Chapter Seven: "I think I'll dismember the world and then I'll dance in the wreckage." ― Neil Gaiman, "The Sandman, Vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes"
"So tell me Brandon Bryant spilled like a glass of merlot on a white rug and we not only have Ester and their accomplices in custody but the weaponized small pox is also in our control," a rather exhausted Genevieve said as she walked into the boatshed, just behind Eli and just ahead of Kensi.
"I'd like to but it wouldn't be true," Callen said. He was alone in the main room. Nell and Michael were still interviewing Brandon.
"Where is everyone?" Kensi asked.
"Sam left to check his family out of the hotel," Callen started.
"Oh, they could have stayed their all week," Genevieve said with a wave of the hand as she sat down. "Least I can do."
"Sam and his family spent a lot of the last year in a safe house. I think they're happy to be home," Callen explained. "Deeks and Scott went to an address Brandon gave them. It was a house they were using to run this."
That caught Genevieve's attention. "Do we have video of him giving Damien and-or Deeks permission to enter the house?"
"Deeks grabbed Kim's laptop, typed something up, printed and it and had Brandon sign it," Callen said.
"Signed consent to enter a building is always helpful in court," she replied.
"You and Deeks aren't the only lawyers involved in this."
"Did he request a lawyer?" Genevieve pointed to the screen.
"No, Brandon gave us the name of another shell company created that rented homes, bought supplies and provided plane tickets for several men. The corporation is DHK."
"Dina Harris Kamali, Ester's mother."
"They have to have a lawyer on the payroll," Kensi said. "Did Deeks and Damien find anything? Where's the house?"
"It was a mansion in Beverly Hills. Hetty recognized the address, some old-time Hollywood landmark home."
"Probably Brandon's idea," Genevieve said.
"Brandon and Ester stayed in the main house with several visitors from London. Brandon didn't know much about them, just that they knew Ester's father and he wasn't thrilled they were hanging around. He was looking for some honeymoon time with his new wife. They were working with Nassib and talking to Ester and only Ester."
"Not good," Genevieve sighed. "Did he give a number to several?"
"Four. They're the guys from the Saharan Motel. Seems Brandon didn't trust them alone in the house, especially with Nassib no longer in the picture. He wanted them kept in line. Remind them who was running things, who was Ester's husband."
"Names?"
"Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo," Callen said. "He didn't have last names."
"They don't have them," Eli said. "They're the Teenage Ninja Mutant Turtles." Looking at a slightly stunned Callen he added, "I have a child. She was a fan."
"Yeah, Nell reacted badly to the names but continued with the interview."
"Did Damien and Deeks find anything in the house?" Kensi asked again.
"They found several laptops in the main house."
"Main house?" Eli asked.
"There was a guest house in the back. Nassib was staying alone in the guest house in the back. He had an old computer – a Mac iBook that was key lime green according to Nell. Deeks remembered the model from law school. Scott thought that was an odd choice for a doctor-administrator type. They scooped up all the laptops in the houses and brought them to Eric. They should be back pretty soon."
Stifling a yawn, Genevieve asked "Where's Kim?"
"All of the plane tickets came from the same travel agent near the jewelry district. Kim left to pay him a visit."
"Anything else?"
"Brandon whines a lot. He thought they could take Kamali's small pox virus, change the formula a little, create a vaccine and start holding up countries for ransom. He planned on opening the bids for the U.S. Government at $100 million. And the U.S. was getting a discount – the Russians and the Chinese were going to pony up at least a quarter of a billion each according to the plan. Same with Japan and the EU. He hadn't firmed up his plans for Australia, India and the rest of the world."
"This gets worse by the second," Genevieve said. "He's an idiot with delusions of grandeur."
"Oh it gets a lot worse. That was Brandon's plan. He's all about the money. Ester is the dreamer of the two. Her plan was to give the poor countries in the virus and the vaccine and let them sell the vaccine the wealthier countries while keeping the virus."
"Yep, a lot worse," Kensi said.
"Ester believed the now not so poor countries could train and finance scientists to keep tinkering the virus so every few years a new vaccine would be needed. More of an infusion of cash from the wealthy countries could finance schools, hospitals, arts programs," Callen told them. "She believes that in a few years, all the money from the U.S., Russia, China, Japan and the EU will fix every poor country's problems and then they'd stop working on the virus."
"Or they'll start using it on their own people or other countries. She is thinking like a child," Eli said. "Some of these men who run countries – both the poor ones and the wealthy ones – do not think like children. They think like dictators."
"Why was Nassib in the basement?" Genevieve asked. "He was loyal enough to Ester to commit suicide to protect her but they left him in the basement. I'd be reconsidering my role in an organization if I was knocked out and left to die."
