"Why are you wearing an earpiece?"

"Oh, that's for the banquet manager." Suzanne flipped a premade screen of the room layout. "See? We're inventorying electronically to return back to the rental agency." She pointed at Tony and Tim. All three were similarly equipped.

She'd make a good field agent, thought Gibbs.

Suzanne made the perfect decoy—noticeable without being noticed as an agent. Their lead was at an embassy event, and she was just the bartender/hostess in red. The guests assumed she was one of the regular employees. Suzanne walked into the ballroom, tray in hand and dispensing cocktails. The earpiece resembled a Bluetooth element and the cellphone was indeed a cellular device but with a camera. She circulated around the room, analyzing the situation. Several times Suzanne's appearance distracted the man, Zheng Dao. He was the potential subject, a Chinese Ambassador, chatting with others in his native Mandarin.

"Got me, Gibbs?" Suzanne whispered. Gibbs observed her from a secured room with Leon. The camera captured Suzanne's frame—her noticeable physique—at the precise moment she prompted the question.

"Oh yeah…looking good, McNamara."

"Kàn tā de xiōngbù!" –You are sexy…

"Oh, please…" Suzanne muttered. "As if you have a shot."

"McNamara…" Gibbs growled. "You're catching the bait."

"I wish I knew what he was saying." Tony groaned, Suzanne standing alongside with Tim.

"Wǒ zhīdào yǒuxiē zhōngguó rén.-" I speak a little Chinese. "And he is an absolute pig!"

"McNamara, continue to circulate." Gibbs ordered.

He finally made the move once she made hers—a seductive reach for a bottle.

"Oh, I know he's looking…" Suzanne commented.

"You know it." Gibbs responded. "Heads up, 11 o'clock."

"Wǒ néng dàilǐng nǐ de nǚhái."

"Whoa…got something, Gibbs." She walked into the storage area. "Mentioned something about the girls…and adding me to the collection. Oh, Hell, no!"

"Keep him talking, McNamara."

"How?"

"Use what the Lord gave you."

"I don't like where this is going…"

Suzanne returned from the kitchen with additional mixed drinks. She mingled around, eventually going back to the Chinese Ambassador. She remained cool, as Gibbs and the team suggested. Not once she led on that she understood the Mandarin language or that her official title was "Mini NCIS Agent."

"More champagne?" Suzanne carried the tray like a professional. The perfume lingered in the air. The Ambassador picked up the glass, smiling at her.

"Thank you."

Suzanne walked away subtlety, with slow strides. She continued to work around the bar area, chatting with individuals and mixing drinks. The Ambassador came over and placed a large bill into the tip jar.

"Five minutes of your time?" The man extended his hand, helping Suzanne from behind the bar and into his range.

"So, what time do you leave tonight?"

"Around 9." Suzanne responded. "I have to clean up. Then, I need to go home and study. School night."

"Ah…student?"

Suzanne nodded, smiled, shyly, as usual. It was her sign of weakness, or so she thought. Gibbs continued to observe upstairs. Tony and Tim mingled around as bartenders. She snared the person of interest.

"Atta-girl, Suz!" He mumbled. "Keep him interested, baby."

"Baby?!" Tony repeated.

"Not now, DiNozzo."

"Well, can I take you out to dinner?"

"I think you should know my name first…" Suzanne walked towards the tables, clearing empty glasses.

"What is it?"

"Susan."

Sū shān, wǒ dǎsuàn ràng nǐ... Jīn wǎn. "Well, Susan: can I take you out to dinner after this gathering?"

"I need to shower and change." Suzanne faced the Ambassador's direction, subtlety crossed her legs. "Is it okay if I meet you at Renaldo's? Say 10 o'clock?"

"Hey, Susan. Please come to the bar." Tony paged, his request the right frequency for the Ambassador to hear. "I have a question about a mixed drink."

"Oh, I better help Tommy out." Suzanne pointed at the bar, smiled. "So I'll see you at 10…?"

"Jim." The Ambassador said. "My name is Jim."

Suzanne walked towards the bar, winked at the two male agents. The three continued in character—barkeep, bar back, and cocktail waitress—and shared intel.

The preliminary work took six weeks; Suzanne infiltrated and identified the source within an hour. The three walked upstairs carrying equipment, meeting Gibbs and Vance in the observation area.

"Risky move, Suzanne." Tim muttered. "He has an entourage."

"Listen: do you all want him or not?" Suzanne asked. "Then what's the plan, Tim? DiNozzo?" There was a moment of silence between the three, some static in the listening device. "That's what I thought."

"You don't have a weapon."

"I do. It's called attractiveness, DiNozzo." Suzanne gathered the trays, walked in front of the two gentlemen. "I'm like UPS—What can 'Sexy Brown' do for you today? You're about to get a lead."

