Apologies for the second case in this one being a bit rushed. Wanted the next case to be all one chapter and thought the second case would show a little more on how Gibbs's lack of memory would be affecting Morgan and the team.
"Is he here yet? Is he here yet?" Abby questioned, rushing into the bullpen where McGee was playing a game on his PC and Morgan was typing on her computer while Russell slept.
"Abby, do you think I'd be playing this game if he was?" McGee questioned her.
"Ah."
"I will call you as soon as he gets here, okay? I promise."
"But what if his flight was delayed? Or worse? What if he missed his connecting flight?"
"Well, then he will be here tomorrow."
"Not good enough, McGee! A team needs a leader. He's our glue. He's our spine. Without him, we're like… Phylum cnidaria."
"Jellyfish," Morgan hummed, glancing at her and spotting the donuts she had. "Cut back on the sugar, Abs. Or at least share."
Abby grinned and bounded over, offering the box that Morgan took a donut from as McGee frowned lightly.
"Are you saying I'm spineless?"
"Of course not, Timmy. Have you—"
"I already checked his flight," Morgan said before Abby could steal her computer. "His flight landed on time."
"Where is he then!"
"Grabbing a coffee, probably," she replied as the elevator opened and Abby rushed off to tackle Tony in a hug.
"Oh, yay! You're home! Welcome back! I missed you!"
"I missed you too, Abby," Tony grunted out, though she didn't let go.
"Oh, did you have fun? Did you go to that cool bar in Dusseldorf?"
"You know, I tried. But, you know, that security conference kept us pretty busy… I'm having trouble breathing here."
"I'm sorry!" She apologized, releasing him.
He rolled his neck and headed over to the bullpen where McGee had closed his game and stood in front of his desk.
"McGee! Look at you. Mm, all grown up. So, what did I miss the last two weeks?"
"Well, nothing I couldn't handle, boss."
"I was talking to Morgan," Tony chirped, making Morgan glance at him before returning to her typing. "Always the cold shoulder. Anyway, gather 'round, people. I come bearing gifts. For the lovely lady."
He handed over a silver cross necklace to Abby who smiled.
"Ah, Tony. It's beautiful."
"Not to mention incredibly expensive. Euro is stronger than it used to be. For my Senior Field Agent…" He passed McGee a CD.
"Oh… The Very Best of David Hasselhoff."
"You don't like it?" Tony accused.
"I repeat. The Very Best of David Hasselhoff."
Tony smacked him upside the back of the head.
"What was that for?"
"You listen to Yanni and you have an unauthorized game on your computer."
"Okay, it's your game, Tony," McGee pointed out given he'd moved to Tony's desk and Tony to Gibbs's.
"Yeah, and you shouldn't have beaten my high score. And for Ziva…" Tony pulled out a pair of shorts. "Das lederhosen! One size fits all. Where is the little Israeli?"
"Late," Morgan chimed, picking up her phone. "I'll call."
Tony cracked a smile, heading over to Morgan's desk and waving a bag of dog treats. She rolled her eyes and took them from him, opening the bag and hanging up her phone to give Russell one. He then pulled out a can of energy drink from behind his back and set it on her desk.
"Not like I'd forget our newest member."
She turned back to her computer, ignoring him. "Ziva didn't pick up."
He frowned lightly, heading to his desk. "She can take care of herself."
After a while though, even he started to get worried as McGee called Ziva again with no response.
"You think she's alright?" McGee questioned.
"Well, if she was all right, she'd be here, McGee," Tony said. "The question is, what would Gibbs do in a situation like this?"
Morgan opened her mouth but the Director cut in instead, having walked by and overheard.
"He'd find her, Tony."
"I'm working on it, Director."
"Tony," Morgan cut in, reaching out and grabbing the clicker to turn on the plasma where the news was covering a possible bombing where a familiar red Mini Cooper was stopped on a sidewalk.
"Where is this?"
"Georgetown," she replied as the Director spoke up.
"I was just about to mention the Metro Police found her car there. Good work, Agent Frost."
"Her car isn't wrecked either, according to the footage," Morgan added. "She didn't crash but abandoned her vehicle."
"That, and the FBI doesn't usually concern themselves with traffic accidents," the Director added, gesturing to the group of suited men by the elevator who'd just walked in.
"Tony, isn't that the guy who tried to put you away for a murder?" McGee questioned as Tony frowned.
"Yes, it is. And thank you for bringing up a painful memory, McGee." He turned to the Director. "You knew they were coming, Director?"
"Calm down, Tony. I only just got the call ten minutes ago."
"What do they want with Ziva?"
