THE COP AND THE CON

Bonded and Insured

AN: This series has brought me a great deal of joy to write. I hope you all have been as blessed reading it. And I have another idea I think would just be amazing. I would love Sara Ellis strolling into the Navy Yard looking for Tony. I am not sure if the rest of Team Gibbs have met Neal and Peter or not, in this story. I am just going to play it by ear. I love the idea of Gibbs flirting with the red-headed Sara.

Sara couldn't deny she was jet-lagged. But, Sterling-Bosch wanted its money back. That meant that Sara Ellis, Insurance Investigator Extraordinaire, had to be ill on her own time.

"It was 2 a.m. when she put her bags in her room at the Adam's House in D.C. She decided she would catch a few Z's before she called on Tony at NCIS headquarters. She had to take a little time to take care of herself. She just had the feeling that this case was going to be complicated.

Sara had not given Tony a heads up. She hadn't had the time. She was too busy actively tracking stolen artifacts, one of the usual two or three cases she worked simultaneously.

Sara had been assigned the case about two weeks ago. Her recovery rate was fast, usually less than a week's time. She hated that this case was ruining her average. Her usual method was to work each case until she hit a block. Then turn to another until the block was cleared. Unfortunately, this block made her have to leave New York. But, fortunately, she would get to spend a little more time with Neal's agent friend. She had only met him a couple of times. But, from what Neal had told her, Tony was a good guy, a great agent and he would help her if she needed it.

But first, she needed rest. But, she would be in the Navy Yard as soon as she could make it to speak to Very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo, Jr in the morning.

Sara Ellis stepped off the elevator and looked around. She most definitely drew attention, wherever she went. She had a presence about her. And, by the time she did her visual survey off the room and spotted the bullpen, she had several eyes on her. It may have been her impeccable dress, or the fact she was beautiful. But, whatever the real reason was, speculation and rumors as to why she was in The Lion's Den, The Bullpen, Gibbs' Lair, and many more…colorful nicknames given to Gibbs' work area. was running ramped.

"Anthony DiNozzo." Sara said as she neared the bullpen.

Tony's head popped up at the sound of his name. "Sara?" He remembered her, very well, from visiting Neal in NYC. "Ms. Ellis." The agent said, coming around his desk to greet her.

Meanwhile, the rest of the team perked up at the mention of Tony's name also.

"Ms. Ellis, it's good to see you again." Tony said, as he stepped back from his hug. "Here on business?"

"Yes, Agent DiNozzo, I am. And it's good to see you, too." Sara replied.

The red head instantly had Gibbs' attention, and he quickly left his desk to meet the visitor.

"Gibbs this is Sara Ellis." Tony stated.

Gibbs smiled. Sara was a stunning woman. He nodded and held his hand out to greet her.

"Sara, this is my boss. Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs." Tony replied. Tony could not help but smile Sara was beautiful and Gibbs had obviously noticed.

"Hmm, Tony was fairly accurate in his description of you." Sara said as she let go of Gibbs' hand.

"Fairly?" Gibbs asked.

"He never told me how handsome you were." Sara flirted right back.

Gibbs grinned.

Tony cleared his throat. "Sara. This Agent Tim McGee and this is Agent Kate Todd."

Sara nodded and greeted both agents.

"What can we do for you, Sara?" Tony asked.

Sara explained who she was and what she did to the rest of the team. "I am an insurance investigator, basically a high-end repo agent. And I work for Sterling Bosch. We insured the painting in question for $15million. The sultan wants his pieces back. We are not sure how many are missing. But, we only insured three of the pieces in his collection. He said it was in his home until U.S. troops invaded. It was a slash and grab." Sara said producing a picture. "This painting is self is only a 5" by 7" easy to steal and even easier to transport. But, it's…we make great effort to find any stolen pieces before we pay out." She paused. "I recover them, we return them to the rightful owners. I don't, Sterling Bosch owes the sultan a great deal of money."

"So, you think a U.S. solider took it?" Tim asked.

"That is the idea, yes." Sara replied.

The statement felt like an accusation to Gibbs, and he didn't like it. "U.S. troops are trained to go in and provide aid and protection, not…."

"U.S. soldiers get very little for what their jobs entail. They are woefully undercompensated." Sara said, interrupting him. "They…."

"I am a Marine." Gibbs stated.

