Gibbs would have talked to Abby if they hadn't been called into the field. The rest of the day and most of the evening was crime scene photos and sketches, gathering evidence and talking to witnesses, family members, friends and potential suspects. By 1915 everyone was beat and going home the only thing on their minds.

The next morning at 0615, Gibbs walked from his truck to the building. He'd had a tiring evening that ended with a phone call telling him about the meeting at the Pentagon. He was already planning on 1100 to question Wheeler's coworkers, but when he mentioned that, Vance told him 0800 in room 9999 and then hung up. No explanation at all about the time and room change and for just a second Gibbs considered whether O'Neill was behind it. It didn't matter. The team would be along by 0730 at the latest and then he'd take one of them with him to the meeting.

He entered the building and strolled to the security checkpoint, already reaching for his pocket items that needed to go through separately.

"I can't let you go through, Agent Gibbs."

Gibbs dropped the items into the bin and reached to remove his weapon.

"Agent Gibbs, I'm not allowed to let you into the building. I have orders."

What? Had he heard the man right? "Orders?" he asked incredulously.

"Yes, orders." The guard looked apologetic, but didn't waver. And his position to block Gibbs from trying to walk through the metal detector was enhanced by another NCIS security guard who came over from his place at the door.

He tried to act nonchalant about everything. "What's going on, guys?"

"Don't know. Just orders to keep you from entering the building until further notice."

Gibbs almost snorted before getting into the guard's personal space. "Who gave you that order?"

Simple answer. "Director Vance."

The man's breath smelled like peppermint and Gibbs glared into his steady brown eyes.

Finally, barely controlling his emotion, he softly growled, "When did you receive the order to bar me?"

"The order was posted last night at 2130."

Gibbs was angry and confused. "I asked, when did you receive it?"

The guard wasn't backing down. "0550 when I checked in."

The second man didn't interfere with Gibbs and the guard, but he picked up the bin.

Gibbs didn't know what was going on, but he intended to find out. He stepped away from peppermint breath and snatched his phone from the white plastic container. The outside door opened and two agents came in, their coat collars pulled up around their necks and ears in an effort to keep warm. Gibbs jerked the bin from the man's hand and stepped to the side to let them go through.

With his keys and wallet back where they belong, Gibbs speed dialed Vance's number. It rang and rang until voice messaging kicked in and Gibbs left a two-word curt message. "Call me," was all he said before ending the call.

He'd only walked a few yards from the door when he saw her. Abby was scurrying along, a thick scarf wrapped around her head mostly covering her face.

Her muffled greeting sounded like, "Hey, Gibbs," but he couldn't be sure.

"What are you doing here, Abby?"

She pulled the scarf away from her mouth and replied meekly, "Going to work."

Standing in front of her he said, "No, you're not," and took her arm to lead her back the way she had come. She went willingly, but not silently.

"Gibbs? Where are we going?"

"Someplace warmer," he mumbled.

She snuggled against his arm as he walked beside her and asked, "What about work?"

With Abby following in her own car, Gibbs drove to Bob and Edith's Diner. It was open 24 hours and had pretty decent scrapple and excellent coffee. Also it was close enough to the Pentagon that he could sit and talk for a bit and not have to be in traffic long to get to the meeting on time. He and Fornell had eaten there a few times, usually getting the chicken fried steak with double mashed potatoes.

Gibbs hadn't asked Abby about the lab work. Right then all he could think about was being locked out of the building and the mysterious meeting. Abby didn't know about the meeting and he wondered if the others did. Ziva, Tim and Tony wandered in a while later. Abby had called them from her car and they were curious to find out what was going on. Problem was, Gibbs didn't know. Director Vance had not called him back.

Ziva squeezed in the booth with Abby and Gibbs while Tim and Tony took the other side. He encouraged them to order something besides just coffee and then told them about being locked out and questioned the meeting. He didn't think the change had come from O'Neill. In fact, he didn't think it was the same meeting with a location and time change. The others, like Abby, didn't know about the meeting and were horrified to learn that he'd been barred from the building. Could it be he was going to be read in on the secret program? Why would he be locked out of NCIS if that was the case?

"Are we locked out too?"

Gibbs admitted that he didn't know. He should have asked, but he didn't. He watched the four pick at their food, thought they did manage to eat enough. He sat back, trying to relax, but couldn't stop thinking about the conversations with General Ellison and Tobias. He sipped his coffee and wondered why he'd been so relentless to find out about O'Neill and had dragged the team with him. Well, to be honest, they did their own share of digging and going against policy, but he was the team leader so he was responsible.

Suddenly he thought he knew. It was stupid and childish and totally unprofessional, but he didn't like Wheeler working with the Air Force. Oh sure, there were lots of joint operations, but not usually with the Air Force. Marines Corps and Navy for sure and even Marine Corps and Army. But Air Force? And a special project? He thought about the changes since 2012. The Army and Air Force now had MTAC representatives to enhance information sharing and allow access to military personnel and intelligence databases. It was proving to be very useful in their terrorist and fugitive hunts and he vowed to try to have a more open mind about the Marine Corps working with the Air Force.

Insistent beeping startled everyone before Abby, Ziva, Tony and Tim reached for their phones. They all received the same text message. 0840 Pentagon room 9999. His team and Abby were probably locked out too. Why have the meetings at the Pentagon? Why not have them at NCIS? He knew now this had to be about the Wheeler case and whatever was happening wasn't good. Vance not answering his phone and not returning calls was another bad sign.

"Boss?"

Pulled from his thoughts, Gibbs acknowledged the younger man. "Yeah, McGee."

Tim tried not to worry, but he couldn't help it. "Are we gonna be fired?"

tbc

Thanks for reading.