~o~
"DiNozzo, where're we at?" Special Agent in Charge Leroy Jethro Gibbs asked as he swept into the bullpen. Today was a jeans day, topped with a white dress shirt and grey suit coat. It made him look more put together than most men on their best days.
Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo stood up, fastened the top button on his charcoal suit and moved around his desk as he rattled off what little they knew. He pulled up crime scene photos on the big screen next to his desk as he spoke. "Staff Sergeant Brian Keener was found in his car in Baltimore last night. He'd been shot once in the chest. A canvass of the area didn't turn up any witnesses. We're still trying to figure out what he was doing there. He was—"
"—assigned to a unit out of Twenty-Nine Palms," Director Vance finished for him.
"Director, I didn't see you there," Tony said, spinning around. "Slumming today?"
The Director, dressed as usual in a dark navy suit and pale blue tie, merely gave Tony a bland look as he brushed by. Timothy McGee and Ziva David, the two junior Special Agents that rounded out Gibbs' team, looked up from their desks, surprised by the appearance of the Director in their midst.
"Leon," Gibbs addressed the other man. "What's goin' on?"
"Staff Sergeant Keener was part of a detail escorting a shipment of experimental weapons from Twenty-Nine Palms out to Ft Irwin," the Director explained. "He disappeared three days ago. Along with the weapons and the rest of his detail."
"Looks like we found him," Gibbs said, indicating the pictures.
"Unfortunately, that's all you found," Vance said. "I'm bringing in some extra help on this one."
"Don't need extra help, Leon," Gibbs said, shuffling through some papers at his desk as he sipped at his coffee.
"I think you do," Vance said. "The San Diego Special Agent in Charge caught the case; she's been working it since the beginning. She'll be able to fill you in on everything you need to know."
"And who might that be?" Gibbs asked.
"That would be me," the woman in question stepped out from behind the Director.
Dead silence followed the revelation. Gibbs' head snapped up while Tony's eyes widened in shock. She looked the same as she always had: long brown hair falling in soft curls around her face, wearing her usual suit—this time in charcoal—with a lavender dress shirt for just a hint of color. But it was the woman in the suit that seemed to have stopped all conversation, and indeed, all thought. It was McGee who finally broke the silence.
"Kate," he gasped. "You're alive!"
"I think she knows that, Probie," Tony snarked.
"What's goin' on here, Leon?" Gibbs growled.
"I've asked Special Agent Halladay to assist on this case," Vance said.
"Well, I don't know who Special Agent Halladay is," Gibbs said, "but that looks a lot like Special Agent Kate Todd. Last time I checked, she was dead."
"'Cuz if she were alive, somebody would've told us," Tony put in, shooting an angry glare at Kate and the Director.
"Special Agent Kate Halladay has been at the San Diego Field Office for three years," Vance explained. "Before that, she was a guest of the Witness Protection Program."
Ziva stood behind her desk, watching the standoff with a wary eye. She looked around from face to face, seeing varying levels of shock and anger, and she could definitely feel the tension level in the room rising. Not unexpected, given the circumstances. Since she had joined the team as a result of Kate's supposed death, she didn't know much about the woman. But she'd watched three of the men around her mourn for their lost friend and colleague. And now she was alive and standing in front of them. The fallout from this, when it came, would be spectacular.
Director Vance cleared his throat, the only one willing to break the standoff. "Kate, why don't you bring everyone up to speed?"
"Right," Kate said, moving forward. She could feel the tension in the room, but she tried to ignore it as best as she could.
She pulled a flash drive out of her pocket and handed it to McGee with a slight smile. He shook his head briefly, then smiled back as he inserted the drive into his computer. Scooping up the remote, Kate turned to her audience. "The XM395 is a precision guided mortar round currently under development for our combat troops."
"I thought that project had been cancelled along with the rest of the Future Combat program," McGee said.
"Most of the Future Combat components have been cancelled," Vance said. "But some of them are being adapted for use with conventional munitions."
"What is so special about this mortar?" Ziva asked as she stepped up to the group.
Kate frowned, not familiar with the woman asking the question.
"Special Agent Kate Todd, meet Probationary Special Agent Ziva David," Gibbs said.
"Actually, it's Halladay. And it's nice to meet you," she said, earning a nod from the other woman. "To answer your question, the XM395 has a GPS system embedded into it that will allow for greater control of the round in flight. Using onboard thrusters, the round can be guided to the target, minimizing collateral damage."
"Surgical mass destruction," Tony said darkly.
"DiNozzo," Gibbs warned.
He lapsed into silence, allowing Kate to continue. "He's not actually wrong. It was developed to allow for targeted attacks. It's a 120 caliber mortar, so it can destroy an entire building, but it'll leave the ones next to the target untouched."
"What does this have to do with our dead Marine?" McGee asked.
Kate pushed a button on the remote, bringing up four photographs. "Staff Sergeant Keener, Specialist Paul Romero, and Privates Kyle Heffner and Tom Roland were tasked with escorting the ordinance from their base at Twenty-Nine Palms up to Fort Irwin for a live-fire exercise in advance of their unit's deployment to Afghanistan. They never made it. We found Private Heffner and Specialist Romero dead in an abandoned building at Pendleton yesterday."
"And you think Keener was somehow involved?" Tony asked, all business now.
