NCIS | The Night's Agents: Book #1: Strangers in the Night

NCIS-Mossad liaison officer Ziva David crept through the undergrowth, her partner Anthony DiNozzo hot on her trail. Her sensitive nose picked up the scent they were tracking and her eyes were quick to ferret out any visible clues. It would be easier to . . . But no, she would not risk exposing herself. DiNozzo was the only member on the team who knew her secret, and he had sworn not to tell Gibbs, McGee, Ducky, even Abby. They couldn't risk the consequences if the wrong people found out. Not even her Mossad colleagues knew the truth about Director David's daughter.

Ziva suddenly tensed, a slight growl rising in her throat. Tony's sharp hearing picked it up; his senses were almost as keen as his partner's. (How could they not, when they both had the same . . . condition?) She thought at him, Cover me. She's close.

On it, came the reply.

The Mossad liaison officer slunk closer. She knew McGee and Gibbs would come soon, but hopefully the suspect could be apprehended by then. A few yards ahead, she could see a building through the trees. The lights were on, and she could hear someone moving around inside.

Ziva mentally contacted Tony, Forget protocol. I'm going to shift.

Ziva—, Tony started to protest, then stopped. I'm on your six.

She nodded an affirmative, then ducked behind a bush. All Tony could see was her head and shoulders. Then his partner was gone and a dark brown she-wolf stepped out from behind the bush. Only her chocolate-brown eyes remained the same.

Let's go. Ziva's voice in his head reminded him that both of them were telepathic in wolf form. The senior field agent hurried after the she-wolf, thinking the infamous last words of Han Solo: I have a bad feeling about this.

Oh, quit it, Ziva chided, slinking forward until she was at the door. Looking back, she narrowed her very human eyes at Tony. You coming?

Can't you shift back?

Oh, sure. That is, if you'd prefer me without any clothes.

Personally, DiNozzo liked that idea. He quickly shoved aside the mental images, reminding himself that she could read his mind.

Let's get on with it, he decided.

Ziva bared her suddenly needle-sharp teeth in a snarl before throwing her head back and letting out a bone-chilling howl. Even though he knew the dark brown wolf in front of him was his partner, tremors of fear crept down Tony's spine.

Luckily, it had the desired effect. The door opened and Petty Officer Phoebe Madison froze as she saw Ziva standing in front of her looking ready to attack. Then her gaze flickered to DiNozzo, and she bolted.

Tony ordered, Search the house. I've got her.

Okay. Ziva didn't try to argue. She hurried back the way she'd come, picked up her clothes, then pelted back, paws thudding on the ground. The female Shifter headed into the small cabin and shifted back to human. After pulling on her black T-shirt, kaki cargo pants, and other clothing, she quickly searched the place.

A laptop computer was running, with an IM conversation going on. The Israeli quickly scanned it to see what it was about, then typed, "Sorry. Gtg." She bagged and tagged the laptop, then ducked out and followed Tony and the petty officer.

Ziva caught up with them a quarter mile away. She put on a burst of speed and emerged from the bushes a few feet in front of Phoebe, gun drawn. "NCIS! Don't move!"

The brunette slowed to a stop when she found herself looking down the barrel of a gun. That gave Tony the opportunity to cuff the petty officer they thought was dealing coke to her shipmates and murdered a rival.

Then they heard cars pull up, and McGee and Gibbs came to their aid—not that it was necessary.

"Where is—" The question died on Timothy McGee's lips as he took in the sight before him. "You already got her?" he asked in surprise. "We left you guys forty minutes ago!"

Tony exchanged an uneasy glance with Ziva before saying, "Well, a lot can happen in forty minutes, Probie."

"True," Leroy Jethro Gibbs interrupted. The team leader jerked his head in the direction of the car. "Get in back," he ordered Petty Officer Madison.

Sullenly, she did as she was told.

Ziva suddenly remembered the laptop. She told the team, "Follow me. We found her place. It's out in the hindwoods—"

"Backwoods," Tony corrected.

"—a quarter mile that way," Ziva went on as if her fellow Shifter hadn't spoken. Without waiting for a response, she turned on her heel and started hiking back. The Israeli could hear McGee's fumbling footsteps as he kept tripping over rocks and tree roots, while Tony and Gibbs made their way on silent feet. Sometimes Ziva wondered if her boss was like her and her partner.

Thinking of that caused her to remember her first transformation, when she was seventeen. She had gone through it with a friend of hers, but they'd both agreed that they weren't meant to be mates. (The first time a Shifter transformed into their animal form, the age limit was seventeen for girls, eighteen for guys on the first full moon after said b-day.) Ziva never really liked the unwritten rule that said a guy had to go through it alone, but the girl had to have her "mate" with her

Her gaze flicked over to her partner. She'd only seen him as a wolf once, but wanted it to happen again.

When Shifters morphed, hair became fur, teeth sharpened to become fangs, noses elongated into snouts, and hands and feet became paws. The eyes remained human, so when someone looked into a lycanthrope's eyes, they saw the eyes of a human, not a wolf.

The sound of the door creaking open brought Ziva back to earth with a bump. Quietly, she stepped in after Tony, her eyes flitting around, scanning for any signs of illegal activity.

McGee headed for the laptop that was still in the evidence bag where Ziva had left it. He slipped it out and, logging on, transferred all the data in the portable computer's hard drive to his handy flash drive.

At least five minutes later, the other three returned to the main room empty-handed.

"Let's get the laptop back to Abby," Gibbs said, clearly frustrated that their efforts had been futile.

"On it," Tim, Tony, and Ziva chorused, heading for the door.

Then Tony's undercover cell phone rang. He motioned for the others to go on ahead. When they were out of sight, he answered, "Hi, Jeanne. What'd ya got?"

The pretty doctor he was romancing as part of an assignment replied, "Finally! I've been trying to reach you for the past thirty minutes, but you didn't answer. Is something wrong?"

"No, I was in class," Tony lied. "They were watching a movie, and, well—"

"I know, I know," his "girlfriend" said. "I'll call later if this isn't a good time. See you Saturday?"

"Yeah, sure," he replied half-heartedly. "I gotta go." He hung up before she could say anything else. Tony sighed. Sometimes he hated his undercover assignment, since it meant lying to Jeanne—and to the team, Ziva especially. Jeanne didn't know his secret.

Tony, get over here—now! Ziva suddenly barked in his mind. We have problems.

I'm on my way, he assured her, breaking into a run.

The sight that greeted him at the car made his blood run cold—if that was possible for a shape-shifter.