"I am well aware of that, Agent Gibbs. However, not all soldiers are as upstanding as you." Sara said. "These overseas palaces have millions upon millions of dollars just hanging on the walls. Just one piece would set them up for life. That is quite the temptation…for the average soldier."

"The average soldier?" The team leader asked.

Sara looked at Gibbs for a moment and smiled. "I doubt that there is much about you that's average."

"So, Sara…Sterling and Bosch, what…?" Tony tried to get the train back on the tracks. "Ms. Ellis…Sara…!"

Sara snapped out of it a few seconds later. She shook her head. "Oh, yeah. There are other pieces missing. And there are other investigators working the case with me. Some soldiers immediately sold their items and were caught. We have managed to recover 15 pieces. But three are still missing. It seems that once this platoon's deployment was over and they were back in the states they all split up. I've tracked one soldier to Virginia. That is where you guys come in. I know this is not your area of expertise. But…."

"Where are you in all this, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked.

"Neal stole a Raphael." Tony explained. "Sara was assigned to the case. And she has pursued him, for years, to get it back."

"I've since worked several cases with White Collar, an I just happened to be working with them once time when Tony came into town." Sara finished the explanation.

"You didn't bring him along to authenticate?" Tony asked, hoping that Neal and Peter would be showing up later.

Sara shook her head. "We have people we use. They recommended somebody in D.C. Then it will be authenticated again, once we get back to New York."

"You're taking it back to New York…alone." Tim asked. Sara seemed like a delicate woman dressed as she was in a very stylish peach dress and high heels.

"She carries a baton." Tony told him. He had actually seen her use it on a man who she thought was going for a gun. She had it out like a flash. She actually broke his wrist, which probably saved her life. Because, as it turned out. He had had a gun.

Tim looked at Tony. But, then actually jumped back when Sara whipped the baton out of her purse and expanded it to its full length.

"As Tony said…I carry a baton." She said as she folded it up and put it away. "I can crack heads and bust knee caps. It comes in handy when I come up against folks who…don't want to give up their ill-gotten treasures easily. It'sa very effective persuader."

"Yeah, I can see that." Tim said. His mind was completely changed. Something told him this slender, beautiful woman could hold her own, very well.

"Plus, I carry a taser, pepper spray, a personal alarm, and handcuffs. I carry a handgun when I'm home in New York. But, I know it would be a big hassle at the airport, so I left it at home."

Sara looked at Tony. "We don't get these back to the Sultan, Sterling Bosch is out 50 million dollars. I am out of a job, and Junior gains a roommate."

Tony laughed and shook his head. "We will make sure that doesn't happen." He paused. "How could they blame it on you?"

"Who's Junior?" Kate asked. She had been quiet. She had been surprised and impressed by Tony's treatment of this beautiful lady. Kate could really see her as being his type. And, of course, Gibbs was crazy for her. He loved red heads.

"I'm responsible for 30 million so far. Junior's killing my recovery average." The investigator explained.

"I think June would put you up in a spare bedroom." Tony told her.

Sara nodded. "Yeah, she would. She's been very good to me. And to Neal."

Tim and Kate just looked at one another. They had not idea what Sara and Tony were talking about. They had not been to New York City any of the times that Tony and Gibbs had gone. So, they had never seen Neal's apartment. That didn't even know Neal's mailing address. They had met Neal and Agent Peter Burke, Neal's handler. But the pair had only been in D.C. a couple of times, so all that they really knew was what Tony told them and what they had managed to find out from the FBI. Which actually was not a lot. Officially Neal's file was closed because of his C.I. status. And, since Burke was FBI, NCIS agents were only allowed cursory information from the FBI database.

"Who's Junior?" Kate repeated.

"Oh, it's Neal." Sara replied. Not realizing she had even said it out loud. "It was one of the times I worked with White Collar, to take down somebody who tried to frame Agent Burke. It was…well, I can't say too much about that. Just that Neal posed as he son of a multi-millionaire, and I posed as his wife."

Tony smiled and nodded.

Sara noticed the smile. "Neal told you?"

Tony nodded again. "Was he not supposed to? He really didn't tell me much. It seemed like a loaded subject, at the time."

"Hmm, well. I'll talk to Junior. We just had a bit of a charged conversation." Sara said. She was relieved. She didn't care if Neal talked about that spending spree. But, she had not wanted Tony to know about their private conversation. About her crossing that line that she could not come back from. She had not been happy she had crossed one of her own well-established lines. She had been surprised at how easy it had been for her.

