Chapter three
NCIS
B & W teaser-Gibbs is looking at a box with a severed woman's finger and a picture of Ziva and Ari.
As Tony dreams in his unconscious state he views he and Ziva entering a warehouse. He looks up and hears voices to his left. They are both crouched down but then Ziva suddenly stands up and someone in the room shoots her.
Tony runs over to her and asks, "You okay?"
She struggles to breath, and gasps, "Tony! Help!"
She gasps a couple more breaths and then fades out and becomes limp in Tony's arms.
The agent then hears a voice say his name.
He awakens to McGee kneeling over him. Tony is shocked by his dream and McGee's proximity to him.
"Back off, probie!" He states.
"What happened, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asks as he is now standing with his gun to his side.
"I…I don't' know boss." He responds. Then he remembers, "Where's Ziva?"
"We were hoping you knew?" McGee interjects.
Trying to remember Tony informs, "There was…uh…two men. They were masked. They had automatic weapons. Ziva went forward and then…I can't remember anything else."
As DiNozzo finishes Ducky and Palmer enter. Gibbs signals for Ducky to examine DiNozzo. He looks at the bruise he now has on his temple where he was pistol-whipped.
"It doesn't look serious, Jethro. Although, Agent DiNozzo may have a slight concussion. He better rest before you go-"
"Where's Ziva?" Gibbs asks his junior agent directly.
"I don't know, Boss."
The team calls for reinforcements and head back with the two bodies after they have secured the scenes. Gibbs heads for the autopsy room where the Maine and the sniper are now on cold metal slabs.
He is holding a file as he enters and asks Dr. Mallard, "What do you got Ducky?"
The medical examiner looks up form the burned body and adjusts his glasses to view Gibbs and replies, "Well not much Jethro. It appears that this poor fellow was shot in the chest."
"Before or after he died?"
"Well it appears that his lungs are filled with smoke and carbon from the vehicle fire. I would say that he burned to death. But this is interesting…" as he raises the right hand of the corpse.
"He apparently tried to claw out of the tomb that he was left in."
"He was alive when they torched the car?" Gibbs says with earnest tone.
As Gibbs looks over to the other body he asks, "What about him?"
Ducky turns and assists Palmer in the view of the wound track in the head.
"This one is easy. He was shot in the head at close range. Small caliber projectile. You said you didn't hear a shot? Well that would explain the absence of gun powder residue on the skin."
"The killer used a silencer. That is why I didn't hear the shot." Gibbs hypothesizes.
He turns to leave and Ducky adds, "Abby has some things you need to see. She was running the identities before you came down."
"Thanks, Ducky."
In her lab Abby runs from computer terminal to another comparing find to find. Gibbs walks in with her favorite item-a Caf-Pow.
"What do ya got, Abs?
She grabs her tasty drink and takes a drink, "It's about time!"
She puts it down and focuses. "Okay, the body you found in the Maine's car is Sgt. Feldman. We got a DNA sample from the bone marrow in his leg." She informs as she punches up the profile on the main screen.
"What about the sniper?"
"I'm not finished. Sgt. Feldman was working on a top-secret case. We couldn't even get his DNA profile or anything with connections."
"What connections?" Gibbs asks already knowing the answer.
"The…director." Abby responds shyly.
"Okay the sniper." She hit some more keys on the keyboard and shows the face of the shooter.
"His name is Abed Al-Qeri. He is wanted for a number of unsolved murders in Iraq and Iran." She hesitates to deliver the rest as Gibbs sees this.
"What else?"
"He is…was connected to the Mofferat Jihad Movement. That was started by…"
"Who?" Gibbs asks sternly.
She quietly punches up the picture of the leader and founder of the group. It is Ari Haswari.
Gibbs eyes narrow and he heads toward the exit.
"Oh…wait Gibbs. The Mass Spec just came back on the ammo the sniper was using." as she pulls it from the fax.
He stops and turns for the answer.
She is shocked but delivers the news, "It is used by Mossad agent for training their snipers. They are the only ones who could possibly use this ammunition."
Gibbs enters the director's secretary office and she says, "Wait Agent Gibbs the dir-"
"Okay…I wanna know what the hell is going on?"
Director Jenny Sheppard becomes annoyed. She responds, "It's polite to knock Agent Gibbs. As you can see I have a meeting."
Gibbs sees that her guest in none other than Senior FBI Agent Tobias Fornell.
He stands and extends his hand, "Agent Gibbs. Nice to see you again."
Gibbs doesn't respond. They both sit down.
"You were saying…" Fornell asks.
"I am giving the FBI total jurisdiction over this case Jethro."
"You can't do that Jen. There is more to this than you think."
"I'm not convinced of that. Someone is following in the steps or Ari Haswari. I would like to know who it is before some gets killed."
Gibbs remembers when Ari had his Marine sniper rifle pointed at him and Ziva pulled the trigger killing her half-brother.
"So we are off the case?" Gibbs asks.
"No. You have 48 hours to find the person responsible for Sgt. Feldman's death and the connection to the sniper. Then it will be turned over to the FBI."
Gibbs gets up to leave, as does Fornell, "Compromise was never one of your strong suits, Jen."
"Teamwork was never one of yours, Jethro."
Fornell and Gibbs give each other a signal to meet later.
Gibbs heads down to his team to get a progress report.
"What do we have?"
"Uh…no location on Ziva or any other members of the cell, Boss." McGee informs.
"We're running tails on all known members of the group…but nothing yet boss." DiNozzo chimes in.
A courier comes up and says, "I have a package for L.J. Gibbs."
Gibbs signs for the package and opens it. It reveals a woman's ring finger and a picture of Ziva David and Ari Haswari.