Gibbs has finally let me back to work so I am sitting at his desk, working on going throw his hundreds of emails he got while I was on sick leave, because he didn't clean them out.
"Is that Tony?" McGee ask Kate who is sketching in her sketch pad I gave her for her last birthday.
"No, Kate denies while hiding the sketch pad.
"Are you sure? It really resembles…"
"Is there a reason you've been haunting my desk week?"
"Uh, no. I was just…"
"Or maybe you just decided to take over DiNozzo's job of annoying everyone while he's on sick leave," I state while reading a letter from Gibbs' ex-wife. Why do they email him?
"I just wanted to check that everything was okay."
"Why wouldn't it be?" Kate demands of him tightly.
"Well, you and Tony were close and, you know…"
"No, I don't know. What?"
"He almost died."
"So did I McGee," I remind him with a straight face.
"We're NCIS agents, McGee. There is a chance one of us might die every time we walk through the door," Kate reminds him while ignoring me because she has enough guilt without thinking about it at the moment.
"Yeah, but I'm the idiot that handed him an envelope full off the plague," McGee reminds us.
"It could have been worse," I comment.
"How?"
"You could have giving it to Gibbs."
"Tim, it's not your fault. Look, if you want to think about something, why don't you think about all of the times that Tony has insulted us, invaded our privacy, the fact that he almost died owing s all money," Kate orders McGee when he falls silent from the thought of Gibbs almost dying of plague.
"That's true. He can be pretty obnoxious," McGee agrees with Kate.
"Uh-huh," Kate mumbles as Tony's phone begins ringing.
"Do you miss him as much as I do?"
"More. It's part of his charm. It's like an ex-rated Peter pan," Kate comments while getting up to leave the squad room for a moment before turning to McGee to inform him, "You know he told all the girls downstairs you're gay, right? Said it would cut down on the competition."
"That bastard," McGee exclaims after a king beat of silence.
"Hold onto that feeling and you're going to be just fine."
"Do you want to know what he said about you?"
"Mmm."
"That you tried to sleep with him when you were in Paraguay."
"I will kill him."
"If you wanted to kill him, you should have done it last month. It was the perfect time to get away with murder," I inform Kate as she glares at Tony's desk.
"You did the right thing. Where is the car exactly?" Kate answers her ringing phone.
"Jit, Kate!" Tony shouts while jumping up behind Kate's desk in the hopes of scaring her as Gibbs walks over to his desk while I move out of the chair so he can sit down. I lean against the ledge behind his desk watching Tony get ignored by his team mates.
"Sorry about that, Captain. Where did you say the car was?"
"Must be important. Probie, did you miss me? Long-time no…"
"Thank you captain."
"What's wrong with him?" Tony demands about McGee who is ignoring him.
"Virginia State Police just got a nine-one-one call, Gibbs. Two dead sailors," Kate reports to Gibbs.
"Where?" Gibbs demands of her.
"In a car off Route Seventeen in Fredericksburg."
"Let's roll! Gas the truck."
"Sure," Tony begins.
"On it, boss," McGee agrees while running off to do it making me laugh at Tony's face.
"Maybe I did die," Tony complains.
"Feel that?" Gibbs ask Tony.
"Feel what?" Tony ask right before Gibbs hits the back of Tony's head making Tony complain, "Ow."
"You're still alive. Welcome back, DiNozzo!"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
We arrive at the crime scene to see the car has come to a stop at the bottom of an embankment making us have to climb down. Tony stays at the top to talk to the state cops while we walk over to the embankment. Gibbs helps me down the embankment so I won't fall down the embankment.
"Looks like the shooter knew what he was doing, Gibbs. Tight groupings, three rounds each," Kate comments while we look at our victims.
"Every one of them a kill a kill shot. Passengers Curlis Janssen. Pensacola, Florida. No military ID. Credit cards and money are intact," Gibbs states.
"So it wasn't a robbery?"
Depends," I state.
"On what?"
"On what else is missing, Kate," Gibbs comments.
"On why their dead, Kate," I state at the same time as Gibbs.
"Looks like the killer tried to clean up," Kate comments while looking around the crime scene where there is a cloth across the lap of one of the victim's.
"Not exactly," I comment while moving the cloth to see that the victim is missing his hands.
"Ah! Oh."
"We knew he took at least two things with him when he left," Gibbs comments while looking at the poor victim.
"He needed his prints?"
"Bag it."
"Boss! State cops ran the mustang's plate. It's a rental car out of Dullies Airport. I got a call into his," Tony begins reporting before falling down the hill making him exclaim again, "Ow."
