Jo's eyes were squeezed shut, and her fingers gripped the edge of her seat with a ferocity that made her knuckles ache.

"Jethro!" she squawked, her right foot involuntarily stretching toward an imaginary brake. "Slow down! For all you know you could be speeding us in the wrong direction!"

There was no response, and just at that second her cell phone filled the car with its melodious alert. She put it on speakerphone.

"Talk to us," she barked.

"It's Brad," the voice on the other end chimed in, and Gibbs rolled his eyes with no lack of ceremony.

"Yes Brad?" Jo answered, sounding patronizing but wanting to reach into the phone, grab Brad by the sweater vest and beat the information out of him.

"I checked out what we've caught on chatter, and it confirms the destination of the sale. Your director fetched quite a pretty price, actually. Anyway, I figured we didn't have time to go through official channels, so I hacked into the homeland security database where all inbound and outbound flights have to be registered. Then I used an algorithm which..."

"Brad, we don't really have time for this either," Gibbs cut him off with a growl too ferocious to ignore. "Just tell us where."

"Well that's the problem. There are three flights which could potentially be..."

"Use your best judgement," Gibbs cut him off again. "Just pick the most likely one and tell us where to go."

Jo looked at Jethro with curiosity. The man had clearly matured since the last time they had worked together. The Jethro she'd known would never have trusted this decision to someone else, but Jethro clearly understood that Brad, having all the data there in front of him, was in a better position to judge the situation in this case. Brad stuttered and stumbled for a moment, then clearly and decisively gave Gibbs a destination, complete with a hangar number, and directions.

"Thank you, Brad," Gibbs replied, pressing the gas pedal to the floor. Ho repeated the sentiment, flipped the phone shut, said a quick prayer to the God of traffic accidents, and slid a new clip into her sig.

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Ahmad sat in a plush leather recliner in the passenger compartment of the private jet they had hired to fly them to the drop point. The pretty American redhead was sleeping in the back of the plane. With their false papers identifying them as husband and wife, it hadn't been difficult to convince the pilot that the woman, who was terrified of flying, had popped a few Gravol and a sleeping pill on the way to the airport. He put his newspaper down in his lap and glanced at his watch. In ten minutes they would taxi onto the runway and take off, and finally be away from the only place where anyone actually gave a damn about his hostage.

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Gibbs got out of the car he'd parked behind a hangar. The police officers who had followed them to the hangar pulled up beside their car and the two agents stepped out.

"The plane you're looking for is on the other side of this hangar," the agent directed, having been mobilized by Jo's badge and quick explanation of the situation. Although he would rather not admit it, Gibbs was glad that Jo had insisted on enlisting the agents she was certain would be assigned to the airport security detail.

"We will cover you on the ground and make sure the plane can't leave," the second agent added, "Can you two handle the plane itself if we get you inside?"

"I am sure we can manage," Gibbs answered gruffly, trying not to let his bad mood make him sound ungrateful. Being here, only moments away from an operation which would either free Jenny or doom them all, terrified him. He wasn't afraid of the impending battle; he had faced more, heavier-armed, and better trained men than these. He was terrified that they would fail, or that they had chosen the wrong plane and had doomed not only Jen but the United States as well. The Intel Jenny had was no doubt enough to provide ample opportunity for a terrorist operation. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if that happened. He was already wracked with guilt that Jen had spent this long in the custody of those bastards.

"Jethro," Jo hissed at him, snapping him out of his thoughts. "Whatever you're thinking about, knock it off and let's go get Jenny."

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Jo and Gibbs circled the south end of the hangar and found themselves directly across from the set of stairs leading onto the small jet. Jo crouched in the shadows at the corner of the building while Gibbs moved a few yards closer to the aircraft and took cover behind a luggage train. Thankfully there were no commercial flights leaving from this area of the airport, so there were relatively few civilians in the area.

