"Uh, Boss," McGee called across the bullpen.
Gibbs ran a hand over his face tiredly. He had slept but not very well; knowing that Ari was out there and planning something made his skin crawl. He'd stayed in the office, not wanting to waste any manpower by having his house guarded.
To his amusement and chagrin, his team had stayed as well. They had only been awake for about an hour, but everyone had picked up where they left off last night.
"What, McGee?" he strode over to the young agent's desk.
"I think I found the reason why the Lieutenants were killed," McGee said.
"You think?" he asked.
"I know," McGee said strongly. "The Lieutenants were pilots who worked with Danbourne Avionics. It's a company that supplies the military with weapons. Both of the Lieutenants were working on a project to develop a new drone. We found a camera that covered the theft. Ari and his cell were there."
Gibbs clapped McGee on the back, "Tony, Kate. Let's go." He grabbed his vest and gave Kate a glare, but there was no way he wasn't following up on this.
The lab was well secured, but as Gibbs poked around he didn't notice anything wrong. He joined Tony and Kate just as Kate was asking their guide about the drones.
"Was any of the equipment dependent on fingerprint scanning?" she asked.
"Yes," he answered. "The flight controls require a fingerprint scan to fly. Why?"
Damnit.Gibbs whistled, already walking out of the building and Kate and Tony hurried to follow him.
He sent Kate down to inform Abby of the drone the moment they got back. Meanwhile, he had McGee and Tony looking for any way to track the controller. They had determined the intended target on the way back to base and he was pissed.
He raced up the steps to Jen's office, knowing that Fornell would be there as well.
He ignored Cynthia as he walked past her and threw the doors open, his glare silencing any pleasantries that either person in the room would have said.
"Ari has a target drone. He's going to use it today on a pier where several Navy ships are returning," he said.
Both Fornell and Jen were shocked silent but Fornell answered first, "Shit. We shoulda seen this coming."
"Ya think, Tobias?" Gibbs returned sarcastically. "I won't let that bastard get away with this. How do you contact him?"
"There's a cell phone number for emergencies," Fornell said, even as he reached into his jacket to get it. Regulations were out the window at this point.
Gibbs' phone buzzed and he growled angrily, "What?"
"Gibbs! I have something," Abby said quickly. He snapped his phone shut and called over his shoulder to Fornell, "Meet me in MTAC."
Not wasting time with the elevator, he ran down the stairs and emerged by Forensics, finding Kate and Abby inside.
"Make it quick, Abs," he said impatiently.
"Ok. Right. So the drone is still a prototype, thankfully, or this would be more difficult. It needs a locator beacon to hone in on, so it'll have to be placed somewhere on the pier. But it'll be small and there'll be a lot of people there so that's probably not your best bet." She paused to take a breath.
"The drone has a 40 mile range. They will have to be set up somewhere in that radius for the flight controller to work," she smirked. "But the really good news is that Danbourne sent me the program codes, not that I couldn't have gotten them on my own, but this saved some time and I didn't have to punch through any firewalls."
"Anyway," she continued at Gibbs' glare. "We can jam the drone as long as we're within 40 miles of the controller."
Satisfied that Abby was done he nodded to Kate and they left the room. "Good work Abby!" he called back, but she had already turned back to her computer.
He raced up to MTAC and found Fornell and Jen ready for him, he took the headphones and twirled a finger in the air to the operator, who started the call.
"What?" he heard the voice on the other end.
"It's Gibbs, Ari. We found the drone," he said.
"Ah, Gibbs. Still alive. What drone are you referring to?" Ari asked.
Gibbs looked over to the tracking system and the analyst waved his head negatively.
"You know damn well what drone. This isn't a game, Ari. I know you're not a mole anymore. You've turned," Gibbs baited him.
"What you think doesn't really matter, does it, Agent Gibbs? But I see you've convinced at least one other person of your suspicions. I know you don't have access to this number," Ari remarked lightly.
