Chapter Ten
Day Six: Back to Work
After the group finished breakfast Tim and Tony washed up and the others lazed around, idly talking about their plans for the day. Gibbs had already gathered what he thought he needed to make the valve for the hose and was using the far end of the table as his workbench. Most of the others wanted to continue the treasure hunt, until Mitas reminded them of the need to find fresh eggs.
Tim chuckled as he rinsed and dried, "A treasure hunt of a different kind!"
Tony smiled and said, "Don't forget we get to watch Gibbs try to find eggs; that should be entertaining." The two grinned at each other and for once Gibbs didn't seem to hear them. Tim had another bucket of water on the fire to do some washing; once that was ready he split the hot water between two buckets, first pouring a small amount of detergent in one, and then added a little cold water to both. He threw shirts, socks and underwear in, first letting them soak, then using a wooden spoon to swish everything around; putting the clean clothes in the rinse water.
Tony watched him; he'd never had to wash his clothes in anything other than a washing machine and so had had no idea how to do it. Tim swished his clothes around in the rinse water until he was satisfied, then hauled the bucket and clothes upstairs, Tony following behind. Tony hadn't said anything, but Tim guessed he hadn't known how to get his clothes clean and was a bit proud of Tony for realizing he needed to know and doing something about it rather than just complai…being upset about it. Since he had no clothespins, Tim wrung out each item and then draped it over the clothesline, Tony still watching.
Tim chuckled, "Well I've always hated ironing but Penny always insisted. Now I have an excuse!"
"Penny, is that your mom's name? Why do you call her by her first name?"
"No, Penny is my grandmother and she says it makes her feel old to be called Grandma. I lived with her and my step-grandfather for a few years."
"Oh, sorry, for once I wasn't trying to pry."
"That's ok, I'm the one who said it and I don't mind you knowing."
Tony nodded, okay, maybe they were learning to get along better.
"So, your step-grandad?"
"Yeah, my grandfather McGee died before I was born; Penny got married again, to Nelson Langston, also an Admiral."
"What was he like?"
"Nice guy, he was good to me, like a dad. He'd never had any children of his own, but he did really well with me." Tim huffed a laugh, "guess I was pretty well tamed by the time I went to live with them."
"How old were you?"
"Four."
"Four? You were still a baby."
"Not really, I was already reading and writing. Luckily Grandpa Nelson was a bookworm and a bit of an armchair scientist, so we got along well."
"Was he still active in the Navy?"
"Yeah." Tim answered that in a final sort of way so for once Tony didn't ask the other thousand questions he had.
As Tim finished hanging his clothes, he came to a decision. "Want to go for a walk, get some water from the spring?"
"Yeah, but better let me run down and get our hats or Ducky will be after us."
"Ok, I'll wait…in the shade." While Tim waited, he thought about how freeing yesterday's conversation with Gibbs had been and while he wasn't going to share as many details with Tony, he felt it was time to stop keeping Joey and the others a secret. He needed to heal and move on and telling Tony would help. He figured Mitas was the only other one who didn't know and they didn't know each other well enough yet.
Tony came back, carrying three more buckets and their hats and one of the WTs. "Ziva's helping Gibbs with the valve, so I said we'd start filling the cistern."
"Oh, good. Gibbs say anything about the eggs?"
"Just that we'd get to them as soon as he got the #% valve done. He's having a problem with it."
"Oh, probably a good thing we're up here then. I always thought eggs had to be gathered first thing in the morning."
"Yeah, me too." Shrugging, the two walked to the spring, noticing the ATV parked down a bit toward the bay, and filled their buckets. Walking back to the cistern, Tim took a deep breath, "Tony, as I told you, I had a bad night but that's not all it was. Yesterday morning, actually starting the day before, I was pretty upset, Gibbs helped me through it yesterday but I want to tell you why."
Tony swallowed, "If it was something I did or said, Tim…"
"No, NO Tony, it wasn't, I think we're good enough now I would just have said something to you. No, this has to do with my personal life, something I've kept pretty much to myself for nearly four years."
