CHAPTER 6

Gibbs arrives in El Rosario early the next morning after two connecting flights. He'd had too little sleep and too much coffee but that was when he functioned at his best. The long flight had given him time to assess the situation and with Holly's insight he realized she was right, Bell wanted Gibbs in Mexico. And going after Mike and the girls was a good way to accomplish that. The only question was why?

When Gibbs got to Mike's little secluded section of the beach, he found the house smoldering an not much left. His tracking experience gave him a rough idea of what happened; several men approached on foot, there was a firefight and then footprints heading south. Who had survived to flee? Was he following the tracks of the killers or his friend? Moving farther along the beach, Gibbs sees the lifeless body of a local hired muscle and of no concern to Gibbs. He turned inland and followed the tracks further, noting a trail of blood sprinkled into the sand and hoped it wasn't Mike's.

Not much further along, Gibbs sees a man's body, lying face down in the sand; obviously dead. He kneels by the body, almost afraid to turn the corpse over to see his friend's dead face. Just as he whispers Mike's name, Gibbs becomes aware of a presence behind him and is slowly reaching for his gun when a rifle barrel is jabbed into the back of his head. "It's not Franks."

"Who is it?"

"Colonel Bell... and don't even try it, Agent Gibbs. They want you alive... but they didn't say anything about wounded." Gibbs is just starting to turn towards his captor, wondering who this American could be when the rifle stock slams into the back of his head, and everything goes dark.

Holly was worried, not because Gibbs couldn't handle himself, but because she knew Colonel Bell was a ruthless killer. His team needed to know where he'd gone. She steps off the elevator at NCIS on the fourth floor, careful not to draw attention to herself from the agents working one level down in the bullpen. As she steps into the Director's office, his secretary looks up, "He's expecting you Miss Snow. Go right in."

Holly continues on through the door into the inner office and stops when she sees Leon Vance standing with his back to her at the windows. She has never been very comfortable with Vance and he's never been too comfortable with her so she keeps her contacts with him professional. Without turning, Vance knows she is there and speaks first. "Miss Snow. You have information for me?"

"Yes, I'm sure you've already tried to call Gibbs and gotten no answer... you know why I'm here."

"He was supposed to keep me apprised of this 'operation'... but it shouldn't surprise me that he's trying to handle things on his own. So, you want to tell me what's going on?" Vance finally turns to face her and offers her a seat as he takes his own and prepares to be updated.

"He took off for Mexico last night... a guy named Mike Franks and when he called they told him his house had burned to the ground." Holly sees Vance's eyes widen slightly as he registers the shock at this news, but outwardly he remains calm. "We think it has something to do with Bell and Ms. Hart."

"How so?"

"Ms. Hart has been asking a lot of questions about Gibbs' time in Mexico, fishing trips, his little hiatus down there... it's all tied to Bell. Bell goes to prison there, makes some deal with the Mexican government to get released and now sends Hart after Gibbs. I don't know what the hell he discovered down there, but it has to do with Gibbs..."

"I do... but that's not important. When did he leave?"

"Seven-thirty? Eight PM? And there's more..." She pauses to wait until Vance is done jotting down notes on his pad. When he looks up, she continues, "Back when I was in business... I knew Bell. Not personally, but I provided him and a couple of his men with... services. Bell's men were rough, but he paid extremely well and no one got hurt. Bell... he's a different story... he liked to inflict pain. I tried to cut him off, but he threatened to expose my operation. I backed down and... to this day I regret it. Sandra agreed to go. She'd been with him before and said she could handle him... he killed her."

"Bell killed one of your girls and you just kept it to yourself?"

"I didn't know it was him at first. They found Sandra's body three weeks later at a rest stop along the I-95, halfway to Norfolk. Bell was always showing up suddenly, then he was gone again... supposedly on missions out of the country so it was almost a year before I pieced it together and figured out what happened. By then my operation was exposed and... well you know the rest of that circus tale."

