Well, this sort of ties in with my other story 'A Long Walk Home,' but you don't need to have read it to understand this story. My entry for the Very AU challenge over at the NFA, and if you haven't already guessed, this is majorly AU so be warned.

I don't own NCIS.

"Almost there," the man said, dragging the little girl along by the arm, "Just one more jump left." She just stood there silently watching as he hooked a bracelet around her wrist. He snapped one round his own, then pressed several buttons, making sure he was still holding on to the little girl's hand. There was a line of skin on his wrist rubbed raw from the amount of times he had worn the bracelet, it was one of the distinctive marks that separated frequent jumper from people who just believed in their value, people who didn't want to take any risks. The one disadvantage was that it marked them out as targets to people who thought necropothy was wrong and wanted it stopped. It didn't matter to Dr Jackson what they thought though, as long as he got the little girl through intact all their problems with organizations like NCIS would disappear. He was so close to getting back home now, this was the last jump he would have to make. The little girl whose small hand was grasped by his could be the key to stopping the war; the government would have so much power they would be unstoppable. He just had to make it back. He took a deep breath to calm himself, and then closed his eyes. He pictured where he wanted to go and when he was sure he had it firmly implanted in his mind he pressed the final button on his bracelet. There was a whooshing sound, and then he and the girl vanished.

Anthony DiNozzo was not happy. It was night time and he was outside in the pouring rain, his coat was pulled together as tightly as possible but he was still cold. He walked down the street of houses, all crumbling and leaning against each other, peering at the numbers on the doors as he passed. The streetlights illuminated the road with an orange haze. Ah, there it was, No 438. He walked up to the house and knocked on the door. It was a fairly small, old house but in comparison to some of the houses he had seen along the street, it was practically a mansion. He was sure that the many hungry people on the street would be glad just to have a roof over their heads, especially on a night like this. The door swung open in front of him and Tony found himself looking at a man with grey hair, presumably Gibbs, the leader of NCIS. The old man stood there, obviously waiting for Tony to speak the password and prove he wasn't a Necroth spy.

"Always faithful," Tony said to the man. Gibbs nodded and stepped back to allow him into the house. Tony, glad to finally be out of the rain, took off his coat and looked back at the man who then gestured to a room to his right. Tony entered and saw two other people already sitting at a round table in the centre of the room, a woman and a man. He pulled over a chair from the edge of the room, and Gibbs followed Tony in and grabbed a chair. He sat down on Tony's left, the only free seat at the table. There was an uncomfortable silence for a few seconds, then the grey haired man spoke up.

"This is the first face to face meeting of the leaders of NCIS, Non-Controllable-Individuals-Society. You are here because you think necropothy is wrong, and you also happen to be some of the few people in the world whose memories and thoughts can't be read by a memory scanner. Introductions," he said and pointed at the people around the table as he said their names, "McGee, David, DiNozzo. And I'm Gibbs." There was a short silence that was just becoming uncomfortable when Tony decided to break it.

"Well, it's good to be meeting in person after years of encrypted emailing, but why exactly are we here?" he asked. "When we started NCIS, we agreed we would never meet in person, therefore we could never give each other up. We're more likely to get caught this way, which is something that I personally, am not looking forward to."

"Because we have received new Intel," Ziva spoke up. "Dr Jackson has come up with some new research on how the powers of the dead work and thinks that if an undead child were to be brought back to our world, they would be able to channel the full powers of the undead. Not just the dregs of power adults bring, but the whole thing. And if you can imagine that kind of power in the hands of Necroths…."

"That would be bad," Tony answered, nodding.

"Ya'think? That's why we're taking the risk meeting," Gibbs said. "If that kind of power fell into their hands this fight would be over."

"So what can we do about it?" McGee asked.

"We need a plan of action. Unfortunately we received information about this a little too late; Dr Jackson has already left our world jumping to bring back an undead child, so he's out of our reach. He left from Washington DC a few weeks ago, and if he's on schedule will be back in a few days."

"Washington DC? That's practically Necroth central; it'll be impossible getting there without being memory scanned."