"Until last night, yes," she said. "Both the Hummer and the truck used by the detail were GPS enabled, yet the GPS units on both were disabled not long after they left Twenty-Nine Palms. Only Keener knew about that."
"Wouldn't the individual shipping crates have been tagged as well?" McGee asked.
"They were, but so far, we haven't picked up any signals," Kate said.
"Which is yet another indicator that the Staff Sergeant might have been involved," Ziva said.
"Which is why we were hoping to find him alive," Kate confirmed. "As of right now, we still have one Marine unaccounted for, and the weapons are in the wind."
"But why Baltimore?" McGee asked. "If he stole them to sell, why drag them all the way across the country and risk getting caught?"
"Keener was originally from the Baltimore area," Kate said. "It's just a guess, but he may have been working with someone he used to know."
McGee typed a few characters into his computer. "Well, it looks like he still has family in the area. The only next of kin listed in his service record is a brother living in Baltimore: Craig Keener."
"Gibbs, I need you to find those weapons," Vance said.
"Why aren't Callen and the OSP on this?" Tony asked. The Director looked at him, and Tony backpedaled a little. "I mean, it's not like we can't handle it. I just thought—"
"Callen and his team are currently up to their eyeballs in foreign operatives, so it's your case now. I don't care how you do it, Gibbs," Vance said, turning to leave, "just get it done."
Once he'd disappeared up the stairs, an uncomfortable silence descended on the group. Everyone seemed to be staring at Kate, who stood there helpless. Finally, Gibbs spoke up.
"Tony, Ziva, search the brother's house, see what you can find," Gibbs said, moving towards the door. "McGee, dig into Roland's life. I want to know everything there is to know about him. If he's still alive, he may lead us to the weapons."
"Look at the other three, too," Kate said, "but especially Keener."
"Why him?" McGee asked.
"Because he's the one with ties to Baltimore," Kate said. "And because none of them did this alone. They had to have worked together, so the more we know about them, the better."
"Got it," McGee said.
Gibbs smiled, proud of Kate, even if she wasn't one of his kids anymore. He turned and headed for the elevators.
The rest of the team stood staring at each other, shocked by how quickly Gibbs had come to terms with the very strange events of the last 15 minutes. When he realized he wasn't being followed, he turned around.
"Today would be good," he barked at the team.
"Yes, boss," Tony said. He and Ziva grabbed their gear and brushed past Kate on their way out, neither of them saying a word. McGee watched them go. He settled his blue suit coat more firmly on his shoulders, then tugged at the open collar of his blue and white striped shirt, giving Kate a wan smile before sitting down and settling into his task.
Kate sighed and moved to join Gibbs at the elevator. It hadn't gone as badly as she'd expected. But, it wasn't over yet.
~o~
Kate stepped into the elevator, Gibbs following behind. As soon as the doors slid shut, he hit the emergency stop button.
Turning to face her, he crossed his arms over his chest. "Wanna tell me what's going on here?"
She tried to figure out what was going on behind the mask he was wearing, but she'd never been very good at reading Gibbs' moods. Sighing, she knew there was no way of knowing how he'd react. She just had to get it over with.
"The day I was shot, the FBI discovered Ari's cell," she began.
"I know," Gibbs said. "He was running a terrorist cell as part of his cover."
"He had a second cell," she said. "One the FBI didn't know about until that day. Ari had left instructions with them to finish what he'd started, in the event he was unable to. All of it. And one of the items high on his list was to take me back. He was angry with me because he thought I'd lied to him."
"You didn't?"
"I told him what he wanted to know," she said, shrugging. "The Service is always updating procedures based on current threats, as well as lessons learned from any attempt on the Primary, whether it's successful or not. What I knew about current procedures would already have been out of date when he took me the second time, but he thought I knew more than I was telling."
"So why'd he shoot you?" Gibbs wanted to know.
Kate shrugged again. "First it was about getting back at you. Hurting you. Then, apparently it became about hurting me, too. So, they ordered the doctors to lie about my condition."
"Who?" Gibbs asked. "Who told them to lie?"
"The Secret Service," she said. "And Director Morrow signed off on it."
"On his way out of town, no doubt," Gibbs said darkly. "How long were you in the program?"
"It took them two years to finally track down the last member of Ari's cell," she said. "When they were sure they had them all, I was released. Director Sheppard offered me a team at the San Diego office almost immediately."
"And why didn't you contact us when you got out?"
Kate closed her eyes. This was the hard part, and the hurt in Gibbs' voice wasn't making it any easier. Opening her eyes, she watched the storm clouds gather on his face as she explained what happened.
"I'm sorry," she said when she'd finished.
"Never—"
"Never apologize. It's a sign of weakness," she said, finishing for him. "Rule #6. I haven't forgotten."
A ghost of a smile appeared on Gibbs' face. "Did you teach them to your new team?"
"Of course," she said, smiling back. Then her face fell. "Look, Gibbs, I know you're not happy that I'm here…"
"Never said that. Just surprised is all," he said. He took a deep breath. "You're part of my team, Kate. Always have been, always will be."
Tears began to gather in her eyes. "Thanks," she whispered.
Gibbs pulled her to him, enveloping her in a big hug. "You're welcome," he whispered back.
Releasing her, he pulled back and hit the button for the elevator to resume its trip.
"Where are we going?" she asked. She'd thought they were just using the elevator for a conference room, like they did back in the day.
