Strange Strangers 3

To say you needed a spare set of eyes when working on Team Gibbs is an understatement. Every time I was about to turn around, I had to look over my shoulder beforehand because I was afraid of bumping into Gibbs again.

"Hey," Tony got my attention.

Hey? Hey? I do have a name though. "Yes," I decided to take the non confrontational response.

"Put up some of the pictures on the plasma so you can familiarize yourself with the case," Tony said. "You do have plasma screens in Australia?" He asked. I was sure he was just trying to bait me… Well if he's going to enjoy him self then so will I.

"Yeah, we have all the modern cons in WA. We've even upgraded from holes in the ground and actually got toilets outside now," I smiled at him to dare him to bait me further. But there still had to be a small amount of caution when dealing with DiNozzo… I know he's a crafty bugger… I'll just have to watch my back. I swiped the remote controller from McGee's desk and studied it. There were more buttons than they showed on the show. McGee only pressed one or two buttons ever. This thing looked like a three in one remote.

There was only one way to find the right button and that was to try them all. Alright, I have this terrible urge to press buttons. Whenever I play a game, I just have to have my characters press a button. I just can't help it… What does this button do? That'd be a question that I'm sure will get me into trouble some day. Well here goes…

Right… There was nothing happening at first. Until I noticed all the lights in the bullpen had been turned off. They have a button for that? How convenient. I pressed another button.

"Love shack… Baby. Baby, Love Shack," singing could be heard over the PA system. What? I quickly pressed another button. "Come on, come on, come on Baby now… Twist and shout!" I almost dropped the damn thing trying to turn it off.

I heard snickering coming from behind me. It was either McGee or Tony. "I thought you said you had plasmas in Australia," Tony just had to make the comment.

"It's not my fault," I defended myself. "This is an American remote… It's crap," I told him. That had to be the reason why everything was going all screwy.

"Hey don't blame the equipment," McGee said as he typed away at the computer.

"It is crap!" I raised my voice. After turning all the lights back on and turning the music off. Why would they have a button on the plasma remote that turns on music? I don't think anybody had said that NCIS was down to Earth but this was really, really something odd. "There we go," I declared triumphantly. I looked through the photographs and information. It was hard to take in all the information. How the hell did they fit so much information on a small photograph? It seemed almost illogical. I read over it a few times to retain the important information.

"So have we got anything to go on?" I asked hopefully.

"Well we did have that house under surveillance… That's a strong lead," Tony said. "Oh wait a minute! That plan was stuffed up by someone in this room! I won't mention names but it's the guy looking at the plasma screen!" Tony raised his voice.

Oh man, I was never going to let it down was I? "So Ziva? When will be the best time for a driving lesson?" I asked. It was a ploy to get rid of that damn accusation from Tony. I don't care how true it was.

"What on your bike?" Ziva asked.

"On my Kawasaki nin-ja," I said, saying the ninja part excitedly.

"Ooh, ninja assassin riding a ninja," Tony said with a laugh.

I had to cough to stop myself from smiling. It was so funny to see how they interacted. "Well, how about now?" Ziva said with a mischievous grin that frankly frightened me. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. Perhaps, I should've asked someone else. Anyway, too late to back out now.

Outside The Navy Yard

"So, you drive too defensively?" Ziva asked me. "Why?"

Ziva hopped onto the bike and I sat on the back with my arms wrapped around her waist. "I guess I figure if I go too fast I might hurt myself or someone else," I answered her. Well that was the truth. I didn't want to tell her that I've never driven on the streets before. Well my driving lessons weren't too good a memory to have. But I'm sure nobody wants to hear about them.

"Hang on tight," Ziva said. "I am going to give you a crash course," she donned the helmet.

I gulped. "Bad choice of words Ziva," I shouted.

"What?" Ziva shouted back.

"A crash course in driving isn't something I want to have," I told her.

"I will show you that you can go very fast and not get you or anyone else hurt, right?" Ziva asked. I don't think she got what I was trying to say. I must've nodded because she started the engine.

The cars soon became a blur as my motorbike reached speeds I'd never dreamed of going. Buildings blurred past and so did people. It was scary with the eyes open, but I dared not close them. Where the hell did Ziva learn to drive anyway? She turned the corner without decelerating too much. I was very thankful when Ziva stopped after about a hellraising half hour.

"There, was that so bad? We are in one piece," Ziva said.

I felt like falling to my knees and kissing the ground or throwing up. One of the two. Thankfully, I did neither one. "No, it wasn't too bad," I answered.

"Next time… Do not hold on so tight," Ziva told me. "I think you have sharp nails no?"

I gave her a smile and donned my helmet and took the front. "So, basically I ride like a madman, don't care if I live or die. Don't care if someone else lives or dies. It's just like Vice City," I said to her. The visor hid my own evil grin.

"If it means a more aggressive form of driving… Then yes, just like Vice City," I was sure Ziva didn't have a clue what Vice City was or else she would've never said that.

I revved up the Ninja… The Ninja bike that is. And soon accelerated down the street. My heart felt like it was beating as fast as the bike was going. It was tough to get through that barrier of fear. But I guess then, showboating took over and I even took the corner very fast. I just managed to dodge a couple of blurry objects.

"Turn left!" I heard Ziva shout frantically as I turned right.