Phoebe Madison stared blankly out the car window. There was a huge hole in her forehead and the front of her shirt was red with blood that gushed from a gash in her neck.

The door to Abby's lab slid open with a hiss of air and the team's two and only Shifters approached the black-haired Goth. "The Wolf" was still playing, since Abby had it on a loop. Both of them froze as they listened to the lyrics:

". . . But you are only a lonely hunter. Some things you can't disguise. Just to look in the hallway mirror, now it's howling in your eyes.

"The wolf prowling in the nighttime, the wolf howling in the moonshine, the wolf gives you what you want but he ain't no friend of mine . . ."

Ziva felt her hackles rise and her teeth bare in a snarl, slowly sharpening. Tony put a hand on her shoulder and whispered, "Take it easy, Zi. It's just a song."

His touch sent a warm current through her and she could feel her canines resuming their normal shape as she calmed down.

Abby must have sensed her presence, since she said, "Hi, guys. What brings you to my humble lab?"

Ziva asked, "Do you have the results on that substance Ducky found in Petty Officer Madison's wounds?"

"Not yet. Major Mass Spec is still—" She was interrupted by the mass spectrometer making a beeping noise. Immediately, she typed a command and the results popped up on the computer screen.

Tony and Ziva eyed them with dread: the fragments were 97% silver.

Right then, Gibbs walked in. "What'd ya got, Abbs?"

Abby spun around to face him. "You know the shiny stuff Ducky found in Phoebe's wounds?"

"Yeah. What about it?"

"It's almost pure silver, Gibbs."

McGee remarked, "Isn't silver used to kill werewolves?"

The three of them turned to ask the movie buff, but he and his Mossad sidekick had vanished.

"Where'd they go?" McGee asked.

At a look from his boss, he added hastily, "I'll go look for them." The probie left, the doors hissing shut in his wake.

Before leaving, Gibbs softly pressed his lips to Abby's cheek. "That's good work, Abbs."

She beamed and whirled back around, sucking on her Caf-Pow.

~*~*~*~

Upstairs, Gibbs stopped and stared in surprise when he saw Ziva and Tony at their desks, working. He wondered, How did they get up here so fast?

"Hey, Boss," DiNozzo greeted him. "Ziva's got something on our petty officer."

"What?"

Ziva rose from her chair and grabbed the plasma remote. She pressed a button and brought up some photos and a call log. "Petty Officer Madison was last with a guy called Chris Nixon. According to her email and phone logs, they were contacting each other at least twice a week."

"That doesn't necessarily mean anything," said Tony as he looked at the driver's license photo. Nixon had shaggy blond hair that fell in front of his hazel eyes.

"True, but they were on the phone at least five minutes before we arrived."

"Well, go get him," Gibbs said to Ziva. "Take DiNozzo with you."

He was surprised when neither of them complained, especially when Ziva announced that she was driving. The former Marine eyed the two partners suspiciously. Then they were gone from view as the elevator doors shut with a ding.

The Mossad liaison officer leaned back, resting her head on his chest. She said, "Let's try to resolve this without morphing."

"I promise I won't revert to wolf unless I have to."

Ziva felt him stiffen against her as she breathed in deeply, savoring the natural fragrance of his skin. She couldn't help thinking that he smelled like brick and pine needles.

"Why, thank you," Tony said, causing Ziva to jump forward. She whirled to face him, but the elevator doors opened before she could say anything. As they walked out to the car, she seethed, "You were reading my thoughts?"

Tony fell in beside her as they walked to the car, running a hand through his medium-brown hair. "How can I not? You smell good that I'm always focusing on you . . ."

Ziva stopped dead in her track. Tony ended up taking a few more steps before backtracking. "What?"

"If you can read my mind, you'll know," the Mossad liaison snapped, striding forward until she reached the car. She slid inside the driver's side without waiting for his response.

They were off in a screech of tires.

~*~*~*~

At least an hour later, they pulled up at Chris Nixon's Tudor-style house, Tony complaining for the hundredth time about Ziva's driving style.

He shut up when Ziva went rigid.

"Tony, over there. I think I see Chris Nixon." Her eyes had spotted a twenty-something man with shaggy blond hair bent over picking up a newspaper. She strode forward, sensing her partner fall into step behind her. "Chris Nixon?"

"Yeah?" He looked up, eyes wary. They narrowed when he saw the two tough-looking Shifters. "Who are you and what do you want?"

Tony flashed his badge. "NCIS Special Agent Tony DiNozzo. This is Officer David."

"Did something happen to Phoebe?" Chris asked, worry flashing in his hazel eyes.

"Well, you could say that," said Ziva. "She was killed this morning shortly after she talked to you."

Nixon paled. "You think she was murdered because of our conversation?"

No, Ziva thought. She couldn't tell him that, so she flashed back, "What were you talking about?"

Chris shifted his weight, clearly feeling uncomfortable. "Can we do this inside, please?" He moved toward the front door, opened it, and entered the house. Exchanging glances, the two Shifters followed, Tony muttering, "I hate dealing with Statics," under his breath.

"Then why did you become a cop?" Ziva whispered.

"So I can stick my nose into other people's business."

"Why am I not surprised?"

"Um, excuse me?" Chris broke into their conversation. "Were we going to take all day? I need to be somewhere in an hour."

Ziva felt flustered, but hid it as she said smoothly, "What exactly were you and Petty Officer Madison talking about on the phone?"

"She said that you guys were after her—no surprise there—and that she'd seen something that had her pretty freaked out."

"Can you remember what?" Tony asked urgently.

"Something about wolves? No, werewolves."

Ziva could see her own shock reflected in her partner's eyes. Quickly regaining her cool composure, the Israeli Shifter said, "Where were you at nine twenty-five this morning?"

"It's Friday. I was at work. Check with my boss if you don't believe me."

"You just got off work at ten fifteen in the morning?" Ziva asked, puzzled.

"I work the graveyard shift," Chris said defensively. "Now, are we done?"

Ziva glanced at Tony, who shrugged. "Yeah."

"Good. Beat it."

The Mossad liaison forced down the growl that was rising in her throat and handed him her card. "Call us if you remember anything else." Then she turned and walked briskly out of the house, DiNozzo bounding after her.

Once they were outside, she couldn't hold back a frustrated snarl. "Just who did he think he was?"

"Well, it is his house, Zi."

"That doesn't give him the right to—" She stopped and spun around as she felt eyes boring into her back. "Do you feel that?"

"What?"

"We're being watched."

Tony wheeled around, but not before Ziva caught sight of the curtain behind the window swishing back into place. She shook her head, ponytail bouncing, and suggested, "Why don't we run for a bit? The others won't expect us for a while."

