[Switch:1]
......
Claire's POV:
Up in the bullpen McGee was hastily typing away at his desk as he had been for the past hour, when Tony swooped in, tossing his bag over behind his desk.
"Hey! Finish that database yet Probie?" he asked eagerly. McGee glanced over at him with a frown before looking back at his computer.
"Yesterday." He answered dryly.
"Well then it should have been on my desk, yesterday shouldn't it?" Tony mused as he yanked his rolling desk chair under his desk, picking up the files on his desk.
"I didn't realize a compilation of nudy bars was that urgent." I asked him curiously.
"Well it is." Tony countered eagerly, swiveling around in his chair. Well isn't he just a ball of energy today. McGee glanced over at him curiously.
"Why?" he asked.
"I don't have to explain myself to a junior agent." Tony muttered, looking back down at the file on his desk.
"Ok, it this work related because….."
"…because what? Just this once…." Tony began pleadingly, making his way over towards McGee's desk.
"It's a mission of mercy Probie. A buddy of mine is getting married to a particularly unpleasant beast of a woman." He explained with a grimace.
"Wait a minute is this the friend who's engaged to Sophie?" I asked him curiously. Tony nodded reluctantly.
"Oh she hates me." I mused.
"Thus why you were not invited to the wedding." Tony pointed out. I shrugged indifferently.
"Speaking of which, you should come anyway just to spite her." He suggested but I could read his ulterior motives.
"No, Tony I will not be your plus one at that vile woman's wedding." I shot down with a grin. Tony groaned in defeat, causing me to chuckle.
"So why does all of this matter?" McGee prodded, staring between the two of us. Tony's eyebrows shot up in surprise.
"So?...so his bachelor party will be the only thing that sustains him for the rest of his miserable existence." Tony elaborated dramatically, leaning his arms on McGee's desk. McGee nodded.
"I will print it out as soon as I'm finished with this." He told him, gesturing to his computer screen.
"On behalf of men everywhere we thank you Probie." Tony grinned.
"What are you working on?" he asked as an afterthought, darting to stand behind McGee to look at his computer.
"Well I'm reviewing my credit card statements. There appear to be some anomalies." Mcgee mumbled irritably.
"Like what?" I asked curiously, getting up to stand behind McGee on his other side. Tony scanned over the list, taking note of the items that were highlighted.
"50 DVD copies of Forest..h..Hump." Tony gasped out, trying not to laugh at his discovery.
"Yea see I don't even know what a Forest Hump is." Mcgee glared at the screen in confusion.
"It's like Forest Gump with naked people, McGee." I explained, trying to break it to him gently. McGee looked up at me in alarm.
"Huh?" he muttered.
"It's a porno." Tony told him with a chuckle. McGee and I looked over at him curiously.
"…or so I've been told." He amended innocently.
"Uh huh…" I hummed in disbelief. Tony shot me a glare.
"How did you know what it was?" he shot back at me defensively. I started, not expecting the question.
"Well I mean the name is kinda obvious…." I explained.
"It could have been a spoof. How did you know it wasn't?" Tony pressed with an impish grin. I straightened up and crossed my arms over my chest.
"I don't have to explain myself to you." I quipped evasively.
"Fine then don't question my knowledge on this stuff." Tony suggested.
"Fine." I shrugged.
"Fine." he muttered. McGee let out a sigh of exasperation as he shook his head at the screen, ignoring our little spat for the moment.
"This…is obviously an error with the credit card company." Mcgee muttered, not believing that was under his statement records. Tony knelt down next to his chair as he settled in to read more of the highlighted statements while I leaned farther over McGee's shoulder.
"Oh, or its identity theft." Tony suggested. McGee shook his head in denial.
"That's not possible. I use a secure browser, and….and…and…the latest firewall protection." He explained.
"Well look at that a $5,000 dollar charge from John Deere." Tony pointed out with a skeptical grin. McGee stared at the screen in shock.
"Payment on that combine you always dreamed of Probie?" Tony teased as he enjoyed McGee's misfortune.
"Put the farm equipment on hold…" Gibbs interjected as he entered the office, causing Tony and I to jump up and scurry over towards our desks.
"A sailor was shot on route 249." Gibbs explained as he reached into his desk for his gun.
"Tony, grab the gear. Green Acres." Gibbs added, turning towards McGee.
"Gas the truck." He ordered, tossing the Tim the keys.
