Gibbs was waiting, and for once he wasn't annoyed to be kept waiting. A call from his friend Cal was always welcome. Grabbing a beer at the local bar had been a regular thing for them up until 2 months ago. Lately they'd both been too busy but, Gibbs was definitely in need of some down time.

When he saw Cal enter the bar he knew something was wrong. The man looked as lighthearted as always but Gibbs had known him long enough to sense the unease.

"Hey Gibbs, how have you been?"

"I'm good same really, but you're not."

"That's why I called you. I need your advice, maybe even your help." Cal took a deep breath not liking what he was going to have to reveal.

"Must be serious, you don't ask for help at least not that I can remember."

"It's ugly Gibbs really ugly. But there are things you need to know before I tell you what I need."

"Like the fact you're gay." Gibbs would have smiled at the look on Cal's face.

"You know?" Cal rubbed his face with his hands and then remembered it was possible he was being watched, so he pasted on his usual smile.

"I've always known Cal and I don't care. But I want to know what's got you spooked."

"Well as you know having any sort of inappropriate relationship while active military can cost someone their job. So it was brought to my attention..."

"Get to the point Cal"

Despite himself Cal smiled "Pain in the ass. There's a place where anyone whether they be an Admiral or a private can go to have private time, without ramification so to speak. Except, now couples are disappearing."

"And you can't call the police or risk major career issues."

"It's more than that Gibbs. This place is elite despite the fact that it caters to all levels. You don't find them they find you. It's a huge complex, casinos, hotel, private residences, shopping the list goes on. There are very strict rules, no electronics of any kind. There are private entrances, you give up any and all electronics. There are no cameras; supposedly, every time you enter you're swept for bugs. They are extreme in their safety measures. It's been around for decades and never a problem till now. Now in the past year three couples have gone missing and no one knows why or how."

"Dammit, Cal, why didn't you come to me before now? We can help you." Gibbs saw Cal smile, knew it wasn't real, saw him shake his head.

"That's why I waited Gibbs. NCIS can't officially help. It has to be someone who is part of the club. And the members go very high up. There cannot be an official investigation. One of the senior members has a very long conversation with anyone new to the club. It's made very clear that anything that happens never leaves the compound so to speak. Any problems of any kind are settled internally. Obviously before this year we've never had this level of problem."

"So what you need is someone to infiltrate the club, with the intention of finding out why couples are disappearing?"

"Sounds easy enough, right? Except everyone there has something to lose. Everyone's worried about blackmail being next etc. It's a mess and a big one and the political ramifications are huge. Foreign dignitaries have been known to make appearances. Big deals have been brokered at this place." Cal cleared his throat before continuing. "The problem is it would require deep cover and convincing deep cover at that. You couldn't bring just anyone into this and fake a relationship. It would have to look like you'd have something to lose. Everyone knows you work for NCIS you'd be suspected immediately."

"Unless I could be convincing enough...I see what you're getting at. How did you get into such a mess? Never mind it's probably better if I don't know the details." Gibbs took a deep swallow of his beer. "So if I could manage to find someone I could trust to bring in on this, how would I manage to get invited?"

"In two weeks a high ranking member of the club will be at a gala event. If you could get caught it would probably go a long ways. But the problem is, you have to be damn convincing I can't say it enough. If it's suspected you're acting it could get dangerous."

"Obviously" Gibbs sighed not liking where his thoughts were going.

"I suggest you work out the details and we can continue meeting for beer as we always have. I hate asking you Gibbs but I don't have any other options. Everyone else is too worried about the

consequences to do anything."

"I have to pull in two people, a woman I know and no I won't tell you who and the director." at Cal's look he grimaced "I know what you're thinking but we have an understanding, he knows things about me I know things about him. I can trust him."

"I hope you're right Gibbs. Look I need to go. But I can't stress enough to keep this as quiet as is possible."

Gibbs was still thinking about what Cal had said to him while he sat outside Ziva's apartment. It was two a.m. and he was taking a risk. He trusted Ziva, with his life, watching his back, with his vulnerability after his accident. This was different, he had always been attracted to her she knew it he knew and they'd left it at that. Still, pulling her into this while an obvious choice was a big risk. It was going to get messy and complicated, there was no way around that. It wouldn't be a short term mission that was for sure. It would take time to gain trust and a lot would be on the line. And of course she would have to be willing. Watching the clock tick to 2:15 he stared at the keys in his hand and hoped he survived letting himself into her apartment.