"It's over, Ari. Call your men off. Because I promise, the next time we meet will be the last," Gibbs yelled, and saw the analyst give him a thumbs up.
"Believe me, Gibbs. I would but-" Gibbs gave the tech the cut signal and the call ended abruptly. "Where is he?" Gibbs pulled the headset off.
"Two block radius in Norfolk," was the reply and Gibbs was almost out the door when Jen called him back.
"Jethro," she stalked over to him, her voice hard. "Do not let your personal feelings get in the way of this mission. You are to stop the drone. That's all. Do not confront Ari unless there is no alternative."
Too furious for words, Gibbs didn't reply, and instead ran down the stairs and yelled to his team, "Gear up."
He grabbed his gun and loaded it viciously, taking a second magazine and heading toward the elevator in silence.
His agents took a moment to collect themselves before bursting into action as well, and followed Gibbs.
"We're taking two cars. McGee, you're with DiNozzo. Kate's with me. We're heading to Norfolk. Got a two block radius. Look for somewhere Ari and his cell could set up the controller."
They knew better than to comment on how vague that was, or that Ari could have set up anywhere in the two block area.
As it turned out, though, the two blocks weren't as bad as they could have been. Each car patrolled around, and when Tony caught sight of a man with a gun ducking into a warehouse, they had their target.
Everyone carefully strapped on a vest and McGee pulled out his laptop, setting up the program to jam the drone. But when they pulled up to the warehouse they were quickly shot at from multiple perps.
Gibbs yelled out to them and they quickly took cover behind the cars and returned fire. The terrorists tried to press their advantage and close the distance, but as soon as they left their cover Gibbs and his agents had them down.
"That'll have gotten their attention," Gibbs said as they took a moment to catch their breath and reload. "McGee, you stay here and jam the drone. Kate, Tony, with me."
Gibbs ran to the warehouse, Kate followed behind as they made their way into the building. Tony ran around back to climb the fire escape.
He held his gun at the ready, and he and Kate switched positions as they climbed the stairs covering each other as they ascended. They got to the roof and he opened the door slowly, Kate going first to clear the immediate area. He followed a moment later, his back to hers, and they saw several men with guns.
One was bent over the control board and before Gibbs had a chance to fire he launched the drone. Angry that he was been too late, he shot the terrorist. At the gunshot, the rest of the roof broke out in men and guns, and he and Kate took cover. He saw Tony climb up quickly and duck behind the closest cover as well.
He turned to Kate, and at his nod they both popped up, firing as they caught sight of anyone. Tony joined in as well and soon everyone was down. Gibbs brought his gun back up, and kept it trained on the body he approached. He kicked the weapon away and knelt cautiously to check for a pulse. He stood, and saw that Kate and Tony were checking the other men. "McGee," he touched a hand to his headset. "They launched the drone. Tell me you jammed it."
"Um, Boss. I had a shooter but he's gone now. My control pad was shot though, I can't do anything with it," McGee said.
"Then how do I turn this off? It's still going," Gibbs yelled.
"You could type in th-" McGee started, but Gibbs was already tuning him out. He knew that whatever McGee was going to tell him to do was out of his limited technological skills. The drone was too close to its target to get McGee on the roof to do it himself, so he fell back on his own experience and put a couple bullets in the controller and hoped for the best.
When the control screen shut down and no explosion in the distance followed, he assumed everything was all clear. The drone would have hit by now, and the explosion would have been seen and heard from his position here.
Satisfied, he turned back to his team and checked his gun. "I'm out," he said while he reloaded.
"Me too," Kate said, holding her rifle up. He turned to Tony only to whip his head around when he heard the cry from Kate, "Shooter!"
He looked back just in time to see her fall and his gut clenched at the thought that she had taken a bullet meant for him, but his gun was already raised and firing by the time he processed the notion. He barely saw the guy fall before he turned to Kate.
