Tim sat opposite the man who she had met only a handful of times since beginning her job at Norfolk. He had been brought into her office one day, introduced as someone who would be 'observing', and left unceremoniously in the doorway. She had thought little of it at the time. It was part of her line of work to be watched by a person bearing a clipboard every now and again. But there had been no clipboard and he had come and gone for a handful of months before she had been all but ordered out for a cup of coffee with him.

And now it all made sense.

The CIA.

There was something hard about this man, which in retrospect should have really alerted her to his profession before she was told. It was something that made her feel he had been in his line of work far too long.

"You won't even consider it?" he spoke steadily, his British accent gorgeous to her ears, but she shook her head and reached for the mug of coffee on the table. She liked flavoured coffee, usually vanilla or something more festive like nutmeg at Christmas, but she hadn't dared to ask for anything other than coffee with milk under the man's gaze.

She sipped the bitter drink, grateful for the caffeine anyway it came to her. Flavoured or not.

The man remained silent and she took a deep breath to give herself some courage. She was a natural people pleaser and she didn't like saying 'no' to anyone. But she had proved to herself that she could do just that when it was something that mattered to her. She had done it before and she was about to do it again.

"I have worked hard to get where I am now, Mr Kort," she told him.

"I am aware of that Miss McGee. That is why we are interested in having you join us,"

He smiled at her. It was the kind of smile she was sure the devil wore when holding out the pen to Faust.

"Your skills are wasted here, Miss McGee. You must know that,"

Tim's fingers twisted and she fought the uncharacteristic urge to cover the man with the contents of her mug. Had anyone ever done that to him before? The line of business he was in probably led to things of a far deadlier persuasion than a mug of coffee being thrown his way.

Tim knew her abilities and what she was capable of doing, and she wasn't being conceited when a part of her agreed with him. If she put her mind to it she could liquidate any million dollar company she chose with a few clicks and strokes and no one would know it was her. And then there were the few occasions when she was younger (and very bored) and had hacked into various government agencies. The FBI had been fun – even if things had turned rather terrifying when several very serious looking men had shown up at the door – but she had never thought of giving the CIA a try. And she wouldn't now. No. She would behave. She did not hack anymore.

So yes, her talents weren't exactly being used to the full from her little office that was so stacked with papers she dreaded a dry spell because her room would go up in a puff of smoke. But she loved her paperwork filled office, every day when she walked in it was a reminder that she was on her way. She was on the road to where she wanted to be and one day she would be in the Navy Yard and will have 'made it'.

She would earn every step she took closer – no name dropping for Timothy (Yes, I'm a girl, thank you) McGee. And she wasn't going to give up her dream because some cocky spook thinks a little bit of flattery will have her running to the 'Agency'. No sir! She could wait a bit longer for Washington without selling her soul.

"Mr Kurt, thank you for the compliment, but I have my plans and I am content here," she spoke as calmly as she could, thinking out the words and uttering them steadily so as not to stutter like she usually did when flustered. Thankfully, despite the rather freaky impression he gave her, he also had a way of making her feel like he had all the time in the world to listen to her and she had managed well so far with only a few stumbles.

He didn't say a word, only nodded his head in apparent understanding and gestured for her to finish her coffee.

She sipped and thought.

Since taking up her position in Norfolk Tim had jumped at every opportunity at improvement that came her way. She loved to learn. She wasn't the kind of person who hung every certificate of learning she received from her wall but she did have a folder at home that was growing fatter with every passing month she spent at NCIS. After all, if she was going to be a field agent she needed to be up to date on as much as she could be, as she knew she was at a disadvantage from not coming from a military or law enforcement background.

She wanted to continue working for NCIS and she would stick it out in her little office as long as she needed, but was she really too stubborn to accept this chance when it came knocking?

Well…

She put her mug back onto the table top.

There was no harm in asking after all.

"Perhaps," the man's eyes shot to her, "We could come to a compromise,"

He smiled a slow and predatory smile and put his own mug onto the table with a soft thud.

He leaned forward and she was sure his eyes twinkled in glee – if 'twinkled' could be applied in any way to a man who probably had a hit-list quota to reach before he had his breakfast.

"What do you have in mind, Miss McGee,"

Tim swallowed loudly.

If she wasn't going to sell her soul perhaps she could rent it out for a little while.

I couldn't resist having a 'Kort tries to get McGee to join the CIA' one-shot and I kind of ran with it.

There is more Kort/McGee to come in the next couple of chapters. :)

Take care :)