Chapter 6

Mike pulled into the evidence garage at the Navy Yard and went to the back of the van. "Ready?" he called before knocking on the doors, knowing that his agents had locked it from the inside. The ride had been quick and everything had been quiet back there, but Mike was always ready for anything.

"All clear, Boss," Tim called out, as he got up from his crouched position. Seeing Ziva do the same, he added, "We're ready in here." Clicking the lock to the unlocked position, he waited from Franks to open the door.

Moving to the suspect, Ziva grabbed him under the arm to help him stand. Once he was on his own two feet, she moved behind him to take the rear position.

Jet crouched in the van when he was encouraged to stand up by the woman. He considered the possibilities for an escape and discarded them. He was outnumbered and could probably disarm one but not all. And the guy outside sounded like a tough customer.

He tested his knee, moving it gingerly, trying to act like he was getting the kinks out.

Mike threw the door open and then backed off, gun at the ready.

"Ah, the welcoming committee. Take it he's the boss?" Jet asked, tossing that back to the woman behind him.

"You have assumed correctly. Now exit the van slowly. No sudden moves or my finger on the trigger may just echo the swiftness, yes?

He chuckled and shook his head. "Your captain will have your ass if you shoot a cuffed suspect in the back and we both know it, so you can give that scare tactic up." And the chances were he could disarm her with one well-placed kick, though he wouldn't take his chances. He could be a bit reckless but he wasn't suicidal and three-against-one odds in what looked to be a garage of some sort...

It'd lead to his death.

"Ah, but he is not my boss, you see, as I am a liaison officer. And my gun is not my only option for a weapon, of which I am sure you are aware. So shooting a restrained suspect is not my only venue. If you wish to remain alive and whole, please proceed to the rear of the van. I would hate to have to explain to Abby why I had to injure you."

"Hand to hand combat," he agreed, acknowledging the prowess he was sure she had. "Yes, ma'am," he added seriously, no BS, no sarcasm. Outside of riling her up he'd treat her like the warrior he was sure she was, giving her a level of respect Baby Face hadn't earned.

"Good, now proceed to the exit, if you don't mind," she finished, gesturing with her gun, raising an eyebrow in acknowledgement of similar experiences in their pasts, experiences that made them comrades of sorts.

"Get out slow and easy." The guy had a gravelly voice, one that rang bells in the depths of Jet's memory. He stepped down with a lot more grace than he'd been tossed in and took a good hard look at the man. It all clicked into place and he blinked a few times, momentarily shocked.

"Special Agent Mike Franks, I'm with..."

"NCIS," Jet supplied.

"Boss?" Tim asked slowly. "What's going on? How do you know who we are?" he asked, this time addressing the suspect, keeping his gun trained on him. Though he guessed he was overreacting, Tim couldn't help all the alarms that were going off in his head. There was something about this guy that convinced him to keep his guard up. Tim just hoped that Tony could convince Abby to do the same by the time they got back and joined them.

Mike shrugged, scrutinizing the guy. Blue eyes, silver hair, forties, lean body, expensive clothes. Nothing stood out, though the air crackled with energy around him. This guy was constantly in the ready position. And there was something about his eyes that dragged Mike's attention back, the whisper of a memory tickling his brain. He'd seen this man before, he was sure of it.

"Answer him," Mike said, pointing to McGee but keeping his weapon trained on the guy for an endless moment.

The guy gestured toward one of the vans. "I can read. NCIS. Naval Criminal Investigative Service. Think I committed a crime against a squid? I didn't."

"We'll see." Mike jerked his head toward Ziva. "Interrogation room One. With me, McGee."

~~

Tony had gotten himself a coffee and Abby a gallon of Caf-Pow at a convenience store. She'd been hitting buttons on the radio for the entire ride, finding and zooming past a bunch of channels. He'd forgotten they were in the NCIS-issue cars and he didn't have the CDs. She'd barely said a word as he drove through the quiet streets to the Navy Yard.

"Abby..." he began and then trailed off.

Even the Caf-Pow wasn't settling her. Normally, as strange as it sounded, the Caf-Pow helped to settle her, to focus her mind. It was failing her now, since all she could think of was the few brief moments she had with the suspect, with Jet. His touch, his lips, his taste.

Hearing Tony calling her name, she turned in her seat towards him. "Yeah, Tony?" she asked, knowing their relationship was a bit shaky at the moment.

"I'm sorry," he said, genuine remorse in his voice. "I'm just real worried about you. I've never seen you like this over a guy and that one screams danger, like Jason or Freddy or Chuckie kind of danger."

