Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS, Mass Effect, Resident Evil or anything else that may seem familiar about this story. This is purely for fun.
Day 4: Canary Wharf, London, England, United Kingdom- 1013 GMT
"You're going to have to explain that to me," Gibbs said cautiously, observing the woman in front of him. Despite her small size, she looked very nimble, which could easily work to his disadvantage if things went badly. "How do you-"
"How do I know what you're in London for?" She leaned back in her seat. "Let's just say I have my methods, Agent Gibbs."
"I'm sure you do. That doesn't explain who you are or what you want."
"I'll be happy to tell you, but I think your team members will want to hear it too. It's... kind of complex; I don't want to waste our time by having to repeat it."
Gibbs stared at her for another moment, trying to determine whether or not she was being sincere with her request. Deciding that it was unlikely he was about to lead team into an ambush, he waved them over, all the while keeping a hand near his gun just in case- something Tony and Ziva did as well as they came over and stood by Gibbs.
"Alright, start explaining," the team leader said. "Your name would be a good place."
"And what you want from us as well," Ziva added.
The woman merely shrugged and smiled. At the same time, Gibbs' earpiece beeped and a female voice that sounded a lot like hers spoke. "Special Agent Gibbs! Enter your code now to receive the gift of a lifetime for free!"
Apparently his teammates heard it as well. "Uh, boss, did you just get some strange message on your earpiece?" A confused Tony asked, tapping his own.
Gibbs turned back to stare at the woman, who stared back innocently at him.
"Gibbs, what is going on?" Ziva questioned.
"Being attacked by devils who are after your blood? Try Shoumo's removal services!"
Gibbs studied the woman's face intensely. Though he had no doubt the voice on the link was hers, there was no indication she had spoken at all as her lips remained motionless. He had the distinct feeling there was a lot more to her than met the eye but he just couldn't figure out what.
"Special Agent Gibbs- the finest companions in the world are at your disposal! Perhaps you would like to try something nimble, intelligent and Indian?"
Gibbs merely looked at her, his expression somewhere between serious and slightly amused.
"Gibbs, I think there is an insect in the communication system," Ziva declared, tapping her earpiece.
"Bug, Ziva. The term is 'there is a bug in the system'," Tony corrected.
"Whatever. There is either some interference in the system or someone has hacked our units. I keep hearing these stupid advertisements for stuff."
"Beg pardon girl, but I only offer the best."
Tony and Ziva both looked caught off guard, the former actually jumping a little bit. "What the hell?" Tony said.
Gibbs crossed his arms. "You're not gonna try to tell me you're some kind of ventriloquist. Those messages were on our comm systems. And different ads are rarely presented by the same person." It was taking a lot of effort on his part to avoid smirking. "If you want to be low-key, you might wanna keep that in mind."
"Hmm." The woman cocked her head. "You're right. I guess there's always room for improvement, even among the greatest in the business."
"Depends what business we're talking about. You clearly know who I am. And you are?"
She bowed her head. "Pleased to finally meet you in person, Agent Gibbs. Shoumo Bose. I guess you could say I'm a bit of a fan. And your companions are?"
"Specials Agents Tony DiNozzo and Ziva David," Tony answered for both of them.
She bowed again. "I'm glad to make all of your acquaintances."
"You mind telling us just who you are exactly and why you're watching us?" Gibbs demanded.
Shoumo smiled. "I'm the best in the world at what I do."
"What do you do?"
"I'm interested in very rare items. Expensive ones, one that are extremely difficult to find. In order to be successful at that, I have to travel around incognito. It wouldn't do well for me to gather a reputation."
"You are a thief," Ziva stated so directly it surprised even Gibbs.
"Very good, Agent David. Yes, I am. And now you can understand my need for discretion."
"Not really discreet if you're telling three US federal agents about it," Tony pointed out.
"You're not acting as federal agents now," Shoumo declared. "You're here in London for a specific purpose, not to arrest a mere collector of valuable things. Still, that doesn't mean I want to advertise it; it might make crossing borders uninhibited a little more difficult."
"I don't get it," Tony said.
Once again, Ziva was the one to surprise them with a response. "Once you have a name, or a picture, there is no escaping from it," the former Israeli stated. "There is never that same level of anonymity that there was before."
Shoumo blinked. "Huh, that's strange. I've never seen you around any of the International Thieves Conventions," she quipped.
"She's not a thief, she's a former assassin," Tony pointed out.
Ziva promptly shoved an elbow into his side and glared at him. "I am going to be a current assassin if you keep opening your mouth," she threatened.
"How cute," Shoumo chirped. "Well, in any case, you know how important staying in the shadows is. Some people go for fame, notoriety. Me? I prefer to enjoy the fruits of my labour in the company of one- myself."
"That still doesn't explain how you know us or what you're here for," Gibbs said impatiently.
