Chapter 7
To Gibbs' pleasure, Tony had managed to sleep through the night comfortably. He hadbeen able to keep down a small dinner although to his disappointment he had only managedsome salad and had to forgo the cook out. Gibbs, on the other hand enjoyed his Murdock-cookedsteak immensely. He had made a note to himself to hand Murdock an open invitation to comeover to his place whenever the heck he 0500 the next morning Tony was able to move around without feeling like his head wasgoing to explode. Whilst the rest of the team began preparing for the upcoming mission bychecking and rechecking all their equipment, cleaning weapons and restocking ammo, DiNozzoheaded to a briefing with Colonel Taylor. Gibbs was invited along by the Colonel himself."How are you AJ?" Taylor said as the pair entered the small office and sat in the chairsoffered to them by the colonel."Better sir."Taylor looked to Gibbs to confirm this. "Really DiNozzo? The report I received from DrMcCoy was that you were potentially needing to be admitted for further tests.""Lucky for me that didn't need to happen sir," Tony said with a smile. He really wasfeeling better. A small residual headache but everything else had resolved as was usually the casewith a migraine. He told his CO this. Gibbs nodded his agreement."Okay - but you start feeling bad again and you goddammit tell me. This isn't a mission Iwant you going on if you're not 100%.""What's the plan Colonel?" DiNozzo asked moving on from his health to more nodded as he handed a map and building specs to Tony. Gibbs looked at them overhis young agent's shoulder. "Here's some intel on the place - to be honest you probably havemore than we do. General plan Richter proposed was a quiet entry and quick resolution.""And the Americans?" DiNozzo paused before carefully saying. "The senator wants them left there. He doesn't wantus to even go in.""Didn't ask what the shit stirring senator wants sir, I asked what you want us to do."Gibbs smiled at his agent's words and was once again reminded that his agent was actuallya lethal soldier and not just a frat boy."What's your opinion Commander?" Taylor put it back on Tony wondering what hethought."Two choices. One - we eliminate them with the tangos. Two - we capture them and bringthem back. Both have political repercussions and ramifications - I care about neither. What wewill not be doing is leaving that compound untouched.""Which door you like Commander DiNozzo?""Two. I say they get shipped home and be made accountable for what they did. For thevillage that was massacred.""Plan two is what we'll aim for then. Plan one is the back up."At 0100 the SEALs fast roped in about one click from the compound. They would beextracted from the same point, by Captain Murdock approximately twenty minutes later. Aftertrekking through the thick jungle, the team arrived at the edge of the former clinic."Okay Jensen? Pick your spot and settle in," Tony ordered his sniper. As per the missionspecs, Cale would be employed as the covering sniper from the treetops. The four remainingSEALs would stay together and hit the building hard and fast as a unit. Going in silent meant thatthey were using hands and knives as first line, silenced weapons as second line and explosives asa last resort. "Winchester? You and Connor are going to locate and secure the Americans - usereasonable force to ensure they come with you. Richter, you and I are going to eliminate thetangos. Questions or objections?"The four slipped through the door silently - Tony had picked the lock before the others hadeven blinked. Two guards were directly in front of them with their backs to approaching grabbed one whilst Cos grabbed the other. Both their necks were snapped identicallywithin three seconds. The team silently worked their way room by room through the building. Itwasn't an overly big building so the tangos quickly became aware that they were not broke out as the enemy began racing around trying to find the intruders as well as grabtheir weapons. Tony spotted the two Americans - armed - before the other SEALs did. He usedhand signals to alert both Winchester and Connor - the pair immediately moved forward,subdued the pair and slung them over their shoulders. Both knew that their role was to now getout of the building with the 'hostages'. Tony and Cos continued to work their way through therooms. Each tango was eliminated swiftly. Tony took note that in one of the rooms it appeared tobe used as a torture/interrogation room and another held half made explosive devices. As theyheaded into the last room, Cos looked over at his best friend and was horrified to see a tangoslinking up behind DiNozzo. He was raising his weapon. "AJ! Down!" Cos screamed at hiscommander. Not even hesitating Tony hit the deck as the tango began firing. His head explodeda second after he got off his first shot. Cale had nailed him through the window."AJ? You 'kay? Hit?" Cos said as he grabbed Tony's arm and hauled him to his feet, hequickly checked his friend over. He had copped a graze from a bullet along his thigh but nothingmajor."You boys okay?" Cale's calm voice came over the radio."Good timing Jen," Cos replied."Yeah well, I thought I should join the party. Sammy and Rem are here, helos five out.""On our way," DiNozzo said as he quickly checked his weapon and reloaded. He gesturedto Cos to follow him. The pair silently made their way out."You've been hit AJ? You've got blood on your hand," Cos said softly."Just a graze on my thigh. No biggie.""A graze in DiNozzo vocabulary is generally a wound the size of my fist.""Not this time."The pair met up with the rest of the team. Tony looked the American pair over. The man -Sharif sneered up at Sammy. "You can't stop us, we will be back here within a few hours. We areUS citizens, you cannot hold us. My wife has connections. Another cell will relocate here andtake up our work. We have already called them when you arrived. They are on their way hereand you will be slaughtered like the animals you are."Tony made up his mind rapidly. He held his hand out to Richter. "Give me your charges.""AJ? What ya thinking?""You heard him, this will be used as a base for a secondary cell. There are explosives inthere. I'll lay and blow the charges whilst you boys get to the helo. Get Murdock to hover for anextra thirty seconds.""You'll need longer than that," Cos said as he handed