"Are you okay?" I ask Tony while looking where he fell.
"I'm just trying to catch my breath," Tony gasp out.
"Should have taken that extra week off, DiNozzo. Help him up, Kate. We'll see what's keeping Ducky," Gibbs orders before walking away.
"Does that hurt?" Kate ask Tony without helping him up.
"Yep," Tony answers Kate.
"Good," Kate states while taking a photo of his pained expression before leaving him on the ground to get up himself. t\which he does slowly making me asked.
"That tiring hey," I state.
"Yeah," Tony wheezes out.
"That don't come back to work early."
"What about you? You should be on sick leave."
"Yeah well, I didn't fall down a hill."
"SO if I didn't fall down the hill. You wouldn't think I should still be at home."
"Yeah, before the plague you wouldn't have fallen down the hill. Therefore you are not ready to be back to work."
"You're brain works weird."
"Thank you."
"Looks like a professional hit. Probably took the hands to confirm the kill," Tony guesses while trying to prove that he is needed and hasn't been replaced yet.
"McGee told me what you said," Kate finally snaps at Tony.
"Did he now? Oh, come on. I was only joking around. I didn't think he'd believe me."
"Really?" and why's that?"
"Anyone looking at you can tell your breast are real."
"You told him I had breast implants?!"
"No," Tony say after a beat when he releases that he has just let the cat out of the bag making me laugh.
"You know what, Tony? I can't even believe I worried about you. You are nothing but a…"
"Snake," I cut her off while moving away from the snake wrapping around Kate's leg.
"Yeah, exactly."
"No, big-big-big-big- snake. Down there," I exclaim while pointing at the snake in fear. I hate snakes, maybe as much as the dark.
"Tell me it's not poisonous," Kate gasp out in fear.
"I think it is," Tony informs her making Kate whimper while I move further away.
"Eeuu!"
"Okay!"
"What is it doing?"
"It's wrapping around your leg."
"Do something, Tony!"
"Okay! I'll try and grab it. Just don't make any sudden moves, all right?"
"What if you miss it?" Kate hisses at Tony as he kneels down next to her head and reach to the head of the snake.
"They do this stuff on the discovery channel all the time. How hard can it be?"
"Oh, screw it! I'm going to shoot it," Kate exclaims while pulling her gun out of the hoister.
"Hey, put that gun away. You're going to blow your foot off. Let me do this."
"God, my life in your hands… I knew it was going to end this way," Kate whines.
"See, how I felt?" I ask Kate while not moving from my spot away from them.
"Quite. You're making me nervous. Now, about there. Ah. Gotcha!" Tony exclaims while pulling the head away from her.
"Okay, I'll give you this much. You do have your moments," Kate cries at Tony while moving away from the snake.
"So are we friends again?"
"Oh, cool corn snake. Can I hold him?" McGee exclaims while walking upto us before going to touch it.
"No, it's poisonous, McGee!" Kate snaps at him.
"Actually they're not, Kate."
"Yes they are, McGee," Tony attempts to keep his lie alive.
"What about that one you caught at Shenandoah State Park? You had it around your neck for like an hour."
"That near-fatal illness may have clouded my memory."
"You're such a loser!" Kate hisses at Tony in her full anger before hitting and then saying, "All right, back to work. McGee, check the trunk. Nobody touches dead bodies until Ducky says all clear."
"Freeze, McGee! Don't move! Car's wired to explode. Looks like the detonator's tied to the trunk," Tony exclaims while looking under the car because he is still on the ground with the snake making it easy for him to see.
"What?" McGee exclaims while holding the key partly turned in the back lock of the trunk.
"How far did you turn the key?" I ask him while moving closer. Who is trying to kill my friends again?
"Uh… nope sure. Almost all the way, I think."
"Okay, don't let it snap back, all right?" Tony orders McGee while getting up off the ground.
Yeah," McGee agrees with him while grabbing the key over McGee's hand.
"Let go," Tony orders making McGee let go before stepping back away from the car while Tony holds the key.
"Okay."
"Okay, all of you run!" Tony orders us.
"Tony we're not leaving you standing," Kate begins.
"I'm a lot faster than you are! I''ll be right behind you. This is not a debate, okay? This thing might be primed already," Tony cuts Kate off while ordering us to leave, which we did. Running is not my foray at the moment, we running up the hill where I stumble a couple of times before reaching the road side where Gibbs is.
"It's the car!" McGee yells out Gibbs who is on his phone between puffing.
"IT's wired to," Kate shouts while I gasp for air, right before the explosion cuts her off making us all fall onto the road making me gasp in pain while we turn to the burning crime scene, making Kate exclaim, "Tony!"