"That's when you transferred to the team."
"Yeah, and that's got a little bit to do with it. I had these three friends, Tony, and…" As they walked, their buckets full of fresh spring water, Tim told Tony of the loss of his friends in the tsunami and how the skeletal remains they'd found here had struck him so deeply.
As he spoke, Tony stopped him, put his buckets down, took Tim's, put them on the ground and then gave Tim a comforting hug. Tim reflected that he was learning just how much he was cared about and maybe he should let other people know that he cared too. So he gave Tony back the same strength he'd been given.
They parted; slightly embarrassed smiles on their faces; picked up their buckets and continued to the cistern. As they poured the water in, Tim noticed something new and brought it to Tony's attention. "DiNozzo, notice we have a following today?" Tony looked around and sure enough, three young goats, kids really, were watching them curiously. Or what he imagined was curiosity. They picked up their buckets and headed back to the spring and the goats followed along.
"Wonder how old they are and how long they've been here?"
"The one that Mitas found the other day was bigger, I'd guess full grown. Who knows how long the older ones have been here, but I'll bet these little ones were born here."
Tony sighed, "Can't wait to have milk in my coffee. Wish we could figure out butter and cheese!"
Tim laughed, "That'd be great! I wish we had an olive tree so we could make olive oil, just think of the meals you could make us!"
"The way things have been going the olive tree has just popped up out of the ground and will be fully grown by the time we find it."
"HA, that's good, DiNozzo, hey did you ever see that Star Trek episode where…" and once again they were off and running on their mutual love of Star Trek. They continued filling buckets and dispersing the water as the kids followed them back and forth. On their fourth trip to the spring Tony heard a chicken clucking and leaving their buckets, they quietly poked around the rocks finally finding the hen, proudly sitting on her newly laid eggs. Tim carefully lifted her off and held her away from him, while she squawked indignantly. Tony took the eggs, one by one and put four in his hat, leaving one behind.
Leaving the spring, the two walked carefully back down the stairs to the common area. When Gibbs glared at them, Tony showed their prize and Gibbs gave an approving nod. "Nice job, you two. I thought you were filling the cistern."
"We were, Boss, but we heard a hen clucking while we were at the spring, found her in the rocks and I held the hen while Tony took the eggs. We left one."
"That's fine. There's probably more hens in the area, just be careful, if it's warm out, you could encounter snakes trying to get to the eggs."
"Uh, maybe we'll finish filling the cistern then, Boss. Look for eggs in the morning when it's cool."
Gibbs just nodded and Ziva smiled, thanking them for filling the water tank. They could see parts scattered around the table, so they didn't ask how the valve was coming along.
The guys took their packs, making sure they had fishing line, hooks and some bait, and climbed back up and went back to the spring, regaining their audience as they walked. Tim looked back at the three young goats,
"Think we should name them?"
"Hmm, yes, but you and I get to do it, they followed us first! No committee."
"Ok. I've been thinking that the one on the left reminds me of a poodle one of our neighbors in Puerto Rico had, called Gigi. "
"Gigi goat…or just GG, HA, that's good! Ok, my turn, let's see, my favorite nanny's name was Phyllis, so the middle one there, with the little notch in her ear, she's Phyllis."
"I think #3 is male, saw him trying to hump GG a ways back. Got a good guy's name?"
"Duke!"
"What?"
"John Wayne, the Duke, Gibbs' favorite cowboy."
"Ok, GG, Phyllis and Duke."
Several trips later, they had finished filling the cistern and still had not seen Gibbs or Ziva with the fire hose, ready to test the valve. It was too early for lunch, so the two decided to walk to the bay and cast their lines, see if they could catch a fish or three. They were just about to the first cove when they spotted Ducky and Mitas hiking up the hill, carrying the kayak and two mismatched paddles. Mitas carried one of the packs on his shoulder and as he reached the top of the path, he and Ducky stopped. Grinning, Mitas pulled the pack open and handed Tim a bag of clothespins.
"Dang, I was hoping that was going to be a butter churn or an olive tree!" quipped Tony.