"Brandon thought he was losing control of Ester. Nassib kept speaking to Ester in Arabic or French, which made Brandon uncomfortable. He also felt the other men were more loyal to Nassib. And then more loyal to Ester than to him."
"Of course they're loyal to Ester, not to her idiot American husband," Kensi said.
"And he is an idiot," Callen said. "You missed his two crying jags and his very specific demands for lunch."
"Please tell me we fed him," Genevieve said.
"We got him the Pure Salad from Café Gratitude as he demanded with a kale, cucumber, lemon and celery pressed juice," Callen shook he head as he passed Genevieve the receipt for lunch. "I had Sam bring it in to him. That was the reason for the second crying jag. He realized this was his last non-institutional meal."
"You'll be reimbursed tomorrow," Genevieve said looking at the bill. "Geez, could he eat more kale? And I'm guessing Chief Hanna's general presence was more upsetting to Mr. Bryant than the quality of prison food he'll be enjoying for the next few decades."
The door to the boatshed opened. "Can I get some help here?" Kim called to the team.
Callen, Kensi and Eli ran to the door with Genevieve pulling up the rear. Eli took an angry, handcuffed man out of the back of Kim's SUV.
Callen opened the door to the second interrogation room as Eli easily marched his charge into the boatshed. "Don't uncuff him," Kim held up her arms. "He scratches."
Callen, Kim and Kensi left the interrogation room leaving Eli standing like a statue by the door.
"Who is he?" Kensi asked as they walked into the boat shed's main room. Opening the trunk near the chair, Kensi pulled out a first aid kit and passed it to Kim.
"Don't know. Nobody was at the travel agent's office. I copied the computer hard drive," Kim fished a thumb drive out of her pocket and pushed it into her laptop sitting on the main room's table. "I started back to the building's underground parking lot. This son of a bitch jumped me as I tried to get into the Jeep."
"You OK?" Genevieve asked as Kim took some Neosporin and started using it on her arms.
"Yeah. Dude has a glass jaw. Leaned him against the car door before he hit the pavement, put him in the back and came back here."
"Were you followed?" Callen asked.
"No, checked around but I was alone in the parking lot. Someone else would have come after me once this guy went down," Kim said, pointing to now the split screen on the monitor.
"Can we get him printed and see who he is?" Genevieve said.
"Probably need a cheek swab too," Kensi added. "Nassib destroyed his fingertips."
"I'll start with the prints," Kim said. "In the ride over, every time he opened his mouth he'd make Damien blush. Let's try to keep his mouth shut."
Walking into the interrogation room, Kim had Eli put his hands on the man's shoulders while she leaned down to the man's cuffed hands. Using her cell phone, she took the man's fingerprints.
As Kim returned to the room, the boatshed front door opened again - in walked Hetty Lange.
"Hetty!" Genevieve said as she crossed the room. After sharing a hug and an air kiss on each cheek, Genevieve seemed genuinely happy to see Hetty.
"Always wonderful to see you, Director Fitzgerald. You have assembled quite the team here."
"As have you, Hetty. As have you."
"Yes, I saw you took Miss Blye with you to Terminal Island."
"The late Karim Nassib pretended not to speak English when he was in custody. Between myself, Eli and Kensi, I thought we'd be able to eliminate his language choices. Obviously, he never had any plans on talking."
"He may be the only one," Hetty said more to herself.
"Hetty?" Callen asked.
"Nothing. Who is our new guest?" Hetty asked.
Looking at her phone, Kim said "James Rogers. He's the travel agent. He's also in all sorts of financial trouble. Maxed out credit cards with withdrawals at Hollywood Park, Normandie and a bunch of casinos in Vegas."
"Probably not the only people he owes," Callen said. "Credit card companies cut him off, local bookies wouldn't mind being paid in plane tickets."
"I've got something," Eric's face filled the monitor screen.
"What do you have Mr. Beale?"
"Deeks and Damien brought in six laptops. One was Brandon Bryant's and it was full of video games and half written screenplays. Four other computers were personal laptops from the men Deeks said were working with Bryant. Lots of porn, lots of action movies. Those guys like their Jason Statham films."
"Mr. Beale," Hetty chided.
"But this," Eric held up Nassib's old iBook, "was the motherload. Director Fitzgerald, I contacted Ferran Joly from your office."
"Ferret?" Damien said as he walked in with Deeks
"Damien," Genevieve warned, "not now. Ferran is a computer whiz and fluent in almost every language."