"I know, but we have to find a way in. So if anyone has any suggestions, I'd like to hear them." There was silence.

"I have and idea," McGee said slowly. "I might be able to get us full Necroth ID. If we have that they probably won't bother scanning us at all, that city gets lots of traffic every day."

"It would have to stand up to the highest scrutiny," Tony said.

"I know," Gibbs said. "Do think you can get us something that good that fast?"

"I think I could. I know someone, one of the best," Tim said. "Ever heard of Black Lung?"

"Yes," said Ziva. "I have used him to create a false ID before, it was very authentic."

"Okay, so presuming McGee can get us the ID's we have getting into the city covered," Tony said. "But we really need to know exactly where Jackson will arrive back, and we need to have an enabler on out side who can send the child back."

"Well, I don't know about where he'll arrive but I bet Abby would be willing to join us. Especially as there is a child involved."

"It's dangerous," Ziva said, "It's risky, we have not asked her to do anything like this before."

"I think she would do it if we asked."

"Well, if she says yes then that only leaves us with one problem."

"Where they will arrive?"

"Yes. Anyone?" There was an even longer silence than before. Gibbs stared at everyone around the table and when his gaze fell on Ziva, she shifted uncomfortably. There eyes met in a battle of wills which lasted several seconds until Ziva gave in.

"I might have a way," she said reluctantly "I am the one who collected Jackson's research. I have been gathering Intel for my sub-government on Necroth operations when I stumbled on this. I am undercover as a contractor, one of the people who supplies Jackson's labs with chemicals and specialist machines. I know about the jump and the new research because I 'accidently' bumped in on a board meeting. But the location of the jump is top secret. I could most likely get it, but it would blow my cover." The group stared at her. "I'm not sure I can risk blowing the operation to get the data. My superiors might realise something strange was going on."

"We really need that information though," Tim said, "We can't pull this off without knowing where he will arrive back."
"I can not," she said. "My government has been setting this up for a long time."

"Any you care that much about your sub-government? The governments of the world are why we are scurrying around hiding in the dark. They're the reason that if you or I get captured we'll be put in a facility for 'our own protection.' They're the reason we even have the need to stop Jackson in the first place!" Tony was breathing heavily. "If the governments of the world were any use, research into necropothy wouldn't even be allowed to go on."

"Tony," Gibbs said warningly, then put a hand on his shoulder and turned to Ziva. "But he's right," he said turning to Ziva. "You have to choose between your government and NCIS. But if you choose government and they find out what you are don't come running to us for help."

"You misunderstand me. It is not my government I am loyal to, it is the people who live in my Area, the people who have never done any wrong. I want what is best for them."

"And the best way to get what's best for them is to work with us; what could be more important than trying to safeguard people's right to stay dead. The government use the dead as though they are nothing." Ziva swallowed and nodded.

"I will help you," she said. Gibbs nodded.

"We should meet again tomorrow, at someone else's place. It has to be truly secure though."

"We can use my place," Tony said. Gibbs thought about it, and then nodded.

"I send you all the address. Hopefully by tomorrow McGee will have gone to Black Lung to got the ID's Tony…."

"I'll go see Abby and ask her to join us. If she says yes then I'll bring her along to the next meeting."

"Ziva…."

"I will get you the information we require."

"Alright. 7:00pm sharp." They all stood and filed out of his house. When they were all gone, Gibbs leant with his back against the front door. What they were going to do would be one of the most ambitious things NCIS had ever done. He hoped everything would go according to plan.

Necroths: A word commonly used in our society to refer to people who are supportive of Jumping and Necropothy. You can become a certified Necroth by undergoing a memory scan, which is used to assess the amount of belief you hold in Necropothy and its values, and you receive documents that certify this. The higher your belief, the higher your rating. These documents allow you many benefits including; access into Necroth Cities, use of jump points and the opportunity to have yourself crossed of the list of people who can be brought back.

An excerpt from the glossary of 'What is Our World Becoming' by Thom E Gemcity.

TBC.........