The senior field agent shrugged, but there was something predatory in his eyes. He teased, "Biped or four-legged?"

Ziva started jogging, heading for a nearby copse of trees. Sighing, Tony started to follow her, but stopped when his cell phone rang—his alias's cell. After casting a longing glance at Ziva, he answered it. "Hi, Jeanne."

"Hey, Tony," she began.

"I'm sorry, but this really isn't a good time. Look, how about you meet me tomorrow night around eight for dinner?"

"Okay." Did she sound disappointed, or was it just him?

"I'll see you then," DiNozzo told her, hanging up. Looking back at Ziva, he stiffened when he saw her wolf head sticking out of the trees. In wolf form, Ziva always took his breath away.

Come on, Tony. I don't have all day.

From where she was in the trees, Ziva could see his mouth hitch up in a smile. Then he was striding towards her, green eyes glinting mischievously. Ziva turned her back as he ducked behind a bush; then Tony was gone and the wolf stepped out.

His medium brown coat shone as the sunlight dappled it. Ziva stood staring for a few heartbeats, then shook herself, dark brown fur rippling. Let's run, she thought, flicking his nose with her tail as she pelted away.

A shiver ran through her as she felt Tony's pelt brush hers, and then there was nothing but the wind caressing her fur and the feeling of flying over the ground.

The next morning, Ziva arrived at work to find Tony was already at his desk. That was odd enough, but what was really unusual was the fact that he was working. Well, he wasn't reading his favorite magazine (he was reading a book) and he was on the computer.

"Is something wrong, Tony?" Ziva asked, deciding to forgo her usual Internet browsing ritual so she could question her partner.

His green eyes met her brown ones. Ziva felt several emotions—desire, lust, fear—rocket through her, catching her off guard. At the same time, she was all too aware of the fact that they were alone (McGee hadn't arrived yet and Gibbs was elsewhere) in the bullpen. She was snapped out of her chaotic thoughts as Tony replied, "I was doing some research, Zee-vah."

"What kind of research?"

"About the case. I was checking to see if anyone in the D.C. area had bought silver bullets lately, but nothing so far."

"Aren't Abby and McGee already doing that?"

"Well, yeah," he admitted, "but I figured it couldn't hurt to look at it from a different angle."

"You two, gym, now."

Tony jumped and Ziva almost stabbed her boss. Gibbs really needed to wear something with bells so they would know he was coming. Although with their senses, she supposed, they should have smelled him. The problem was, she'd been so focused on DiNozzo. . .

The Mossad liaison couldn't help feel excited at the prospect of a workout. After changing into her gym clothes, she headed out to the wrestling mat.

"DiNozzo, go with her," Gibbs ordered, moving over to the punching bag.

The senior field agent didn't try to back out. Instead, he shot Ziva a feral grin. "This is gonna be fun."

She smirked and began stretching. "Don't try too hard. We all know I'm going to take you down."

McGee suddenly burst in, wearing NCIS sweats. "Sorry I'm late, Boss. I was late catching a bus, and—"

"McGee, Rule Number Six. I don't care why you're late. Now, are you ready to box?"

Tim's jaw hung slack. He stammered, "B-b-b-b-box?"

"That's what I said." Gibbs sounded irritated. "Grab a pair of gloves and join me."

Ziva chuckled. "He's not going to last." She finished stretching and stood up, circling Tony. He copied her, waiting for the first strike.

When Tony went high, aiming for her torso, Ziva ducked low. She grabbed his legs and used his momentum to toss him behind her onto the floor. Then she pounced, but Tony rolled out of the way. As soon as she landed, he was on her, gripping her wrists and holding them behind her back. Ziva thrashed, the wolf inside her not at all happy with being restrained. She hadn't counted on him being so strong. However, she figured she had agility on her side.

Tony's hands slipped. Immediately Ziva flipped over, brought up her foot, and kicked him. He scrambled off her, and she pounced again, bringing them both to the floor. All at once she was pressing too close against him. Her nostrils flared as she inhaled his scent, and she had to fight a ridiculous urge to say something along the lines of making love instead of war. She couldn't say that in front of Gibbs, though. Instead, all she said was, "I'm done here," and rolled off him.

After helping Tony up, she glanced over at the boxing ring. Tim was knocked out, tongue lolling. Ziva had to bite her tongue to keep in a bark of laughter.

Gibbs stood over the probie, nudging him gently with his shoe. "Come on, McGee. Get up."

McGee's eyes snapped open. He tried to sit up, groaned instead, and put a hand to his temple. "Geez, Boss, do you have to hit so hard?"

"What are you talking about? I didn't hit you that hard."

Ziva couldn't help it. She cracked up. The rest of the team swung their heads toward her, Tony's quizzical expression reminding her of a dog tilting its head in confusion. "Ziva, what's so funny?" he asked.

"McGee being knocked out on the first punch. I guess you could say Gibbs hit him with his best shot."

"Ooo, I love that song," Tony said. As he started singing, Ziva clamped her hand over his mouth. She warned, "On that note, I will lock you up in a room and have you listen to 'It's a Small World' for twenty-four hours straight. Are we clear?"

He nodded. Please don't follow through.

She started to say, "I won't," but stopped just in time. He hadn't spoken out loud. Was it significant that they could read each other's thoughts when they weren't in wolf form? Soul mates were supposed to be completely in tune, and since they were related to wolves, their kind mated for life. Was it possible that Tony . . .

No. It can't be.

"Come on. Abby's got something," Gibbs said as he snapped his phone shut. Ziva was jolted out of her confusing thoughts. She shoved them to the back of her mind as she went into the locker room to change before heading to Labby.

~*~*~*~

Music blared from the stereo. This time it was "She Wolf" by Shakira. Not Abby's usual choice in music, but since this case seemed to be dealing with Shifters, the Goth was probably playing every song dealing with wolves or werewolves that she could find. As long as she didn't start playing "Thriller" anytime soon, Ziva didn't mind the change in music.

"Abby, what'd ya got?" Gibbs asked, almost shouting to be heard above the song.

Apparently she heard him, since the volume toned down enough that they could talk without having to yell. Abby twisted around with a smile on her face. She said triumphantly, "I was able to get the recording of Petty Officer Madison's last phone call."

"You can do that?"

"Yes."

"Play it," the silver-haired fox ordered.

Her fingers flew over the keyboard; then the whole team could hear Phoebe Madison's last phone call.

"Chris." She sounded panicked.

"Yeah, Phoebe?"