"The inside of the computer was rebuilt several times. There are ten years' worth of accounting, medical and word processing programs on the hard drive. They all go to a file called al-Zuhari. The file is nearly a terabyte and all in Arabic."
"What was Ferran able to translate?"
"All of it. There are all the financials for the attacks in Berlin and Ramstein. The bribes paid to keep al-Zuhari's death quiet are recorded."
"How up to date is it?" Deeks asked.
"Last Sunday. Since coming to the U.S., he's updated everything – every receipt scanned, every account updated. As of half-an-hour ago, every account has been frozen. There are currently seven credit cards active in the Los Angeles area. Brandon has one, Ester has another, Karim Nassib as Kamal Saad had a third. I'm sending you the names of four men. I found passport photos that match these names. They're fake passports."
"Of course," Callen said.
"They all flew to the U.S. from London last spring. Facial rec identified one as Wilmer Nava. He's a Spanish national, raised in London when his father's international law firm transferred him when Nava was six."
"Let me guess, attended Harvard," Genevieve said.
"Harvard law. He's an attorney."
"And he was there when Leo Kamali was there," Hetty said.
"Even was recruited by the same CIA officer who got Kamali. Nava washed out after six months," Eric told the group.
"The CIA has the worst taste in men," Genevieve grumbled.
"We're looking into the others but so far, nothing."
"Nava is probably running things. Or running things while he lets Ester think she's running things," Damien said.
"Is there anything else?" Genevieve asked.
"One real estate transaction caught my eye. Brandon and Ester were living in places like Malibu, Santa Barbara and Beverly Hills," Eric began.
"Lifestyles of the rich and famous," Damien said.
"Nassib purchased – as Kamal Saad – an auto body shop off South San Pedro and 21st Street in the spring. Has had an "Opening Soon" sign on the door since."
"I'm bad when it comes to LA locations," Genevieve said. "Where is this place?"
"Not an area we'd find Brandon Bryant," Deeks explained. "Ever."
"OK."
"He then paid half-a-million dollars, cash, for the home next door. The house was valued at half that."
"Stating the obvious, we need to get into that house and into the body shop," Genevieve said.
"Where is Mr. Hanna?" Kensi asked.
"Right here Hetty," Sam said as he walked into the main room. "I heard about the house and the body shop."
"Same plan as this morning," Damien said. "Simultaneous raids."
"Guys," Eric looked up. "Just go this off a traffic cam. This was about 1PM this afternoon."
A black SUV pulled up in front of the Nassib's overpriced house. Eric magnified the video showing four men exited the Jeep along with a woman wearing a baseball cap, black tee-shirt, black leggings and Uggs.
"Ester," Damien said.
"Damien, she's part of this," Genevieve said sympathetically. "I know you feel sorry for her but she's planning on either releasing or selling the small pox. If Nava is an anarchist, my money is on releasing it here in LA."
"We can get a tactical team ready in an hour," Hetty said.
"I'll call the Marshal's office, get someone for Brandon and find him someplace semi-cushy for tonight. Keep him talking tomorrow. Detective Deeks, can you get LAPD to pick up Rogers?"
"Sure. Charges?" Deeks asked, unsure who the man in the second interrogation room was.
"Assaulting a federal agent is a start. He attacked Kim," Genevieve told him.
"You OK?" Damien asked.
Kim chuckled. "A lot better than he's going to be."
"Are you OK for the raid?" Genevieve asked.
"Try to stop me," Kim said.
"I have access to a helicopter," Genevieve said to Hetty. "Want to watch this from our crib?"
"I would. Always interested to see how the other half lives," Hetty said with a smile. Addressing the rest of the team Hetty said, "I don't need to remind anyone here that while the body shop is a commercial piece of property, that is very much a residential neighborhood. If the small pox was to get out…"
"Hetty, we know what has to be done," Sam said solemnly.
"Damien, do you?" Genevieve asked.
"Yes, of course," he said.
"Fine, Agents Hanna and Callen take the house with your tactical team. Damien, Kim, Agent Blye and Detective Deeks – you take the body shop. The helo will bring out our hazmat team."
"But…" Damien began.
Genevieve shook her head. "Damien, securing the small pox is your assignment."
"I think I can…" Damien started to plead his case.
"Talk to Ester? Yeah, you can. When she's in custody." Genevieve's tone was firm but not unkind. "I trust Agents Hanna and Callen to get that done. Am I clear?"
"Yes ma'am."
"Everybody, don't get killed," Genevieve said. "Let's finish this."
x-x-x
Hetty walked into the power plant. "This is an impressive set-up," she said as she looked around.
