Chapter 10
Although it was autumn in Brazil, Rio de Janeiro was hot, with the strong sun in the sky and the beach full of people, while Gibbs and the other in the police car passed on the street, going to meet the delegate that would help in the investigation. The trip had lasted a few hours, but after leaving their things in the hotel and changed clothes, they were both feeling better, ready to continue with the case.
Gibbs returned to the room with his coffee in hand and one to Bishop, finding her ready, finishing a call and he couldn't help feeling a twinge of pride by talented agent that Ellie had become, the new probie.
"All right Stan, when I get to the airport I'll call you... Thank you... Kisses."
When she hung up and saw Gibbs standing behind her, the blonde felt her face flush, opening and closing her mouth without knowing what to say, embarrassed that he had heard the word 'kiss'.
"Stanley Burley?" Gibbs asked slightly surprised, handing the other coffee to her, who thanked timidly. "How did it happen?"
"Well, we met again after Thanksgiving in a coffee shop near the Navy Yard, he was on leave and... He heard about my divorced from Tony and tried to console me, he's been divorced for a few months now too and we started to talk. I like him, Gibbs, he's a good man and gave me the chance to have a fresh start after... Jake."
"I know Ellie. Hey..." He said, touching her shoulder and making her face his eyes. "I'm happy."
Bishop opened a huge smile before Gibbs pushed her toward the door, satisfied that everything was well with her, before returning to focus on finding Sarah, closing his hands into fists, his eyes shining like raging flames.
When they reached the building of the Federal Police, one of the guards led them into the delegate's office, Carlos Santos, who greeted them with a handshake, and two other policemen. The delegate barely spoke english so Bishop was necessary to translate the conversation.
"This man, Arhmed Abudah, is he the same that you've been investigating?" Bishop asked in Portuguese, showing the picture of the man next to Sarah, from the video and Carlos nodded:
"Yes, the FBI contacted us when they learned that possible Hamas members were in Brazil so we've been trying to keep a track on them." He then showed a picture of a simple apartment in the center of the city and said: "This is where the group live, apartments 37, 38 and 39."
"There are cameras?" Gibbs asked the delegate after Bishop translated.
"No." He answered in English. "But when my people went there this morning ask some questions to the neighbors, one of them told us that a bearded man had entered the apartment followed by a beautiful woman, white, curly hair, matches the description of your SECNAV."
Gibbs, Fornell and Bishop exchanged glances after the translation and then a policeman came in, handing an envelope and the delegate stood up, saying:
"It's the mandate for the apartment."
The four, accompanied by two police cars went to the downtown and went to the apartment's third floor, with vests and guns in hand.
Gibbs and the delegate stopped in front of the door 37, while Bishop and 3 more policemen on the door 38 and Fornnel and the others in the last door. Gibbs, his heart beating fast, took a deep breath, getting rid of all emotions and getting cold and concentrated, did the countdown with his fingers and then Carlos and two police broke down the door, shouting:
"Federal Police, don't move!" The three groups entered the respective doors, Gibbs forward, checking the kitchen, the bathroom, while listening to the other shouting 'clean'.
When Gibbs and Carlos reached the bedroom door, exchanging glances when they saw the door ajar, Carlos opened the door and Gibbs entered, pointing the gun when they saw a chair facing the window, with a woman tied.
They could see the dark blue dress, the same the witnesses said they saw Sarah dressing, reddish brown and curly hair was disheveled, out of the bun, with the head slightly tipped forward.
Gibbs slowly approached the woman, noting the pool of blood under the chair, feeling his mouth go dry and his body numbing, knowing that the pain of losing Sarah would be almost unbearable, as would be Megan's expression when he tell her the news.
"Sarah..." He whispered choked, remembering the first time he'd seen her in the Vance's office, so beautiful and so tense despite having just been promoted, but because of the death of her predecessor, the first kiss in the car making them feel like they were in combustion leading them to their first time, and then remembered their ugly fight.
