Chapter 21 – Back at Work

Leslie was good at letting Vance know things that he should know. Usually the day-to-day presence or absence of individual employees was way below Vance's cloud of vision; this one, though was different. Vance rose with a smile on reading Leslie's curt email:

Agents David and McGee are back at work.

This was something to see for himself. Vance headed for the squadroom.

Tony couldn't contain his grin. Gibbs was barely able to do so. Schmidt hastily removed his things from Tim's desk and cheerfully put them on the unused desk next to Tim's.

"Did you plan this…the two of you coming back on the same day?" Tony demanded. "It smells like something planned. I know, because it's the sort of thing I would do."

"Not entirely," Ziva said, sitting down slowly, but smiling. "McGee and I have discussed what our doctors said, of course. When I said I wanted to come back to work today, that I felt I was ready, he said he was ready, too."

Both agents were still NCIS wards at the safe house. This couldn't be comfortable for them, missing the privacy and pleasures of their own apartments. But until NCIS was…until Vance was…convinced that the threats to his MCRT were gone, the safe house would be their home. On the up side, it guaranteed them a ride to and from work.

"Got to ask you for doctor's okay-to-work notes, you know," Gibbs grunted. He nodded when the two pulled out papers. Gibbs even rose to get the papers, saving his agents from having to get back up. Without looking at the papers, Gibbs merely put them in his inbox. He trusted his people.

Vance shook hands with both Tim and Ziva. "Welcome back," he said. "I can't tell you how glad I am to see you both here, and looking good." Well, maybe that was an exaggeration. Both were thin and pale. "We've missed you."

"That's for sure," said Tony, sounding sincere. He did have his candid moments, Vance knew.

"Either of you need any more time off…you only need ask," Vance said firmly. "You two are heroes. We take care of our people, even if we slipped up in the beginning."

Ziva and Tim murmured their thanks. Vance left them then, as much as he would have liked to hang around. Gibbs' team deserved private time to knit themselves back into a unit. Besides, there would be other well-wishers sure to appear, and there was no need for the Director to be around to witness people away from their workstations. The agency could afford to look the other way today.

But Tim called Vance back as he reached the stairs. "Director…we're back at work now, and I'm…I mean, I think both Ziva and I are wondering…can we go home?"

Vance had a mouthful of humorous retorts ready, but he sensed that quips, no matter how gentle, wouldn't be welcome. "I wish I could say yes, Agent McGee," he said soberly. "Unfortunately, the investigation into the attacks on you two is still going on. Until it's over…or until you've fully recovered, whichever comes first…I have to insist that you remain at the safe house."

He saw Tim look to Gibbs for help, but Gibbs' look was unyielding. "Almost lost you two once, right here," Gibbs said. "Don't want to risk that happening again."

That was a lot from an unsentimental man. Vance took the silent moment as an opportunity to make a successful departure.

Back in his office, he sighed. Tim and Ziva were back. All now seemed right in his world.

"Thank you, Agent Kort. I'll certainly let the CIA know if there are any developments."

"I appreciate it, Director." Trent Kort angled his long body upward and rose from the chair with a half smile, not waiting to give Vance the opportunity to show him out.

Vance's face took on a sour look when Kort was gone. He didn't like the man. He was useful, true, but so was cod liver oil, and that wasn't pleasant, either. Jackie had once met Kort at a social gathering, and had said to Vance when Kort was out of earshot, "Do you really have to work with that unpleasant man?"

'Only now and then," Vance had replied. There were pundits who held that one either worked on the side of the angels, or one didn't. Vance disagreed; there were gray areas between the two sides, and people of undetermined loyalties dwelling in the crevices. He took a long gulp of water to rinse the unpleasant taste from his mouth.

He needed to get his mind on something else. Performance reviews. Where were they? He only ever read the ones for the employees here at HQ, and didn't even read all of those. But he did expect all departments to turn them in on time, and October 31st was the last day for that.

Gibbs' was among the missing. Vance pulled out his phone and summoned him.

"Careful; you might not want to sit there. Trent Kort was sitting in that chair not too long ago."

Gibbs grinned. "You really don't like him, do you?"

"Take a guess. But that's not why I called you here. Performance reviews are due the 31st. Realistically, that's Friday the 29th, unless you want to come in this weekend to write them up."

"My team is on this weekend. I can always do them then."

"Or you could be kind to your boss and get them in ahead of time, so I'm not stewing here."

"Leon, my PRs have always been in on time. Always."

"It's a slow week. You can't do them today?"

