Walking through the terminal at Washington National Airport, Gibbs told Tony to go ahead and head home. He had something to take care of before heading back to the office. When the two separated, Gibbs headed for the coffee bar and took a seat at a table where a man sat reading a newspaper.
"You could have tried to be less conspicuous," he said to the man who continued to read the paper.
"Yes," the man said. "And you could have ignored my request."
"Black," Gibbs said to the waiter who appeared at his shoulder, "no sugar."
"I really need your help Jethro." The man said lowering his newspaper.
"I figured that." Gibbs said getting a look at the defeated appearance of Deputy Director Jerome Craig.
"We'll need to bring in McGee and DiNozzo too." Craig said.
"We can't leave the squad room short like that."
"SecNav and Leon have already signed off on it. He's bringing in a few agents to handle the office for a week."
"When?"
"Just after New Year."
"What's the op?"
"It's a protection detail."
"Ziva would-"
"Not be an option," Craig said. "The subject is Hamas, well former Hamas. An Israeli would spook him."
Gibbs leaned back in his chair and allowed the waiter to set his coffee in front of him. He opened the file Craig handed him and read. "I'll tell them after Christmas." He said standing up and grabbing his bag and the coffee cup.
_.-~=}])*([{=~-._
"McGee, DiNozzo," Vance called from the balcony. "Conference room." As the two junior agents made their way to the conference room, Gibbs stepped over to Ziva's desk.
"We have an assignment coming up," he said to her.
"That is great," Ziva said. "What do you need me to do?"
"Take a vacation."
"I-" Ziva started and shook her head slightly. "What?"
"The assignment is a protection detail for a Hamas defector."
Ziva looked sideways in thought then nodded slightly. "And having an Israeli on the protection detail would be uncomfortable."
"I'd rather have all of us." Gibbs said.
"Well, obviously I would be well suited for the assignment." Ziva said. "However, if someone is defecting Hamas, they will be less forthcoming in front of someone they suspect could be sending the information straight to Tel-Aviv."
"You o.k. with this?"
"Of course. It will give me some time to relax. Maybe go to the gym, take in a show. At the risk of sounding too soft, I can have a little 'me time'."
Gibbs smiled as he turned and headed for the conference room. "Your vacation starts Sunday."
When Gibbs entered the conference room, he saw that Leon and Craig were already present and waiting. He took his seat beside of DiNozzo and watched as Leon stood up.
"Gibbs," Vance began. "You already know Deputy Director Craig. DiNozzo, McGee, consider this your introduction. We tentatively scheduled this assignment to begin on Sunday, however, if the target arrives sooner, well… Jerome?"
"Last week," Craig began as he rose from his seat. "Daoud Yassin was assassinated outside of his home. Although they have not taken credit for it, evidence indicates Hamas militants pulled the trigger. Hamas wants Palestine to end the cease-fire with Israel and start an all-out war."
"But Yassin was working on peaceful relations with Israel," McGee said.
"Correct, and without him, Israel is backing away from peace talks. Although the Fatah Party wants a free Palestine as much as Hamas, they believe that they can achieve that quicker with peaceful resolutions rather than with fighting that would eventually cost so many lives that there would be no more Palestinian Muslims to govern.
"In the wake of the assassination, Hamas is moving to take over the entire political structure within Palestine. There is one exception. The son of one of Palestine's Prime Ministers approached the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh requesting asylum. He offered information on Hamas's plans and military operations within the region."
"So shouldn't the CIA be handling his defection?" DiNozzo asked.
"They are." Craig answered. "However, the subject asked specifically for NCIS to handle his security during his debriefing."
"So we're going to Saudi Arabia." McGee said.
"Wrong," Vance said. "The subject is refusing to debrief until he is stateside."
"So he gets here on Sunday?"
"Monday," Jerome said. "The three of you will begin setting up the safe house and the security protocols. Sunday your assignment begins with a walkthrough before the subject arrives."
"So who's the subject?" DiNozzo asked.
"His name is Ahmad al-Zuhri."
DiNozzo and McGee stared at Craig then looked to Vance and Gibbs for confirmation. "But he's Salam al-Zuhri's son." DiNozzo said. "Salam is the guy that sent those suicide bombers into Tel-Aviv last year."
"Why would his son defect?" McGee asked.
"I presume we'll find out Monday." Craig answered. "I'll get back with everyone Sunday to go over the plans and do the walkthrough."
The team rose as Craig and Vance left the room. Tony looked at Gibbs and shook his head. Gibbs shrugged and let them out of the conference room. As the trio returned to the squad area, Gibbs nearly bumped into Abby who was pacing back and forth in front of his desk.
"Gibbs," Abby said stopping dead in her tracks. "I need to take tomorrow off."
"Everything alright Abs?" Gibbs asked.
"No," she answered. "Sister Agnes form my bowling league died yesterday. She had a stroke." Gibbs pulled her to him and hugged her.
"Do you need anything?" he asked.
"No," she said. "I just need to be there for Sister Rosita and the others."
"Do you want me to drive you home?"
"No," she said. "Kyle's downstairs. He's taking me to the convent."
"O.k." Gibbs said. "Call me if you need me."
As Abby got into the elevator, Gibbs sat at his computer and opened the file he'd built over the past week and a half. It had taken a couple of discreet calls using back channels to get this information without alerting Vance, Craig or any other agencies. Ahmad al-Zuhri's movements the past six months didn't indicate that he was planning to defect. That was good. Unfortunately, it looked like someone suspected. A Mossad listening post picked up some chatter about al-Zuhri. It looked like someone wanted him dead.
