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meteorfireTitle: The Golden Rules
Rating: PG
Word Count: 684
Characters: OFC, OFC, DiNozzo, Gibbs
Warnings: Talk of an agent shot in the line of duty
Summary: Gibbs' rules are still in effect, years after he's left NCIS.
“What is Rule Fifteen, Cormac?” the voice over the telephone snapped in irritation.
Special Agent Mackenzie Cormac shifted nervously, staring at the three dead men on the ground in front of her, the floor and walls of the small room covered liberally in blood.
“Always work as a team, ma’am,” she stuttered.
“And where is the rest of your team?” the voice demanded.
“At headquarters, ma’am.”
“And that is where you are supposed to be, rather than running off half-cocked just because you think you know better! Just because Agent DiNozzo is in the hospital fighting for his life does not mean that you are now the team lead, and it certainly does not mean you leave your team behind! We have these rules for a reason, Cormac!”
“Yes, ma’am, I understand, ma’am.”
“Now what did you want?”
“I found them. The drug-runners, I found them. They’re all dead.”
There was silence on the other end of the line, and Cormac could just imagine the colors that agent McGonall’s face was turning. “I’ve got people on the way. Stay there, don’t move. Give them your statement. Then I want a word with you.”
The phone call ended abruptly, with Cormac staring at the cellphone in her hands. “Hell.”
----
“Cormac, with me,” McGonall ordered, stalking off towards the elevators. Cormac followed, trying to ignore the stares of the other agents in the bullpen.
McGonall hit the button for the basement, and then hit the emergency stop after they were halfway down. She turned to fix cold brown eyes on the cringing Cormac. “Would you care to tell me what this is about?”
“What do you mean?”
“For as long as I’ve known you, you’ve been DiNozzo’s little golden girl. Then, the second he gets hurt and taken out of action, you’re running off and breaking rules left and right! You refuse to work with the team, you act as if this is your team and your lead, you’ve told three different lies about what you’ve been up to, and you’ve let your attachment to DiNozzo get in the way on this case! What is going on here, Cormac?”
She bit her lip and didn’t say a word.
“Off the record.”
“Why do these rules matter? DiNozzo’s always on about these rules of his, and it’s not like they even matter! Oh, sure, he pretends they matter, but these stupid rules are why he’s dying in the first place! If he hadn’t had that damn knife on him, they wouldn’t have shot him!”
“You don’t know that. They might have shot him because he was a cop, or dressed well, or too charming. The knife gives them an excuse, that is all. Have the rules ever failed you before?”
Cormac stayed silent.
“Did you know that DiNozzo didn’t even make those rules? He got them from his team lead back in the day. You don’t fix what ain’t broke, Cormac.”
She looked up, her eyes a bit teary. “Really? But…they must be old. Agent DiNozzo’s almost up for retirement…”
McGonall laughed. “Yeah, but don’t tell them that. They’ll have a fit.”
“Ma’am?”
“Cormac, who do think that crotchety old man in DiNozzo’s hospital room was, his dad? No, that was Agent Gibbs. Even retired, that man takes care of his own.”
“But he’s what, eighty? Ninety? Seriously?”
“Seriously, kid. Now buck up, and don’t let this get you down. DiNozzo’s pulled through worse, and he won’t let a little thing like a bullet keep him down.”
McGonall hit the emergency stop button again, and the elevator began to move downwards again. With a cheerful chime, the doors slid open in front of an old man glaring at them. They walked past him into the morgue.
“Who in the world gave them the idea to use the damn elevator as a conference room? I never had to deal with this waiting when I worked here,” he muttered.
McGonall only rolled her eyes. “You never had to deal with the waiting because you’re the one who started those conference meetings,” she called out.
Gibbs simply ignored her.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 684
Characters: OFC, OFC, DiNozzo, Gibbs
Warnings: Talk of an agent shot in the line of duty
Summary: Gibbs' rules are still in effect, years after he's left NCIS.
“What is Rule Fifteen, Cormac?” the voice over the telephone snapped in irritation.
Special Agent Mackenzie Cormac shifted nervously, staring at the three dead men on the ground in front of her, the floor and walls of the small room covered liberally in blood.
“Always work as a team, ma’am,” she stuttered.
“And where is the rest of your team?” the voice demanded.
“At headquarters, ma’am.”
“And that is where you are supposed to be, rather than running off half-cocked just because you think you know better! Just because Agent DiNozzo is in the hospital fighting for his life does not mean that you are now the team lead, and it certainly does not mean you leave your team behind! We have these rules for a reason, Cormac!”
“Yes, ma’am, I understand, ma’am.”
“Now what did you want?”
“I found them. The drug-runners, I found them. They’re all dead.”
There was silence on the other end of the line, and Cormac could just imagine the colors that agent McGonall’s face was turning. “I’ve got people on the way. Stay there, don’t move. Give them your statement. Then I want a word with you.”
The phone call ended abruptly, with Cormac staring at the cellphone in her hands. “Hell.”
----
“Cormac, with me,” McGonall ordered, stalking off towards the elevators. Cormac followed, trying to ignore the stares of the other agents in the bullpen.
McGonall hit the button for the basement, and then hit the emergency stop after they were halfway down. She turned to fix cold brown eyes on the cringing Cormac. “Would you care to tell me what this is about?”
“What do you mean?”
“For as long as I’ve known you, you’ve been DiNozzo’s little golden girl. Then, the second he gets hurt and taken out of action, you’re running off and breaking rules left and right! You refuse to work with the team, you act as if this is your team and your lead, you’ve told three different lies about what you’ve been up to, and you’ve let your attachment to DiNozzo get in the way on this case! What is going on here, Cormac?”
She bit her lip and didn’t say a word.
“Off the record.”
“Why do these rules matter? DiNozzo’s always on about these rules of his, and it’s not like they even matter! Oh, sure, he pretends they matter, but these stupid rules are why he’s dying in the first place! If he hadn’t had that damn knife on him, they wouldn’t have shot him!”
“You don’t know that. They might have shot him because he was a cop, or dressed well, or too charming. The knife gives them an excuse, that is all. Have the rules ever failed you before?”
Cormac stayed silent.
“Did you know that DiNozzo didn’t even make those rules? He got them from his team lead back in the day. You don’t fix what ain’t broke, Cormac.”
She looked up, her eyes a bit teary. “Really? But…they must be old. Agent DiNozzo’s almost up for retirement…”
McGonall laughed. “Yeah, but don’t tell them that. They’ll have a fit.”
“Ma’am?”
“Cormac, who do think that crotchety old man in DiNozzo’s hospital room was, his dad? No, that was Agent Gibbs. Even retired, that man takes care of his own.”
“But he’s what, eighty? Ninety? Seriously?”
“Seriously, kid. Now buck up, and don’t let this get you down. DiNozzo’s pulled through worse, and he won’t let a little thing like a bullet keep him down.”
McGonall hit the emergency stop button again, and the elevator began to move downwards again. With a cheerful chime, the doors slid open in front of an old man glaring at them. They walked past him into the morgue.
“Who in the world gave them the idea to use the damn elevator as a conference room? I never had to deal with this waiting when I worked here,” he muttered.
McGonall only rolled her eyes. “You never had to deal with the waiting because you’re the one who started those conference meetings,” she called out.
Gibbs simply ignored her.