Chapter 13 – A Flight and Youngsters
Vance had Gibbs meet him in MTAC. "Wait for it," Vance said, as the file on the giant plasma screen loaded. "There. You see that?"
"It's a helicopter," Gibbs said mildly. "So?"
"Not just an ordinary helicopter. This is what the Navy is about to unveil. An unmanned helicopter, called a K-MAX. Part of the Navy's Unmanned Aircraft Systems."
"Like the drones."
"Yes. There's a great need for Cargo UAS. The loss of life has been staggering in what should be simple cargo delivery missions in warzones."
"Makes sense."
"I didn't call you up here just to show you the newest toys, Gibbs. This involves you and your team. The Navy's bringing one of the prototypes to Washington, to show the President, whose schedule is too busy to allow him to go to the warzone to see it."
"You want us to protect the President? That's the job of the Secret Service."
"Not the President—you are to guard the helicopter, while it's here at Bolling."
Vance went with his MCRT across the river to the Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, where the Navy shared territory with the Air Force. It was seldom that he accompanied his top team at all, and this was mostly for show, and his portion wouldn't last long. Then he would finish up the day back at NCIS for an hour and be home in time for Friday games night with his family. Jared was becoming a crafty player.
For now, though, the SECNAV had asked him to be there to show the agency's flag while the President was there. Vance had met the President once or twice before and liked the man. It would be nice to chat again, if he got the chance. Maybe he could even introduce the MCRT to the President. Why not? He was proud of them; they would be thrilled; and they had earned it. If the opportunity presented itself…
The day was fine; not too hot for June. The presentation and ceremonial run of the K-MAX was set for 4 o'clock. The President and his entourage arrived at 3:55; a sign that this would be a quick in-and-out for him. Vance frowned. Well, there would be other times. Maybe.
As the Navy officers in charge of the UAS put it through its tricks, Vance noticed that the MCRT was out of sight. No doubt, they were watching the helicopter, and the people around it, from hidden spots. Good. At times Vance missed those days of being a field agent…there was tedium, but also just enough excitement and things unexpected to keep it interesting. Not that anything was likely to happen here, in the security of an air base.
The show was over in about 25 minutes' time, and so the President got back in his car and his motorcade went back to the White House. Even Vance hadn't gotten a chance to speak to him. Vance turned to go back to his own car…
…and then found himself spun around as the MCRT sped by him on either side. "Get down, Director!" Ziva ordered, pushing him onto the pavement. She stood above him, looking around in all directions, her gun drawn and leveled, as Vance's bodyguards came up to do likewise.
"See him, Tony?" Vance heard Gibbs say, nearby, apparently into his phone. "He's near the chopper. Don't let him get inside!"
Vance got to his feet, over Ziva's mild protests. His own gun was in his hand; force of habit. "What's happened?"
"Someone broke through the perimeter," said Gibbs. "He approached the chopper from the pilot's side…well, what would be the pilot's side, if it had a pilot. DiNozzo and McGee are on his heels. They'll get him."
Suddenly the still chopper roared to life and lifted off, over many people's shouts. "Who's got the remote?" the SECNAV thundered. "Bring that thing down!"
"Something's overriding my controls, sir," stammered the lieutenant with the control equipment.
"Well…do something!"
The helicopter wobbled unsteadily, about 70 feet in the air. Then it pitched to the right, and the crowd screamed as Tony fell out…and then gasped as he grabbed for the door frame, and dangled there.
Vance grabbed Gibbs' hand as he was about to raise his phone. "Don't! If McGee's in the chopper, he doesn't need a distraction now. "
For a long minute or more, the helicopter hovered (still leaning toward the right), and then pitched violently to the left. The crowd screamed again, and security people pushed them back out of the range of a potentially-falling aircraft. But that was all that Tony needed to haul himself back inside.
The crowd cheered as he did so, and a moment later, the helicopter righted itself, and then turned in a shaky circle before slowly descending to the ground, where it landed with a thump.
Vance, Gibbs and Ziva ran for the helicopter. They found the would-be hijacker unconscious, Tony panting, and Tim with his knuckles white on the controls, eyes staring straight ahead. "Let it go, McGee," Gibbs said. "You're down now. It's over."
"Good for you for figuring that out the manual override, McGee," said Vance. "I take it you've never piloted a helicopter before?"
Tim's eyes were still glassy. "I kept thinking of the lines from Buckaroo Banzai," he said in a shaky voice. "Buckaroo says to the alien, 'Here, take the controls. It flies like a truck.' The alien says, 'Good…What is a "truck"?'"