Gibbs just smiled. "You'll see."
~o~
"Ducky, what have you got for me?" Gibbs called out the second he'd pushed through the door. He moved across the room, Kate at his side, stopping next to the table holding their most recent victim.
"Ah, Jethro, I was wondering when you'd be coming to visit me," Doctor Donald "Ducky" Mallard called out to his visitor. He was dressed in the scrubs he'd worn for the autopsy, and it looked like he hadn't quite finished yet. He looked up and froze. "Caitlin!"
"Hi, Ducky," she said, smiling at the older man.
"What are you doing here?" he asked. His eyes immediately darted to Gibbs, who was eyeing him critically.
"You don't seem too surprised, Duck," Gibbs said.
"Well, I…that is…"
"Just spit it out," Gibbs ordered.
"Well, they needed someone to sign off on the death certificate," he explained. "And since it would have been me doing the autopsy, if she'd actually been killed—sorry, Caitlin—they asked me to do it and then ordered me not to divulge what I knew."
Kate smiled at Ducky's consideration of her feelings. It was sweet, in its own way. Gibbs' next question, however, made her cringe.
"So you knew she was alive all this time?"
"Yes," Ducky said, deflating a little. "I'm sorry, Jethro."
Gibbs looked at him for a long moment. Then, he relented. "You were doing your job, Ducky. Don't apologize for that."
Ducky sighed with relief. He'd never assumed that the secret would stay secret, but he'd never been quite sure how Gibbs would react when it finally came out. He was immensely glad to have it out in the open at last.
"So, what about our dead Marine?" Gibbs asked, drawing Ducky's attention back to the reason for his visit.
"Well, Jethro, I don't believe this is our dead Marine," Ducky said, indicating the body laid out before them.
"Why not?" Kate asked. She glanced down at his face, which looked the same as the picture she'd by now memorized.
"For one thing, this chap's been dead for nearly a week," Ducky explained. "If your Marine has only been missing for three days, this isn't him."
"And?" Gibbs prompted.
"And this fellow didn't have any dog tags on him when I undressed him."
"So?" Gibbs asked.
"So, do you ever go anywhere without your tags, Gibbs?" Kate asked, smiling.
"No," he said. "But that's me."
"Well, I don't know too many Marines that are still on active duty that don't wear their tags everywhere, even out of uniform," Kate said, then she turned back to Ducky. "So, if this guy's not Keener, who is he?"
"That, my dear, is your job," Ducky said. "I've sent a sample of his DNA to Abigail. If he's in the system, she'll find him."
"Thanks, Ducky," Gibbs said, turning to exit the morgue.
"There is one more thing, Jethro," Ducky said, effectively stopping Gibbs in his tracks.
"What is it?"
"This man had cancer," he said. "Specifically a brain tumor. Judging by the size and location, I'd say it was inoperable. There's no mention of cancer in Staff Sergeant Keener's medical files."
"Did he know?" Kate asked.
"I don't see how he couldn't," Ducky said. "Based on my examination, he'd have been experiencing dizziness and headaches at the least."
"How long did he have?" Kate asked.
"I'd estimate less than a year."
"Thanks, Duck," Gibbs said. This time, when he headed for the door, Ducky didn't stop him.
Kate turned to follow him out, but was stopped when Ducky called her name.
"It's good to have you back," he said, smiling.
Kate smiled back. "It's good to be back."
~o~
As usual, when they entered the lab—sole domain of Abigail Sciuto—the music was blasting and the woman herself was in the middle of the lab, dancing and singing to beat the band. She was just as Kate remembered her: pigtails, studded collar, schoolgirl skirt and combat boots—topped with a lab coat—making her look like she belonged, but not, all at the same time.
"Abby!" Gibbs called out. "Got something for me?"
"Gibbs!" Abby shouted back, her back turned as she studied something on her screen. She hit the volume button on her stereo, and the music went considerably quieter. "Of course I do."
She turned and froze. Gibbs crossed the room, looking at her screen before looking at her and then glancing behind him, giving a smile at her reaction.
"Problem, Abs?"
"Pinch me, Gibbs," she whispered.
"Why?" he asked her.
"Because I think I'm hallucinating," she said. "I'm seeing Kate again."
Gibbs glanced at Kate and winked, causing her to smile. "You're not hallucinating."
"So, does Kate have a twin?" she asked, desperately searching for an answer to the sight before her.
Kate, unwilling to torture Abby any longer, stepped in front of the younger woman. "It's me, Abby."
Suddenly, Abby squealed and practically knocked Kate over with a hug. She pulled back and held Kate at arm's length, rambling while Kate just smiled. "Oh my god, I don't believe it! You're dead. I mean, we thought you were dead. But obviously you're not. How long have you not been—I mean—"
"Breathe, Abby," Gibbs whispered into her ear.
Abby shivered a little, then took a deep breath. "Sorry," she said, sheepishly.
"It's okay, Abby," Kate said, a huge grin on her face. "It's the best welcome I've had all day."
"Wait, you mean Tony and McGee didn't hug you?"
Kate's face fell. "No."
"I'll take care of that," Abby said, frowning.
"Later," Gibbs said, drawing her attention back to the case. "What have you got?"
