Chapter 5

The transport was going to take them within two clicks of the compound. Negotiations were still going on and any sign of foul play before things were in place could screw the pooch and things would go beyond FUBAR. Ray looked at the team that had his back op after op. They were all near indistinguishable under the grease paint they wore, but Ray knew who each one was. He grinned at his second and right hand man, "You ready, Simkins?"

"Ready, Boss"

Ray frowned a little as he picked up a loaded mag and peered at the ammo. A slight smile appeared, "Still using your specials?"

Simkins chuckled as he reached for the mag and loaded it into a pouch, "I like leaving a calling card. You know that story."

"How could I forget," Ray replied, "Your first kill."

"I etched the verse that came to mind. Since then, I do it on all my ammo." Simkins adjusted his rifle and locked and loaded. He grinned, "Sort of like a talisman."

Ray nodded. He thought it a little morose. "We all have our quirks, but we're a team. Right, guys?"

The team grunted their approval and Ray took the moment to reiterate their mission. Everyone knew where they were supposed to be and executed it the moment the chopper dropped them at the LZ. Ray on point and Simkins covering their six…

Ray looked at the casing in the evidence bag with a frown as he remembered that night. He slowly blinked as he recalled the details. He could still hear himself issuing the orders when things went south. All the way down to extraction. He closed his eyes and leaned his forehead on his fist while clenching the bag in his hand.

So an old teammate was involved, but that didn't explain why his old call sign and contact information was on the body, and it didn't really lead to how a Marine corporal and a Navy lieutenant were connected. He could make a guess or two, but… He really didn't want to admit it, but it was looking more and more like it and what that could mean…

"Did you find anything?"

Ray felt his eyes open wide in surprise. He sat up and looked to see Gibbs looking at him. He looked at the evidence bag he had been staring at. He hadn't taken it down to Abby yet, and had been sitting at the desk he had been given, looking over everything and thinking about their find. Part of that was thinking about how to tell Gibbs that what he was brought in for was basically coming true. Lying wasn't an option even though he had the talent to get away with it, if not for long.

Biting the bullet, Ray looked at Gibbs and showed the bag, "Shell casing. It's a .338 like I said, and I know who it belongs to."

Gibbs straightened out and looked down at the man waiting for an answer. He suspected that Ray had a lead, but had been reluctant to say anything, and he suspected on the why. In truth, he didn't blame his old friend for his actions. It was hard to accept that someone you thought you knew was not who they were supposed to be. He could demand it out of the man and Ray would tell him, but it would strain the working relationship that they were put into.

Ray looked up at Gibbs. There was no easy way to say it, but he had to. "It's a member of my old team."

"So there are ties?"

"Not saying that," Ray replied with a slight shake of his head. "Could still be a major coincidence with my info on Rawlings' body. Shooter could've took on a side gig. After what happened, some stayed and some quit."

"And you think it's one of them?"

"I know it is."

Gibbs stared at the man for a moment. Luckily his other agents were off doing what needed to be done. He had sent McGee down to help Abby. DiNozzo and Ziva were following up on leads they uncovered. So it was just him and Ray in the bullpen. No distractions. It didn't mean that it was going to be made easy. The conviction was clear but also the regret in Ray's eyes. "Talk to me."

Ray gave a slight smile and a hum, "I used to say the same thing at one point."

Gibbs pulled a chair to sit across from Ray. He looked at the younger man and pressed, "What do you know about our shooter?"

Ray continued to grin fondly. He pursed his lips as he recognized the tactic. "You're looking for an ex-SEAL. Proficient to mastery in sharpshooter. He marks his ammo with a sort of talisman." He put the envelope down and rotated it so Gibbs could visibly see it. He glanced away and continued, "He was my best shooter, Gibbs."

Gibbs took in the information. There was no reason for Ray to lie about it. The man may have secrets, but he was loyal. Loyal to the country he served. He nodded at that. "And are you able to bring in someone you once called friend?"

Ray sat back and shrugged, "As part of the job, he is the one that committed a crime. He has to be brought in." He narrowed his eyes in determination. "It's what we do."

Gibbs could have pressed, but he knew that Ray wasn't going to divulge on his feelings and thoughts. Not if he felt them irrelevant or he was hiding more than he revealed. He knew he didn't know everything about that operation that had Ray disavowed all these years. True Vance could and probably did get access, but like all things top secret, it was redacted to the point that it wasn't worth trying to read it. He had t rely on Ray telling him, but it was a sore spot. His lip twitched as he replied, "As long as you can handle it."

"I made an oath the day I got the trident." Ray lifted his sleeve to reveal the trident tattoo of the Navy SEALs. "Even though I'm not on the battlefield, same principles still apply."

