynthia Sumners temporary replacement. Gibbs hoped Cynthia took a position more suited to her talents, something with either Department of the Navy security or Force Protection, the woman being an amazing shot with a gun, and an incredible tactical mind. Opening the door to the main office, Gibbs saw Vance on the phone. Closing the door behind him, he stepped towards the desk, waiting for the man to end his call.

"Thank you, Sam, I'll let you know." Vance put the handset down, looking at his most senior agent in the building. "Timothy McGee has just resigned from this agency, Gibbs. What have you said to your boy?" Vance was angry, with himself, with McGee, but most of all with Gibbs, believing he said something that caused McGee to resign.

"Nothing, he did it all himself. But there has been a development," Gibbs let it hang in the air, drawing Vance out.

"Am I to guess, or will you inform me of it?" Vance hated the way Gibbs could get under his skin.

"I haven't signed the transfer orders for McGee, reassigning him to Cyber Crimes, releasing him from my command, so to avoid his resignation, I have approved his transfer to the National Counter Terrorism Centre as the Deputy Chief of the NCIS Section." Gibbs watched as Vances face showed his growing anger. Gibbs decided to keep pushing the man. "I want to know what you are playing at, Leon. I put forward my recommendation for his promotion to SFA for the MRCT in Naples. Vera Strickland was sarcastic to the extreme when I called her about Tim being transferred to her, as if she had been told she couldn't have him. What game are you playing here, Director? Why are you trying to derail McGees career?"

"I'm doing no such thing, Gibbs!" Vance exploded. "I need him in Cyber Crimes, and that is the end of it. You will get him back here, now!" The Director ordered.

"The hell I will!" Gibbs would not take this lying down. "Transferring DiNozzo I get. He ignored protocol and left Jenny unprotected, Ziva did the same thing. I understand their transfers, but not McGees. You've read his file, you don't think he would get a job with the FBI, CIA, NSA, DOD, hell, every agency and task force wants him, it took a lot of persuading by Jenny and myself to keep him here for the past three years."

"That's why I need him in Cyber Crimes, he has one of the best set of computer skills I've ever seen in an agent. His talents are wasted investigating with you, running down some street criminal when he could be breaking encryptions and breaking down firewalls, helping this country capture terrorists!" Vance had read McGees file more than any other agents, knowing the man was the future of the agency. "His skills are far more valuable here, than in the field."

"Well, Leon, you have a choice. Force McGee to come back here, and be reading his resignation in an hour, or let him go to the NCTC, and get him to work on whatever secret mission you are running in his spare time." Gibbs watched Vances eyebrows rise slightly, having seen both Tom Morrow and Jenny Shepard run clandestine operations out of this office.

"I don't know what you are talking about, Jethro." Vance knew he had been caught out.

"Yes you do. You need McGee to crack some encryption firewall spyware thingy that so far no one else has," Vance smirked at Gibbs technical talk, "And you suspect Daniel Keating has something to do with it. That's why you have him out of Cyber Crimes, and he's with me so I can keep an eye on him. Lee has been transferred to me, and Langer, for the same reason. You suspect a mole?" Gibbs had not needed long to understand the transfer orders, especially after Vances rant.

"I can't talk about it, Gibbs," Vance did not have clearance to read Gibbs in on the mission.

"Well, let me tell you a few things. Keating has been here six months, so if we have a mole, he must be very good at the spycraft game. Langer has been with NCIS and the FBI for more than fifteen years, he would need a very good reason to betray this country. Michelle Lee has been transferred out of Legal when I took off to Mexico two years ago, and was booted off the team the minute I got back." Gibbs knew he had found the mole. "She has reason to betray us, seeing herself as not being valued, as being betrayed by this agency and the people who work here. Put a team of counter espionage guys on her, bug her phone, put that key blogging stroke whatcha ma-call-it on her computers. You'll catch her soon enough."

"Gibbs, nearly everything you want me to do to Lee is illegal." Vance had followed Gibbs train of thought, agreeing with him completely.

"If she is betraying this country, it won't matter. Sometimes, Leon, the ends justify the means. But you are not sticking McGee down in the basement! That is the end of it! I'll get you your mole, you leave my boy where he is going! Otherwise, you can explain your actions to Admiral McGee, who will no doubt complain about you to SECNAV, SECDEF, all the other agency heads, and probably the President himself. Have a good first week, Leon." With that, Gibbs left the office, leaving the Director with his thoughts.