"Where the hell is David?" Gibbs shouted, looking over at the empty desk beside his.
"Boss officer David…is…uhhh…" Tony stuttered, not knowing where she was.
"Late!" Ziva called, swiftly making her way to her desk, saving Tony from answering.
"I took the wrong bus this morning. Had to walk from the 18th street stop." She explained as the group turned to look at her.
"That's a tough part of town." Tony mused, staring at her small sunhat that clashed against her army green jacket and pants.
"I've been in worse." Ziva shrugged.
"It won't happen again Gibbs." She assured, watching Gibbs stare at her emotionlessly.
"I know." He muttered before heading towards the elevator. Tony, McGee and I shared a knowing wide-eyed look before following after him. Ziva was in for it now.
...
3rd Person POV:
At the crime scene, the NCIS car parked beside the van in the middle of the backroad where the accident occurred. Tony stepped out of the van he was driving and was met by a state trooper.
"Special Agent Gibbs?" the man asked. Tony rose his brow in amusement.
"No, he's the older gentleman with the smile on his face." he countered pointing towards Gibbs who had already made his way under the tape, with Ziva on his heels. Claire grinned at him and nudged him in the ribs for his sarcasm. Gibbs and Ziva stopped at the broken fence and looked down the very steep slope with the busted car at the base of it.
"Agent Gibbs, the cars in a crevice at the bottom; victims dead inside." The state trooper informed, walking over towards the agents.
"Lt. Hampton, Virginia State police. The last few yards are pretty steep. One of the EMTs managed to make it all the way down. The fire department is bringing in special equipment to extricate the body." The trooper explained to the group, as Tony, Claire and McGee had now joined, carrying their equipment.
"It's gonna take a while." He tacked on.
"McGee, sketch. Get close enough without breaking your neck." Gibbs ordered, his tone softening at the end.
"DiNozzo photos." Gibbs added on next. Tony stood there staring at him, as if waiting for more instructions.
"Is there a problem?" Gibbs asked.
"You didn't say anything about my neck." Tony pouted, looking put out. Gibbs just stared at him as if to say 'so?'.
"I'll be careful." Tony muttered before walking down after McGee.
"What about me?" Ziva asked, stepping up next to Gibbs who ignored her and turned to the trooper. She scoffed and looked to Claire for assistance. However, Claire just shook her head and raised her hands up, indicating at she was staying out of it. Ziva rolled her eyes, knowing that her tardiness this morning had set her up for a bad day.
"Who called it in?" Gibbs asked Lt. Hampton.
"His wife. She was on the phone with him when it happened." He answered, gesturing over to the blonde woman who was sitting in the police cruiser.
"Officer David, take her statement." Gibbs ordered. Ziva huffed and shook her head in annoyance.
"I should warn you, I'm not very good with women." She countered adamantly.
"Shocker." Claire muttered under her breath, causing Ziva to glare at her.
"Well that would make two things you're not very good at." Gibbs quipped as he walked away, Claire following after him.
"And the first?" Ziva shouted in question as he got farther away.
"Being on time." Gibbs explained. Ziva growled in annoyance and made her way over to the wife. She hesitantly walked over to the woman and introduced herself before starting with the questions.
...
Down the ravine, Tony had his cap on backwards so he could use the eyepiece of the camera to take pictures from where they stood on the small hill above the car crash.
"If it's any consolation Probie, I had my identity stolen once." Tony told Tim, who was sketching from beside him.
"Really?" McGee asked.
"They charged my visa for a vintage Barbie doll. Career girl outfit." Tony explained with a shrug, not really understanding why someone would buy that.
"Oh with the matching briefcase and pumps?" McGee asked intrigued. Tony paused and slowly turned to stare at him incredulously. McGee huffed sheepishly.
"Well I had a girlfriend who collected them once. We used to…..we'd line them up on the…." he trailed off nervously, realizing that this wasn't helping his case.
"I lost respect for you at the word….pumps…" Tony told him, staring at him in disbelief. Mcgee nodded in understanding and glanced away.
"Get back to work." Tony scolded.
"It's kinda hard to sketch from this distance." Tim muttered.
"Well don't get any closer, it gets steeper as it gets deeper. One false move and…" Tony was interrupted as they heard someone crashing though the growth behind them. The agents whipped around to see Jimmy flailing as he began losing his balance on the slope. Unfortunately, he had latched onto Claire's arm as she was supposed to be helping carry the supplies down for Ducky.