"We're about to find out. Together," she said, greeting the head agent as he approached. "Agent Sacks, Director Shepard."
They stepped out and the Director gave Tony a pointed look to join them but before he stepped out, his gaze caught Morgan's.
"I'll look into the accident, contact Mossad, and keep trying with Ziva."
"Check with Gibbs if you can. She'd go to him first if this turns out to be something serious."
Morgan pursed her lips but nodded, and Tony took off upstairs to figure out what the FBI wanted. Nothing about this was looking good.
The FBI were treating Ziva as a murderer so things were about as bad as they could get. Tony wasn't thrilled with the agents on the case but had his hopes up when Morgan headed over.
"What do you have?"
"Not much. FBI hasn't disclosed anything publicly about the bombing incident other than possible terrorist ties but they're trying to keep it under wraps to hide it from the public," she informed him, handing him a file as they stood in the corner under the stairs. "I printed out what I could but they're not exactly sharing."
"And Mossad?" He asked, eyeing her briefly. "I didn't know you had a tie with them."
"Minimal," she muttered. "Ran into an agent a while back while I was… held up in Afghanistan. We had a drink and he offered a small favor when I saved him from getting shot."
"Just a drink?"
Morgan shot him a dark look and he shrugged.
"Had to ask."
"Point is, they're denying anything to do with the bombing. Adamantly denying it."
"You think they're involved?"
"I think they have some information we don't know. My best guess is Ziva recognized something about the incident and went to them to check their involvement, same as us. They're going to try and cover their ass if it does have anything to do with them—"
"Making Ziva a scapegoat."
"Possibly. I don't know. Agencies like theirs tend to drop anyone if it can prevent their whole organization from falling under fire. All it really tells us is we need to get this figured out quickly."
"You contacted Gibbs?"
Morgan shook her head, glancing behind her to make sure the FBI agents that were going through Ziva's desk weren't paying attention. Tony knew what was going on though, letting out a sigh.
"If you're still upset that he didn't recognize you—"
"I'm not upset," she spat in annoyance. "I'm aggravated and mildly pissed off."
"Seems like really pissed off to me," he muttered, before holding up his hands in a peaceful motion when it looked like she might hit him. "Look, I'm sure he'll remember you once he's back."
She scoffed glancing back at the desks again. "You lot honestly think he's coming back?"
"He'll definitely come back."
She huffed, giving him a look. "Even more of a reason for me to be annoyed. We can't work together if he can't remember me. We'll be starting over from square one."
"Well, you didn't take long to fit in anyway. Besides, with us vouching for you I'm sure it'll come back to him quick. Give him a call. If you have any issues, try telling Abby. He's got a soft spot for her."
Morgan grunted and stepped away, heading back to her desk only to find Russell there with her cell phone in his mouth. He'd been smart and taken it before any of the FBI agents noticed it was ringing and she took it from him before grabbing his leash to take him out. It would give her an excuse to answer the call. There were only a few people not in the bullpen who had the number and she was hoping it was the one she needed to speak with the most.
She stepped into the elevator and answered the call, being quick and brief. "Give me half a second so I can take Russell out of the building."
"Thank you," Ziva muttered on the other end as Morgan stepped outside and let Russell wander on the grass to go to the bathroom.
"You alright?"
"No, not really," Ziva replied and Morgan sighed.
"Physically."
"I'm not hurt, just frustrated and… Look, I need a favor."
"What do you want? I'm a little lacking in the information aspect of this other than the FBI hunting you down for murder and Mossad claiming ignorance when they obviously know more."
"You talked to Mossad?"
"I know a guy. Point is, Tony's trying to find you to help while the Director is breathing down our backs playing mitigator with the feds. He doesn't have a lot of breathing room and I'm doing my best with what I can do but it's not much. You're safe at least, yes?"
"Yes. I'm at a safe place at the moment. I need a phone number."
"For Gibbs," Morgan easily guessed. "Tony was about to have me call him to ask about you."
"You can't tell anyone I've spoken to you," she pressed.
"Condition," Morgan tacked on. "If the team can be trusted to help, I'll tell them."
"We can't let Tony get into trouble with the FBI."
"Then I'll take the blame," Morgan suggested. "We can say I threatened him or some shit."
"Morgan—"
"If you need help that I can't give you on my own, then I'm fine risking my job here to help," Morgan pressed, calming down slightly when Russell headed over and settled his head in her lap. "Gibbs doesn't remember who I am anyway and I've got something I haven't told him yet that he'll be pissed about. I'm practically fired already."
"He won't fire you. Just… Just promise me you'll stay quiet until I can come up with a plan at least."
