Leroy Jethro Gibbs said nothing as he eased himself into a chair opposite the Federal Agent. Dinozzo and Ziva did likewise whilst in the background, McGee lost his grip on one of the many cases he was carrying and they all tumbled to the floor collectively. Red-faced and flushing with embarrassment, McGee all but fled the room, murmuring a few words about setting up a network with Abby back home as he retreated into one of the bedrooms in the hotel room.
When the American agents' eyes returned to Dunn, he sighed and started. "Three days ago our intelligence indicated that an attack on the USS Ronald Reagan or the sailors aboard her was more than likely. As you'd be aware by now, the Captain of the Reagan was briefed on the situation, but due to a lack of primary evidence, the threat was determined to be relatively minor and he was briefed as such."
Gibbs interjected, his voice rising in anger at the Australian. "The threat doesn't seem so 'relatively minor' now does it, Federal Agent Dunn? In fact the bodies of our sailors and your countrymen that are piling up seem to suggest completely otherwise."
Dunn's eyes were unreadable behind his black sunglasses but Gibbs' statement rung true to the defeated Federal Agent. He was not a man for offering excuses or assigning blame, and accepted the brunt of Gibbs' angry outburst solely and without denial. But he would deal with his own personal failure at a later time, because right now the rest of the Australian public, or what was left of it, he thought grimly to himself, were relying on him and the collective might of the Australian and American investigative teams to bring answers and apprehend those responsible. The thought that he could in no way have stopped the attacks never occurred to the broken investigator, who believed that had he have worked longer and harder, the situation would not have occurred.
Dunn replied to Gibbs' statement in a voice that to all but the most experienced investigator, showed a determined tone, but Gibbs heard the waver in his voice as he said, "I accept my fair share of the responsibility Agent Gibbs, and have no doubt that I will face the consequences of my inaction, but right now those same bodies are calling for answers that you and I need to provide."
Leaving his statement at that, Dunn moved on. Handing out files containing whatever intelligence had managed to be compiled in the aftermath of the attacks, he started his briefing.
"Around the same time as our intelligence communities received chatter from various terrorist networks about an attack on a US asset on Australian soil, the Israeli Mossad contacted us and warned that a terrorist attack would likely be carried out on the Ronald Reagan during the four days she would be berthed in Brisbane harbor. The Mossad indicated that the division behind the attack was a splinter cell formed by a secondary group to the 9/11 terrorists. Israeli intelligence revealed that an unknown number of individuals were placed in America as 'support' to the aircraft hijackers – there to assist in obtaining pilot training, providing finance and other responsibilities. On completion of the attacks, these members left America and were subsequently unaccounted for until five days ago when Mossad learned that they may have entered Australia. At this point we are working closely with the Mossad, and other international intelligence agencies to attempt to identify these individuals and I will continue to receive updated news on the results of this investigation."
Dunn took a breath and moved on, "The attacks themselves were well-researched and carried out simultaneously, perhaps through a remote detonator for all five bombs. The cars used in the attacks ranged from a brand new BMW to a 1998 Ferrari – luxury cars that could be parked directly outside the clubs for maximum effect. The explosives used in the attacks were an ammonium nitrate fuel oil composition, ANFO. Unfortunately, those responsible for the attacks used the full explosive grade variety of this and not the agriculturally derived version, which is a less efficient explosive. Nails, glass and other shrapnel items were placed with the explosives for maximum effect."
"At this point, any other information we have on the attacks can be found in the folders before you. We are 16 hours into our investigation and our evidence shows that this is still the early stages, but as of four hours ago all of our assets have been deployed here, and around the world and make no mistake; those responsible for this will be located and apprehended. No one carries out an attack on Australian soil without the full force of the Australian Federal Police and our fellow law enforcement and intelligence communities being brought to bear against them. You are here to assist us in this investigation, but I ask that you respect that we know our territory better than you, and have assets in play that you do not know about. I will give you one hour to get your gear sorted, and then my team and I will escort you to the scenes. Several of my team will remain here should you require any assistance."
Gibbs spoke up just as Dunn was about to leave the room, "I know a protective detail when I see one – why do we need security?"
Dunn looked at Gibbs and smiled crookedly, "Because we received intelligence from the same sources that warned of the original attack, that an attack would be carried out on any American team; investigative, medical or otherwise, that arrived here in response to the bombings. This attack, it appears, was only the beginning."
Author's Note: Dedicated to M E Wofford, Eternal Luna 21, Terrorkruemel, statler & DJ Eskimo - the first reviewers of this story who have provided me with some wonderful, motivational feedback!