"Ducky was right," she said, sailing over to her computer and tapping a few keys. A new screen popped up. "I compared the DNA sample Ducky sent over with the one on file for Keener. It wasn't a direct match, but it was a familial match."
"So, that could be Keener's brother in the morgue?" Kate asked.
"Seven alleles in common," Abby confirmed, "so I'd say so."
"Which means Keener could still be alive," Gibbs observed.
"That I couldn't tell you," Abby said. "What I can tell you is that our dead brother didn't have any drugs in his system at all."
"Nothing?" Kate asked. "Not even chemo drugs?"
"Nope," Abby said. "I processed a sample of his hair and didn't find any traces of the standard chemo drugs, or any other drugs, for that matter."
"Could be motive," Gibbs said.
"He was going to sell the weapons to make money for his brother's cancer treatment?" Kate speculated. "Sounds a bit far-fetched."
"Let's find him first," Gibbs said. "Then maybe we can ask him. Get anything from the car?"
Abby shook her head. "I haven't had the chance to process it yet. I'll let you know if I find anything."
"You do that," he said.
He stepped a few feet away and pulled out his phone, dialing a familiar number.
"So, what are you doing tonight?" Abby asked, bouncing on her feet in her excitement.
"Probably passing out," Kate said as she watched Gibbs talking to Tony or Ziva most likely. "I took a redeye last night. Didn't sleep much."
"Come out with me, first," Abby said. "We'll go to Sartucci's like we used to."
Kate looked at Abby, taking in her excitement and her huge grin. If she were honest, she'd missed the younger woman, more than she'd ever imagined she could. They'd all become her family in the short time she'd been at NCIS, more so than the family she was born into.
"Sure," she said, relenting. "I've still gotta eat, right?"
"Right," Abby said, beaming.
"Let's go, Kate," Gibbs said as he flipped his phone closed. He crossed to where the two women were still standing, and leaned in to kiss Abby on the forehead, a tender expression softening his face for just a second. "Thanks, Abs."
And then he was out the door.
"I'll come find you later," Abby said.
Kate gave a smile and a wave, and followed Gibbs out the door.
~o~
Tony jogged across the street to join Ziva on the front walk of the two-story row house, just as she was closing her phone. She dropped it into the pocket of her NCIS jacket and hitched the backpack on her shoulder a little higher. Thankfully, she'd dressed casually in chino's and a cotton long-sleeved shirt that day. The better to search a stranger's home in.
"That Gibbs?" he asked.
Ziva nodded. "He says the dead body BPD found is not Keener, though it is a familial match."
"So, probably the brother. Makes sense," he said. He jerked his head behind him, indicating the old lady watching through her front window. "The neighbor across the street says she'd seen the guy who owns this house coming and going at all different times a couple of weeks ago, sometimes wearing different clothes. She asked him about it, and he said he'd been picking up extra shifts at the factory he works at. Said he sometimes took an extra set of clothes if he was going to be pulling a double. But she says nobody's been home the last few days."
"So, she could have been seeing both brothers and not realized it," Ziva speculated.
"Could be," Tony said. "C'mon. Let's go see what we can find."
They walked up the steps onto the front porch. Ziva rooted around in her backpack and pulled out a small, zippered case, intending to pick the lock.
"Hold up a sec," Tony said.
He reached up and ran a finger along the top of the doorjamb. Bringing it back down, he looked at the dirt he'd picked up and grimaced. "That's disgusting."
"Tony, what are you looking for?"
"The spare key," he said as he stepped back and looked for any potted plants while he brushed the dirt off his hand. "Despite rising crime rates, people seem to still believe the best of their fellow man." Finally, he lifted a corner of the welcome mat. "Aha!" he exclaimed.
Slipping the key into the lock, he turned it and the door swung open. They dropped their gear on the front porch and unholstered their guns, moving through the house a room at a time, checking for occupants. When they'd cleared the whole house, they returned to the front room.
"It would seem that no one is home," Ziva observed.
"Well, if Keener is still alive, and if he knows his brother is dead, this is the last place he'd want to be," Tony said.
Picking up their kits from the porch, they returned to the living room. They each pulled on latex gloves and began to move around, looking for anything that would give them a clue as to what was going on.
Ziva watched Tony out of the corner of her eye. She had noticed that he seemed a little off. A lot off, in fact. Not surprising, considering he'd just found out that an old friend and colleague had not been killed in the line of duty as he'd believed for the last five years. Still, she felt the need to say something.
"Are you well, Tony?" she called out as he moved across the living room and into the dining area.
"I'm fine," he said. "Looks like one of them had a laptop. I'll bag it up and take it with us. Maybe McGeek can find something on it."
"It is just that you looked like a boar in the headlights this morning," she said.
"Deer," Tony said absently, as he sorted through a pile of mail on the kitchen counter.
"Tony, I would prefer if you called me by my name."
"Huh?" he asked. Catching on, he shook his head. "No, Ziva, it's 'deer in the headlights'."
Sorting through a stack of magazines and other assorted mail on the coffee table, she observed, "These are all addressed to the same person: the brother. It would appear that if Keener were here, he told no one." She paused, then pursued her other line of questioning. "It is nothing to be ashamed of. I would feel the same way if I had seen a ghoul."
"It's 'ghost', not 'ghoul'," he said, frustration creeping into his voice. "And I actually did see one today."
"That explains the shock," she said, "but not the anger."