_.-~=}])*([{=~-._
Leon Vance sat at his desk reading a file similar to the one Gibbs had compiled. Jerome Craig sat across from him ready to answer any questions his boss may have. While Vance went over the information, Craig busied himself by sending a couple of texts.
"So tell me the truth," Vance said closing the folder. "Why did NCIS pull protection duty?"
"Just like I said Leon," Craig answered. "Ahmad al-Zuhri requested that NCIS handle his protection while he is stateside."
"And no one knows why?" Leon asked.
"According to Neil Wooten, the Middle East SAC," Craig said. "Ahmad has made several trips to Riyadh in the last three years. They had him under surveillance because he became friends with several Marines at the U.S. Embassy there. Wooten suspected he was trying to flip a couple of them."
"And now al-Zuhri is defecting from Hamas." Vance said.
"Yeah, I didn't think it was a coincidence either." Craig said digging a thick folder out of his briefcase. "This is why I arranged for every Marine at the Embassy to be replaced. They're on their way to Quantico now. The base commander order them confined to billets upon arrival pending investigation. I've tasked Harmon's team to investigate."
"About that," Vance said. "Why did you choose Harmon to head the MCRT while Gibbs is on assignment?"
"He's a good agent and a top notch investigator."
"And the fact that de Pablo works with him has no bearing."
"That's not an issue," Craig said standing up. "She's got her life and I have mine. We settled that issue years ago."
"Mm," Vance said. "Just find out if those Marines have been compromised." As Craig stepped towards the door, Vance concluded, "And make sure Gibbs doesn't find out about Harmon. They can't stand each other."
_.-~=}])*([{=~-._
Lance Corporal Melinda Lopez felt more anxiety the closer they got to Virginia. It wasn't official, but she knew that she was the reason her entire detachment left Riyadh yesterday. Somehow, the Embassy or the Corps found out what she did. She looked across at her commander, Gunny Dukes. He was asleep, of course. What was it about NCOs that they could sleep anywhere? Lopez knew that no matter what the Corps did to her, she could not live with herself until she came clear to Dukes and got his forgiveness.
"Gunny," she said. "I need to talk to you before we land." Dukes opened his eyes and turned his head toward her.
"So talk." He told her.
_.-~=}])*([{=~-._
McGee had several windows open on each of his monitors analyzing everything from weather forecasts to traffic patterns throughout the district. His fingers flew across the keyboard as he brought up blueprints for the safe house and response time for the various law enforcement agencies.
"Let's go Tony," Gibbs said grabbing his Sig Sauer from his desk drawer.
"What's going on Boss?" Tony said clipping his own weapon to his belt.
"We're hittin' the gym."
McGee looked up in time to see Tony mouth the word "Damn". As the elevator closed on them, he returned to his work with a smile.
"Do not look so relieved McGee," Ziva said from her own desk. "You and I will be working out next." McGee stared at her with his mouth opened for a moment before returning to his work with a gulp.
_.-~=}])*([{=~-._
McGee breathed easier. He made it home presumably with Ziva forgetting that they were going to work out. He stowed his backpack by the door and went to his room to lock his weapon in the safe. He changed out of his suit and put on an old t-shirt and pair of shorts before heading back into the living room. He looked longingly at his typewriter wanting to write a few paragraphs of his latest story. Unfortunately, he had other things to do. Booting up his computer, he stepped into the kitchen to grab a couple of hot pockets and toss them into the microwave.
He glanced into the living room and saw his login screen was already loaded and ready for him to do some work. More work, he reminded himself. He grabbed his hot pockets from the microwave and a bottle of soda from the fridge and headed to his workstation. He'd already emailed his gamer friends, informing them that he would be offline for a few days, so he could save some time by not loading his social network pages.
After taking a bite of his food, he brought up the NCIS website and logged in using his remote access account. From here, he was able to access the files he was working on at the office. He wasn't worried that someone could intercept his work. Between NCIS security and his own security protocols, it would take several teams of hackers several decades to break through the firewalls to see what he was doing. That's not to say he was able to work unobserved. He knew that the NCIS servers monitored his every keystroke. The servers keystroke logging compounded the possibility that a live agent may watch to make sure he was not putting the agency or any of its information at risk.
McGee checked the status of his equipment requisitions and saw that they were set to clear the next day, pending Director Vance's approval. This was standard but didn't concern McGee as the Director placed high priority on the assignment. What did concern him was something that had nothing to do with work. Well, it didn't directly involve work. He went over the plans for the safe house once again and left a note for himself to drive the routes tomorrow and input more data into the system for arranging al-Zurhi's transportation to and from the State Department Building. With that, he logged off and picked up his phone.
_.-~=}])*([{=~-._
Tony smiled as he pulled up in front of Ziva's apartment. Normally for this kind of visit, he'd have McGee, Abby or both in tow. Unfortunately, Abs was with the nuns and McSafety went home to continue setting up security for the safe house and al-Zuhri. Tony did call to check in on Abs before leaving the office. He was glad her brother was with her. The poor kid needs some sanity with her after losing someone close to her. He remembered all too clearly how she was when they lost Kate. Hell if anyone took it harder than her did, it was Abby.
But that's the past, he told himself, though not convincingly. Now, I get my first visit to Ziva's solo. As he headed for the front door, he glanced in her window to see her reading in a corner. He went into the foyer of the building and turned right to Ziva's door. He rang her bell and leaned on the doorframe.
"Hey," Tony said when she opened her door. "Got a few minutes?"
_.-~=]})*({[=~-._
