Note 1: Thank you so much for the reviews! This strayed quite a bit from what I originally intended, but, honestly, it's fun to write. If it's also fun to read I'm really glad!

Sorry if I'm neglecting some of the characters, but there are too many and some of them I don't really know how to write…

Note 2: I tried to insert some kind of separators in this chapter, I'm not sure if they'll show or how they'll look once I'll post the chapter. So, sorry if some strange markings will appear, or if they won't appear at all.

Chapter 5

Three pairs of eyes followed the odd group of Air Force officers, agents and civilians as they exited MTAC.

"What do you think they were discussing in there?"

"What do you think, Zee-vah? Or haven't you seen the Air Force logo on those oh-so-classified reports?" Tony had a bad feeling about this.

"Then why have we not been called also?"

Any response was prevented by the arrival of the rather large group, Vance included.

"Because this is all need-to-know, and you don't" he supplied.

„So, what, you're just gonna push us aside? We do have pretty high clearance you know" Tony was looking straight at O'Neill.

Just as Vance opened his mouth to retort he was stopped by the colonel raising his hand. „It's fine Director". He turned to the agents. „You do have high clearance, and that is why we can tell you as much as we will. Carter?"

She took over, her voice low, looking them straight in the eyes.

„You are probably wondering about the terms you encountered in those reports..." she seemed hesitant, like she was about to reveal some big secrets.

O'Neill intervened „By the way, forget you ever saw those, and of course we'll need any copies or backups you made". Gibbs just nodded.

Sam went on „This is all highly classified, and any disclosure on your part would not only constitute an act of treason but would also endanger the lives of the people involved" she waited a few moments to let them absorb the implications. „P3X-535 is a coded designation for a place where we're not really supposed to be in, so using the name the locals do wouldn't be a good idea. We went there to retrieve something, more specifically a metal alloy we developed and which was stolen; it is something that, once completed, would make a significant difference. However, it's far from complete now. Since its development isn't public knowledge we had to employ more covert means to retrieve it. The other terms you're probably wondering about refer to various factions of the individuals involved in the stealing".

"What about 'dialing the gate' and 'IDC' code? What does that refer to?" McGee made his presence felt.

"Calling our transport to pick us up, while also transmitting a code to let the base know we were under fire". She didn't even blink an eye, Gibbs thought, none of them did. And no big complicated lies, just a distorted version of the truth. "Man they're good"

McGee didn't look quite convinced. It was Tony however who wondered "It seems, I don't know, like over-kill to use all these codes when the reports were already classified. Did you expect someone to take them, or what?"

Gibbs had to admit he was proud of his senior agent for not taking things just as they were offered.

"Having the alloy stolen wasn't exactly somebody's proudest moment. We were instructed to make the reports readable only to a chosen few" O'Neill supplied.

"Oh" that seemed to satisfy them for now.

Ziva was suspiciously quiet, Gibbs noticed, and starring straight at him. "Busted" he thought. These people were very good at concealing the truth, but then so was Ziva. He sighted; he'll deal with her later. For now, they had a case to solve.

"OK, back to work. What do you have?" Gibbs couldn't miss Ziva's frown, she definitely felt something was 'hinky'. Apparently Sam caught it too and threw him a worried look, which only served to deepen Ziva's scowl. "Oh crap, this is not over by far"

DiNozzo fortunately missed the silent exchange. "We matched the partial number the witnesses gave us with cars with that make and model, came up with three vehicles. One was reported stolen by the owner, hours before the accident. Police sent us the report, nothing off there"

"DiNozzo, Ziva, go talk to the owner"

"Daniel, you go with them". So, they were going to watch their every move, Ziva thought, muttering an elaborate curse in Hebrew as they entered the elevator.

"You should wash your mouth with soap, Officer David" Daniel smiled.

….

"McGee, the phone?"

"Not much, boss. The number Lieutenant Kent called was for an untraceable phone; it hasn't been used since Kent's death. I'll keep looking for it though – if it activates, I should be able to locate it. I sent the phone down to Abby, she's looking for fingerprints"

"Fine, keep trying for that other phone. On second thought, take S… Major Carter to Abby and see if she's got anything. We'll go see Ducky"

….

"I have nothing for you yet, Gibbs!" the forensic scientist yelled to cover the loud music, not turning to see who opened the door.

"Not Gibbs, Abby" McGee turned the music down to a bearable level.

"Ooh, you have company, Timmy! Who is she?"

Sam had heard enough about the Goth scientist from Gibbs as not to be surprised.

"Hi Abby, I'm Sam"

"The Sam? The Major Doctor Sam, Gibbs' Sam? You sure are pretty!" she was bouncing around, all excitement and wide eyes.

"Uh, yeah. Heard a lot about you, Abby" she smiled, feeling the blush spread as she noticed the opened link to Autopsy, her CO's grinning face on the monitor.

"Well, when you two girls are finished complimenting each other, maybe you could tell us if you found anything?"

"And who is this silver fox?" Abby waltzed towards the monitor, smiling widely "Gibbs, you're there? Do all of you ex-special ops guys look so…yummy?"

Sam turned her back to the monitor, shoulders shaking with restrained laughter.

"Abby! What do you have?" Gibbs yelled from the background.

"Nothing, Gibbs, I have nothing! I mean, not nothing, just not much, that depends how you define 'nothing'…"

"Abby!"

"Gibbs?" his face appeared on the monitor, glaring. Sam had a very vivid flashback of many similar discussions between the colonel and Daniel.

"Yeah, right. So, I found a partial fingerprint on the phone's battery. I mean, except for Lieutenant Kent's prints, they are all over the phone"

Gibbs sigh could be clearly heard. "But, Abbs?"

