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“Oh Tim,” Tony singsonged as he made his way into the bullpen.
Tim cringed. He knew that canorous tone of voice meant nothing good for him. “Yes?”
“I think you forgot something.” Tony twirled the handcuffs that Tim had left at his place last night around his finger.
Tim blushed. “Tony!” he protested in a scandalized voice.
“What?” Tony shot him an innocent look. “You left them at my place. I couldn’t just leave them there. You might need them today.”
Tim shot Tony a dark look. “You didn’t have to be so dramatic. Now everyone knows.”
Tony smirked. “Maybe next time you won’t forget them.”
“Tim left his handcuffs at your place, again?” Jimmy interrupted.
“Yep.”
“You really should stop doing that, Tim. Everyone is going to think you and Tony are dating.”
“Hey!” Tony protested. “What’s wrong with dating me?”
“Absolutely nothing.” Jimmy grinned.
Tony winked back at him.
“Except that I’m not dating you.”
Tony patted Tim on the chest. “You keep telling yourself that. I don’t think anyone here believes you anymore.”
McGee shot a pleading look to Gibbs who was on the phone with his lip curled in a bit of a grimace.
“We have a case,” Gibbs announced, “and Tim if you’re not dating Tony stop leaving your handcuffs at his house.”
Tim flushed, “Yes, Gibbs.”
With a shake of his head, Gibbs led the team up to MTAC.
“Boss?” Tony asked in surprise, having expected them to be headed to a crime scene.
“Just come, DiNozzo.”
“On your six, boss.”
As they entered MTAC, the NCIS logo was just departing the big screen. In its place was a blonde woman. Tony thought she was from the London office.
“Thank you all for coming.”
“What’s this about?” Tony interrupted.
“DiNozzo!” Gibbs growled.
“Sorry, boss.” Tony shot him a sheepish look.
Gibbs just shook his head.
The blonde coughed to get their attention. “You’ve been called here because of a significant threat.”
Everyone turned their attention back to her. “You said something about a dangerous criminal catching a plane from London to the US,” Vance prompted.
“Yes. Her name is Yanka and she slipped through our fingers onto one of four flights that we’ll be sending over for your review.”
”Isn’t this something for customs to deal with?”
“I’ve already alerted them, but she’s good. I would be surprised if customs was actually able to detain her.”
“And you think we can?”
“I know of your reputation, Gibbs. You simply don’t give up. That kind of dedication is needed for a manhunt like this.”
Gibbs grunted.
A bit more information was exchanged before she signed off and the screen went dark. The MCRT stared at each other for a bit before looking at Vance. “So what are we doing?”
“Finding out why she’s so wanted.”
“You don’t believe the London office?”
“I’ve never met that woman before and I’m the Director of NCIS.”
“Ah.” Tony murmured. That did put an entirely different spin on the situation.
The team returned to the bullpen and immediately started digging into this Yanka. It wasn’t long before McGee piped up, “I think I know why she’s so wanted.”
“Oh?” Tony asked.
“Yep. Looks like Yanka is one of Natasha Romanov’s aliases.”
“The Black Widow? I thought she’d joined the side of good with the Avengers.”
“So did I.”
“Can you get a message to her, Tim?”
“What are you thinking, Tony?”
“I’m thinking that if we warn her that she’ll take care of everything on her own.”
“Are you sure that’s the right move?” Gibbs questioned.
“Are you sure it’s not?” Tony raised an eyebrow.
Gibbs grunted. “Let’s do it. I don’t fancy chasing her around.”
Tim nodded and sent off a message across the ethernet. There was no response, but then he didn’t expect one.
“Make sure you include a picture of the blonde chick in case that has some meaning to the Black Widow.”
“Done,” McGee announced.
“Grab some cold cases,” Gibbs ordered, “I’m going to go tell Vance what we found.”
The team nodded and grabbed some files to work on. That should have been the end of it, but of course, nothing involving the Black Widow could be that simple. Tony blinked awake as he felt the sensation of being watched.
“Who are you?”
“You know who I am.”
“Yanka. Why are you here?”
“To thank you for the warning.”
“How did you know it was me?”
“No one else would have thought to include the photo.”
“You should go before someone realizes our connection.”
“You shouldn’t worry so much. Our relationship was buried long before you were born.”
Tony sighed. “Hi, mom.”
“You know I hate it when you call me that.”
“But that’s who you are.”
“I’m a spy, assassin, and sometimes an Avenger. I don’t have time to be a mom.”
“You still make a better mother than my dick of a father.”
“I’m proud of how you’ve grown up, Tony.”
“Get out of here, mom. You have better things to be doing than darkening my doorway.”
With a sigh, Natasha turned to leave.
“Oh, Mom,” Tony called out before she made it to the door. “I’m dating Jimmy Palmer. You should meet him sometime.”
“I’ll look forward to it.”
Tony stared at the place where she vanished for a long time before he finally succumbed to sleep again.