"What, I can't be angry?" he asked as he looked over the pictures stuck to the refrigerator, and she could hear the restraint he put into that statement. Pulling them down, he crossed the room and handed the stack to her. "That may be why we couldn't tell the difference between them."
Ziva looked at the two men in the picture on top. They stood with identical smiles, arms slung over each other's shoulders. "They appear to be twins."
"Yeah," he said. He crossed back to the entry, pulling open the doors to the armoire that stood just inside the door while Ziva bagged the pictures. Tony riffled through the jackets, pulling one out. The tag inside held a familiar name. He held it out for Ziva to see. "Keener's jacket."
"So, he was here," she said. Tony set the jacket on the chair opposite the door and resumed his search. Ziva stared for a moment at his back. He was angrier than he had a right to be if Kate really were just a friend. Which left her with only one conclusion. "I believe you are carrying a flashlight for her."
Tony stiffened, then turned around slowly. "It's 'torch', not flashlight," he ground out. "And that's the third idiom you've mangled in the last fifteen minutes. Is there a point to all this? 'Cuz right now, I'm not seeing one."
"Tony, I watched you mourn Kate when you thought she had died," she said, glad her intentional slip-ups had the desired effect. "And though I never saw you cry, I believe you felt her loss more keenly than Gibbs or McGee. Whenever you speak of her, it is with a great deal of affection. You may be able to fool the others, but not me. You were in love with her, and I believe you still are."
Tony's eyes flashed, and for a moment she thought he was going to yell at her or storm out of the room. Instead, he deflated a little, dropping his head and closing his eyes to regain his composure. When he'd succeeded, he looked up at her, meeting her eyes. She nearly gasped at the sorrow she saw there.
"If I loved her so much," he said quietly, "how come I didn't know she was alive?"
Ziva took a step forward. "You could not have known. You saw her get shot. There was no reason to doubt what you had seen, or what you had been told by those you trusted."
He sighed. "I wish I could believe that. But if I really loved her—if I really had that kind of connection with her—I should have known. I should have felt it in my gut, and I didn't."
And with that, he turned and walked up the stairs. Ziva watched as he reached the top and disappeared around the corner. His shoulders were slumped, and his steps were measured but listless. She'd hoped that getting it out in the open would help him deal with his anger. Now, she wasn't so sure. But, not knowing any other way to help fix it, she promised herself that she would be there for him if he ever decided he needed to talk.
In the meantime, she had work to do. Taking a deep breath to clear her head, she set about bagging up the evidence they'd already found.
~o~
"Let's go, "Gibbs said as he made his way through the bullpen.
Tony and Ziva, who had just returned from searching Craig Keener's house, both looked up, as did Kate, seated at Ziva's desk. She'd been trying to find information on someone local who'd be interested in buying experimental weapons, but without much success.
"Where to, Boss?" Tony asked.
"MTAC," Gibbs said. "Got a call coming in."
Kate stood, glancing over to find McGee's desk empty. She hadn't realized he'd gone, she'd been so focused. Her gaze shifted to Ziva, standing on the other side of her desk.
"Sorry about the desk," she said a little sheepishly.
"Do not be," Ziva said. "I was not using it. And it did used to belong to you."
Kate smiled. "Here, let me take your bags."
Ziva handed over her gear, and Kate stowed it behind the desk before following the rest of the team.
"So, we're still using 'MTAC'?" she asked Ziva as they walked.
"Multiple Threat Alert Center," Ziva said, nodding. "We still use it to monitor threats worldwide. The video equipment has been upgraded considerably since your… departure; it is now state of the art."
"At least some things haven't changed," Kate said.
"I have found it a most valuable tool," Ziva said, her tone of voice suggesting she was impressed.
Kate smiled at Ziva. It was nice of her to be so kind about the reason she left NCIS. She found herself liking the other woman, even though she knew almost nothing about her.
They pushed through the door, following Gibbs inside.
"What've we got, McGee?" he called out as the group gathered in front of the big screen.
"Call coming in from Twenty-Nine Palms," McGee reported from his seat at the control console.
The NCIS logo on the screen flickered, and then was replaced by a very familiar, smiling face. Familiar, at least, to one person in the room.
"Richter!" Kate exclaimed, slightly surprised to be seeing her Senior Field Agent, and even more confused at where he was calling from.
"Hey, Boss," he said. "Sorry to surprise you, but I got some information I thought y'all could use."
Kate recovered herself, and smiled at her right-hand man, something that didn't escape Tony's notice.
"Gibbs," she said, turning to her old boss, "this is Special Agent Marcus Richter, my Senior Field Agent. Richter, meet Special Agent in Charge Leroy Jethro Gibbs."
"Sir, it's nice to finally put a face to the name," Richter said.
"She tell you about me?" Gibbs asked, glancing over at Kate, who had started to blush.
"Yes, sir," he confirmed with a nod. "Says everything she knows she learned from you. Then she taught it to me."
Gibbs smiled. "Good."
Kate's blush climbed all the way to her hairline, causing Richter to chuckle. "Never could take a compliment," he said.
"Funny, Richter," she said, shaking her head. "I'm guessing you've already met McGee?
"Yep, he helped me get this call set up."
"Ah, then this is Probationary Special Agent Ziva David," she said, indicating the woman standing to her left. She pointed to the only other person in the room, standing on Gibbs' other side. "And that's Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo."