Gibbs nodded in approval as he stood up while Ray turned back to his laptop to work on what he was working on. He noticed the frown still present on Ray's forehead. He leaned over the desk and said in a gentle tone, "You know you can trust me. Trust Vance, right?"

"I know, Gibbs," Ray replied as he continued to look at his laptop screen. "Just… one of those things." He looked up at the man. "I mean… I'm not anxious to be slapped with a treason charge. I don't work that way."

"I know."

Ray grinned and hummed at that. His forefinger tapped one of the keys gently. "I know that I have permission to say what I know, but I'm cautious on this. But I will say that my circumstances are a result of some high players on the hill."

Gibbs knew what that meant. He didn't deal much with the politic side of things much, but he knew that he did have to play that game on occasion. Typically, Vance did that most of the time. The position of director called for it. It eventually trickled down to things that had to do with the US government, including the military. Major operations had to be approved by committees. However, a black op, that was something else, but he did know what it meant with Ray mentioning it.

"If it makes you feel better, Gunny, if something does turn up, I will fill you in before it becomes a problem."

"Fill me in on what?" Gibbs walked away. He knew the drill. "Get that evidence to Abby."

Ray raised his brow as Gibbs walked away. He knew Gibbs for years and knew the man disliked being kept in the dark. He recalled one instance where there was the usual pissing match between NCIS and FBI and the annoyance was clear on his face even though he maintained professional courtesy. Ray just wasn't sure about the whole disclosure of everything and he was well aware that his reluctance to do so wasn't just because of the threats to his life and job, but because he wasn't ready to fully deal with the consequences he accrued.

Ray had been prepared for being disavowed and then being used for the things that civilians had the luxury of getting in arms about. He had prepared himself when he was selected for SEAL training and he reported for BUD/s. He earned his trident like his fellow SEALs, but it was a different story when he was assigned to counterterrorism and that meant actually shooting someone.

It wasn't easy being raised with a brilliant Marine scientist of a father and a devout Christian mother who, coincidentally had family that came from Syria. His father was Spanish and they had Moorish ancestry as well. He had the Arab blood running in his veins. After 9/11, it wasn't easy because he looked the part until he gave his name. Still, he kept up the job making his father proud and is mother worried, but also firmly believing he was doing what God willed him to do. He wasn't too sure of it himself, but he believed in justice and fair play. It was more than likely what got him in his predicament now.

When he was assigned his own team, he followed the example of his father, but also the Christian principles of his mother. In the end, he had guys that begged to join his team until he was placed with NCIS, opting to go on reserve after his mandatory. He was undercover for NCIS and that was how he met Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs. It was kind of funny in hindsight how they always got on each other's nerves playing the roles for their jobs, but in the end, they became friends. Gibbs had him transferred to his team and things went well there until he was called by JSOC into active service. And he went, ever following orders and he kidded with Gibbs stating that it was nothing and he would be back before anyone noticed.

Ray wasn't cocky in general. True he would boast like anyone else. He was proud of his skill set and proud of what he did. He understood the concept of modesty. The thing was, that op changed everything, including him. It devastated him that he couldn't be with the agency and irked him since he was too valuable and knew too much to be kicked into the gutter and left to fester. Limbo was agony since it was laced with uncertainty. With it also came the attitude of devil may care as he took up late Director Shepard's offer, not believing for a second she could get him back in. It was something to do other than become rich off a communications technology company he developed that coincidentally ended up being awarded government contract.

He didn't know if it was covering their collective asses or true coincidence. Anyway, once he found out about the government contracts, he kept a low profile at the company, showed up when necessary and signed what he needed to get things moving. He knew more about his company than he let on. It was years of self-preservation and watching his six since no one else was. His right hand Jo did it as well, but only on the company. He didn't let anyone close enough to do it on all levels, except one.

Ray felt his throat convulse and tried to brush the thoughts away as he made his way to the elevator to deliver the casing to Abby. While he may have identified the shooter based on markings and the range, and among other things, she needed to confirm the biologicals and things that they couldn't see with the naked eye. It was hard though since she was always in his thoughts and the way she looked at him like he was a ghost…

He needed a break and he did have to give Abby something. At least now he had a reason for being in the building and giving it to her. If this case hadn't come along, he would have been hard pressed for a reason for being in the building even though he had clearance and access. He had been terrible with communication, but he never forgot to email or even send a letter to his favorite scientist. He just had to prepare physically in case she jumped on him again. He got into the elevator car and pressed the button to head down to her lab, pulling out what he had brought her and twirled it in his fingers while the other hand clenched the evidence casing.

