Tony stood in front of the plasma, studying security camera footage for the second time in as many days. After Abby had traced the hotline call back to the munitions lockup, Gibbs had assigned him the task of figuring out who it was that had placed the call.
"Found out who placed that call yet, DiNozzo?" Gibbs' voice came from behind him.
"Not yet, Boss. Every person accessing the lockup has to use a swipe card to unlock the door. Looks like a credit card. Magnetic strip on the back, information goes to the lockup computer. The computer keeps a record of everyone entering the lockup with a date and timestamp. I'm still waiting for the log for the day the C4 went missing."
"So?"
"So, in the meantime I'm running through the security camera footage to see if I can identify who was using the lockup computer at the time the hotline call was placed."
Gibbs nodded at Tony just as Gibbs's cell phone beeped. He flipped it open and answered.
"Yeah, Gibbs." He listened for a moment. "Be right there."
"Abby's got something" he announced. "David, you're with me. DiNozzo. I want you to figure out who made that call." The usual curtness of the Boss' voice was more pronounced as he spoke to Tony. Gibbs left the bullpen with Ziva in his wake. As she rounded the partition on her way to the elevator, she shot Tony a puzzled look.
Inwardly Tony groaned. Obviously Gibbs hadn't explained to her why he'd been benched; he could see that being an unpleasant conversation. Despite the teasing and the occasional death threats, the Israeli was loyal to her teammates; she was also somewhat protective of McGee.
Knowing he was going to be in even more trouble than he already was if he didn't track down the caller's identity, Tony turned his attention back to the plasma.
...
"Whatdya got, Abs?" Gibbs greeted her as they entered the Forensics lab.
"More news on the bomb." She turned and faced the field agents. "The bomb didn't use all of the missing C4; if it had, there would have been a lot more structural damage to the storage locker for starters. That amount of C4, it's what you'd use if you were intending to try and blow up a building. Whoever built this, they're making more of them."
"How many more?" Gibbs asked.
"Judging by the amount of explosive in the one that hurt Tim, I'd say 3 to 7 more."
"Thanks, Abs." Gibbs turned to leave.
"Wait, Gibbs. I'm not done. When I finished reconstructing the bomb, I tore a glove. There's this jagged piece of metal, here." She pointed it out on the reconstruction photos she'd been looking at when they entered.
"Damaged by the explosion?" Ziva asked. Abby shook her head. "Good guess, but no. This is where the bomb was attached to the door; it wasn't distorted by the blast at all."
"It looks more like it was poorly cut" Gibbs pointed out.
"Exactly. It's a manufacturing fault, Gibbs. So I had a closer look at it..." she brought the feed from her computerised microscope up on the plasma "And I found this."
Gibbs looked at the image. There was a dark spot of something on and near the jagged edge. He gave Abby a confused look.
"It's blood, Gibbs. Whoever built this, they left their DNA behind."
"Run it."
"I already am, Gibbs."
"Nice work, Abs." He kissed her on the cheek and then left, Ziva a step behind him.
...
Tony stared at the plasma, puzzled.
"This doesn't make sense" he thought out loud.
"What doesn't make sense, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked.
"Oh hey Boss. Ah, the security footage doesn't make sense. I've checked between an hour before and an hour after the hotline call came in, in case the timestamp is wrong. No one goes near the lockup computer any time in that bracket."
He fast forwarded the footage through the timeframe they were looking for so that Gibbs could see what he meant.
"Get McGee-" Gibbs cut his own sentence off.
Filling the awkward silence, Tony said "The Director rang for you while you were downstairs, Boss. I left the message on your desk."
Gibbs turned and wordlessly started to climb the stairs to the mezzanine.
...
He swung the steel-clad door open without knocking. Evidently the Director had gotten used to his abrupt entrances. He didn't even look up as the door opened.
"Agent Gibbs." It was a statement, not a question.
"You wanted to see me, Director?"
Vance laid down the file he'd been reading. Typically, he got straight to the point.
"Any breaks in the case? SecNav would like to see this one figured out quickly; a bombing attack on a federal agent."
"Maybe. Waiting on test results right now" Gibbs told him.
Vance nodded. "Keep me in the loop. I hear Special Agent McGee is recuperating. How long will he be out for?"
"He damn near lost his arm, Leon, what do you think?"
"That leaves you a man down. I'm assigning you another agent-"
Gibbs cut him off. "I'm not replacing McGee. Not yet."
"This is purely a temporary assignment for the duration of this case. There's no question of replacing Agent McGee, at least not unless I have to."
Gibbs tilted his head slightly, fixing the Director with a stare. "With his injuries-"
"Provided Agent McGee can pass the same tests as any other agent, his injuries will not be a bar to resuming field duties" Vance informed him.
He took a moment to absorb that information, tucking it away for future reference. He'd seen the hopeless look that his youngest agent had tried to conceal. McGee would need something to motivate him through the long months of physiotherapy.
Vance held out the personnel file he'd been reading. "You've worked with this agent before. He's not an ideal fit, but he does have computer skills comparable to Agent McGee's, as well as some experience in the field."
Gibbs took the file and flipped it open, managing to keep his voice level as he read the name aloud.
"Special Agent Daniel Keating."