Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Vampire Hunter

Written for the NFA Supernatural Challenge, Death Fic Challenge, and Vengeance Challenge

Chapter 5 of 6

Disclaimer: Don't own, just playing, yadda, yadda; see previous chapter.

Part IV - Legacy

Tim worked steadily from dawn until dusk, only stopping to take care of the basic necessities, yet he didn't feel tired. His search had energized him and as he watched numbers and names scroll down the screen, he felt the grief, which had gripped him since the previous morning, loosen its hold slightly. He was doing something to help, something concrete, and that made all the difference in the world.

He had to admit, he'd been impressed by Gibbs' collection of data. It made his job much easier. He had found new connections, new sources of inquiry, and he imagined the whole thing mapped out as a giant web. What he needed to do was to eliminate the excess strands and find the main support structure, the major players who could reveal the final plan.

His cell phone rang and he checked the number before he set it back down without answering. It was Ziva, again. She had called twice before and he had let it go to voice mail, hoping she would get the hint and believe that he just wasn't in the mood to talk. She, at least, would respect that for awhile. Tony was a different story. He was just glad the man hadn't shown up at his door. He couldn't even imagine explain all this to the cynical senior, now likely lead, agent.

He tapped into an unexplored data stream and scanned through the information. He had been able to track the flow of funds from one group to the other, although the major purchases related to the plans still remained encrypted. He tried a stronger algorithm to break the encryption and continued his search. Finally one of the files opened and Tim scanned the information. Suddenly, he froze.

Oh my God…

He continued to read and scan, opening more threads and back tracing them to a common source. Finally he saw it: the final piece or the puzzle. The plan was perfectly, horribly clear.

He turned around and was not surprised to see Mike standing there, leaning against the doorway. For a brief moment, Tim wondered if Gibbs had learned that trick from his mentor.

"Any luck?"

"Yeah. Gibbs always told me, 'follow the money'. That's what I did, and…I found the connection. The plans were hidden in encrypted sections of financial records that connected companies on both coasts. I managed to break through the encryption and-." He felt a hand briefly connect with the back of his head and he looked up.

"The plan, McGee," said Mike, and Tim sighed.

"It's…crazy."

"Crazy is relative. What are they going to do?"

"OK, do you remember how so many logically opposed groups have been working together? The cartels, gangs, all of that? Their relationships have been tenuous at best."

"Yeah, I know."

"Right. OK, so each group has information on the others, but nothing that's all that important. What they've been doing is extracted the more sensitive information from each group and planting it in the networks of the groups that are supposedly working for them, so it looks like-."

"They're spying on each other. Go on."

"Once they have all of the connections in place, they're going to leak the fact that the information is in the hands of the opposing groups, which will cause a massive backlash between the groups, and-."

"War in the streets. Damn it." Mike ran a hand through his hair and started to pace as Tim continued.

"In the mean time, they'll start pitting the more visible groups against each other. The police won't be able to handle the number of attacks or resulting riots, and once the police forces are overwhelmed, the vamps are going to start targeting law enforcement agencies, starting at the local level and moving up. They won't be able to stop the crime rate from rocketing skyward, and when the public starts to see the agencies and the government running them as ineffective…"

"They'll put someone more powerful in charge-."

"Who will take complete control. Humans will be at the mercy of the vampires."

"They've been setting this up for years. An all-out brawl and they'll be on the sidelines, egging it on, until no-one has the energy left to fight them. I'll be damned…"

"They've been stockpiling materials to make explosives, and the first major attack on a visible target is scheduled to take place soon, but I don't have the exact time. All I know is that there's a hub for communication to coordinate the attacks. If we can destroy that hub-."

"We can cut them off from each other and stop the execution of at least some of their plans." He stopped pacing and turned to Tim. "Do we know where this hub is?"

"It's in D.C. I traced the signals back to one place. We should make sure it's not a decoy first, but-."

"It's not."

"How do you know?"

"One thing about vamps: they're cocky. It's been their downfall in the past, trust me, but they just don't seem to learn."

"And what if they did learn?"

"Then we're screwed."