Abby was frustrated. No, she was beyond frustrated. Even more so, she was ready to yank the offender and throw it against the wall, but she couldn't do that lest she destroy evidence. She growled as she tried again and failed to get into Corporal Rawlings' laptop. Every trick she could think of failed her and it was driving her insane to the point where her music was blasting louder, making a jackhammer quieter than her music. She narrowed her eyes in a murderous gleam at the offending laptop coming to terms with the fact that she was going to have to pull out the big guns. But she was reluctant to admit defeat.

"Abby."

Maybe she should try a combination of decryption algorithms. That might help. She tried her idea and did the old fingers crossed to see it would work. She stared at the screen.

"Abby."

The negative beeping caused Abby to growl. She raised her fist in anger and roared at the ceiling. Why was everything against her?

"ABBY!"

Abby turned down the music automatically when she heard her name being shouted. She whirled to see McGee standing there trying not to wince from the volume. She immediately felt bad since she could have damaged his hearing and it was a little too loud. She gave him a smile and exclaimed, "McGee! Just the man I need."

McGee tried not read into that statement more than for what it was. He sighed in relief that the music was turned down. He could hear it the moment the elevator car stopped at her level, before the doors opened. He stepped closer and said, "Gibbs said that you might need some help."

"I do," Abby replied, glad that McGee was there and she didn't have to ask for help, but felt a little disappointed that it was Gibbs that sent her favorite down rather than him taking the initiative. Though to be fair, McGee had his own work to do on the case and it had kept him fairly busy. She gestured at the laptop, "This password encryption has me wanting to borrow your gun to shoot it." She glanced at McGee, "Can you work your magic on in?"

It was a warm feeling that came up when she referred to his ability as magic. She was good too, but she claimed he was a magician at computers and meant it. It was not flattery but honest assessment. It made him want to do the very best to help. "I'll see what I can do," he replied in a calm tone as he pulled the laptop towards him and started looking at what Abby had done so far.

Abby hugged McGee around his neck before moving to check up on Major Mass Spec. She had been stuck in the lab all day and she was dying of curiosity. She glanced over and ventured, "So… what was it like?"

"What was what like?" McGee didn't look up from his work. He could carry on a conversation with people while doing what needed to be done and mostly it was just a matter of muscle memory of where the keyboard keys were.

"You know," Abby replied knowingly as she spun around, not put out that McGee wasn't looking at her. "Working with Raymie?"

"Already nicknaming him?" McGee tried to keep the jealousy out of his voice.

"Oh he already had one," Abby replied, brushing it off. "Back when he first worked with Gibbs."

"Figured that one out." McGee typed in a few lines of code. "It was interesting." He paused and turned to look at Abby. "Did you know that he could calculate where our shooter shot from? And that he used Ziva as a mark?"

Abby filed that bit of information away. "Really? And she didn't try to break his arm?"

"No."

"Wow." Abby turned away and went to work on her samples. That was definitely something she was going to have to look into. "I bet he just strolled through the crime scene."

"Pretty much and then sounded like a college professor I once knew, rattling off everything." McGee turned back to his work. "It was pretty impressive and we found the casing."

That's my Raymie, Abby thought to herself. She had to ask, "But what do you think of him?"

McGee thought about it. He liked the new agent. He didn't take flak from DiNozzo and he seemed comfortable admitting when he might be off with Gibbs. He wasn't intimidated by it. He shrugged, "I like him. I didn't know that he was the owner or DigiCom."

"Really?" Abby turned in surprise. "Wow. I thought he'd be more into teaching self-defense."

"How do you know him?" McGee had to ask.

Abby grinned, glad that McGee was focused on his work. She knew he could get jealous, but she thought it funny this time around. She could see where McGee would think he would have serious competition. She replied, "When he first worked with Gibbs. He came from the undercover unit and story goes that he and Gibbs butted heads the entire time and still managed to catch the bad guys."

That did sound weird. McGee pursed his lips as he thought about it. "You mean actually argument and back talk?"

"Oh yeah."

That was a shocker. McGee didn't know anyone brave enough to back talk Gibbs except for Vance. "Gutsy."

"Tell me about it, but Gibbs liked it and had him transferred here." Abby paused to look at McGee. She could tell that he was hanging onto every word. "We met and it was like my brother walking into the room. I mean he treats me like a sister and is like an older brother, but more like a younger version of Gibbs as a brother."

McGee paused as he processed what he was hearing. That sounded weird and disturbing. He started thinking of a younger Gibbs being like a brother to Abby.

"Then it's a good thing I'm not Gibbs."