"I need help. NCIS is onto me. I saw something I shouldn't have."

His voice sharpened. "What?"

"This may sound crazy, but I think I saw werewolves."

"Werewolves?" He laughed. "You must have been seeing things."

"I wasn't. Chris, I—" She broke off as a howl came from outside. "They're here!"

There was nothing more after that.

After a few heartbeats, DiNozzo summed it up: "That's creepy."

"Ya think, DiNozzo?" Gibbs said sarcastically. He turned to leave, but Abby grabbed his arm in a vice-grip. "Wait, there's more."

"What?"

"We were able to trace the silver bullet. We ran the serial number and found there are only two places in D.C. who manufacture them. Who knew so many stores sold silver bullets?"

Gibbs coughed lightly, reminding the excitable Goth to stay on track. She did just that after taking a sip of Caf-Pow.

"Chris Nixon—"

She was interrupted by a low growl. Startled, everyone except Tony and Ziva looked around for the source. Then Ziva felt their eyes rest on her. Why are they looking at me like that? She looked down and studied her hands, which—to her immense relief—were still human.

"Ziva, calm down," Tony murmured.

His words made Ziva realize that she was the one growling. Immediately, she stopped, hoping she hadn't given their secret away. Abby could handle it, but she wasn't so sure about Palmer, Ducky, McGee, Gibbs, or Jenny.

The team was still staring at her. Abby said, "Is it just me, or did that sound like a wolf?"

Tony laughed, but it sounded forced to Ziva. "What, you're saying you believe in werewolves, Abby? Everyone knows they only exist in movies, books, and TV shows."

"I'm not saying I do, Tony, but ever since the start of this case the two of you have been acting a bit strange."

"Abby, the case," prompted Gibbs.

"Oh, right. As I was saying, Nixon bought a pack of 'em a few days ago. That howl was really creepy. Do you think she actually saw werewolves?"

"Abby, how many Caf-Pows have you had today?"

"I think this is my fifth."

"Let's try not to break the record, Abby."

"You're right. That was ugly."

McGee spoke up for the first time since entering Labby. "Where'd that howl come from?"

Ziva exchanged an uneasy glance with DiNozzo. They hadn't arrived until five minutes later, so where had the howl come from? Ziva hadn't scented anyone—or anything—else. Could the call have been faked?

She hoped so. If it had, then her and Tony's suspicions were correct.

Another thought occurred to her: could the petty officer have recorded the howl some other time, then played it back on her laptop computer? It had been running, after all. There had been an IM conversation going on when she and DiNozzo had interrupted. She'd even read it, for crying out loud! Voicing her train of thought, Ziva asked, "Anything else on the laptop?"

McGee started, "The messages were encrypted—"

"I could read it," Ziva reminded them.

Abby gasped. "Of course! It's a foreign language! Thanks, Ziva!" Rushing forward, she hugged her tightly.

"Careful, Abby," Ziva choked. "Need—air."

"Sorry." The Goth forensic scientist released the ninja assassin and turned back to her computer. Typing furiously, she ordered, "McGee, stay here. I need you to help. Gibbs, Ducky wants to see you."

Gibbs nodded, a small smile on his face, before heading out. The silver-haired fox ordered, "Tony, Ziva, head back to Petty Officer Madison's house. See what you can find."

"On it, Boss," they chorused, exiting Abby's lab for the elevator.

DiNozzo snatched the Charger's keys out of Ziva's hand once they were inside. "This time, I'm driving."

"Of course."

While they were making their way to the car in the parking lot, Ziva couldn't help tuning her partner's thoughts, only to find nothing that would help her find out what was troubling him. She started to ask what was wrong, then decided against it. He would tell her when he was ready.

When they were a few miles away from the Navy Yard, Ziva turned on the radio, hoping to break the sudden tension between her and Tony. Unfortunately, she didn't recognize the song until it reached the first verse:

S.O.S. she's in disguise
S.O.S. she's in disguise
There's a she wolf in disguise
Coming out, coming out, coming out

Abby was playing this same song earlier, the Israeli Shifter remembered. Tony said, "Wasn't Abby—"

She shushed him so they could listen.

A domesticated girl that's all you ask of me
Darling it is no joke, this is lycanthropy
The moon's awake now with eyes wide open
My body's craving so feed the hungry

Ziva exchanged a glance with her partner, and was startled to find he was looking at her with a heated intensity in his eyes. "Tony, it's just a—"

"But it's slightly true." He grinned. "This isn't a joke."

Her heartstrings tugged. She suddenly wanted him to kiss her . . .

Snap out of it, she told herself.

I've been devoting myself to you Monday to Monday and Friday to Friday
Not getting enough retribution or decent incentives to keep me at it
I'm starting to feel just a little abused like a coffee machine in an office
So I'm gonna go somewhere cozy to get me a lover
And tell you all about it

There's a she wolf in your closet
Open up and set her free
There's a she wolf in the closet
Let it out so it can breathe

Again she was all too aware of Tony's eyes on her. Warmth flooded her. Ziva frantically tried to focus on anything else except her fellow Shifter.

Why was it she couldn't go five seconds without thinking about him?

To help her out, or so it seemed, Shakira started singing again. The Mossad liaison found herself humming along.

Sitting at a bar, staring right at her prey
It's going well so far, she's gonna get her way
Nocturnal creatures are not so prudent
The moon's my teacher and I'm her student

"To paraphrase, this song is totally you, Ziva," Tony commented.

"Just keep your eyes on the road and your mind out of the streets," she shot back.

"It's 'out of the gutter,' Zee-vah."

To locate the single men I got me a special radar
And the fire department hotline in case I get in trouble later
Not looking for cute little divas or rich city guys that just want to enjoy
But having a very good time and behaving very bad in the arms of a boy

Ziva felt, rather than saw, Tony grin. "Yep, this sounds like you."

"Shut it," she growled, eyes flashing.

There's a she wolf in the closet
Open up and set her free
There's a she wolf in your closet
Let it out so it can breathe

S.O.S. she's in disguise
S.O.S. she's in disguise
There's a she wolf in disguise
Coming out, coming out, coming out

S.O.S. she's in disguise
S.O.S. she's in disguise
There's a she wolf in disguise
Coming out, coming out, coming out

There's a she wolf in your closet
Let it out so it can breathe

"Let's change the station, shall we?" Ziva suggested.

Her partner nodded and changed it to a country station. Ziva made a face. "Anything but that."

A moment later, Frank Sinatra could be heard.

"No."

Tony whined, "But, Ziva, it's Sinatra!"