over his explosives."No I won't," Tony said as he sprinted off back towards the building ignoring the pain inhis thigh. He heard the helo 9"Sir Anthony?" Murdock's cheerful voice said through his head set. "I can seeapproximately twenty tangos two out from your location."Tony didn't acknowledge this as he carefully laid his charges out in various placesthroughout the building. Satisfied he climbed out one of the windows and began the sprint backto the hovering helo. He jumped in as Murdock began to swing it around. "Hold it for twentyseconds Murdock," Tony ordered."Murdock! Ya gotta move this thing, RPG on your left," Winchester yelled as he grabbedonto the straps for support."Hang on boys," Murdock yelled as he swung the helo almost completely horizontal toavoid a passing by RPG. "Saw that little move in a cartoon once! Glad to know it works. Storethat little nugget for later.""What's going on with your explosives AJ? I can't hold her for much longer," the Captainasked over his twisted trying to see why Tony was waiting so long to blow the charges. He finallyrealised why. The approaching enemy had sprinted into the building to gather weaponry. "Hit itAJ!" Cos yelled as he saw that the tangos were now in or around the blew and Taylor had watched on the satellites the progress the SEALs had made. Theimages were sketchy and it was difficult to make out the individual soldiers but it was better thannothing. To Gibbs' amusement Taylor had commanded the room to be locked down, allowingonly himself, Gibbs and his second in charge Lt Colonel Smith be privy to the mission. The triohad watched as they saw two soldiers come out with the 'hostages'. They had then seen the helobeen skimmed by the RPG and they finally watched as the building was overrun by tangos andthen looked to Gibbs. Both knew Tony had made the right decision in taking out sat back with his eyes closed. The two prisoners/hostages had black hessian bagsover their heads so they didn't learn where the Special Forces base camp was located. Remy hadquickly checked out Tony's thigh and agreed with his assessment that it was indeed just a grazeand would only need a few stitches."AJ?" Jensen said softly from besides him. He opened his eyes wearily and looked to hisyounger team mate. "We get to go home now."Tony returned Jen's shy smile. He was right, they were going home. He patted Jensen'sshoulder had stood with Taylor as the helo had landed and the 'prisoners' had been draggedoff by the MPs. The senator had immediately begun yelling and flapping his arms about thetreatment of Eleanor Ahmed. Colonel Smith had reluctantly followed the MPs and the of the SEALs jumped out. Gibbs immediately strode forward with Taylor both of themknowing that DiNozzo was the SEAL who hadn't disembarked."Commander?" Taylor yelled as he poked his head into the helo to see Tony helpingMurdock shut down the chopper."Yes sir?" he asked as he flipped some switches and pressed a few buttons."Don't you scare me like that boy, get out here," Taylor commanded."Scare you sir?" Tony asked confused as he hopped out of the helo with the pilot on hisheels."Never mind. Clean up. Verbal report in my office in thirty minutes.""Yes sir."Gibbs squeezed Tony's shoulder as the younger man walked past him with a tired 0900 - some six hours after arriving back from the mission, Tony had finally finishedhis verbal and written report, and debriefing. He knew the rest of his team would've been happilyin bed for at least the last five hours. Sometimes being the commander really sucked. He trudgedpast the mess hall too tired to even eat."DiNozzo?" he turned as he heard Colonel Smith yelling his name."Yes sir?""Good work today. You and your team are on a cargo flight back stateside - 1100.""Thank you sir," Tony mumbled. That was only two hours away. There would be no sleepfor Tony until they hit the cargo plane. He wandered back to their tent to find his team curled upand snoring. Gibbs was nowhere to be found. Tony hoped that someone had told his boss theywere leaving soon. "Cos?" Tony whispered as he shook his best friend on the shoulder. "We'releaving in two hours. We gotta get moving."Cos groaned as he shielded his eyes from the light. "Are you serious?""No, I'm joking, this is my idea of a practical joke, isn't it funny? Of course I'm serious."They woke up the other SEALs and Murdock, who as their pilot, was one of the team. Aflurry of activity whirled around them as they packed up all their gear and equipment. Gibbsarrived back in the midst of this with an apple in one hand and a coffee in the other. He grinnedto see the team rapidly packing by throwing clothes in bags not even caring whose clothes werewhose."Your stuff packed Boss?" Tony asked as he threw his book into his duffel."Yeah DiNozzo, I didn't bring much - didn't think I'd be here for longer than a night. Needa hand?""I need a pizza is what I need."Tony finally got to get some sleep once the boys were on the cargo plane and in the air. Itwas to be only an 8 hour flight - the SEALs were used to 16 hour flights to and from the MiddleEast so this was a short hop for them. Tony lay down on the floor using his duffel as a threw a blanket over him and he was fast asleep within minutes. Gibbs smiled to see him -only a true soldier was able to sleep so soundly on a cargo awoke an hour before landing. Tony stretched out his sore muscles and gratefullyaccepted the offered water bottle from Jensen. He sat down next to Gibbs who had been listeningto Murdock tell him about his imaginary dog Billy. "Hey Boss, any cases we working on?"Gibbs grinned. "Nope, we were working on a case that got hijacked by the DOD -something about an al-Qaeda cell in the Philippines.""Ha, we sure proved them wrong," Tony said with a matching grin. "Ain't no cellsanywhere to be seen down there. The house nice and stocked?""With?""My cereal? Pizza? Candy?""Didn't know you were coming home with me DiNozzo, so it's as bare as can be.""I'll change that.""I've no doubt. I'm glad you're home kiddo.""And that kiddo business stops now. That was your last one, I hope you enjoyed it Boss."Thank you all for reading and sharing in this world I have lovingly entered. I have alreadywritten 3 more SEAL stories and am in the midst of many much all of characters have been hijacked from books and tv shows I love. Kudos towhoever can name all their origins!Til we meet again