The next morning, Tony found it hard to drag himself into work. He had slept poorly the night before. The entire night, he had a sneaky suspicion that someone was watching him; he still couldn't shake it as he stepped off the elevator and straightened his suit and tie. In the office, he was greeted by Agent McGee and Agent Klyne. They were sharing a box of donuts and each had a coffee.
"What about me?" Tony asked. Candice laughed.
"Like I'd share anything with you?" she muttered with a smirk. He narrowed his eyes as he passed her desk. Reaching down, he snatched a donut and took McGee's coffee.
"Thanks McGee, you are always good to me," he grinned. Candice rolled her sparkling silver eyes, but before she could open her mouth, Gibbs stepped off the elevator. Behind him was a tall dark skinned woman with frizzy brown hair.
"Everyone," he began as he stole a donut. "This is Ziva David, she will be helping us with our investigation. She has previous experience with Ari. Be kind and generous…" his voice trailed off bitterly as he pushed by the group and up the stairs. Tony stared at this new addition. Two new agents in one week? Gibbs was really into catching this guy.
"So, what exactly will you be helping us with?" McGee asked through a mouthful of donut. Ziva wrinkled her nose and took a seat at Kate's old desk. Tony felt a stab at his heart as she replaced Kate in that chair.
"Well, I was trained for tracking of terrorists within my own country. I have previously encountered Ari and am delighted to be helping you with your investigation," she recited, as if reading from a script. There was something not trustworthy about her. Tony decided to keep his distance.
"Well, I'm agent McGee, and this is another new agent to our team, Candice Klyne," Timothy greeted as he rose to his feet and straightened his suit. Candice smiled and approached the other woman. Extending her hand, she offered and invitation for a handshake.
"Glad to have you here. It seems Kate meant a lot to this team, and on behalf of everyone I am happy to have you here to help," she said it all as she watched Tony from the corner of her mischievous gleaming eyes. Ziva smiled and glanced around the room. When Gibbs returned everyone fell silent.
"Well, what are we waiting for?" he grumbled. "Let's go." He led Ziva and Candice out of the office and nodded to Tony and McGee. "Stay here. Keep me up to date on any leads you find." Tony groaned and nodded. He had no choice but to agree. It seemed since Candice had joined the team, he never got to do field work. Training her, perhaps, in his own way. That seemed like the Gibbs thing to do.
Down in her dark lab, Abby Sciuto ran DNA samples related to the case of the four dead marines. She felt sick to her stomach as she thought of another new agent. Did Gibbs have to? It was one thing to replace Kate with a cunning, quick witted detective, but a second one? Abby felt as if Kate were being ignored. McGee's words echoed in her head.
He's only bringing Ziva on to help find Ari, after that, she's gone. Be patient, Kate will be brought justice, hopefully sooner than we all expect.
As much of a pain as Tim could be, she had to believe him on this one, after all, he was up front and saw what was happening. Abby was going by hearsay.
"I have to focus," she muttered. "Other victims need just as much attention as Kate does. I have to do my job and let them do theirs." A few minutes later, Ziva and McGee entered the lab.
"Where's Gibbs?" Abby asked almost instantly.
"He took Candice and Tony to a second crime scene. I'm not sure what it's all about. He said he'd explain later. Any way, Abs, you got anything for us?" She shook her head.
"Only the obvious. The casing Gibbs brought me last night matched our other casings. Nothing unusual about that though. Anyway, I'm stuck working this quadruple murder at the same time. So could you guys come back in, like, an hour?" she asked. She felt guilty for pushing them aside and pushing Kate aside, but she had to focus. She had no other choice.
Almost an hour later, Ziva returned with Tony and Candice. The three agents looked distraught, mostly Candice and Tony.
"What do you have for me?" Abby asked.
"DNA," Tony piped up as he handed her an evidence bag with a piece of gum in it.
"Yummy, ABC, just the way I like it," she laughed, trying to lighten the mood.
"If it weren't for me, Anthony, you would never have found that gum," Candice scolded as she smacked Tony across the back of the head.
"Well, I bagged it, and Gibbs congratulated me, so it's my evidence. I get the credit," he retorted.
"You selfish bastard," she muttered casually. He rolled his eyes and folded his arms across his chest. "You still haven't changed," she commented as she reached in her pocket for her cell phone. Without another word, she disappeared.
"Where did you find it?" Abby asked.
"In an abandoned parking lot," Ziva told her. Tony groaned and turned to leave the room. Once he was gone from sight, Ziva stared at the door a moment before looking back to the lab tech.
"What's the history between them?" she asked with folded arms. Abby shook her head.
"I guess they used to work together," she told her. "That's all I know." Falling silent, she removed the gum from the bag and began to process it.
"Hmm…" Ziva hummed. "I think it's much more than that," she whispered. After bidding farewell to Abby, she left the lab. Already, Abby had distaste for her. Another replacement, that's all she was. The company was just trying to forget Kate and create more agents to sacrifice. Pretty soon she would be gone, and things would be on the road to normal again.
Tony sneered as he threw himself into his chair. Everything he did seemed to reflect poorly with Candice. She couldn't even give him credit for a stupid piece of evidence. The investigation was taking forever. How hard could it be to track down Ari? He was a murderous terrorist. He must have struck again. It seemed that he showed much interest in NCIS agents. Why hadn't he contacted them? Did he just want Kate dead? Or was he waiting until they all were back on with their lives to strike again. It would be hard for Tony to feel safe, knowing that the only person he had felt much for was the target of a terrorist. What about everyone else in his life? On his team? Would Ari take them out one by one? Or was he just being paranoid?
"Daydreaming again DiNozzo?" a hoarse voice muttered. He opened his eyes to find Candice. "Were you imagining Gibbs giving you a gold medal for making a crucial find? Or was it more?" she asked as she approached him and placed her hands on his desk. He took in a deep breath.
"Listen, if you want credit, you can have it. You know I don't care-" She cut him off.
"Of course you care. That's what you live for, recognition. Don't think I don't remember. But some recognition isn't always good," she said bitterly as she stood up straight and turned around. Tony's eyes fell shut. He felt exhausted, not physically, but emotionally. Playing this game was hard, but Candice seemed to do pretty well. The others were obviously interested, but it was none of their business. He and Candice were old partners from Baltimore. They knew that; the rest was ancient history. Well, that's how he felt. Candice seemed to take it much differently. When he opened his eyes, she was gone. The room was silent. Everyone else was somewhere else. He decided to do some research on the internet and see if he could conjure up some contacts. It was a good bet that Gibbs, McGee and Ziva were out in the field right now. And Candice… Well, she could be anywhere. She and Abby seemed like good friends. He shook his head.
"Snap out of Tony," he muttered. "Just snap out of it."