She ignored him, and a hard rock song filled the black Charger. DiNozzo smiled, recognizing the opening chords. "Good choice."

"Huh?"

"Listen."

After midnight
I call you
Even though I know better
I just got to
The moon is full
My heart is hot
And you know what I'm longing to do
With this aching I got

"Tony . . ." warned Ziva.



"What? It's completely ironic! You know, considering how we find our mate and all."

"If you value your life, stop talking."

How can you ask me
Why I'm pushing pushing
When you know damn well
What you do
What you do to a woman
I get so inspired
Lying so close
It's the flash and the flame and the fever
I need the most

The call of the wild
Oh baby can't you hear me calling
Oooh . . .
The call of the wild

"Don't even think about it."

"Were you tapping into my thoughts?"

Ziva just sighed in exasperation. She knew that when they met their other half, it was like a kick to the gut, but Tony? Ridiculous.

Or not.



Glaring at DiNozzo, Ziva switched off the radio.

"What are you doing tonight, Tony?" she asked, hoping to start a conversation.

"What? Oh, I'm just going out with a friend of mine for dinner. You're not planning on crashing, are you?"

"Whatever gave you that idea?"

It took a while for Tony to answer. When he did, he replied slowly, "Well, it's just that you always seem to be a bit . . . jealous whenever I'm around other women. It actually wouldn't surprise me if you did follow me."

"You know I'd find you anywhere."

"With that amazing nose you possess, no doubt."

"I think you passed our victim's house."

Ziva bit back a grin as he did a U-turn and pulled into the deceased's driveway. The place where they had tracked her down was a cabin she owned and occasionally used. This was Petty Officer Phoebe Madison's real home.

Thirty minutes later, they returned to the black Charger loaded with evidence bags. When they brought all the evidence down to Labby, the two Shifters stopped dead in the doorway.

Abby and McGee were quote-unquote dancing to some song resonating through the room. Well, Abby was dancing. McGee looked like he was having a seizure.

Ziva's jaw dropped. Tony whispered, "That is something no one should have to see."

"Dead right."

Slowly, they started to slink away. Their plans for a swift getaway were thwarted when Abby spotted them and called out, "Hey, guys! Did you bring me anything?"

Cringing, the two Shifters turned to see the perky Goth looking at them expectantly. When they handed her their armloads of evidence bags, she smiled happily and whirled back to the table. "Now, leave. I have lots of work to do."

Tony and Ziva were happy to oblige. They hightailed it out of there without a second invitation, the chords of "Thriller" following them out.

~*~*~*~

"Poor dear," Ducky said as he bent over the deceased. "To be hunted down and then killed like that . . . This sort of reminds me of those old werewolf legends. Did you know that the fact they can only be killed by silver is a recent establishment?"

"No, I didn't, Doctor," Palmer said from where he was washing his hands. The Autopsy Gremlin looked up as Gibbs came in.

"You wanted to see me, Duck?"

"Oh, yes, Jethro." Ducky left Phoebe Madison's body from where he was performing the autopsy and walked over to the X-ray screen. Lighting it up, he pointed out some abnormalities. "I was able to confirm the cause of death, but there was something that caught my eye. You see the nicks in the rib cage here, here, and here?"

The former Marine nodded.

"Well, I didn't find any corresponding marks on the body. There's also this." The M.E. returned to the petty officer and pointed out a tattoo on her arm. "It says loup-garou. That's French for—"

"Werewolf," Gibbs finished.

"Picked up a bit of French when you were in Paris, Jethro?"

"Aw, come on, Duck. You know I don't like to talk about that."

"Dropping the subject. Why would she have a tat that translates to 'werewolf'?"

"That's what I'm going to find out. You need anything else, Duck, call."

"Very funny."

But the coffee-loving sniper was gone.

~*~*~*~

Back in her lab after the senior field agent and his Mossad liaison had flown the coop, Abby started busying herself with all the evidence. McGee was back to working on the laptop while listening to "Wide Awake in Dreamland." After an hour of silence, Abby decided to use Elf Lord as a sounding board. "McGee, I know you said that we shouldn't try to hook Tony and Ziva up, but it's fate! They're going to end up together sooner or later, you know."

Probie-Wan-Kenobi didn't answer.

The Caf-Pow-loving scientist was unfazed. She continued, "We all know it's going to happen, even Gibbs. I mean, some rules are meant to be broken. Are you even listening to me?"

He didn't even blink.

Her fist connected with his shoulder.

"Ouch!"

She grinned. "Good to see you're awake, Elf Lord."

That did it. A passerby outside froze and dropped his clipboard as Abby's yell of "Ow!" sounded through the door. (Yes, she could yell that loud.)

~*~*~*~

As darkness fell and Gibbs cut his team loose for the day, Tony drove to the restaurant where he had arranged to meet Jeanne the previous day. He liked her and all, but she was a Static (Shifters' derogatory term for humans) for one thing, and he couldn't seem to get Ziva out of his head.

Still, he was relieved when he saw Jeanne sitting at a table. The pretty brunette greeted him with a warm smile as he joined her. "Hi, Tony."

"I'm glad you could make it," he replied.

For the next twenty minutes there was silence as they devoured their food. When Tony was finishing the last of his burger (done medium rare—generally Shifters liked nothing more than red meat), Jeanne asked, "How was your day, Tony?"

"Okay. We were watching— Wait, you probably wouldn't want to know what it was about."

"No, I would."

He grinned. "Werewolves." What? Hollywood's take on his kind was hilariously off base. Then Ziva's face flashed in his mind again. He could almost smell her nearby . . .

"Tony, is there something—or someone—else I should know about?"

He smiled reassuringly. "Why would you think that?"

"You've been distracted the entire time we've been here, like your mind is elsewhere. Now, is there someone else?"

DiNozzo hesitated a moment too long. That gave Jeanne her answer. She pushed back the chair and bolted. Throwing down some cash to pay, he followed, but she was too far ahead already.

Then he heard the shriek coming from an alley.

Oh, crap. Jeanne!

Jeanne made it another block when she felt the limp in her leg fading. She kept flashing back to the alley and the wolves coming to her rescue. Horror filled her again at the realization that she'd been sleeping with a bloody werewolf. If it had ever been a full moon, she would have been in serious trouble. Looking up at the moon now, she saw it was a few days shy of being full. Okay, now she was in trouble. Apparently they could transform at will. 

Again, Jeanne thought back to the two wolves in the alley. They'd been gorgeous but lethal at the same time. And somehow, the doctor knew the other one had been a she-wolf. Terrified as she was, Jeanne couldn't help admiring what they had, what they were. She still didn't want to see Tony, though. If he turned on her . . . 