He pulled up to a red light and squeezed her hand. "Even if he wasn't a suspect, I'd be worried. There is something almost wild animal about that guy, Abby."

Turning her hand over, she grabbed his. Looking down at their joined hands, Abby said, "I know, Tony. I know you're worried about me. And I appreciate it. I really do. But please, do you really think that guy is dangerous like scary movie dangerous? Do you think he's going to come after me with a chainsaw and hack me to pieces in my lab? Tony, you've been watching way too many movies alone. We need to have a movie night again soon. When was the last one? Christmas Eve?"

"Does it matter?" Tony shot back. "Dead is dead, Abbs." He pulled into his assigned parking space and gestured her out of the car. "Your lab and then interrogation. You need to change. That dress is too..." He smirked. "If we weren't best friends, you'd be in trouble, Abby. You're hotter than Jen and Angelina put together."

"Yes, it does matter. Because he isn't a murderer. He may be many things, he may be dangerous, but he isn't a murderer any more than you and Mike are." Getting out of the car, she came around and waited for Tony to catch up with her. Posing and preening for him, she asked, "Do you think I'm sexy, Tony?

Tony swallowed hard. Did she not know how sexy he found her? "Yeah, Abbs. If you showed a hint of interest, I'd jump you right now and you'd see just how sexy I find you."

She was usually his Abbs, his little sister, but in that dress with her hair swept up and the makeup so perfect, he was completely attracted. He could almost forget she was a little sister to him.

"Tony! You are a dork sometimes. I know you don't think of me as anything more than your sister. If you're attracted to me, it's one of two things. One, it's really good you don't have a real sister." She snorted. "Or two, you're only intrigued with me because I represent a mystery, something that you haven't accomplished yet. Since I know you pretty well, I'm gonna guess it's the second option."

"Or three, you've dated or said everyone else on the team is worth your time but not me. And it kinda bugs me, okay?" Tony retorted. Ziva made fun of his taste in women and his dating history, but Tony knew he and Abby had a much tighter bond.

"You don't need to be so jealous, Tony. Of course you're worth my time; you're worth more than my time. Yeah, we've never dated. Yeah, we've never kissed. But that doesn't mean to don't find you way sexy 'cause I do."

"You do?" he asked, perking up, chest puffing out a little. "Like Brad Pitt sexy, or Daniel Craig sexy or like your best friend that you don't wanna insult who is kind of cute but you'd never swap spit with type? Or like Halle Berry's husband, all pretty but nobody knows anything about him. Or like Tom Cruise kind of creepy sexy? Or like Hugh Jackman sexy?" He knew his voice sounded hopeful when he hit Hugh Jackman.

"Even though he's way older than I am."

"Oh definitely Hugh Jackman. There's no question about it. Rugged, tall, handsome. You're even hairy like he is. My own little Wolverine."

"Uh, great. I was thinking like Australia Hugh or even Van Helsing Hugh, but you pick the supernatural Hugh, which is great in an X men kinda way but Abbs, he is really hairy there. I'm not that hairy and you know it."

But how would she know. It wasn't as if she'd seen him nude or anything. And Ziva hadn't talked, had she? Kate hadn't seen much, at least he didn't think so. Unless when they were all showering after he'd unleashed the plague...

"Who said I'm hairy?"

"Hello! I have the video feed from when you were undercover with Ziva. Really undercover! Even Mike knows how hairy you are! Besides, Ziva's my friend, Tony, and we do have girls' night out. Movies, popcorn, chocolate — of course — and talking. LOTS of talking. And of course, she did rate your butt and Tim's butt. Tim told me."

Tapping her chin with her finger, she pretended to consider, "Now, which Hugh ... I haven't seen 'Australia, ' so I have no reference there. And you don't have the hair, on your head that is, or the big coat for Van Helsing Hugh. Since you don't like the Wolverine Hugh, what about the Kate and Leopold Hugh? Suave, handsome, a gentleman, though a little odd with his clothes. Sounds pretty good, right?"

"I'm not hairy," he insisted. Okay, his chest was kind of but not the rest of his body. Not his back and his butt. "I'm not so bad, Abby. I look like a guy, okay?" He bit him lip and thought about Kate and Leopold Hugh Jackman. "Suave, handsome, fish out of water who adjusted okay in the end? Yeah, I think I can live with that."

"You look beautiful in that outfit," he told her in utter seriousness. "Maybe it is the illusion but Abby ... my god ... You could be a Bond girl in that getup. And even if I don't want to date you ... I could do other naughty things to you when you look like that."

