SUMMARY: Sequel to "The SecDef Cheats." Lt. Col Cassidy moves in to NCIS and this will mean for Abby in the long run. McAbby, Drama/Romance/Angst
RATING: T - Adult subject matter, rare mild language, killer smooching.
A/N: Sorry, but the muse was kicking my butt on another project, so this one kind of fell by the wayside... I'm going to see how much of it I can knock out in the next week, so thanks for being patient with me. :D
REVIEWS: I am always trying to improve my writing, so all constructive criticism is welcome. I would also like to thank you in advance for any reviews you might wish to leave. They really are a great boon to a writer's ego and gives you a huge incentive to live up to your expectations.
Chapter 11
Rounding the corner with purpose and determination, Gibbs came into the bullpen bellowing. "What've we got so far?"
Ziva was the first to stand up and clicked the control in her hand, pointing at the monitor behind their desks. "Looks like a militia group…" The images on the screen showed the homepage of a right-wing militant group, surrounded by the images of six men. "They managed to get to a Corporal McKinley," she clicked the remote and the image and personnel file of the Corporal came up, "and he has been siphoning off pieces of arms shipments for close to six months and then arranging for them to be picked up." The next image up showed a bit of grainy security video detailing the exchange of weapons to the militia group.
Gibbs watched as he took a swig from his cup and then asked, "And the Corporal?"
It was Tony's turn to step up then. "Down in interrogation… And I'm pretty sure he'll break just by looking at him." Tony smiled until Gibbs fixed him with his steely glare. "Seriously, Boss… I can see how those militia guys got to him. He's a serious cream puff."
"He's a U.S. Marine, DiNozzo… He's no cream puff." Gibbs tossed the cup into the garbage and went through his desk drawers searching for something.
When he slammed the second drawer, McGee quietly said, "Jacket pocket."
Gibbs patted at his jacket, found and retrieved his glasses. "Thanks," came curtly from Gibbs. He took the folder on his desk and started leafing through its contents and then reached over to the side of the desk for his coffee. His mind quickly reminded him that he had just finished his cup and thrown it away, which was why he was shocked to find another cup sitting there. When he lifted it up for inspection, he discovered that it was still hot. He was having trouble imagining that he had bought two cups of coffee, but stranger things had happened.
He got what he wanted from the folder and stood up. He glanced around, gave DiNozzo the visual cue to start for interrogation and was about to tell McGee to have the video transferred down to the- "Video is queued up in interrogation… Copies of the skimmed weapons inventory and the files on each of the guys in the video are waiting for you down in the A/V room."
Gibbs was starting to feel like someone was inside his head, and that was not a comforting thought. "McGee?"
The young agent had still not lifted his head from his computer screen when he answered, "Yeah, Boss?"
"Don't do that again… Ever." McGee's suddenly startled face was the only reward Gibbs needed before he quickly departed the bullpen with Tony in tow.
McGee blushed at Gibbs' statement and DiNozzo made a taunting face at the younger agent as he followed Gibbs out of the room.
"What was that, Tim?" Ziva was still standing by her desk with a look of slightly bemused shock.
"Huh?"
"You anticipated everything he was going to ask for, and you haven't even been very involved with this case." Ziva dropped into her seat, showing her amazement at the scene that just occurred before her eyes. "I mean, Gibbs, by definition, is not a predictable man."
"Oh, I wouldn't say that… He just… I don't know, he does have some patterns." Tim stood up and pointed at the screen which was showing the video in a loop. "Like the visuals… He always likes to have things spelled out in the open. And when he goes into interrogation, he likes to have all the tools he needs, but not all the information. He doesn't want the suspect to see all of his cards, so he only goes in there with what he needs, and when he wants more, he signals to the booth and we bring it in to him, like it's some new thing we found."
Ziva shook her head and laughed at his little explanation. "That's amazing! And I wish I had your skill with that man… He really is a mystery to me."
Tim shrugged and then said, "But you're really good at measuring other people… How come it doesn't work with Gibbs?"
"I have no idea… It just doesn't." Her admission was honest. Years of training and experience had taught her many things about reading people, but Gibbs remained a mystery to her; Gibbs and Abby. Okay, Gibbs, Abby and Tony.
Tim moved closer to her desk and then crouched down. His face took on an almost conspiratorial expression as he began to whisper, "Hey, have you ever thought about starting the profiling training?"
Ziva was completely dumbfounded by his suggestion and she was unable to keep that shock from her face. "What?!"
He shrugged innocently and then explained, "Well, you know we don't have anyone on the team who can do that anymore… I mean, other than Gibbs' own lie-detector stuff. And having the person who created the program here, I bet you could get in real easy."
His explanation confused her more than his original question. "Who started what program?"
"Oh, the Colonel… She basically wrote the book on profiling for intelligence, and I guess the feds are using it, too. A buddy of mine at Langley is fawning over the fact that I get to work with her… I guess she's like some kind of legend in those circles." McGee was excitedly explaining his position, but Ziva still had no idea where it had come from. "And besides, Ziva… You've already got the instincts, so it's just a matter of getting the training to go with it."
She actually blushed with his assessment of her abilities, and was having a hard time formulating a response. "I, ah, um, well…"
"Something to think about?" She nodded with an additional blush and McGee rose before heading back to his desk.
It was most definitely something to think about… Especially now that she had decided to make NCIS her home.