Note: Thank you so much to everyone who has decided to continue on and solve the mystery. Hint: It's not who you think...and yet again, it just might be...
The elevator dinged as McGee entered the Squad Room, with Bishop on his heels. "I only brought it up, because I hadn't heard from this guy in years!" McGee was saying as they entered the bull pen and stashed their bags.
"I haven't kept up with some of my NSA contacts," Bishop said, sounding a little defensive. "It hasn't been that long since I left, and I can't remember most of their names right now."
DiNozzo looked up from the website he'd been perusing. "What are we talking about?" he demanded.
McGee seemed genuinely puzzled. "An old college buddy of mine was at the coffee shop this morning. He didn't recognize me, even after I introduced myself to him. It'd only been a few years, but I would have thought…" He shrugged. "I thought we were closer friends. I guess the passing of time dulled certain memories."
"Some people are too shallow," Bishop argued. "You can be working with them day and night, but as soon as your project is done, you cease to exist in their universe. I've known a lot of analysts like that. We'd been on the same team for a year, and they couldn't remember my name."
"I've known people like that," DiNozzo chimed in.
"They might have been consciously trying to forget you," McGee teased.
"Tony grinned in response to the expected jibe, but a familiar pain flared up as he thought of an unforgettable friend he hadn't seen for a while. "That could be, McGee," he allowed, wondering to himself if his missing friend was finding it as hard to forget him.
"Gear up," Gibbs barked, rounding the corner of the squad room. "Somebody's not going to be remembering anyone's name… Dead Petty Officer, warehouse district."
"What do we have, Boss?" DiNozzo asked as he gathered his equipment.
Gibbs paused to throw him a long look. "You forget about him already? A dead Petty Officer, DiNozzo."