A/N: And now, Act 2 of "The Art of War." Standard fan-fiction disclaimers apply. I don't get paid to write this stuff ;)

The wheelchair exploded, directing shrapnel towards the front door.

Tony was in the classroom in the middle of his presentation when he heard the bomb. His first instinct what's the property was doing and reach for sidearm. As a federal law enforcement agent, he was allowed to come into the school with his SIG. "That did not sound good. Do you all know what to do in case of an intruder at school?" As a consequence of the Sandy Hook massacre, the school had indeed ramped up security procedures. "Good," he stated before turning to the teacher. "Is there a school resource officer?"

"He called in sick today," the teacher answered.

"Okay, then as a trained law enforcement officer, I'm going to investigate. While I investigate, try to get a hold of the local police.

Gibbs had just come back from a coffee run. While DiNozzo was out, his team was taken off the active case rotation, giving the team a chance to catch up on paperwork. The Special Agent in Charge had just sat down when his phone signaled an incoming text message. He pulled out the phone to read the message. It was from his daughter. "Gear up. There's been an incident at the school. DiNozzo may need assistance." The entire team got up to respond to the call. "David, where do you think you're going?"

Ziva knew she had to care for her child and herself first; however, she had to help her child's father. "MTAC," she replied. "You will need a base to coordinate with other agencies."

Gibbs couldn't help but smile. He knew Ziva would find a way to take an active role when her partner was in possible danger. "We'll let you know when we get there."

Tony returned to the classroom. "Were you able to get a hold of the police?"

"The hard line is dead," the teacher noted, "and my cell phone is showing no service."

CJ raised her hand. "I was able to send a quick text message to Gibbs."

"Good thinking, Catherine," Tony replied. "Could I see your phone?" CJ handed DiNozzo her phone. "Looks like you sent the message just in time. There's no bars on your phone, either. I did a quick scan of the office area. The front door's been blown open. The intruders have guarded all of the exits, and they have automatic rifles. They probably cut the hard line and brought in a cell phone jammer. This isn't Newtown, it's worse. Everyone, stay away from the doors and windows. The students did as DiNozzo instructed, gathering in the back corner of the classroom. "The good news is that they aren't interested in rounding everyone up or going on a shooting spree. I checked all the other classrooms, they're all locked down."

Two blocks away from the school, a white van was sighted tailing Gibbs's Charger. Gibbs's gut was telling him something was hinky, so he pulled over. The van pulled over behind him. The Special Agent's instincts kicked into full gear. He got out of the car with his badge and SIG drawn. "Federal Agent. Show yourself."

The driver and passenger did show themselves, along with a pair of AK-47s. Before either gunman could fire, the veteran agent fired two rounds into the first shooter, while McGee got out of the car and took care of the second man.

The junior agent was not standing idly by. He attempted to make contact with NCIS headquarters. "Boss," Dornaget stated, "I've got zero bars on my phone."

McGee looked at his cell phone, "My phone doesn't have any signal either. They must have some sort of signal jammer, or they took out the cell tower."

Gibs looked at his cell phone. He also had no signal. "Use the backup radio," he noted. "MTAC is monitoring Tac 1."

After several minutes of silence, the gunmen in the school finally spoke over the school intercom. "This facility is now under the control of the Alathad Al'ereby. Do not attempt to leave this building. Anyone attempting to do so will be shot on sight. Any law enforcement agent who breaches the premises will be shot on sight."

Tony snickered briefly, "Oh, great," Tony quipped, "the local terrorist cell has unionized." He removed his sidearm and badge, placing them in the teacher's desk. "At this point, it's probably not a good idea for them to find me with these. The best thing we can do now is stay here and lay low until the calvary comes."

"When will that be?" Tessa asked.

"Something tells me, it will be when the bullets start flying."

Gibbs had grabbed his radio gear before the team left for the school. He had turned one on and called back to headquarters. "Ziva, can you hear me?"

In MTAC, the radio tech was monitoring the channel. Upon hearing activity on the line, the tech put Gibbs on the speakers. "We read you," Ziva answered.

"Good," Gibbs shot back. "I need you to get a hold of everyone: FBI, Homeland, hell, even Diane over at the IRS. Tell them that this school is under siege. We just took out a two man team that appears to have been patrolling the neighborhood."

"Any word from Tony?"

"We haven't gotten a chance to contact DiNozzo yet," Gibbs answered, "We're moving in slowly. Tell Homeland that we need eyes on that school building. We have to assume that there are still multiple gunmen, heavily armed."

"On it, Gibbs," Ziva answered.

*foof*

Just what is this Alathad Al'erby up to (BTW, that was what I got when I Google Translated "Arab Union" into Arabic) and where the hell is the local LEOs, the state police, and the FBI?

Your mission: to provide some feedback to this story. I sometimes feel it's getting lost among everyone else's. I'd like to have 15 feedback messages for this story before I post the next act.

I also have other hobbies, as well as my day job, to handle. If I get writer's block, I've got other stuff to fall back on.