"Okay let's start from the top. So Frankie Carzoll gets kicked out of the army for constant drug use." Tony said sitting at his desk, holding a small nerf football. He throws the ball to McGee who catches it.

"His drug use also destroys his personal life, taking all his money and getting him kicked out by his girlfriend." McGee said throwing the football to Ziva.

"With no money and no place to go, the Scarcozzi family offer him a high paying job. He gives them weapons and they give him protection." Ziva said, she threw the ball to Brian, but Gibbs walked by and caught the ball before him.

"Nice catch boss. We going after Scarcozzi?" Brian asked.

"No. The FBI is keep tabs on them. We got more important things. We have two dead sailors." Gibbs said.

That was all he needed to say. Brian, Tony, Ziva, and McGee nodded as they got up. They left the pen and went to get changed into their uniforms. An hour later, they were standing on the beach, and sure enough, two dead bodies were in front of them.

"Bodies were found a few feet out into the ocean by two surfers. They brought the bodies onto shore and called the police." McGee said to Gibbs as Tony and Brian examined one of the bodies.

"Man, this guy was beaten up badly." Brian said examining the severe swelling and bruising on one of the sailor's face.

"Maybe they were part of some underground fight club." Tony said.

"Not very likely Tyler Durden." Gibbs said surprising everyone with that pop culture reference.

"Wow boss. I'm impressed." Tony said.

"Any tags or id on them Tony?" Gibbs asked, getting the crew back on track.

"Yeah. The one on the right is Randy Traves. The beaten one here is John Marley." Tony said holding up two driver's licenses from the sailor's pockets.

"They're still in uniform so this is surely foul play." Ziva said. "Could have they been dumped?"

"Mostly likely. But we won't know till we get them back to the lab for autopsy." Gibbs said watching the medics take the bodies back to NCIS HQ. After the crew finished the clean up, they got back into the truck and drove back to HQ. There they sat around the pen, waiting for the test results.

"So Brian. It's been 6 months since you joined our little group." Tony said from his desk.

"Yeah…what about it?" Brian asked confused.

"Well I was just wondering, have you found that special lady yet?" Tony asked with a smirk.

"Is that an appropriate question?" Ziva asked.

"What it's just a simple question!" Tony said defensively.

"I doubt Brian wants to delve into his personal life right now." McGee said.

"Talk about Brian's personal life later." Gibbs said walking into the pen.

"Right boss….."Everyone said in unison.

"Ducky have results?" Gibbs asked.

"They were both killed with a .357. Also they both had this symbol carved onto their chest." Tony said putting the symbol up on the screen. The symbol was a circle with two lines through it. "Also the two sailors served on the same ship as Frankie Carzoll.

"McGee run a search on this symbol. See what you get." Gibbs said.

"No need to." Brian said walking up to the screen.

"You recognize it?" Gibbs asked.

"Yeah. It's the symbol for the Los Serpientes. They're a street gang that's all over the country. They handle everything from drugs to black market sales. They're just one good push away from being a terrorist sect. They also despise anyone military." Brian said.

"Sounds like you had some experience with these guys." Ziva said.

"There was a high ranking group in Philadelphia. They are a dangerous bunch." Brian said.

"There one near us?" Gibbs asked.

"Should be one down in The Burro." Brian said.

"Well you're coming with me down there. The rest, see what you can dig up on these guys." Gibbs said as Brian grabbed his gun and coat.

He followed Gibbs down to the garage and got into the car.

"I should warn you, we're not gonna be welcomed at all. And there's a chance bullets will start flying." Brian said.

"Well make sure it doesn't. How's your Spanish?" Gibbs asked.

"Fine…why?" Brian asked.

"Since you know so much about them you're our lead." Gibbs said as they drove to The Burro.

When they arrived Brian and Gibbs got out of the car and looked around. They street was alive with Mexican music and the smell of Mexican food. There were also many people in the streets, who were staring at Brian and Gibbs.

"Oh we stick out like a sore thumb." Brian whispered.

"Where would the Los Serpientes be?" Gibbs asked.

Brian looked around and saw what he was looking for.

"Over there at the diner." Brian said pointing to a large group who were conversing amongst themselves.

Gibbs nodded and walked over to the group, Brian following right behind him.

"Look at this guys. We got a couple of policies. You seemed to be lost fellas." One of the gang members said getting a laugh out of the others.

"We're looking for the leader of your gang." Gibbs said calmly.