"Palmer! Palmer let go!" She shouted frantically as she could feel herself getting yanked forward, dropping the boxes as she did. The two of them started falling down the hill. Tony's eyes widened and he leapt around McGee to grab onto Claire who had fallen ahead of Jimmy. As she neared him he used her momentum to yank her sideways onto their little ledge, preventing her from serious injury. The force caused them both to be thrown harshly onto the ground.
"Thanks." Claire muttered, rolling onto her back to catch her breath. The three agents looked up to see a terrified Palmer still rolling and tumbling down the hill, down the steep ravine below, yelping frequently as he ran into the shrubbery.
"Good hustle Palmer." Tony shouted as they watching him go crashing down.
"I almost feel bad for letting him keep going." He muttered as an afterthought. Claire looked over at him.
"Don't be…..he was wearing loafers to a crime scene. Therefore he deserved this." She countered, glancing down at Jimmy down below them. Tony and McGee let out noises of understanding and agreement.
...
Up at the top Ziva was walking back over to Gibbs who was analyzing the original crash site on the road.
"No skid marks, he did not attempt to control the car before it went over." Gibbs remained silent.
"They were having an argument over a 6 month anniversary. I don't understand the half year thing, I thought…." Ziva rambled on but Gibbs cut her off.
"I don't understand anniversaries period." Gibbs quipped as he jotted down a couple notes in his notebook.
"Apparently neither did her husband. She was screaming at him on the phone when she heard a loud gunshot followed by the crash." Ziva explained. Gibbs stood up curiously.
"What else?" he asked.
"She could hear a low moan for a few minutes after impact." She answered.
...
Jimmy moaned pitifully as he sat between McGee and Tony on the ground closer the crash site where he had eventually stopped tumbling. Claire was resting just behind him.
"Yea I think it's sprained guys. Doctor Mallard is gonna be upset, isn't he?" Palmer asked, looking to McGee nervously.
"Uh I wouldn't worry about him but Gibbs….if he sees you wearing loafers at a crime scene." McGee trailed off with a grimace. Palmer looked to Tony who was staring down at the man's ankle on his other side.
"He'll pretty much kill you dead." Tony finished and reached down to poke at the swollen joint, causing Jimmy to yelp in pain.
"Is anybody going to join me down here?" they heard Ducky call from the bottom of the ravine. Tony, Claire, and McGee stood up to look down at him curiously.
"Uh Gibbs told us not to get too close." McGee explained.
"Yea you really shouldn't be down there Ducky, it's not safe." Claire warned.
"Exit wound in the petty officer's neck seems to indicate it went straight through. You need to look for a spent round that might be crucial for an investigation." Ducky called back. Tony turned to McGee with a raised eyebrow, indicating for him to go. McGee opened and shut his mouth a few times before clearing this throat and looking to Tony.
"Well as you've pointed out many times, I'm just a junior field agent." McGee countered Tony's look.
"All the more reason you need the experience Probie." Tony argued. McGee glanced back down the steep ravine and sucked on his teeth in thought and turned to Claire.
"No way. I think a gentleman should take this one." She countered immediately.
"But you have loads of field experience." Tony pointed out, more than willing to pass the buck to her.
"How about we follow in your footsteps as you lead the way?" McGee suggested, Tony nodded in agreement.
"Yes, ladies first." Tony quipped. Claire chuckled humorlessly.
"How about you two kiss my experience's buttocks." She threw back at them challengingly. The boys glared at her.
"Am I going to have to call Jethro on this one gentleman?" Ducky shouted up threateningly.
"No we're good." Tony replied.
"See, gentleman….ergo not me." Claire pointed out smugly. Tony sighed and looked down the slope warily.
"The chances of finding that bullet are…."
...
"….one in a million." Abby explained to Gibbs as they looked at the microscopic picture of the bullet up on the screen.
"Look at this Gibbs." She insisted as he leaned down to look into the microscope.
"The grooves that made that pattern, it's the exact same design as the cover of 'Plastic Death's' newest CD." She marveled excitedly. Gibbs didn't respond.
"Don't even tell me you don't know who plastic death is because its only like my favorite…"
"Not now Abby." Gibbs gently told her, looking up to squint at the picture on the plasma screen.
"But it could be a sign Gibbs! Like that tortilla skillet with the image of Jesus in it. They thought that was a miracle." She countered.
