(NCIS Headquarters – Squad Room – 2017.02.13, 0700)

Special Agent Conrad Zuse walked into the squad room and took a deep breath. It had been years since he had been to headquarters. Back in 2010, he had been an intern at NCIS. He had not been very interested in law enforcement, until following a case had turned him around. He had gone through Federal Law Enforcement Training and then been posted to the Middle East. (To be specific, he had ended up in Pakistan Office.) Now, that felt like ages ago. His eyes wandered around the room and he spotted Agent Timothy McGee. McGee and the rest of Gibbs' team were discussing a case – the murder of a sailor from what he had heard through the grapevine – so he did not notice Conrad as he walked by.

"Special Agent Zuse." A male voice said. "Welcome to Headquarters."

The voice was that of Director Leon Vance. The director was the reason Conrad was here. He had called Conrad in, but had not said why. His hunch was that the director wanted to discuss something classified. ~Only time will tell.~ Conrad shook the director's hand and grinned.

"Thank you, Director. So, what is this about ?"

"I'll explain in MTAC."

Conrad followed Vance up the stairs and into MTAC. When they entered, there were two agents already there. Conrad recognized one of them as Dwayne Wilson. Wilson was assigned to the Crete field office. At least, he had been two weeks ago. The other agent was unfamiliar to him. She was female, with piercing blue eyes and short brown hair. Her skin was Caucasian.

"Agent Zuse, meet Agent Wilson and Agent Walters."

"Hello." They shook hands. "So, the director ordered you here as well ?"

"Yes." Wilson began. "I came from Crete and Vanessa came from Hawaii." He turned to Vance. "But neither of us were told why."

"That's about to change." Vance said, while turning to one of the technicians and giving him a nod. The man worked his console and the main screen changed. "Andrew Johnson." Johnson was a Caucasian male with green eyes and grey hair. Conrad estimated him to be in his fifties. "Up and coming weapons dealer." The screen changed, showing three more pictures. "These are three of his lieutenants. Paul Anders, Devon Thomas and Jessica Newton. All three are now in jail."

Conrad looked at picture of Devon Thomas and bit his lower lip. He had managed to arrest Thomas after the murder of a marine and two prostitutes. His guess was that the other two agents had put the other lieutenants away. He looked at them and his guess confirmed by the look on their faces.

"So now you want to go after the big fish himself, sir ?" Walters said.

"That's the plan." Vance began. "The FBI caught two of his lieutenants as well, and the NSA arrested two more. So we're putting together a joined task force. You're our contribution."

"Who will have the lead, sir ?" Wilson said.

"FBI." Vance said. "Johnson uses a sea container manufacturing plant as a front. It's headquartered in Toronto. Ironically, having the FBI in the lead will raise the least red flags and the least red tape." He paused. "Special Agent Hayes is expecting you at 0800 tomorrow. I want you to use today to learn everything you can about Johnson. That's all."

Conrad nodded and walked out of MTAC. This whole thing was feeling like the start of a high stakes chess game. And if they were going to win, they would need every trick in the book. And some probably some off-the-books tricks as well. Which he figured Vance knew as well. And that was why the director had ordered them to spend the day doing their homework. It was his opening move.

(NCIS Headquarters – Squad Room - 2017.02.13, 1132)

Conrad leaned back and pondered what he had just read. Andrew Johnson had been born in Cape Town, South Africa on 14 June 1960 as Andre Janssen. There, he had fallen off the radar in 1978. Whatever he had done for the next couple of years, it had probably not been pretty. Because he had resurfaced as Andrew Johnson in 1985. And he had done so in the middle of Iraq. After some shady chess games with (and against) the CIA, he had left for Vietnam. It was there that he had founded Johnson Containers Inc.

From what little the CIA and NSA had managed to puzzle together, it had been a shady company from day one. Tax evasion, strong arms tactics….and tons of other dirty tricks. And the bulk of it hidden behind Non-Disclosure Agreements. But over the years, the Intel community had managed to piece together enough to know that this was a company to watch. And it was not just America who watched him. There was information from MI6, the AIVD and FSB in the file. And that meant that the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Russia were also watching him.

The company – and Johnson – had moved to Canada in 1995. And while he was not on the radar of the national police there, the Toronto Police Department was watching him like a hawk. ~One wrong move and they will come down on him like a ton of bricks.~ He just hoped that it would not blow up in their faces before they could make their move.

~This is not going to be easy.~ Johnson was a sharp cookie. Besides the legal walls, he also used anonymity as a weapon. The file on Devon Thomas had been only half a page when Conrad had begun his investigation into the man. He had managed to put the man in jail, but had added only two paragraphs to his history. And the files on Paul Anders and Jessica Newton were equally thin. ~The game is afoot.~ So he grabbed the files on the lieutenants the other agencies had arrested and began reading.

(Washington FBI Office – Entrance – 2017.02.14, 0800)

They arrived on time. Special Agent Peter Hayes was waiting for them. Hayes was in his sixties. His short hair was black and his green eyes were sharp and clear. The lower half of his face was covered in a (short) salt-and-pepper beard. The man also appeared to be in excellent psychical shape. He smiled at them.

"Welcome to the FBI." He began. "I'm Peter Hayes."

"I'm Conrad Zuse." Zuse began. "This are Dwayne Wilson and Victoria Walters."

"Nice to meet you." They all shook hands. "Let's get to work, shall we ?"

"Sounds like a plan to me." Walters said.

They headed into the building.