Tim sagged in his chair. He couldn't deal with it if they failed. They couldn't fail. There was too damn much at stake.

"Is there any way to tell if this is a decoy?"

"Only if I had direct access to it. The firewalls they've set up make me think they are protecting something important, but I can't get through them without leading them directly to me."

Mike paused to think.

"What else could you do if you had direct access?"

"I could corrupt the system so their network would crumble, including their financial connections which have been funding all of this."

The old vampire suddenly grinned. "More than one way to take down a vamp. They've been living high for too long and depending too much on the power that money gives them. Take that away and we've hit them with a double whammy. Sounds like a plan, kid. Give me a few hours to do some recognizance and we'll get started."

"A few hours?"

"Hey, we've known something was going down, we just didn't have the specifics. Now the blanks are starting to fill in." He patted Tim on the shoulder. "You did good, kid. Now get some rest. You're going to need it." He left, and Tim turned back to his screen. There was something else he wanted to do with the information he discovered. He just hoped he had enough time to set it up.

XXX

A sudden banging sound startled Tim from his reverie and he looked towards the source with apprehension. He doubted a vampire would knock, and Mike seemed to have his own way into Tim's apartment, so who…

"C'mon, Probie, open the damn door!"

Crap. That's just what I need! He knew from experience that Tony would not just go away, so he got up and went to the front door as he tried to come up with a plan to get rid of the older man quickly.

He opened the door and was surprised to see that Tony was not alone.

"Tony, Ziva, what are you doing here?"

"Why did you not answer your phone, McGee? I called several times."

"Sorry, Ziva, I didn't feel like talking. You didn't need to waste a trip over here."

"We were worried, McGee."

"I'm fine…well, as fine as can be expected."

"What are you up to?" asked Tony as he managed to get past Tim and into the apartment. "Computer games? Seriously?"

Tim looked back at the screen saver that had popped up on his computer and sighed. "No, Tony, it's not a game." And there's more truth to that than I hope you ever realize. "I just…I'm dealing with it in my own way."

"And how exactly is that?"

"Vengeance."

Both men turned to stare at Ziva. She was studying Tim closely, and she seemed satisfied with her brief summary.

"What are you talking about, Ziva?" asked Tony as he glanced back and forth between his two teammates.

"Vengeance, revenge, pay-up, whatever you want to call it."

"It's pay-back, Ziva. And what makes you think that?" asked Tim, trying to quell his rising panic. He did not want these two involved in his plans that would most likely get them all killed if he wasn't careful.

"I can see it in your eyes, McGee. Believe me, I know that look. You know something about what happened to Gibbs, and you've figured out how to make sure someone pays."

"Ziva, please, I…you two can't help me. I'm sorry."

"Never apologize-."

"It's a sign of weakness," finished Mike as he appeared in the doorway.

Tony spun around. "Franks? What the hell are you doing here? What have you gotten McGee into?"

"I'm guessing you haven't told them," said Mike as he looked at Tim.

"And I wasn't planning to. Look, guys, please. You need to leave. I'm handling this."

"Like hell you are," snapped Tony. "In case you haven't noticed, Gibbs meant quite a bit to both of us, too. You're not doing this on your own, whatever it is."

Tim gave Mike a pleading look, but he just grinned. "Might as well tell them, kid. I don't think you'll get any peace until you do."

Tim saw the expressions on his teammates' faces and sighed. "How much time do we have?"

"Enough for the short version."

"OK, fine. You better come in and sit down. Trust me, you don't want to be standing when I tell you."

Tony and Ziva both shot him the same worried expression before they stepped into the main room and settled into two chairs near his desk.

"OK, Probie, shoot. What's the deal?"

Tim glanced at Mike and he nodded.

"I…Gibbs had Mike bring me his personal journals, one of those 'in case of my death' arrangements."

"OK…" Tony already looked like he was fighting disbelief. This wasn't going to end well.

"These contained a record of his…hobby, one we didn't even know about."

"Might want to get to the point, kid," said Mike, who looked like he was almost enjoying this.

"Gibbs, he, uh…hunted. He'd been hunting since he was a kid, and-."

"What does this have to do with what happened?" asked Ziva.