However, when he stopped in front of the chair, he saw that the woman shot in the forehead wasn't Sarah Porter and Gibbs closed his eyes for a second, putting the gun in his belt and pressing his nose with his forefinger and thumb, feeling a huge relief, before turning to Carlos, saying seriously:
"It's not her. It means that we have a new murder to investigate."
Bishop and the policemen who were with her met Gibbs in the 37, while Carlos called the crime scene investigators to examine the crime scene and identify the woman.
However, when one of the policemen approached, he said, shocked:
"I know her. Last week she was taken to our police station for trying to steal a phone. And she has passage through the other stations for bothering tourists and drugs. Ana Maria Lopes."
When Bishop finished translating, she looked at Gibbs and said:
"Arhmed probably offered money to her, without telling that he intended to kill her."
"To make us lose time. But why?" Gibbs muttered, going to the window and watching the crowded sidewalk where tourists were shopping in the street vendors, enjoying the sun.
"In order to explode something. My, they made her look like she was Sarah Porter." Fornell said shocked, entering the bedroom and seeing the body.
The FBI agent had inside the bag of evidence traces of a white powder and showed it to Gibbs, who said:
"C4." And then he and Carlos left the building urgently to return to the police station and talk to Tony and Vance as Bishop and Fornell helped with the new murder, looking for clues.
There, in the delegate's office, Gibbs put the headset while Carlos connected the internet for the video conference with the NCIS. When Tony appeared on the screen, in the MTCA, Gibbs wasted no time when Tony had asked him about the beach and the women, his way to unwind tension
"Any progress with the lost security or Amy Downey?"
"Yes boss. We found Sarah Porter's security, Norton Carter locked in a refrigerator 10 kilometers from the SecNav's house. He's fine, at the hospital and director Vance is there with him now." Tony paused and then said:
"I also managed to find Andrew Cooper's half-sister. She told me she hasn't seen her brother for weeks, but he once mentioned a trip to Brazil, saying he would visit a friend's warehouse in a slum. He told her it was an electronics store and that his life was about to change, and when she asked who his friend was, he became violent and left."
"Thanks Tony, good job." Gibbs said with a nod and Tony asked, facing his boss:
"Are you close to find her boss?"
"I just hope it happens before everything blows up."
With difficulty, Gibbs tried to say in a mix of Portuguese and English to the delegate about the electronics store in a slum and Carlos went to the map of that region of the city, pointing to three different points.
"There are three stores of this kind in this region, but only two in slums, this and that. The second no longer works, it's been closed by the police a few months ago."
Gibbs, Ellie, Fornell and Carlos met with the other polices and a bomb squad, wearing the bulletproof vest and were divided into two groups to visit the two slums. Bishop and Gibbs went to the second slum, which was half an hour from the apartment where the terrorists had rented and the police parked the car at the beginning of the climb, so they could ask interview some locals.
As in Washington DC, which had its beauty, but also had poverty in some regions, was Rio de Janeiro. In contrast to the beauty of the city that they had seen when they came, with beautiful beaches, the Christ the Redeemer, the crowded downtown with malls or elegant office buildings, there were the slums, with poverty and lived in constant conflict between the traffickers and the police.
As they climbed the slum in the hot sun, they saw the dismantled houses, children playing in the streets and many residents staring at them with suspicion, seeing the weapons and vests, but when Bishop saw a man sitting in front of a bar, looking at them without fear, she pointed him to Gibbs and they walked toward him as the blonde showed the photo of Arhmed.
"Good afternoon. My name is Ellie Bishop, and I'd like to know if you've seen this man here." She said in Portuguese and he looked surprised, before looking at the picture and then said:
"Yes pretty girl. He's Marcus Arthur, one of the owners of the Amorim's computer warehouse, before the police closed it."
Gibbs and Bishop looked at each other as they walked away and he called Fornell and the bomb squad.
"Arhmed and Andrew are with her here. Arhmed changed his name here so he wouldn't call the attention of the police. Get ready, let's break into the warehouse." Gibbs said coldly.
But it's a bad debt
Certain death
But I want what I want
And I gotta get it
When the fire dies
Dark in the skies
Hot ash, dead match
Only smoke is left