"Fine," Morgan agreed, hooking Russell back up to his leash. "I don't trust the FBI to not monitor our phones. I'll give you the number to my burner cell."
"You just happen to have a burner cell?"
"I always have one on hand. I'm heading back in now. I'll get rid of this cell just in case."
"You don't have to—"
"You don't want anyone finding out I called you, then I'll get rid of it since I can't ask McGee to wipe it without him asking questions. I can always request a new one and blame Russell." She reached down and patted him on the head. "No one can stay mad at him."
Ziva chuckled, undoubtedly feeling a bit relieved. "Thank you, Morgan."
"Stay safe. Don't underestimate anyone."
"I know."
Morgan hung up the phone and handed it to Russell. "Take."
Russell happily took the opened phone in his mouth before Morgan cracked a grin.
"Go play."
Needless to say, the phone didn't last long and no one questioned it with the toothmarks and pleased Russell standing beside her on their return.
"First off, this is a strictly voluntary thing. Ziva's a fugitive. Anyone caught helping or assisting her in any way will be in serious trouble." Tony said, having gathered the team, Ducky, Abby, and Palmer in the dark of the autopsy room. "Palmer?"
"Um, but seriously, you mean like, get fired?" He sheepishly asked.
"He means, Mister Palmer, instead of attending medical school next month, you will most likely be in prison," Ducky clarified.
"Oh."
"I'm in!" Abby said, slapping her hand onto the table as Ducky hummed.
"Danger, intrigue, a damsel in distress? I'm actually looking forward to it."
His hand was placed on top of Abby's as McGee nodded and added his hand to the pile.
"Me too."
"Um, I'm not exactly the type that would do well in prison, guys," Palmer muttered, straightening.
"No one's going to think any less of you if you want out, Palmer," Tony said, surprising him.
"Really?"
"Well, no. We probably would. At least I know I would."
"All right, then I want a code name. Something cool sounding," he agreed, putting his hand down as Tony dropped his hand on as well and the group glanced at Morgan.
She glanced at them briefly before rolling her eyes and looking to her left, nodding toward the table. Russell happily squeezed into the group and dropped a paw on their hands, making Abby grin and Tony cleared his throat.
"All right. No one can know about this, especially the Director. Are we all good with that? All right, then let's figure out how to find her. McGee, I want you on her electronic tracks. Cell phone, computer, toaster oven if you have to. Ducky, please talk to your contacts in the FBI. I want to know everything about that Georgetown crime scene. Palmer, how does 'Black Lung' sound?"
"Like a horrible and painful way to die," Palmer said, confused.
"I mean as your code name."
"Oh! I like it."
"Yeah. All right. Well then, you're in charge of supplies, Black Lung. Which means lunch and at this point, probably dinner. Abs, I need you to go—"
"Tony."
"What, Morgan?"
Morgan glanced at him with a raised brow at his tone and he sighed.
"Yes, Agent Frost?"
She shook her head at his attitude and reached into her pocket. "Ziva contacted me."
"What!" Abby shouted as Morgan pulled out her phone and Tony gaped.
"I thought you broke your phone. You said Russell had taken it."
"If the FBI decided to monitor or check our phones, they would have noticed Ziva contacted me. I couldn't have McGee wipe it because she didn't want me telling anyone so I had Russell play with it. No one could stay mad at him."
"That is one hundred percent true," Abby replied, giving the dog a pat on the head with a grin. "Russell would never."
"Where is she?" Ducky asked.
"Safe, as far as she told me. She said she was going to get a hold of Gibbs after I called."
Tony went to take the phone from her but she moved it away from him with a frown. "We need to talk to her."
"I agree. Don't take my phone from me."
"Tetchy," he huffed as she dialed the number she'd been given and set the phone on the table on speaker.
"Ziva, you're on speaker," she hummed when she heard the line get picked up and Ziva huffed immediately.
"I'm hanging up."
"No, you're not," Tony argued. "You're going to tell me what the hell is going on here."
"Morgan I told you not to tell them."
"And they just had a huddle in autopsy agreeing to risk their jobs to hide things from the Director and FBI to help find you. I did tell you my condition," Morgan said, drumming her fingers on her folded legs. "Did you get a hold of Gibbs?"
"We were having trouble contacting him," Tony replied.
"Why didn't you say so?" Ziva said before Gibbs chimed in over the phone.
"DiNozzo. You have ten seconds to tell me why I am not building a teak hot tub in Mexico… Nine."
"Hey! Hold on a second. Ziva's the one who needs to explain. We're missing information here."
"Fine, what is it you want to know?"
