Dinozzo never realized that there would come a day when he would be at the end of tethers. But he should have remembered Rule no 8:Never take anything for granted. And today, that rule was the only reason why Dinozzo didn't punch his SFA. McGee and Ziva's questioning of his orders led to a time delay which almost cost them their suspect. Luckily, they all were able to pull through. But not before adding a headache, to Dinozzo's existing one. And now Director's order to meet him in her cabin is adding the third one. Dinozzo doesn't know why but nowadays he dreads these meetings. It makes him feel icky afterwards as if he walked through a swamp. Jenny's only focus seems to be on the mission even though Tony has told her a dozen times that they maybe focusing on the wrong suspect. Jeanne Benoit has nothing to do with her father's business and has no access to it whatsoever. But Jenny insists on continuing with the charade. And Tony doesn't know who to trust anymore.
Opening the cabin, Tony first sightline landed on the girl standing stiffly. And she is a girl in appearance. Even with her short haircut, her attractive body hidden under loose fitting clothes, Tony could tell that she barely reached the cusp of adulthood. Hearing Jenny give him permission to enter, he breaks his scrutiny and gives a disarming smile to Jenny. Jenny indicates both of them to sit down. Tony could see the lines of tension in the girl's body language. Clearly even she was unsure why she was here. Or she is not agreeable to the reason she is here for.
Jenny clears her throat pulling both of their attention to her. She says "Tony, I carefully thought over what was said and realized you were right. As a Director, it is my responsibility to ensure my agents safety. I cannot be a backup for you if I am busy with other responsibilities. But it is also true, that I need this mission to be as classified as possible. The less people know about it, the better. So I have come up with an alternative solution. Tony, I would like you to meet your latest probie Elena Michaels. She will also be your backup in your undercover assignment."
Now Dinozzo knows that something is definitely wrong. He looks at Jenny and says "You can't assign me a new probie Jenny. How are you going to explain to the other MCRTs that we have 2 probies?" The probie who was fidgeting nervously, now glared at him but then softened into contemplation as she considered his question. Dinozzo's interest peaked. Maybe there is something to work here after all. Jenny says "Tony, you and your team have been through a lot. And yet you are still maintaining the highest crime solving rate among all MCRT teams. Elena has scored the highest FLETC scores. She is good at computers, and she has also surpassed all the physical training exams, so she is ready to be out in the field. Her psych evals also shows a sharp intelligence. So, here is the question Tony, why won't I pair the brightest with the highest successful team in the entire NCIS branch?"
Tony knew that Jenny is flattering him but he also couldn't argue with the logic. Without waiting for Tony's reply, Jenny looks at Elena and says "Elena, since Tony's team is already sharing the space, you will be setting up in Cyber department labs for now. I will assign you a desk as soon as possible. And regarding the undercover assignment, it is utterly crucial that you do not talk about this assignment to anyone. You will only be reporting to me and only me." Tony's eyes narrowed with suspicion. From the corner of his eye, he saw the probie do the same.
Backtracking to make out for the slip of the tongue, Jenny said "What I mean to say, for the both of you I will be the direct reporting authority. No one will be able to bypass the orders given by me. But in the end, the priority is Rene Benoit. We have to stop him from stealing weapons from the Navy and selling them somewhere else. So the quicker we get the information, the quicker we will be able to get the show on the road. Am I clear?"
Both of them nodded and Jenny gave them the order to dismiss. Reaching outside, Tony rubbed his forehead stalling the headache behind his eyes. He told to the probie "Go and get the details of the latest case from the Cyber Department. They are at the basement floor." She nodded her head and went off in the direction of the basement. Tony takes a deep breath to steady himself. What Jenny did, confirmed his suspicions. Something was wrong with this mission.Now the better question is whether Jenny's idea of a backup can be trusted with his suspicions.