Delta Alpha Six: Rogue Agent

Previously on Delta Alpha Six…

… "First let me ask you this: in your years as Delta Alpha 6, have you had any contact with your old team?"

"No."

Vance eyed Ray. "No contact whatsoever?"

"Only contact with military personnel are friends I made at BUD/S."

… "There is always a price, Director." Ray looked at Vance soberly. "I went from the dirty secret swept under the rug to asset Delta Alpha 6 and the cost was that I was at beck and call for anything sent my way and I couldn't even set foot in the building unless asked. That and I was made to understand that if I was caught, I would be disavowed." He gave a slight smirk, "So there is always a price."

Vance stared at the man. He knew he had the right one for this since he didn't take things at face value. A lesson probably learned the hard way. He knew that he wasn't going to be able to hide much from him and what the man knew, they needed. With as slight smile, he replied, "The price… is Operation Dead Zone."

Ray was literally speechless. He almost forgot to breathe when he heard the name of the one thing that he wanted to forget but really couldn't. He blinked as he recalled that operation and he could hear the voices in his head… everything. He focused on Vance and asked, "What?"

Vance saw the reaction. It wasn't visceral, but he could see the memory still had a profound effect on the man. He repeated, "Operation Dead Zone. Everything you know about the mission."

… Ray opened his mouth slightly, but then bit the bullet. He replied, "Yes. The shooter was my sniper. Mark Simkins."

"And Laurent?"

"More likely supplier. Maybe a lackey." Ray shrugged, not meaning to be callous, but in all honesty, he didn't know the specific role. He could only speculate at this point.

"It explains why the suspect's prints were all over the casing," Gibbs supplied.

Ray was willing to go with that, but something was telling him that it was a set up. Simkins was trained like he was, and it wouldn't be hard to set someone up. And that was considering that Simkins was working for someone with deep pockets…

… "DZ is done, Simkins. It has been for a long time."

Simkins snorted at that. "You always did have to play martyr, Sahib," he said with a hint of anger in his voice. "You stuck your neck out for all of us and this is how they repay you and you still want to work with them?"

… He only looked up when he heard Simkins throw back, "Wounds have been left opened to fester… JJ Rook."

… He collided with a nearby lab table and landed hard on the ground amidst shattered glass. A weight pressed on him and tried to restrain him.

"Should've stayed out of it, Rook."

Ray looked up, grunting at a face he hadn't seen in years. He narrowed his eyes and grunted, "And I trusted you."

"Still can, Rook."

There was an explosion of glass that caused Ray's captor to flinch, but he didn't relinquish his grip. Ray struggled but it was not possible, and he couldn't call Callisto. He didn't even know where she was. He could hear her growling and grunts of pain along with intermittent gunfire. His focus though was on the face above his.

"Use what the Company gave you. Put the pieces together for us."

… Ray turned slightly and saw the light. He went with instinct and pushed McGee through the door. There was a loud thump. He probably was a little too hard on the pushing, but he had only a little amount of time to get them both in a position to be out of the full force of the blast. He was barely entering he door when his body went through the door, feeling a white hot pain in his back. The world went black as he heard the shattering of the windows of the floor blowing out…

Chapter 1

The smoke was thick in the air. The sprinklers finally went off and were dousing the area, putting out the fire finally. There was shattered glass and wires from equipment scattered everywhere. Some furniture had been overturned from the explosion. Ziva winced as she opened her eyes and found herself staring at shattered glass and material littering the ground.

Pushing herself up, she looked around. She could make out the prone forms of Gibbs and DiNozzo. They were alive, but the explosion had been disorienting. Taking deep breaths, she looked around. She had to see if McGee and Ray were okay.

She knew that Ray wasn't going to betray them. He was just doing what he did best and that was making sure his team was not in the line of fire. Even after the exchange, he went after Simkins to get back the nanites. Until he noticed the explosives. That was how they got separated. Just where… She looked around.

A slight whine caught Ziva's attention amidst the sounds of the approaching sirens. She turned to see Callisto nosing her cheek and giving a reassuring lick. She felt relieved that the dog was alive and well and couldn't help but wrap her hands around her neck. "Callisto," she murmured.

Callisto made a slight whimper and pressed into Ziva. She sat down when Ziva released her and stood up slowly, ever attentive. She was on her feet when Ziva said, "Come on, girl. Find your handler and McGee. Seek."

When Ray first got the dog, Ziva thought that he was being punitive since they were at odds even after they resolved the Rivkin thing. He was guarded with her and almost seemed shy and afraid about letting his true feelings show. He wasn't rude. Just wary. Then when they were meeting up, he has a dog with him all of a sudden and it had her wary.

