Chapter Text
Lucy knew something was up. She wasn’t sure exactly what, but her instincts were good and something was off today.
It had been a couple months since they sent Maggie away, and things had pretty much gone back to normal. She couldn’t expect Jane to fully recover from the weight of uncovering the betrayal of her best friend and mentor, but she seemed to be on the mend. Kai’s dad was doing alright, Jesse was the poster boy for consistency, and Ernie remained Ernie.
Whistler was the only one that was tricky to pin down, and it wasn’t exactly like there was a playbook for working with your ex- something. It was inconvenient timing that Whistler got chummy with the team right after their split, but it had to be expected after her assistance with Maggie, as annoyed as Lucy was at the time.
It was Whistler’s appearance in the bullpen that set off her gut today, but not for the normal reasons. Whistler always looked over towards Lucy’s desk on the way to Tennant’s office. Sometimes it was a glance, only to quickly turn away when Lucy returned it, others it was a small smile, and the worst was when she just looked at Lucy with sad, apologetic eyes.
Today, when Lucy looked up at the telltale sound of heels moving with a purpose, Whistler had tunnel vision on Tennant’s office door. She was always focused, but there was something off about this level of laser focus. Lucy clocked the almost imperceptible white on Kate’s knuckles as she gripped an envelope.
She couldn’t watch their entire meeting inconspicuously and didn’t notice much in the few glances she snuck in. Whistler didn’t bother sitting down, and it was over in less than five minutes.
After that, Jane came out and invited the team over for dinner that night, which in of itself didn’t warrant suspicion. It was the way she went about it, the way she came out of her office, steered the conversation towards evening plans, then invited everyone. There was the faintest tinge in her voice indicating there were stakes, that she needed them to come.
Maybe she was reading too much into things. Too on edge after all the betrayal going around, not that she considered Whistler’s as bad as Maggie’s of course, but it still made Lucy question things. Lucy kept her guard up when she arrived at Jane’s house to see Whistler’s car there.
Jesse and Lucy were the last to arrive after tying up a couple of loose ends with their latest case, and Lucy tried to stay casual as she entered seeing familiar heels by the door with Ernie and Kai’s shoes.
As she and Jesse joined the others out back, Whistler was nowhere to be found.
“Kate and Jane are finishing up dinner. Jane said we should all make ourselves comfortable out here in the meantime.”
Ernie must have noticed Lucy looking around. Since when was he on a first name basis with Kate? And what were her and Jane up to?
A year ago, Kate would have had no idea where to turn with something like this. She would have reported it up the chain of command and called it a day. A few months ago, she would have known what to do, but would have been hesitant. Today she was resolute.
This morning, as soon as she realized what she uncovered, she knew exactly who to turn to. She continued her day as normal, making no visible indication she just found something potentially catastrophic. She would work her plan into her regular machinations in case they were on to her, in case they were watching, whoever they were.
She had a file scheduled for NCIS review today and kept about business as usual until it was time. She counted her breaths, focused on moving one step in front of the other, trying to mask her nerves with an air of confidence.
“Special Agent Tennant, the files you requested on the Brewster case.” She handed over the envelope, like she had done hundreds of times before and took a step back with a click of her heels. She had stuck a post it note on the top of the first page. I need help.
Jane closed the folder, making no acknowledgement of the note. “I trust everything is in order, DIA Whistler,” She locked eyes with Kate.
“Of course. Just like always.” She held the gaze, not sure exactly what she was trying to convey, but hoping it was clear there were significant stakes.
“Whistler. We’re having a team dinner at my house tonight. You should come by after work,” Jane mirrored Kate’s own serious gaze, “As thanks for your assistance on the last case.”
Standing with Jane in her kitchen now, getting ready to bring together the team for a high risk op, she knew she made the right decision.
She had been the second to arrive, after Ernie, though he was currently out back on the deck. “We’re making vegetarian spring rolls. You can help me, while we talk.”
It was good to have something to do with her hands, the repetitive motions steadying her as she told Jane about how she discovered a pattern, not of leaks, but of slips that eventually led to leaks. They had a mole, and whoever it was had high clearance and was good at covering their tracks.
Jane listened patiently, then told her to go get the team from out back and bring them in for dinner. “We’ll get whoever this is.”
Kate moved through the hallway, rounding the corner towards the back deck and nearly colliding with Lucy. “Whistler. You’re joining us for dinner?” She tried not to wince.
“Lucy, hi.” Kate wasn’t sure how to reply. Lucy didn’t let on much with her tone, but her eyes were searching. “Yeah, um. Dinner’s almost ready. Jane told me to get everyone, and we’ll explain.”
She knew Lucy would be here, or expected as much when she asked for Jane’s help. She had been relying on the few extra seconds budgeted in the final steps to the back deck to fully prepare herself for the interaction, though, and was now entirely unprepared.
Lucy touched her arm, grounding Kate back in the moment. “Hey, what’s wrong.” She looked sincere.
“I need your help,” Nope, that was coming on too strong, “I asked Jane, I mean. The team’s help. I think there is a mole on the Pearl Harbor base, and I don’t think there’s anyone else I can trust.”
“Okay.” She made it sound so simple. Kate remained frozen, and Lucy gently brushed her arm again, before turning around to get the others. Kate followed them all into the dining room and Jane broke the news to the rest of the team about why they were here.
“So, are secret ops a quarterly thing here, or?” Kai seemed pretty suited to rolling with the punches.
“See, I knew I was right to sweep for bugs every time we come here for dinner after the Maggie thing. I’ve perfected my art of the subtle sweep.” Ernie was proud of his preparation, and Kate had to admit it was paying off.
Jane gave the full run down, which Kate was thankful for. Technically, this was her op, but she was out of her element.
The plan was simple enough. Business as usual for the most part, but Kate would continue following her leads without raising suspicion. When Kate partnered on NCIS investigations, they would do double duty, digging further into the mole while using the primary NCIS case as cover. They would only discuss the Op while in an NCIS clean room or at Tennant’s house after Ernie did a sweep.
Everyone seemed on board as they were finishing up the malasada Kai brought. She had trouble reading Lucy tonight, but that was par for the course over the past few weeks, so she didn’t think too much of it, until an unexpected outburst.
“Whistler, we should get back together.”