"It'll be a miracle if you still have a job unless you get back on topic." Gibbs warned her, making his way to the front of the room. Abby nodded and closed her eyes, breathing deeply.
"I see your point O great one. This is me getting back on topic." She murmured lowly before opening her eyes and getting back to work.
"9 millimeter, 120 grain. The window was rolled up when he was shot. There's traces in the rifling." Abby explained, pointing them out on the screen.
"Manufacturer?" Gibbs asked.
"Can't tell. I'm going to plug this into the FBI's database and see if a get a match but…."
"But it'll take a while." Gibbs guessed.
"See mind reading. There might be something supernatural going on here." Abby muttered thoughtfully, ignoring Gibb's blank look.
...
Claire's POV:
Up in the bullpen we were comparing notes to figure out what cause the crash using computer technology and the trajectory measurements from the crime scene.
"Preliminary trajectory shows that the bullet passes straight through the driver's side window. So, I recommend we search this area, looking for spent brass." McGee suggested, pulling up an image on the screen.
"You won't find it." Ziva countered.
"9 millimeters are slow and only accurate to about 30 meters. The shooter was in a moving car that pulled up alongside." She explained easily.
"Yea that is one possibility Ziva but you see we're investigators, which means we….investigate things. We don't assume." I argued, looking over at her demeaningly. Gibbs walked up and looked at the screen thoughtfully.
"Ziva's right." He told us easily. I glanced at him in shock while Ziva smirked.
"The wife said she heard the gunshot over the phone, the shooter had to be close." Gibbs explained. Ziva smiled deviously at me who returned it with my own sarcastic one. So she was right this one time. Lucky shot.
"Thank you." She told Gibbs, glancing back at me again tauntingly. And the battle for Alpha female begins.
"What do we know about Petty Officer Smith?" Gibbs asked.
"We ran his military ID, he was a clerk at Norfolk. Had four months left before his discharge." McGee answered. He and Tony were watching the two of us curiously during our staring match.
"Tony, take the girls with you and check with his CO." Gibbs ordered, causing Tony to grumble under his breath, shooting a wary look at Ziva. Now she was jumping in on our partnership.
"When you're done with that then sweep the trajectory for brass." He added. Ziva looked at him in confusion.
"But why? You just said I was…"
"Because Claire's right too." Gibbs told her easily. Ziva pursed her lips looking over at me who was grinning triumphantly. She made a face at me before the three of us took off towards Smith's workplace.
...
3rd Person POV:
At the office building where the petty officer worked, the three agents were being escorted to his commanding officer's office.
"All of these people are in the military?" Ziva asked questioningly as they walked through the building.
"Yes, the uniforms are kind of a dead giveaway." Claire pointed out, shooting Tony an amused glance.
"Why aren't they armed." Ziva continued, glancing back at them questioningly.
"Because we're in America and the machine guns would just get in the way." Tony quipped sarcastically as the two entered the commanding officer's office. Ziva was not amused. The man hung up the phone before standing to greet the agents.
"What can I do for NCIS today?" he asked them politely.
"I'm sorry I have to tell you this sir but one of your men was killed this morning." Tony explained gently.
"Oh my god. Who?" he asked, looking between the three of them with wide eyes.
"Petty officer Jerry Smith." Ziva answered.
"Smith?" the commander asked, blinking in confusion.
"He was shot on route 249 on his way into work." Claire elaborated. The man stared at them questioningly.
"I think you have my man confused with someone else. That's Petty Officer Jerry Smith right over there." He explained, pointing to a smaller, gangly man that was working at his computer a few desks down from the room.
...
Claire's POV:
I was the one privileged with interviewing 'Jerry Smith'. From the moment I approached the man it was painfully obvious that he wasn't used to a female's attention. The poor guy was flustered out of his mind.
"Why would anyone want to impersonate me?" he asked with a chuckle, fidgeting nervously, unable to make eye contact with me. I shrugged.
"Blackmail, espionage, terrorism, potential assassination…" I listed off.
"I..I'm just…I'm just a clerk ma'am." He countered.
"I mean I don't have security clearance or anything." Smith mumbled sheepishly.
"What kind of a clerk?" I asked politely, trying to help him open up a bit.
"Well I'm in a supply unit….im an SK2." He answered. Might as well test to see if he or the other guy is the imposter.