"Well, what he hunted…that's what was responsible. For his…death."

"What the hell are you talking about, McGee? How…what did he hunt?"

"Vampires."

Both turned to stare at Mike, but Tony was the first to recover.

"OK, that's it. If this is your idea of a joke, then-."

"It's not a joke, Tony."

"Sure, OK, you're telling me that there are such things as vampires, and Gibbs hunted them, and one of them killed him? That's just-."

"Crazy? Yeah, tell me about it. Unfortunately it's the truth…no offense, Mike."

Mike just smirked.

"McGee, do you honestly expect us to believe-?"

"Yes."

Tony laughed, but there was no humor in it.

"I'm out of here. You can keep your crazy delusions and-." He turned and came face to face with Mike, in full vampire mode. "JESUS-!"

"No, not even close," snarked Mike. Tony backed away and almost wound up in Ziva's lap as she just stared in shock. Mike returned to normal and Tim sighed.

"You'll get used to that, eventually. Or at least I hope so."

"You…you...you're a…?"

"Quite the investigator there, DiNozzo," said Mike with a grin. "Now that we've gotten that out of the way, I think it's time to get going. I'll let you walk your teammates out, kid."

"Got it. Sorry, guys, but we-."

"I want in."

Tim turned to his teammate in surprise.

"Ziva?"

"Whatever you are doing, I want to be a part of it. I do not care who…or what I have to work with to get the job done. Gibbs deserves justice."

"I think she can handle it, kid."

Tim sighed. This was the last thing he had wanted. "What will you need her to do?"

"She can be your backup. You'll need someone to watch your six while you work your magic."

"I can do that. Let us go." She turned to walk to the door.

"Wait."

They all turned to Tony, who seemed to have recovered somewhat.

"I'm in, too."

"Tony…"

"Forget it, Probie. If you two are in, I'm in. I'll deal with the…rest of it later."

"Looks like that's settled. Do you have everything you need, Tim?"

Tim turned back to his computer and removed the flash drive. "I'm ready."

"Good. Time to meet the rest of the posse."

"Posse? Do I even want to know?" asked Tony as he paled slightly.

"Probably not."

XXX

The ride to the place that housed the network hub was quiet and tense. Tim was uneasy about being in a closed in space (they had brought a panel truck to carry the group and whatever it was they had hidden in the front under a tarp) with eight vampires, even though he knew that, technically, they were all on the same side.

Ziva, on his left, had remained completely silent. He worried about her quick acceptance of the situation and that she was trying to hold too much in. He knew that was her normal way of coping with tense situations, but this was even worse than usual. Then again, this isn't exactly a normal situation.

Tony, on his right, was also quiet, but his uneasy attention was focused on the vampire seated across from him. Trent Kort just smirked and stared back.

When they had gathered at the truck, a glimpse of silver hair had made Tim's heart lurch into his throat until he realized that it belonged to a man that was only vaguely familiar. Jasper Shepard was as quiet as the rest, but seemed more nervous. He was the youngest vampire of the bunch, and still somewhat gun-shy after his experience with the opposing team, according to Mike. Tim just hoped they all knew what they were doing and were ready to do it. He had heard whispers of a plan, but nothing concrete.

"Just do your part, kid. Let us worry about the rest."

"Right…"

"We'll get you in. We scouted the place and there's a fairly direct access to the area which probably holds the server. You get in, do what you need to do, and get out. With your teammates, of course."

"And then what?"

"You'll see."

The rest of the ride was silent.

XXX

The building, an old meat-packing plant, was strangely quiet. Tim, Ziva, and Tony, armed with three wooden stakes each, followed one of the other vampires through a series of passageways until the reached a large room that held several server towers. Tim found an open terminal and started to work as Tony and Ziva paced. He was able to shut them out and concentrated on his work. As soon as he had one of the programs he had written loaded, he sat back to wait.

Finally Tony broke the silence.

"I still can't believe…"

"Yeah, I can understand that."

"So why…why did Gibbs tell you about all this?" Tim could hear the faintest tone of hurt in Tony's voice and he understood. Tony had been much closer to the man and was wondering if he had done something to remove himself from Gibbs' confidences. Tim didn't want him to suffer so he decided to tell him what he had learned.