"Kate," he called, kneeling beside her and gently turning her over. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the bullet had caught her vest and thanked her obsessive nagging that had made them all wear one.
"Protection detail's over, Kate," Gibbs said as he pulled her to her feet.
Tony came to stand next to her, "You did good." The relief was evident in his eyes.
"For once, Dinozzo's right," Gibbs said, giving Kate a small smile.
"Wow, I thought I'd die before I ever heard a comp-"
The sudden appearance of two sharp objects in front of him, along with the loud gunshot that reached them a split-second later, had Gibbs' nerves at the end of his rope for the day. He raised his gun again, focusing on the cloaked figure that was suddenly in front of him.
Every sense he had was screaming at him, and he knew that something was horribly wrong. Where the hell did he come from? There hadn't been anyone there a moment ago, and he would have- should have- noticed someone running up to them. His team had their guns on the figure's back as well.
A boyish voice spoke, "I am not your enemy, Agent Gibbs." Gibbs bit back a retort. How does he know me? "Stay behind me."
From the voice, he could guess that it was a kid, probably in his early teens.
"Well who the hell are you?" he yelled, his gun still aimed at the boy's back.
"I cannot answer that. I work for Director Shepard. She instructed me to watch over you and your team today. I have done so."
Jenny? What the hell is going on?
"Hey Boss." DiNozzo's voice cut across his thoughts. "I thought I imagined it, but now I know I heard it." Tony placed the knife- if it could be called that- in his hand, turning it to the side so he could see what had caught his senior field agent's attention.
His heart stopped for one awful moment when he saw the bullet imbedded in the metal. His head snapped up to Kate's, his eyes widening as he mentally retraced the path of the knives, watched as the second one redirected the first, and heard the gunshot once more.
"Sniper shot," he bit out. His finger traced over the bullet. Ari. He could feel the panic seeping into his face but he couldn't stop it as he looked at Kate.
"Woulda hit you, Kate," he said softly, and his finger gently touched her in the center of the forehead. "There." He could see the shock and fear in her face and his heart ached for bringing this on his team.
"Ari's aiming at Kate? I thought he hated you, Boss," Tony said.
Gibbs opted for not smacking him so soon after he almost lost a member of his team, but he couldn't keep the anger out of his voice, "Then he's targeting my team, DiNozzo."
"Right," Tony recovered. "Of course. He targets your team to get to you. I knew that."
Gibbs put a hand on Kate's shoulder; she was quiet and pale, but she gave him a weak smile and a nod.
The voice spoke again, reminding him of the current situation, "Please be quiet." The tone was absolutely serious, and Gibbs' eyes narrowed. What's going on? This guy is entirely out of our league. I don't even think he's human. To throw a knife- two knives- and time it so one catches a bullet, gets hit by the second one, and hits no one in the group is beyond impossible. Movie stunts don't even do what just happened. But he's definitely on our side. He saved Kate.
He watched the boy carefully, still wary as the kid's hands came up in front of him and he muttered something. There were several pops and puffs of smoke and Gibbs took a step back, dragging Kate and Tony with him and moving them behind him.
His brain denied what he was seeing as impossible. He blinked and tried again, but there was still a group of figures where a second ago there was no one. They were dressed identically and he saw that they were all wearing the same masks and cloaks as the first guy.
His right hand still held his gun down at his side and he eyed the figures suspiciously. A moment later one of them ran to the edge of the roof and jumped off. He heard a gasp of surprise from Tony, and one of alarm from Kate. He kept his eyes on the other figures.
Three moved closer to his team and his trigger finger itched but he forced himself to wait. They moved to stand beside each of them, one per person, and his first thought was that they were guards.
He holstered his gun reluctantly, although he recognized that after the previous displays it would most likely not be any more effective for him than it had been for Ari. He's on our side, he repeated to himself. Maybe Jenny really did send him. Although I don't know where the rest of these guys came from.