The team exchanged information, letting her know what they'd found through Morgan's digging into things and Ziva explained that her former partner from Mossad had gone rogue and faked his death. Tony and Morgan exchanged knowing looks after they hung up with her and he went to go meet with her and check in. The two of them saw the situation for what it was. Ziva had been set up. With the FBI around though, it was hard to actively look for their suspect and McGee came up with putting out a BOLO for an abuser instead of a rogue Mossad spy, to keep it out of the FBI's radar. Morgan, meanwhile, stayed up at her desk to keep and eye on the FBI and it was a good thing she did. Sacks received a call and judging by his reaction, Morgan knew what had happened.
She got up not long before he ended the call and started to put a leash on Russell when Sacks stepped up to her.
"Where are you going?"
She stared at him coldly, almost pleased to see him shift uneasily on his feet when she did. "To take my dog out to the bathroom, unless you'd rather he peed on you instead."
Sacks glanced at Russell who sat firmly at Morgan's side and he eyed her. "And how do I know you're not going to give your rogue teammate a heads up that we got a tip?"
"Easy," she hummed, reaching into her desk and handing him her tattered cell phone. "That's my cell. Russell thought it was a chew toy. I'll send him after you next time he wants to chew on a bone."
Sacks scowled, dropping the broken phone on her desk and turning to the rest of his agents to get them ready to leave as Morgan took the elevator. She hit the emergency stop button and quickly pulled out her burner.
"Ziva, it's Morgan. Wherever you are, you've been spotted."
"We just found a camera in a vent. How did you—"
"The FBI just got a tip-off. They're headed to a house in Fairfax."
"Thank you, Morgan."
"Like I said, stay safe and cautious."
"Will do."
Morgan hung up and started the elevator again with a heavy sigh. She stepped out with Russell and let him out on the grass, watching as the FBI agents took off before pulling out her phone again, but keeping it out of sight and on speaker.
"Tony, we've got a problem."
"What is it now?"
"FBI got an anonymous tip as to where Ziva is. A house in Fairfax. I called her and warned her. She'll be fine but now we know for sure—"
"Ziva's the target. Yeah. I'll get the info when they get back. Stay on it, Morgan."
"Will do."
There wasn't much to do though until Ziva or Gibbs contacted them and neither were answering their phones after the second bombing at the house the FBI raided. Tony wasn't thrilled with how things were going with said federal agents but he didn't have much of a say when the Director was forcing them to work together. He glanced over at Morgan as she slept at her desk, leaning back in her seat with her arms folded over her chest. He had no doubt she'd wake up at the first sign of anything going on whether that be him heading her way or the burner phone vibrating in her pocket.
"She just fell asleep a moment ago," Ducky said, having come upstairs to check with him.
"Yeah, bit rare for her to do. Doesn't like sleeping from what I've heard."
"Yes, well… Did you manage to call them?"
"I got Gibbs's voicemail. I don't think he ever learned how to use it," Tony informed him as they moved to the corner near the stairs.
"And the number Morgan has for Ziva?"
"She told me they weren't answering."
"Then, there's only one thing for you to do."
"I know," Tony said sharply. "Let the Director know they're probably dead and resign for disobeying a direct order."
"You'll do nothing of the sort, Anthony DiNozzo," Ducky scolded him.
"And why is that?"
"Because the man who did that is still out there. And I'll be damned if we let him get away with it."
"What would Gibbs do, right? I've got a bulletin for you, Ducky. I am not Gibbs," Tony informed him, rather annoyed with how the comparison kept coming up and adding more pressure to him and his new position as team leader.
"No, you're not," Ducky agreed. "Gibbs quit. You're still here."
"Why wasn't I with Ziva? I turned over my responsibility to him without even thinking about it."
"Gibbs is one of the most capable agents—"
"Was, Ducky," Tony corrected sharply. "You didn't see him. I mean, he didn't even look like Gibbs. I think he went native down there."
Ducky saw someone enter the room then behind him, trying to warn him but he just continued on.
"His hair is all long and crazy looking. And he's got this scraggly beard. He looks like a pirate or something. His eyes are all bloodshot, probably from drinking hooch from morning to night with Franks."
"They call it a 'redeye' for a reason," Gibbs said, coming up behind him and tapping him on the shoulder. "The flight I was on all night to get here."
"Oh," Tony breathed, hugging him. "You're all right. Good. All right. Thank god."
"Yeah, thank Ziva. Already been blown up twice, Tony. Don't think I got a third one in me." Gibbs handed him a set of keys. "Space seventy-three. Presents in the back for autopsy and Abby. Don't be seen. Hey, Duck."
"Welcome home, Jethro," Ducky greeted him.
"Oh, you got the wrong guy. I'm just visiting. You might want to tell Palmer it's going to be a late night."