"You think Bell outed you to cover up what he'd done? And what proof do you have that he killed her?"

"I have no proof that he exposed my operation... but I wouldn't put it past him. What better insurance policy than to have the only person who could place her with Bell in prison and discredited. He knew after my conviction nothing I said would be taken seriously because everyone expected me to 'name names and expose my clientele."

"Which you never did do... even after the congressional inquiry gave you the ultimatum of talking or going to prison."

"Yea, well... wasn't exactly a question I could answer when the people sitting on that congressional panel didn't really want me to answer it... if you know what I mean. As for proof, I did talk to Bell's second in command... Jason Dean, after I got out of prison. He paid me a visit in the middle of the night to relay a message from his boss. Said if I was smart I'd forget all about Sandra and continue to keep my mouth shut. He dropped a fat envelope on my table and then pulled out his gun and put it to my head. I knew he was bluffing, but it still scared the shit out of me."

"I bet it did. So why does a man, as savvy as Bell feel the need to pay you a visit five years after the fact?"

"I've been wondering the same thing so I put that envelope in my safe and left it there. He must think I've got something that could tie him to Sandra's murder... and it was ruled homicide by the local medical examiner in Richmond. I started digging into my old files and I found it... Bell funneled the money he used to pay me through his attorney... M. Alyson Hart. I doubt she knew who he was paying or for what..."

"Why not?"

"When I met her face to face for the first time... just two weeks ago here, she didn't recognize me... I don't think she even knew who I was until later when she heard my name. To her, I'm just the bitch that keeps getting between her and Agent Gibbs."

"Speaking of that... how is your little operation progressing? I know Ms. Hart has been stalking around the halls here, but..."

"She's stalking Gibbs too. She has a private eye posted outside his house, she shows up there under any excuse to get close to him. I've taken the liberty to look into the guy she hired to watch Gibbs and he was not told who's house he was watching... and bugging by the way. He just thinks it has to do with one of her cases."

"So, for now... we should maybe look into Ms. Hart's financial dealings for Bell and see what else she's handling for her boss. I'm going to send an agent to your house to pick up that envelope... and hopefully we can find Bell's prints on it along with Dean's... maybe even Hart's."

"My prints will not be on it... of that you can be assured, Director."

"You're a smart woman, Miss Snow... how else could you have gone through that fiasco, gotten a slap on the wrist and come out of it all with so much leverage in this town?"

"I wonder that myself, Director..." And with that, Holly stands and moves towards the door, not wanting to open the door to a discussion about which powerful men in this town were still protecting her in exchange for her silence. At the door, she stops and turns back; needing to clarify one point. "And... since you're wondering how I could keep information about a murder to myself... I didn't. I took the information to a friend... who oversees homeland security operations and they said they'd take care of it. So if Bell has never been brought to justice... you need to ask them why."

With that she opens the door and leaves; the frown on Vance's face indicates he had been wondering that very thing... and he was not happy with her answer. It was well known Bell had connections and that his private security business was involved in covert operations with the CIA. It wouldn't be the first time they let a murderer walk around free just so they could use them. With a sigh, Vance picks up his phone and gets things moving on the information he's just received.

When Gibbs finally wakes he is groggy and his head is pounding. His vision is blurred and cloudy and it takes him a few minutes to realize it's because he has a burlap hood over his head. He sits quietly listening to the voices around him; a woman and two men speaking in Spanish, then the woman speaking in English to the American bastard who clocked him on the beach. When they realize he is awake, the hood is removed and Gibbs blinks as his eyes adjust to the light. He looks from the American who removed the hood to the woman and with recognition, Gibbs suddenly understands it all now.