Gibbs sighed. "Well, I could do DiNozzo's and Abby's, and I guess Ducky and Palmer, but…I don't want to lay stress on Ziva and McGee. They're improving day by day, but they've been out for two and a half months. I can't rate them on productivity with so much time off. It would skew the results terribly."

Vance gave him a quick glare. "Life is hard."

"So's death," Gibbs shot back.

"They're not dead. Don't coddle them."

"I just want them given some consideration. They were attacked because of their positions here. If this lowers their overall ratings…"

"They can make up for it next year. As I'm sure they will."

"This isn't right, Leon."

"It's the regs. The regs are fair, averaged overall."

Gibbs swore. "The regs make no allowances for individual actions. Didn't I hear you tell McGee and David that they were heroes?" Before giving Vance a chance to reply, Gibbs went out.

He knew that Gibbs was right, to a point. It did seem unfair to blame someone for being unproductive for the time they were incapacitated. Vance checked last year's performance review. Both Tim and Ziva had received excellent reviews then. The difference in a few points taken off for productivity could disqualify them from getting awards or bonuses this time around.

And all because we let an assassin slip into the intern program.

It wasn't fair. But it was regulation.

Vance had a need to visit Abby's lab in connection with a sensitive case. He was not surprised to see it decorated with orange and black streamers in honor of Hallowe'en. What he was surprised to see was Leslie, apparently delivering something to Abby, and sticking around to flirt with her. She was flirting back. Suddenly Abby moved forward and laid a big kiss on Leslie, which he enthusiastically returned.

Before they could see him, Vance beat a quiet retreat. Leslie and Abby! Now that was a shock to the nervous system. Then he reasoned that there was probably nothing to it, and as long as it didn't affect their work, it was none of his business.

He told himself not to mention it to Jackie. A born romantic, she'd soon be speculating over what their babies would look like.

Two important developments came in that afternoon.

The first was from Klara Schultz, who requested a closed-door meeting. She was ex-Navy, orderly, and to the point. "Leon, do you want the long version or the short version?"

"The short, orally; the long, written."

"Okey-doke. The short, oral version: Lotus/Gower acted alone, except for Alcott. My team has traced every minute of her life in the last five years, and every other minute in the ten years before that."

"Her motive?"

"Plain and simple, as stated by her (before her lawyer shut her up) and by Alcott, and the preponderance of evidence: She wanted revenge for Gibbs' team's jailing of Rodney Orwell, who wasn't her father by the way, but her boyfriend."

Vance was surprised. "But he's old enough to be her father…"

"Some girls like older men. Alcott was someone she met and strung along to help her get inside dope. He built the pipe bomb and planted it. Would have probably made more if we hadn't caught him."

"You're positive that there was no one else involved?"

"Who can ever be 100% sure? I'm at least 99% sure, though. Unless one of them gave one of our employees ideas, we're clean."

"Good to hear. Thank you, Klara."

She smiled. "I'm glad Team Gibbs is safe. It's no fun to have a rival if you're not playing with equal strength."

He smiled back. Schultz and Gibbs really did seem to enjoy their rivalry.

The second report came in a phone call from Fornell.

"I've been over enough data to make my head swim, and Leon, I can't find any sign of disorder in NCIS. I'll drop off my report on a secure stick when I'm on your side of town next week."

Vance exhaled. What a relief! The months-long nightmare was over. He went down to the squad room to deliver good news. "Agents David and McGee…you can pack up early and go. The threat to the MCRT is declared over. You can get your things from the safe house and go home."

They looked delighted. So did Abby, who was in the squad room for an unknown reason. "Yay!" she cheered. "You guys can now come to my Hallowe'en party tomorrow night! Er…you're welcome to come, too, Director. And your family, of course."

"Thank you, Ms. Sciuto, but I think Jackie has tickets for a play tomorrow." A good thing, too. The idea of Abby Sciuto Hallowe'en exuberance rather frightened him.

Gibbs cornered him as he left, and dragged him out of earshot of the team. "Here are your dang performance reviews," Gibbs growled, thrusting a manila folder at him.

"Why are you fighting me on this, Gibbs?" Vance demanded. "Everyone knows you rally against the rules, but—"

"For some of you, rules represent what is right, and for your information, I usually do follow them. But this…this is morally wrong." He stalked back to his section.

Vance stood, holding the folder for a long minute. What had seemed like a day with such good news had become thunderously bad in just a minute.

Friday, October 29

Wednesday, October 27

Thursday, October 21