Ducky sighed lightly and begrudgingly headed back to the bullpen where Morgan was sleeping. "Morgan, Jethro is here."
"And?" She muttered, peering open an eye briefly. "Tony's the one in charge, last I checked."
Ducky frowned lightly. "Does Jethro really mean so little to you?"
"I'm not the one who forgot who he is," Morgan snapped back.
"Morgan, you can't blame him for having memory issues after what happened. Even now, I'm sure he's still struggling to—"
"I know that," she ground out in frustration, pushing away from her desk and getting up as Russell perked up in his bed with a soft whine; sensing the tension. "But it doesn't change the fact that we're having to start over in a team that's now going to have issues because he's diving in and out of doing his goddamn job."
"There's nothing you can do," Ducky muttered, reaching out and giving her elbow a squeeze before she tugged it away.
"I never said there was but it doesn't stop me from being pissed about it," she huffed, calling Russell and heading for the elevator.
"Where are you going?"
"To get a drink," she replied. "Tony will want coffee."
"We matched the dead guy's prints. Balash Sassanid. Arrested five years ago for reckless driving. An illegal from Iran. Student visa expired last year, boss," McGee said as Gibbs and Tony exchanged coffees and answered simultaneously.
"Good job, McGee."
"What about the cell phone Eschel called us on, Abs?" Gibbs asked.
"I isolated the grid the call came in on."
"Nice work, Abs," Tony praised.
"Actually, no, Tony. The grid includes the entire city of Woodbridge, Virginia. He could be anywhere in it."
"Great. We've got nothing," Gibbs huffed.
"Well, an ex-Mossad officer working with an Iranian student is something, Gibbs," Tony lightly argued.
"Not if it doesn't help us find Eschel in time."
"Then, it's probably a good thing I kept updated on the BOLO," Morgan replied as she walked in, moving toward the computer and bringing it up. "Six hits fitting the general description. Three in Delaware, one in Pennsylvania, two in Virginia. Closest match. A local cop saw a man fitting his exact profile at a Freemont Inn."
"Where, Morgan?" Tony asked, though Gibbs had opened his mouth to say the same thing but stopped short.
"Woodbridge, Virginia," she said as Tony glanced at McGee.
"You forgot about the BOLO, didn't you?"
McGee just smacked the back of his own head in apology as Tony and Gibbs headed for the door.
"Good job, Morgan," Tony hummed as they stepped out and Gibbs pulled out his phone. "I'm telling you, Gibbs. Don't call her. She won't wait for us."
"She will if I tell her to," he argued, hearing a scoff and eyeing Morgan as she walked past him to her desk.
"I'll get the gear in the car," she said, glancing at Tony who nodded as Gibbs talked to Ziva on the phone before shaking his head.
"Let me guess, she's going without us?" Tony accused.
"If she kills him, there won't be any way to prove the Israelis weren't behind this."
"Yeah, I know. Let's roll," Tony said, stepping into the elevator as Gibbs grabbed his sleeve and stopped him.
"Hey—"
"Hey, no," Tony silenced him. "This is my team now, Gibbs. My rules. And Dinozzo's rule one? I don't sit on the sidelines when my people are in trouble. You got a problem with that, let's remember who's got the badge and who's the civilian."
"You done?" Gibbs asked and he nodded before getting hit upside the head. "I was going to say get McGee. I'll meet you there."
Tony put a hand on his shoulder to keep him there for a moment longer. "You know, I could arrest you for striking a federal officer."
"I know that."
"All right. Just so you know," Tony said as he stepped out of the elevator and Gibbs stepped in. "Take Agent Frost with you. She'll have your back."
Gibbs grunted and stepped out into the parking garage where Morgan was closing the trunk on the back of a car. "Frost, with me."
She glanced at him but didn't move. "On who's orders?"
"Your boss."
"You quit."
Gibbs eyed her, taking in the stubborn set to her shoulders and the annoyance in her expression with the slightest hint of something else. He couldn't place it though and nodded toward his car.
"DiNozzo said you'd cover my back. He's grabbing McGee. Get in the car or I'll leave you here."
She let out a huff but headed over with Russell jumping in first and settling on the floor at her feet with his head on her lap watching Gibbs in the driver seat. They drove quickly to the inn where they believed the suspect to be and arrived only a moment before Tony did. It didn't stop Morgan and Russell from being the first ones at the door of the room Russell had picked out Ziva's scent. Tony nodded at her and kicked the door open, stepping in and sending her in with Russell to move past him. Russell rushed in from beside her and barked at the woman lying on the floor near the bed as Morgan lowered her gun.
