"How did you get this information?" Jen asked Gibbs, looking at an aerial photo of a small estate in the heart of the Shenandoah Valley.
"That's need to know, Director," he replied cryptically. McGee ducked his head to hide his smile.
"It is, huh?" she looked at Gibbs suspiciously. "Are you sure La Grenouille is there?"
"Yup."
"And we're standing here because?"
"Just letting you know where we're headed, Director," Gibbs replied easily, grinning at her.
"Then let's go," she said angrily, pulling her gun out of her drawer.
"Well, there's one thing," Gibbs said, putting his hand on her arm. "You can't go armed."
"What?" Jen turned to face Gibbs. "On whose orders?" she asked furiously.
"Mine," he said firmly.
"You can't order me," she replied.
"I can in this case," he replied calmly. "You've already endangered my senior field agent. I have the authority to run this operation as I see fit, and I say that if you want to come along, you have to be unarmed."
"Who gave you that authority?"
"I did," Tobias Fornell stood in the doorway. "This is a Homeland Security operation, but I'm letting Gibbs run it because he asked nicely." He stepped forward, holding out a piece of paper. "These are orders from the Attorney General, making this a matter of concern for Homeland Security and giving us complete jurisdiction. But because I'm such a nice guy, I'm letting your agency in on the deal."
"You're a peach, Fornell," Gibbs said, grinning at the other man.
"I know," Fornell agreed, "I've got stop being such a doormat."
"This is outrageous," Jen sputtered. "I will not allow that man to get away with what he's done."
"That man," Fornell interrupted, "is none of your concern, Director Shepard. This is our case now, and if you want to play ball, you'll play by my rules."
Jen looked over at Gibbs who just shrugged. Inhaling deeply, she closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them and put her gun back in the drawer.
"Very smart, Jen," Gibbs said approvingly. "Now let's go, DiNozzo's probably annoyed The Frog enough to get himself killed just to shut him up."
oOoOoOo
"I understand," Kort said, his cellphone pressed tightly against his ear, his other hand shading his eyes from the sunlight.
"Well," he said to Tony, snapping his phone shut. "It seems your boss is more resourceful than we realized."
"What is it?" Benoit asked.
"Homeland Security has gotten involved in this somehow," Kort replied. "They've taken over this case and they're on their way here. Special Agent Gibbs is leading the team."
"Ahhh, the cavalry is on its way," Benoit said. "Wonderful! I would like to meet your Agent Gibbs."
"I don't think you'll like him," Tony said. "He's more of a bourbon-straight-from-the-bottle kind of guy. And like I said, he's not going to be too happy about this. Although, knowing him, he'll probably smack me on the head and offer you a beer."
Benoit laughed. "Now I really want to meet him," he said delightedly. "Let's prepare for their arrival. Adele," he called out, "we're expecting many guests. Please prepare enough refreshments for at least twenty people."
"Is he serious?" Tony whispered to Kort.
"Oh, he's serious," Kort confirmed. "We're really on the same team, DiNozzo. Your director refuses to recognize that, even after she was told that this is a CIA operation."