"Simply put, we have a mutual acquaintance."
"Who's that?"
The Indian reached into her coat pocket and pulled out a cell phone. Dialling a number, she handed it to Gibbs.
A moment later, a voice on the other end grunted, "Better be important."
Gibbs' eyebrows raised significantly. The voice on the other end was not only familiar to him, but very unexpected. "It's always important when it comes to me." He paused for a second. "Kort."
"Ah, I was wondering when I was gonna hear from you, Gibbs. You don't call seem to call very often any more."
"Never had a reason to call," Gibbs replied as Tony and Ziva looked on in shock in the background.
"You do now, though."
"So it seems."
"Lemme guess. She's petite, she's Indian and she's got a smile that would make you think she's innocent even she had a smokin' gun in her hand."
"She one of yours?"
"That depends what you mean. She's not CIA, if that's what you're asking."
"An informant?"
"I think the term 'occasional useful resource' would be more accurate."
"Still the people person, aren't ya?" Gibbs said sarcastically.
"Comin' from you, that really is something."
"Not gonna trade character flaws with ya, Kort. Just give me some damn answers. Who is she exactly?"
"Between you and me? Just about the most skilled thief this world's ever seen."
"That doesn't help me. How the hell does she know that we were coming here?"
"Keep your shirt on, Gibbs. I sent her there, alright?"
"Why?"
"Let's just say we have a-"
"Kort, if you say 'mutual acquaintance', I'll hunt you down and kill you myself," Gibbs threatened.
"Actually, I was going to say we have an understanding with other intelligence agencies," Kort countered. "CSIS, for example."
Gibbs cursed under his breath, anticipating what was coming. "Lemme guess. Director Delcourt asked you for a favour."
"Well, we do owe each other ones from time to time. He wanted a skilled specialist and I happened to know one who would be in the neighbourhood."
Gibbs paused. "What the hell does that mean?"
"I'll let Shoumo discuss the details. For now, all that you should know right now is that you have a very skilled individual offering her help, Gibbs. I wouldn't let it go to waste."
"You'll forgive me if I don't automatically take your word, Kort."
"Look Gibbs, I know damn well where we stand. I don't like you and you don't like me. That's doesn't mean everything I tell you is a lie."
"In the past, a lot of it was."
"I'm not gonna start arguing about this with ya, Gibbs," Kort grumbled."You want to know about your new-found companion? Here it is: she's the world's best professional thief with good skills in both marksmanship and hand-to-hand combat. You can take it from me."
"There, you see?" Gibbs smirked. "That wasn't so hard."
"Yeah, sure. Look, she's got skills, Gibbs. I wouldn't agree to send her if she didn't. She's a good girl; you may not trust me on most things, but trust me on this. Plus she's got a few extra tricks of her own."
"And those would be?"
"Again, I'll let you Shoumo give you the rundown."
"Another request for my trust?"
"What's wrong with that?"
"Your friends in Langley made it a little difficult to swallow."
"I wasn't a part of that, and even if I was, I wouldn't talk about it. You have your secrets and I have mine."
"Except I try to avoid killing people with mine whenever possible."
"We each have our methods, Gibbs. Yours aren't exactly squeaky clean. Don't lecture me on how I do my job."
"Doubt you'd listen to reason anyway," Gibbs said coolly.
"Whatever. You wanted to know who Shoumo was, you got it. She's got skills and she can be trusted. How you use that information is up to you."
"Funny," Gibbs replied. "Delcourt said something similar yesterday. I gave him the courtesy of response."
"So what?"
"I'm all out of courtesy." Gibbs promptly hung up without waiting for an answer.
Shoumo gave another mischievous smile as she retrieved her property. "That was probably the most amusing exchange I've ever witnessed. You and old Trenty know each other?"
"In a way," Gibbs grunted.
"Is that in a good way or a bad way?"
"Bad," Ziva replied.
"How bad?"
"He blew up my car," Tony said with obvious distaste.
"With someone else in it," Ziva added.
Shoumo's eyebrows shot up to the hairline. "Really? Wow. I mean, there are a lot of bad things you can do to a man but screwing with his car? That's just pushing it."
"That is nothing. You should see what happens when you screw around with his movie collection," Ziva said teasingly.
"Hardy freakin' har," Tony retorted back at her.
"Speaking of screwing around, what exactly was that crap on the comm systems and how did it get there?" Gibbs asked pointedly.
"Oh, that was me just having a bit of fun," Shoumo shrugged innocently. "As for how it got there, it's simple; I hacked into your comm systems and put them there."
Gibbs stared at her. "Really?" He deadpanned.
"I happen to have a bit of skill in that area. It comes in handy when I'm on 'jobs'."
"And just what job would you happen to be on here?"
"A job that ties into your job here."