"Gibbs saved my father's life, back when he was still in the Navy. He saved him from a vampire, actually, and my father decided that he wanted to hunt them, too."

"Your father was a vampire hunter?"

"Yep. And they killed him for it."

"Oh, man, Probie. I-."

"Don't worry about it. I'm…dealing with it."

Ziva stopped pacing for a moment. "Is that why Gibbs was killed? Because of the vampires he hunted?"

"Yeah, pretty much, Ziva."

She swore softly in Hebrew and went back to pacing.

"How much longer, McGee? This place gives me the creeps."

Tim checked the program progress and smiled. "One down, one to go."

"So what are we doing here? And a better question, what are they doing here? The bad vampires?"

"Trust me, you really don't want to know."

"Yeah, I do."

"They're trying to take control of us. We're trying to stop them. That's pretty much it."

"So what happens if this works?"

"We've slowed them down, at least. I guess we'll have to start taking down the rest of them who were part of this that we don't get this time."

"'We'? Sounds like you've decided to be a hunter, too."

Tim thought for a moment. "It's like our real job, Tony. We do what needs to be done to keep the criminals at bay, at least as much as we can. For this, I'll do as much as I can."

"You mean 'we will do as much as we can'," said Ziva.

"Guys, look-."

"We are still a team, are we not? We are still Gibbs' team."

"Damn straight," said Tony with a grin. "Team Gibbs: Vampire Hunters."

"As long as we can, at least." Tim felt the grief re-awaken. "I don't know what will happen when we go back to work. We've been split up before."

"Not if I can help it," muttered Tony. "We belong as a team. Then again, Vance will probably offer you your own team. What then?"

"Let us worry about that when the time comes," interrupted Ziva. "Right now we have to worry about getting out of here in one piece, yes?"

"Good point. How much longer, Probie?"

Tim checked the progress, hit a few more keys, and removed the flash drive. "Done. System failure should occur right about…now." The screens all went dark, and Tim managed a smile.

"Attaboy, McGenius. Now let's get-."

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" The voice which penetrated the gloom was low and rough, but a smirk could be heard behind it. "Free lunch? So nice of you to provide."

They all stood and faced the vampire as he emerged from the darkness. "Do you really know how to use those, children? I don't think you do."

"I think we get the idea," replied Tony. Now why don't you let us walk out of here before we-."

"Before you what? Attempt to get revenge. That's why you're here, isn't it? To find the man who killed your boss? Well, 'man' is slightly inaccurate, as you may have guessed," he said as his fangs descended. The three teammates drew closer together and this time it was Ziva who responded.

"I do not believe it will be an attempt. It will be done."

The vamp laughed. "So who gets the first shot? You, little girl? Lost the closet thing to a daddy you ever had. So pathetic."

With a low growl Ziva launched herself at the vampire, stake in hand, only to be swatted aside. She crashed to the ground a few feet away.

"No!" yelled Tony as he tried to get to her, but Tim held him back. "Just wait," he whispered. Trust me."

"That all you've got? What about you, then: the right-hand man? Tried so hard to be just like the Boss that you lost yourself along the way. That's right, I know a hell of a lot more about you, all of you, than you know about me." He smirked and met Tim's gaze. "And you, the geek. You have double the reason for wanting me dead. I killed your father, too, you know." Tim felt his jaws clench and his vision clouded, but he managed not to attack. "It was barely an effort, really. He was getting too old, should have quit while he was ahead, but he continued to be a…nuisance."

Tim finally managed to respond. "My father…was a good man."

"Not anymore."

Tim shook his head. "You know, people…evil things like you, they always manage to make the same mistake."

"Yeah, and what's that?"

"No one ever has your back." The vamp broke eye contact and turned just as another vampire slammed into him. Tim and Tony barely avoided the grappling pair and immediately ran over to Ziva, who was just beginning to wake up.

"Not a smart move, Ziva," muttered Tony as he helped her up.

"It was a distraction, Tony. It worked, did it not?" she asked groggily.

