𝐍𝐎 𝐑𝐔𝐋𝐄𝐒 ━━ 𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐳𝐳𝐨

NINETEEN | midday rendezvous

"A game of cards between the agency chiefs at the Secretary of the Navy's house."

"Love to be a fly on that wall."

"To buzz and irritate the big bosses?"

"No. To eavesdrop on their conversation."

"That's an invasion of privacy, McFly."

"Like you wouldn't want to hear what they have to spill to each other?"

The four agents discuss amongst each other as Gibbs, Fornell, and I.C.E. Agent Julia Foster-Yates over which agency receives jurisdiction of the high-profile case.

Once it's settled that N.C.I.S. will take lead in the investigation, we split to our respective tasks: Ziva and I with the body and Tony and McGee inside the house.

"Was he poisoned?" Ziva questions quietly.

"No, I don't think so. He has this severe bruise on his neck." Ducky tugs down the white collar so I can snap a picture. "No, this man was attacked."

"Are you certain?"

A strange woman — most likely the I.C.E. agent on the case — squats across from Ducky.

"Are you the one that performed C.P.R.?"

"Unsuccessfully."

"Well, it was the right instinct. This man was oxygen-deprived. Notice he has petechial hemorrhaging in his eyes."

"He was strangled." Ziva determines.

And the ego-boosted confidence of the agent returns. "That would suggest someone penetrated our security web unseen."

"How come that's an unlikely possibility?" I inquire with a cock of the brow.

"Because I designed it. It was airtight."

"Apparently not."

Then, the discovery of a listening device found under Agent Sherman's body creates another loose end to be tied.

While the others return to headquarters with a few extra agents, Tony and I explore the perimeters of Agent Yates' supposed "airtight" security web.

"Heavy footfalls on the lawn directed towards the patio." I gesture to the imprints on the green grass below.

"Agents stationed at the perimeter converged on the house after Sherman went down." Yates explains.

I look around the landscape. "But they weren't able to catch the attacker. . .because he didn't escape this way."

"Unless he could cross a lawn. . .without bending a blade of grass."

"And if Ziva were here, she'd argue that and say it'd be possible with the right training."

While Tony and Yates are distracted by rashly talking behind my back, I climb up a tree and map out our assailant's prompt exit.

A short call from McGee brings us back to the car to ride back to headquarters. I graze a hand over Tony's shoulder, gently forming a smile.

"Something wrong, sweetheart?"

"I just. . .I feel like we haven't had much time to talk. Just the two of us."

He matches my grin and pecks the top of my hand. "What do you wanna talk about then? Because if you're talking about doing more than talking, we can't exactly do it in a moving vehicle."

"Only if you swear yourself to secrecy." I glance back at the rear row, as though I were scoping out the area.

"Ev, you're scaring me. What's going on?"