"Boss, you remember when I said I never felt better? Tony gasps at Gibbs once he crawled out of the ditch that car was in before finishing, "I lied."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Alice are you sure your find?" Gibbs ask me again in the elevator on the way to autopsy where Tony is being checked out by Ducky.
"Jethro, I told you. I', fine," I inform him while placing my hand on his arm to make him believe me.
"Baby, your breathing heavy. You're not fine."
"My chest hurts a little but it always hurts nowadays," I admit to Gibbs while looking sad.
"Please. Just don't overdo it," Gibbs begs of me while pulling me into his arm.
"I want. I don't want you to follow throw on your threat."
"I'll do it," Gibbs promises me while leading me out of the elevator know that it is at autopsy because he knows I won't go home.
"Okay, that didn't come out the way I intended," Kate states as we walk into autopsy.
"What didn't, Kate?"
"Oh, I was just saying…"
"She was just expressing our concern for Tony," Ducky informs us while cutting Kate off.
"Hey Ducky," I wave at Ducky happily before adding the question on our minds, "Yeah? How is he? Dead yet?"
"Stubborn, pigheaded, and unaware of his own limitations."
"Sounds about right," Gibbs state making me smile, because that's too true.
"I haven't finished with you yet," Ducky warns Tony before getting down to business.
"Did we get a positive ID here yet?" I ask while looking at the poor victim's body, or what is left of the body after the explosion.
"So are you buying me dinner first or should we go back to your pl," Tony ask Kate making her hit him in the stomach.
"Fortunately the skull remained relatively in tack," Ducky states as we walk around the body.
"The problem is sorting out which parts belong with whom," Jimmy explain making Gibbs even more annoyed than he is already.
"Yeah, I can see that, Palmer," Gibbs snaps at the idiot.
"The dental records were conclusive. Passengers were Navy Lieutenants Dean Westfall and Curtis Janssen," Ducky explains.
"Kate, pull up the service records. Have McGee find out who made that nine-one-one call"
"On it."
"Tony."
"Yeah?" Tony ask while perking up like an excited puppy.
"Go lie down before you pass out."
"I'm not going to pass out. I might cry a little, maybe feel sorry for myself. But DiNozzos do not pass out," Tony exclaims as we enter the elevator while he stumbles before stating, "Coming, boss."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Are you going to be okay?" McGee asked Tony while I work on Gibbs computer.
"Sure," Tony answers from his spot behind his desk.
"You're not looking so hot."
"Well, at least that's an improvement."
"Over what?"
"According to Gibbs, I look like crap."
"Tony, he was commenting in general from the moment he meet you until the moment you die. Not your physical appearance right now. Which also looks like death warmed over," I comment making Tony scoff at me.
"You know Kate has really been worried about you," McGee attempts to play maker for my sister and Tony which is just disgusting.
"Kate worries about everything," Tony comment from his spot on the ground.
"No, no, no. I mean really worried."
"What's your point, probie?"
"Well, I think that maybe… you know…"
"Me and Kate?! It would never happen," Tony chuckles at McGee's naivety.
"Why not?"
"She's too smart for that. You know what – you don't believe me? She's coming right now."
"Gibbs wants to know who made that nine-one-one call this morning, Tim," Kate orders McGee like she is the boss and Gibbs and Tony isn't dead yet.
"On it."
"Where's DiNozzo?"
"Dead? In the morgue? Lying?" I offer to her.
"Uh… I think he's laying down somewhere," McGee explains to Kate while signalling to Kate where Tony is laying down, a sign that she picks up.
"Oh, good. He need it."
"You care a lot about him, don't you, Kate?" McGee says again before Kate picks the water bottle.
"Well, he's my teammate. What do you think?"
"I don't know. Sometimes I think it might be more than that."
"Tony? Are you kidding?"
"Oh, come on. You never thought about it?"
"Well, I guess there are times when Tony can be… charming, warm, and not completely obnoxious."
"Kate, can I have some of your drugs? Or whatever you're using to change your perception of reality?" I ask Kate while looking up form this lovely computer.
"Alice, I'm not high. I'm telling the truth."
"Right, so if he wasn't your teammate?" McGee gets back onto his topic.
"Oh, that's a tough one. Well, on the plus side, he is smart, brave. Not to mention of hot. You know, in a different word I could see myself marrying someone like him," Kate lies before leaning over the desk and pouring water on Tony's head.
"Ah!" Tony exclaims while jumping up off the ground, "Very funny."
"Hey, I thought I told you to lie down!" Gibbs snaps at Tony over Kate laughter while walking over to me at his desk.