"Agent David, Agent DiNozzo," Richter greeted each one. His gaze lingered just a bit longer on Ziva, and she tilted her head questioningly, earning a flash of a smile from Richter before he moved on.
Tony noticed the whole exchange. He didn't like how friendly the guy had become after just a few seconds.
"If you're done with the niceties, maybe you could tell us why you called," Gibbs said, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Right," Richter said. "Well, as you know, Staff Sergeant Keener's unit was scheduled to train up at Fort Irwin for three days, right around the time that Keener's detail went missing. The CO didn't want to interrupt their training so we could interview them. They just got back yesterday, so I choppered out to talk to them. I also took the opportunity to search their quarters."
"What'd you find out?" Kate asked, taking the lead.
"The CO wasn't much help," Richter said. "Said he didn't notice anything unusual in the days leading up to the training exercise. He told me he talked to his men and they had no idea what was going on."
"But you didn't buy that," Kate said, smiling.
"Rule #8, Boss," he said. "Never take anything for granted."
Gibbs smiled. He saw Tony frowning out of the corner of his eye. Probably not happy that he was no longer the star pupil.
"So, what did his teammates say?" Gibbs asked, trying to move things along.
"Keener and his squad mates were tight-knit," Richter said. "Most of the unit was close, but these four seemed to be tighter than brothers. They were always hanging out, going places together. A couple of the guys said they remembered Keener and Roland joking at a BBQ once about how easy it would be to skim ordinance and sell it, especially right before a deployment."
"Probably figuring that the chaos before deployment would cover any discrepancies," Tony put in.
"Right," Richter agreed. "But as for specific plans, if these four had any, they didn't share with the rest of the team."
"Sounds like Keener was the instigator," McGee observed.
"That's the sense I got from the men I talked to," Richter said.
"Anything else?" Kate asked.
"We searched their on-base quarters," he said. "Nothing unusual about the other three. They were already packed and ready for deployment. Keener's stuff was mostly cleared out, though. We did find this in the bottom of his trunk."
Richter hit a few keys on the keyboard in front of him, and a picture appeared in a split screen with him. It was a picture of Staff Sergeant Keener and his brother with a young woman about their age standing between them, their arms linked. All three were sporting huge grins.
"Who is the woman?" Ziva asked.
"Don't know," Richter said, shaking his head. "None of his bunkmates knew either. They did say he'd been on vacation earlier this year. Spent a week in Ireland. When he got back, he spent a lot of time on the phone and emailing. Maybe he was talking to her."
"Girlfriend, maybe?" Tony suggested.
"Can you send us a copy of the photo?" Kate asked.
"On its way," he said, nodding to someone behind him.
"Anything else we need to know?" Gibbs asked.
"That's it for now," Richter said. "If we find out anything else, I'll let you know."
"Good job, Richter," Gibbs said.
"Thanks, sir," he said, smiling.
Richter's gaze slid to Kate. "Let me know if you need anything else, Boss."
"Thanks, Marcus," she said.
Just before the transmission cut, she could see his gaze shift to Ziva, that familiar spark in his eye. She glanced to her side to find Ziva blushing slight. Kate smiled. It was…interesting, to say the least. Then, she caught Tony's expression and all good humor fled. He was angry, that much she could see. She sighed. It seemed that her relationship with Tony would be the one permanent casualty of the whole affair.
Gibbs turned and walked from the room, the rest filing out after him. They headed for the bullpen, finding Abby waiting for them. She was sitting behind Gibbs' desk, spinning in his chair like a little kid.
"There you are!" She exclaimed. She jumped up from Gibbs' chair and marched over to Kate. "I thought you'd bailed on me."
"We were in MTAC," Kate explained.
Abby could see that something was bothering her friend. But when she cocked her head and opened her mouth to say something, Kate gave an imperceptible shake of her head, and Abby let it go.
Spinning around, she addressed their leader instead. "Gibbs, I'm going to steal Kate for dinner."
"I still need to check in to my hotel, Abby," Kate said.
"Go ahead," Gibbs said, looking between the two women. "Not much else we can do here."
"Cool. I'll drive," Abby said. She spun around and hooked her arm into Kate's. Ziva smiled and lifted Kate's purse from under the desk, handing it across to the other woman. "You wanna come with, Ziva?" Abby asked.
Ziva looked between the two women. "You would not mind?"
"Of course not," Kate said, brightening up some. "You and Abby can fill me in on all the dirt."
McGee, who'd followed them out of MTAC, groaned. Ziva just laughed. Tony watched as the women walked away, Abby chattering happily between the two women. He felt a twinge of jealousy, followed hard by another flash of anger.
Gibbs, who'd seen the emotions chase across his face, walked by and smacked Tony on the back of his head. "Go home, DiNozzo."
"Ow," Tony said, rubbing the spot where his hand had impacted his head. "Yes, Boss."
"You too, McGee," Gibbs called out as he left.
Tim watched as Tony silently gathered his things and left. He didn't know what was going on, but as he pulled his coat on and readied to leave, he suspected it was going to make things rough over the coming days.
~o~
"So McGee is standing in the middle of the bullpen," Ziva explained, to much laughter, "looking much like a drowned cat—"
"Drowned rat," Abby and Kate said at the same moment, setting off more hysterical laughter.
