Chapter Thirteen

Before Tony could so much as think We're so dead, Ziva grabbed his arm and yanked him back away from the door. Numbly, he followed her to the bathroom where they'd stashed the dog. Ziva opened the door and let the Siberian out before pulling Tony in with her. The door clicked shut behind them.

Tony's sharp hearing was focused on the Sibe as it pranced around, letting her master know there was game afoot. This wasn't good.

"Help me, Tony," Ziva hissed from the bathroom window. She was having trouble opening it, seeing as it was dusty and hadn't been used a whole lot. Still, DiNozzo went over to help her. Together they forced the window open and Ziva went through first, landing lightly on the lawn outside. Tony handed her the stack of emails before climbing out himself. Once his feet hit the ground, he took off racing for the Charger. Ziva was right behind him. As they hopped in the car, Tony allowed himself a breath of relief. "That was a close one."

"If he's a Shifter, he's going to know we were there," Ziva said.

Thanks, Ms. Killjoy, Tony thought sarcastically.

"I heard that."

He chose not to dignify that with a response and pulled out of his parking spot. They made the drive in silence except for Focus's "Hocus Pocus" and then the Eagles' "Hotel California."

...

Meanwhile, Gibbs was staring down the two CIA Shifters. Neither of them was backing down (a fact Meghan was proud of), but Kort was fidgeting a bit. Finally the NCIS Special Agent asked, "Well?"

"Uh, I'll leave you to answer that," Kort said to Meghan. "I'm going to . . . um . . . go get a biscuit." He took off, leaving Meghan with the infamous Gibbs.

He looked at her blankly. "Biscuit?"

"A British word for cookie," she explained.

"Is he always like this?"

Volkov knew he was referring to Kort and inwardly bristled. She hated it when people bad-mouthed her mate. (Oh, yeah, I went there. Let's just say he's in his early thirties.) Gibbs was still waiting for an answer, so she shrugged and said, "Yeah, pretty much. But then, you've dealt with him before, haven't you?"

"On an irregular basis, and they haven't been the most friendly of occasions. Are the two of you like Tony and Ziva?"

She tensed, swearing inside her head. "What do you mean?"

Gibbs rolled his eyes. "A Shifter. Do I have to lay it out for you?"

"Yes," she admitted after a pause, "but how do you know about us?"

"Two of my agents told me."

Meghan's hazel-green eyes narrowed. "Speaking of Tony and Ziva, are they mates yet?"

Gibbs almost spewed his coffee. "Say what?"

She quickly backtracked. "Forget I said anything. It's just that they seem really close—closer than most partners—and I thought—"

He cut her babbling short. "They wouldn't break Rule Number Twelve."

"What's Rule Number Twelve?"

"I have a list of rules I live by. Rule Twelve is Never date a co-worker."

"Hhm-mmm." Not that they're gonna let that stop them if they are gonna be mates, Meghan thought. It wasn't like they could separate the wolf from the human; they weren't separate beings. If and when the wolf called . . . well, they might not be able to resist.

Kort returned from the vending machines. "What'd I miss?"

"Nothing," Meghan and Gibbs said at the same time. Gibbs then started walking back to the bullpen, jerking his head to make them follow. The Russian CIA agent had a feeling he'd do well as a Shifter and would probably be a pack leader. Too bad he was a Static. She thought he'd make a handsome wolf, with a silver coat and ice-blue eyes.

"What exactly are you two doing here? You never answered my earlier question," Gibbs said at last, meeting their gazes again.

Meghan answered, "What Ziva said earlier. And no one told you because it's none of your concern, seeing as it's Shifter business." Thank God McGee was with Abby and they could talk freely.

The team leader's eyes narrowed but before he could say anything, Tony and Ziva walked in. They had an evidence box and Ziva looked like she'd been Dumpster diving or something. Her clothes were rumpled, she smelled like dog, and there were grass and dirt stains on her pant knees.

"God, what happened to you?" The words slipped out of Meghan's mouth before she could hold them back.

Ziva gave her fellow she-wolf a dark look but didn't reply. Tony answered for her. "We ran into a bit of trouble at Keane's house, but it was nothing we couldn't handle."

His partner said, "We—or Tony, rather," she added when DiNozzo gave her a look, "found a lot of printed out emails between our two suspects."

"Good," Gibbs said. "Go through 'em and see if you can find anything to help our case. I gotta go see Ducky." He was gone before Tony or Ziva could so much as say, "Yes, Boss."

Exchanging a glance with Kort, Meghan walked over to Ziva while the Brit stood by Tony's desk. "You need our help?"

In response, Ziva divided the stack into fourths and handed three-fourths of it to the other three Shifters.

After ten minutes of reading, Tony jumped up, snatched the page he'd been reading, and bolted. "Gibbs has to see this."

The others exchanged looks, wondering what he'd found.


Hhmm, so do I. On to the next chapter!