Tim and Tony were speechless once they noticed Suzanne—really noticed Suzanne. Both Gibbs and Vance served the head slaps.

"As you were saying, Boss?" DiNozzo commented.

"McNamara, how are we going to catch him?" Gibbs asked.

"Well, he thinks Tony and Tim are my coworkers at the catering company. Let's continue the charade."

Simple as that?

"So have them at the bar with you, after hours cocktails?" Suzanne nodded. "Sounds like a decent enough plan."

"So I'll go home, shower, and change..."

"Do you need help?" Tim asked. Gibbs gave a head slap. "It's a legitimate question, Boss."

"I'll follow Suz home…" Gibbs replied. "You two…" He pointed at McGee and Tony. "Continue breaking down the bar—or pretend to get some more info." Gibbs glanced at his watch, then, wiggled a finger. "Grab your gear, Brown Sugar, and let's go."

Suzanne drove an old Jeep Wrangler, with personalized tags (MsEagle) and its tagline, "Taxation without Representation." She was one of the few people who actually lived in the District. A family vehicle once belonging to her father and then Sol, she inherited the car when she attended William and Mary. She was observed by some of Jim's associates.

"Wait a second." Suzanne stopped before the two left the building. "Let me walk out alone. You come out in exactly two minutes."

"Suz…"

"Trust me." Suzanne whispered. "There's someone else involved."

She noticed the black van parked away from hers. It was about 200 yards, and Suzanne distinctly remembered the truck closer to the parking lot. Her plates revealed her real name, her address. Suzanne walked out with bags and entered her car. She pretended she had car trouble. Jethro walked out at precisely two minutes, observing her reach for the jumper cables and raising the hood.

"Something wrong, ma'am?"

From the casual eye, Gibbs looked as if he's assisting. He pulled the work car in front of her jeep.

"A jeep." Gibbs said.

"1988 4 wheel drive, 5 speed transmission." Suzanne whispered. "My dad bought it when we moved to Virginia."

Her jeep started.

"Thank you."

"Wanna follow you home?" Gibbs yelled.

"No, thank you. I'll be okay." Suzanne pulled away, honking her horn and waving as a sign of thanks. Gibbs sat in the car for a moment, noticing the van pull away as well. Immediately Gibbs reached for his cellphone and dialed a number.

" Meet me at…" He shared Suzanne's address. "She's being tailed."

The truck passed by her residence. Suzanne parked in front of her home, checked her mail and opened her front door. Immediately, she reached for the main light switch.

"You work at the MTAC building."

God, I hope Gibbs get a gut to come back. Suzanne thought. Things that Daddy taught his daughter, besides the game poker, was to keep a poker face. Still frightened, Suzanne managed to keep cool, calm and collected.

"As a food service worker. I deliver food. I go to school."

"I'm disappointed in you, Miss McNamara." "And here I thought you were just an ordinary person, not a Federal Agent. Nice cover."

She sat her keys on her entry way table.

"First of all: what the hell are you doing in my house? Second, I'm not a Federal Agent." Suzanne said. She walked into the closet, hanged her coat, purse and kicked off her shoes. In a locked box underneath a shelf was one of her two weapons. One switch, she could retrieve it. She was not fearful and found it unnecessary to draw her weapon.

"I told you earlier, Jim. I'm a college student." She pointed at her book collection and backpack.

"Special Agent Gibbs...NCIS?"

"So?" Suzanne remained calm. "I ran into him. He jumped my jeep."

Suzanne walked into the kitchen to make coffee.

Suzanne made note of the height differential. She was five inches taller but 40 lbs lighter than her opponent. "I figure you've cut the phone lines, looked for anything that definitively traces me as an agent." Suzanne dismantled the bun hairstyle, freed her braided locks onto her shoulders.

"You had people follow me home. Are you disappointed?"

"I must admit I am." Jim said. "I need your help."

"What you need is a good reason why I shouldn't take out my 9 mm and shoot you." Suzanne sipped her coffee. "And breaking and entering won't make me cooperative."

Three sharp knocks vibrated from Suzanne's front door. Jim motioned for Suzanne to answer the door. "Come on with us, Ambassador!" Gibbs commanded, with Tim and Tony pointing their weapons on the Ambassador. Other agents came to handcuff.

"Please help me, Miss McNamara." The Ambassador pleaded, leaving her residence. Everyone left from inside the home to her stoop.

"I had an uneasy feeling all night." Tim commented.

"That's probably the liquor." Suzanne responded. "He claims a setup."

"What do you think?" Gibbs asked.

"Definitely, it's too neat how the information points to Ambassador Dao. We need to do the legwork."

Gibbs chuckled.

"We? No ma'am. You're off the case!" Gibbs looked at Suzanne. "I cannot date you and continually save your life."

Suzanne chuckled. "You just saved his; I own a 9 mm and a 38."