"I was. I am," Tony defends himself.
"Not here."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"That's not possible. How's that possible?" Tony ask Abby as we walk into the lab where Tony is laying on the ground.
"It shouldn't be possible," Abby agrees with him.
"Oh, it's possible," Gibbs states as a flatulence breaks the air from near Tony.
"That was the stiffed animal, boss. Right Abby?" Tony defends himself when Gibbs glares at him for farting.
"What stuffed animal?" Abby asked him innocently.
"Abs, are you sure these explosive aren't traceable?" Gibbs ask Abby because that is what she was talking to Tony about when we walked in, untraceable explosive is not good.
"Um, so far. But I'm still checking."
"What about the detonator?" I asked her softly.
"Also weird. The electronics are fairly simple, but there's no serial numbers on anything. It's like it's been sanitized," Abby explains as 'Tony' farts again.
"Let's go, DiNozzo. We've got problems. Someone's trying to kill us again," Gibbs snaps in anger."
"I don't think he meant that literally," Tony say to Abby who looks scared as he hands the stuffed animal back.
"Don't worry, Abby's even if someone is trying to kill us, we're very hard to kill," I promise Abby while giving her a quick hug before following the two mean into the elevator.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Okay, thanks, Lieutenant. We'll still need a copy of that dispatch tape," McGee says into the phone before turning to us and reporting, "Boss, according to State Police the nine-one-one call was…"
"Anonymous?" Gibbs and I finish for him tightly.
"Yes. And it was also…"
"Untraceable."
"Yeah. Uh… they're sending out a tape of the call over."
"Kate, what do we know about the Lieutenants?" Gibbs ask Kate.
"They're both pilots, Gibbs. Lieutenant Curtis Janssen is an instructor in Pensacola," Kate reports.
"What's he doing in Virginia?" I ask her in confusion.
"Accordant to his unit he was on leave visiting his friend. Lieutenant Dean Westfall also out of Pensacola, but for the last two months has been T.A.D at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland."
"Proving ground?" McGee asked in confusion.
"That's where they test new military equipment. Technology, Probie. Maybe they used Westfall's prints to access the base," Tony explains.
"I checked, Tony. None of Aberdeen's security systems rely on fingerprint or palm scanners," Kate informs him.
"What was he working on there?" Gibbs asked her tightly.
"Classified. I will find out."
"So what's going on, boss?" Tony asked in confusion.
"That car didn't have any military decals," I state.
"Lieutenants were wearing civvies," Gibbs finishes for me.
"And the nine-one-one caller specifically said that it was two dead sailors," McGee adds.
"Someone wanted NCIS to investigate the scene."
"Why?" Kate ask in surprise and fear, she has just almost lost her sister and someone is targeting us again.
"The same reason they rigged that car to explode, Kate."
"We were set up. So someone really is trying to kill us?" Tony asks in surprise.
"Yeah, that came pretty damn close," I state while looking at them in annoyance. I have only just got back to work and their already trying to kill us again.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"You want some?" McGee offers to Tony some of the Chinese food that he and Kate are eating while I slowly drink the soup they got for me.
"No, thank you," Tony denies the food making me freeze for a moment.
"He just passed on free food," McGee say to Kate from his spot beside me at Kate's desk.
"Maybe he is dying," Kate say.
"Well, I haven't had much of an appetite lately, Kate, on account of having the pneumonic plague," Tony snaps.
"You weren't the only one who got it, but you're the only one making a big deal about it," I snap at Tony in annoyance.
"Yeah, I know, Tony. I was there. You don't have to keep bringing it up every five minutes," Kate snaps at Tony.
"It's not every day you escape the clutches of the Black Death, Kate. It was life-changing experience," Tony defends himself.
"How so, Tony?" McGee ask Tony innocently.
Ask Kate, she was there."
"Kate, I want to know what Westfall was doing in Aberdeen by the time I get back," Gibbs orders us while walking into the squad room to his desk.
"Where are you going?" Kate asks him.
"Out. McGee, I want other reasons why someone would chop off his hands. Tony? Eat something," Gibbs orders us before leaving.
"Why do I get the feeling I should have stayed home today?" I asks everyone while we move back to our desks.
"No clue," Kate answers me sarcastically.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Why take someone's hands?" McGee asked us into the squad room that night.
"Trophies?" Tony offers.
"But why leave the other lieutenant's?"
"What if they took them to throw us off the trail of the real reason they killed them," I offer.
"If he's chopping hands off, I don't think we can expect him to be rational, McGee," Kate informs him while giving me a look for my opposition.
"We've got trouble," McGee exclaims.
