At the Navy Yard

The next twenty minutes were spent with Gibbs driving and Jane yelling directions at him. Frankie sat in the backseat willing himself not to throw up. To him, there had never been any other thought that Jane was the worst driver in the world, but apparently he'd been wrong. Gibbs had her beat hands down.

Gibbs pulled into the Navy Yard and brought the car to a screeching halt. Both he and Jane jumped out of the car and waited for Frankie to climb out. He hadn't been doing so well in the back seat and Gibbs, who was used to this reaction from his team, just smirked.

Jane, however, looked at Frankie and sighed. "You stay here and call for back-up. Gibbs has already called the Shore Patrol and their waiting for us. See you inside, maybe."

Rizzoli led the way to the gates of the Navy Yard where the Shore Patrol awaited them and then let Gibbs do the talking. They were met by a Chief Petty Officer and Captain Amos Starling, the commander of the ship. The captain, angry at being called out in the middle of the night again, wanted answers. "What the hell is going on Agent Gibbs. I thought that this was finished the last time a device was found. Now you tell me there's another." His tone was crisp and business like. There was no mistaking the anger in his voice.

Gibbs turned his blues to the captain. Gibbs thought of Captain Starling as an Old Salt with the temperament of yore. All he needed was an eye patch and a peg leg. If the truth were known, Gibbs, in his imagination, saw a captain of the colonial period standing before him weaving himself into the fabric of time. Gibbs pulled himself back to the present. "I'm sorry Sir, but there is a credible threat to this ship. The person responsible is in the water on his way here. Detective Rizzoli and I are here to stop him once and for all."

Starling gave a gruff humph and looked to his ship. "See that you do." He spent another moment gathering his composure before speaking, just gazing at the Constitution. "How can I help protect her?"

Gibbs didn't need to think about the request. "Sir, you know the lady best so I'll leave that up to you."

The Captain nodded back.

Gibbs turned to address the young Chief Petty Officer. "Your name Chief?"

A young man in a sharply pressed digi-cam uniform spoke up. "Chief Petty Officer Sean Gregson, sir. We've place snipers up high if he makes himself known. We are also placing spotlights focusing on the ship. So you want us to go on board with you sir?"

Gibbs like the way this young man thought. "No, just give us two of your best men with small arms. They will go on board and watch the water for us while we go below. The snipers will cover the ship from fore and aft. Rizzoli and I are going in first and your men will follow. Chief, I need your snipers to keep a close eye. If O'Rourke gets past us and off the ship they need to take him." Gibbs spoke to the chief like the sniper he was.

Chief Petty Officer Gregson turned to his men. "Jackson, Leavitt, you'll go with Agent Gibbs and Detective Rizzoli. Be safe."

Both men nodded and pulled their pistols.

Gibbs and Rizzoli did the same and started for the ship.

The walkway to the Constitution is wide open and with the spotlights that had been set up for safety there was no hiding. No one took a shot at them while they covered the ground. It relieved and worried Gibbs. Either their suspect wasn't here yet…or he was below setting his device.

They reached the stairway to the ship and cautiously climbed to the deck. When they reached the top Gibbs signaled Jackson to the bow and Leavitt to the aft of the ship. Both men made their way silently to their posts.

Gibbs then turned to Rizzoli and tweaked her nose just like yesterday. This time there was no anger from her so he whispered to her. "Let's go get him, girlfriend." They moved to the ladder to below decks and this time he didn't help Rizzoli down. Gibbs led the way down the stairs to the lower deck. Ebony darkness met them as they stepped lower into the belly of the ship. Both the agent's and the detective's eyes acclimated to the darkness below. Gibbs motioned for Rizzoli to take the starboard side of the ship and he took the port. Both took their time moving toward the bow of the ship.

As they moved through the bowels of the ship both sensed the presence of each other but could also sense another person.

The other presence in the room made a move and Rizzoli heard it and stopped moving.

Gibbs com unit buzzed. Frankie's voice came through. "Agent Gibbs, we found a pair of flippers by the bow. He must have got here before the lights." Gibbs tapped his com to let Frankie know that he'd heard him.

Inching his way down the deck Gibbs heard the same sound as Rizzoli. Someone scraped the wooden floor with something.

Gibbs moved in towards the sound and felt that Jane had also moved that way. The sound had been at the center line of the Grand Dame.