That caused Tony to snort and choke. "The one time you remember movie lines, McGeek…"
Vance smiled, congratulated both of them, and decided it was time for him to leave. Would the President have been impressed on seeing how the team had managed this? Or would he have criticized the encounter, asking how the suspect had gotten onto the helicopter at all?
Suddenly Vance realized that he didn't care about impressing the President. He himself knew what was important in getting his agency's work done, and knew what an agent's job was like. No one had gotten hurt, the suspect had been apprehended, and the helicopter was undamaged. That was all anyone could ask for. That was more than enough for Vance.
He would stand by his team, now and always.
Vance wondered why he felt vague dread as he sat down at his desk at 7:30 that morning, and then he remembered. Leslie was on vacation this week, which meant that Vance himself would have to do more work to keep the good ship NCIS running. His door would have to stay open most of the time. He would have to answer his own phone, open his mail, do his invoices…gah. What he could put off doing to next week, when Leslie returned, he would.
A knock came at his open door. Vance looked up from his computer to see Fornell of the FBI in the doorway. "Your watchdog isn't at his desk," Fornell smiled.
"He's on vacation," Vance said, and hoped he looked pitiably tired, even though the week was just beginning.
"Ah. I think vacations are wasted on the young, anyway. They have plenty of energy."
"Unlike us."
"Unlike me, anyway. Leon, I'll tell you why I came by. Our summer interns are reporting this week…and we have more assigned to Washington than we can possibly handle. As it is, we're sending two who have cars down to Quantico. But we're still over. Can you take two more? It won't cost you anything, and the FBI would be in your debt…"
"Do tell," said Vance, giving him a stern look.
"Any reasonable accommodation we can make for you in the future, we will."
"I won't forget that."
"I wouldn't expect you to."
"To be honest, I'd forgotten all about the interns. When are they due to arrive?"
Fornell looked at his watch. "Within the hour, I would think."
"Go. Leave. Give me time to put my head in the oven."
"You don't have one here, Leon, and it won't be bad."
"I have a mini-fridge. I can put my head in that."
"It'll only give you frostbite. Come on; I'm sure you have departments that go through summer doldrums. You can bury the interns somewhere and not even have to see them."
"Did you hear about one we had last year? He turned out to be a junior airman-wannabe. On his second day here he came in with a gun, brandished it in several spots and pointed it at a number of people before we subdued him and kicked his ass out."
Fornell chuckled. "They're not all like that. Didn't you intern anywhere when you were in college?"
"Nope. I held down two paying jobs to pay my way through school."
"Well, I think you'll do okay." Fornell got up to go.
"Wait—I didn't say yes."
"You didn't say no, either. They're on their way here. Goodbye, Leon."
Vance slouched in his chair when Fornell left and opened his email. Yes, there was a message from Leslie, from late Friday. Director, don't forget that our summer interns start on Monday. There are seven of them coming here.
The original deal had been three. The SECNAV, in a motion to further appease Congress, had doubled what NCIS HQ would take back in April. Now they were up to seven, and with two more from the FBI, that brought the numbers to nine. They'd better be well-behaved, Vance grumbled to himself.
Before he knew it, there was another knock at the door. Tim stood there, looking amused. "Director? Our summer interns have arrived. All ten of them."
Ten? It wasn't like Leslie to miscount. Fornell must have sent over a third, the sneaky bastard. "Well, let them come in, Agent McGee. Let's make them feel welcome."
"Yes, sir." He turned and beckoned them in. They were fresh-faced and neatly dressed; four women and six men.
Vance had them introduce themselves, keeping a polite smile on his face. "We're pleased to have you here," he said at the end. "I hope that you will get a lot out of your two months at NCIS. Work hard, and some of you may be welcomed back as employees after college graduation. Agent McGee will give you a tour of the facility and answer your questions. When you come back up here, I'll give you your department assignments."
Smiling, and with a chorus of thank you, Director, they trailed out after Tim.
Jumping onto the files on his computer, Vance started quickly reading. He figured he'd have about half an hour to get assignments made. There were files of the initial seven of them, giving their interests, which was a bit of a help in matching them to departments. Nothing from the FBI's three though. He'd have to wing it there. If necessary, departments could be swapped.
Why did Leslie have to go on vacation this week? He can do this much better than I can.
Oh, just do it, Leon, and then it will be done.
Maybe the interns will really be of help this year.
He chuckled as the thought of an intern named Mary Sue entered his head, with the ability to save all of NCIS.
Monday, June 28
Friday, June 25
Tuesday, June 22