Bell's plan was to turn him over to the cartel of the man he killed twelve years ago. Even though Gibbs' anger had been strong, he drew the line at taking out the whole family as Reynosa had done to him. Gibbs realized there had to be a wife, possibly children, but it hadn't stopped him from his mission. Now, it appeared the leader of the Reynosa Cartel was his daughter... and she had been looking for revenge for a long time. It was unusual for a woman to have such power in this culture, but maybe there was a husband... or other family members. Carmen Reynosa ran the operation with cruelty and rarely trusted outsiders... which explained how Bell ended up dead on the beach. But what about Dean?

Dean sees him studying him and smiles as he comes to stand in front of him, slowly using a large combat knife to peel an orange. "You still trying to figure this all out, Agent Gibbs? Let me help you... my boss, Colonel Bell... after he got out of prison, he thought he was in charge. I arranged it... I was the one with the connections to the Reynosa family."

Dean, second in command to Merton Bell was working for the Cartel and took Bell out at their orders. Producing Gibbs had no doubt raised his status and power within the family and by the way Carmen Reynosa was smiling at him, he definitely had the attention of the woman in control. Gibbs keeps his expression blank as he glances from Dean to Carmen, then shrugs, "Bell was greedy... not surprising... and since I'm sure Miss Reynosa didn't arrange all of this just so you could slit my throat with that jack knife... why don't you go back to your corner try not to cut yourself."

He sees Dean tense at the insult, but then his eyes flash over to Carmen and he backs away, leaving them alone as he returns to his position in the hallway. Carmen now approaches him, chuckling slightly at how easily Gibbs was able to read the situation. "Agent Gibbs... such confidence. I would have expected nothing less from the man who murdered my father. But you are correct, the Cartel does not want you dead... yet. Your father in Stillwater? Your team, McGee, DiNozzo... yes, perhaps, but we plan to use you until you are no longer useful to us. Having a mole inside NCIS will be very helpful with our shipments."

Gibbs is wondering why she said 'we', but doesn't have to wait long as another man arrives and embraces Carmen as he greets to her in Spanish as his sister. He turns to Gibbs and introduces himself as Alejandro Reynosa. Not realizing Gibbs is fluent in their language. They don't realize the advantage they just gave him. Gibbs recognizes the man as the Attorney General of Mexico, Alejandro Garcia, who has been dealing with Director Vance recently. He requested Abby come to Mexico to teach a forensics class and then asked for her assistance with the cold case investigation into Reynosa's death. Alejandro had even visited their office under the pretense of delivering Reynosa's remains to their morgue so Ducky could reexamine the body.

The fact that they used that case for Abby's class, then asked her to re-examine the evidence was no coincidence. Gibbs' gut had been right, but until know he hadn't had any link between the Attorney General of Mexico and the Reynosa Cartel. For now, Gibbs remains calm, knowing they don't intend to kill him and plans to go along with their plan. He has no doubt they what they will do to his father and the rest of his team. The Reynosa Cartel was ruthless in eliminating their enemies... and their whole families. Once he was back in the states, he could protect his dad and work on shutting them down.

Vance knows what he needs to do, but still has to tread lightly. SecNav and several others don't want relations with Mexico ruffled right now. Not when the United States was burning bridges with all of their Middle Eastern allies. Oil and having a steady supply was more important than saving one federal agent, who went down there on some private vendetta. Vance meets with DiNozzo and Ziva in the privacy of his office.

"Do I make myself clear, Agent DiNozzo? You are to retrieve body of the American that we were notified of... and bring it home."

"So, you just get a call from the Attorney General's office in Mexico... claiming they found a dead American on the beach? No identity? No explanation? And they want us to go pick it up?"

"That about sums it up. Senor Garcia was not happy that dead Americans were littering his beaches... and offered no explanation as to Franks' cottage burning down, where he is or who the dead American is."

"And Gibbs, Director?" Ziva was more restrained in allowing her anger and concern to show. After all, this was not her first mission of this type.

"And if the remains we are going to pick up is Gibbs... then what, Director? And don't tell me the thought hasn't crossed your mind!" Tony was having a hard time containing his anger... but they all knew it stemmed from fear.

