Special Agent 2: The Dark Soldier

Chapter 18

"Ugh," McGee groaned, leaning back in his chair and rubbing his eyes. "This gravity research from Jane Foster is so difficult to analyze."

"Have Abby do it," DiNozzo suggested from where he was sitting at his desk, repeatedly tossing a crumpled paper bag up into the air and catching it.

"I already sent her a copy," McGee said. "She's doing better at it than I am, but this is astrophysical stuff, DiNozzo, not forensics or anything. It's a lot more complicated than you think."

DiNozzo got out of his chair and walked over to McGee's desk, peering at the monitor over the agent's shoulder. "Hmm," he said. "I would hypothesize that this all means the gravity abnormalities found along Ghost Street are causing some sort of universal fluctuation, connecting us to places spread throughout the fabric of space."

McGee stared at DiNozzo. "What? You understood that?"

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, McGee," DiNozzo said sarcastically. "No, I don't. I'm making a guess. I'm not a science guy like you, McNerd. I'm normal."

"Agent DiNozzo. Agent McGee."

The two agents glanced up to see Vance descending the stairs toward them. "Yes, Director?" DiNozzo asked, straightening up.

"Do you mind informing me on where Agent Gibbs, Agent Bishop, and Agent Laufeyson are?" Vance queried. "I noticed they were not in yesterday."

DiNozzo and McGee exchanged a look. "You can tell him," McGee muttered. "I had to tell him last time."

"Last time?" Vance repeated, coming to a halt in the middle of the squad room, hands clasped behind his back. "So I'm going to assume they have gone to Asgard."

"Yeah," DiNozzo admitted. "But only because Bishop was injured badly in our fight with the suspects and Thor and Loki decided to take her to Asgard, and Gibbs followed them. Asgard has better health care, I guess."

"Have you heard anything from them?" Vance asked.

"No, sir," McGee answered. "We haven't heard anything."

"Which I'm going to postulate is a good thing, because if something bad happened to Bishop you'd probably be able to hear Loki cursing them out from here," DiNozzo said. "He tends to go after cities when he's miffed."

"I don't think New York was a case of him being miffed," McGee pointed out. "Punching you in the face, now that was a case of being miffed."

"Whatever, McNot-An-Astrologist."

"Astrophysicist. It's astrophysicist, Tony."

Vance cleared his throat, ending their argument. "When Gibbs is back, have him report to me immediately," he said. "But for now, bring me up to date on the Morris case."

McGee stood up, pushing away from his desk. "Well, we now know that Agent Sniper killed Captain Morris, one sniper round to the head. She was working with her partner, who we have no idea who he is."

"People call him Ghost," DiNozzo said. "There was also a third person involved in the shooting, for a getaway driver drove them away from the scene. Black SUV, the witness didn't get a license plate number."

"While DiNozzo and Loki were interviewing Millie Swenson, our witness, Sniper arrived and killed Swenson, prompting a chase to the building Morris died before," McGee continued. "Loki pursued Sniper through the building until he fell out a window while grappling with her and then they just vanished from sight."

Vance furrowed his brow. "Did anyone think to look down?"

Exasperated, DiNozzo sighed. "Of course I thought to look down. What do you think I am, an idiot?"