POI NCIS crossover AU #2 DC visitors
John supposed it should be taken as an indication of how far their newly formed team had come that the vaunted DC MCRT team was coming to town to 'consult' on a case. Their own investigation that had initially seemed so cut and dried had instead led to a criminal organization already under investigation for drugs and smuggling by the DC team. Apparently the Director had ordered the DC team to come up and pool information, as the spur-of-the-moment murder of the petty officer by one of the gang seemed like their best opportunity to finally get a handle on all the players. John just hoped the visitors remembered that the Director had instructed them to work together. Nobody was pushing his team off of this case, not after all the hard work they had put in tracking down the culprit in order to get justice for the victim. Of course, getting a bunch of drug-running smugglers out of his city was also a worthy goal, and Reese would be glad to lend a hand to see it done.
Harold had quickly pulled together dossiers on the visiting team and pulled out the salient points to brief the others before the DC MCRT arrived. There were of course rumors about the DC team, but Harold felt they should have something more substantial (and accurate). Finch had long ago set flags on their own files to alert him if anyone went snooping, so he would be aware if the visitors followed a similar MO. Although the information on their team and their cases available on the system was as sparse as possible given that the data was supposed to be accessible to the appropriate searchers. Harold had said that there were limits to how much encryption could be placed, and therefore it would always be vulnerable to hacking. In this case for privacy sake he actually recommended they go old school. The more detailed write ups of their cases were on paper and filed away, only accessible if someone physically came for them and whose request could make it past Hersh, the surly agent who manned the file room after injury in an explosion removed him from active duty.
Reese perused the information provided and mulled over what he recalled from gossip. Gibbs certainly had a reputation. Mostly for being a bastard. But also for being incredibly dedicated to his job, not to mention loyal and protective of his people. Even if he seemed rather harsh in his treatment of them.
The rest of the DC MCRT didn't have quite the notoriety of their Lead Agent, although there were still some stories about them. SFA Dinozzo was held in a bit of awe for not only lasting so long with Gibbs, but actually thriving under his high-pressure leadership. While some stories painted him as something of a goof off, Reese doubted that Gibbs was the type to suffer fools gladly. Instead, he suspected Dinozzo was the “good cop” to Gibbs “bad cop.” It certainly seemed that the Senior Agent was well liked. John suspected Dinozzo was rather like Fusco, who's easy-going 'average joe' persona helped calm frightened witnesses and led criminals to underestimate just how sharp Lionel really was. It seemed like Gibbs might have even worse people skills than Reese, and so would only benefit from an agent who could easily calm ruffled feathers.
McGee was a genius with computers, although Reese would still put his money on Harold if it came down to a showdown between the two. But from all accounts the man was more than competent in the field so John supposed that evened things out.
Interestingly the other member of the MCRT seemed to vary over time, although always a woman. And some unusual choices: a Secret Service agent, a Mossad Agent, and an NSA agent. Although Reese's own team was also out of the ordinary.
All in all, Gibbs was the one most likely to be a problem. The man certainly had a reputation for not playing well with others, but John was sure he could handle him. Reese figured Gibbs would be rather like his old drill sergeant back in basic. John doubted that any of the other members of the New York team would be too put off by a bad attitude. Carter, Fusco, and Shaw were certainly no strangers to having bastard bosses. It was the “civilian” members of his little group that had Reese worried, though for different reasons. Dr Elias and Miss Groves might be all friendly smiles on the outside, but Reese was convinced that on the inside they both harbored a dark side. A very dangerous dark side. This Gibbs had better watch his back if he dared to take his temper out on either of them. Because they wouldn't be fair or open in their retaliation, rather striking when he wasn't looking.
Harold wouldn't let some yelling intimidate him or prevent him from doing what he felt needed to be done. John had never had reason to doubt the other man. But the gentle heart Harold hid behind his prickly and aloof exterior would be a bit bruised by Gibb's legendary bastardly ways. And his inherent politeness and decency would prevent him from pushing back. Although if either Elias or Groves caught Gibbs giving Harold grief John had no doubt that they would make good on their many vows to be able to kill someone without leaving a clue (or a body).
Assuming of course that Reese (or his team) didn't beat them to it.