Happy Passover, Happy Easter and Happy Spring!

Chapter 10

Thursday, June 20th, 2019

Thursday morning Ellie caught a ride in with Dad who had an early meeting with Vance while Tim made phone calls to Lyndi, his attorney and several others. Checking his e-mail, he smiled at the message from Bill. As he had a dog and no family to pack up, he'd volunteered to handle arrangements with the Pet Transport Company and this was an update.

The company would pick up the pets, all the pets, at the airfield shortly before the air passengers departed and then deliver them several hours after the air passengers arrived at the ranch, giving the air group time to get the pet shelter wired and otherwise ready. Relieved that Bill stepped up to handle this, Tim was happy that Neo, Chirp, the fish and turtles would be delivered to the ranch.

Leaving for work with a smile on his face, he stopped to run an errand before heading to the Navy Yard for the last time.

After much discussion, he and Ellie decided to withdraw everything from their savings account before the announcement on Friday and now he did that, asking for large denominations. They'd considered getting a cashier's check but decided they'd rather have the cash on hand, just in case. Rob loaned him a money belt; it felt strange under his clothes but at least he wouldn't have to worry about carrying around an envelope stuffed full of cash.

They'd transfer half the money in their checking account now and leave the rest until they were closer to departure. Eventually, it would all be transferred to the branch in Albuquerque where Tim had convinced his father to open accounts before they moved home. As they'd discovered when purchasing the ranch, interstate transfers took a bit longer even within the same bank.

He had a passing thought that they should transfer all their funds as soon as possible in case they did leave earlier than planned. While he was there, he emptied their safe deposit box into his briefcase, including their insurance policies, a copy of his and Ellie's marriage license, copies of Lia's adoption paperwork, their passports, the original guardian letter from Sue and Deeny, a copy of his paternity claim and all of their birth certificates. He smiled when he found Vance's fake ID packet given the Gibbses the night the marshals took them, he'd forgotten it was in there. They'd returned the cash but kept the IDs. It felt strange to be taking everything but once they reached Albuquerque everything would go into their safety deposit box there.

As he reached the office, he called in their order for lunch, Chinese food, which would be delivered. He'd thought about a cake but it didn't feel appropriate; he opted for cupcakes instead. They seemed lower key and yummy without any necessarily celebratory meaning. Walking into his department, he saw his staff hard at work on a new case. Smiling, Dallas explained, "We decided to gang up on it, see how far we can get with it today."

He returned the smile, "Great! That makes me even prouder of you all! Got a piece for me to work?"

Heads stayed focused on monitors but he saw several grins. And on his e-mail, he found a list of their names, personal e-mail and new office addresses along with cell and new office phone numbers. He added his information and poked his head out, "Am I the last one for the contact list?"

Getting nods, he sent it back out to everyone and then printed 31 copies and distributed them. "Thanks for doing this, another great idea. Made paper copies in case electronics go wonky."

Then he got to work and was as surprised as his techs when Security called to say their lunch had arrived. He took two of his folks with him across to the main building where he gave the delivery man, their usual guy, an absurdly huge tip with a note tucked in with the money.

"Thanks Mateo, this is our last order; our team's dispersing. You've been a good sport and we appreciate it."

As the three walked back to their basement, Mateo ran after them. "Agent Gibbs, what's this? Is it true?"

Tim handed off the bags he was carrying to the other two, ready to explain the money and the note. "Yes, Mateo. I don't know your circumstances but you need to get out of the area by the end of this month."

He explained the reason and the recommended distance. The young man blinked. "I've only got another semester at GW; if I leave I'll lose my scholarship and I don't have any family, grew up in foster care."

"What about friends? And sorry to be so blunt but are you sober?"

"I have friends, but I'm too busy working or studying to stay in touch. And yes, I'm sober. My father was an alcoholic so I'm a fanatic about staying away from drugs and alcohol."

"What are you studying?"

"Family law."

"Great, could have used you a few years ago! Have you ever been to New Mexico?"

"No, as far as I know I've lived around here all my life. Landed in the system when I was four."

"How about this…" When Tim asked him to come to the ranch with his family, Mateo stepped back and looked at him carefully.

"You've always seemed like a nice guy, a good man. But I have to be careful; I have no one to go to if there's trouble."

"I understand. My sister, brothers and I grew up homeless in Baltimore and you're right to be cautious. And you do have people who can help you; you've been delivering to a building full of cops for years now! Do you have a car?"

