"I want to thank you all for coming on such short notice. I realize that some of you have a more difficult time getting away," a quick glance at Tony by all, "and I really do appreciate your commitment. The situation that has been developing is getting more serious by the minute, and I'm afraid even Miss White and I do not yet have all the details. We shall endeavor, however, to provide you with the necessary means to avert this threat. Miss White?"

Mr. Black bowed slightly to his counterpart, moving away from the center of the group that had gathered in the den. It was a comfortable room, and had the added bonus of a projector and screen, which Miss White quickly utilized.

"Yesterday afternoon, at approximately 1326, Mr. Black received a squawk code from Mr. Blue, or as we know him, Hamid Sakhar. The message was as follows: 'Op Snow Dragon. NCIO. SAD.' Investigate Operation Snow Dragon. No contact. Search and destroy."

Search and destroy: military parlance for 'find and obliterate, leave no trace, don't expect to find me alive.' It wasn't exactly reassuring.

Booth leaned forward. "That's all he sent? How are we supposed to find him?"

"Should we even try?" Trista Kraven questioned gravely from the back of the room. "NCIO usually means no contact inside or out, which means contacting Hamid might compromise his position."

"Did he squawk a 76 or a 77?" Tony asked.

"77," Black answered. "Why?"

"It was a new system we talked about last time we got together. 7700 is just a general emergency. If he didn't want us to find him, he would have squawked a 7600 – lost communications." Tony rubbed his forehead. "Either way, he's in a lot of trouble. I want to be the one to make contact."

"We'll have to discuss that. Based on what we know right now, our hands are tied until he can tell us more. We have very limited information."

Tony narrowed his eyes. "What do we know?"

Miss White directed their attention to the projector screen. "Six months ago, the Iranian government instituted a purge of their Ministry of Intelligence and Security. They do this every few years to rid themselves of weak agents, political dissidents or rogue members. Unfortunately, the purge was not entirely successful." Three pictures appeared on the screen, depicting three men. Two were of Middle Eastern descent, while the other was Caucasian. "Abdul al-Hazdin and Muhammad ibn Rashid were top-level MOIS operatives. Their loyalty, however, was apparently in question. They were supposed to be disposed of during the purge, but managed to escape with the help of Thomas Lincoln, whom all of you no doubt recognize."

Tony grimaced, and several of the others frowned. Trista let out a low growl. "I do not believe it."

Mr. Black spoke softly from the corner, though with no less power. "We have proof if you'd care to see it."

"Unlike before, you mean. You were very quick to judge him then, as well."

"We voted, Red." Tony raised his voice a little. "We couldn't be sure, and it looks like we were right not to trust him."

"I still say we shouldn't have driven him away," Trista muttered.

"What we did or did not do is of no consequence right now," Ms. White interjected. Tony nodded an apology to the room while Trista sat in stony silence. "These three individuals have been on a recruiting spree for the past few months. Hamid was one of their first."

"What are they recruiting for?" Booth wondered.

"Hamid believed they were trying to prove their worth to MOIS by getting an organization together in the United States. He recently came across information that suggested a coordinated attack against three U.S. cities, but we lost contact before he could tell us what they were. We called all of you in because when this goes down, it is going to be big, and we need everyone on deck."

Bob Brown spoke up for the first time since they had seated themselves. "Why didn't we hear about this sooner? I mean, this sounds like something the Unit should be taking care of, or one of the alphabet soups. This has been going on for months; surely someone would have gotten wise."

Tony snorted. "Sounds like typical CIA bullshit to me."

"The CIA knew about this almost from the beginning. They've been tracking Lincoln, which means they were able to red-flag al-Hazdin and Rashid. Unfortunately, they were already in the country. That's when they sent in Hamid."

"Back up," Tony interjected. "We know Lincoln is bad, and he knows we're onto him. He had to suspect we'd try to stop him. How did Hamid gain his trust?"

"Mr. Blue convinced Thomas that he had come to agree with his point of view. Thomas' associates were eager to have a CIA agent in their ranks, and the CIA allowed Hamid to pass certain information to Rashid and al-Hazdin. They believed Hamid had gained their trust."

"Obviously not," Bob said. "If they've lost contact with him, why aren't they scrambling around trying to find him?"

Mr. Black cleared his throat. "They didn't know."

Tony was dumbfounded. "They lose one of their best operatives on an incredibly dangerous assignment and they don't even have a fucking clue? Yeah, okay, so it's the CIA, but you'd think after everything, they'd at least be keeping tabs on him."