"I'm new to NCIS petty officer, you're going to have to be more specific." I drawled with a smile, trying to see if he could answer me correctly. Smith stuttered for a moment, shying away from my curious gaze.
"Well….basically I'm just a…..storekeeper." he explained. I nodded but he continued.
"Um like today I filled requests for TP, liquid soap, toilet seat covers." He added with a chuckle, grinning up at me. I watching him in confusion as he started laughing before talking again.
"We call it getting 'a head'." He joked, laughing at the joke but I just stared at him silently. Noticing my lack of reaction he quickly dropped his smile and composed himself.
"…because in the navy, the head is another word for.."
"For the toilet…yes I know." I quickly assured him. The joke was bad enough without the explanation.
"Perhaps this has something to do with your personal life?" I suggested, trying to get onto another topic before he could start rambling again. Smith grimaced.
"Well….probably not." He suggested sheepishly. I looked at him for clarification.
"I don't really have one." He explained in embarrassment.
"You don't say." I mused sarcastically but he didn't notice.
"I mean most nights I just go home and surf the web, or watch reality TV. I'm really into survivor…average Joe….and the amazing race is cool….I like extreme makeover but.." he rambled on listing his TV shows but I quickly cut him off. I could only take so much dork rambling. Tony and his classic movies were enough.
"I don't have much time to watch TV." I told him, hoping he would stop talking. He looked up at me in surprise.
"Really? Wow I don't think I've met anyone who didn't…" he chuckled and fidgeted nervously but again I had cut him off once more.
"What does your wife think about all this uh…nightly stimulation?" I inquired, trying to remain polite but he was making it hard.
"Well I don't have a wife, no girlfriend either." He pointed out with a shrug. Again…..shocking…..
"I just don't seem to do very well in that department." Smith huffed out sheepishly, glancing up at me.
"It's just me and Max." he explained with a smile. My brows rose in curiosity.
"Max is your boyfriend?" I assumed.
"No…no! Gee I'm like as straight as they come." He hastily assured, watching me intently.
"Max is a marmoset." He corrected. I nodded my head in understanding.
"A monkey?" I asked.
"A pet ma'am. Nothing more." He added. Oh gross.
"That's um…..reassuring" I nodded, giving him a strained smile. As I looked down to jot a few more notes down he just kept talking.
"A buddy of mine was shipping out, he was in a bit of a bind. I said no way but….I got one look at the little guy …" he rambled again but stopped at my expression.
"He's just so damn cute ma'am." He giggled. I smiled at him in amusement and laughed. Ok, maybe he's just adorkable.
...
3rd Person POV:
In the closed office Tony and Ziva were interviewing the commanding officer.
"Petty Officer Smith was transferred from Pearl about the same time I was Agent DiNozzo." He explained.
"Did you serve with him there?" Ziva asked.
"No, different unit. We never crossed paths until this command" He countered.
"What kind of sailor is he?" Tony continued.
"Officially he's never missed a day's work." Tony looked up at him and smiled wryly.
"I'm more interested in unofficially, commander." He explained.
"Well it's not in my nature to be disparaging." The man countered but the agents continued to stare at him.
"Well I got a body back at NCIS that needs a name so by all means…..disparage away." Tony insisted, looking at the man sharply. The commander sighed.
"I guess you could say that Smith is not the brightest sailor that I've ever commanded." He reluctantly admitted. Tony blinked in confusion, silently asking him to elaborate.
"Well now that I say it out loud, I guess that's why someone found it so easy to steal his identity." The man mused. Tony turned to look out the window at the scrawny man who was chatting up Claire with a grin. He was truly a dork. Tony paused for a moment and glared skeptically at the two. Claire was smiling down at him in amusement while the man was obviously attempting to flirt with her. He grunted in displeasure before turning back around.
"Can you think of any reason why someone would want to impersonate him?" Tony asked, skeptical that there was one.
"God no agent DiNozzo….god no." the commander admitted in the same tone of disbelief.
"Well thank you for your time Sir, give us a call if you think of anything else." Tony stood, politely shaking the commander's hand before leading Ziva out of the room. They passed by Claire and Tony leaned in, setting a hand on her back.
"Time to head out agent Conners." He politely intruded on their conversation. Claire glanced at him curiously, taking note of his hand placement. Inwardly she was pleased that he was being possessive but it was amusing to say the least that he might be threatened by this slip of a guy before her.
