Apr 14
We did a variant of the intern thing. We hired people as consultants for a specific thing and then if they were good, offered them a job.
Joshua Schachter, Sink or Swim, SXSW 2006

"Why do I have to have interns?"

Jennifer Shepard sat at her desk and tried not to laugh at the sight of one of her senior agents, whose age and gender she was certain about, whining to her like a little girl. This was going to amuse her for weeks.

She supposed she probably should have either been clearer in the email she sent to every agent in the Navy Yard or called him into her office sooner to clarify how this would work out for her best team. But SecNav had decided to completely misunderstand her latest budget report to him and spent several hours demanding to know where the money had disappeared to. After much ado, she had discovered he had assumed the amount of money she had informed him was left to spend in the fiscal year was a negative. One very chastened SecNav had finally left her alone.

"I don't want interns, Jen," Supervisory Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs continued to whine. "They screw up my coffee order. They distract DiNozzo; even if they're male, he just worries about them looking at Ziva."

Jenny privately felt Ziva should be allowed to deal with Tony in her own way, but she was concerned about the amount of blood that would be left on the carpet. She had not worked so hard to save every cent possible of her agency's money to blow it all on cleaning up behind a Mossad assassin.

"Remember that intern in the London office?" Oh goody, bringing up the past.

"You were the one who hung him from the flagpole," she reminded him.

He scowled. "He deserved it."

"For flirting with me?"

He pretended she hadn't spoken. She took advantage of his temporary silence while he tried to work out if there was another reason for being against that particular intern.

"I am not assigning any interns to your team, Jethro. Oh, don't give me that look."

He gave her another look which clearly said 'What look?'

"I couldn't say it in the email or everyone who didn't want an intern would try to get rid of theirs. However, I do not wish to watch anyone run screaming from the Navy Yard before we train them. So, you will keep quiet about this perk and not torment a single one or I will keelhaul you."

He nodded, thinking he had won. She allowed him to leave under this mistaken impression. By the time he realized she had arranged to reassign Agent Balboa's intern to his team after a few weeks of training, she would be at a conference in Madrid.

Though she suspected she would be able to hear his complaints from there.