Even though his words were honest, Tony knew he had to diffuse the tension, so he winked at her and looked her up and down. "And I thought Marilyn was hot. This is even hotter, Abbs. It's you this time."

Rolling her eyes, she twirled around. "Really, Mr. Bond? What kind of naughty things?" She knew they were just playing, knew that in the end they really weren't serious. But it helped, teasing and flirting like this helped to ease the stress of the evening, the strain of her interaction with the suspect.

"Like Halle Berry in that scene where she steps out of the water sexy," he said in his best Connery Bond voice. "Like Kim Bassinger in Never Say Never Again. Like Ursula Andress in Goldfinger, hot, Abbs."

He swallowed hard, realizing they were getting a little beyond casual teasing. "Like if you weren't so confused and this wasn't all screwed up, I'd kiss you, and I'd take you to bed. As Bond or Tony."

He gulped again. "That's why we have to get to the lab and you changed. Because if I'm thinking that, every other red-blooded male is thinking the same thing and I don't want to have to kill McGee and Mike."

"Anthony DiNozzo, some day you're going to run out of movie references. I wonder what you'll do then. But you still do a great Bond." She blushed under his scrutiny. "All right Tony. I get it. I need to dress like this with caution. 'Cause, I seem to keep causing problems tonight. Come on. Let's go. I'll head to the lab, and you go check in with Mike. We'll meet somewhere in the middle."

"Never. There is a movie for everything, Abby. And I've seen most of 'em." He grinned when she said he did a great Bond. Sean Connery's Bond was one of his heroes. Always suave, always sophisticated, a killer with the ladies. And the adventures he had in exotic places.

"But there are still a few you haven't seen, Tony. We'll find them and have a movie night of it. What do you think? When this is all over?"

He gave Abby a kiss on the forehead, backtracking to her other statement. "I'll be in the bullpen. Find me there. We'll go to interrogation together." More like the firing squad was the way he was looking at it. "Meet me up there when you're ready, capiche?"

Leaning into his kiss, she replied, "Right. When it's time for the interrogation, I'll come to the bullpen. Capiche, DiNozzo." But for the prints, Tony, I'll be doing them by myself. I have to figure out what this is between Jet and me. And I can't do that with you hovering, ready to fire a gun if he some much as looks at me wrong.

"You've got it, Abbs. You bring the gumbo and I'll bring the beer and movies. You see Kung-Fu Panda yet? Or Bolt? How about Body of Lies? I bet you had a huge crush on DiCaprio back in the day."

"Ha, I bet you did too," she teased. "We'll need to choose a theme. Get a bunch of movies like that. Like, if you wanna do cartoons, Kung-Fu Panda and Bolt would work. Or if you wanna do more intrigue, Body of Lies and maybe some Hitchcock thrown in?"

Tony laughed, shaking his head. "Kate Winslet was kinda hot. Now Russell Crowe in Gladiator rather than Body of Lies. He looks old and fat in Body of Lies, even though he looks pretty decent regularly." Tony never turned down Hitchcock and he grinned. "You're staying over. Cartoons and Pop Tarts the next morning, pizza, adventure and suspense and air-popped corn the night before. Just tell me when and I'll make it happen."

"No on the Pop-Tarts, Tony. I'm thinking Mickey Mouse pancakes with chocolate chips eyes and smiles. How's that? As soon as all this dies down, we're doing it? You, me, junk food and movies. Sounds great." She gave him a genuine smile then, always loving their dorky time together more than anything else.

"Yeah, we'll do it," Tony agreed, giving her a gentle smile. "Like that. You and me acting like overgrown kids. Will be fun. "And a break from what was going on here. "Though Probie and Ziva think I always act like a kid, or a fratboy."

It was a delicate issue and one he didn't usually bring up. He shouldn't now, so he just shrugged. "Movies and my best friend. Sounds pretty incredible to me." And Tony had a sinking feeling everything was about to change.

"I can't wait, Tony. Nights like that are some of my favorites. Plus, it's a great stress reliever, getting to act like kids. Takes my mind off of real life for awhile." Shaking her head, she added. "Well, I know you're no fratboy, Tony. You're much more than the joking, prankster façade you show in the bullpen. Besides, there's nothing wrong with acting like a kid, so says the girl with the pigtails," she declared.

He tugged on one, giving her a small smile. "Don't change, Abbs, okay?" he knew he was being silly and stupid but he felt deep down inside that he was losing her. That tonight had changed everything and not for the better. But he wouldn't say anything.

They were getting back on even and comfortable footing and Tony realized that was what they both needed. "No interrogating him without me, Abbs."