''...I swear to God, Ziva, it was like watching Sleeping Beauty in person, but in a male version, with Gibbs playing the prince part, and I couldn't tell whether he was about to kiss him or shoot him in order to get answers.''
''Oh, I think I know that film, isn't it the one with that cute little deer called...''
''You're talking about Bambi, Ziva'' Tim corrected once he saw them come, smiling.
Tony kept walking to his desk but didn't take a look at him.
''We don't listen to him anymore, Ziva. This man refused to save me when I needed help, he's now blacklisted.''
Tim rolled his eyes and kept working on his computer, his colleagues sitting down.
''So Fornell was right behind us,'' Tony continued his gossip, ''pretending he was giving us some space to observe the man, but it was so obvious that Gibbs wanted to kill him...''
''...wait, Fornell stayed in the room with you ?'' she asked, extremely curious. ''Why ?''
''Oh, yes. Gibbs was very silent, as usual, but I could perfectly guess his dark, wild thoughts... At this moment he considered Fornell as...''
''...The Invader !''
Jethro's calm but deep voice suddenly resonated in the bullpen, the man approaching his agents, coffee between hands.
"Well, that's not the word I would have exactly chosen, to be honest, it sounds a lot like Sci-Fi, but...''
- Thwack ! -
''I am not damn talking about Fornell, Dinozzo ! That's the new damn name of our man. Case is officially open.''
''Mutual ?'' Tim innocently dared, Tony reflexively slapping his own forehead.
Tim met Gibbs' terrible gaze and instantly regretted.
''I said 'case is open', McGee ! Final.''
''Got it, boss'' he answered straight away, swallowing with difficulty.
Gibbs finally walked to Tony's personal space and confronted him once more. He slightly shook his head and questioned him, neutral.
''A prince, Tony ? Really ?''
Tony immediately over-smiled, extremely nervous, and Ziva instantly grabbed the phone on her desk, pretending to be busy.
''Hey...boss. You know, when I was talking about... I mean,'' he tried to keep explaining, his face crumbling, ''when I said 'kiss', I didn't really mean kiss, but more like, you know...what dudes do when they say hi to each other, slaps in the back and 'rrrrrrrh'...'' He instantly cursed himself for his words choice and instinctively lowered his head, ready for the worst. ''Am I safe...?'' he quickly wondered in the end, the back of his skull not feeling a thing, footsteps miraculously moving away from him.
''What was that, Tony ? A tiger roar ?'' Ziva whispered with disdain as she walked past his desk, everyone following Gibbs to the screen.
''Kinda'' he calmly pronounced, swallowing his pride. He cleared his throat and finally joined the trio, his eyes on Marine Guillermo Jersey's ID. ''Can we know who he is, boss ? The one pretending to be him.''
''Not yet. But we will.''
''What was he looking for ?'' Tim asked.
''Or she.''
''Come on, Ziva, the probabilities for...'' Tim's confident grin suddenly vanished as he met Ziva's eyes. ''So what was she or he looking for, boss ?''
''Tobias said The Invader had had time to open a part of the historic files.''
''Meaning ?''
''Meaning tens and tens of files listing previous attacks, how the terrorists planed these said-attacks and how the FBI managed to stop them. They're still keeping an eye on it. Now they hope it didn't mention any detailed attacks they actually couldn't stop, otherwise the story is about to get darker.''
''The Navy hacking the FBI and accessing these files, that's gonna be bad publicity for us'' Tony commented.
''But he's in a coma, Tony, that is just not possible for people to believe...''
''Yeah, tell that to the press.''
''DiNozzo is right. They won't care. They'll just remember suspicion and terrorism, and they'll easily make a link between the two agencies'' Gibbs thought aloud, already upset. ''Ziva, has Marine Jersey ever been in a relationship with anyone from the FBI ? Friends ? Girlfriend, maybe ?''
