30 Worlds: Megaforce, Episode XVI: "True Love's First Kiss"
BOOK TWO*CHAPTER ONE
Unaligned World of NCIS
Naval Criminal Investigative Service Field Office
New Orleans, Louisiana
Several Hours Earlier
NCIS Supervisory Special Agent William Raymer put a small device on his desk and tapped a control. A red light appeared on the device, letting Bill know that he could begin speaking.
"Prince William, I am Supervisory Special Agent William Raymer, Naval Criminal Investigative Service and member of Scarlett's Army," Bill began. "I am sorry that I cannot be at your wedding today, as there are important matters that I must attend to in my own world. However, I have sent along a present that Scarlett should be handing to you right now."
Bill paused for a moment, sure that the person he was recording the message for would be confused by the meaning of his present, so he added: "To protect you from all that your new life together can throw at you."
A voice from another room called out, "S.S.A. Raymer, we're getting a signal from D.C. It's Director Vance." Bill turned back to the camera and shrugged his shoulders. "Gotta go. See you when I see you," he said before tapping the control to shut off the camera.
Bill made his way to the front room, where his team stood and waited. "Put him through," Raymer said. The image of NCIS Director Leon Vance appeared on the display near where Bill stood. "S.S.A. Raymer, how is the reconstruction coming along down there?" Vance said. "It's going well, Director," Bill said. "We should be ship-shape by the time King and his team are back from their leave."
"I presume you heard about Ziva," Vance said. Bill bowed his head. He had heard that a few days before, Ziva David—a former teammate of his back when he worked in Washington—had been killed in an attack on the farmhouse she was staying in back in Israel.
"Yeah, I did, sir," Bill said. "Ziva was one in a million. The world is all the lesser for her loss. I sure hope you got the bastard who did it."
"We did indeed, Probie," a voice from out of camera view said. Bill smiled as the face of his former boss, Supervisory Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, crossed into view of the cameras.
"Who was it?" Bill said. "I presume you remember Trent Kort," Gibbs said. "Oh, yeah. I remember that son-of-a-bitch," Bill said. "Sure wish I could have put a bullet in him myself."
"Well, Probie, DiNozzo beat you to it," Gibbs said. "Where is Tony, anyway?" Bill said. "Shouldn't he be with you and the Director?"
"Agent DiNozzo has resigned from NCIS," Vance said. "Why?" Bill said. "He wanted to take care of his and Ziva's daughter," Gibbs said.
Bill's jaw dropped. "Boss, when I was on the Leviathan with you guys, I got a completely different vibe from Tony and Ziva," he said. "When were they together?"
"As a result of the Harper Dearing case," Gibbs said. Bill nodded, remembering that Tony and Ziva were trapped in an elevator for several hours in the aftermath of the bombing that Harper Dearing had set up on the NCIS headquarters on the Washington Navy Yard.
"I see, Boss," Bill said. "William, just keep on taking care of things down there until S.S.A. Pride and his team are back on duty," Vance said.
"Will do, sir," Bill said. Vance drew his hand across his throat. Moments later, the channel with D.C. was severed.
Several hours later, William woke up in the living compartment on Gavan's Glory to find that Sofia was in the washroom getting ready to take a shower. William got out of bed and made his way to Sofia. "I could get used to this," William said.
"Used to what?" Sofia asked. "Waking up like this, next to the most beautiful woman in any of the worlds," William said. "You were amazing last night."
"You too," Sofia said before kissing William on the lips. "Let's wash up and get ready. We should be arriving in the Unaligned World of NCIS any moment now." William followed Sofia into the sonic shower.
Ten minutes later, William and Sofia were back in the cockpit as Gavan's Glory exited the dimensional fold and angled for a landing on Earth. A new mission had begun.
::TBC::