"A beater, yeah."

"Will it get you to Alexandria?"

He laughed, "Yeah, it's not that bad!"

"Ok, here's our address. My wife, kids and parents would love to meet you. Come for dinner tonight, I promise no Chinese food. And if you decide to come with us, great. If not, I'm buying you a bus ticket anywhere in the country, as long as it's outside the likely target areas."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because we didn't have anyone either, I know you and can't reach everyone in the area."

"Ok. You want me to come tonight?"

"Yes. Or tomorrow night, but then come in the afternoon and bring something to swim in and whatever you need for the weekend; prepare to stay until Monday. There's an announcement happening tomorrow night that's going to cause a lot of chaos for a few days."

"An announcement from who?"

"Homeland Security."

"Oh. All right. I have to work tonight at my other job but I'm off on Fridays so I can come over then. What time's good?"

"We'll be there all day. My staff is leaving tonight and tomorrow so there's no reason for me to come in."

"They're leaving, those two who were with you?"

"And everyone else, yes, all 30 of them. We're transferring them to parts of the country where they'll be safe. I hope."

The young man looked at him without blinking and then swallowed hard. "This is really happening."

"I believe so, yes. The threat is real, I hope the attack won't happen but I'm not willing to risk anyone's lives."

"Okay I'll come. How much money will I need?"

"We're pretty much covered for money but bring what you have for After. You'll need to clear out your bank account, checking, and savings, get cash. We need people who can help physically and emotionally. You've been on your own for a long time - you're a survivor. We'll need that in the shelter and if this happens, we'll need your knowledge and experiences. My sister, brothers and I have been off the streets since I got my scholarship to MIT almost 20 years ago."

The other man grinned, "You saying you've gone soft?"

"Yeah. Physically not too bad but otherwise, yeah. What law schools have you applied to?"

"They're all around here."

"You could apply for a transfer to a college in New Mexico or on the West Coast to finish your undergrad. Figure for the 2020 winter term. We ought to be able to get you there and we have friends out west who will help. And then you can relax a little, look at what law schools outside of the East Coast appeal to you. Once we get to the ranch - by the way it's outside Albuquerque, you can look it up on Google Earth or Zillow - and while we still have internet you can start your search and also look for new scholarships."

"And this is because of your family."

"My sister and I were abandoned when I was 9 and she was 3. We met Geordie our first day on the streets and Robbie came along 3 weeks later. We didn't have parents but we had each other and a few others who were stuck too. If you come with us you'll meet them all as they're going too."

"Sometime will you tell me why you didn't go into foster care?"

"Yes."

"Ok, then if it's all right with you I'll come over tonight after all. I hate my other job and if I'm leaving, I'm done there now." He paused, "I'll tell the crew at the Kitchen what's going on. The owners are tough but they've been good to all of us."

"Good, tell your friends, everyone you know and everyone you see. The more people who leave on their own, the better. Remember what I said about the distances?"

"As far south as Miami, to the north of Maine, west as far as New Mexico. They'll never remember Nebraska and the other states."

"And tell them to go as soon as possible, take whatever they have and go."

"Will do. All right, Agent Gibbs. Hey, didn't you used to be called McGee and work in the other building? I always thought Gibbs was the older guy."

"He is; we discovered he's my father, changed my name. Now I have parents! And yes, I was on his team, moved to Cyber Crimes when we discovered the connection."

"Wow that's cool!" He looked at Tim's watch, "I gotta go!"

"See you tonight. My wife and I will be there by 5."

"Ok, see you then." He moved away but then came back. "Is it all right if I bring my stuff tonight and hang out over the weekend too?"

"Sure!"

As the man left, Tim hurried inside, his stomach growling. He ate with his team and then laughed when most of them found room for a cupcake or two. He nearly burst with pride when they broke the case they'd been working together and sent it to one of the Florida offices; the field agents there would handle the arrests. After they did their preliminary reports, he let them go, shaking hands and exchanging a few hugs. "Be careful, stay safe, enjoy your lives and keep in touch when we can."

They all took their laptops and after the last ones left, he looked at the sea of empty cubicles. Time to leave.

He went up to the bullpen, thinking this would be the last time there too. Leon was there, waiting with a grin.

"I got spots for everyone but Palmer, Barnes and DiNozzo's team and we can work on that when we get to the ranch. And your dad and Ducky are taking full retirement so we'll have those two incomes."

Vance pulled Tim aside to update him. When he was done, he took off and Tim turned back to the bullpen.