"What we your first hint?"
"The two dead bodies downstairs or the explosion, McGee?" Tony asks him sarcastically.
"No, I mean FBI trouble," McGee corrects them as Fornell enters the squad room.
"Fornell?" Kate asks him in surprise.
"we must be in worse shape than we thought," Tony states.
"Where's Gibbs?" Fornell demands of us.
"I thought he was going to feed you," I state while leaning back from the desk I am sitting at.
"He's not here," Kate answers him.
"Where is he, Agent Todd?" Fornell demands again.
"He's out. Try him on his cell."
"I did. He's not answering."
"I wouldn't answer you either," I mumble but by the glare I guess he heard me.
"What's going on?" Tony asks him
"Ari Haswari is back in country," Fornell states making me sit up straight and lose my joking attitude all together.
"You let that psycho back in the states without tell us?!" Kate exclaims in anger.
"He was supposed to be helping us uncover an Al Qaeda cell in the DC area."
"What do you mean 'supposed to', Fornell?" Tony demands of him.
"They lost him. Can't trust them with a cup of coffee but let's give them a murder and fucking idiot," I snap at Fornell in anger.
"We now think he's here for more personal reasons. He's planning on killing Gibbs," Fornell informs us.
"Of course he is. Gibbs shot him, twice. And you let him back. You need to be shot," I scream at Fornell in anger but more importantly fear, Ari's back and this time he is going to die.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Please call me back," Tony says into the phone when he rung Gibbs' again before hanging up. We have been ringing him for the last hour since Fornell left after I went to punch him in the face. Tony turns to Kate to complain, "That's twenty messages I left. We should look for him, McGee."
"Look for who?" Gibbs demands of him while walking into the squad room.
"We've been calling you for the last hour, Boss."
"Well, yeah. My ringer thing got turned off," Gibbs exclaims while sitting down at his desk.
"You're not going to believe whose back in town."
"Ari."
"You saw him. Didn't you?" I inquire of him while moving over to his desk from where I was standing behind Tony, something that is a back idea since the last time.
"Maybe you will," Tony comments.
"Fornell said that he's here to," McGee begins.
"You, I know. I just had coffee with him," Gibbs answers me.
"So what happened?" Tony asks Gibbs.
"He tried to kill me. We find out what Westfall was doing in Aberdeen yet?"
"Uh, boss, aren't you going to elaborate a little bit first?" McGee begs.
"Yeah, McGee! I', alive! Now tell me about Westfall."
Uh… he was only attached to Aberdeen. He was actually working with an aerospace contractor in Maryland. Danborn Avionics."
"Doing what?"
"Testing field service modules or something like that. I have no idea. The FBI sent a team over to the company to investigate their security," Tony reports.
"The FBI?"
"Lots happened in the last hour, boss."
"Whatever Fornell says is a lie," I state making Gibbs give me a look.
"Where's Fornell?"
"MTAC," Tony and I report.
"Make the ringer thing work," Gibbs orders us before leaving the phone on the desk while he goes up to MTAC.
"Ari's back," I mumble while opening the phone to see he turned it off, so I just go into setting and turn the ringer back on.
"Is it me or did he take the whole Ari situation really well?" McGee asks us.
"That's because he's looking forward to it," Tony explains to him.
"Looking forward to what?"
"Finally getting to kill him. If I don't beat him to it," I state.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"In his home two teams. Six hours shifts, alternating radio checks every ten minutes. Outside I want a mobile foot patrol and to permanent observation posts," Kate orders us about the protection of Gibbs because Ari has threaten Gibbs again.
"Gibbs is not going to like that," Tony comments.
"Yeah, well, Gibbs doesn't like Ari more," I remind Tony.
"Well screw what he likes, Tony. I'm not going to let that psycho within five miles of Gibbs," Kate comments.
"Well, it's a little too late for that. His had coffee with him, shot him and been shot by him," I state making Kate glare at me before continuing.
"McGee, I need full audio and video surveillance inside and out. Everything tied back into MTAC."
"You've got it, Kate," McGee agrees with it.
"Go home. It's late," Gibbs orders us.
"Gibbs, I don't think we're going to be going home," Kate informs him.
"I'm staying here. I do not need an army of agents staying up all night watching me build a boat."
"You won't leave the building?"
"If I do, I'll call you. Go. Go home. Get some sleep. First thing tomorrow morning we're gonna check out Danborn Avionics and find out what the FBI missed. Go!" Gibbs orders us but we just settle into the squad room for a sleep.
