Curiosity, Part 3
Disclaimers and other info in part 1.
Chapter 3: The Cancellation
"Something wrong, Kate?" Tony asked.
"Huh?" Kate looked up at him. She realized that she was tapping her pencil on her desk and stopped. "No, nothing's wrong," she replied. She looked at the clock. It was only ten.
Tony grinned. "It's usually me that wants to leave early. Got a date tonight?"
Kate sighed. "No, Tony. Actually, I'm supposed to meet a friend for lunch." She mentally cursed herself as Tony's nosy side suddenly made an appearance.
"Really..." Tony smiled. "What kind of friend is this?"
"A friend."
"A male friend?"
"Yes, Tony; I'm fairly certain he's male," Kate replied sarcastically.
"Only fairly certain? What, you two haven't..."
"Tony! My sex life is none of your business!" Kate said indignantly.
Jethro Gibbs walked past the two desks. "I walked into the wrong conversation," he muttered dryly.
Kate rolled her eyes but went back to her work. Tony, realizing that Gibbs wouldn't appreciate his prying into Kate's personal life, did the same.
When Kate looked at the clock again, it was an hour later. She smiled and put her work away.
"Where are you going, Kate?" Gibbs asked.
"I'm taking my lunch break, Gibbs. Just because you never seem to eat, doesn't mean the rest of us can live without food." Tony grinned at the remark.
Gibbs only raised an eyebrow. Kate rolled her eyes and grabbed her coat and purse.
She was almost out the door. "Kate!" a voice called her back. She stopped in her tracks. Gibbs hung up his phone and said, "You'll have to cancel your lunch date--a Naval officer was just found dead in an alley in Georgetown."
Kate glared at Tony, who shrugged. "I didn't tell him."
They piled into the car, and Kate reached for her cell phone to call the restaurant. Suddenly, she realized that she didn't know AJ's last name. Hopefully, the message would still get to him.
"Giulio's. How may I help you?" a cheerful voice answered.
"Hi. My name's Caitlin Todd; I made a reservation for today at 11:30. I was wondering if my friend had made it yet?"
Kate could hear pages turning on the other end of the line. "No, ma'am, he hasn't. Would you like me to give him a message when he does?"
Kate was a bit irked by the way the hostess automatically assumed she was meeting a man. She was right, but it still annoyed Kate. "Yes, please. Could you tell him that I've been unavoidably detained at work, and won't be able to make it today?"
"Yes, ma'am. Is there a number where he can reach you?"
Kate hesitated. Did she want to give out her phone number? She had only known this man for a few weeks. There was still a lot she didn't know about him--like his last name, where he lived, what he did for a living... She sighed and rattled off her cell phone number.
"Okay, Ms. Todd; I will get this message to your friend as soon as he comes in. Have a nice day!"
"Thank you. You too." Kate hung up, and Tony stuck his head between the front seats.
"'Unavoidably detained?'" he smirked. "And what's your date's name, anyway?"
Kate glared at the man. "Just because you don't like to use polysyllabic words doesn't mean the rest of us don't know them. And he's not my 'date'. He is a friend."
"Nice way to sidestep the question there, Agent Todd," Tony said. "C'mon--I won't tease you about him. I promise."
"Would you two stop bickering for five minutes?" Gibbs snapped. "I'm trying to concentrate on driving, here."
The two younger agents rolled their eyes at each other and Tony sat back in his seat.
They arrived at the scene with minimal bickering. Kate shuddered as she realized where they were.
"Kate? Something wrong?" Tony asked in a rare display of concern.
"I'm fine," Kate muttered. Well, at least she wouldn't need a ride home. They climbed out of the car, and Kate grabbed the camera.