"Gang? What gang? We're just a group of friends relaxing on the corner." The gang member said mockingly.

"We know who you are. We're looking for the Cobra. Where is he?" Brian asked interrupting .

This seemed to shut the gang member up.

"He's inside." The gang member said.

Gibbs and Brian nodded as they walked into the diner. Sure enough, the man who was clearly the leader, was seated at a table surrounded by women and gang members.

"Hello officers. Welcome to my little business venture. How can I help you?" The leader asked friendly.

Gibbs didn't answer right away. He took out photos of the two sailors and placed them in front of the leader.

"Recognize them?" He asked.

The man looked at the pictures studying them before he places them back down.

"Never seen them before. Why?" he asked innocently.

"They were found dead with your logo carved into them." Gibbs stated.

As Gibbs and the leader went back and forth, Brian kept an eye on the rest of the gang members. And Brian felt things were getting to tense.

"I have no knowledge of any involvement." The leader said.

"Then one of your little gang members did." Gibbs said getting annoyed.

"I doubt it. Besides you can't do anything without a warrant. So why don't you know back when you do." The leader said losing his attention with Gibbs.

"Let's get out of here. One wrong word and we're bullet ridden." Brian said as Gibbs collected the pictures.

"Cuida tus espaldas o que obtendrá poco." The leader said to the retreated agents.

"Watch our backs or we'll get bit." Brian said translating. "We really poked the bear on this."

After Gibbs and Brian got back to the NCIS HQ, the gang regrouped for a debriefing.

"Okay so the visit to the Burro was a bust. The Cobra was a dud who wasn't gonna crack that easily." Brian said.

"We found out that our two dead sailors had a previous encounter with the Los Serpientes." Tony said.

"A month ago Randy and John were involved in a bar brawl that ended with someone dying from injuries. That person, Hector Rodriguez, died from a blood clot sustained by a bar stool being broken over his ribs." McGee said.

"And let me guess. He's a member of the Serpientes?" Brian asked.

"Correct. In fact he is the younger brother of this man, Alberto Guerrero AKA," McGee said.

"The Cobra." Gibbs said.

"Sounds like motive to me." Ziva said.

"Yeah but we got to tread lightly. One false step and we're gonna end up with a crosshair on the back of our head." Brian said.

"Ziva could take them easily." Tony said.

"Let's hope." Brian said.

"Alright. Brian and Ziva head back down there and go keep an eye on them. Tony, McGee go get a warrant. I have a feeling that they are hiding something." Gibbs said walking off.

"Righto. Stake out. Great. Cause life's been going so fast lately." Brian said.

"Let's just get there and get it over with. Hopefully it'll be a quiet night." Ziva said.

Several hours later, Ziva is sitting in a room with a telescope pointing at The Burro. Brian walks in holding a cup container of coffees and a bag of food.

"Honestly, you'd think there be a Wawa near here." He said placing the bag and cups on the table.

"What's a Wawa?" Ziva asked pulling out her burrito, taking a large bite from it.

"Convenience store from back home. Great food." Brian said drinking his coffee. "Anything suspicious?"

"Nothing yet. I feel like this is gonna be like find hay in a needle stack." Ziva said.

"Needle in hay stack." Brian said correcting her Zivaism.

"Why would you drop a needle in hay?" Ziva asked.

"No idea. This is going nowhere fast." Brian said with an exaggerated sigh.

"These things take time. Wait…we got something. A black SUV just pulled up." Ziva said looking through the telescope. Brian grabbed a pair of binoculars and looked over at The Burro.

"Looks kind of familiar. Wait….is that Michael Scarcozi?" Brian asked.

"Looks like it. This is interesting." Ziva said.

"Think we finally found the market those m16s were going into." Brian said.

Sure enough, Michael Scarcozi's men opened the back of the SUV pulling out several military grade M16 rifles handing them to many of the Los Serpientes. The gang members looked very excited at the dangerous toys in their hands.

"So the Scarzcozi family steals the guns and then sell them to gangs." Ziva said.

"Sounds about right." Brian said putting his binoculars down. "Though I'm still wondering the connection between these gang bangers and the two killed sailors."

Ziva was about to answer when the door to the room was kicked in and several men with guns marched in and pointed their weapons at Brian and Ziva. The two drew their own guns and stood in a standoff with the intruders. Just then a man walked in pompously.

"Hello Agent David and Agent Cice." The man said.

"Who are you?" Brian asked.