Jo peered around the corner in the direction of the North end of the hangar, where the two agents had headed. She didn't have to wait long, as an explosion of gunfire erupted from the far end. Immediately three of the terrorists were down, and the rest of the guards took immediately cover and slowly began to make their way toward the gunfire, leaving the outside of the aircraft unguarded. Jo stood and ran to Jethro's position.

Without a word, Gibbs took off toward the plane and Jo stood her ground with her gun ready, covering him. When he reached the stairs, he slid underneath the staircase as Jo levelled her Sig and fired a round into the chest of the man who had come to the door of the aircraft. Gibbs stepped out of his hiding place and covered her journey to join him, then she followed him, then she followed him up the flight of stairs and burst through the door, opening fire immediately. Jo took a round in the shoulder, then shot the assailant's gun-hand just as Gibbs shot him through the forehead. Yet another bullet plugged the bulkhead next to Jo's temple, and she thanked the Lord that whoever had pulled the trigger couldn't aim as well as she could. They had downed four of the terrorists when the final one sent out a shot that scored Jethro's cheek.

"Shit," Gibbs hissed, ducking down as the man, who was hidden behind the second row of passenger seats on the far right of the plane, continued firing wildly at them.

Jo swore under her breath, knowing even as she tucked and rolled down the aisle that it was going to hurt like a bitch. She came out of the roll perfectly, levelled her firearm, and shot the man before he'd even realized she had moved. She rose to her feet, cradling her throbbing arm as she quickly returned to Jethro's side and dragged him behind the nearby curtain and into the steward's area.

"Nice move," Jethro said. "I thought they only pulled stunts like that in the movies."

"Just because you're getting too old for this," she joked, shrugging out of her jacket and examining the wound exiting the back of her shoulder.

"At least it went all the way through," he responded, ignoring her jibe. He ripped open the first aid cabinet on the wall and hastily went to work stopping the bleeding and wrapping gauze around her shoulder. With her good hand she cleaned up the fairly deep would forming a groove in his check. It took a moment to stem the flow of blood, but she got him bandaged up well enough to see them through until the end of their mission.

"Well, well," came a voice from the far end of the passenger compartment they'd just left. "Who is it that I am welcoming to our little party?"

"What the hell is going on?" came another voice, directly after they heard the door to the cockpit being pushed open.

"Change of plans," returned the first voice, "we leave now."

"Mr Smith," came the pilot's voice again. "I cannot agree to fly you anywhere with all this gunfire. Why are your friends armed? What is going on?"

Jo grimaced as she heard a firearm being cocked. It wasn't rocket science to figure out who it was being aimed at.

"Smith?" Gibbs mouthed. Jo just rolled her eyes in disgust. They heard the pilot mumble an angry compliance and enter the cockpit.

"Very interesting choice, Agent Gibbs," the voice came from outside. "After all this time you finally come for her at the last second, and without so much as a SWAT team."

"I didn't know you had her, you bastard," Gibbs growled with a ferocity that made Jo almost pity the man who held Jenny. "Or you would be dead already."

"Now agent Gibbs," the voice scoffed, sounding closer. "There is no need for name calling. I have a job to do just as you do; there is no reason we can't do this with a bit of professional courtesy."

"And who is it that you work for?" Jo interjected, knowing that there was very little keeping Jethro from running out there and ripping the bastard apart with his bare hands.

"A woman! Interesting," the voice responded with a chuckle. "I think you know who planned this operation. It is unfortunate that you heard of it, because it was a brilliant plan."

"Well since we did, and we're here now, why don't you just surrender and five us what we came for?" Jo suggested, not being particularly interested in taking another bullet.

The man laughed. "I see why you brought this woman along, Agent Gibbs, she is quite entertaining. But I don't think so. You see, the fact that there are only two of you here would tell me you are acting without the knowledge of NCIS, which is wise because had Leonard found out, we would have bumped up our timeline and we would not find ourselves in our present dilemma. Vance did warn men, agent Gibbs, that if anyone would figure it out and screw this up, it would be you."