Tim laughed, "Or a book about how to make goat cheese!" They laughed at that and then all four of them reflexively looked down at the beach, half expecting to see a floating olive tree or large book. Seeing a lot more stuff but not either of those items, they shook their heads and parted ways. Ducky explained that he wanted to test the kayak's seaworthiness before they launched it anywhere outside their own private bay; that is the ocean inside their cavern. Tim had a thoughtful look on his face as he and Tony continued their walk to the beach.
"I wonder…"
"Uh oh, what you thinking about, McThinkTank?"
"If it just takes a churn to make butter, maybe we can either make a churn or do something that is like churning."
"Huh?"
"Well, churning is an up and down motion, right?" Tony nodded.
"So what if we tried putting some milk – or maybe it's cream we need – into a container and shaking it. "
"Think that will produce butter?"
"Or a milkshake!" Both laughed at that idea.
"So do we have any jars?"
"Yeah, I think I saw some come over from the boat the other day."
"First we have to learn how to milk the nannies."
"No, first we have to find the nannies, Tony."
"Oh yeah, good point."
"Hey can you make the ATV run on solar power?"
"Yep, I'm actually going to practice on it before I start dinking around with the boat."
"Oh no!"
"Better make sure we move everything to where we want it before I start converting it."
"I have faith in you, really I do, honest."
Tim snorted and they both laughed.
"You know, that feels good, hadn't realized how much we don't normally do that."
"What Tony?"
"Laugh, Probie. We don't laugh. Oh sure, maybe cynically or sarcastically, but we don't laugh in fun."
"Yeah, you're right, too wrapped up in our jobs."
"So what are we going to do about it?"
"Enjoy the hell out of whatever time we have away from the dirtbags; here and on our way home." As Tim said this, they reached the trailhead leading to the bay and were surprised to see the ATV still parked there.
They decided they'd take it with them on the way back and started down the trail, startled when their three shadows bleated at them, repeatedly.
"Hmm, guess they're not allowed down here." Out of habit, the two stopped and looked down at the bay from behind the bushes hiding them from view, but saw nothing any different from previous visits. The propane canister could still be seen bobbing, although it had traveled to the south end now. Taking a look into the woods, they saw nothing there either. Motioning to Tony, Tim turned and started back up the path.
"What?"
"Who brought the ATV down here, Tony, and left it? We've been leaving it near the entrance. And call me paranoid but were our three new friends warning us just now?"
"Oh, yeah, good questions, let's give the others a call, you got your Sig?" Tim nodded and also patted his belt knife. Using the WT, Tony called Gibbs and heard him ask the others who had driven the ATV down to the bay and left it. When Gibbs came back on, he ordered them to leave the ATV where it was and meet them at the staircase…and to stay out of sight.
Changing their focus, the two men stealthily made their way back from cove to cove and to the entrance. Realizing it might be too late, they pulled a bush they'd uprooted earlier to use as camouflage and placed it in front of the entrance to their staircase. Descending, they found Gibbs pacing in the passageway.
"Report!"
"When we first walked to the spring to get water, we noticed the ATV parked at the top of the path to the bay. Tony had been helping me wash my clothes in the cavern and then we'd hung them out, so we thought it was one of you guys with the ATV."
"With the cart?"
"No, we took the cart off last night; it's hidden under some brush north of the entrance. It's still there, we checked on our way in.
"What did you see in the bay?"
"Nothing that wasn't there before. The propane canister was still in the water, but on the southern end of the bay, rather than the north."
"Anything else?"
"We didn't have the binocs with us, but we scanned with our eyes and saw nothing on the beach or in the woods. However, part of the beach is right below the path so we couldn't see all of it."
"Ok, good job. You had your weapons." Although this was not a question, both men understood it required an answer.
"Yes Boss, Sigs and knives."
"All right, come on down to the table to plan our strategy."
The two younger agents followed their Leader through the passageway to the common area. The others were already gathered and Ziva was cleaning her weapons, she had all three of her firearms on the table. Ducky even had his out, looked like he'd just cleaned it; Tim blinked, he could count on one hand the number of times he'd seen Ducky with a firearm. Mitas was standing, shifting from one foot to another, looking very nervous.
