"Gibbs!" Abby called, hands on either side of her keyboard and facing her computer as Gibbs and Loki entered the lab. She cocked her head to the side, her high pigtails tilting towards her right shoulder. "Loki."

Loki stopped in the door, his smile fading as he raised an eyebrow. "Abby."

"You didn't come down to say hello to me," she said accusingly as she turned around. "You should have come right down."

"I apologize," Loki said, glancing at Gibbs. "I had a case. Gibbs can tell you."

"You're on your own, Laufeyson," Gibbs said, heading over to Abby. "What do you got, Abs?"

"In a minute, Gibbs," Abby said. "Can't you see I'm lecturing?" She marched towards Loki, her features drawn into a scowl. "Next time, come say hello before you go gallivanting around after ghosts!" When Loki gave her a strange look, she added, "Palmer was here, to bring me the blood samples, and he told me everything."

Abby slapped Loki on the back of the head, glared at him for a moment, and then gave him a big hug. "Welcome back, Loki!"

Loki returned her hug, shooting Gibbs a look over her shoulder. "It's good to be back, Abby."

Abby stepped back, gave Loki a sprightly grin, and then headed back over to her computer monitor, her platform boot heels making slight thuds against the floor. "So I've run ballistics on the bullet. It is intended for use in a Marine sniper rifle, but it was custom made. That's all it would tell me. The video that McGee brought me, however, yielded better results."

Abby's fingers flew across the keys as she brought up the footage. "I had to clean it up, as the footage was kind of scratchy, but I was able to get fairly good resolution."

"Can we see who shot Captain Morris?" Gibbs asked.

"No," Abby said. "But using Ducky's approximate time of death, I was able to identify a witness who was present around the time of the shooting. She might have seen something."

"Do you have a name?"

Abby grinned. "Millie Swenson. I've already sent you the address; she lives on Ghost Street, one of the only people to do so, I've heard." She frowned. "I don't understand why people don't want to live there. I mean, living on a haunted street would be so awesome! I'd want to live there."

"Only you could say that," Loki said with a grin as Abby glanced at Gibbs.

"Where's my Caf-Pow?"

Gibbs handed her the large red cup of caffeine and the forensic scientist took it from him eagerly. "Thank you!" She took a long sip from the straw as the two agents headed for the exit. "Hope you stay for a long time, Loki!"

"I do, too!" Loki called back.

****

Bishop was sitting at her desk when suddenly, DiNozzo ducked down in his seat. "Hide!" he hissed.

Perplexed, she narrowed her eyes at him. "Why?"

"Fury!" he yelped. "He's here!"

Bishop quickly glanced back over her shoulder and her eyes widened to see Fury striding off the elevator. She dropped onto the floor as McGee did the same, all three of them holding their breaths.

Fury came over to the squad room, standing at the entrance to their section and glancing from left to right. "How pathetic," he spat. "A bunch of grown agents, hiding like children."

McGee, Bishop, and DiNozzo didn't say anything. Bishop squeezed her eyes shut. Please, please, please make him go away.

"I can see you," Fury said, irritated. "Get up."

Reluctantly, the three agents stood, staying behind their desks as if they would serve as some sort of barrier between them and the SHIELD director. Fury gave each of them a menacing glare from his single eye.

"I know you hacked SHIELD," he said. As DiNozzo opened his mouth, he held up his hand. "Don't bother with the excuses DiNozzo. I know McGee didn't do it without some egging on from you."

"How come McGee gets to be the innocent one?" DiNozzo grumbled.

"Where's Gibbs?" Fury demanded.

"Right here," Gibbs said, stepping off of the elevator and walking through the squad room until he stood in front of Fury. Loki stood behind him, arms crossed over his chest. Bishop's boyfriend was giving Fury a threatening look and she had to bite her lip to stop her grin. Oh, how she loved that Asgardian.

"Why are you here, Fury?" Gibbs asked.

"Your agents hacked into SHIELD's database," he said. "Top secret information only a few have ever seen."

Gibbs shrugged. "I'm sure they had a reason."

"It better be a damn good one!" Fury burst out as Gibbs turned away and headed to his desk, pulling something up on his computer. The SHIELD agent just stared at him, incredulous, as Gibbs tapped something out.

"DiNozzo, go with Loki," Gibbs ordered. "You have a witness to interview. I just sent you the address."

