oNCISo
There was something about rain that was just soothing. Tony had always loved the soft sound of raindrops, loved the way the lightening forked as it lit the sky. He had spent countless hours as a child playing in the rain, losing himself in the vastness of his family's estate. The first time he had done so, he'd gotten in trouble – first for disappearing without telling anyone where he was going, and then for tracking mud throughout the house. He'd been more careful after that, but it hadn't dulled the sheer joy he felt every time it rained.
There was little time to enjoy it now, though. The non-stop action of the last few days had taken its toll, but there was still plenty left to do. Tony was finally beginning to realize the implications of the threat Hamid had outlined. It was one thing to say that Baltimore, St. Louis and Las Vegas were going to be blown up unless it could be stopped. It was quite another to know that you were the one responsible for actually stopping it.
He glanced out the window again, just in time to see Hamid get out of a cab below. He was alone, which meant that their plan thus far was going perfectly.
Too bad it's the easiest part of it, Tony thought.
He, Gibbs and Hamid had talked through their options over the last day, discarding one idea after another. After much discussion, they were fairly certain they knew who the spy was, and they had incorporated that information into their plans. It was agreed that Black and the others had to be told about what was going on, but not about the spy. There was just no way the three of them could take down the terrorists in the three cities on their own. For one thing, they needed enough people to coordinate the strikes. For another, they had less than a day to do everything that needed to be done, and they had no backup from any other agency. Gibbs had suggested to Tony in private that they bring in Ziva and McGee, but Tony wasn't comfortable with the rest of the team knowing his secret. They would be held in reserve if needed, but Tony didn't anticipate their involvement.
It had finally been decided that they would split up. All that was left was to fill in the rest of the agency on the plan.
Tony finally left the window when Hamid entered the apartment, dripping water all over the floor.
"He's on his way," Hamid reported.
"Good. Booth and Brown should be here shortly, and then we can call Black." Tony bit his lip. "Are we set with the other stuff?"
"I made contact," Hamid nodded. Fatigue was evident in his voice. "Tony, I just found out that Lincoln is going to be here when everything goes down."
Tony looked away from his friend's penetrating gaze. That old wound was best left unopened for the time being. "We knew that was a possibility."
"This could complicate things."
Tony snorted a laugh. "So what else is new? We're trying to keep three cities from blowing to kingdom come, and you think one more wrinkle is going to make things any more complicated?"
Hamid grinned. "Well, I guess when you put it like that…"
They paused as the buzzer sounded a short pattern that they both instantly recognized. Tony pushed the button to unlock the door.
"I guess this is it."
Booth and Brown arrived a few minutes later, both giving Hamid big grins and backslaps to show how happy they were to see him. Tony took Brown aside for a moment while Hamid got the equipment set up and put in a call to Black. They returned as the call came through, revealing the rest of the team in the den of the Jericho home.
Black smiled slightly as he saw the group. "Mr. Blue, it is a pleasure to see you alive and well. And likewise, Mr. Green."
"Thank you, sir."
"Now, what do we need to do?"
Tony stepped up as Hamid gestured toward him. "We've been able to confirm the sites for the attack. The targets are St. Louis, Las Vegas and here in Baltimore. They've got enough nuclear material to destroy a good portion of the surrounding areas as well. We're going to need three teams. Hamid can provide the locations for where you will find the staging areas."
"We need to work fast. This is going to happen tomorrow," Hamid added.
Booth and Brown raised their eyebrows in synch. Tony bit his lip. "Look, I know you all have questions, but we're running out of time."
Black nodded. "I realize the situation, but I do have one question that needs to be answered now. Where is Agent Gibbs?"
Tony exchanged a glance with Hamid. "He's on his way to St. Louis."
"Please explain."
"Gibbs knows what's going on. We decided to put him in charge of one of the teams, and he went on ahead to take care of some things. Hamid is going to be leading the team in Vegas. I'll be staying here in Baltimore."
