(AN) Hello there, and welcome to the next chapter of How the Elf Lord Made New Friends. I hope you enjoy.
So, in the last chapter, the Dalys lives were left in danger. Will the team be able to save them?
Credit to DS2010 for some of the dialogue.
Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS; all characters and locations are owned by CBS and Belisarius Productions.
Chapter Five
Preparing for Battle
Ziva groaned as she slowly came to. The agent slowly rose to her feet before shaking the shoulders of her two friends. "Tony, McGee, wake up!" she hissed, "I think that the Dalys may be in danger."
Tony and McGee's eyes fluttered open before they groaned and slowly got to their feet.
"That would explain getting knocked out," groaned McGee while rubbing the back of his head, "Let's go."
The three agents made their way to the front of the house, where they saw that the front door was wide open. Putting a finger to his lips, Tony gestured to the others with his other hand to be careful. The agents silently entered the hallway. The living room door was slightly ajar, allowing Tony to peer through. There was a masked figure with his back to the door. Three more men were punching and kicking Emma, who was bound and gagged.
"I'm counting four hostiles so far," whispered Tony, "They're all yours, Ziva."
Ziva moved over to the door and gently pushed it open, she then crept up behind the masked man, wrapped one arm around his neck and choked him until he passed out.
The three men looked up as they heard the loud thud and gasped at the sight of the three agents.
"I thought you knocked them out cold for hours!" barked the man on the left to the one on the right.
And without warning, Ziva sprang forward and punched the second robber in the face, sending him to the floor. The other two robbers charged at Ziva, but she was too quick and gave the third one a roundhouse kick, sending him into the coffee table. The fourth robber was elbowed in the face, sending him to the floor.
Tony marched over to the fourth robber and pulled his mask off, revealing a bald, dark-skinned man.
"Where's Mrs Daly and your other friend?" demanded Tony, managing to figure out that these were the same men who had initially attacked the Dalys, meaning that there was one more man.
"In the den area, not that you'll be able to rescue her." informed the man before chuckling darkly.
"Shut up!" spat Ziva.
Ziva and McGee ran over to Tommy and Emma and untied them before removing the gags. The two children hugged the agents while sobbing and trembling.
"I'll go rescue Mrs Daly." said Tony gently.
The senior agent raced through the living room and entered the den, where he saw the fifth man standing over a bound, gagged and terrified Audrey. Tony crept up behind the man and wrapped his arm around the man's neck, choking him until he passed out. Tony then rushed over and freed Audrey, who began sobbing into his shoulder. "Thank you," she muttered, "Are the kids alright?"
"Yes, they're safe now, just a few bumps and bruises." assured Tony.
"Oh, thank God." sighed Audrey in relief.
Gibbs and Fornell soon arrived with several FBI agents, who unmasked the other men before placing them in handcuffs.
"I can't get a hold of Kevin." said a concerned Audrey as she walked through, holding her phone.
"When was the last time you saw him?" asked Gibbs.
"This morning," answered Audrey, the worry growing in her voice, "He went out for a run to clear his head. Oh God, what if those men did something to him."
"Don't worry, lady, I could always have you." sneered the first robber, causing the brunette to shudder.
"Shut up!" hissed Gibbs as he grabbed the man by the shirt collar and roughly pinned him to the wall, "Now tell me, where's Mr Daly?"
"At an abandoned house not too far from here," blurted out the man, knowing that there was no longer a point in trying to hide his whereabouts, "I ain't saying anything else."
"We'll see," said Fornell before turning to his agents, "Take them away, boys."
And with that, the five burglars were escorted out of the house by the FBI agents, who would take them back to NCIS HQ for interrogation.
Gibbs and Tony raced over to the house where the man had said Kevin would be, while McGee and Ziva would stay with Audrey, Tommy and Emma.
Kevin groaned as he slowly came to. The man's body ached all over, and his vision was blurry for a few moments before coming into focus.
The door to the room burst open and Gibbs ran in, followed by Tony; the sight caused warm, sweeping relief to flood through Kevin's body.
"Kevin, are you okay?" asked Gibbs in concern.
"No, I'm bruised all over," groaned the navy lieutenant as the agents helped him to his feet, "I walked around the corner and they just ambushed me, dragged me into this house and beat me. The main guy had a taser; used it to knock me out … oh God, they said they were going after Audrey and the kids next."
"They tried to, but Tony, McGee and Ziva took the men down," informed Gibbs, "The gang are being transferred to our HQ for interrogation."
"Thank God." said Kevin.
The trio slowly walked out of the abandoned house.
Back at the house, Tommy and Emma were sitting on the sofa, while Audrey paced about; an anxious expression plastered all over her face.
The door opened and Gibbs stepped in with Tony and Kevin. Audrey gasped in shock at her husband's battered appearance. "Oh, Kevin, thank God." she cried in relief while racing towards her husbnd, who she hugged.
Kevin returned the hug. Audrey gently steered the man over to the sofa and sat him down, she then began examining his face. Kevin looked at her with an equal amount of concern.
"I'll be alright, babe. Are you and the kids alright?" asked Kevin in concern.
"Just a bit bruised and shaken up," replied the brunette, "I'm so glad you're okay."
Kevin began to feel guilty as he saw how battered and bruised his wife and children were. "This is all my fault," he muttered, tears welling up in his eyes, "I should never have tried to deal with Victor on my own. If I'd just left things alone."
"Hey, hey, don't go beating yourself up over this," said Audrey gently as the navy lieutenant sobbed into her shoulder, "You just thought you were doing the right thing. Nobody's blaming you."
