"The cottage is up for sale," said Em casually as she walked to the pub with Pete that evening.

"What?" he asked absently as he checked his phone.

"The cottage," she said. "You're not listening!"

"I am listening," he protested, "But why would I be interested in a cottage being up for sale?" He looked more closely at his wife and realised that her innocent look was unconvincing. "Em! Why would we want to buy a cottage in the New Forest?"

"It's a nice place," she suggested, "You like the ponies on the road …"

"Until they block the traffic!"

"And the deer are cute …"

"Em! What's this about? Are you serious about this? It's miles from our folks."

"But distance doesn't matter these days," said Em, "Travel's much quicker. And there are travel terminals at Bournemouth and Southampton."

"Em?"

"I know it's not practical," sighed Em, "But I love it here. It's so quiet and peaceful …"

"And?"

"And … well, the cottage is where they lived. I could feel closer to them," said Em. "You'd like it. There's a great garden."

"And who'd look after it for us?" asked Pete.

"I think Steve … Sean would," said Em.

"Huh," said Pete, "You don't even know his name!"

"Yes, I do. It's just that Tony gave him a nickname. I think he keeps an eye on the place already."

"You sure he wasn't scamming you?" asked Pete, "Seems a bit of a coincidence that the cottage happened to be empty."

"He gave me a jar of honey!" protested Em.

"Then that must mean he's trustworthy!" grinned Pete.

"And it would be a great place to bring up children," said Em, holding a hand protectively over her stomach.

"Yeah, yeah, that'll get me all the time," said Pete, placing his hand on hers. "But we wouldn't be living here all the time, would we?"

"They lived here 3 months on, 3 months off," said Em hopefully.

"We'll think about it," said Pete, "I'm not committing myself, understand?"

"Sean said that Great-granny used to sit and look at the garden, but Great-granddad used to sit in the front window and watch everyone walk by."

Pete laughed, "You mean he was nosy – like you!"

Em laughed as well, "I'm not committing myself either!"

"Don't forget, we're going to London tomorrow. To see the guy your Tony used to work for."

"But we can look at the cottage afterwards? And Sean said he had some more books for me …"

"Yeah, yeah. You know, you've only got small hands, but you seem to be able to wind me around those fingers with no trouble at all!"

XXXXXX

The next morning, Pete and Em were waiting in the board room of an impressive Edwardian building in Cadogan Ave in London.

"Why didn't Malcolm come as well?" asked Pete. "He's been doing all the research."

"He said the guy would only talk to me … and to you. Sounds as if some of what he tells us might not be OK for the programme."

"Perhaps Tony was a crook," said Pete with relish.

"Idiot," said Em. "Besides, the show likes scandal … Malcolm would have lapped it up."

"True," agreed Pete, "Then perhaps he was just really boring … he wants to tell us that there's nothing to make an episode about."

"Somehow I don't think Tony was ever boring," said Em before adding doubtfully, "Besides, he could have told us that over the phone … I mean, telling someone they've got a dull ancestor doesn't require a special journey, does it?"

Their speculation was brought to an end with the entry of two men: one carrying an old-fashioned brief case and the other, a tea tray.

"Do excuse me for keeping you waiting," said the older of the two men, indicating that the other man should put the tray down. "I'm Christopher Carruthers, CEO of Global Services Incorporated."

Pete stood up, "I'm Peter McHugh … this is my wife Emily … you'll know her as Emilia Mark."

"Of course, it's a pleasure to meet you both. My youngest grandson is a great admirer of yours, Mr McHugh … he loves Woody in Toy Story 23. And Miss Mark, my elder granddaughter wants to be an underwater explorer after seeing you in Golden Wave."

Pete and Em smiled politely and accepted an offer of coffee.

"I understand that NZQ is making a programme about your family, Miss Mark?" resumed Carruthers.

"That's right. I'm not sure where your company fits in," said Em.

"You know, of course, that Mr DiNozzo … your great-grandfather was a federal agent for many years?"

"Yes. NCIS … although it doesn't exist now. We haven't been able to find out exactly what he did after that. We think he worked for some international company."

"Mr DiNozzo … Tony … went to live in Paris for a while after he left NCIS. He had a … change in family responsibilities," said Carruthers delicately.

"It's all right," smiled Em, "I know about his daughter."

"Yes, well, it is my understanding that he felt he should cease being a federal agent. It was, at the time, a very hazardous occupation."

"And you know what happened afterwards?" asked Pete.

"Yes. In fact, I knew Tony for some years," said Carruthers.

