Deep Lacerations: Chapter 8
A/N: Please, R&R! I like hearing what you think about the story.
BTW, those TIVA scenes on Tuesday! Gotta love it.
NCIS Special Agent Tony DiNozzo balled up a piece of paper and lobbed it at CID Special Agent Sonja Gracy. "Hey!" she exclaimed, looking up from the arrest forms she was filling out on her computer.
"Not a bad first day, Dr. Agent," he commented.
"That is the nickname you are giving her?" Officer Ziva David asked from the third desk. DiNozzo gave a dismissive wave.
"It's a work in progress," he replied before returning his attention to the new agent. "Found the body, processed the scene, and got the bad guy, all in one day. Not bad."
"Thanks," she replied with a slight frown, wondering where this was going. She saved the report before emailing it to Agent Gibbs and the directors of both NCIS and CID.
"You should come out for drinks with us," DiNozzo continued. "It's tradition. A couple of traditions, actually—new probie and finishing a case."
"I'm not a probie," Gracy pointed out.
"And when was the last time we had a new team member, Tony?" David followed up.
"Well, still, we finished a case, so let's go." He was already standing, gathering his stuff to go home for the night. Gracy shook her head and gave a small smile.
"Sorry, but I already have plans," she said, also rising to prepare to leave.
"Oh, come on," DiNozzo protested. "What could be more important—or more interesting—than getting to know your new team?"
She gave him an enigmatic smile as she buttoned her coat. "You wouldn't understand, Agent DiNozzo." She nodded to both teammates, heading toward the elevator. "Have a good night. I'll see you in the morning."
Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs leaned against the balcony railing, sipping his coffee. He heard Director Leon Vance approach, but chose not to acknowledge the intrusion.
"Good work today, Gibbs," Vance finally said. Gibbs took another sip of his coffee as he watched DiNozzo toss a wad of paper at Agent Gracy. "It looks like she's fitting in well."
"Did you pick her for my team because of her family?" Gibbs asked, turning toward his director, a challenging expression on his face. Vance was silent for a moment before speaking.
"Agent Gracy is still fairly new to CID," he finally said. "And her training is a bit…unconventional, for an agent. She's having problems fitting in. Her director thought this would be a good experience for her, a chance to learn from one of the best."
Gibbs smirked slightly at the last comment, but let it go. "Unconventional?" he echoed. "You mean, she was trained as a doctor, not an agent."
"In addition to a board certification in forensic pathology, she also has an undergraduate degree in forensic science," Vance informed his agent. "The only person in this building with more formal forensics training is Abby Sciuto." Director Vance paused to watch Gracy rise and head for the elevators. "She just has no practical training. Just look what you've done with your team, Gibbs: you've turned a computer geek, Mossad assassin, and…Tony DiNozzo into finely tuned investigators."
"I'm not here to do CID's job," Gibbs said gruffly, pushing himself away from the railing. "If they can't manage to train her, they should find a position for her in a lab somewhere."
"Give her a week, Gibbs," Vance told him. "If you're still unhappy then, I'll send her back to CID and give you your pick of NCIS agents to fill in for McGee until he's cleared to return to field duty. Deal?"
Gibbs walked away without responding.
"Here's to another dirtbag behind bars," Tony DiNozzo announced as their drinks arrived, clicking the top of his glass of beer against Ziva's mojito before taking a drink. "You okay?" he asked with a frown when she didn't say anything.
"There is something discerning about Agent Gracy," she finally responded.
"Disconcerting or discomforting, Ziva," he corrected, then frowned. "What do you mean?"
She shrugged a shoulder as she took another sip of her drink. "Did you see the way she handcuffed Midshipman Brenner?"
"I wasn't paying that close attention."
"She fumbled with the handcuffs," Ziva informed him, "and dropped Brenner's arm. Had she done that with a more aggressive suspect, he would have pulled free and left her in a compromising position."
He smirked involuntarily at the words 'compromising position', but then quickly sobered when he realized that she was being serious. "I'm sure it was nothing, Ziva," he argued.
"I just do not think she is a well-trained agent."
"You kidding?" DiNozzo scoffed. "You saw how she analyzed that crime scene this morning, and that interrogation! Not quite like anything I've seen before, but it definitely got the job done. Not only did Brenner confess, he was in tears when she was done with him!" Ziva frowned, but didn't elaborate on what she was thinking. His eyes glinted mischievously. "Are you jealous, Ziva?"
She snorted. "Of what? Agent Gracy has barely spoken to you all day."
His grin widened. "You saying that you get jealous when other women speak to me?"
Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "I can kill you using only this glass," she threatened. She continued to glare at him, challenging him to say something, but he only smirked and took another drink of his beer.
"Hey, guys," Tim McGee said as he hobbled over to the bar, where his teammates were sitting. DiNozzo placed a hand on the empty barstool next to him.
"Sorry, Computer McGeek," he said, "this is for field agents only."
"Very funny, Tony," McGee said with a roll of his eyes as he took a seat on the other side of Ziva. "I heard you guys opened and closed your case today. Impressive."
"Yeah," DiNozzo said. "Your replacement has been here for a day and she's already better at your job than you are." He took a sip of beer. "Although Ziva seems to think that she's some sort of spy. Either that, or she just wants yours truly all to herself." He waggled his eyebrows, earning eye rolls from both partners.
"I did not say that I believe her to be a spy," David argued, ignoring his second comment. "But if I had, it would not be the first time. Remember Agent Lee?"
"What are you thinking about Agent Gracy?" McGee asked Ziva, instantly sobered by the thought of what Michelle Lee had done. She briefly explained the events of the day, from how Gracy focused on the body at the scene to the cryptic comment about knowing how Brenner killed Chase to the interrogation in the chemistry lab and the statement that she had been a forensic pathologist. To their surprise, McGee seemed to brighten at her descriptions.
"A medical examiner who becomes a federal agent? That would make for a great book." Both Tony and Ziva smacked him the back of the head.
"Shut up and drink your beer, Probie."