"Yeah, sure. Let's go." They both helped her up and they started for the exit as quickly as they could. Suddenly something slammed into them from behind and they all went rolling away from each other. Tim hit the wall and lay, stunned, until something grabbed him and pulled him to his feet and he found himself face to face with the vampire.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asked as he pushed Tim back to the ground. Tim managed to get to his feet and take a few steps back as the vampire prepared to charge. This was it. This was the end.

Sorry, Dad…Gibbs. I tried.

"Tim, catch!"

He responded to the command on instinct, turning to catch the object as it came hurtling towards him. He turned the stake in his hands, turned back around, and sank it into the vamp's chest just as it reached him. It stared down at the stake and then back at him with wide, black, inhuman eyes. He met its gaze.

"That was for my Dad," he said, and then, with all his strength, gave the stake a hard twist. "And that was for my Boss." He stepped back and watched the vamp fall to the ground, disintegrating into a blackened corpse before his eyes. He took several deep breaths, trying to throw up right there. He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Tony.

"Nice one, Tim."

"T-thanks. Thanks for getting the stake to me."

Tony gave him a puzzled look. "What stake? I got here just as you shish-kabobbed the bastard."

"Then who…?"

"No idea, but let's get the hell out of here. I have an idea that something very bad is about to happen to this place. C'mon."

"Ziva?"

"She's fine. Let's go."

Tim took one last look back, but saw nothing but darkness. Finally, he turned and followed Tony.

XXX

They made it outside just as the sun was peaking over the horizon. The truck was still in the same place, and they scrambled inside. Most of the vamps were already there, but two were missing: Mike and Trent Kort. Finally, they emerged from the building and ran to the truck. Kort climbed into the driver's seat and Mike got in the back. The truck pulled away with the back door still open, giving them a clear view of the building as they drove off. Suddenly the truck slowed and stopped.

"Everyone hang on," said Mike with a grin.

"What-?" Tony didn't get to finish his sentence before the building exploded.

Tim immediately covered his ears and ducked, but soon he had to look up. He just had to. The building, what was left of it, was engulfed in flames. Tim turned to look at his companions and saw that Tony and Ziva were staring, wide-eyed, at the conflagration. Tony turned to Tim and grinned.

"Hey, Probie?"

"What?"

He waggled his fingers. "How much do you think we should charge them for this?"

Tim stared at Tony, unbelieving. Of all the movies he could have quoted…Finally he just shook his head and laughed.

"You're incorrigible, you know that?"

"Yep."

Finally Mike closed the door and the truck started to drive away as he turned to Tim.

"I take it you did what you came to do?"

"Yep. Plus a little more."

"What do you mean?"

"I destroyed the network, but before that, I drained all of their associated bank accounts. If they manage to start up here again, they'll have to do it with no money." He managed a faint smile.

"So where is the money?" asked Tony.

"Re-distributed."

"To whom?"

"Families of all the victims listed in Gibbs' journal. It's not enough, it would never be enough, but it's better than nothing."

Mike chuckled. "Your Dad would be proud of ya, kid. Gibbs would, too."

"Thanks. So is that it? Did we do enough to stop them?"

"We took out a major chunk of the resources, but they are still going to be out there, rebuilding."

"Then I guess we'll have to stop them. Permanently."

"We?"

"All of us. This is Gibbs' legacy, and we're going to uphold it, for as long as we can. Right guys?"

Tony and Ziva both nodded and smiled. Mike checked his watch.

"Well, looks like you'll all have just enough time to get cleaned up and get to work."

"Work?"

"At NCIS. You'll have to keep that job, you know. There's not a lot of money in revenge," he said with a grin and Ziva and Tim both groaned.

"You're rubbing off on him, Tony. Something tells me that's a very bad thing."

"C'mon, Probie, you love it and you know it."

Tim just shook his head, leaned back, and closed his eyes.

One part of the job was over. They had gotten vengeance for Gibbs…and his father. He knew there was still more, that there would probably always be more, but right now he could just take a moment and push it from his mind.

He tried, but he couldn't, and reality settled in. They still had work to do.

A/N: Movies quoted: Tony - The Lost Boys; Mike - The Princess Bride