"Driving!" DiNozzo yelled, grabbing his bag and beginning to come out from behind his desk when he remembered Fury was still standing there. He stopped, eyeing the SHIELD agent warily as Loki grabbed his own bag.

"DiNozzo," Gibbs said. "Go."

"Right, Boss," DiNozzo said, still appearing hesitant as Loki came up behind him and passed Fury. The Italian agent hurried after the Asgardian and they headed for the elevator.

Gibbs looked to Fury, and Bishop and McGee waited for the former Marine to say something. He then glanced over at the computer nerd. "McGee, why did you hack SHIELD?"

"I didn't hack SHIELD," McGee said. When Fury gave him a disbelieving look, the agent amended, "I meant I didn't intend to hack SHIELD. I was looking into Captain Morris' classified mission. Vance wasn't able to give us any info on it. When we found out it was SHIELD, we stopped digging."

Fury narrowed his eye. "Captain Samuel Morris?"

McGee and Bishop nodded.

Fury looked at Gibbs. "Perhaps this following conversation is better held with Director Vance."

"By all means," Gibbs said, gesturing to the stairs. "After you, Fury."

****

Vance narrowed his eyes at Fury as he finished explaining his presence at NCIS. "Our dead Navy captain has a connection to SHIELD?" he asked.

Fury nodded. "Yes, he has a SHIELD contract. How did he die?"

"A SHIELD contract for what, exactly?" Vance said. "What was Captain Morris working on?"

Fury seemed to be weighing his options. Then he sighed. "Director, we are free to have a private conversation in this room, just like always?"

Vance nodded. "We are."

"Captain Morris was working with us on a part of Project Insight," Fury answered heavily. "We contracted him to work on one specific area of the project. He had the expertise we needed."

"What was he working on?" Gibbs asked.

Fury gave Gibbs a look. "Classified."

"He's dead," Gibbs said. "Yesterday, he was shot in the head by a Marine sniper rifle."

"Where?" Fury asked.

"Ghost Street," Gibbs said, wrinkling his brow.

Fury rubbed at his forehead. "This is bad."

"A man is dead," Vance interjected. "Of course it's bad."

"No," Fury said. "He was delivering the last piece of data that was needed for the...the Blackout Interface, the area we had recruited him for." He whirled on Gibbs. "Did you find a USB drive on his person, by any chance?"

Gibbs shook his head. "No, we didn't."

Fury swore. "This is not good. Who are the suspects?"

"We don't have any," Vance started to say but Gibbs cut him off.

"One."

"Who?" Fury and Vance both demanded.

Gibbs was quiet for a moment. So far it was just a hunch, based on the weapon used. He had no proof, no real proof yet. But Fury wanted an answer, and perhaps this would just smoke her out of hiding.

"Agent Sniper."

****

"What's it like?" DiNozzo asked as he and Loki drove back to Ghost Street. "Being a part of your family?"

Loki shrugged. "It's difficult, but I suppose every family is. It's just...my father has always been biased towards Thor. My mother cares for me but I wonder sometimes if Odin does." He grimaced.

"Everybody loves Thor," DiNozzo intoned in a deep voice and then he laughed.

"What?" Loki asked, shooting a look over at him.

"It's from a show," DiNozzo said. "Everybody Loves Raymond. In the intro of one of the seasons, Raymond was explaining the family dynamic as the family members moved past him, and at the end, he says, 'Now, not every family would go by on a conveyor belt for you, but mine would because –' and then Robert, his brother, interrupts and says, 'Everybody loves Raymond.'"

Puzzled, Loki just stared at DiNozzo. "What?"

"In the show, Raymond is the favorite son," DiNozzo explained impatiently. "Robert isn't. It's like you and Thor." Then suddenly DiNozzo shuddered. "Oh, man."

"What?"

"I'm imagining your parents as Frank and Marie Barone," DiNozzo said, a look of horror on his face. "I don't know whether to laugh or be horrified. It's like that movie Summer School, where the lead actor reminds me of Gibbs but it's a comedy movie and it's so not Gibbs. It's freaky."

"Who are Frank and Marie Barone?" Loki asked.

"Raymond's parents," DiNozzo said, and shuddered again. "Oh, I'll never get that comparison out of my head!"

Loki shook his head. "Let's just interview this witness."

/**/

Another chapter, on time this time! What did you think?

By the way, the reason the lead actor in Summer School reminded Tony of Gibbs is because the actor is Mark Harmon (Gibbs).

Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter! Thanks for reading!!

Skylar Wittenborn