"But I can't match it with anything. I searched all the databases I could think of, no matches. Ergo, nothing!"

Sam intervened, looking at the monitor. "Sir…?"

O'Neill's face came back on. "Yeah, go ahead Carter. Just stay there"

"What?" both Abby and Gibbs wanted to know.

"She'll try our database also. It could…produce more results"

….

Gibbs and O'Neill turned back to the medical examiner, who was regaling Teal'c with anecdotes concerning the risks of not understanding cultural differences.

"O'Neill, DoctorMallard is most entertaining. I believe he would get along very well with DanielJackson" Teal'c was sporting one of his largest smiles.

Ducky clapped his shoulder, pleased at the compliment. "See, Jethro, someone who appreciates my stories"

"We all do Ducky, we're just kind of pressed right now to solve the case" he hoped the subtlety was enough.

"Oh yes, my friend on the table. Well, nothing earth shattering, I'm afraid. Almost all his injuries are consistent with a car hitting him, the broken bones, the lacerations…"

"You said 'almost', Ducky. What else?"

"Well, there is this… burn on his leg. It's an older wound, nothing recent. But this round shape is most peculiar; I've never seen anything quite like that"

O'Neill exchanged a look with Teal'c. "Ah, it's all right doc, we have. It's from a training accident a while back, an …experimental weapon. Not related to this"

Ducky smiled knowingly. "Oh, one of those. No worries friends, my lips are sealed. I am familiar with all kinds of hush-hush government operations"

"Thank you Doctor Mallard. So, nothing we can use about the accident?"

"I'm afraid not. Abby analyzed the paint fragments recovered from the body; they're all consistent with what you already knew about the car"

"Thanks Duck. So, coffee?" Gibbs was already halfway to the elevator.

….

An hour later Tony marched back into the squad room with a shackled, banged-up teenage boy, a heavy, tired looking man trailing close behind.

"Boss, we've got the driver" Tony pointed to the scrawny teenager.

"Him? How?"

"This is his father. When he reported his car stolen he didn't realize it was his son who actually did the stealing. He went for a …joyride with his girlfriend, had a few beers, killed Lieutenant Kent, ran away. The girlfriend is in the hospital, she wasn't wearing the seatbelt. Ziva and Daniel are talking to her now. The hospital called his father, Mr. Arliss here, just as we were about to leave his place. The car's being towed here now"

O'Neill and Teal'c stood aside, listening.

"This sounds like something concerning … our problem to you, buddy?"

"I do not believe so, O'Neill. Even so, we should still speak with the boy, but, as you say, I would not pause my inhaling"

He already knew the answer. "Oh crap"

….

When Ziva and Daniel came back after talking to the girlfriend and the cops only McGee was still in the squad-room.

"Where's everybody?" Ziva was already getting antsy.

"Gibbs and Colonel O'Neill are in interrogation, Tony and Teal'c probably in observation and Major Carter with Abby. Ziva, what did…" She was already on her way to the elevator.

Daniel hung his head. He couldn't pretend to have figured the woman out in a couple of hours, but some things she didn't even try to hide. Like the fact that she didn't appreciate the constant company or that she felt her turf invaded. And Daniel had a strong feeling that 'invasion' concerned Gibbs personally more than the current case. "What did Sam get involved into?"

He answered Agent McGee's unfinished question "The cops and the girlfriend corroborate the kid's story. It really looks like an accident, which doesn't solve our problem with the reports"

"Yeah…"

….

Ziva stood in the observation room, Tony besides her and the big wrestler-type guy looming in the back. Not a moment without one of them, she thought, getting angrier by the minute. However, it was not Teal'c's presence that infuriated her, but the fact that no sound was coming from the interrogation room, where Gibbs and O'Neill were talking to the teenager and his father. The disappointment on the colonel's face was proof enough that the case was far from over.

"Why would they turn the sound off if they leveled with us, Tony?" she didn't care what the other man in the room heard.

He was thinking exactly the same thing "I have nooo idea…"

She stormed outside and waited for Gibbs to finish, pacing the hallway.

When the door to Interrogation finally opened and her boss stepped outside she pounced on him, completely ignoring everybody else.

"Why are you lying to us Gibbs? They have not told us the truth and you know that! You do not trust us, me, enough? You let them run this investigation when…" she didn't get the chance to finish her rant. Gibbs stepped forward, pushing her back against the wall with his body, hard enough that the air left her lungs for a moment. She didn't even notice when the others have left, leaving her with a more than angry Gibbs.

"You listen to me, Ziva" his voice barely controlled, muscles twitching in his jaw, hands on the wall on either side of her head. "You do not get to question how I do my job, you hear me? You do not get to question me, especially in the presence of others, ever again, you understand me Ziva?" She barely managed to nod a fraction, eyes wide and frightened. His presence was so dominating all her training just flew from her mind, leaving her weak-kneed and breathing hard. He didn't move, his body still pinning her to the wall, face just inches from hers, still angry. As his glare started to soften she became aware of the closeness between them, of the way his breath touched her face and her breasts were pressed against his hard chest. He leaned even closer, lips almost touching her ear "And did you even stop to think this is not a matter of trusting you, and that maybe I have no other choice but to follow their lead? Did you consider to maybe trust me, Ziver?" he pulled back a bit, his gaze jumping between her eyes and her lips. The urge to kiss her senseless was almost too strong to control, and he took a step back into the corridor. "Come on, we have work to do" his voice low and deep, sending shivers down her spine. She shakily pushed away from the wall and followed him to the squad-room.