She wished she were home. 

~*~*~*~ 

"So, Ziva, what do you want to do now?" asked Tony as they walked along the dark street. They had passed the alley and were nearing the cross-street. 

Ziva started to reply, but ended up tasting the air as a tailwind sprung up, carrying with it the scent of death and Chris Nixon's own particular smell—wood, dust, and soap. Mostly soap. She halted and whispered harshly, "Tony, you were right. Chris is following us." 

"Please tell me you're— Hang on, I think I've seen this movie." 

"You're kidding me." 

"No, I'm not. Haven't you ever seen Teen Wolf?" 

"The movie or the TV series?" 

"The movie. Wait a sec—they made it into a TV series?" 

"Sure. Haven't you seen the previews while watching Magnum P.I.?" 

"Come to think of it—" 

"Why are we even having this conversation? Shouldn't we be concentrating on the guy tailing us?" 

"You're right. Time to loose the goose." 

"What?" Ziva asked, confusion written all over her face. 

"It's an idiom," Tony explained. "Lose the tail." 

"I'm all for that." Spotting a side street to her left, Ziva added, "Follow me." 

They swung onto the side street, which branched off onto other backstreets. Ziva tugged on Tony's arm as she dove into a street on the right, then took another turn to the left. Unfortunately, it was a dead end. 

The footsteps sounded closer, then stopped, as if Nixon wasn't sure which way to go. Ziva backed up until she felt her back up against something—and it wasn't a wall. The two Shifters waited with baited breath, letting it out when they heard the footsteps recede, as if Chris was walking away. 

"You enjoying yourself, Zee-vah?" Tony teased. She jumped; she hadn't realized that she was too close to him and her hands had reached back so she was holing him in place. The Israeli quickly snatched her hands away. Ignoring Tony's smirk, she rubbed her hands on her jeans, then ran a hand through her hair. "Let's get out of here. And for the record, Tony, I was not." 

"Right," he said wryly before following his possible—okay, probable—mate. 

Luckily, Chris was nowhere to be seen, but his scent lingered in the air. It stayed that way as both walked to their cars. Before Tony could climb in and drive off, Ziva said, "Tony, I think Chris found the bodies. I picked up their scent and it mingled with his. If he finds out what we are . . ." 

"You think he killed our dead coke dealer-slash-murderer-slash-victim?" 

"Well, Ducky did tell Gibbs she probably knew her killer and he has been following us. I think he was watching us the day we interviewed him." 

"This is just great," DiNozzo said sarcastically. "We're working a case on a murdered drug dealer—who the killer thought was a Sifter—while I'm also on an undercover assignment that looks blown, and, oh yeah, the guy our victim last had contact with is probably after us, seeing as he's guessed our secret! Did I miss anything?" 

"No, that pretty much sums it up," said Ziva. "Let's talk about this tomorrow, Tony. Oh, try to talk to Jeanne while you're at it—just wait a while. That way this will seem like a bad dream." 

He saluted her sarcastically before driving away in his Mustang. Ziva watched him until she could no longer see the red taillights, then drove home for some much-needed sleep. 

~*~*~*~ 

Hours later, she was back at headquarters instead of taking the day off—like yesterday. Abby was waiting for Ziva at her desk, holding a Caf-Pow and Berry Mango Madness in each hand. The forensic scientist handed Ziva the Berry Mango Madness and took a drag on her Caf-Pow. "I found something," she said, setting the Caf-Pow down. "It's amazing how much stuff about werewolves there is on the Internet." 

"Could you please not use the term 'werewolf'?" Ziva requested, wincing slightly. "I've heard they prefer the term shape-shifter. If you want to be all technical, call them lycanthropes." 

"You seem to really take it personally." 

"I read." Ziva shrugged, as if she wasn't bothered. "You were saying, Abby?" 

"Oh, right. Anyway, seeing as the bullet that killed Phoebe was almost pure silver—and I'm guessing the knife was, too—and silver is used to kill werewo—er, sorry—lycanthropes, our killer—and I think I know who it is, by the way—probably thought she was one. Although, she said she saw shape-shifters, so—" 

"Abby, our dead coke dealer was not a Shifter. Besides, lycanthropes don't exist." It was the mantra Shifters were sworn to repeat. How else could they keep their existence a secret? "You said you found something?" 

"Yep. We are finally able to read the emails on the petty officer's computer and I traced the knife wound in her throat. What are you going to be for Halloween, Ziva?" 

"That's easy. A ninja," Tony said as he walked into the bullpen, McGee at his heels. "Me, I'm going as—" 

"Yourself?" Gibbs suggested, turning the corner with his usual cup of a Marine's lifesaver in hand. "You're scary enough as it is." 

DiNozzo shot death glares at McGee and Officer David as they covered their mouths with their hands, trying hard not to laugh. A warning growl rumbled in his throat, but only Ziva recognized it for what it was. To the others, it sounded like Tony was clearing his throat. He shut up when Abby, Gibbs, and McGemcity gave him odd looks, Gibbs and Abby's eyes narrowed suspiciously. Finally Gibbs barked out, "Back to work!" 

"Yes, Boss," the team chorused, scampering to their desks. Abby skipped off to her lab, humming "Suffer the Little Children" under her breath. She then switched to another Pat Benatar song, "Hell Is For Children," the team shooting her looks that asked if she was still sane. 

~*~*~*~ 

Dr. Jeanne Bentoit reached for the phone, then snatched her hand back. She knew she had to call Tony to see if last night had been a bad dream, but she couldn't quite bring herself to. There was no way it had actually happened . . . right? She hoped not, but the terror and revulsion had been so real . . . 

Of course, she didn't believe in werewolves. They were just make-believe, right? 

There was only one way to find out, she told herself with a shrug. Jeanne reached for the phone again, but was interrupted by a "Paging Dr. Bentoit. Dr. Bentoit to the lobby, please." 

Well, it could always wait, she supposed. 

~*~*~*~ 

Team Gibbs was once again assembled in Labby, listening to Abby prattling on while Whitesnake's "Still of the Night" was playing. Gibbs, Tony, and Ziva looked mildly interested, the latter two fighting to stay awake. 

". . . I was able to find out what type of knife and gun were used to kill our dead drug dealer. The knife is aBowie, and I matched the murder weapon to a Glock. You find me one, and I can tell you if it was the murder weapon. 