"Good to know my reputation precedes me," Gibbs responded, standing with his back to the bulkhead beside the heavy curtain that separated them from the passenger compartment.

"You must be extremely devoted to your director in order to go to this much trouble. Or perhaps you have a particular hatred for Director Vance."

"I certainly do now," Jethro mumbled, listening to the footsteps coming closer up the aisle. "She was my partner."

"In more ways than one if rumours are to be believed," the man commented.

Jethro was about to step out the curtain and take his chances with the asshole face to face when Jo grabbed his arm and shook her head. He watched her with curiosity as she lay face-down at a 45 degree angle from the curtain and held her gun straight out ahead of her in both hands. He realised what she was doing when he noticed the 2-inch gap between the bottom of the curtain and the floor. Jo shook her head. She could only see about two yards down the aisle, and the bastard wasn't yet in her line of sight.

"It seems I am at a disadvantage," Gibbs said, attempting to draw the man closer. "You seem to know a great deal about me, and I don't even know your name."

"You're stalling, agent Gibbs. I wonder why, when I have so few men left. I will humour you, I suppose. My name is Ahmad ab dua Rashid." Footsteps could be heard drawing closer to them.

"Well Ahmad, if you have so much as laid a hand on Jenny I will tear out your heart and shove it down your throat," Gibbs hissed, and Jo believed his threat.

"Don't worry, Jethro," Ahmad laughed, "We were under strict orders not to touch your little girlfriend. I doubt, however, that her purchasers will be so kind. They will probably..."

He never finished the sentence, because as he was speaking, he had stepped into Jo's line of sight. She wasted no time in pulling the trigger, and her bullet flew home and shattered Ahmad's ankle. He swore, lost his balance, and fell just as Jethro burst from behind the curtain into the aisle. Jo expected him to finish off the bastard with a head shot, but instead he disarmed him and knocked him out with the butt of his Sig while Jo put a bullet through the heart of the last of Ahmad's men who tried to come in from the back.

"Jenny must be back there," Jethro said.

"Why didn't you kill him?" Jo responded, motioning toward the prone figure on the floor.

"He's the only one who can implicate Vance," Gibbs explained, already moving toward the tail of the plane.

"You look for Jen," Jo shouted after him, "I'll get the plane stopped and be right behind you."

Gibbs mumbled some agreement and headed through the back door toward the tail, and Jo, cradling her throbbing arm, swung open the hatch and entered the cockpit.

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Gibbs just shook his head at the extravagance of the rear of the plane. A series of small suites that opened off the main hallway ensured the comfort of the passengers on long, overnight flights.

He had flown plenty of places, and he'd done it strapped into the rumble seat of a troop carrier or an F-14, never with a reclining armchair, personal mini-bar, or flat-screen TV.

The first two on either side were empty, with the exception of the odd piece of luggage. When Gibbs slid open the third door on the right side his breath caught in his chest at the pale, red-headed body on the recliner. Gibbs emptied four shots into the chest of the guard standing behind the chair, and he quickly crossed the room to Jenny's side. He wanted to cry when he saw her up close.

She had always been slim and petite, but she had lost weight and looked incredibly frail beneath the thin cotton dress she had on. Her skin was pale, and her breath came in shallow gasps. She was unconscious, but alive.

"We're all good, Gibbs. The plane is returning to the hangar, the agents outside have everything tied up out there and the FBI brought in backup, and they've taken Ahmad into custody. They've agreed to claim this as their own raid off an anonymous tip, with no mention of Jenny," Jo said, coming to the door.

Jethro just nodded and knelt beside the unconscious form.

"Is she...?"

"Alive," he confirmed, "but unconscious."

"They probably drugged her to keep her from struggling or outing them to the pilots," Jo said in disgust. "I'll call an ambulance." She stepped out of the room and took out her cell.

Gibbs brushed a strand of hair off Jen's forehead and kissed the space it created. "Hand in there Jenny," he whispered. "You're safe now."

A/N: Okay, there is yet another chapter to be written, so please let me know what you think! -S