CHAPTER 7
Before the C130 has even taxied to a stop, Gibbs jumps up and jerks the side door of the cargo area open. He jumps to the tarmac and ducks to avoid the powerful thrust from its engines. When he is a safe distance from the plane, Gibbs has the phone he borrowed from Ziva out and dialing the number that has been on his mind the whole flight back from Mexico.
Inside the plane, Tony and Ziva exchange a look and Tony's annoyance is obvious. He isn't used to not being kept in the loop by his boss and Gibbs was definitely not keeping them in the loop on this one. There was something going on and Tony knew it was bad. Gibbs wasn't one to go all 'lone wolf' on them... well, he was, but not when it came to working a case. The only time Gibbs went off the grid was when it involved doing something illegal or something personal; either way he didn't want them involved in it.
Gibbs watches as the large cargo plane comes to a halt by it hanger, but his feet area already moving in a different direction. He heads towards the front, skirting around everyone waiting to unload the C130 towards the front entrance. As he walks, he sighs in relief as his father finally answers the phone.
"Hello."
"Dad... you okay?" Gibbs tries to keep the urgency from his voice, but his first words tip off the elder Gibbs that something is wrong.
"Yeah, son. Fine. What's up?"
"Dad... something's come up. I... I need to know if you... do you have some place you can stay for a few days? Someplace away from home and the store?"
"Trouble brewin'?" Gibbs couldn't help but smile at his father's short, taciturn answers that had already figured out the reason for his call.
"Yeah, dad... you could say that. So... can you leave for a while?"
"Well, I got a woman coming to look at that store front next door. You know, the one I decided to sell? I was gonna expand the store, but decided against it. At my age the last thing I need is more store to stock or..."
"Dad. Please! I really need you to close up the store for a few days." Gibbs' impatience was showing with his father.
"Okay, okay. I'll close up for a bit... after I show Paloma the shop tomorrow. That soon enough?"
"Yeah, I guess... just, please don't take any chances, okay? You still got the Winchester behind the counter?"
"Still here... as usual, but haven't had to use it since that punk kid thought he could rob the place a couple of years ago."
"Just make sure it's loaded and keep it close. Look Dad, I gotta a go... I'll explain later." Gibbs is standing beside DiNozzo's car, watching Tony and Ziva walking towards him from the terminal. "Hey, dad?"
"Yeah?"
"Love you... and be careful, okay? Bye." He snaps the phone shut as his two agents come within hearing distance.
Gibbs can see that Tony is still annoyed with his refusal to talk to him about what happened in Mexico. Ziva just watches him closely, knowing something is going on and hoping she can pick up on it from his actions... or inactions at this point. He tries to hide his frustration as he greets them.
"Body on its way to Ducky?"
"Yep... apparently you were in too much of a hurry to stick around and see that." Tony glares at Gibbs, daring him to keep blocking the driver's side door with his body.
Gibbs gives him a level look, then slowly steps out of the way so Tony can drive. "Had a call to make. Knew you could handle it." He moves around to the passenger side and Ziva is about to defer to the back seat when Gibbs shakes his head and motions her to the front. "Can you drop me at my place? Need to shower and clean up."
Tony just rolls his eyes and slides in behind the wheel. Ziva and Gibbs get in and she gives Tony a warning glare as he guns the engine and pulls out onto the street. She understands his frustration, but Tony's childish pouting at not being in on the secret was annoying her. She also was upset that Gibbs was obviously into something dangerous and would not allow them to help, but she knew Gibbs had a reason. And from his worn down, dirty and beat-up condition, it had to be a good one.
When Gibbs is dropped off at home, he scans his house suspiciously and hesitates before he gets out of the car. He hates to raise their suspicions any further, but he can't help it now. Something wasn't right at his house so he lays a hand on Ziva's shoulder, "Ziver... let me have your back up. Mine got confiscated in Mexico."
Without a second thought, Ziva raises her right leg and removes the small Glock from her ankle holster. They both knew Gibbs had more guns in his house, but for some reason he needed one now. Tony's eyes are scanning the house, wondering what Gibbs saw that made him suddenly need a gun to enter his own home.