Evan Fuller looked at him, "Hi Bunkie."

Tim gave him a wide grin, "You're throwing in with us, great!"

Tony nudged him, "Henry said you were chatting up the Chinese food delivery guy."

Henry, their favorite security guy, was finally retiring and moving to Puerto Rico with his wife, a native of the island. The agency hosted a party for them three weeks ago; Tim reflected that in a way that was the farewell party for everyone here at HQ, they just hadn't known it. Henry had already heard the news and was leaving that night on a C-130 to San Juan. His wife was already there, getting their new home organized.

"Yeah; Mateo's an orphan, grew up in foster care, works two jobs and has one more term at GW to get his undergrad before law school. He's going with us."

"Wow. That's got to be an interesting story."

"I'm sure it is."

Ellie was ready; Tim took the bags with her personal belongings from her cubicle. They started for the elevator, saying goodnight to everyone they saw, relieved that nobody was saying goodbye. Ned Dorneget got on the elevator with them. "I know I said I was going to Arizona but I'd really rather hang out with you guys. Still have room?"

"For you, yes Ned!"

"Good, thanks. What do I need to do and when are we leaving?"

Ellie fished in one of the bags Tim was carrying and handed him a four-page document with a spreadsheet attached.

"That's just about everything. Our departure date is a little fluid right now. Tim wants those of us who are flying to leave as soon as possible, but not this weekend, it's going to be chaos. As far as the moving vans and the drivers, we had July 17th set but Tim…?"

"I have a call into our mover to see when he can be here. He was scheduled to move a load to North Carolina but we haven't talked in a day or two. I'll try calling him again."

"I want to drive."

"Great! We have 24 drivers then and 22 vehicles if you take your car."

Ellie frowned, "I thought it was 20."

"Mateo is coming with us, not taking his car, so he's a carless driver. Hubbards and Cranes have three drivers, two cars. Ned, how about you?"

"Thought I'd see what you guys said first. My car's not in good enough shape to drive to New Mexico. It's paid off; I might just leave the keys in it for someone to drive however far they can. I can help drive someone else's vehicle and get another car later."

"Good! That means we have 21 vehicles and 24 drivers, excellent!"

Dorneget split from them in the parking garage while Tim and Ellie got in the truck. "We're stopping at the bank, right?"

"Haven't had a chance to tell you, I stopped on the way in this morning, cleared out the savings account and the safety deposit box. But now I'm thinking we should transfer everything to the Albuquerque account now instead of waiting. What do you think?"

"I think now is good. We have cash and credit cards for whatever supplies we buy before we leave. And all the bills are paid for the month."

"Ok, sweetie let's go do that now."

Stopping at the bank, they transferred everything in their checking account to the account in Albuquerque, letting the bank employee know that they were evacuating and why. That done they drove home, reaching there about 1630, early hours for both of them.

Tim's phone chimed with a call from Mr. Ware as they walked in the front door.

"Hello Mr. Ware."

"Hey, sorry took me so long to call and the name is Pete."

"And I'm Tim. Know you have a business to keep up with."

"Sure do. Good news for you, my North Carolina run was canceled so I can get to Virginia earlier. And I found movers in Virginia who are more than willing to haul your belongings to New Mexico. There are three of them if you can use four vans."

"That's great news and yes, I think we're going to need four trucks. We have more specific numbers now and good news for all of us, we have access to a warehouse; we'll move everything there to make loading faster and easier. Let me tell you what we have."

That afternoon, Leon gave him a key to a warehouse that NCIS confiscated and locked up after busting a drug ring there a few years earlier. The case finally made it through court recently and the owner of the warehouse was convicted. Now the director said they might as well use the building for a staging area. He'd had the locks changed and had keys made for every family or individual going with them.

"Great, that was going to be the toughest part."

"Right now my biggest concern is our supplies. We have 3300 gallons of water in various garages along with several hundred pounds of foodstuffs."

"All right, we should split the water and the food between the trucks. And we'll all be armed."

"That was another worry, good."

He read off the numbers of appliances, beds, sofas, tables and chairs, recliners, and an estimate of boxes for each individual or family.

"We had to limit the number of boxes per person, it was getting crazy."

"I'm relieved to hear that. I kept thinking of the number of people and multiple sets of dishes, etc."

"Yes, exactly. Luckily my mother took charge of that and told people they could ship whatever exceeds their limit to the ranch themselves but there was finite room there too."