"Clear. You good, Ziva?"
"I'm okay, Morgan."
"You should have waited," Gibbs scolded her as Morgan grabbed Russell and shushed him.
"Who is she?" Tony asked as Ziva caught her breath.
"Iranian intelligence. They were behind it all."
"How do you plan on proving that?" Gibbs asked.
"I've been with NCIS for a year. I'm not just a killer anymore." She reached under her shirt and tossed Tony the recorder she'd tapped to her gut. "I'm an investigator. Now can I go home?"
"I've got a med kit in the car," Morgan offered, earning a small grimace of a smile from Ziva as she wiped at the blood on her face and headed out with her and Russell who happily accepted pets from Ziva.
It hadn't taken long for Gibbs to request his position back. He got involved in an old case of his that had come back when the suspect got out of prison and demanded it be reopened due to his innocence. They managed to find the actual culprit rather easily and he chose to return to NCIS after the fact which brought about a number of issues.
Tony was offered a new team and was hesitating on accepting it, claiming he wanted to be certain Gibbs was okay but in actuality not wanting to leave just yet. With him still being used to being the leader of the team though, returning back to being just a senior agent meant butting heads with Gibbs when his habits crept up. Ziva was commenting on his bitterness and the old habits enough to annoy him and McGee was becoming frustrated as well. He'd stopped being a probie ages ago but Tony had picked the nickname back up and didn't seem to care how it pushed his buttons. Then, there was Morgan.
Gibbs still didn't appear to remember her and while she was good at hiding her frustration about it, the team members could tell it was still there. Gibbs returning to his former position as team leader didn't help matters because she'd been forced to start over again with no trust between them. This meant she was stuck doing more desk work than field work and Gibbs was holding back on trusting her with tasks. That, and she hadn't told him about her breaching his privacy yet. She felt he needed to remember who she was first before she could admit to breaking his trust in that way. Doing it now would just end up with her fired and no chance to apologize or anything so she bit her tongue and kept quiet.
All-in-all, the whole team was struggling to get back to how things were with Gibbs back a changed man. This disarray was sure to have an effect on their dynamic but there was nothing they could do but deal with it and see how things went. This started with their next big case: a stolen vehicle belonging to a sailor who may have been killed in the trunk.
"Since when do we investigate stolen cars, Tony?" Ziva asked as Tony took photos.
"Since it belongs to a sailor and someone appears to have been slaughtered inside it."
"Not enough blood," Morgan chimed in as she hooked Russell up to a long line and let him sniff the back of the vehicle. "Wasn't killed in the vehicle. Could technically still be alive, really. I'm leaning towards a kidnapping more than a murder."
"And where's the body?" Ziva added as Morgan stepped away to walk around with Russell.
"Well, that's kind of the reason we're here. Goes with the whole criminal investigative thing," Tony replied.
"Oh, okay. I understand."
"Understand what?"
"You feel a little threatened now that Gibbs is back."
"I do not," he argued.
"You have been whining like a little snitch all week!"
"The term is 'bitch.'"
"I know. I was being polite," Ziva hummed but dropped the subject for now as she looked at the inside of the car. "There appears to have been a struggle. Multiple hand and fingerprints. A lost shoe. A pair of glasses. And I don't believe she was slaughtered, like Morgan said. At least not in the back of this vehicle. The traces of blood are all from skin contact. A more serious wound would have left pools of it. Enough criminal investigating for you, Tony?"
"Lieutenant Sullivan's address. She lives in Culpeper," Gibbs said as he handed Tony a slip of paper.
"Take McGee. If you leave now, you can avoid traffic. Anything unusual, you call me," Tony said as he tried to hand it over to Ziva before catching what he was doing and hesitating as he looked at Gibbs. "I mean, you know, you do… you… whatever you want them to do, boss."
Tony and Ziva ended up being the two to go together as McGee joined Gibbs by the vehicle.
"Tow truck should be here any minute, boss."
"You find the other shoe yet, McGee?" Gibbs questioned.
"Uh…"
"Gibbs," Morgan called out, glancing at McGee briefly as she headed over and nodded across the parking lot. "There's a trail of blood and one of the victim's shoes leading toward a parking spot. I've put down markers but they'll need to be photographed. Trail ends at the parking spot so she was put in a car."
"Good work, Agent Frost," Gibbs praised, though Morgan didn't seem to care about it as McGee spoke up.
"How did you know to look for a trail?"
"Victim is missing and wasn't killed in the car," Morgan explained as they followed after Gibbs as he took photos. "Means she was taken out of the car and with only one heel on, she'd lose the other along the way. Figured it'd point us in the right direction so just had Russell take the scent and follow his nose."