Em sat up in some excitement, "You knew him?"

"Yes," said Carruthers.

"Did he give you a nickname?" asked Pete. Em glared at him and he shrugged, "Sorry, seems to be a habit of his."

Carruthers chuckled, "I see you have learned something about him! But no, no nicknames … apart from calling me CC. My name is a bit of a mouthful so, please follow Tony's example if you wish."

"And what can you tell us, CC?" asked Em wanting to get back on track and suspecting that the men might gossip for hours.

"Indeed," said CC, "This is delightful, but we should get down to the reason for your visit. Tony looked around for a few weeks in France and then started doing some work for Interpol – at their office in Paris. It was a desk job rather than being active in the field, but it suited him."

"Interpol!" said Em, "I didn't know about that."

"It was only a short-term job … partly because what he was doing came to the attention of others."

"Was it dangerous?" asked Em.

"You misunderstand, Miss Mark, the work he was doing garnered the attention of those who were looking for someone with his particular skill set."

"Oh – I guessed that he was a good shot," said Em, "And I suppose he could fight, if he needed to."

"Indeed," said CC, "But it turned out that those skills weren't what were needed. Did you know that Tony had relatives in Great Britain?"

Em nodded, "Yes. Malcolm … our producer … is looking into them. The Paddington family seems well-connected … he thought they might be interesting. Americans still love an aristocratic family."

"Yes," said CC, "You are right to say that they are well-connected … not just for money but for influence. The Paddingtons have a history of … secrecy."

"You mean they're spies?" asked Pete.

CC winced, "I wouldn't put it in quite those terms, Mr McHugh but … yes, they are used to serving their country in less overt ways. Crispian Paddington, your Tony's cousin, visited him in Paris and realised that Tony had certain skills which could be useful. He informed my great-uncle who was also …"

"A spy?" said Pete, "I mean … serving his country in covert ways?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes. He was not employed as such by the government but offered his skills as required. He was the Managing Director of Global Services Incorporated. GSI specialises in surveying activities – you know, prospecting for minerals, precious stones and such like and had also expanded into helping firms working out how to protect the environment. He thought that Tony would be a useful addition to his team."

"Helping people find diamonds and gas?" asked Em doubtfully. Somehow it didn't sound something that Tony would have found interesting.

"It's a highly skilled job," said CC, "Getting people to remote areas can be difficult. It takes knowledge and experience."

"Maybe I was right," said Pete to Em, "Tony was boring, after all. Who knew?"

"Oh no," said CC. "Tony was involved in all that, but the company had another area of … expertise."

"Yes?"

"We provided information and advice to governments who were concerned about crime and security threats. That was where Tony came in."

"What?" asked Em.

"It turned out that Tony had a particular skill in identifying security threats and weaknesses. Give him the basic information and he could see patterns which could lead to finding the perpetrators. It bordered on the brilliant."

"I don't understand," said Em, "From what we've been able to find out he was a good NCIS agent but there was nothing to show … that."

"No," agreed CC, "And, had he remained as a federal agent, it might never have come to light. You see, as an agent, he was required to be what you might call a generalist. Some investigation of course, but also going to arrest people, gathering evidence and so on. When he left the agency and was no longer able to do the arresting or physical gathering of evidence, his gift for the analysis came to the fore. Interpol were amazed at what they found."

"But he didn't carry on working for Interpol?" asked Em.

"No. His work with Interpol brought him into contact with several foreign governments and they realised that they had an asset, but they wanted to keep it under wraps. My great uncle and Crispian Paddington came up with the idea of adding a new division to GSI. Working for friendly governments and using Tony's abilities …"

"But why so secretively?" asked Pete, "Why not keep him working for Interpol?"

"It was felt safer to have him working for a non-security organization. He was known as a good federal agent … nobody would feel it odd that he had taken his skills to GSI. And indeed, he would have been welcomed to work here using his old skills. And, if he was not working on a governmental task, he did work on getting people safely to survey sites. It was an excellent cover."

"And what would have happened if his skills had been discovered?" asked Em.

"I fear he would have suffered some sort of accident," said CC. "Tony's work led to the scotching of many dangerous plots … the security services of unfriendly powers were much weakened. Had they known how the plots were thwarted – well, I don't think Tony would have lived long to tell the tale. As it was, he lived an open life with nobody aware of his other activities. He worked here until his 70s and continued to consult on an ad-hoc basis for some years after that. It was then that I had the good fortune to work with him."