"Oh FRAK!" I shouted as I just turned right into a one way street and was now heading into oncoming traffic. There was no time to think. I quickly rode onto the footpath and caused many people to squeal in panic, including me. Fortunately they took the option of getting out of my way. I hit a bump and ended up doing a wheelie for a few meters. "Yee-ha!" I screamed at the top of my lungs before I managed to get the bike back onto two wheels.

"Look out!" Ziva tapped me on the shoulder.

Unfortunately, I instinctively turned around to see what she wanted. The bike turned the same way as I looked and when I looked back, the bike straightened. It was shocking to figure out that it looked as if I had expertly dodged a table. "I think I should get back on the road!" I yelled.

"No!" Ziva shouted again.

"This is fun!" I shouted as people managed to get out of my way before I was back on the road going the same way as the traffic. Now I felt more relax. It must be true what they say… Exposure cures fears. The bike came to a screeching halt in the garage right in my parking spot. "Same time tomorrow for a lesson I smiled," it didn't go unnoticed that my legs were wobbling a bit.

"Are you ok? You look a little green around the bills," Ziva observed.

"Gills. That is gills Ziva," I corrected automatically.

"Ok, gills. But no, I do not think I will take you again. You already drive aggressively," she said as we got into the elevator. "Why did you turn right after I told you to turn left?" Ziva asked.

"You told me to turn left after I turned right," I defended myself. But it was fun wasn't it? I wondered if I'd be receiving a visit by the police or even receive traffic infringements in the mail.

"Did you not know that was a one way street?" Ziva asked me on the ride up.

"No," I answered truthfully.

"How long have you been in DC?"

"I arrived here yesterday," I answered her. Don't tell me I was getting drilled. The elevator doors finally opened and we went to the bullpen. "Plus it wasn't my fault. That was how you told me to do it," I said to her. McGee and Tony were listening to the conversation.

"I did not tell you to drive like that," Ziva responded.

"When I mentioned Vice City, you said sure like that," I reminded her. "So I honestly did what she had told me to… To drive like I'd drive in Vice City," I said with a sly smile.

"You know what this maniac did?" Ziva asked, she pointed to me. I was on the way to the desk hidden behind the wall next to McGee's own desk. "He turns into oncoming traffic then rides on the footpath on one wheel," Ziva continued her explanation.

"You told me to drive like I was in Vice City," I told her loudly.

"I do not know what is Vice City. What is this Vice City anyway?" Ziva asked.

"It's a game where you do missions for people, crash cars, drive around and kill as many people as you can in the shortest amount of time," I explained to her. "Kind of like you and Mossad," again the words escaped before I could stop them. I gulped hard. Damn it Fic! Why can't you think before you open your mouth?

There was an unearthly silence. My words had managed to silence the bullpen. It was as if the whole world had stopped. "And what you think I am Mossad?" Ziva asked. She did not look too happy about that label. "And how do you know?" The tone was full of accusation. I really had put my foot in it this time.

"I got it!" Tony exclaimed loudly. "Agent Tionnaire here is a spy… He is Jenny's Lackey," he said.

"Now wait a minute… This isn't one of McGee's books," I said.

"How the hell do you know so much about us?" Tony asked in an annoyed tone. He stood to full height. Damn it, Tony could tower over everybody. Well, tower over me anyway. "Have you been spying on us?" He demanded an answer.

"No," I shook my head violently. How the hell was I supposed to get out of this one?

"Then how do you know so much about us? And you do refer to us like you've known us for a long time when you have just arrived," Ziva added to the unofficial interrogation.

"Yeah," Tony added. Three sets of eyes were now on me. I could feel the tension rising or maybe it was just me. Now I had the appreciation of the comedians on the improvisation show, Thank God You're Here feel like. I had to think quickly.

"I'm psychic," I declared proudly. Of course it was a lie, but if you say anything with such conviction, it'd actually make people second guess what they believe. Plus it wasn't as if they never had anything really weird happen to them.

"Yeah right," Tony went back to his desk. I'm sure he was going to keep a close eye on me. That was obvious.

"I can prove it to you," I brought my forefingers up to my temples and closed my eyes as if I was concentrating. "Give me a moment," I said. My act was interrupted by the smell of coffee. "Hi Gibbs," I said casually. I opened my eyes and saw Gibbs standing before me with that usual gruff look on his face.

"What are you doing?" Gibbs asked me.

"Displaying my amazing psychic ability," I said all too cheerfully. This must've really annoyed him because he raised his hand and slapped me on the back of the head. "Hey, that hurt," I rubbed the back of my head.

"You shoulda seen that coming," Gibbs said. "Gear up," he told us all.

"Dead Petty Officer," I put in. I was intent on showing off my skills. But technically it was just playing the law of averages. In NCIS there was always a dead petty officer somewhere.

"Gear up… Get moving," Gibbs was already heading towards the elevator.

"Does he hit you that hard?" I asked Tony.

"He hits everyone hard," Tony answered as he picked up his bag.

"That explains a lot," at least this time I stopped myself from saying something else. The last comment went unnoticed as we entered the elevator. I was actually getting excited to be seeing a body? Man, that sounds sick. But this was going to be my first crime scene. God, I hope I don't do something to screw it up. But there was this niggly feeling that something bad was sure to occur.