"We need room to operate," Genevieve said. "Honos has purchased old factories, unused warehouses and decommissioned municipal properties like this in a number of high risk cities. We've got a smaller, mobile unit for smaller operations but this is the crib."
"I like that term," Hetty said as the two made their way to the conference area with the big television screens.
"Kim brought it to us from Section 20. It works. We have cots, a hospital set up, everyone has back-up clothes. Hell, this dress and my shoes were stored here and I have a change of clothes for tomorrow too."
"Your set-up and your team is the envy of the counterterrorism community."
"And I'd be happier putting mob bosses in jail and not worrying about a world where there are hourly threats of plane hijackings, terror attacks and misguided idiots with access to small pox," Genevieve said with a sigh. "And your team's reputation in the counterterrorism community is sterling."
"Did you have a nice ride with Agent Blye?"
"Excuse me?"
"Miss Blye."
"Yes, Kensi is a lovely young woman. Her CV said she spoke a number of languages. She was the logical choice in the group to accompany me to Terminal Island."
"Agent Callen speaks a number of languages, as does Agent Hanna. And you're fluent in any number of languages."
"My French is awful. Hetty, we rode out to Terminal Island. I bought Agent Blye a chocolate shake because I needed a burger and then we dealt with Mr. Nassib's final act."
"She's an excellent agent."
"She wouldn't be on your team if she wasn't."
"Agent Blye is on my team," Hetty made clear. "And it is where I expect her to stay."
"It is my policy to speak to the supervisors of any person I am interested in recruiting before I even discuss positions in Honos with anyone. You can check with Detective Deeks's LAPD boss. I met Roger Bates for the first time in the Green Zone in Iraq back in 2003. Cleared my pitch for Deeks with Roger back in 2009. You can check if you don't believe me."
"Oh, of course I believe you."
"And I do believe I put Detective Deeks on NCIS's radar," Genevieve said with a smile. "You're welcome."
"I was aware of him but your interest interested me." Hetty said returning the smile. "But you understand my position – it takes years to put together a team like mine. I'd like to keep them together as long as possible."
"Of course. And an agent like Kensi – forensic specialist, sniper skills, good with knives, multi-lingual. She's Kim, Damien and Michael all rolled into one."
"And quite happy in working in Los Angeles."
"As I am with my team in New York," Genevieve replied.
"As long as we're on the same page."
"Always, Hetty, always."
Eric walked into the main conference area. "We're live with the body cams. Once they start moving, we'll have full video."
"Excellent. Have you enjoyed your time here with Honos, Mr. Beale?"
"Yes, it's been great. I mean Ops is great too but this is…"
Genevieve started to laugh. "Eric, I think Hetty is concerned I may have turned you and the rest of the team to the Honos side of the force."
"Oh no. I mean, it is an honor to work with Honos and you guys have such cool…"
"We have the best toys," Genevieve said with pride.
"Yes, you do. But California is my home and NCIS's tools are awfully good."
"Tell us when they're ready to go, Mr. Beale," Hetty said, dismissing Eric.
"Hetty, you have all California people on this team. I'm not bringing any of them home with me when we're done here."
"Honos could operate anywhere."
"I have a team of New York people, starting with me."
"I saw the General was teaching at West Point."
"Twice a week he leaves at way too early o'clock and teaches three classes. He's happy. And when he's happy, I'm happy."
"Signs of a strong marriage," Hetty said.
"We're doing great, as are both of our work teams. Besides Hetty, you know my favorite Neil Simon line about New York and Los Angeles."
Hetty nodded. "When it is 20 degrees in New York in January, it is 84 in Los Angeles. When it is 95 degrees in New York in August, it is 84 in Los Angeles…"
"And there are 8 million interesting people in New York, it is 84 in Los Angeles," Genevieve provided the punchline.
"I always believed my team was part of the 84."
"Your team is first among the 84," Genevieve agreed.
x-x-x
Sitting in a black panel van parked across the street from the auto body shop, Kensi, Deeks, Damien and Kim waited for the signal to go.
"Callen will do his best to keep Ester safe," Deeks told Damien.
"Yeah," Damien said, openly ignoring the no-smoking notices inside the van.
"Callen is a sucker for a kid with a sad family story. Dead mother, absent father. That's Callen's story too."
"No shit."
"No shit," Deeks confirmed.
"If that was me, it would piss me off," Kim joined the conversation. "Grew up with hard times, didn't use it as an excuse to do bad things. Ester would piss me off." She quickly added, "Sorry Damien."
"No, she had choices. Made bad ones," Damien took a last, long drag on his cigarette. "I just don't want to see her get hurt."
"Lights are out in the house," Callen's voice came over the coms. "1:05AM and they're calling it a night."