"Give me a call if you think of anything else Petty officer." Claire told the man, handing him her card. Smith took it with a grin and nodded enthusiastically. She walked off with Ziva, leaving Tony behind.
"Hey can I ask you a question?" Smith hastily grabbed Tony's arm before he could follow. Tony rose a brow at him.
"You think she'd be open to a date with me?" he shyly inquired, looking up at the man hopefully. Tony bristled slightly. Didn't he take notice of what had just happened? He smiled tightly at him and patted him on the shoulder a bit roughly.
"Sorry bud but she's taken." He lied before walking out of the office space, following after his partners.
...
Claire's POV:
Back at NCIS McGee hung up the phone irritably. I watched as he glared at the object before slamming it back down a few more times.
"More porno?" Tony asked him, watching him with intrigue at his reaction. McGee slowly looked over at him with a glare. Tony tilted his head in question.
"What do we have McGee?" Gibbs asked, sitting down at his desk. McGee stared down at his desk and sighed in despair.
"3 more charges since yesterday." He spat out. Gibbs turned to look at him questioningly and McGee froze, realizing his slip up.
"Sorry, sorry boss." He apologized and sat up to give him the information Gibbs was asking about.
"Um cellphone records are downloading now." He amended.
"Ok looks like Petty Officer Smith….Petty Officer Smith in the car, not the one on base." McGee elaborated. I rolled my eyes upward, he was making this so complicated.
"Yea I got that." Gibbs quipped in annoyance.
"Well he was definitely talking to Mrs. Smith. If that's her real name." McGee muttered under his breath. Gibbs rolled his eyes.
"McGee." He scolded.
"Um, he was talking to her, from their home on his cell just before she called in the accident." He explained, in a unnecessarily confusing way.
"I have an address here, to an apartment in Newport News. The lease is in the wife's name." Tim informed Gibbs, walking up to hand him the address on the sticky note.
"Ziva, you're with me." Gibbs ordered, getting out of his chair and heading out. Ziva raised her hand in protest as she was on the phone. That was a big no-no.
"Possible appointment for reconnaissance of the naval base I will be…" she tried but Gibbs pushed down on her receiver button to cut off the call.
"That means you go with him." I explained to her warningly. Ziva watched Gibbs storm off in shock but she didn't move.
"Now." McGee added. Ziva hung up the phone and rushed to grab her gear.
"Go quick before the elevator doors close." Tony suggested, watching the elevator closely. Ziva nodded and sprinted in that direction. She slid her hand between the doors just as they were about to close. She coolly stepped in to stand by Gibbs as the elevator descended.
...
Claire's POV:
As we soon learned the dead man was the real Jerry Smith, and was supposed to be stationed at the supply office. His wife had no idea about any of this or the man posing as her husband. And Jerry Smith died from the impact of the car crash as the shot wasn't very accurate at all. So basically we were back at square one with more questions than answers.
We were all gathered around the big screen by Gibb's desk to sort out who was who and where to go from there.
"Ok the officer down in autopsy that we thought was impersonating Jerry Smith is actually the real Jerry smith and the Jerry Smith that Claire talked to in Norfolk is the fake 'Jerry smith'. It's confusing." McGee explained, pulling up pictures of both men.
"Kinda like the pillow with the poisons on the vessel with the pestle." Tony rattled off quickly, looking at Gibbs in amusement. I smiled in amusement while the rest turned to stare at him curiously.
"Chalice from the palace has the brew that is true?" I rattled off in return, Gibb's lip quirking up in amusement. Tony turned to me with an approving grin.
"Court Jester, Danny Kay. Come on guys it's a classic!" Tony told us excitedly, looking for any sign of recognition to his movie reference other than me of course. When he faced Gibbs again he was greeted with a flick on his forehead.
"Thank you, boss." He muttered sheepishly. I smirked in amusement to which Tony shoved me aside playfully.
"Who is he McGee?" Gibbs asked, gesturing to the faker and conveniently ignoring our childish antics.
"John Kirby, we lifted his prints from his desk in Norfolk." McGee explained.
"His empty desk, he didn't report for duty today." I added.
"He and Smith had overlapping tours in '02. Kirby was discharged in '03." McGee read off.
"Honorably." Tony tacked on.
"Boss, these guys must have had this planned from the first day of Smith's new assignment." McGee informed adamantly. Well no duh.
"You think McGee?" Gibbs asked sarcastically.
"Get me Kirby's"
"Address." McGee finished for him, fishing the paper out of his pocket.