It wasn't like that though. The dog was retired after the handler died in Afghanistan. They had difficulty pairing it with another one and she was deemed excess until Ray literally walked by. She knew he still visited his old SEAL friends and just happened to be on base that day when they were trying one last time to pair Callisto. Ray walked by and at first, they thought she was going to attack him since she made a beeline to him at full speed.

When Ray turned and saw her, he just stood there. He admitted it was crazy, but it felt right, and she came to a halt in front of him and sat, ready for a command. It was bizarre, but the trainers decided to run with it. They discharged Callisto and she became Ray's dog. They trained together most days when he wasn't sent to the ends of the earth on a mission. He kept up the handler training and maintained her status as a working dog. That was why she was allowed at HQ.

Callisto took to Ziva the first day. Ray said it was because strong minded females always knew each other and stuck together. He meant it as a compliment and Ziva took it for what it was and teased him back, saying that it was because it took two strong minded females to keep an eye on a tough and stubborn SEAL. It was a start on their relationship.

Now Ziva was using Callisto to find Ray and McGee. She had a feeling that wherever Ray was, McGee would be there as well. In the short time they were together, they had become friends. And it helped that Callisto took a liking to McGee, probably because she smelled Jethro on him. It didn't matter. She had to find them and make sure that they were okay.

She slowly made her way through the lab, letting Callisto find the way. She was concerned that the dog's feet might be at risk from the glass. She would have to worry about that later. She followed Callisto towards the back of the lab. It had her frown, not at the damage, but at the fact that they were in the back of the lab. She coughed from a thick plume of smoke and looked around since Callisto slowed down and was sifting.

A sharp bark drew Ziva to the door. She hesitated and checked before pushing it open enough for her to slip through with the dog. There was debris everywhere and it was a wonder the floor didn't collapse. It occurred to her that the explosion was just enough to cause damage and possibly kill any loose ends. She sighed in relief once she realized it and started moving debris to get more into the stairwell, thankful that she wasn't in an elevator.

That had been a scary moment when she and DiNozzo were trapped in the elevator when Dearing blew up the bomb near HQ. She and DiNozzo were unhurt but the damage was the fact that even with all the training in the world, she was still vulnerable. She got that in Somalia, but it hit home with the explosion, and it made her realize how much she wished that Ray had been there with her; she realized the depth of her feelings despite what she had said previously.

Moving into the stairwell, she swallowed when she saw the sickening sight of blood. Callisto was sniffing it and whining. From the lab, she could hear Gibbs calling for her. She shouted, "In the stairwell near the back. I… I think I found McGee."

She barely registered Gibbs' reply as she swallowed back her fear and moved to follow the blood. It went down the stairs to the next landing. She went slowly, trying to brace herself but the high pitched whine of Callisto forced her to move faster. She paused and looked down, her eyes following the blood trail to two bodies.

Ray was lying on top of McGee, almost like he had been thrown into the man and they fell down the stairs. He had a grip on McGee though like he was protecting him. Just like he did with everyone that was important to him.

Training kicked in and Ziva called Callisto back, so she could give a look over. Both were breathing so that was good. McGee looked like he had been knocked out, but his breathing was good. There were no injuries like bullet holes, except for the one he took in the chest with his vest and that would leave bruising. That left where the source of the blood was coming from.

She saw the tear in his sleeve and saw the graze from the bullet through the rent in the sleeve. It wasn't enough to cause what she saw in the stairwell. She coughed again from the smoke and found that Ray was looking at her almost bleary eyed. She probed, "Ray? Can you hear me?"

"Wrong question, Ziv," he joked weakly.

Ziva narrowed her eyes at him but took it as a sign that he was not seriously injured in terms of his head. The joking was proof of that as she retorted, "You are supposed to ask that when doing triage. You're a SEAL. You know that."

"Not a medic."

Ziva snorted at that and proceeded to do the head to toe assessment. She paused when he said tiredly, "I wish we were at my place. Then I'd ask for a massage. My back feels a bit numb."

Her eyes trailed down. The smoke had cleared a little and she could hear the emergency services sirens outside the building. She checked, and her eyes widened when she got to his lower back and saw a large shard of glass sticking out. It was wedged in there pretty tight and no doubt the pressure from the puncture was keeping him from bleeding out completely.

"I'm sorry."

Ziva looked at the man and started to panic when he closed his eyes. By then the medics had made their way up the stairs and she was told to back away. She did manage to shout to watch out for the glass in Ray's back as she pulled Callisto towards her. It wouldn't help if the dog started barking and then got overprotective. She watched as they slowly moved the bodies to pull out McGee and then Ray. She swallowed, wanting to say that there was nothing to be sorry for.