Gibbs gestured to the blood on the pavement. "Blood smears on the pavement. If she was carried, they'd be drops. And what looks like a strand of nylon thread. Maybe it was from a stocking."
"She could have fallen and scraped her knee?" McGee suggested.
"If she was looking for help, she would've headed to the campus behind us," Morgan informed him as they kept going. "She was forced to go this way."
"Where there was another car," McGee realized. "Judging by these tire tracks, they left in a hurry."
"Match the tires, might even find out the make and model."
McGee cracked a small smile. "Good to have you back, boss."
From there, the case seemed to go slightly better than expected. The team had matched fingerprints and police sketches to confirm that the victim was Lieutenant Anne Sullivan and that the man driving the car was Justin Farris. A BOLO was put out and surprisingly enough, Justin Farris turned himself in claiming that he had just stolen the car and had no idea the Lieutenant was in the back. He then abandoned the car in the lot and just mentioned that he thought he'd been followed by a silver Honda Accord; matching the model of the car they'd gotten from the tire tracks it left.
The unfortunate thing was they now needed a new suspect and the team turned their attention to the Lieutenant. Ducky was going over her things to make a psychological profile of the victim while the rest tried to piece together clues as to what sort of trouble she'd gotten into. Their best guess was the profiles she'd come up with—background checks and the like—on several men with one in particular missing. Ziva was convinced she could be an undercover operative while Tony was questioning her being just a Navy computer geek. Morgan had taken to going over the profiles themselves and had only come to one conclusion.
"They're all rather boring."
"What is?" Tony asked, having stepped into the lab with Gibbs and Ziva, before spotting Abby and McGee asleep at the computer. "I wouldn't call this luck."
Gibbs leaned toward Abby and muttered under his breath. "Your computer's on fire."
She jolted awake. "McGee! My baby's french-frying!"
"Checking internal core temperature!" He spouted, jolting awake as they both went typing away to check before realizing they'd been duped.
"That is so not funny, Gibbs."
"I must have nodded off," McGee muttered.
"Tell me you three have something," Gibbs questioned, and Abby spoke up first, showing him on the monitor nearby.
"We have something. We just don't know what it is."
"It looks like a timetable for an operation," Gibbs noted.
"The problem is the events on the axis are encrypted."
"We've been trying to crack it all night," McGee added.
"Try harder, McGee. Chances of finding her alive drop to almost zero after forty-eight hours." Tony paused and looked over at Gibbs who eyed him. "Sorry, I'm sure you knew that, boss."
"Don't apologize, DiNozzo."
"Right. Sign of weakness."
"Not to mention annoying," Ziva added with a smirk.
"We were able to pull some programs off her directory," Abby continued, showing a photo of the Lieutenant onscreen. "This is the only one that stands out. MorphPro. It's super high-end imaging software. It's unusual because it retails for over five thousand dollars."
"Big bucks on a Lieutenant's salary."
"What's it for?" Ziva asked.
"Morphing human features. Um, we pulled some test runs out of her cache."
"Ah, yeah. This is like the end of Saving Private Ryan. You know, when Matt Damon morphs into his older self. Anybody else get head faked by that, 'cause Tom Hanks was who I thought—" Tony stopped his rambling at the sight of Gibbs's annoyed face.
"I've seen software like this before, Abby. Mossad used earlier versions to age nazi war criminals. It was a great asset to hunting them down," Ziva noted in appreciation.
"So basically what you're saying to me is, we have nothing," Gibbs declared.
"Gibbs! Ziva's talking about nazis. I wouldn't exactly call nazis nothing," Abby argued.
"Abby."
Abby begrudgingly gave in. "We have nothing until we crack her encryptions."
"You mean if. It's high level. It's extremely sophisticated," McGee countered as Ziva turned to Morgan, who'd been ignored and had just leaned back against the counter with her arms folded in wait.
"You said something when we walked in, Morgan. Anything helpful?"
Morgan made a face, eyes flickering over the others as they finally turned to face her before she bit her tongue to hold back a smart comment and gestured to the profiles.
"I was looking at the profiles to try and figure out what sort of people she was targeting. If she was an undercover operative of any sort, her targets would typically be people who are shady themselves or politicians."
"And?" Gibbs pressed.
"And they're boring," Morgan said with a shrug. "Their profiles are just the more boring bits of information I've ever seen. She's not targeting diplomats or spies or terrorists. She's profiling average people. Alpha Bravo 1013 has a criminal record for petty theft in high school," she said, picking up a profile and reaching for another. "Alpha Bravo 1009 has a clean record but went to a trade school in Connecticut to work large machinery. They're simple background checks you can probably look up by paying a one-dollar fee online."