"He has a little place in little creek, been there about a year." He listed off, reaching back to grab another sheet of paper.
"And the warrant." He finished, handing Gibbs the document.
"Someone's on the ball today, nicely done McGee." I praised. McGee shot me a grin. I had noticed however that Tony glared at the man when he thought I couldn't see him. Sometimes he's such a big baby.
"DiNozzo, David, Conners, take a ride." Gibbs instructed, handing the papers to Tony.
"Got it." Tony muttered, shooting Ziva a look, again not to pleased to have her butting in on our solo time.
"Get a bolo out on Kirby with the FBI, local and state.."
"Already done it boss." McGee cut him off.
"Bolo?" Ziva asked in confusion.
"Be ON the LookOut." Tony informed her as explanation, grabbing his gun and bag.
"Good job McGee. Go on catch up to them." Gibbs gestured towards the three of us who were making our way out. McGee smiled and quickly grabbed his gear before joining us at the elevator.
"Good job McGee." Tony mocked in a whinny voice, punching the elevator button.
"Grow up." I smacked him on the back of his head. Tony turned to glare at me and reached over to flick me on the forehead but I ducked and smacked his hand away.
"Are they always this juvenile?" Ziva asked McGee, watching the two of us swat at one another.
"Only on days of the week ending with the word 'day'." McGee informed casually, as this was nothing new to him.
...
3rd Person POV:
The four of them were making their way across the NCIS vehicle lot.
"I'll drive Tony." Ziva informed but was quickly shot down.
"No, no, no, no I'm not gonna make that mistake again." Tony corrected, shooting Claire a grimace.
"Did you really think my driving was that terrible?" Ziva asked him curiously. The three other agents looked at her dryly.
"Aside from the high speed and near misses?" Claire asked sarcastically. Ziva shrugged off as no big deal.
"It's an acquired taste. Like regurgitated lunch." Tony told her with a grimace.
"That's disgusting DiNozzo." McGee groaned, shooting him an unimpressed look.
"Tell me about it Probie, that chili cheese dog was hard to chew the second time around." Tony quipped. Claire gagged and shot him a look.
"Tony that's gross." She scolded.
"Maybe we should give her another chance. It's not like she killed or maimed anyone." McGee suggested, looked over at the other two acting as if Ziva wasn't there.
"Maybe we should concentrate on why John Kirby switched places with seaman Smith at Norfolk and leave the death wish for another day." Tony countered pointedly.
"He could very well be an assassin." Ziva suggested.
"He works at a supply post. Who's he gonna assassinate?" Claire asked her curiously.
"Mr. clean?" Tony added sarcastically.
"Well all the better not to draw attention to himself." Ziva explained.
"Ziva's right. Big base a lot of targets." McGee agreed thoughtfully.
"Oh I don't know. I mean look at the guy he's such a…"
"Pimp." Ziva supplied. The three looked at her.
"Wimp" they corrected at the same time. Ziva waved her hand dismissively at her mistake.
"Very much in line with other assassins." Ziva continued as they reached a car.
"I think she's right Tony. Look at lee Harvey Oswald." McGee agreed. Tony shrugged as they all hopped into the car, Tony in the driver's seat. Claire passenger with McGee and Ziva in the back.
"That's original McGee, is there any part of your brain that is grown?" Tony teased, still sore about getting praise from both Gibbs and Claire back in the office.
"At least I have one Tony." McGee quipped with an eye roll. Claire snickered while Tony sat still and glared ahead.
"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked defensively.
"Nothing." McGee muttered. Tony didn't move.
"We're not going anywhere." he stubbornly refused. McGee sighed in annoyance.
"Until I apologize?" he asked dryly.
"No, not until you apologize." Tony muttered and roughly pushed open the door. He looked around at all the identical vehicles around them.
"We're in the wrong damn car." He explained in exasperation. Claire stepped out of the car and looked over at him.
"How did you manage to pick out the wrong car?" she asked like he was an idiot. Tony shot a glare at her.
"You weren't any help either. Why didn't you say something!" he countered.
"Because they all look the same! You and Gibbs are the ones who typically drive it so how would I know the difference?" she argued. The two of them slammed the car doors and continued bickering as they made their way across and down the lot, heading towards the correct car this time. Ziva and McGee trailed behind, watching them in amusement.
"I see what you mean." Ziva muttered, causing McGee to chuckle.