They inched closer and close. Gibbs heard a gasp and a flashlight met his eyes. A silent 'shit' ran through Gibbs mind, but his game face never altered. He eyed the man who held a gun to Rizzoli's head. He'd had Jane shine the flashlight at Gibbs while he held her in what seemed to Jethro a bone crushing hold. "You know you're surrounded, right? If you kill us and set off your device you'll never get away. There are three snipers waiting as well as detectives, sailors and more officers waiting for you to try to escape. You won't get two feet without being cut down. Let her go and we'll talk." Jethro gestured for O'Rourke to put down the weapon. The negative shake of O'Rourke's head told Gibbs a lot about their suspect and none of it was good. O'Rourke was mentally unbalanced and wouldn't care who he took with him when he died and that he had an agenda to accomplish and no one was going to stop him.

O'Rourke shook his head again, almost like he was clearing cobwebs, or listening to voices from somewhere else. His gaze met Gibbs. "I need her to get away and if that doesn't work I just get blown with her and everyone else on board. I can play this either way."

At that point Gibbs decided on how to play this. It would be cautious because he wanted no one hurt, including O'Rourke. He'd been hurt too much already apparently. Jethro slowed down the pace of the takedown. "Patrick, can I call you that?" O'Rourke nodded. Gibbs continued carefully. "You have a lovely daughter and a loving wife back in Providence, doesn't that matter to you? It sure would to me. I lost my wife and daughter in a car accident. I give anything to have them back. Don't give yours up." Gibbs waited another moment or two before continuing. His eyes strayed to Rizzoli to make sure she was okay. She gave a slight nod to him. Jethro's eyes returned to O'Rourke. "I know about your brother back in Northern Ireland. Does this have something to do with him?"

Something in O'Rourke's mind snapped at the mention of his brother. A deeper Irish lilt became more apparent and took both men back to an earlier time. "He was just a kid but the group we belonged to wanted to make a grand point against the crown." He took a moment as if he remembered the time. "Fools, every last one of them, not a one of them knew anything about explosives."

Gibbs edged a bit closer. "If your beef is with that group why target the Constitution? What does this particular ship have to do with your brother?"

O'Rourke never noticed Gibbs inching closer. "My brother's life was wasted by my government. All he ever wanted was to have the crown look closer at our constitution but our group was pushed aside, ignored and dismissed by the Parliament. The United States let us down by not helping us make headway with the House of Commons. I was a member of that same group and I couldn't protect him. My parents have never forgiven me for that. Now I get to make my reparations. I burn the Constitution to the waterline and the United States will have to help us get more say in how we're governed. When the boat flounders we'll pull your government into our battle with England."

Jane looked to Gibbs. In her eyes he saw her determination to stop O'Rourke. He also saw that she'd do anything to stop him, that including dying herself. Jethro hoped that no one would die today. He gave a minimal nod to Jane telling her he understood her feelings. She blinked back her acknowledgement.

Gibbs inched closer still. O'Rourke was caught up in his memories of his brother and of his death. Jethro saw the pain and Jane being closer, felt it as O'Rourke choked up and let out a sob. Gibbs moved closer. "Patrick, if you do this our government will not step in and you'll go to prison for many years. Because of the Patriot act you'll be sentenced as a terrorist. Is that what you want? You'll miss your daughter growing up. Your wife and daughter will be sent back to Northern Ireland and you'll stay here, in prison. Is it worth it for a moment of reparation?"

O'Rourke held tight to Jane but she felt the hesitation in his hold on her. He seemed to be listening to Gibbs and loosening his hold the more Gibbs spoke.

Gibbs watched both O'Rourke and Jane for any sign that he needed to do something different. He'd shoot O'Rourke at a moment's notice to save Rizzoli or the ship. He'd rather take O'Rourke in and give him the help he needed but that would be up to the man standing in front of him.

O'Rourke suddenly noticed Gibbs approach. "Stop where you are or else I shoot her."

Gibbs stopped moving and glared at his quarry. "If you harm her, you'd better kill me because I won't stop coming for you if you don't."

O'Rourke looked at Gibbs and laughed a hearty one. "My God is she your girlfriend, with all that coming for me crap?"

Rizzoli had been left out of the conversation long enough and where it stood now irritated the hell out of her. "No, I'm not his girlfriend, I'm just his partner." Her eyes met Gibb's with a question. "How do we stop him?"