Chapter 2 – Curiosity
"Lieutenant Gary Harris: graduated from Annapolis in nineteen ninety four with a double major in physics and biochemistry. Never married, no kids; his mother is the only parent he still has." McGee clicked the remote, making various documents regarding the missing soldier's background appear on the plasma television. "Clean record, no disciplinary action given at work."
Ziva stood next to McGee. "- and his transcript from college shows that he graduated at the top of his class."
"Sounds like our missing Lieutenant and McGee would have made good study buddies," interjected Tony.
"Any leads," asked Gibbs as he sipped coffee from his cup.
"As of right now we don't. He's got no black marks to lead us anywhere," replied Tony.
"That we know of, DiNozzo," replied Gibbs. "McGee, check his bank and phone records. Tony, take Ziva and interview his coworkers."
The lobby to the Navy Research Lab bustled with scientists and other employee's walking to and fro. Tony pulled his badge from his coat pocket as he and Ziva neared the front desk. A young, brunette vixen greeted the agents. "Good morning!" She took a particular interest in Tony. She leaned forward in her chair, and batted her eyelashes while she gave him a flirtatious grin.
Ziva rolled her eyes. It wasn't the first time that she would have to watch a woman flirt with Tony, or vice versa, while they were on the job.
"Hi. I'm special agent Tony DiNozzo from NCIS. This is my partner, agent Ziva David."
"Your partner," the receptionist asked in a flirty tone. "I'm thinking I'd like to be yours too!"
Tony grinned slightly. "Do you know this man?"
Ziva raised her eyebrows. Tony hardly ever turned down the advances of beautiful women. Yet, here he was remaining professional in the face of his ultimate weakness.
The receptionist stumbled over her words, surprised that her charm had no effect on the attractive male special agent. "Yes. Yes, I mean, I've never talked to him. I just see him whenever he checks in."
"I assume you haven't seen him at all today," inquired Ziva.
The receptionist paused. "No, actually I haven't."
"Can you tell us who might know more about him?"
"I'll call Lieutenant Colonel Hanson and let him know you're coming. His office is on the third floor."
"Thank you," Tony replied.
The two agents entered the elevator as the doors slid open. Nobody had entered with them when it began to ascend to the upper floors of the building. Ziva turned and eyed Tony curiously. "What has gotten in to you?"
Tony remained stoic. He didn't even turn to acknowledge her curiosity. "What do you mean?"
"I mean that you completely ignored the woman's advances on you. She was your type."
"I'm on the job, Ziva."
"It hasn't stopped you before!"
"I've also turned down women before. This isn't uncharted territory for me." Tony looked perturbed with Ziva's inquiry. The elevator came to a halt, and they exited in to the hallway as the approached the Colonel's office.
"You're not going back to that 'all-business' Tony you gave us a few months ago, are you?"
Tony stopped walking. "No," he replied sternly. "You already talked to me about it. This is me having balance. We're about to question somebody critical to this investigation, so if you don't mind let's talk about this later."
Ziva squinted judgmentally. "We will."
At the end of the hall there was a door that led to a large corner office. The plaque next to it identified it as Colonel Hanson's. Tony reached up and tapped his knuckles against the wooden door a couple of times. Footsteps approached the door, before it opened to reveal a man in his 50's. His hair had a mixture of black hair and spots of grey. His tall stature and intimidating build contrasted sharply with his warm, infectious smile. "Good morning. What can I do for NCIS?"
"I'm special agent DiNozzo. This is my partner Ziva David. We'd like to ask you a few questions about Lieutenant Gary Harris."
"Of course, come in and have a seat."
Tony sat himself down in chair next to Hanson's desk, while Ziva leaned herself up against a nearby bookshelf. "Would either of you like something to drink," asked Hanson.
"No, thanks," replied Tony.
Taken back by Tony's reply, the Colonel simply sat down behind his desk and once again flashed his pearly whites. "What can I tell you about Lietenant Harris?"
"When was the last time that you saw him," Tony asked.
Hanson paused. "Well, that would be yesterday afternoon."
"What time," Ziva pushed.
"Around the time that I left at five o'clock. Why? Is there something wrong?"
Ziva interjected. "We think that he may have gone missing."
A strange look of fear was aroused upon Hanson's face. "Missing? How do you know that?"
"His car was wrecked and he made a distress call shortly before," Tony answered. "We don't know why exactly. We were hoping that as his boss, you could give us some clues as to why he might be gone."
"Well I can't be sure. I was never very close to Harris, at least personally. Professionally we got along, but it was hard to get close to him. He was always so entrenched in his work; he never really made time for others."
"Did he have any problems with anybody here at the lab," Ziva asked.
"No. Like I said, he never really got close enough to people to even fight with them. He was brilliant, but not socially adept. Ironically, his only friend that I know of was one of our janitors here in the building."
"What was your impression of him these past few weeks," Tony continued.
Hanson sighed. "Well, the few times that I did talk to him, he was acting stranger than usual. He was always somewhat awkward in normal conversation. But lately, he's seemed distracted, or under constant pressure. His mind seemed like it was a million miles away from where he was at."
"Did you ask why?"
"At first I thought it was nothing. It was just Gary being Gary, so I thought," Hanson paused. "When it continued, I asked him if something was wrong. Obviously he replied by just saying that he was in a bit of a funk. I could tell there was more to what he was saying though."
"How," asked Ziva.
"I don't know. My gut, I guess. His restless spirit didn't seem to line up with his depression that he claimed to have."
Tony and Ziva exchanged glances. "Did he tell you anything else," Tony prodded.
"No. Other than that, he remained his usual, isolated self. However, I would be happy to let you interview some of our other scientists that worked with him. I'm sure they'll be able to help."
"What about his janitor friend," Ziva pushed.
"Yes, if you wish you can talk to him too," Hanson replied. "I hope that this helps you in your investigation." The Colonel stood and shook both of the agents hands, after which he began to dump a full ash tray in to the garbage can as they closed the door behind them.
"I think it will," said Tony in a snarky tone.
Tony and Ziva made their way back to the elevator from which they originally came. It would now be a long day of interviewing his peers as they tried to uncover the reasons for his disappearance.
"Well, he was certainly cordial about this whole procedure," Tony began.
"You think he's holding something back because he was polite," Ziva replied in a curious tone.
"They're never that polite unless they feel on edge, and they don't want to seem suspicious."
"Or he could just be a really nice man," Ziva suggested.
"C'mon Ziva," Tony scolded as he pushed the down arrow for the elevator. "You were the trained assassin. You're supposed to be able to read people. You don't think he's hiding something?"
"All I'm saying is that we don't know yet, we'll know more after the interviews." The elevator doors slid open and they stepped inside. "What is the basis for your suspicion?"
Tony laughed some. "His charming smile, yet his vague knowledge of what is going on within his own office tell me he's holding something back." Tony paused. "A bit like someone else that I know." Tony peered over at Ziva from the corner of his eye.
Astonishment emerged in Ziva's face. "You think that I'm still holding something back?"
"I know that you are."
"How?"
"That whole 'I'm in such a dandy mood for no apparent reason' act was an awful lie; and don't tell me that you were excited for McGee. It was clear the minute you walked in the office."
Ziva paused. "Why are you so curious, Tony?"
A mischievous smirk slithered across Tony's face. "So you no longer deny there is a reason!"
"It's a surprise," Ziva replied with a knowing grin.
Tony began to laugh sarcastically. "Well, is this an actual surprise? Or just your sneaky way of saying that there is a reason, but I'll never tell you."
Ziva pursed her lips in defeat, and she grinned some more. "You will see, Tony!"