"How do you even know what we are here for?" Ziva asked.
"Kort and Delcourt trade favours," Gibbs said curtly. "She just has the luck of being useful."
Shoumo gave a mock look of shock. "I resent that very much, Gibbs! Just because of my job, you think I don't have standards? I may be here primarily on personal business, but once I was told of your mission, I just couldn't leave it alone."
"Assuming I buy all of this, why didn't Delcourt come out and tell us about it?" Gibbs asked.
"I doubt he knew I was here until after you guys had arrived," Shoumo replied. "Besides, I had to make sure this was really legitimate. Not that I think that Kort would send me into a trap but you'd be surprised how many people would be willing to get their hands on a master thief. Girl has to be careful. Now that I have met you however, there is no doubt in my mind." She nodded. "You are the one and only Leroy Jethro Gibbs."
"How can you be so sure?" The team leader pressed.
"There is a certain..." Shoumo struggled to put her thoughts into words, "Aura about you. A strength I have rarely seen in anyone in my entire life. I was told there would be no way to mistake your presence. And I didn't."
"So... you're some kinda mind-reader too?" Tony questioned uncertainly.
Shoumo chuckled playfully. "I wish, but no. I have a good many tricks up my sleeve, but I'm not that good."
"Good, 'cause one on this team is enough."
"Who is the other one?" Ziva asked.
Gibbs turned around and stared at her silently, and she immediately recognized what it meant. "Oh, of course! I am sorry, I forgot."
"Six years on this team and you forget about that?" Tony asked incredulously.
"Do not act like you have not done the same!"
"If you two are done," Gibbs interrupted brusquely, "we still got a job to do and we need a plan to do it." He turned back forward. "Right now."
"So I've been told."
The three federal agents spun around to see Shoumo standing a few feet away. Tony gave a startled shout at the sight.
The Indian smiled at his declaration. "No need for violence," she said, folding her hands behind her back. "I was just having a little fun."
The agents moved their hands away from their weapons, albeit cautiously. "How exactly did you get behind us so quickly without us seeing?" Ziva asked suspiciously.
Shoumo merely gave an innocent shrug. "As I said, I have many skills."
Tony shook his head. "For once, boss, I think Delcourt was right in his decision. She is good. She's even giving Ziva a run for her money."
"Money?" The former Israeli had a very confused look on her face. "What money? I do not have any money."
"Keep trying, Zee, you'll get it eventually."
"I really hope you don't mind," Shoumo cut in, "but I really hate just sitting around and waiting for anything, so I took the liberty of moving all of my things into your plane a couple of hours ago."
"Funny that the people aboard haven't told us that," the team leader pointed out.
"That's because they, um, didn't know I was there. I transported everything aboard, took a look around- really nice craft, by the way- and then left to find you."
Gibbs raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. "And just how the hell did you manage to do all that undetected?"
"I have my ways," Shoumo said playfully.
"So I see, but there's still one question you haven't answered." Gibbs leaned in close to her face. "What job are you here for?"
"I'll be glad to tell you," the Indian responded, looking around "but don't you think we should discuss it somewhere more private? You never know who's listening."
Gibbs stared at her some more, trying to see if there was any deceit or hidden agenda in her face. Unable to detect anything, he motioned with his head towards the surveillance van. "After you."
"A man with my way of thinking. So rare," Shoumo teased. "Let's go."
Inside the van, Shoumo sat on the floor and stretched her legs out in front her. "Roomy," she observed. "I could get used to this. Lots of nice, expensive things in here."
"If you're thinking of stealing anything-" Gibbs started.
Shoumo quickly waved a hand. "Don't worry. A lot of this stuff I have no use for. Besides, if I wanted it, I'd have taken it without saying anything."
"Kort mentioned that you're in London on personal business. What was he talking about?"
"I'm here to retrieve a computer chip that belonged to my mentor. Sheila Rutherford stole it and I'm here to... relieve her of it."
"Steal it back," Tony clarified.
She shrugged her shoulders. "However you want to call it."
"Why is the chip so important?" Gibbs pressed. "What did it have on it?"
"I don't know," Shoumo replied. "All I know was that it was important enough to never leave his person. You can imagine what kind of information get can stored on a single chip. My mentor Dhananjay Kapur always kept it with him- until Rutherford had him killed and stole it."
"Are you looking to avenge his death?" Ziva asked seriously, concerned about the possibility of their operation being compromised by a vigilante hunt.
Shoumo shook her head. "Not the way I operate. I'm a thief, not an assassin. If he happens to get in my way and I'm forced to kill him in 'self-defence', that's another story, but right now my concern is retrieving that chip. Besides, the way I've heard it, someone's already gunning for her."
"Sounds like that chip means just as much to you as it did your mentor," Tony observed.