"Boss, you need us to...?" His question never sees completion as Gibbs exits the car with a harsh reply.
"No, DiNozzo. Go on home."
Tony is about to ignore his boss's order and follow him inside, but a hand on his arm stops him. Ziva is just as worried, but when their eyes meet, she shakes her head. They both know that unless Gibbs wants their assistance, it would not be welcome and only incur Gibbs' wrath later. Tony and Ziva watch as Gibbs walks casually up onto his porch and then hesitates before turning the knob and entering. When no immediate shots ring out, Tony sighs and jams the car into reverse and backs out on to the street; leaving Gibbs to face whatever awaited him inside.
Gibbs stops just inside the front door, actually a bit surprised not to find it booby-trapped with an explosive device. But then, that would defeat Carmen Reynosa's plan to use him as an inside mole for their cartel operations. He had no doubt she would not hesitate to take him out... or the people he loves if he did anything to raise her suspicions that he was not going along with her plan. The silence in his house was heavy, but still he hesitated to move. Then a creaking floorboard from above causes his gun hand to snap up, ready to fire.
"Easy, Probie... it's just me and the girls."
"Mike! Where the hell have you been?!" Gibbs quickly lowers his borrowed gun and sighs in relief.
Mike Franks comes down the stairs, awkwardly holding a gun in his left hand since his right hand was heavily bandaged. Gibbs takes in his appearance and his mind jumps to the small box in his jacket pocket that contains the finger given to him by Carmen Reynosa. Apparently she hadn't been lying about it being Franks' finger... she just lied about him being dead when she cut it off. Mike notices his glance and raises his injured hand to explain, "Got it shot off when those mercenary assholes stormed the place."
"Leila? Emira?" Gibbs' first worry for Franks is calmed, but now he wonders if Franks was able to save his family during the firefight.
"Upstairs, sleeping. Both safe, thank God. Gotta tell ya, Jethro, I had my moment of doubt." He stops in front of Gibbs, assessing his condition and realizing Gibbs has been through hell also. He jerks his head towards the kitchen, "Come on, let the girls rest while you and me have a talk in the kitchen."
"Could sure use a couple shots and a good cup of coffee about now." Gibbs shrugs out of his jacket, snagging the small box before he drops the filthy coat by the door and following Mike into kitchen. "Damn glad to see you and the girls safe. They handed me this..." He hands the box to Mike and then turns to start the coffee as he continues, "Told me you were dead... and they had the girls."
Franks opens the box, already knowing what he will see inside. He sighs, stares at the remains of his right index finger and then closes the box. "Damn, always liked that finger too."
He tosses the box on the table as he sits down to wait as Jethro grabs two mugs and the bottle of bourbon from the cupboard and then comes to join him. He allows Jethro to pour them each a generous amount before he asks the question that's been on his mind ever since those gunmen showed up at his little beach house. "So... who the hell were those guys and what the hell have you gotten yourself into this time, Probie?"
Gibbs drains his glass and pours himself a second before he sits back and gives his mentor and best friend a long stare. There was so much to cover, but he wonders how much he should share with him. He had to consider that the Reynosa clan thought he was compliant only because he felt they were holding Leila and Emira hostage. If they found out that Gibbs knew they were safe, Carmen and Alejandro wouldn't hesitate to go after his dad... or his team as she'd threatened. With a heavy sigh, Gibbs decides to tell it all... because for the fight that was coming... he was gonna need Mike's help, injured hand and all.
Tony is still fuming as they arrive back at the Navy Yard to brief Director Vance on their mission and ensure the body of Colonel Bell was delivered to autopsy as instructed. Ziva knows it is no use trying to tell him for the fiftieth time to calm down. Her partner took his job very seriously and even though there was nothing in the bureau manual about the senior field agent being personally responsible for protecting the team leader's ass; Tony non-the-less, took it upon himself to do it.
He throws his backpack to the ground beside his desk and is about to head upstairs to brief the director when Ziva finally speaks. "I will check in with Ducky to see if the body has arrived yet."