The other figures fanned out and formed a box with him and his agents in the middle. The last two- by now he had lost track of the guy that had been there first- took off at an unbelievable speed and jumped along the rooftops.
This is impossible. People can't pop out of nowhere. They can't run or jump like that. What the hell is this guy?One of the figures turned towards the other side of the roof and Gibbs instinctively turned as well.
The cloaked people moved again, the three that were closest to them pulled them back and stood in front of them and the ones that had been in a box stood in front of them. Another figure- a man- was making his way towards them from the opposite side of the rooftop. When did he get here?
"You've certainly grown, Itachi-kun," the man said. Gibbs couldn't help the shiver that crawled up his back when he heard the voice. One of the figures in the front line flinched, and everyone moved together to remove their masks and cloaks.
He watched the ones closest to him, and he knew his sentiments were shared by his team, What the hell?
The guards were all identical. Down to the last inch of whatever weird costume they were wearing.
It was an odd mix of body armor- were those swords on their backs?- but Gibbs was focused on the other guy on the roof. His presence demanded attention and it was both awe-inspiring and terrifying. He was unlike anyone else he'd ever seen. So pale he was basically bleach white, and with black hair that almost reached his thighs, he cut an odd figure right off the bat. But his eyes.
Gibbs squinted again, but he was sure. They were gold. Bright gold, with weird purple markings around his eyes. Then the figure stuck out his tongue to lick his lips and Gibbs took an involuntary step back. His tongue was longer than it should have been, and twisted around in a way that tongues weren't supposed to. He heard DiNozzo curse, letting out a bit of his anger and confusion.
"What the hell is going on, Gibbs?" He heard Kate ask, her voice shaking slightly. He could only shrug helplessly.
"Why are you here, Orochimaru?" The boy in front asked. Gibbs could tell for certain now that it was a boy. Even without the mask, the rest of the outfit remained intimidating, but his face was that of a kid. Probably around twelve or thirteen. The man- Orochimaru?- laughed and Gibbs shivered again.
"I happened to be nearby when I got word of this little operation. Haswari intrigued me and I had nothing better to do. That I found you here, Itachi-kun, is just a happy coincidence." Gibbs gathered that they had some kind of history and he wondered what the boy was mixed up in if he knew a guy like this.
He had to give the kid some credit, though. The man was giving off every bad vibe in the book, and right now Gibbs' only thought was to get his team the hell out of there but the kid just stood there twirling his weird knife on one finger and looking bored. "So what do you want?" the boy spoke finally.
"Just to say hello," the man shrugged. "Do I need a reason? I have to make a living somehow. But now that I'm here, there's no reason not to have some fun."
Before Gibbs could think that he definitely didn't like the sound of that, the man had thrown several of the same weird knives at the kid, who stood there calmly. He watched in awe as the boy brought up his own knife and gracefully blocked every single projectile. The last one was sailing at his head and he simply bent his head back, one hand extending up.
He caught it! This is beyond impossible. This is insane. It's ridiculous. What the hell is going on?He was seriously contemplating just pulling his gun and shooting at them while his team got away, but the kid made his own move a second later, throwing two knives back at the man.
A second after that he turned to face them, and Gibbs flinched when he saw red eyes looking directly at him, before the kid next to him picked him up bridal style and began sprinting away. He cursed and yelled to be let down, but there was no indication that the kid would listen so he could only wait anxiously.
He clenched his eyes involuntarily as they jumped across the rooftops- hating that he was being carried and that he had absolutely no control over the situation. A moment later he was placed back down, and he shot an angry glare at the kid before moving to stand closer to his agents.
They were all silent- there were far too many emotions too close to the surface at the moment to really say anything. At any rate, they were all thinking the same things. He looked back in the direction they had come from; the rooftop was still visible and he could make out the man and the kids on it.
Edited and re-posted on 4/11/14