Bethesda Naval Hospital was considered the most prominent of military hospitals and could claim servicing a few presidents. It was the best to be when faced with injuries. For McGee, it was all too familiar. At least he wasn't in the same position he had been admitted with a shard of glass sticking out of his abdomen. He couldn't say the same for his friend and fellow agent. He looked down the hall at the other trauma room where they were stabilizing the person on his mind.

"How are you feeling, McGee?"

McGee blinked and turned to see Gibbs was looking at him. He blinked since he was remembering what happened. The smoke had gotten into him and overtook him and thought he was going to die from smoke inhalation. Not until Ray came and hauled him up and pushed him into the stairwell the moment the explosives ignited. He remembered hitting the deck hard and it knocked the wind out of him and he bumped his head. Then Ziva was checking him over…

Seeing that Gibbs' was waiting for an answer, he replied, "I'm good Boss. Salazar?"

Gibbs shifted on his feet and glanced down the way. He didn't betray his thoughts when he saw the doctors and nurses going in and out. He looked back at McGee and replied, "They're taking care of it. What about you?"

McGee knew that he wasn't going to get anything else out of Gibbs. There was no news anyway until Ray bought it or was stabilized enough to give a report. He nodded, "I'm good. Just a bruise from the vest and nothing that a Band-Aid can't work."

It was glib like DiNozzo would do, but McGee's thoughts weren't on that. Gibbs studied the agent sitting on the gurney. It was the same as the doctor said when they were checked out. McGee had been lucky that the bullet hit the vest. It would leave a mark, but no lasting damage and the bump to the head yielded no concussion. All in all… they were lucky.

Looking at McGee, Gibbs gestured, "Since you're okay, Doc's discharging you."

"And…"

"Salazar is still being worked on."

It meant that there was to be no discussion at the moment. McGee nodded and hopped down just as the discharge papers were being brought to him. He signed them, absently listening to the post care orders. It was the usual in a case like this. He followed Gibbs out to the waiting area where DiNozzo and Ziva were waiting along with Abby and Ducky ambled in.

"McGee you're okay!"

McGee braced himself for the bone crushing hug that Abby gave him. He returned it knowing that it was more about worry for him. He muttered, "I'm okay, Abs."

Abby made a sound as she held onto McGee. She had hugged everyone else. There was one that she couldn't hug, and he was currently being worked on. It scared her. To see her 'big brother' and then possibly lose him again… She knew what he did as a SEAL and it was part of the job and she admitted that she operated in ignorance on that, but now she had to acknowledge that it was becoming a real possibility.

McGee patted her on the back and gave her a peck on her forehead like he usually did when she gave them a break in a case. He stepped back and gave a reassuring smile. It helped since Abby nodded but she wasn't babbling. It clearly meant that she was worried. They all were, and he could see it looking at them. Even Gibbs, who was as stoic as ever.

Finally, a doctor came out and asked, "You're here for Ray Salazar?"

Gibbs stepped forward, "His primary. What do you go, doc?"

The doctor cleared his throat a little as he held the chart he was carrying. He looked at the group assembled before him and answered the question, "We've managed to stabilize him and taking him up to surgery. He had some lacerations and contusions, couple of broken ribs and shrapnel which we are moving to correct now."

He barely finished when there was a loud crash causing all eyes to turn. Gibbs was impassive, barely widening his eyes as he moved towards the man that seemed to have jumped off the gurney that was almost to the elevator. He kept a bland face, ignoring the fact that the nurses and the residents were starting to panic at the man that was in a defensive position despite the fact that he was in probable pain.

"Sir, please restrain yourself," a nurse said. She had her hands up and trying to inch closer.

Gibbs knew that it could not end well and motioned for her to stand back as he advanced, "Stand down, Skipper."

Ray refused to relax even though he normally would have responded to the order. He looked at Gibbs with that narrowed look that Gibbs knew well. He had seen it with Marines that were on active duty and when confronted in a dangerous situation. It occurred to him that his agent was reacting to the last thing he remembered. He pressed, "Skipper…"

Before Gibbs could say anything else, he heard Ziva say something. It sounded like it was in Hebrew and he turned to see Ziva standing next to him and advancing slowly like the nurse did. He would have said something, but he watched as she kept her gaze on Ray while speaking. She looked like she did when she was interrogating a suspect.

It seemed to work and had Gibbs raise a brow as Ray lowered his defenses. He still had it raised when Ziva said, "Gibbs."

Gibbs looked at his agent and said, "Skipper, you need to stand down."