"And, to be fair, Ziva," Abby said when she'd recovered some, "you were just as soaked as he was."
Ziva tried to look indignant, but failed miserably when her face broke into a grin. "For which I took much…ribbing, yes?"
"Ribbing, yes," Kate confirmed. "And I'd believe that. Tony must have been insufferable for days."
"He was," Ziva said, rolling her eyes. "Even Mossad agents are not infallible. I tried to explain to him that we were so focused on the map that we did not see the man in the shadows until he pushed us into the fountain."
"Wouldn't matter to Tony," Kate said, taking a sip of her wine. "The fact that someone got the jump on you, the famed Mossad agent…well, I can see him lording it over you for weeks."
"Do not think that I did not eventually get my revenge," Ziva said slyly.
"What did you do?" Kate asked.
Ziva and Abby shared a conspiratorial gaze. "That is a story for another time."
The three women had been at the restaurant for nearly three hours, talking and laughing in a quiet corner the entire time. They'd demolished three plates of pasta and a whole bottle of wine in that time. It had been wonderful for Kate. She had missed so much, but listening to Abby and Ziva made her feel as if she'd been there for it all.
Abby downed the remains of her wine, and stood up. "I'll be right back. Don't tell any more funny stories until I get back."
Kate smiled and watched as Abby flounced away toward the restrooms. "I've missed her," she said, turning back to Ziva. She noticed a frown on the other woman's face. "What's wrong?"
Ziva took a deep breath. There'd been something on her mind all evening, and she needed to get it out in the open. "I believe I owe you an apology."
"Why?" Kate asked, thoroughly confused.
"How much do you know about Ari Haswari?" she asked.
Kate took in a sharp breath. The change in topic was almost as shocking as the topic itself. "I know he was a Mossad agent posing as a Hamas terrorist. And I know his motives got a little…confused at the end."
"That is, I believe you Americans say, an understatement," Ziva said darkly.
"Why do you ask?"
"I was his control officer," Ziva admitted. "I was sent here to stop him, by whatever means necessary."
"In other words, you were sent here to kill him," Kate said. She frowned. Did she blame Ziva for what happened? Did she want to? Truth was, she'd come to understand a long time ago that Ari had done what he wanted, without regard for anyone else. "What happened wasn't your fault, Ziva. You couldn't control him anymore than I could control Tony."
"Perhaps not, but nor did I believe he had deserted his mission," she admitted. "It was my intention to help him leave the country and then deal with him when we returned to Israel."
"But he got to me first," Kate finished for her. "Look, I know you feel he betrayed you, but it was his choice. He had a mission, and he decided to forsake the mission for some personal vendetta. That doesn't make it any easier to take, but it doesn't make what happened your responsibility, either."
"Yes, he betrayed me," Ziva said, and the hurt and anger flashed in her eyes for just a moment. "But not only because I was his control officer. Ari was my brother as well."
"Your brother?" Kate asked, shocked.
"My father had an affair with a Palestinian doctor," Ziva explained, averting her eyes briefly. She was not proud of her family's past. "Ari was the result. He believed that our father did it in order to use him as a tool against the Palestinian Authority."
"Which is why he seemed to have such a grudge against Gibbs," Kate suddenly realized. "He saw Gibbs as the same sort of man as his father: someone who used those around him as a means to an end. It made it easier for him to attack us because he saw it as a way to right a wrong."
"I believe so," Ziva said. "I should have realized it and stopped him before it went so far."
"Ziva, I made peace with what happened a long time ago."
"But—"
"I know, I lost a lot," Kate said before Ziva could finish the thought. "But that isn't your fault. It's Ari's fault. And the sooner you stop trying to take responsibility for what happened, the happier you'll be. You can't change the past, so stop trying to live in it."
Ziva paused, considering her words. She'd thought they had been happy as children, but she'd realized after Ari's death that he'd been unhappy for as long as she could remember. Perhaps he'd been planning his actions for longer than she'd realized. She shook her head. Those were thoughts for another time, when she was alone and could consider them more fully.
"He died at my hand," Ziva admitted quietly, bringing herself back to the present. "Both the Navy and Mossad believe Gibbs was the one to pull the trigger. He tried to kill Gibbs, but I could not let that happen."
Kate glanced across the room, seeing Abby making her way back from the restrooms. She turned to Ziva and took her hand, squeezing it. "You did what you had to do. And for that, I'm grateful. I don't think I could have survived, knowing that Ari had succeeded in killing any one of us. So, thank you." She paused, then offered an olive branch. "And for what it's worth, I do forgive you, even if you can't forgive yourself."
She released Ziva's hand, watching the shock fade from her face. "Thank you," she whispered as Abby rejoined them.
"What happened?" Abby asked, taking in the serious expressions on the faces of her two companions.
"Nothing," Kate said, brightening up. "We were just…settling some old family business."
"You weren't fighting over Tony, were you?" Abby asked.
Ziva, who had just taken a sip of her water, nearly spit it out all over the table. "Abby!"
Abby gave a huge, unrepentant grin. "Gotcha!"
Kate grinned as Ziva mopped up her chin, frowning at their friend. Then a thought struck her, and she knew she had the perfect revenge. "Speaking of our unnaturally handsome teammates, what's the deal with Gibbs?"