"I'm cutting power now," Eric said from the crib. "The body shop and the house are now off the grid."
"Mr. Callen, take your team now," Hetty ordered. "Captain Scott, you do the same."
"Be careful," Genevieve added.
"Yes ma'am," Damien said as he opened the van door.
Deeks and Kensi saw Callen and Sam leading the tactical team into the house. They had the hazmat team in a white panel van parked in front of the body shop ready to go. Damien pounded on the white van back door, getting them ready to move.
The tactical team went to the back of the house while Callen picked the lock.
"If you see the targets going for anything in a canister, bottle or vial, assume it is the small pox serum," Sam instructed the team. "If any becomes airborne, close yourself into the room – shut the windows, shut the doors, close off vents, push blankets, towels, your shirt if need be under the door opening and order an evacuation."
"Got ya' Sam," Wesley said.
"I'm in," Callen said. "Wes, we'll have the back door opened in a second."
"Kensi, status?" Sam asked.
"Kensi's picking the lock at the body shop's office door," Deeks answered.
"Deeks, anything gets airborne," Callen warned as he walked through the house.
"We heard," Scott said.
"Got the door," Kensi said.
Callen let Wesley and the tactical team in. Sam joined them in the kitchen. "Nobody on the first floor."
Wesley stationed two tactical team members at the front and back doors. Sam lead Callen, Wesley and the rest of the team to the second floor.
All three bedroom doors were closed. Taking out the mini snake camera with a night vision lens, Wesley pushed it under the door. Pulling out his phone, he saw two twin beds each with a sleeping occupant. Passing the phone to Callen, he moved to the second door. Again, two twin beds with two occupants. The third bedroom seemed empty.
Sam signaled on three. Simultaneously, the doors opened with the team rushing in. If there was a plan to defend themselves, the no longer sleeping men did not have the opportunity. The team's H&K MP5A3 took away any decisions the men may have made.
"No Ester," Wesley told the team. Third bedroom was empty.
"Check the basement," Deeks suggested as they entered the body shop.
"There should be a door off the living rooms stairs that leads to the basement," Eric said, looking the building plans. "I'm restoring power to the house."
Two tactical team members slowly made their way down the stairs and to the basement door. They were able to turn on the lights.
Kensi, Deeks, Damien and Kim cleared the body shop's empty office. Moving toward the main floor of the body shop, they found large boxes on pallets.
"What's that, Miss Blye?" Hetty asked, looking at the screen.
Reading the side of the box, Kensi said "Metered air freshener dispensers."
"Don't open anything," Genevieve ordered. "Get hazmat in there right now."
"It's…" Deeks started.
"They're the aerosols that are automatically sprayed in public restrooms," Genevieve said.
"And this pallet is going to the Los Angeles Unified Public School system," Deeks said.
"The Getty Museum," Damien read another label.
"LA County courthouse," Kim said.
"Mr. Beale, I need an immediate alert sent to any large organization that purchased janitorial supplies in the last few weeks. Nothing is to be opened."
"On it, Hetty," Eric answered.
"Oh my God," Wesley's voice came across the coms.
"Mr. Norris?" Hetty inquired.
"I've got a naked Asian man in leg irons sitting on a bed crying."
"Oh, this just gets better by the minute. Who do we have here who speaks Mandarin?" Genevieve asked.
"I do," Hetty said. Pulling out her phone, she called Agent Norris's cell. When Wesley put Hetty on speaker, she offered words of assurance to the man.
"No Ester?" Damien asked. "Hazmat is in the body shop, we need power."
"And you shall have it," Eric brought restored electricity to the body shop.
"We're making our way to you guys," Kensi said.
"Kim, Damien, stay with the hazmat team," Genevieve ordered.
Damien objected. "I…"
"You want to help find Ester, I know," Genevieve said. "The hazmat team needs to be protected. So does what looks like enough small pox serum to kill everyone on the West Coast. Stay in the body shop," Genevieve ordered. "Am I clear Captain?"
"Yes ma'am," he said reluctantly.
As Kensi and Deeks walked into the house, the four men from the bedroom, including Wilmer Nava were sitting on the living room floor in handcuffs.
"We got a bigger problem," Sam said motioning Kensi and Deeks into the kitchen.
A 12x12x12 box sat on the kitchen counter opened, tilting, there were cardboard dividers inside the box with eight unmarked aerosol cans and one obviously missing can. "Ester's in the wind and if this is what I think this is, she's got the last can of the virus."
-30-
Annoying author's notes: In the home stretch here. Probably two chapters left. Thank you so much for reading, favoriting and sending feedback. It is a gift.