"He didn't work in London all that time though, did he?" asked Pete, seeing that Em looked bewildered at the revelation.

"No. We had offices in other parts of the world and he went to our Washington office although he was a regular visitor to London."

"And nobody knew?" asked Em.

"People knew that he worked for GSI," said CC, "But it doesn't have a very memorable name … and he told them about his survey work. I'm sure it sounded all very worthy and …"

"Dull?" suggested Pete.

"As you say," said CC.

"And his family didn't know? I'm sure Granddad Mark doesn't know," said Em.

"I couldn't say," said CC, "Although, of course, Sophie knew."

"Sophie? Who's Sophie?"

"Tony's wife."

"But Tony was married to Catherine …"

"Ah, yes … and no. Catherine Sophia Mark - but she usually went by her second name and preferred Sophie to Sophia," said CC. "Tony was the only person who called her Catherine … or, usually, Cat."

"And she knew what Tony did?"

"Oh yes, and I think she was the reason he took the job," said CC.

"What?"

"She was already working for GSI. In our library and archives. She travelled to Paris sometimes with my Great-uncle … and she and Tony met. She wanted to live in London and Tony was persuaded."

"So, Catherine … Cat … Sophie was a librarian?" asked Pete.

CC coughed in a way the couple had learned to mistrust.

"Of course."

"Why do I think that might not be all that she did?" asked Em.

"Cat certainly trained in information science," said CC, "She took a degree in that subject from Aberystwyth University and she joined GSI as a graduate trainee."

"Yes?" said Pete sceptically.

"And it turned out, as with Tony, that she had great talent in amassing and assessing evidence. She and Tony made a formidable team."

"She was a spy too?" asked Em.

"No, my dear, she was a librarian," said CC firmly but with a twinkle in his eye.

Em groaned.

"What's the matter, Em?" asked Pete anxiously.

"I always thought I was the interesting person in my family," said Em, "And now it turns out that I'm probably the least interesting!"

"The move to DC made things easier in some ways," said CC, tactfully ignoring Em's self-deprecation.

"Why?" asked Pete in a long-suffering voice.

"It so happened that a former co-worker of his, Timothy McGee, wanted to leave active field work. He was snapped up to work with GSI as well. As with Tony, the ability to concentrate on one aspect of work, paid dividends. McGee was easily able to assume the apparent role of an IT director while assisting Tony and Sophie with their other tasks."

"Oh," said Em, "I've seen an interview of Tim and Tony together. It's hard to picture them as security experts … they were just joking around!"

"It was another cover," said CC. He allowed Pete and Em a few moments to finish their drinks and try to absorb what they had heard. "You will understand, I hope, that much of what your great-grandparents did for GSI will have to remain secret."

"But it's years since the stuff he was involved in," said Em.

CC coughed, "That is true … but we would prefer that GSI continue to be thought of as primarily a mining and environmental company …"

Pete and Em realised that GSI probably still had a special division doing work for friendly governments. They nodded.

"It's a shame," said Em, "I would've liked him to be known as a hero."

"I'm sorry," said CC, "But we think it best. I wanted you to know the truth, however, in tribute to a brilliant couple. I have some of his notebooks here … they have been redacted to remove sensitive information, but you may find them of interest. We also have recordings of some of his interaction with others. I believe that some of his cases from NCIS are going to be made available to you."

"Why?" asked Pete.

CC chuckled, "Former employees of NCIS are disgruntled that the agency was absorbed into an Armed Forces agency. I believe they think that publicity around old cases might serve their purpose of getting it re-established."

Em took the bundle of documents from CC. "More reading," she said. "Thank you very much, CC: it's been enlightening. Golden Wave 2 is out soon, I'll ask the studio to send your family tickets to the premiere."

"Thank you, Miss Mark … Mr McHugh. You can be proud of your ancestor … and I think he'd be proud of you – he really was a movie fanatic, you know. He told me once that remembering all the plot details was what had trained his memory to spot patterns in real life."

Pete and Em made their farewells and then decided to go for a walk along the Serpentine before going back to Hampshire.

"Em," said Pete, "You know the studio's always looking for new ideas?"

"Yes?"

"How about suggesting they make a show about this NCIS?"

"What?"

"I get the impression that it must have been a weird place … I mean, that guy wrote those whacky books about it … the old employees can't bear it's shut down …"

"I suppose," said Em doubtfully.

"And it employed your Great-granddad Tony … the more I find out about him the more I think it must have been some sort of madhouse. It would make a great movie!"

Em didn't reply.