Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo had become accustomed to traveling a certain way. Most of his travel was by means of vehicle or cargo plane with Gibbs, except that one time on a Gulfstream jet. He did his absolute best to contain his excitement when he realized they would be flying to Los Angeles on a Gulfstream. Jenny had called in a favor. This way, they didn't have to go through security or the other hassles of commercial airline travel.
The Director took her spot in the leather seat by the window and checked her phone. She rolled her eyes at the text message from Katie. She knew her oldest was lying about telling her grandmother about the trip. She wasn't going to let her mother know she was in the state of California. There would not be enough time to visit with Helen Shepard.
Ziva took a seat and watched Tony act like a child in a toy store. He was exploring all the gadgets of the jet and rambling away about the specifications. Ziva did not care. Her job was to protect the Director. This was not a mini vacation. This was work.
He finally stopped moving around and started digging through his bag. He smiled when he found a small care package. Eagerly, he opened it and realized Lizzie was too good for him. She'd packed his favorite snacks. He read the note, smiling to himself. Ziva leaned over to see what he was reading. He quickly moved away from her. He put the note in his pocket and pulled a box from the bag.
"Sour patch kid?" He offered to Ziva.
She pushed his arm away. "No, Tony."
"Lighten up, Ziva. Enjoy the ride." He popped a green sour patch kid into his mouth.
"I'm not going to listen to you bicker while we're on this plane," Jenny admonished.
"Yes, ma'am. Sour patch kid, Jenny?"
She couldn't help but laugh at her future son-in-law. "No thank you, Tony."
He shrugged his shoulders. More for him. In all honesty, he was looking forward to getting out of D.C., but he was terrified of this protection detail. He wasn't protecting the Director of NCIS. He was protecting the mother of his fiancée and the wife of his boss. He munched on his snacks and drank plenty of cokes.
When he left for the bathroom, Ziva moved from her seat and sat down next to Jenny. Jenny put her pen down and looked at the Israeli.
"Yes?"
"Tony and Elizabeth are engaged."
"Yes," she answered.
"Does Gibbs know?"
"He knows."
"What does Gibbs think?"
"Jethro was not pleased at first, but he's seen how much they love each other."
Ziva tilted her head and stared at the older woman. "When did he propose?"
"A few days ago."
She sat back in her seat, soaking in the shock. Jenny laughed softly. "The world isn't ending, Ziva."
"Yes, but Tony…" she stopped as her partner came back into the area.
"We'll discuss this more later," Jenny said.
Ziva nodded and relocated to her original seat. For the rest of the flight, she stared at Tony off and on. In Los Angeles, they picked up the rental, loaded the luggage, and drove to the hotel. As Jenny checked them in, her phone began ringing. She answered. "I was about to call you."
"Landed okay?" Gibbs asked.
"Yes."
"Checked into the hotel yet?"
"Doing that now."
"Changing and going to the funeral?"
"Jethro, yes," she answered, exasperated. He knew the plan for the day.
"Just checking, Jen."
"I know. I'll call you later tonight. Don't ruffle any feathers while I'm out of the office." She knew he shouldn't. It should be a quiet day at headquarters since they were doing a bug sweep.
He smirked. In his opinion, he never ruffled feathers. "I'll leave you alone until you call me."
"I love you, Jethro."
"I love you too, Jen."
She hung up the phone and gave Ziva the room key. She looked around. "Where's Tony?"
"On the phone."
"Oh." Jenny nodded her head. She knew he was on the phone with Lizzie. He came into view and took his room key from her.
The trio settled into their rooms and changed for the funeral. They stood outside waiting for the valet to bring the Cadillac around. Ziva and Tony argued over who should drive. Jenny had listened to them long enough.
"Enough," she said sharply. "Tony will drive." She didn't want Ziva navigating traffic. Also, she wanted to return to D.C. alive. Tony proudly sat in the driver's seat of the car and waited for the two passengers to get into the vehicle. He drove to the church, and they began the protection detail. Jenny saw many faces she hadn't seen in years. Tony and Ziva watched her closely along with the surroundings. So far so good.