"I'm assuming Mr. Orange and Mr. Brown will be staying with you."
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Trista's mouth open to object, but he ignored it as he fixed the agency head with a defiant stare.
"No."
Black narrowed his eyes, and there was whispering between the agents.
"I need Brown in St. Louis with whoever he can pull out of his Unit. Booth is staying with me, and Trista'll join us. Erin, you're with Hamid in Vegas. Black, I know you don't normally get involved, but it would help if you could join them. White, I need you to coordinate everything in the home office. We need you to monitor communications so our targets can't get anything out and warn the others."
Tony studied his two new team members while he spoke. Neither of them seemed to have a problem with the arrangements.
"Are you sure we've got enough people?" Erin asked.
"Hamid says there are four guys at most in each city. The rest have all been making their way out of the country over the last two weeks. I'm fairly certain we've all been trained for this type of situation. With the proper planning, we'll be fine. Besides, once we contain the original threat, we can get our various agencies in here to mop up."
"Tony," Black cut in. "I'm not sure I'm comfortable with this set-up."
"I've already spoken to Bob. He's going to keep an eye on Gibbs. The rest of it is just logic." Tony looked intensely at the agency leader. "Trust me."
Black gave him a questioning look, then acceptance creased his features. He nodded. "All right. Miss White, flight arrangements. Everyone else – gear up."
Hamid cut the feed, and then crossed the room until he was in front of Tony. "You're sure this is how you want to play things?" He asked softly.
Tony glanced at Booth, who was checking the clip on his gun, and then at Brown, who looked completely relaxed and deadly at the same time as he gave instructions to his Unit over the phone.
"Yeah. I'm sure."
"Okay then." Hamid held out his hand, which Tony took. "Good luck, my man. You're going to need it."
Tony grinned briefly. "Same to you."
They swept the apartment, removing all traces of their presence. Even if Tony did own it, they couldn't afford any problems right now, and it never hurt to be cautious.
Hamid gave Tony and Booth directions to an ammo dump in the city he'd set up as backup. Then the four of them took a cab to the airport, where Hamid and Brown picked up their tickets to Las Vegas and St. Louis, respectively. Hamid left first, but Tony pulled Brown aside again before he boarded.
"Are you sure you can handle this?"
Brown rolled his eyes. "Not my first barbeque, friend. Twenty bucks says my area is secure first and cleaner than yours."
Tony laughed. "No bet. You'll probably be in and out of the city without anyone knowing you were there."
"Sounds about right." He frowned. "Are you sure you can handle this?"
"We're about to find out, aren't we?" Brown just gave him a look. "I know what I'm doing, okay? Get in, get out, most ricky-tick, right?"
"Do me a favor, Tony. Stick to your day job." Brown winked, and then headed for his gate, leaving Booth and Tony to wait for Trista to arrive.
They sat in the food court for an hour, talking about anything but the operation. Tony found out more about Dr. Temperance Brennan, Booth's partner at the Jeffersonian. He silently vowed that she and Ziva would never meet. Booth listened jealously to Tony's description of Abby, complaining that Tony's "squint" was much better than his own group of geeks.
When Trista's flight got in, they picked her up at the gate, their badges getting them past the security checkpoint.
Trista was all business when she saw them. "White says we're moving at 0400 tomorrow. Communications are being monitored and will be cut as soon as we go in."
"Good to know. We should get a call as soon as everyone is on station." Tony assessed his two colleagues. "Right then, we've got some work to do before tomorrow."
They left the airport and checked into a cheap motel not far from the Baltimore Harbor. Their bomb was set to go off in one of the abandoned warehouses there. On the drive, Tony filled them in on what he knew and answered their questions. The motel was a dive, two stories with chipped paint and questionable stains on the floor. From their room, however, they could watch the ships entering and leaving the harbor. Trista stayed there while Booth and Tony went to Hamid's backup site and loaded up on ammo and weapons. They also got vests and night vision goggles.