After a few minutes, Kevin calmed down. Tommy and Emma ran over and hugged their father.
A bit later at NCIS HQ, Gibbs and Fornell were in M-TAC, talking with Tony, McGee and Ziva on the big screen.
"We've interrogated all of the gang members; aside from George Hues, they all lawyered up," informed Gibbs dryly, "Hopefully, Hues will break."
"That'll be tough," said McGee, "I would've said that Kevin could help break him, but I think he just wants to be with his family after what happened this morning."
"Understandable," replied Fornell, "The other gang members have been identified as Marv Jeffords, Matt Holt, Robin Diaz and Andy Santiago. They all have rep-sheets a mile long."
George Hues sat in the interrogation room and watched as Gibbs and Fornell entered and sat down opposite him.
"I want a lawyer!" demanded George, folding his arms and glaring at the two agents.
"Well, they'd better be dumb enough to ignore the fact that you stabbed a fellow officer in the back and were found to be attacking him and his family." snarked Gibbs.
"The lieutenant shouldn't have stuck his nose in then, shouldn't he." retorted George.
"He was trying to help you," said Fornell, "Your friend, Rose Taylor knew she was in too deep. She tried to help us take down your boss, Victor."
"Then she's an even bigger idiot than the lieutenant!" barked Hues before looking around suspiciously, "By the way, where is Rose?"
"Killed by a sniper when we questioned her yesterday." informed Gibbs before slamming a photo down on to the table and sliding it towards George.
George looked down at the photo and cried in horror before clapping his hands to his mouth. The photo showed Rose's dead body lying on the autopsy table; a small bullet hole in her forehead.
"Oh my god," muttered George in disgust, looking back up and shoving the photo away, "Please, I had no idea they did that to her … Victor promised she wouldn't get hurt."
"Guys like him promise loads of things, but then they'll get people to kill those that disrespect them," informed Fornell in a grave tone of voice before leaning towards Hues, "This isn't a game, Hues. If you don't die from a drug overdose, then Victor or one of his men will surely get you. We can help you, offer protection. Just tell us what we want to know."
"Where is Rodregez's main base of operations?" demanded Gibbs.
"A disused shipping yard in South D.C.," answered George, "But the security there is insane. I'm sure Rose told you about the stolen navy equipment."
"So that's what they've been using it for," said Fornell in realisation, "It all makes sense now. A few of my sources have said that Rodregez is paranoid, so the only way he'd feel safe is if he stayed in his base surrounded by security."
"He also has a sniper with him whenever he goes out for meetings," added George, "I honestly don't know who the sniper is though. The guy almost shot Lieutenant Daly when he tried reasoning with us."
"Update for you all," said Gibbs as he and Fornell entered M-TAC, where Tony, McGee and Ziva were waiting on the big screen, "Rodregez's main base of operations is at a disused shipping yard in south D.C.. It's locked down tight, and it's where all the stolen Navy equipment was going."
"And what about our gang of thugs?" asked McGee.
"They're all going to jail," replied Fornell, "Listen, if we're going to do a raid on this place, we'll need all the help we can get. I'm going to ask my director to see if we can get help from Metro P.D. and S.W.A.T.."
"And we'll help." declared Gibbs, sounding determined.
"Right, we'll go get everything ready." said Fornell.
Gibbs then terminated the call.
Later on at the Dalys house, Tony, McGee and Ziva were in the kitchen, updating Kevin. Audrey, Tommy and Emma had gone out shopping.
"So, are we safe now?" asked Kevin in a hopeful sounding voice.
"Until Rodregez is taken down, you're still in danger," informed Tony, "But rest assured, the sticky-wet bandits can't hurt you anymore."
The others looked at Tony in bewilderment.
"Sticky-wet bandits, seriously?" asked a baffled Kevin.
"Tomorrow, we're hopefully going to do a coordinated raid on Rodregez's base of operations, alongside the FBI, Metro and S.W.A.T.," informed McGee, "Once we get the warrant of course."
"Good." said Kevin.
Suddenly, the lieutenant's phone rang. Kevin answered. "Hello." he said.
"Hello, Daly," came a male voice with a Latino accent, "I have something for you."
"It's Victor Rodregez," whispered Kevin before putting his phone on loudspeaker, "How did you get my number? What do you want from me? Hasn't my family suffered enough?"
"Hues gave it to me. I have your wife and kids," stated Victor, "If you want them to be freed, then surrender yourself to me at my main base, which is at a disused shipping yard in the south D.C. area; If you don't surrender by tomorrow morning, then I'll kill them nice and slowly."
"How do I know you're not bluffing?" asked Kevin in a terrified whisper.
Kevin suddenly got an Email. He opened it and let out a terrified cry. It was a photo of Audrey, Tommy and Emma huddled together against a wall; looks of terror plastered on to their faces.
"Oh God. Please, don't hurt them." begged Kevin.
Victor simply chuckled. "You brought this on yourself by interfering," he stated in a sinister tone of voice, "For now, I'm gonna have some real fun with your wife and kids."
"No, please don't." pleaded the brunette.
Victor simply laughed before hanging up.
Tony, McGee and Ziva looked at the terrified Kevin with sympathetic faces. The planned raid had just become more complicated.
(AN) And that concludes this chapter of How the Elf Lord Made New Friends. I hope you all enjoyed, and remember to Read and Review.
In the next chapter, we'll see the big raid unfold, but will they also be able to save Audrey, Tommy and Emma; you'll just have to wait and see.
Until then, this is TimeLordMaster108 signing out.