"With Gibbs?" Abby asked, suddenly uncomfortable. "Nothing's up with Gibbs. I don't know what you're talking about."
Ziva watched Abby squirm in her seat and caught on to Kate's game. She slid her gaze over to the other woman, who winked at her. She smiled back, knowing just what to do.
"Yes, Abby," she chimed in. "I have been wondering the same thing."
"I don't—I mean—there's nothing—" Abby sputtered. Then her eyes narrowed in Kate's direction. "This from the woman who has the hots for Special Agent Richter."
Kate glanced at Ziva, noticing that woman blushing slightly. "I think you mean Ziva has the hots for Richter. But we're not talking about him. We were talking about you and Gibbs. I'd have expected you two to be sleeping in a coffin built for two by now."
Abby fidgeted a little, then sagged in her chair. She propped her elbows up on the table and landed her chin in her hands. "He still sees me as this wild goth chic. A young, wild goth chic."
"I don't think so, Abby," Kate said. "I saw the way he looked at you in the lab today. And you'll notice that he doesn't kiss either of us. Just you."
"That's 'cuz he sees me like his daughter," Abby said glumly.
"I believe Kate is right," Ziva said. "I have observed the two of you in my time with NCIS. He treats you differently than the rest of us. We are like his children. You are…something else."
"It doesn't matter anyway," Abby said, sitting back in her chair. "He's still mourning Shannon and Kelly."
"Shannon and Kelly?" Kate asked.
Ziva and Abby looked at each other. Abby lifted one shoulder, leaving the decision to Ziva. Turning to Kate, she explained. "Gibbs' first wife was a woman named Shannon; they had a daughter named Kelly. They were both killed by a Mexican drug lord many years ago."
"Oh, god," Kate said, covering her mouth with her fingers. "It's no wonder he never talked about it. That must have been awful."
"You don't know the partial of it," Ziva said.
"Half," Kate said, absently. She wondered for a moment whether that was what she saw whenever Gibbs and Abby were together: a father with a surrogate for the daughter he lost. She shook her head. "No, that's not it. I don't get a father-daughter vibe from him whenever you're together in the same room. It's more like this is as much as he thinks he's—maybe entitled to."
"Or perhaps he does not believe that Abby could see him as anything other than a father-figure," Ziva suggested.
"Really?" Abby asked, perking up some.
Kate glanced at Ziva, smiling slightly. She turned back to Abby. "You wanna find out?"
Abby leaned forward. "Find out how?"
"Try this," Kate said, leaning forward as well. Ziva leaned in to hear better, making them look like they were in the lunch room at junior high, telling secrets. "The next time he goes to peck you on the cheek, change the angle of your face so he gets your mouth instead."
"Are you serious?" Abby exclaimed, sitting up straight. "I couldn't do that! What would he think?"
"I believe that is the point, Abby," Ziva pointed out, leaning back. "You would gain valuable insight into his level of interest in you by his reaction to the kiss."
"Exactly," Kate said. "If he's still mourning his family, or if I'm wrong and he's really not interested, he'll back off. But if not…don't you owe it to yourself to find out?"
"She is right," Ziva said. "You do not want to go on with life, wondering if you could have done something differently. Regrets are unmerciful companions."
Ziva and Kate's eyes met, and a moment of understanding passed between them. Abby started chattering again, and the moment was lost. Kate had a feeling, though, that she'd made a friend that she wouldn't lose, no matter what.
"…and Tony would be together by now," she was saying.
"I'm sorry, what did you say?" Kate asked.
"I said I thought you and Tony would have gotten together tonight," Abby said.
"Tony hasn't spoken to me since I arrived this morning," Kate said quietly, looking away.
"Is it because of Richter?" Abby asked.
Kate's head popped up. "Marcus?"
"Oh, so it's Marcus, now?" Abby asked. "What's the deal with you two, anyway?"
"I'm his boss," Kate said dismissively. "There's nothing else going on. Besides, I saw Ziva and Marcus making eyes at each other in MTAC."
"Oooh," Abby said, rubbing her hands together. "Really?"
"We were doing no such thing," Ziva stated.
"But you do like him," Abby said, glancing at Kate.
"I do not know him, Abby," Ziva said, shifting uncomfortably. "So how can I know whether I like him or not?"
"So, come out to San Diego for a long weekend," Kate suggested. "We can hang out, and then you can find out if there's something there."
"Wait, you're not staying?" Abby asked Kate. "But, I thought—"
"Abby, I have a team in San Diego," Kate reminded her gently. "I'm here until we solve the case, but then I have to go back."
"But you and Tony—"
"Used to be friends," Kate said, and she couldn't hide the sadness in her voice. "But that was a long time ago." Abby opened her mouth to say something, but Kate beat her to it. "It's okay, Abby. I'm just glad I have you back. You don't know how much I missed you."
"I missed you, too, Kate," Abby said, sniffling a little.
Ziva watched the exchange with interest. She didn't know Kate well, but she could see that Tony had once meant a great deal to her. She considered telling her what Tony had said earlier, but held her tongue. For as dear as Abby was, she didn't think Kate would want to talk about him with the younger woman present.
Their conversation drifted to safer topics, but soon enough the day began to catch up with Kate. The women said their goodbyes, then put her in a cab before heading home themselves. It was a better end to the day than she'd hoped for, or even expected, but even she knew the good times wouldn't last long.
...continued...