They stood outside of the church side by side, watching Director Shepard.
"I was proud to call Special Agent Decker my friend even after his retirement I knew that he was never more than a phone call away. My heart goes out to his family and his beloved girlfriend, Sasha. I know that William loved her very much," Jenny said to a reporter.
"Sure he did," Tony commented as he watched the blonde walk to a limo and get inside.
"We're at a funeral, and she's twenty-two."
"Yeah." He may be engaged, but he could still admire.
"Is that why we're here? So you can google the girls?"
"Ogle," he replied firmly. "and no, we're here to accompany the Director. Also, I'm a taken man, Ziva."
She decided not to comment on his relationship status.
"Decker died of a heart attack. Not in the line of duty. I hardly think our presence is necessary." Ziva scanned the parking lot before watching Jenny walk to the guest book.
"NCIS code of conduct…paragraph one…subsection B. Any interim state travel made by the NCIS Director must be accompanied by…"
"Shh," Ziva cut his rambling off. "You're making this up."
"Yes," he answered. "But she always is accompanied by two senior agents for security purposes. And if it's not a rule, it really should be."
Ziva laughed at how ridiculous he was being. She went back to focusing her attention on Director Shepard.
Jenny signed the guest book and overhead a conversation from behind her.
"Sorry. What was that name again?"
"Mr. Oshimida." The man had a strong Russian accent.
Jenny straightened. Her heart stopped. Her breath hitched. She had not heard that name in a little over two decades.
"First name?"
"There more than one?"
She swallowed hard and opened her black clutch, taking out her compact to see behind her.
"No, sir. In fact, there's nobody here by that name."
"Check again," the Russian said.
"Sorry, sir…I've checked the registry twice. There is no Mr. Oshimida, but if you'd like to leave your name perhaps I can…" the attendant explained as the Russian walked away.
Jenny closed her compact. She followed after him quickly, taking her phone out of her clutch. She snapped photos of him getting in a black Lincoln Navigator with a blonde driver. As the SUV pulled off, she snapped pictures of the license plate. She turned, facing the agents and putting her phone away. She walked towards Tony and Ziva, attempting to compose herself.
"Director, are you ready to go?" Ziva asked.
"No. Actually, I'm not."
"No rush. You know, we'll just hang out," Tony spoke. He noticed a slight change in Jenny's mood.
"No need to wait for me. In fact, we are not due to fly out until tomorrow, so why don't the two of you…"
"Yes, sure…" Tony interrupted.
"Take the rest of the trip off," Jenny finished.
"Right. Sure. So you want us to call you a taxi or…?" Tony asked.
Jenny held out her hand for the keys to the rental car.
"You want the car. Of course." He took the keys out of his pocket and handed them to her. "We…we'll figure something out. Thanks….alright drive safe. That L.A. traffic's a little weird." He watched Jenny walk to the car hurriedly while getting on the phone.
Jenny called the one man who could help her fix the problem she created those many years ago. Her second phone call was to Abby. She drove to a hole in the wall hotel to meet Mike Franks. He had retired before she joined NCIS. She'd never met him. She never found herself in Mexico where he preferred to stay. Through the years, she'd heard plenty of stories about him from Jethro. When they were unable to vacation as a family, Jethro would take off for Mexico to drink beer and fish with Mike. Mike wasn't too fond of his Probie marrying a fellow agent.
Mike watched Jenny get out of the Cadillac. He'd made himself at home in the cheap hotel. "Take it the Ritz was booked," he said to her, holding a decanter of alcohol and an ice bucket.
She stared at him through her aviators. She had never truly dealt with the retired agent. She was slightly taken aback by him.
"Ice," he said, swinging the bucket.
She walked towards him.
"Better be a damn good reason you had me jump on the earliest flight out of Mexico."
"You ever work with Special Agent William Decker?" she asked as they walked to the ice machine.
"He hired on the year I retired. Why? He in some kinda trouble?"
"He's dead, and I'm next."
She had made the decision not to include Jethro. At all costs, she would not involve him. She would take care of this herself like she should have done over twenty years ago. This would end here.