We all fall asleep McGee has fallen asleep at his desk, snoring away, Tony is sleeping with his tilted back nearly horizontal. Kate is sleeping on the floor behind her desk using a jacket as a blanket. While I am sleeping behind Gibbs' desk with his jacket as a blanket. We are all having nightmare as Gibbs looks around at us. In the dream I am walking around an empty house but in one of the rooms I see Gibbs and Kate dead on the ground. I turn around quickly too see Ari standing there with a gun pointed at Tony who is still alive, just.
"Miss me?" Ari asks me making me gasp.
"You're going to die," I promise him before jerking away in surprise.
"Are you alright?" Kate asks me while I look at her in surprise and proceed to poke her to make sure she is alright and real.
"What's going on?" McGee asks as he returns with coffee for us.
"Kate dreams about Gibbs," Tony explains.
"Oh, what's going on?" McGee asks while Gibbs walks into the squad room in a clean shirt, right into over to the filing cabinet.
"No, I don't dream about Gibbs," Kate snaps at Tony.
"I should hope not," I mumble.
"She screamed his name," Tony state while not hearing me.
"Really? Here you go," McGee exclaims while handing out the coffees.
"Look, if you want to check out the defence contracting company with us today, you're wearing a vest," Kate orders Gibbs while handing him a vest after he goes to put on a clean polo shirt.
"I can live with that," Gibbs states while taking it to put it on, and then his polo shirt.
"That's kind of the point," I state making him give me a look. So I add, "What? If you die, that boat will never get finished and I won't find out how you got the wood in."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Lieutenant Westfall was the military liaison for Danborn's Modular UAV project. And like I told the FBI, I really doubt his murder had anything to do with it," Eberlee, one of the workers at Danborn Avionics informs us.
"Modular UAV?" Tony asks him.
"It's an unmanned aerial vehicle we're developing witht eh navy. It can be reconfigured for different missions in the field."
"What kind of missions?" Gibbs ask next.
"Reconnaissance, nuclear, and biological agent testing, uh… ground attack."
"SO it can be used as a weapon?" Kate asks next again.
"Someday. It's only a prototype. Oh, and uh… before you ask. We changed all our security codes and removed Westfall's from the system last night, follow me."
"Any chance one of your modular UAV's is missing?" Tony asks him.
"Nope. We only have one, and that's her in the hanger."
"What's are these?" I ask while looking over the different small drones.
"Scale models we use in wind tunnel tests."
"Any of your security systems rely on fingerprint or palm scanning technology, Mister Eberlee?" Kate asks him.
"Why?"
"Lieutenant Westfall was missing his hands," McGee informs him.
"Someone hacked them off!" Tony adds.
"Uh… the FBI… didn't mention that," Eberlee exclaims.
"We did. What's the answer?"
"Our radio flight control systems use biometrics. Only pilots entered into the system can fly them."
"Like Westfall," Kate states.
"Yeah. But we only have one flyable UAV and that's it."
"What about these?" Gibbs asks while looking at the different drones.
"Those are target drones. Danborn Avionics got its start making them in the nineteen seventies. They're relics. They're not operational."
"Looks like one's missing," I state while looking at the empty spot.
"It was… it was probably moved."
"Where?" Gibbs demands.
"We sometimes use it for spare parts."
"Mm-hmm."
"It's not possible. I mean you need a team of engineers to get one of these heaps in flying shape. Not to mention you need a radio flight control."
"And I'll bet Lieutenant Westfall's is missing," I state.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"According to these schematics, the drone's pretty outdated from a tech perspective, Gibbs," Abby explains in the lab while looking over the schematics of the missing drone.
"So is a hand grenade," Gibbs informs her while standing right behind me.
"Excellent point. The Danborn TX-Bravo is basically a jet propelled RC plane. Meaning, it's manually controlled by a radio transmitter."
"If the transmitter they stole was from a modern UAV, they might not be able to fly it," Kate states her question.
"True. True. But Danborn flight codes are based on the original software. So a few tweaks…"
"What's the range?" I ask her.
"Forty miles. Unless they load it down with explosives."
"Ah, they will," Gibbs states.
"The payload would have to be pretty small, Gibbs. Twenty five pounds or less if they want to get it off the ground. It's not a lot of bang for your buck."
"It is if you're going after a soft target, Abs."
"Soft target?"
"People," Kate and I inform her together.
"Oh."
"Any way to stop it if it's lunched?" Gibbs asks her.
"It wouldn't be hard to destabilize the system. I have the operational frequencies. Another controller could probably jam it."
"Get me another controller."
"But Gibbs, there's a catch. You'd have to be within a forty mile radius to jam it," Abby informs Gibbs before he leave the lab. Abby stops Kate and I from leaving before informing us, "Kate, Alice, I had a weird dream about Tony last night."