"Mitas, come sit. You and Ducky were out in the first cove today. Notice anything different?"
"No Jethro." "No Gibbs."
"Did you notice the ATV parked near the entrance when you left here?"
"I don't remember, Gibbs, sorry."
"I'm afraid to say I don't think I even looked, Jethro. I…"
"That's ok, Ducky, no one's been hurt and we have plenty of daylight left to find this person or persons."
Ziva finished cleaning her third firearm and tucked it neatly in her ankle holster. Tim knew by now she would be completely decked out, all her throwing knives and firearms. His ankle holster was in his go bag but he would have to wait for dismissal before he got it. "There's one lucky thing. "
"What's that, Boss?"
"The cavern hasn't been empty all morning, so the boat's been protected."
"Think that's what they're after, the warhead?"
Gibbs shrugged, "Yeah, McGee, I do. We are still in possession of a secret nuclear warhead salvaged by the US Navy. And we don't have eyes on the other end of the island so there could be a boat anchored off that beach we've been ignoring or even on the southeastern part of the island. The only thing we do know for sure is that at least one other person besides the six of us is on this island and with the cistern, our clothes hanging out to dry and you two out there with the eggs and the buckets this morning, there's no way anyone could possibly think this island is deserted. And six of us means a boat, or at least a life raft. The boat or the warhead is what they're after. We'll protect both."
"Boss, could it be part of the Chimera crew, one of the life boats made it here?"
"Good theory, DiNozzo, I'd rather it be them than one of the Russians having survived somehow. We'll plan for worst-case scenario. Ziva, Mitas, come with me. Mitas, if it is a crewmember, or members, you're the only one who can recognize them, Ziva with your language skills you can recognize where our visitors are from. Tony, Tim, Ducky, I want you three protecting that 'prize'.
"Boss?"
"No dying, McGee; if push comes to shove, toss the damn thing overboard. In fact, that's not a bad idea. You two, kept your diving certificates in order?
"Yes Boss."
"Ok, get rid of that damn warhead; get it off the boat and into hiding. McGee, can you get coordinates without your GPS thingy?"
"Yes Boss."
"Good man, and Tim, rule 4 starting now. All right, who has a WT?"
Tim and Ziva raised their hands. "Ok, where's the third one?"
"In my pack, Jethro."
"Check it Duck." The elderly man reached for his pack and drew out his phone walkie-talkie.
Tim had a new and unpleasant thought, "Boss, the WTs are not secure, not like our phones."
"How not secure?"
"If someone had a radio or their own WT, they could hear our transmissions."
"We'd better start praying these are Chimera crew, folks. All right, Team, follow code 3. Mitas, you armed?"
"Yes, Gibbs, I still have Ziva's knife."
"Ok, if it comes down to it, lose the knife and tell them you were forced to come with us, which is true. Do you remember how you kept saying you were just the ship's cook? You meet up with whoever's out there, stick with that, tell whoever it is you don't know anything, especially where the warhead is. You won't know anyway, won't be lying."
"Everyone set, got water and a protein bar?" Nods from his surface team. "DiNozzo, you have point down here. Anyone comes down here with a weapon and doesn't speak English, rule 47. Try to keep the boat intact."
"Got it, Gibbs."
Gibbs looked at his two boys and his old friend for a few seconds and then gave a sharp nod; turning he led the way to the staircase. There Ziva took point as she had the sharper eyes in addition to her Mossad training and years of experience. Gibbs followed her and Mitas came up third, having been instructed to duck down as soon as he cleared the entrance.
With all the talk and preparation, he was still wondering what Rules 4 and 47 were, not to mention the mysterious code 3. Mitas was expecting to be attacked or worse, shot the instant his head appeared out of the entrance. When he wasn't he didn't feel any better that the birds were chirping, the sun was shining and somewhere to the south, a rooster was crowing. His hand on the handle of his knife, he quietly followed Ziva and Gibbs as they zigzagged behind cover, down the island to the bay. The goats the boys had reported as shadowing them were nowhere in sight and Gibbs was just as happy, didn't need any stray animals giving away their position.