"That's good work, Abbs," Gibbs congratulated her as he handed the Goth a Caf-Pow. He then started to leave, along with the rest of the team, but Abby shut the door before they could take three steps. Puzzled, the four field agents looked back at the forensic scientist. Abby had her I-won't-take-no-for-an-answer face on, and Ziva had a sinking feeling she knew what it was about: Someone must have seen them shifting. A moment later, she told herself that was impossible; she hadn't smelled or heard anyone that shouldn't have been there. She could feel Tony's green eyes boring into her; without her knowing it her hand grasped for his. 

"Metro PD found a couple of bodies in an alleyway at zero-five-hundred this morning. It was weird, guys. To the officer, it looked like they were attacked by either a dog or a wolf. Of course, they pulled footage from some stores and restaurants nearby and found this"—she tapped some keys on the keyboard and brought up said footage—"which I found interesting. Look familiar?" 

Ziva tightened her hold on Tony's hand without realizing it. The images weren't very clear, since it was dark and across the street as well as at a bad angle, but she could make out the shadowy forms that were her and her partner. She thought frantically, Please don't see us shift, please don't see us shift. 

Thank God, the camera didn't pick up on them shifting, since Abby had stilled the image and was working her magic. Ziva slowly started backing away, taking Tony with her. She thought at him, If we have to tell someone, we should tell Gibbs. He has a right to know and he won't tell. 

Agreed, he replied, squeezing her hand even tighter, which made the Mossad liaison look down at their interlocked fingers. Her eyes widened in surprise, but she made no move to let go. 

McGee leaned closer to the screen, eyes narrowed in concentration. Finally he blinked and said in surprise, "Isn't that Tony and Ziva?" 

"Yeah, I think so," Abby confirmed. "That's also what Metro thought, which is why they sent it to me." 

Gibbs fixed his agents with an icy glare. With steel in his voice, he ordered, "My office. Now." 

As they walked to the elevator with their boss at their heels, Ziva could feel the former Marine's gaze fixed on her and Tony's joined hands. Her skin grew warm, and she had to let go, struggling not to feel any sense of loss. It was ridiculous; he was right next to her. 

The doors closed behind the trio. As soon as it started to move, Gibbs flipped the switch and brought it to a grinding halt. Ziva forced her nerves to calm down as her boss gave bother her and DiNozzo a slow once-over. Finally, he snapped, "Would you two care to explain why you were at the crime scene minutes before the attacks?" 

They remained silent. 

Gibbs sighed and changed tactics. "Did you see anything, like, a couple of wolves, for instance?" 

Ziva exchanged a glance with Tony. He nodded slightly, indicating that she should go first. She took a deep breath and plunged in. "Gibbs, you know Rule Number Four." 

"Yeah," Gibbs said warily. "If you have a secret, the best thing is to keep it to yourself. Second best is to tell one other person. There is no third best. You're saying you have a secret?" 

"Yes." Again, Ziva decided to take the plunge. She shifted her weight uncomfortable before adding,"We're not exactly human, Tony and I." 

Whatever Gibbs had been expecting, that clearly wasn't it. Shock flared in his eyes and he flinched back. Ziva had to admire him even further when his voice didn't shake as he asked, "What are you, exactly?" 

It was Tony who replied. "The technical term is lycanthrope, but we refer to ourselves as Shifters. People who don't know any better call us werewolves." 

"So you guys were bitten at some point in your lives?" 

Tony grinned. "No. It's dumb when they do that in movies. It is genetic. And before you ask, yes, that was us." 

Ziva couldn't help thinking that their boss was taking all of this very well. The initial shock must have worn off. She just hoped he didn't have any silver on him. 

Gibbs was silent for a few seconds before he said, "You're saying the two of you attacked and killed a couple of innocents." 

"It wasn't like that," Ziva protested. "There were three of them and they were mugging a friend of Tony's. We had to shift to save her life!" 

Her anger flared when Gibbs had a disbelieving look on his face. She let out a menacing snarl no human could hope to emanate, causing her boss to back up. It took a lot to frighten Leroy Jethro Gibbs, but right now fear shone in his ice-blue eyes. Still snarling, she took a step forward. Tony immediately slid between them and placed his hands on her shoulders. She relaxed as his familiar, comforting scent wreathed around her. If his hands that were currently resting on her shoulders brought her even closer and tilted her head up, their lips would meet and . . . What was she doing thinking of getting intimate with Tony in front of their team leader? 

"Are you okay, Ziva?" DiNozzo asked, his green-gaze cautious yet concerned at the same time. 

She nodded, her eyes still on his lips. Ziva quickly averted her gaze as Tony turned back to Gibbs. Her partner said in a low voice, "We'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone about this. According to our laws, we're not supposed to be telling any non-Shifter that our kind exists." 

The former Marine nodded. "I understand. Now, back to theMadisoncase." He brought the power back on and opened the elevator doors. 

"Yeah, about that," Tony began as he fell in behind the silver-haired fox, "we think we have a suspect. Thing is, he's our only suspect." 

"Well, go pick him up, DiNozzo, and take David with you. McGee, with me." 

Tim scrambled after his team leader, leaving Abby with all sorts of hits from the '70s, '80s, and '90s. As all four field agents entered the elevator, they could hear the strains of Pat Benatar's "Too Long A Soldier." 

~*~*~*~ 

A little over an hour later, the two Shifters were once again at Chris Nixon's house. He opened the door when they knocked, fighting a yawn. "You two again," he said with a smirk. "You really must not have any suspects." Even though he sounded insolent, Ziva could tell he was wary of them. Tension was radiating off him in waves. She could also smell something else . . . an underlying tang . . . excitement, that was it. 

"Well, actually," said Tony, "we were just wondering if you'd let us look around." 

Chris hesitated before standing back and opening the door further, inviting the two Shifters in. They stepped inside, eyes searching for a possible murder weapon. While Ziva searched the kitchen (also known as the most dangerous room in the house), Tony asked Chris, "Do you have any guns?" 

"Yeah. In my desk drawer. Why?" 

But Tony was already heading towards the desk in the corner of the living room. His sensitive nose picked up the smell of a recently fired gun in the upper left drawer. Sliding it open, DiNozzo found a Glock nestled near the back. He looked up at Chris just as Ziva came in with a rusted Bowie knife in an evidence bag. "Is this registered?" he asked absentmindedly, sliding on latex gloves and picking up the Glock. 

"Yeah," he repeated warily. 

"We're going to bring you with us for questioning," said Ziva, subconsciously herding him toward the front door. Tony was doing the same until Chris was cornered, his back against the door. 

He didn't seem to realize the danger he was in, because he leaned back, crossed his arms over his chest and said, "First, let me ask you something. Are you the werewolves I've been hearing about?"