McGee and Abby turned to see Ray standing there with a bemused expression on his face. McGee thought for certain he was in trouble since Ray did look like he could eat him for breakfast. Abby grinned and managed to restrain herself from giving a repeat performance in the bullpen earlier. She said, "Never said you were though you do have a few things in common."

"I'll take that as a compliment, I think," Ray replied with a grin as he approached the Goth scientist. "And I have Sciuto Bug for you," he added as he held out the evidence bag with the casing in it.

"I was wondering when you were going to bring that in." Abby snatched it out of his hand and moved over to her work table. She put on gloves and made to open and examine it. "I didn't think it would take you this long to ID the gun."

"You know me," Ray replied, "I'm thorough." He looked around the lab noting how not much had changed in terms of the equipment and everything, and he knew Abby liked things arranged a certain way. "Any Sciuto Bug I need to take back to Gibbs?"

"Samples are still running and still trying to get into Rawlings' computer."

McGee realized that Ray wasn't going to chew him up and spit him out. Then again he might be the kind that would wait and see and the wait was the torture. He added a bit nervously, "The encryption is really high end."

Ray peered over McGee's shoulder and nodded in agreement. "Makes you wonder what Leland was doing."

"Don't you know since…" McGee let the question trail off. It had been asked before and it sounded redundant and now interrogative.

"Jo is looking into it," Ray allowed, fudging a bit. Jo had already given him everything and he was sorting through it. "Have you tried all the common algorithms?"

"Abby and I both did," McGee replied.

"Try using this one with that one." Ray pointed at the codes that had been entered. He straightened up and put his hand in his coat pocket. "And I have something for you, Abby." He pulled out the disk he brought. "Newest IP trace software. Newest thing called a ghost protocol. Got you on the list for trial cases."

Abby couldn't help it and squealed in joy. She grabbed Ray around the neck. "I can't believe you did that for me."

"Just something that R&D wants tested. Usual specs to follow."

Abby smiled at Ray as she went to put the disk somewhere safe. She would use it on one of her other cases or a cold case. Ray watched her before turning his attention back to what McGee was doing. He asked, "Did it work?"

"Yeah." McGee typed a few keystrokes and brought up the file listing. "This is everything what Rawlings was working on." He glanced at Ray and asked, "How did you know that combination would work?"

Ray shrugged, "Took a wild guess and I get the feeling that I may have seen it before. Probably from a technician at DigiCom." He frowned and shrugged at that thought, hiding the fact that he really did recognize the code and it had him thinking. He focused on the file directory as McGee scanned them.

McGee thought it an odd response but decided not to poke at it. "Huh, well this is a directory of everything related to current projects at Leland. Mostly things that are being worked on and any one of them could be what got the corporal killed."

Ray knew that, but he knew that there was one criteria that would narrow it down. He looked at the directory, scanning for anything. What is in there that has Dead Zone written all over it? He kept the thought to himself as he peered at the screen. He was well aware that there were going to be questions asked. He would just have to deal with it or make it so that they were too uncomfortable to ask. Finally, he saw something and tapped McGee to stop scrolling. "Wait. Go back," he gestured as McGee started going back but slower.

"You see something?" McGee frowned as he scrolled back, following Ray's direction.

"There," Ray pointed. "That file is the odd one out. Look how it's labeled."

McGee took a look and noted how differently it had been labeled. He clicked on it, muttering, "I've never seen this configuration before. How did you know where to look?"

"Like I said, odd one out," Ray replied, covering. He grinned when McGee managed to open the files. "Nice job, McGee."

McGee didn't say anything, but he felt good. In that short time, he noted some distinct similarities and differences between Ray and Gibbs and what he discovered, he liked. He kept his thoughts to himself as he opened files onto the larger screen to see what they had.

Ray studied the images as they appeared. He heard McGee muttered more to himself than actual conversation and his eye twitched slightly. He felt that familiar pit of dread he would get when things were going to go south to completely FUBAR. It was starting to fall into place and he wasn't liking where it was heading.

"What is that?" McGee was frowning at the screen.

This my friend, is something that could change the course of warfare. We'll still need you soldier boys, but this… this is treasure.

Ray could hear the words in his mind as if they were being spoken next to him. He remembered that conversation well. The thing was that it shouldn't exist. It was a pipe-dream, scribbles in a notebook, but there it was staring him in the face. His mouth opened slightly as he pressed his tongue to his teeth. Finally, he answered McGee's question, "The next stage in warfare."

A/N: Ray is trying to figure out how to do his job and keep Team Gibbs out of trouble and ends up making friends with McGee over an encryption Stay tuned for next time.