"Eeuu, not the one where the two of you were at the zoo and he," Kate begins in disgust while I pull a face at that dream.
"Oh, no, no, no. he's fully clothed in this one. But he had blood all over his face. I woke up crying, Kate. I never cry. Never, ever, ever," Abby exclaims making me step forward and pull her into a hug to calm her down.
"Hey, it was just a bete noire. Gotta go," Kate promise her before we leave after I make sure she is okay.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"What do you got?" Gibbs demands of Tony as we walk into the squad room.
"A shot of our drone thieve from Danborn's security footage from two nights ago," Tony explains while pulling up the video.
"The day the Lieutenant were murdered," McGee exclaims.
"Can we ID them?" I ask them softly.
"Well, they're both wearing ski masks, but check this out. Maybe I'm paranoid, but does that guy look familiar?" Tony asks while we look at a profile of someone on the video.
"You're not paranoid," Gibbs begins.
"That's bastard's Ari!" Gibbs and I exclaim together, tightly. He's really back and got the power to do a lot of damage, again. And the FBI is protecting him, again.
"He's not looking for an Al Qaeda cell," Tony comments.
"Hell, no. he's running it! You get Fornell in here!" Gibbs orders us.
"How much should I tell him?"
"Tell him he's about to make the second biggest mistake f his life!"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"My second biggest mistake, Jethro? That's very dramatic. What was the first?" Fornell asks while coming to a stop next to Gibbs in MTAC.
"When you married my second wife," Gibbs informs him making Kate and Tony look confusion but don't saying anything.
"You could have warned me."
"I did."
"In my own defence, I thought he was exaggerating. He wasn't."
"Where's Ari?" I demand of Fornell, for once not going in on the banter.
"What part of sit this out don't your team get?"
"The part where he steals a navy UAV and kills a whole bunch of people with it," Gibbs informs him.
"My people checked out Danborn Avionics. Their only UAV is accounted for."
"He stole a target drone, Fornell! Pull it up. Packed the nose of that with Semtex, he's got a poor man's Cruise missile."
"Guess your boys missed it," Tony comments.
"Ari's playing you. He's no double agent! He never has been! Where is he? Because last time he was in the states, he had a missile and was going to take the president out and kidnapped my sister. The time before he held Ducky, Gerald, Kate and myself hostage in autopsy, then shot Gerald, Gibbs and me. What will it take for you to stop protecting a criminal, when he takes Kate hostage again? When he kills her? Because he seems to have a habit of taking her from me and you just protect him," I finally yell at Fornell in anger and fear but not for myself but for my sister, the only family I have had my whole life. If I hadn't have her, I don't know what I would do. I step forward to hit him, he is going to get Kate killed and then protect Ari and there is nothing I can do, I almost hit him but Gibbs pulls me back into his chest so I don't hit the fucking moron.
"All we've got is an encrypted spook cell phone number," Fornell admits while I try to not worry about Kate, what will Ari do to her this time?
"Patch us through," Gibbs orders of him.
"We're talking dedicated satellite time."
"I've got two NSA satellites in range for the next five minutes, gunny. What's the number?" Cranston asks Fornell from his spot of a video call on the screen.
"Are you sure about this?" Fornell asks Gibbs.
"As sure as when I told you she would clean out your bank account when she left," Gibbs answers her while letting me go while pushing me towards Kate knowing she will keep me calm and not hitting Fornell.
"Patching it through now. Are you sure he's going to answer?" Cranston asks Gibbs.
"Put my name on his caller ID. He'll answer."
"Special Agent Gibbs, now how did you get this number?" Ari demands of Gibbs while answering.
"I pulled some strings."
"Yes, your friend Fornell. I imagine he is there with you."
"Nope. Nope. I've been thrown off the case."
"It's for the best. I really wasn't looking forward to killing you."
"I wish I could say the same thing, Ari. I've resigned from NCIS."
"I hope it wasn't something I said."
"Next time if we meet, Ari, it'll be the last time. There won't be anybody to stop me."
"Gibbs, I'm honoured. I had no idea you made so much a," Ari attempts to say but Gibbs gets the call hung up.
"He's on a cell phone grid thirty miles out of Norfolk. Newport News area. I've got it narrowed down to a two block radius," Cranston informs us.
"Let's go," Gibbs orders us as we leave.
"What the hell's he doing in Norfolk?" Fornell demands.
"He's going to take my sister away from me again," I snap at the idiot as we leave MTAC to kill Ari.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Do you know how to work that if we have to jam the drone, McGee?" Gibbs demands of the nerd while driving his car quickly.