Sara had easily, willingly, fell into Neal's scheme. She had readily done what Neal had wanted her to do. She had even enjoyed the fantasy. Spending money like she had all the money, in the world, to spend. But, that was not her life. It could not be her life. She lived practically. She made a certain amount of money at an honest job. She was therefore, limited to a certain lifestyle. She could not allow herself to start enjoying those things that Neal had introduced her to. She could not live above her means. She was a responsible adult, and responsible, reasonable people did not do that.

The bare truth was she was disturbed and badly frightened by how quickly and easily she had fallen into it all. She feared herself, if she allowed even the smallest of indulgences. It could be like an addition to her. She didn't consider herself to be an additive type person. But, getting to know Neal Caffrey had changed all that. She was addicted to him. His looks and his lifestyle options. They were tempting. But, they were like roses. Beauty had its ugly side. Rose had their thorns. Neal's ugly side, his thorns, were jail time for conspiracy and being an accomplice. She could see herself getting caught up in Neal's schemes. If she did, she would lose her job. THAT was a line that she could not uncross. That was something she could not come back from.

Sara was no stranger to working below board to get things done. She could easily justify her methods to obtain the items she sought. The current holders of said items should not have had them in the first place. She was doing the right thing, getting items back to their rightful owners, by whatever means necessary.

Sara just realized something. She had made her decision. And no one, except she and the NY office, even knew she had a decision to make. She had been offered a job in London. It was greater responsibility and better pay. And Sara had always wanted to live abroad. She had just wanted that adventure in her life. But, then she had just gotten to know Neal. And, in her heart, she loved him. She shouldn't, but she did. She couldn't stay in New York and be in love with him and not see him. So, she had to leave. She had to take the job, and she had to get out of the country. She sighed. Then jerked herself back to attention. Tony was talking to her. She just hoped she hadn't missed too much of the conversation.

"…then we'll interview the members of the squad. They may not want to tell us anything. They usually don't. Nobody wants to tell on a buddy. But, if we threaten charges, it tends to loosen the tongues up a little." Tony said, though she was not sure how much Sara had heard.

Sara finally seemed like she was back with him.

Tony looked her in the eyes. "Are you okay?"

Sara nodded and touched his arm. "We need to talk, later."

Tony nodded, also. He had no idea what Sara wanted to talk about. But, he knew it had to be serious.

"Okay, Ms. Ellis. We just need…." Tim started as Sara sat down her bag. She grabbed a file and handed it over to McGee.

"This is all the information I have so far." Sara said, addressing all the agents in the bullpen. "I got deployment dates and locations for all the troops in the area around the time of the theft. As I said, I've been working this case for a bit. And it's killing my average. I usually have items back to their owners within weeks. This has gone on for months. I got names and address of all the soldiers of interest. I have asked to interview these people. I have been denied. I was told that art crimes are not a concern in an age of advanced biochemical weapons and homeland terrorism. And I can understand that. However, those of us who don't work for the FBI, NCIS, or Homeland Security still have jobs to do!"

Gibbs saw and understood her irritation. But, her feisty attitude still made him smile.

Sara misunderstood his actions. "Well, Agent Gibbs, nice to see my dilemma amuses you."

Gibbs shook his head, not taking offense. "No, Ms. Ellis. It's…we would be very glad to help you."

Tony, who stood behind Sara, was gesturing to the floor above them. He was not, at all, sure Director Vance would like it when he heard what case the team leader of his MCRT was working an art theft case.

Gibbs saw Tony's gesture. "I'll take care of it."

Tony shook his head. Gibbs' way of taking care of things involved yelling and bullying. Neither of which worked on Leon Vance.

"How…?" Tony asked. It was out of his mouth before he realized.

"I said I would take care of it, DiNozzo!" Gibbs snapped.

Sara looked at Tony. "He doesn't like to be questioned. Does he?" She whispered.

"No. He doesn't." Gibbs said as he headed up the stairs to Vance's office.

"He has excellent hearing, too." Tony said as Gibbs continued up the stairs.

By this time Gibbs was on the 4th floor landing. "Yep, that too." He called down to them.

"Now, he's just showing off." Tony chuckled and whispered. "It's because he has this thing for redheads."

"Redheads have nothing to do with it, DiNozzo." Gibbs called back to them. "Get to work! We have a case to solve."

TBC