"They were. It would appear that Hamid's handler at the CIA has been in on this from the start. Until we discovered this information and passed it along to the proper channels, the CIA was unaware that there was a problem."

"And now they don't know what to believe," Tony realized. "They can't guarantee Hamid wasn't a double agent. They'll be so busy covering their asses, they won't be able to act on any of the information he gave them. Rashid and the others will be free to act."

"That is correct," Mr. Black stated.

"So what do we do?" Erin asked. There was a perceptible change in the room, as though everyone had suddenly come to attention.

"Miss White and I will be coordinating from here. Brown, I need you to get in touch with your contacts in the CIA, see if they have any other information they aren't sharing. I don't need to tell you to be discreet. Grey, get in touch with MI-6, I want to know about any operations MOIS has been developing. There's still a chance this is sanctioned by them. Red, you need to warn the Secret Service that there is a threat. We don't know the target cities or even if that's the real target, but make sure they tighten security around the President. Orange and Green – you're going to find Blue."

As Black gave out assignments, there was a chorus of 'yes, sir' and 'copy' and 'wilco'. There was an air of determination, and everyone knew that this was deadly serious.

"We'll get started this afternoon. For now, I believe some of you have phone calls to make."

xXxXx

Tony and Erin lounged in the kitchen, chatting idly and listening to Booth talk to his partner.

"Look, Bones, I told you it would be a few days."

"You also told me you had familial obligations."

"No, I told the FBI it was a family emergency. I told you that I had something to take care of."

"And why couldn't I come with you?"

Tony leaned over to Erin as Booth tried to explain the nature of the word 'no'. "You know, I think they should date. She obviously has him whipped."

Booth shot an angry glare at them as Erin answered. "I agree. Booth needs a woman like that."

"Bones, please do not give Harriman a hard time. He knows what he's doing, and it's just temporary. I promise I'll be back in a few days. Bones? Bones!" Booth was met with a dial tone, and Erin quickly grabbed the phone before it got smashed.

"And I thought my partner was controlling. I'm surprised she doesn't have you on a leash." Tony smirked, accepting the punch on the arm as a matter of course.

"You've got a leash of your own, DiNozzo. Shouldn't you be calling the office?"

"Yeah, yeah." Tony accepted the sat phone from Booth. He hesitated, then dialed Abby's lab.

"Abigail Sciuto, forensic specialist extraordinaire. What's your poison?"

"Hey Abby, it's me."

"Anthony DiNozzo, I'm not speaking to you. You are in so much trouble! Why didn't you tell me you were leaving? Gibbs has been insufferable all day!"

"For someone who isn't speaking to you, she sure talks a lot," Erin whispered, grinning.

Tony shushed her. "Yeah, I know Abs, but something came up, and I didn't have a lot of time. You're right, though, I should have made you my first priority. It won't happen again."

"Darn right it won't. So, what can I do for you?" And just like that, she was her naturally cheery self.

"I'm just checking in. Is Gibbs there?"

"Bossman just walked in. You two have incredible timing."

"Hey, Boss."

"DiNozzo. How's the case?"

Tony grinned, knowing his boss was hoping to trap him into revealing something. Fortunately, Whitey had filled him in on the cover story. "The body could be one of Jasper's. Don't know what brought him out into the open again, but I have some theories."

"Need some help?"

"I'm good, Boss, but thanks. This might take a little longer than I originally planned, though."

"Keep checking in."

"Will do, Boss."

"He left, Tony. So, how's Philly? Catching up with the guys in Homicide?"

"Philly's fine, Abs. Don't have a lot of time for beers with the guys, though."

"Tony, be careful. I'm getting a bad feeling."

"Abby, I respect your feelings, you know I do, but I promise everything will be fine. How's the case?"

"Horrible. Ziva and McGee aren't allowed to go home until they find a new lead. You know how Gibbs gets when you aren't here."

Tony laughed, though he felt slightly guilty. "I'm sorry, Abs. Listen, I've gotta get going. I'll call back tomorrow, okay?"

"Bye, Tony. Bring me presents!"

Tony hung up, rolling his eyes as Erin and Booth burst out laughing.

"Tony, your coworkers are almost as crazy as mine," Booth gasped out.

Erin agreed. "Someday, I really hope I get to meet Abby."

"Maybe you will," Tony smiled, though he knew it was unlikely to ever happen. In order to maintain the integrity of the agency, Mr. Black insisted on a strict separation between MJ and regular life. It was a price that had to be paid for secrecy.

Tony shook himself out of his reverie. They had planning to do.