"Uh, well Abby explained it to me but I've got to be honest with you boss. I," McGee begins from his spot on the back seat with me surrounded by his computers and the control box. Gibbs release the steering wheel to turn around and reaches for McGee making Tony have to grab the wheel to steer as the car accelerates making McGee exclaim quickly "I'll figure it out." Gibbs then turns back to the wheel to drive himself again.
"What's today's date, Kate?" Tony asks Kate.
"May twenty fourth," Kate answer him from between McGee and me.
"Paula Cassidy's ship gets back from the Gulf today. We're hooking up this weekend."
"Well, don't you think you should concentrate on that terrorist attack first?"
"The whole Marine Amphibious Strick Group returns today, Kate. Five ships all of them headed to Norfolk."
"Tony, I doubt that a drone, even one packed with explosives, could do any real damage to a warship," McGee states.
"The piers will be packed with navy families, McGee," I snap at the geek.
"Welcoming them home," Tony adds.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Did you figure it out?" Gibbs snaps at McGee as we arrive on the street.
"I did. The drone is on one of three radio frequencies. It'll take a few minutes to jam each of them. But when I hit the freq, it's on. The drone should go off-target," McGee reports.
"It'll take hours to search these warehouses, boss," Tony complains.
"Give me the shotgun," Gibbs orders Kate who is holding a shotgun. She hands it to him and he shots out a street light making a man stick his head out of the roof before yelling behind him as Gibbs pumps the gun. He then orders us, "Tony, Alice, get the fire escape. Kate, with me. McGee, start jamming."
We run down the alley toward the warehouse. Tony and I begin climbing up the fire escape ladders as Kate and Gibbs enter the front of the warehouse.
"Boss, they fired the drone!" McGee calls throw the radio.
"Jam it, McGee!" Gibbs orders him angrily.
We finally reach the top of our climb onto the roof, panting with exertion. Tony peers over the edge of the roof without climbing up the last bit, to see the one Gibbs has shot, Tony reports, "One down, boss. No visual on anyone else."
"Let's do it," Gibbs orders Kate before stepping out onto the roof, shooting the people there. Tony and I get onto the roof and begin shooting the other people there. One of the terrorist attempt to shot Gibbs but he takes cover before they can kill him. Kate is still using the shotgun that Gibbs returned to her, we are all shotting while the terrorist shot between each other and also returning fire. We all shoot at the terrorist with a machine gun until he drops dead. I follow Gibbs closer to the man controlling the drone. He sees us, and picks up his gun to shot at us, tony shoots another terrorist, we run to the control to see that the drone is still flying on course.
"Clear," Tony say when there is no more terrorist.
"McGee, this thing is still flying!" Gibbs calls to McGee over the radio.
"Okay, one freg down, two to go!" McGee reports before the gunfire near him, destroying his controller. Making him have to report, "Boss, one of them shot my transmitter!"
"You know how to fly this thing?" Tony ask Gibbs who is now standing at the first controller.
"No, but I know how to crash it," Gibbs answer him, before shooting the crap out of the controller making the drone fall into the ocean, short of the navy ship.
"McGee, are you okay?" I ask him.
"I got one terrorist inside! I font know if I got him, but he stopped shooting," McGee answer me.
"Hold your position. We'll flush him," Gibbs states.
"Okay."
"I'm out," Gibbs states after checking his gun to see no bullets left.
"Me, too," Kate says before see something making her yell, "Shooter." She jumps in front of Gibbs who is the target, making Kate hit the rooftop, I'm not sure if she is dead or alive but Tony and I have to turn and shoot the shooter without being able to check on her.
"Kate?" Tony calls after the shooter is dead while we roll her onto he back to check her. The bullet was stopped by her vest but I still want her to talk.
"Are you okay?" I demand when Kate doesn't answer Tony, I can't lose her, I need her.
"Ow! I just got shot at point blank range, Alice. What do you think?" Kate demands of me.
"You're not going to be going to Pilate's class tomorrow?" Tony asks her as she gets up with a groan.
"Protection detail is over," Gibbs orders of Kate as she stands in front of me, between Gibbs and Tony.
"You did good," Tony adds.
"For once, DiNozzo is right."
"Wow. I thought I'd die before I ever," Kate begins joking but is stopped by a bullet ripping throw her smiling face. We are all covered in blood as she hits the rooftop for the second time in seconds.
"Ari," Gibbs snaps while looking around but he can't find him. I didn't even think to find the fucker, I fall down next to my sister, crying. Kate is dead and she's gone.