Ray looked at Gibbs with eyes that looked like they were glassed over either from pain or meds or both. In any case, it was a wonder that the man managed to spring up from the gurney and was ready to jump into a fight. Now, he was calm enough and allowed the nurses to get him back on the gurney to take him up to surgery and not a moment too soon since he was bleeding all over the floor.

Gibbs waited until they took him away before turning towards the doctor that had been giving the report and silently asked for more information. The doctor complied, "He was a little resistant in transport according to the EMTs."

"He's a SEAL, doc," Gibbs replied. "What are we looking at?"

"Surgery now," the doctor replied as he looked at the group. "A couple of hours at most. Judging from the reaction, he should be up in no time. The best thing is to go home and get some rest."

It was probably the wrong thing to say to Gibbs. DiNozzo and Ziva certainly could see that, but Gibbs was playing nice and, in all fairness, the doctor was right. Besides, it was the same thing that Gibbs would say to his agents. Gibbs acknowledged the doctor with a thanks and turned to go dismiss his team leaving Ducky to talk to the doctor for technical details. Coming to a stop in front of DiNozzo, he said, "Take Abby home, DiNozzo and go home yourself." He gave a look that would brook no argument. Not that DiNozzo would consider it.

"On it, Boss."

The same was directed to McGee, but he paused when he got to Ziva. Ziva knew that she was going to have to do some explaining. That would mean that she would have to reveal a few things and she wasn't sure how Gibbs would react. She long suspected that Gibbs had an idea that Ray was involved. There wasn't much that the man missed when it came to working on a case.

Ziva stood there as Gibbs looked at her. She didn't blink, more out of force or habit and no desire to be seen as weak. She looked at the man as he stared at her and felt like she was going to be interrogated. And it wasn't going to be pretty.

"When?" Gibbs questioned with a straight look.

Ziva had an idea of what Gibbs meant but decided to play it off like she always had, "When what?"

"When did you two meet?" Gibbs stepped forward while keeping his voice low. It was the tone that would scar the most junior of agents and he was using it on a person who had heard it times before, but he was adamant in knowing.

Ziva knew she should probably say something about her relationship; how she was essentially like a handler/asset to Ray while he was living in limbo. Yet, she sensed that it was better to keep it a secret. It wasn't that she didn't trust Gibbs. It was more along the lines of her deep-seated feelings for Ray. It was a desire to protect him from the world that had burned him so many times. She didn't need to do it since he had made that clear many times previously. She wanted to.

Looking at Gibbs in the eye, she did what she was good at. She replied, "First time was yesterday, Gibbs."

"Then how do explain what I just saw then?"

Ziva glanced at the door that Ray had disappeared behind covertly while she looked at Gibbs. She could tell that he could lose his patience if she didn't tell him something that was plausible. She could hardly tell him that it was something she learned the last several years working on the down low. Taking a silent breath, she began, "We had a break together over coffee. He happened to notice my necklace and…"

"Ziva."

"It's the truth Gibbs," Ziva asserted. "We had a break together. Coffee. I knew his name had Arabic origins and we talked about it." She looked downward a bit as she shifted on her feet. Looking back up at Gibbs she added, "He spoke Arabic to me and I went along with it." She locked her gaze on the man.

Gibbs knew that there was something Ziva wasn't telling him. He suspected that his old probie had an inside man and he wasn't losing his mind when he saw Ray a few times they were on the case. Ray wouldn't have traveled to Somalia to rescue a member of his team just because. He could press and demand she tell him, but he was astute enough to know that there was a reason behind it.

Ziva was starting to think that Gibbs wasn't buying what she said. What she said was essentially the truth. Just not the entire truth. Of course, Ray would point out it was still a lie and then add he was hardly one to ride the righteous high horse since lying was part of his job description when he was sent on his missions. She shifted on her feet. She decided to add, "He just happened to mention a song that he used to hear as a child that his mother knew. I just said the words."

Gibbs studied Ziva some more. He knew she was being honest. Just not completely and his gut was telling him that it was the right thing. What happened at Leland was going to come back on them. What, he wasn't sure. Stepping back, he relaxed slightly and replied, "Okay."

Ziva eyed Gibbs warily. She accepted it and stepped back herself. She offered, "Um, I'll take Callisto. I doubt McGee would want to take in another dog."

"Good idea," Gibbs replied. He started to walk away but paused to whisper, "I understand. Don't strangle yourself with it."

Ziva didn't say anything but let Gibbs walk away. That told her he definitely had some idea that she and Ray knew each other. At least he wasn't going to chew her out for not telling him everything. Maybe he knew like her that there was a storm coming.

A/N: Welcome to part two of the Operation Dead Zone arc. We pick up after the explosion at Leland. Stay tuned for next time...