Stolen Life

She wanted his job, and it would be easy enough to discredit him.

Actually, she wanted a whole lot more than his job.

Prologue

Mid-September

Janice Parker sipped at her coffee as she looked around the room. She'd only been with Homeland Security for a few weeks now, transferred in from the CIA to join up with the new, inter-agency task force Assistant Director Morrow was starting. Most of the men on the task force were pencil pushers, but one man caught her eye. Tall, with bright green eyes and a debonair smile, she'd spotted him the moment he'd walked in the room. Tad, her new partner walked up with a plate of food.

"You eat yet?"

She smiled as she bit back a sigh. Tad was a nice kid and had helped her get acclimated to the way they did things at this more rule-driven agency, but he did tend to get on her nerves. "Not yet. Is there anything there actually edible, or is it all standard agent slop?"

Tad shrugged, looking down at his plate, piled high with meat and various chips. "The ham's pretty good and I think I saw some grapes."

"Wonderful." She considered slipping out to get something healthier at the deli across the street. Spotting the man that had caught her eye earlier, she pointed him out to Tad. "I haven't seen him around before."

"Oh, yeah, that's Tony DiNozzo. He's not one of ours, belongs to NCIS."

Different agency, no fraternization issues then. Morrow was so old-fashioned. "You know him?"

Tad gave her a knowing grin. "Down girl, he's taken. He's got a boyfriend."

She watched as Agent DiNozzo watched another woman walk past him, following her ass with his eyes. "Really? Seems pretty aware of women for a gay guy if you ask me." She didn't get an answer and when she turned, Tad was also watching the striking woman. To get his attention, she slapped at his arm.

"What?"

Rolling her eyes, she got him back on track. "DiNozzo. What do you know about him?"

Giving in, Tad sighed and turned to face her. "Been with NCIS for a while, he's part of their MCRT here in DC. Used to work under AD Morrow when he was the director there. They've had some pretty good busts over the years. Took out Ari Haswari and Harper Dearing. I'm sure you've heard of them."

"I was in the Ukraine, not Antarctica, Tad. So he was part of both of those? Interesting."

"Yeah, Saleem and Sharif, too. For a little agency, they get around." Another man walked up to DiNozzo, also tall with green eyes, but Janice wouldn't have ever given him a second glance of Tad hadn't pointed him out. "That's the boyfriend."

"DiNozzo brought a date to the meeting?"

"His name is McGee, he's also on the MCRT team over there."

Dating a teammate, that was an interesting development. "They must run a looser ship over there."

"Like I said, small agency. Besides, I don't think they're totally out, but I've heard enough rumors. Do you want me to introduce you?"

It was tempting, but she wanted to do some recon first. "No, that's okay. I'm sure we'll run into each other eventually."

Tad gave her a funny look, but the woman both he and DiNozzo had been watching came back in, so he apparently decided to try his luck. Watching her partner crash and burn gave Janice time to start to form an idea.

-NCIS-

"Shoot me now, Tim."

"No. The paperwork for that would be even worse than this luncheon. Besides, this is your fault, you know."

"My fault? Why is it my fault?" Tim gave him the look that said he knew that Tony knew exactly what he was talking about and Tony shrugged. "Okay, it was funny at the time."

"And I'm sure Vance thinks it's funny that we're here instead of having a three day weekend."

Tim was probably right about that. Nobody wanted to be sitting through all of this bull when weapons were being sold. Unfortunately, since there was no known Navy connection, they were relegated to sitting on the sidelines, running background searches and tracking down dead ends. "I'll make it up to you when we get out of here, I promise."

"Yeah?"

"How about we get a room somewhere? Someplace with a hot tub and room service?" That got a smile and Tim leaned a little closer – the closest to a public display of affection that they'd ever allow themselves.

"You might get yourself out of the doghouse with an idea like that, DiNozzo – and for watching Agent Johnson's ass."

"But it was a fine ass, Tim." That got an eye roll and Tony decided that a massage might help his case, too.

-NCIS-

"It's not the Adams House, but it should be pretty good."

"The Adams House is where you dad stays." Now that they were away from the conference Tim leaned into Tony's personal space with a smile. "That wouldn't exactly get me in the mood."

"Yeah?" Alone in the elevator, Tony smiled back and nipped at Tim's lower lip. "You in the mood, Timmy?"

"I could be persuaded."

That made Tony grin. The main reason he managed to get into so much trouble was the fun he had making up for it.

-NCIS-

It had been a long weekend and the dishes were piled high in the sink, but Janice had everything she wanted – a detailed dossier on Tony DiNozzo and his boyfriend and a way to get NCIS connected to her case. With Tony's background in undercover assignments, she hoped to convince AD Morrow to temporarily transfer Tony DiNozzo to Homeland Security for the duration of the operation. All she needed was a few weeks with him to convince him to migrate back to the straight side of the fence. Everything assembled, she prepared for her meeting with Tom Morrow in the morning.

-NCIS-

Tom Morrow skimmed through the file in front of him before starting again at the beginning. "You're sure of your source, Miss Parker?"

"Yes, Sir. I've double checked everything. My source is solid. If I might make a suggestion?"

"I'm listening."

"We need to have someone familiar with the Navy on this. I've reviewed the background of the NCIS agents that are part of the main task force and I noticed that Agent DiNozzo has done quite a bit of undercover work. If he could be moved to the small task force, I believe that he could be of great help."

Leaning back in his chair, Tom thought about Agent Parker's suggestion. If she were right and some of the weapons were being smuggled aboard a naval ship, then NCIS needed to have a larger part of this than to loan them one agent. As good as his own people were, they didn't have the resources or the contacts within the armed forces that Gibbs and his people did. "Thank you, I'll confer with Director Vance on the matter this afternoon."

"I'll prepare a full report to bring Agent DiNozzo up to speed the moment he arrives."

"Actually, you will be TAD'd to NCIS for the duration of the OP."

"Sir?"

-NCIS-

"Actually, you will be TAD'd to NCIS for the duration of the OP."

Janice just barely managed to cover her shock. "Sir?"

"If you're correct and some of these weapons are being moved aboard a Navy vessel, this is bigger than one dirty sailor. Lead for this part of the operation will transfer to NCIS. I assume you'd like to continue?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Good. I'll let Director Vance know. The final decision will be up to him and Agent Gibbs."

She watched all her planning go up in smoke. "Agent Gibbs, Sir?"

"Their team leader. Good man, hard to work for. You up for it?"

"Of course."

"Good. Now go clear whatever paperwork you need to finish. It will take a week or so to get everything set up."

Dismissed, Janice kept her composure all the way back to her office. Tad was on the breakfast run so she had a few minutes to rage before she had to put the mask back on. Silently she cursed Morrow and his interference with her plans. Getting Tony away from his support, and of course his boyfriend, would have made it so much easier. Well, if she couldn't get him away from McGee, she'd have to find a way to get McGee away from him.

A new plan forming, she sat down and started pulling up some of her less savory contacts. Somehow, she had to drive McGee away from Tony while making herself look like an answer to their prayers.