After Gibbs cut Nixon loose, the team was on the road again, Ducky and Palmer on their six. As Gibbs sped along the road, both Shifters noticed McGee was trying not to puke. Finally, Gibbs noticed and pulled over, immediately sending the car to a skidding halt. 

The probie leaped out and hurried into nearby bushes, where Tony and Ziva could hear him spewing chunks. A minute later, they were on their way, a pale-faced McGee in back. 

When they arrived at the entrance to the park some time later, Elf Lord hit the ground as if he never planned to let go. He instantly scrambled to his feet as a park ranger came over. 

"I'm Tom Henderson. Which one of you is Special Agent Gibbs?" 

If this was a wolf pack, Tony thought with an amused snort, he, Ziva, and McGee would be well behind Gibbs with ears and tail lowered while Gibbs would be standing in a dominant posture: ears forward, head up, tail lifted. Although two of them could become wolves in shape, there were differences from Shifters and the true wolf. For one thing, they were larger than normal wolves. 

The ranger's head swung in his direction. "Are you Gibbs?" 

"Oh, no," Tony said. "I'm Special Agent DiNozzo. That is Agent Gibbs." He pointed to his boss, who didn't look too thrilled at being singled out. However, as typical of the Bossman, what he said was, "Where's the body?" 

Henderson sighed and said, "Follow me." He headed into the woods with Team Gibbs and Ducky and his assistant—who had just arrived due to Palmer mixing up directions again—hot on his trail. Tony began to have a bad feeling about this case as they hiked through the woods. 

As it turned out, he was right. 

~*~*~*~ 

The victim, as it turned out, was a former Marine. DiNozzo stepped closer to the body, which was on the floor of an abandoned cabin, and caught a whiff of a familiar scent. This particular scent belonged to a Shifter, and one the team had dealt with on an irregular basis: Trent Kort. Tony could also smell another Shifter, but the scents were a few hours old. He glanced at Ziva and asked quietly, "Do you smell that?" 

He could see her nostrils flare as she scented the air. "Yes," she replied, "I do." 

"Do what?" Gibbs and McGee asked, looking at the two Shifters. Ducky also looked up from where he was examining the body. Palmer, being Palmer, continued looking over the corpse, completely ignoring everyone else. 

Thinking fast, Tony ad-libbed, "Uh, well, we think there was someone—two someones—here—and they weren't the killer." 

"How can you tell?" McGee asked. 

Wincing, Ziva offered, "The smells in the air?" 

Tim sniffed, and then gagged. "All I smell is that dead body." 

Gibbs gave Tony and Ziva a long, measured look before grabbing them by the arm and pulling them aside, out of the others' earshot. Releasing his two Shifters, he growled, "Is there something you're not telling me about your abilities?" 

Ziva's look told Tony to speak now or forever hold his peace. "Well, all our senses are heightened, and we have fast reflexes and loads of stamina." He shifted his weight before adding, "Say we were attacked. In human form, we'd just think about beating the guy up, but in wolf form, we'd probably rip out their throats. Ziva would do that in human form anyway." 

She glared at him and when Tony next spoke, his voice was several octaves higher. "Ow." Gibbs winced visibly, knowing full well the damage Ziva—or anyone—could cause, kicking someone in that sensitive spot. 

"Hey, Boss," McGee called, "we've got something." 

The awkward moment was thankfully ruined, and the three of them returned to the crime scene, where McGee was crouched over. He straightened up and showed them a tuft of black fur. "How'd this get in here?" 

Tony shot a warning look at Ziva, whose returning glare told him that she wasn't dumb enough to tell McGeek their secret. With a shrug, he lied, "Maybe it was someone's dog or a rat." 

Tim looked doubtful, but bagged it anyway, missing the death glare Gibbs shot his senior field agent and Mossad liaison. 

"Uh, can I go now?" Henderson asked, making the team's two geeks jump with surprise. 

Gibbs jerked his thumb in the ranger's direction. "You know you're free to go. Out. Now." A few seconds later, he asked, "Duck, you have a time of death yet?" 

Ducky extracted the liver probe, checked it, and said, "He's been dead for at least two and a half hours, Jethro." 

DiNozzo started to turn and ask Probie something when a flash of black and auburn fur outside one of the windows caught his eye. He motioned to Ziva and stepped out of the cabin, his partner on his trail. 

A few feet away, Trent Kort himself stepped out of the trees in human form and fully clothed. Beside him was a young woman who looked to be around twenty-nine with reddish-brown hair and hazel-green eyes. And from what Tony could tell from her scent, she was the other Shifter he'd smelled earlier. 

Ziva strode forward until she was up in Kort's face. "What are you doing here?" she growled. "This is our territory." 

"And who's your friend?" The words slipped out of Tony's mouth before he could stop them. 

The woman narrowed her eyes at DiNozzo. "Meghan Volkov, CIA. And you're, let me guess, NCIS Special Agent DiNozzo." There was Russia in her voice. 

"How'd you guess?" 

"Well, the fact that you're wearing a NCIS cap and jacket and Kort here has your name and face burned into my memory probably had something to do with it." 

Kort silenced her with a look—which, if anyone else had tried it, probably wouldn't have worked—and answered Ziva's question. "We had intel that a few humans have . . . become aware of our existence after—" 

Meghan rolled her eyes. "Oh, honestly, he's hopeless. Basically, a Shifter who refuses to be named told a Static that we exist. We're trying to find him and hopefully kill him." 

"Funny you should say that," DiNozzo snorted. "We've had two Statics murdered, who the killer thought were Shifters. Anyone else confused? Although, this does remind me of The Wolfman—" 

He shut up when Ziva Gibbs-slapped him. DiNozzo rounded on her, fully ready to deliver a stinging remark, but paused when he saw something in her eyes urging him not to say anything. 

"Hey, you two!" 

At the sound of Gibbs' voice, Kort and Volkov faded into the trees. Tony turned and saw the Bossman standing in the cabin doorway, an expectant look on his face. "You planning on staying here for the rest of the day, or do you want to go back with us?" 

Glancing back through the trees, Tony saw two wolves—one black with white paws, the other a reddish-brown—trotting away. He shrugged and walked toward Gibbs, who ducked back inside. Right as they reached the doorway, McGee, Ducky, Palmer, and Company headed out. Sharing a slightly amused look with Ziva, Tony followed. 

It didn't occur to him until they were well on their way back to the Navy Yard that neither him nor Ziva had asked the two CIA Shifters if they'd seen anything that could help them with the case.