"Dhananjay was more than a mentor to me. He was a father figure, one of the greatest men I've ever known." The Indian bit her lip to stifle her emotion. "He taught me everything I know about my job. He was one of the best in the business. Unfortunately, he became infamous."
"A name and a face," Gibbs translated.
Shoumo nodded. "He made a mistake and stole something he really shouldn't have."
"Which was?"
"Again, I don't know. He wouldn't talk about it. All he would say was that if it was ever released to the general public, it could rock the foundations of the entire world forever."
The three NCIS agents exchanged glances. The entire world? What kind of information was important enough to have an impact like that?
"And he stored the information on that chip?"
"Yes." Shoumo lifted her head a little higher. "That chip dates back to the very first day I met him. It's all that I have left of him and it deserves better than being in the possession of the likes of Sheila Rutherford."
"I'm sorry about your mentor," Tony replied seriously, even though he felt strange offering condolences about a man who made his living by breaking the law. "He sounded like he meant a lot to you."
"He did," Shoumo offered a small smile in an attempt to stay positive. "And thanks. But I'll be a lot happier when I have that chip."
"What can you tell us about Rutherford?" Ziva steered the conversation back on track, hoping to gain more information on their target.
"Miss Rutherford is a very highly regarded 'businesswoman'." The distaste was evident in Shoumo's voice. "Business tyrant, trafficker, murderer. Not someone you'd go with for a girl's night out."
"Trafficker of what?" Gibbs probed.
"Weapons, money, drugs, you name it, she's done it. There's never any evidence linking her to it, of course. And it seems people stop asking questions when your name appears on certain party invite lists."
"Yeah well, I'm not here to ask questions," Gibbs grunted.
"Good thing. The last person that did was a journalist trying to link her to the Russian mafia. The police pulled his body out of the English Channel a month later."
Tony snorted and shook his head. Gibbs, however, passed a glance over Ziva, who he noticed had a rather strange, almost guilty look on her face for a split second before her usual mask appeared to conceal it. He made note of it in his mind, but didn't bring it up. He would do that later. "Like I said, I'm not gonna be asking her any questions."
"You're not only one." Shoumo cocked her head. "I hear Rutherford may be receiving an uninvited visitor tonight. One that's not interested in 'negotiating' with her."
"I've heard as much."
"You looking to stop him?"
Gibbs shook his head. "I'm just here to make sure he survives."
"And to bring him along with us," Tony added.
"Hmm, not an easy task," Shoumo remarked, tracing her finger over her chin. "You're going to have to get up there alive to have any chance of that, and Rutherford Towers is famous for being the most heavily secured building in London outside Westminster. But then again, I always enjoy a good challenge."
"And to be clear," Gibbs said, staring at her, "your objective really is the chip and not Rutherford herself?"
"I surely won't be sad if something bad happens to her, but she's a paranoid enough woman to surround herself with a small army of mercenaries as security," she declared. "Fighting her head-on might not be a very good idea unless you're planning to call the rest of your squad away from their own job to help you storm the place."
"Can't risk it. Too high a risk for civilian casualties."
"Well then, we'd better come up with an alternative."
"'We'?" Gibbs asked pointedly.
Shoumo stood up and levelled with him eye to eye. "You know how to get up to her penthouse without being detected?"
"Not sure I trust you."
"I'm sorry you think that way, Gibbs. But I don't think you have many alternatives. You storm into that building, you'll have a hundred mercenaries on you in a second. If you want to reach Rutherford in one piece, you'll have to try another way." She nodded. "That's where I come in."
Gibbs raised an eyebrow. "Even if you're right, what makes you think your plan will succeed?"
Shoumo smiled mischievously. "I didn't get to where I am by being mediocre in my job. I'm sure that if we crossed paths just a few weeks ago, you would have been delighted to arrest me on the spot. Things are a little different here; it could mean the difference between life and death."
"That's never a good choice," Tony murmured.
"I am not sure I like it, but we may not have any alternative, Gibbs," Ziva added.
Gibbs turned his attention back to the Indian woman. "You really think this would work?"
Shoumo smiled again. "Don't worry, Gibbs. If everything goes right, I doubt you'll have to switch magazines in your weapons."
There was an audible groan from Tony, which attracted everyone's attention. "What is wrong?" Ziva asked.
Tony looked up at her with a pained expression, and shook his head. "You remember the last time everything went right for us, Zee?"
Ziva looked lost. "Not really."
"That's 'cause there wasn't one."
The van fell silent for a few moments.
"So, who wants to show me the schematics of the building?" Shoumo chirped.
A/N: Please review and give me feedback!
I'm serious! I've had no reviews for several chapters! Seriously, tell me what you liked, what you didn't like, your thoughts as a whole, etc. Reviews motivate me. Motivation + feedback = better writing. :)
Here's an incentive: the action will pick up a little bit again in the next chapter. :)