"I won't deny the thought did occur to me, DiNozzo. Agent Gibbs is on his own... but I refuse to consider that possibility until I see his body on a slab in Ducky's morgue. Now get going... your plane leaves in two hours." He glares at DiNozzo as he would have spoken again.

They turn and head for the door, but before they can open it, Vance finally gives them the order they have wanted. "However, if you should happen to come across him... say in the few hours that it takes to refuel the plane... bring him home too."

Ziva and Tony just nod, knowing they've been given the green light for a covert operation to locate Gibbs and get him out of Mexico... hopefully without causing any further international incidents. They hurry back to the bullpen, grab their gear and head out without a word to McGee who sits at his desk watching with a worried expression on his face.

Holly had done the right thing in notifying Vance, but she knew there wasn't any love lost between Gibbs and his boss. She wasn't about to leave things in his hands... not when there was so much at stake. After a few meetings with discreet connections on Capitol Hill, Holly has set her own plan of action in motion. She knew Bell and Dean had to surface sooner or later and she made sure they wouldn't step two feet inside this country without being taken down for the murdering traitors they were.

By the time the C130 cargo plane lands in Mexico, DiNozzo and Ziva have a plan of action in place. They know time is critical, and they have no idea where Gibbs could be, but after they confirm the body in the box wasn't him... they would backtrack his movements until they found him. As the rear cargo hatch slowly drops down on the runway in order to load the body, Tony takes a deep breath and prepares himself to look at the body in the box. He waits impatiently as the Mexicans load the box, then approaches it with a small pry bar.

Just as he is about to pry the lid off, Ziva grabs his arm to stop him. "Tony... don't!"

He sighs in frustration, knowing neither of them wants to see their boss lying dead in this box, but they have to open it to make sure. He turns to glare at her, but realizes she is not looking at him... or the box. Ziva's eyes are trained on the dirty, slightly bloodied man walking across the tarmac towards them. They stand speechless as Gibbs walks up the ramp and stops beside them.

"Not me, DiNozzo."

"Franks?" Tony's second biggest fear.

"Nope. Colonel Bell." Gibbs raps his knuckles on the box, then goes to sit down, finally letting his exhaustion overtake him.

"Bell?! Did you...?

"No... didn't get the chance. Found him dead on the beach not far from Mike's house."

"And Mike? He is...?" Ziva was also afraid to hear the answer, but needed to ask.

"Don't know, Ziva. No sign of him or the girls." He doesn't tell them about the severed finger that Carmen Reynosa handed him as proof of Franks' death. He knew how easily she could have obtained the finger of any gringo, so he wasn't going to count Mike out until he saw proof that he, Leyla and Emira were dead.

"And you knew we were gonna be here... how?" DiNozzo is finally over his shock and takes in the condition of his boss. Gibbs had obviously been in a fight of some type if the dried blood on his neck and the dirt on his clothing was any indication.

"Guess, I pissed off the Mexican government... they found me snooping around Mike's place and had a little chat with me. 'Bout an hour ago, I was driven here and told to get the hell out of their country."

"They kicked you out?" Tony can't hide the smile of pride that only Gibbs could piss off a country like that.

"Well, officially they suggested I escort the remains back to DC... but this..." He raises a hand to the lump on the back of his head and winces slightly, "...said, get the hell out."

DiNozzo and Ziva relax when they realize their mission is complete and they didn't even have to step one foot in Mexico. They quickly secure the box with Bell's remains in it for the flight and then sit back to wait for the plane to be refueled so they can head home. Further conversation with Gibbs is not an option when they look over to see his eyes closed. His ability to instantly fall asleep anywhere was well known to them and it looked like he could use the rest so they do not disturb him. Unknown to them, Gibbs' eyes may be closed, but his mind was scanning over all he'd learned and how he was going to put his plan in motion once he was back on American soil.