"Why I'm Michael Scarcozi." The man said walking up to the two agents, taking Ziva's hand and kissing it. Ziva quickly retracted he hand and pointed her gun at the man.

"How can we be sure you're really him?" Brian asked.

"How? Well you just have to trust me." Scarcozi said smirking. "And if I were you, I'd lower my weapons and come with us. No point being killed here."

Brian and Ziva shared side glances with each other. They both lowered their weapons and had them taken by Scarcozi.

"Follow me." He said as Brian and Ziva followed, the armed gunmen behind them.

Brian and Ziva were transported to The Burro across the street.

"Ah, the little agent again." The Cobra said mockingly. "Oh and he has alittle chica with him. This is gonna be fun. Bring them inside."

The gunmen marched the two inside and lead them to a back room. It was a dark room that reminded Brian of the room he was trapped in when he was abducted by the british arms dealer. The two sat down in some chairs and were bounded to them, their arms tied to the arms. Then they were left alone as Scarcozi and Cobra plotted what to do next.

"This is the second time I've been bound to a chair by an arms dealer….what shitty luck do I have?" Brian asked struggling against the rope.

"I think your luck should be the least of our worries. I just want to know how they knew we were in that room?" Ziva asked.

"I've been keeping tabs on you agents ever since you caught Frankie Carzoll. I know about the FBI looking for me and everything." Scarcozi said walking back into the room.

"So why all this?" Ziva asked.

"Why? To have some fun of course." Scarcozi taking out a knife.

"Another knife? COME ON!" Brian said.

Scarcozi didn't like Brian's outburst. So he took the knife and stabbed Brian on his left hand. Brian screamed out as Scarcozi left the knife in his hand.

"Learn to hold your tongue." Scarcozi snapped at Brian who couldn't stop staring at the knife.

"Why are you doing this?" Ziva asked.

"Why? Because you arrested the man who got me the weapons. You are costing me money. And you're costing these lovely gentlemen money as well." Scarcozi said motioning to The Cobra.

"Plus the government has been a pain in the Los Serpientes asses for far too long. We'll send them a message not to mess with us." The Cobra said defiantly.

"So now a choice will be made. Who shall I butcher up? Hmm? The young rookie?" Scarcozi asked removing the knife from Brian's hand. He looked at the blade as blood dripped off it. He walked over and rubbed some of the blood onto Ziva's cheek. "Or the pretty woman? You have 5 minutes to decide."

And with that Scarcozi left the room, leaving the two agents with their thoughts.

"What do we do?" Ziva asked.

"Simple. I'll go first. You have a better chance of getting free." Brian said holding back the pain from his hand.

"No. Don't you know what these guys will do to you?" Ziva asked sounding alittle scared.

"Yeah I do. The gang back home once beheaded a rival gang member for fun." Brian said. "It's okay. I can handle this fine. Not the first time I've been tied to a chair."

Ziva wanted to answer but was interrupted by Scarcozi and the Cobra.

"Times up. Who's going first?" Scarcozi asked.

"I will." Ziva said defiantly.

"We have a child at home." Brian shouted to everyone's surprise.

"Oh you have a child?" Scarcozi asked Ziva.

"Oh uh…." She said unsure how to answer. She looked over to Brian who motioned for her to answer. "Yes. Yes we do."

"Boy, girl?" Scarcozi asked.

"Girl." Brian said. "Only a few months old."

"I see. Must have been a happy day for you. I remember the birth of my daughters. Each one warms my heart." Scarcozi said.

"Yeah so let her go. Don't orphan our daughter." Brian said losing some of his color from the knife wound.

"Why so she can go to the police?" The Cobra asked.

"You let her go and I promise she won't go to them." Brian said pleading.

Scarcozi looked at Brian then to Ziva. He was unsure what to think. Brian hoped he bought the bluff. After an eternity of silence, Scarcozi spoke.

"Untie her and bring her out." He told the Cobra.

"You sure?" The Cobra asked.

"Yes. Do it!" Scarcozi demanded.

The Cobra quickly obliged who untied Ziva and yanked her to her feet. As he led her out of the room, Ziva gave Brian one final look and Brian thought he saw a tear. The moment the two were out of the room, Scarcozi lunged forward and stuck the knife into Brian's stomach.

"You're lucky I'm a merciful man. Your daughter will hear stories of your bravery. I hope you suffer as you die." Scarcozi said as Brian started to lose consciences as his wounds continued to bleed. The room went dark as Brian felt himself black out.