Leon began thinking of what he could do now. He would have to bring Gibbs on the mission brief, the man having worked out most of it out himself. He would leave McGee where he was for now, knowing to order him back and have him resign would cause some serious problems, both for the agency and himself. He hoped Gibbs was right in his assessment of his new team, and began making notes on what he needed done, nearly all of which was what Gibbs had suggested.

"Dad, I've got some news," Tim had called his father the moment he left the building, deciding not to announce this news to the gossips that worked in the HQ building.

"Don't keep me in suspense, Tim, tell me," Admiral William McGee, Chief of Naval Operations, a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, hoped his son had not resigned.

"Well, I talked with Vance, who pretty much told me it was Cyber Crimes, or nothing, so I offered my resignation. Gibbs was not happy with that so he got me transferred to the NCTC, starting right now." Tim rushed this out, needing to get to his new job.

"Congratulations, son, I'm proud of you. Now, you need to get to your new job, and I need to get into the Oval Office, call me tonight, better yet, come over, you can tell your mother, yourself," Will wanted to see his wifes face when she heard the news.

"That would be great, Dad, I'll see you about eight, if I'm going to be late, I'll let you, I really gotta go,now," Tim had reached his car, not wanting to keep Vera Strickland waiting.

"Good luck, Sailor," With that, William McGee put the phone down to his son, and began calling a few people, letting them know his son was no longer needing a new job.

Vera Strickland was waiting in the lobby for her new deputy, Timothy McGee. When Paul Hyland took the role of Deputy Operations Manager for the Joint Terrorism Task Force, New York, Vera knew she had the unenviable task of selecting someone to replace him. Tim McGee had been high on the list from the start, his file was a shining example of a first rate NCIS agent, one who had educated himself to the highest standard, both in school and out of it. She was surprised by his language skills, especially as he kept himself rated as fluent in French, Greek, Japanese, Italian and Spanish, not an easy thing to do when you are based Stateside.

Vera had been told it was a possibility when she had asked Jennifer Shepard, only to be told no outright by Leon Vance. Vera knew Gibbs hated change, and tried to keep his agents with him as long as possible. With Gibbs running the MCRT out of the Navy Yard, his team got a lot more variety in their active cases, than the teams stationed abroad, and in some of the smaller Navy bases around the country. This meant they did not have to worry about gaining experience in particular fields, as they did investigated nearly every type of crime in a six month period. Vera had shortlisted four people to take the spot, having read the files of Tony DiNozzo and Timothy McGee a few times, as well as Brent Langer and Stan Burley. Vera had trained Gibbs with Mike Franks when he was a probie, and had watched him grow to take over as the Senior Field agent when she was promoted. Vera was well aware of what kind of agents were produced under Gibbs tutelage.

Tim had been her first choice, his experience with computers and his language skills making him her favourite. Brent Langer was her next choice, his experience with the FBI and international operations giving him a leading edge. Stan Burley was a well respected agent, his file, like Tims, was a glowing read of an exceptional agent. Tony DiNozzo was her fourth choice, based purely on his results with the MCRT, his college education and subsequent career as a police detective letting him down. Vera had no problem with local LEOs, but the man had served in three different police precincts in seven years, causing Vera to wonder about the mans ability to hold down the job. His past six and a half years with NCIS showed a more mature man, one who could handle responsibility. Unlike McGee, Langer, and Burley, DiNozzo had only ever been part of Team Gibbs, and Vera was worried about the man having reservations about the transfer. She hoped McGee wanted to be here as much as she wanted him.

Tim had much to think about on the twenty minute drive to the NCTC Complex in McLean, Virginia. He knew he wanted the job, not as much as being a field agent, but it would be a role he knew would challenge him. He was also thinking about where to move to. The royalties from his novels had given him a much larger bank account than he was used to, and had looked at houses in the District, as well as Maryland and Virginia. With this new job, Tim knew he would have to focus his search to the Virginia area.

But right now, he had to focus on getting his head into the right space, his new job would need all his concentration. He knew Vera Strickland had been Gibbs' supervising officer when he was a probationary agent, he wondered if she would help him pick up some of Gibbs' better habits, such as knowing when he was being lied to, plus his super powered hearing.a