They still had a few hours before they had to get set up, so Tony suggested Booth and Trista get some sleep while he did some recon of the area. Booth didn't think it was a good idea, but didn't stop Tony from leaving.
Tony didn't go far. He went to the ground level and knocked on the door to room 17, which opened slightly after a pause, in which Tony heard the distinct click of a safety being released.
"It's me."
The door opened further, and Tony slid in, shutting the door behind him before turning to face his Boss.
"Well?" Gibbs put his gun back on the bedside table and sat in a chair next to the window, glancing out every now and then.
Tony flopped on the bed. "Everyone is getting into position. Trista and Booth are in the room upstairs."
"When do we go?"
"0400. You'll need to be in place before then."
"Ya think, DiNozzo?" Gibbs raised an eyebrow. "Any signs so far?"
Tony shook his head. "Nothing. That's what gets me about this whole thing. What's the motivation?"
"I'd be more worried about how long it's been going on."
"Hamid was pretty sure they don't know we're coming."
"Pretty sure?"
"Ninety percent."
"That's reassuring."
Tony sighed. Gibbs was probably right about this. Heck, no doubt about it. Gibbs was right about everything. "We'll just have to be extra careful. Anyway, that's what you're here for, right?"
Gibbs didn't reply, just resumed his surveillance out the window.
Tony flipped on the TV, his face brightening when he came across a rerun of Magnum P.I.
"Did you get a hold of Abby?"
"She was appropriately happy to hear you weren't dead. I can't say the same for the others."
"What did I do?"
"Ziva and McGee went through your apartment."
The seeming non-sequiter made Tony wince. "Please tell me you didn't."
"You were missing. We investigated. It's what we do."
"Yeah, but did you have to send them? Ten bucks says it'll make McGeek's next book, and Ziva is going to keep asking questions about what they found."
Gibbs smiled slightly. "She didn't find everything."
That brought a small grin to Tony's face as well. So, the great Officer David, trained Mossad assassin had missed a few of the surprises Tony had stored in his apartment.
"I hope they realize this isn't an open invitation to visit."
"It's about time someone else got to see it. You can't keep them out forever."
Tony sighed. It was cliché, but there was some truth to the saying that a man's kingdom was his home. He didn't have much, but what he did have was private, sacred. Gibbs hadn't given him much choice about gaining entrance into Tony's domain, but by that time, Tony hadn't really minded. Much.
The problem was the rest of the team. He didn't make a big deal out of it, which was why he never got called on it, but no one – no one – was allowed into the apartment without Tony's express permission. Thus far, that privilege had been granted only to Gibbs, Ducky, Abby and Erin.
Tony realized Gibbs was still staring at him. He looked away, concentrating instead on Tom Selleck as he made friends with a shark. "I like my privacy."
Gibbs rolled his eyes, but dropped the matter, his eyes going back to the window. After a minute, he sat forward, intent on something outside. "How long did you say you'd be gone?"
"I didn't. I figured on another half hour. Why?"
"Because a member of your team has decided to go for a jaunt of their own."
Tony scrambled to the window. When he saw who it was, he swore.
"This is not good. I'll see you tomorrow morning."
He waited until his quarry had turned the corner, and then left the room, walking around the other direction. It was still light out, so there was no point in trying to hide. He stuck his hands in his pockets, took up a relaxed pace, and started whistling a silly tune. Two minutes later, he ran into his teammate.
"Problems?" He asked, his voice deceptively soft.
Booth skewered him with a glare that would melt glaciers. "What are you doing out here?"
Tony dropped the act. "I told you, I'm doing recon."
"Of this place?"
"I don't like to leave any loose ends. What are you doing out here?"
Booth crossed his arms. "Looking for you. We shouldn't be wandering on our own."
Tony nodded as if that explained everything. "Then we should both probably get back to the room."
They eyeballed each other for a minute, and then went back to their room, neither one put at ease by the confrontation.
oNCISo
