McGee narrowed his eyes at the man talking to the Director. They stood at the end of the squad room, the man nodding at whatever Director Shepard was saying. McGee didn't recognise the man. He was tall and well built, his clothes barely concealing his muscles. His blonde hair gave him an almost Nordic look and his chiselled jaw told McGee that the man had never had any problems with the ladies. McGee looked over at Ziva, who was equally curious, her suspicious eyes never straying from the man. The man gave the director one final nod before moving towards them.
McGee looked away quickly and busied himself with work as Gibbs strode into the office, a cup of steaming coffee in his hand. Gibbs stopped short when he noticed the man standing in the middle of the squad room. He studied the man, looking him up and down.
The man kept his head held high, trying to show Gibbs he wasn't fazed by the evaluation his was being given.
"Who are you?" Gibbs asked shortly.
The man held out his hand, "Warren Hunter."
Gibbs ignored the outstretched hand and moved to his desk. "What are you doing in my squad room, Warren Hunter?" Gibbs questioned, settling into his seat and taking a sip of coffee.
Hunter frowned. "The Director didn't tell you?" He asked. "I'm your new senior field agent."
Gibbs showed no expression and ignored the surprised looks on McGee and Ziva's faces and he rose from his seat, brushed passed Hunter and practically ran up the stairs.
"Something I said?" Warren asked.
Ziva glared at Warren. "Yes," She answered honestly, "It was something you said."
"Oh," he sounded, he scanned the room and eyed the empty desk behind him. "Is that mine?" He moved round the desk and sat down. "Hey, what should I do with all this stuff?"
McGee looked up and frowned. "That's Tony's desk," he spoke.
"That's the agent who died right? I'm sorry about that but I don't think he'll mind me using it." He reached for the drawers and tried to pull it open, frowning when he found it locked. "Anyone know where I can get a key for this thing?"
Ziva pushed herself up and crossed the short distance, slamming both palms on the desk. "This is Tony's desk," she hissed. "Go sit somewhere else," she ordered. She ripped her hands away from the desk and turned away from him.
"Okay," he spoke, holding his hands up, "I get it." He stood up and moved away from the desk "Where should I sit?" McGee pointed to the desk on the other side of his partition but didn't look up.
"Tough crowd," he muttered, walking past McGee.
"Grieving crowd," McGee snapped. He stood up and joined Ziva by her desk, just out of earshot. "Wait till Abby hears about him, you remember how long it took for her to warm up to you after Kate died?"
"And she knew Tony for longer, they were like siblings," Ziva continued McGee's train of thought. "I don't want to be anywhere near this place when she finds out that the Director has replaced Tony."
Gibbs stormed past Cynthia, ignoring her protests, and burst into the office. The door swung open and slammed into the wall behind it, almost chipping the orange paint off the wall.
Jenny's head snapped up and her jaw dropped. "Special Agent Gibbs!" She called, lifting herself from her desk. "What on earth do you think you are doing?"
"Who the hell is that guy standing in my squad room?" Gibbs shouted, pointing out the door.
Jenny put her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow, unfazed by Gibbs' shouting. "Your squad room?" She asked with a twinge of sarcasm in her voice.
"It's barely been a week! Tony hasn't been dead a week yet and you are replacing him!"
"Neither Ziva or Timothy are experienced enough to be senior field agent and you and I both know how much Tony did, he always picked up the slack. You can't carry on without a replacement, you try and you'll realise just how much work Tony did"
"I don't care!" Gibbs shouted, "You should have talked to me!"
"Jethro!"
"I choose my own team, Jen."
"No you don't. I am in charge here I appoint new employees where I feel they are needed most, not on the say so of one of my agents."
"This is different!"
"How?"
Gibbs took a step closer to Jen, "Tony was like family to all of us. You can't find another person to fill his place that easily and if you hadn't sent him on that mission we wouldn't need a new Senior Field Agent. Would we?"
"Fine, I'll make you a deal. You stick with Warren and if after two weeks you don't like him? You can choose your own person to replace Tony."
Gibbs gritted his teeth and thought it over, "Fine!" He turned back towards the door, "But don't think I'm going to go easy on him, it won't be my problem if he can't handle it." Gibbs looked up at Jenny with a steely gaze. "Tony certainly could," he added before storming away.
He jogged back down the stairs and made his way back to his desk, raising an eyebrow at the newest member of the team sitting at the spare desk.
He walked up to the filing cabinet next to Tony's desk and yanked open a drawer. He pulled out a pile of files. He slammed the drawer shut and then walked up to Warren's desk. He dropped the pile down and Warren jumped slightly. "Read all of these."
"What are they?"
"Case files from the last three months." Gibbs turned to his own desk, his cell phone ringing before he could even sit down. "Gibbs," he answered, listening for a second before hanging up. "Gear up, we've got a killer to find," he told his team" Ziva and McGee stood, dug into drawers for their guns and slung their backpacks over one shoulder, ready to leave. Warren stood up and Gibbs glared at him. "Not you," he told him, "You don't leave this room until you've read all those files."
Warren nodded, "I understand."
Gibbs moved towards him, stepping into his personal space. "I don't think you do." Gibbs spoke, his voice low and menacing, "The man you are replacing was worth ten of you."
"You don't even know me," Warren replied.
Gibbs stared at Warren, "I don't need to." He turned and led the others away and into the elevator.
I'm so evil, i know :) Thanks for all the wonderful reviews