''I checked, Gibbs, and the answer is no. No friends, nor any family, or any kind of relatives working for the FBI he might know of.''
''Accounts okay. No abnormal money transfers'' Tim added.
''Do you think it can be someone working for them ?'' the female agent insisted.
''Currently ? No. Not anymore. That'd be too dangerous. Too many eyes on the case.''
''Then someone who has worked for the FBI ?'' Tim said.
''That's the closest clue we have for the moment. Ziva, call Fornell and tell him to check anyone who might have left the FBI, or even taken a vacation within the last two, three months. Maybe six.''
''Make that longer'' Tony interrupted him, looking at his colleagues.
''Yeah, as the list of suspects.''
''I know that, boss,'' Tony continued, approaching him, ''but if we are talking about terrorism, then I seriously doubt that our Invader hasn't been planing it for a while. We're not talking about people leaving bombs here and there, but intellectuals. Someone opened these files to access details, itineraries, techniques, so if we work on that hypothesis, he certainly wouldn't do the mistake to quit at the very last minute.''
''You think that Jersey could have been put in a coma voluntarily ?''
''No link found between our man and the gunshot. Public area'' Ziva answered, ready to dial a number.
Gibbs started walking back and forth in the bullpen, irritated.
''Why do I only hear about this now ? Whatever the reason, a Marine has been wounded ! Where are the damn reports ?''
''Another team had taken the case, Gibbs, we were already busy with another one. But they found nothing, no one...''
''There's always a witness. Walker, homeless, even nature signs, maybe !''
Tony suddenly raised a hand and approached Jethro, ready to continue his speech and interrupt the coming anger. At that stage, it was only useless to overreact, and pretty stressful anyway to watch Gibbs blame the world for something they weren't guilty for.
''Whatever, boss'' he said all of a sudden. ''My point is : that same person hacking the FBI could have, or could have not put our victim in a coma, but if yes, then the last few months would certainly be too short. I think of something like a year of preparation, if not more, whoever it might concern.''
''More ?''
Tony turned back and faced Tim and Ziva, this time, seriouser than ever.
''These people are driven by rage, alright, whatever the reason for it, but they all have one thing in common...''
''...they're patient'' Ziva suddenly understood his point of view and ended his sentence, supported by Tony's gaze.
''Our Invader can have started alone, but if he's the one who has provoked Jersey's coma, then it must have needed preparation. There's no such thing as coincidence, is it, boss.''
''Doesn't mean he's needed twelve months to get ready.''
''Maybe not, boss. But even the tougher guys never really play solo. If he didn't necessarily have to wait for a bunch of friends to come over and join him from the beginning, he'll need people to execute his plan. He might only be the geek of the team.''
''You think he could send infos to others in order to do his part'' Tim commented.
Tony simply nodded, for once, there was nothing to add. Gibbs had listened to everything they'd said, too. He sighed and shook his head in Ziva's direction, new energy running through his veins.
''Ziva, keep looking.''
''But Gibbs,'' she tried retorting, ''I haven't found any relationsh...''
''Then look better !'' he sharply ordered, already focused on further thoughts. ''Tony, go to Abby's lab and double-check any details they've found on that day, when Jersey has been shot.''
''Abby's lab. Got it.''
Gibbs quickly watched Ziva sit behind her desk and Tony run to the elevator, his eyes now ready for their new target. He could hear the woman talk to Fornell on the phone, and he was actually glad he hadn't to do it. In fact, he had another important mission to start with someone else.
''Boss...?'' Tim dared in the end, worried but curious. ''What do I do ? Do I keep looking for the computer ? Maybe I can tr...'' Jethro finally made a few steps forward in his direction, decided, and pressed both forearms on his agent's desk. He then strangely stared at Tim, who immediately realized he had an idea in mind. ''Boss ?'' he finally repeated, now feeling secretely anxious. ''What am I supposed to do ?''
''Our man, McGee'' Gibbs pronounced, determined. ''I want you to get into his head.''