He stops, turns back to her and then sighs heavily, "That can wait, Ziva... I need you to come with me to brief Vance."
"You need me to brief, Director Vance?" Her confusion is clear on her face. Tony always took the lead and handled the notification of bosses personally.
"No. I need you there to keep me from killing that bastard! He knew Gibbs was in trouble and needed a way out of Mexico. He sent us down there blind and clueless on some bogus body retrieval mission!"
"Yes, but as is too often the case around here... it was a need to know basis."
"And you don't think we needed to know? We could have opened that cargo bay door to find two bodies in boxes... or the Mexican army ... or mercenaries... or the cartel's enforcers. That's the problem... we didn't know what we should expect... and when it involves Gibbs flying out suddenly because there's a problem with Franks... it could be freakin' anything!"
As they walk up the stairs to Vance's office, Ziva has to admit Tony is right. However, from what they were told, their mission had gone according to plan. "Tony, we were told to take possession of the body and locate Gibbs if possible. Mission accomplished. End of story."
"No, it's not the end of the story. You saw Gibbs... there is something going on... something bad and we're sitting here in the dark. I don't like it and I'm gonna give Gibbs a piece of my mind when I see him..." He hesitates to look back at her before he opens the director's door. "But for now, we keep that part to ourselves." He holds her gaze and she nods, then he opens the door and they walk in to give their report to Director Vance.
After Gibbs explained what had been going on with Colonel Bell, his ties to Mexico and the attorney, M. Allison Hart, Franks had a better understanding of what happened in Mexico and why. Franks didn't like being used as a pawn in someone else's game... and he was still pissed about having his finger shot off.
"This ain't over, Probie... you know that."
"Know that, Mike... just need to make sure everyone is safe before I make my move."
"Before... we... make our move." His tone told Gibbs the topic was not open for discussion. "And you know you're gonna have to bring your team in on this, right?"
"Yea, but not yet... can't. Not until I'm sure Alejandro and his bitch of a sister are here on American soil... then I'll bring them in. Until then, they're still at risk if I don't play along." Mike nods in agreement and they sit quiet for a moment thinking. Then a thought occurs to Gibbs, "How did you and the girls get here?"
"After my place was hit, we hid out in the rocks 'til dark, then we high-tailed it up to the cantina where I knew we could hide without being discovered. Well, thought we could... then Señorita Angelina comes to me a couple of days later and says a woman contacted her... arranged for us to get out of the area."
"A woman? Who?" Gibbs' first thought is that it was Carmen Reynosa, but that didn't make sense... if it had been her, she would have set a trap for Franks and captured them all. His second thought was Allison Hart; she was deeply involved in this and part of the reason Gibbs had gone to Mexico. But why would Hart help them? Wasn't she working for Bell? Maybe Hart knew that Bell had been double-crossed by his second in command and killed. Maybe she decided to switch sides and try to help... no, Hart never did anything without some type of monetary gain or personal benefit to her.
"Don't know. Just know a plane landed just outside town on the old dirt road and flew us to Cabo. We were put up in a motel at the resort for a couple of days, then flown here and dropped off at your house. Personally, I thought you arranged it all."
"Nope. I was busy getting my ass kicked by Reynosa's cartel thug, Jason Dean." Gibbs finishes his coffee and stares down at his dirt caked hands as his mind spins with this new piece of the puzzle. He finally sighs and knows his mind is too foggy from lack of sleep and pain from the lump on his head. "Look, I need a shower and a change of clothes. Don't want to wake the girls... so could you grab me some clean clothes and I'll shower down here in the guest bath?"
Mike nods and stands up, then hesitates to give his friend a pat on his dusty shoulder before leaving the room. Gibbs heads into the guest bath, stripping out of his filthy clothing as he turns the shower on to heat up. Once he was clean, fed and had a few more cups of coffee in him, then he'd be able to think a little clearer.
After his shower, clean clothes and a sandwich, Gibbs crashed on the sofa while Mike kept watch over the house. For the first time since this began, Gibbs felt he could let his guard down and get some much needed sleep.