"So, you've also got nothing."
Morgan frowned and Ziva immediately sensed the tension building and hastily intervened before Morgan could say something she might regret.
"Actually, she's narrowed down possible motives and has clarified that our victim isn't a spy but just a computer geek."
"And we still don't know why she was profiling anyone," Gibbs countered. "We have nothing until they can crack that code."
"Would her password help?" Ducky offered, having overheard what was being said and surprisingly, managing to guess the password which let Abby and McGee clear up the coding and reveal what the itinerary was on the Lieutenant's computer. "Oh, Lieutenant Sullivan was indeed into targeting people. She was using all her military knowledge and skills to find a husband."
"Well, it looks like she found herself a psycho instead, Doctor Mallard."
With access to the computer, the team was able to figure out where the Lieutenant last stayed and, given they wouldn't be able to get a warrant in time, chose to put Ziva undercover as another geek to try various fingerprints against the one set of prints they had no match for. Ziva and Tony were the only ones on sight while Gibbs, McGee, and Morgan sat in MTAC going through the fingerprints. One by one they were running out of suspects and Morgan frowned as she drummed her fingers on the crook of her elbow.
"Have we checked any of the staff?"
"How do you mean?" McGee asked as Gibbs glanced at them out of the corner of his eye.
"The staff at the hotel are also there for the same dating thing, could easily have hit on someone or offered them a drink, and could steal her car. If we're striking out on all of the men at this thing, we should look at the others who are there."
"We'll check them after we're done with these guys," Gibbs said. "Hold on. Tony might have something. Bartender pointed out one of our guys as being with the victim Sunday afternoon. I need a print on this guy, and you are out of time, Ziva."
The older man, Calvin Hooper, did indeed prove to be the owner of a silver Honda Accord like the one that had taken the Lieutenant. He had claimed it was stolen Sunday night in Fairfax on his police report and despite Tony and Ziva taking him in, his prints didn't match. Interrogating him wasn't hard and he admitted that he'd lied on the stolen car police report due to his wife not knowing what he was doing. The good thing was, he'd mentioned the person who stole it had used the payphone outside the Texaco station which helped the team start piecing things together.
The suspect had stolen the Lieutenant's car and put her in the trunk, gotten out to make a call, and incidentally had her car stolen from him. He stole Hooper's car to follow and when Farris abandoned the Lieutenant, the suspect moved in and took her again. A quick trace on the call led the team to a warehouse that had been abandoned with a number of incriminating documents including the missing profile, itineraries, blueprints, and a scale model of the Belmar Plaza Hotel. The Lieutenant had profiled a bartender who had lied about his past in order to cover up a heist. A heist that started four minutes before the team hurried out to stop them.
Morgan had caught the first of the crew and with a quick threat from Gibbs the woman from the crew brought the laundry basket over with Ziva inside it as Morgan stepped in to arrest the crew member. The man inside gave up quickly and Tony escorted him out while Ziva brought the woman to the ambulance.
"Can't tell me you didn't miss this when you were in Mexico," Tony chimed when he'd returned to Gibbs's side and the man glanced at him quietly.
"A couple of minutes."
"That's it?" Tony questioned, confused and uncertain at the possible admittance to Gibbs not thinking of them while he'd been gone.
"That's the difference between putting the Lieutenant in a body bag or an ambulance," Gibbs clarified, stepping away and moving toward his car before pausing.
Morgan was pulling at a tug toy with Russell, keeping the eager dog occupied until things were finished and they could head back. Gibbs watched her for a second, trying to figure out why he hadn't remembered her. The rest of the team had been easy and while Ducky had mentioned Morgan was a newer member, she'd been there for almost a year now. He should remember her but hadn't yet. Just very brief flashes of her stubborn expression and her dog. There just wasn't enough to jog his memory yet or she hadn't been as important to him as he thought.
"Frost."
She stopped tugging with Russell and looked over, hesitating when he gestured for her to come closer. He knew she was frustrated with him and his missing memory of her but there wasn't anything he could say to fix things until the memories were back. That, and he got the feeling she didn't want his sympathy.
"Next time I try to ignore you, don't let me," he told her, making her frown lightly.
"Sir?"
"Don't call me sir," he said, feeling a hint of deja vu that soon faded. "You were right about checking the hotel staff and I didn't listen. Next time, do something about it. Don't let me push you out of the team just because of some shit memory. Got it?"
She paused, eyeing him just as he'd been eyeing her before she nodded. "Yes, boss."
"Good. Now go home. Get some rest. We're bright and early tomorrow."