"All right, so let's go with four trucks total. It would help if everything was prioritized too so we don't have people fighting over whose hot tub is staying or going."

Tim snorted at that. "Good point and no hot tubs. Just be glad my dad already has a grill he loves at the ranch, he has three here. And we've already prioritized items, beds, appliances, etc. The transportation team will go through everything before you get here and have it organized."

Pete Ware gave him the names and addresses of the other three drivers and Tim promptly ran a background check on them. They all came up clean and when he checked he saw all four drivers were licensed to carry in the states through which they'd be traveling. Another potential hassle avoided!

While he was doing that, Mateo arrived and introduced himself to Dad who'd answered the door after bringing the kids home along with dinner for all of them.

"I'm Mateo Begay. And you're the original Agent Gibbs!"

Jethro was puzzled but Tim looked up from the laptop, "Hi Mateo, come on in. Dad, you used to see him all the time; he delivers Chinese food to the Yard."

"Knew you looked familiar, sorry I couldn't place you! Yes, I am the original Agent Gibbs, please call me Jethro." Dad held his hand out for a shake.

"Sure."

Tim quickly logged out of his laptop and joined them. "Where's your bag?"

"In the car, didn't want to scare whoever answered the door."

"Smart!" They went out to get his gear while Jethro went to the backyard, joining the rest of the family. "New guy's here."

"Okay." Ellie went inside to welcome him while Shannon pulled another chair to the table.

They tucked his bag behind the sofa for now; he could sleep on one of the rollaway beds in the playroom or on the sofa bed. The young man smiled when he saw Ellie, "I know you too! Agent Bishop, right?"

"Yes. Here I'm Ellie; Tim's my husband."

"Wow, that's great, three people I know."

Tim chuckled, "And there are more. Agents Fuller, DiNozzo, Barnes, Chalmers, Dorneget, and Carter are going with us. And Doctors Mallard, Palmer, and Director Vance."

"Cool; I was afraid I'd only know you!"

"That'd be ok too, Mateo; there are at least seven people going with us that we've never met."

"Interesting. Uh, I haven't had time to do that spreadsheet you gave me. But I'm not taking anything but a lamp, a little table, tablet, phone, clothes, and shoes and I don't have any allergies, not on any medications."

He said that as they moved through the kitchen to the patio. Where he stopped and looked at everyone there.

Shannon smiled, "You're an easy one to fit in then. I'm Shannon Gibbs, wife of Jethro, mother of Tim and a bunch of other adult kids you'll meet eventually and grandmother to these three."

They shook hands and Tim introduced him to Mac and the children. Tyler and Bryn held out their hands for a shake while Lia squealed at him and his eyes widened. "I haven't been around a baby in years!"

Shannon laughed, "We'll take care of that!"

Ellie smiled at Ty, Brynie and Lia, "Kids, we know Mateo from work and he's going to stay with us this weekend."

Within a few minutes, the children had the young man charmed. Mac, Ty, and Brynie set the table while Tim made a salad and pulled a casserole dish of roasted potatoes and vegetables out of the oven. One of his favorite Mom dishes, yum! He bet they were having pork; Dad said he didn't want to cook any chicken until they were at the ranch and they'd fed the entire family steak last weekend.

They sat down at the table and Mateo's face lit up when he saw the platter of grilled pork roast slices. "Wow, meat! I haven't had that in a while!"

Tim chuckled, "Oh yeah, college. Macaroni and cheese with a cut up hot dog was a huge treat as I remember and burgers only happened if someone else paid for them. Spaghetti with ketchup packets as pasta sauce and maybe part of a can of chicken or spam added."

"Sounds about right if the noodles were ramen."

"Forgot about that! Ten packs for a dollar; filled us up."

His father blanched but didn't say anything while Mac just laughed. "When I was in college we weren't allowed to live on our own. Had to live in the dormitory and eat in the cafeteria. I'd rather have eaten the ramen spaghetti!"

Mateo chuckled, "Sometime I'll make you some."

They all laughed at that and sat back to enjoy their dinner and the company. Ty and Brynie asked the new guy where he went to school, worked, and lived. When Tim saw they were about to launch into even more personal questions he gave them each a look that told them that was enough.

In this story, the terms 'moving truck' and 'moving van' are synonymous. If you've seen the Season 7 episode "Jack Knife", the truck Ziva and Damon Werth were driving is the same size as the moving vans/trucks referenced in Fallout. In case you were curious.