Chapter 5

'Why the hell did I delete the list?', Tony cursed and stared at his computer screen.

He tried to make a list with all people he had arrested or brought in trouble the last years and who might take revenge now. He remembered the list he did years ago when they had arrested Chip, Abby's assistant.

'Finished, DiNozzo?', Gibbs came to the office, carrying a coffee, as usual.

'Yeah, nearly. But I don't have any favorites', Tony said and put the list on the plasma screen.

'One hundred seventy-four?', McGee asked astonished.

'Not more?', Gibbs said.

'None that I could think of', Tony declared.

'Ziva, McGee, you work out that list', Gibbs ordered.

'All of them?', Ziva asked. Gibbs didn't say anything and the agents nodded.

'Wait a moment', McGee said when he scrolled down the list. 'I know that name', he pointed with the mouse on it.

'Yeah, Simon Birch. I arrested him twelve years ago when I was a cop in Baltimore. I think he was really kind of pissed off', Tony explained.

'He was arrested for the murder on a mother and her child. But he will be released from prison the today. It was on the news this morning', McGee said and after a few seconds he put a picture of Birch onto the screen.

'But when he's accused of murder, why should he already leave prison?', Ziva asked.

'Something with his files were wrong and now he wants indemnification', McGee said.

'You're going to visit him in prison if he's still there. Be fast', Gibbs said.

'And what am I supposed to do?', Tony asked.

'Stay here so I can have an eye on you', Gibbs said, threw the empty paper cup to the paper basket and went off to get another cup of coffee.

Tony sighed and sat down on his computer.

'What do you mean, he is already out?', McGee asked.

'Well, he was allowed to leave about an hour ago', the guard at the prison said.

'Without any notices or-'

'This is a prison. When the prisoners may go out, they go out and never look back. Until they're back in here.'

'Do you know where to find him?', Ziva asked hopefully.

The guard shook his head. 'He was awaited by an Arabic looking man in a car but more I don't know.'

Ziva and McGee returned to their cars. 'Arabic?', Ziva asked.

'Well, I don't think he became member of Al Qaeda', McGee said.

They drove back to NCIS headquarters and starting working on DiNozzo's list without knowing that the man they searched already had passed the Canadian border and had free possibility to move. Mr. Sitaram called Caroline that Birch was safe. Now he expected the work to be done.

'May I go home, boss?'

'No, DiNozzo. You are safe here.'

'I have a gun and can watch after myself.'

'Not when you were poisoned.'

'It wasn't a dangerous poisoning.'

'It was a warning. They could have already killed you when you were relaxing at your house. Instead they only put a scorpion into your mailbox.'

'It was kind of shocking though', Tony muttered.

'Good night', Gibbs said when he walked away.

Now only Tony, Ziva and McGee were there. 'Found out anything?', Tony asked. Both shook their heads.

'Hey, Tony', Abby said without looking up from her screen.

'You scare me, Abbs', Tony said and put a Caf-Pow in front of her on the table.

'Oh, you're saving my life, Tony', she said and sipped it.

'Anything new?', he asked.

'Yeah, your Gibbs-imitation gets better every time', she said.

'A body was found in the river this morning. Police found it and I was bored. He was Greek and arrived a week ago in America. I also searched all people arriving in the United States since last week.'

'Aren't that much?', Tony asked looking at the plasma screen.

'Yeah', Abby explained with wide eyes. 'Well, I was bored and tried to find any connections, like the same bank or something similar.'

'And?'

'And I found out that ten of them are now at the same moment in the United States, all ten of them were in France five weeks ago and all ten of them were in Italy two months ago, in the same cities.'

'Interesting.'

'Further of interest is the fact that they all have secret bank accounts. I had to hack into a few data banks to find this out.'

'So you mean, they are working for Al Qaeda?', Tony asked and looked at the photos of the ten displayed men.

'Hey, I know that one', neither Tony nor Abby have noticed McGee and Ziva entering.

'He was seen on the surveillance cameras at the prison. He caught Birch and they drove away together', McGee pointed at an Arabic looking man.

'But they are only ten', Ziva said.

'And?', Tony asked.

'The head of Scorpia had always been twelve persons', she explained.

'Maybe they have changed their attitude. Abby, you said, they were destroyed several times.'

She nodded, 'by a British MI6 agent. But I don't think they have changed anything. I assume it isn't easy to make out their head and perhaps one of them already was in America or arrived another way.'

'They're all men', Ziva said looking at the screen.

'The last known woman in the head has been dead for several years now', Abby explained.

'Can you find out where these persons are now?', Tony asked and nodded toward the screen.

Abby turned back to her computer. 'I try to. They all stay in different hotels. Wow, all of them are really expensive', she said and at the computer different windows opened and showed the hotel addresses.

'Thanks, Abby', Ziva said and the three agents went off.

'The first hotel and directly a hit', McGee said when the three special agents put the Japanese man into the car.

'I'll call Gibbs. I think he wants to do the interrogation', McGee said and he and Ziva went into the car.

'Excuse me, can you tell me where the Opera Plaza is?', a woman spoke to Tony.

He turned around and smiled. 'Yeah, of course.'

The woman showed him a plan of Washington.

Actually, Tony's interest was in the woman and not the map. She was as tall as Tony, seemed to be very muscular, had dark, brown hair with lighter strands and wore a leather trousers and an also black leather jacket. Tony noticed the black motorcycle in the background and matched it to her.

'You drive down the street', he explained on the map, 'and then turn right here and left on the second street on the right side.'

'Thank you very much', she smiled at him.

'Are you British?', he asked.

She put away the map. 'No, Italian. But I have studied in Great Britain.'

'Oh, cool, studied what?'

'Computer Science', she said.

She has so beautiful blue eyes, Tony thought. 'Sounds interesting. So you can hack into data banks?', he asked.

'Well, if I wanted. You aren't a cop, are you?', she laughed.

'Well, NCIS', he laughed back. 'That stands for-'

'Naval Criminal Investigative Service.'

'Wow.'

'Yeah, read it.'

'So, you're here on vacation?', he asked.

'What's Tony doing?', McGee asked.

'I assume he tries to get a date', Ziva sighed.

'Well, she has a motorcycle', McGee said and nodded toward it. 'Men want more than motorcycles', Ziva paid back.

'Well, but it's a good start', McGee admitted. Ziva looked at him puzzled.

Tony opened the door and went to the back seat next to the Japanese. 'We can go', he said and closed the door behind him.

'And, got another girl?', Ziva asked.

'Well, we have a date tonight. She's twenty-nine, Italian and studied Computer Science. May be interesting for you, McGeek, no?'

'Do you also know her name?', McGee asked obviously not as optimistic as Tony.

'Yeah, Caroline', he answered. Ziva sighed. She hated it when Tony changed his girlfriends weekly.

'You still should be observed', she said. 'Scorpia is still after you.'

'I can look after myself. And if you want you can play look-out and watch my house tonight.'

Ziva sighed. Gibbs won't like the idea of DiNozzo being alone at home and even with an unknown girl.

'She was Italian. Scorpia is an Italian organization', she said.

'Ziva. Just be glad for me!'

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