XXX
As the others quietly left the cavern, Tim and Tony found the diving suits and suited up, with Ducky helping check their tanks and fittings. Ziva had retrieved two of the spear guns from the boat so they left their Sigs in Ducky's tender loving care. Entering the water, they swam to the boat. Tim grabbed the sextant with the compass and stuffed it into the dive bag he'd tucked into his belt.
The two of them carefully checked the lid of the lead-lined container that contained the nuclear warhead, making sure the padlock was secure in the tongue, then tied a drop line around it and lifted it to the edge of the boat, near the dive ladder. Tim got on the ladder and Tony carefully lowered the container to him, both of them determinedly not thinking about what being this close to the warhead might be doing to their bodies.
With Tony holding the drop line, Tim backed into the water and treaded water while Tony followed him down the ladder. Neither wanted to cause any turbulence by jumping straight in. Once both men were in the water and breathing from their tanks, they dove, a man on either end of the container.
Underwater, things were easier and they moved swiftly to the back edge of the cavern. Finding a rock ledge about 50 feet down, they tucked the container solidly under with a few large rocks on top. Removing the sextant from the dive bag, Tim was able to use the compass portion to mark the exact location, although he had to turn on the headlamp he wore on a band around his head.
Once he was sure of the numbers, he showed it to DiNozzo, following Gibbs instructions to use Rule 4, share with only one person. Making sure his headlamp was aimed so Tony could see, Tim held the compass in front of his partner's eyes until Tony nodded; he had it memorized. Both men bubbled sighs of relief as they headed back, first to the boat to secure the drop line and then to the shore.
Ducky had seen them reach the boat but he was still pacing anxiously along the beach, his radiation monitor held tightly in his hands. As soon as the two younger men reached the beach, he ordered them to strip to their skivvies so he could get an initial reading. Their readings were normal but they knew this could be misleading and it would take a few days before they could relax.
Ducky fussed over them, he had taken most of the fresh water Ziva had brought down from the cistern and insisted they bathe in the tubs. As lead on this operation DiNozzo refused, they could not stop to bathe, even one at a time, when they were at high alert and on protection detail. Ducky wasn't happy but realized the danger was still present and that nothing he could say or do would persuade either agent to disregard orders from Gibbs. He had brought their clothes to the table, so the two took turns changing into dry clothes in plain sight, still feeling the urge to keep their Sigs in their hands rather than their holsters. Once they changed, Ducky ran the meter over them again, finding the same results. Feeling useless and nervous, he took the diving suits and spread them over some of the flatter rocks to dry.
Tim regarded the man they so often relied on to keep them sane.
"Ducky, you know you're here with us because you're rated with a firearm, you're on protection detail with us; the three of us are here to protect the boat, not you."
"I know that, Timothy, but Jethro and I should have done that dive, if anything happens to the two of you, I'll never forgive myself."
"I thought you said there was nothing to worry about…back on the Chimera you said as long as that thing remained in the container, we were safe."
"So I did, dear boy, and I meant it. I'm just a worried old man; anxious to protect what family I have left."
Tony approached him, "Ducky, we're fine, we're going to remain fine. This is Gibbs, remember, he won't allow anything or anybody to harm us."
"He's not superman, Anthony, he's as human as the rest of us."
"Don't be too sure, Duckman." Ducky shook his head, ashamed for showing his vulnerability to his two young friends.
Tim and Tony split the guard, Tim watching the back entrance to the cavern, Tony with his eyes on the ocean-side entrance. Realizing that divers could enter the cavern without their knowledge kept them on the beach at full alert, Ducky now holding his weapon by his side.
A/N: Code 3 is a code I invented. Gibbs originally initiated it for a specific case and is now re-using it, invoking advanced security. It is more detailed than a rule. Rule 47 is not specified in canon, so I decided it is: "Shoot first, ask questions later."