Chapter 5

Drive-by shooting... Dabi and Gibor with Agent Kensi Blye... Dabi appears to have seen one of the shooters while shooting back... Unknown causalities but confirmed Dabi and Gibor not among them... Callen and team enroute...

Gibbs was pissed off. He had gotten the call from Hetty and had stopped at his home long enough to grab a travel bag before heading to a local airport, where Hetty had promised to pull a favor with someone and get him a direct flight to Los Angeles.

As he waited for the pilot to finish the pre-flight checks, he got a message from Dabi.

"With Callen and his people. Eric B. found the shooter's SUV at a possible empty warehouse. Heading to the location now. Me and G. are okay, just shaken."

"You either stay in the car or you stick to Callen like glue," Gibbs sent back.

"Already planning on it," was the reply. "Getting sick of being shot at. :("

"Don't blame you. Plane is taking off in a short bit so I should be in L.A. by nightfall."

"Buzz me when you get in. Love you lots."

"Love you too sweetheart."

In L.A.:

"Your dad?" Deeks asked, watching as Dabi smiled at the latest iMessage.

"Yup. Rule Five, always tell the ones you love that you love them, because you may not get another chance," said Dabi.

"That's a good rule," said Kensi. "What are the first four?"

"Rule One: just because you can, doesn't mean you should, especially if it involves a fight.

Rule Two: never leave home without your cell phone or your dog.

Rule Three: always carry a knife. I usually have the one Dad gave me, but airport restrictions being what they are, I had to leave it at home." She didn't see the look Callen and Sam shared. "And Rule Four is always work as a team. I also have Rule Six, which is: if someone is down, you help them. The exception is the bad guy that just tried to hurt you. Rule Seven: when you're pulling a prank, always have an exit strategy."

"What kind of pranks have you pulled?" Deeks asked, his eyes lighting up.

"That's going to have to be a story for another time, kids; we're here," said Callen. His cell phone went off; it was Eric.

"Paul Macabe, Citrus Avenue address, natural-born citizen with Italian-immigrated parents," he reported. "Vintage Imports was started by his father and he took over twenty-two years ago. No criminal records or suspicions of anything illegal. Only person in the family that has a record is Marcus Macabe, busted for DUI when he was nineteen; he's twenty-five now."

"Paul's status?" Callen asked.

"Alive but it's touch and go," was the reply.

"Keep digging. This may or may not be NCIS-related and if it is, I want to make sure we can investigate without Granger nipping at our heels," instructed Callen, referring to NCIS Assistant Director Owen Granger.

The Assistant Director had a love-hate relationship with Callen and the rest of the team. They loved it when he kept his distance from their cases and hated him when he ordered them around and didn't clarify his reasons.

"In the mean time, get the building plans for this place; I don't want to go in blind."

"Get hooked up and I'll start giving."

"And keep Dabi in the loop by messaging her."

"Got it."

As the team geared up for a take-down, Callen gave Dabi some instructions.

"Keep your phone with you; Neil or Eric will be messaging you during this operation, so that means watch closely." Dabi nodded. He handed her a loaded SIG Sauer and an extra clip. He watched as she checked it over, even checking the clip before racking the slide to check the chamber.

"Rule Eight; always check your weapon yourself, even if you trust the person handing it to you," she said.

"A very good rule," said Callen. "Keep Gibor close, the doors locked, and your head down. Be prepared for trouble. Do you drive?"

"I can turn on the engine but that's it."

"Okay, if you see us running, turn on the motor, unlock the doors, and get ready, because if we're running, then Hell is right behind us."

"Understood. Byt' bezopasnym (be safe)."

He smiled. "You too."

The team took off for the building and Dabi and Gibor hunkered down, a pair of binoculars nearby, the gun in one hand and her cell in the other.

"Talk to us, Eric," Sam snapped

"It looks like the suspect vehicle went into the loading bay furthest to your left," Eric reported. "The building isn't abandoned but it isn't in use at the moment. I haven't seen any movement but the cameras in the area aren't that great."

"Keep us posted."

"Always."

They entered the docking bay cautiously, weapons at the ready. The SUV that had been seen at the scene was there, missing one of the passenger windows and the rear window. While everyone else kept a close eye out for trouble, Deeks quickly checked the vehicle.

"We got blood on the passenger side, but no shooter," he reported. "Dabi got a few good shots in."

"Good girl," said Kensi.

The team moved forward, following the trail of blood that was spotted on the floor. Inside what used to be a docking office, they found a body. He was a twentyish male with tanned or dusky skin, dark hair, and a bullet hole between his eyes. He also had a bullet wound near his right shoulder, coming in from behind.

"Looks like his injury made him a liability," said Kensi, while Callen snapped a picture of the dead man's face for Eric and Neil to run through facial recognition. He really didn't want to show it to Dabi, but he was going to have to.

A quick sweep of the building turned up tire tracks in a blind spot behind the building. Whoever the driver-killer was, he was long gone.

"Call it in," said Callen to Eric. "Have someone process that vehicle. If they're smart, they wiped it down, but if they're not, we may get a clue."

"Hearing you loud and clear," said Eric. Then; "You need to get back to the car, guys; Dabi's reporting seeing someone suspicious watching her and it's a large white van with no windows."

"On our way. Tell her to keep her head down but be ready," Sam snapped, while the rest of the team bolted out of the office.

"Head down," Eric reported. "She's not seeing a plate or anything unique about the van, but she can see a male with Caucasian skin tone and light brown hair watching her or possibly the building. She's wondering if it's the driver."

"Possibly. We're almost there," said Callen.

They got there in time to see a white van tear down the road. As Dabi said, there was no plate and nothing unique about it. The car was already running and the doors were unlocked. Everyone piled in and Callen whipped the car into a reversing turn-around maneuver that Dabi swore was going to give her whiplash, before tearing down the road after the van.

"Eric, follow that van!" Callen snapped.

"Following," Eric replied. "He just made a right turn at Eighty-second Street. Better catch up, guys; there's not a lot of traffic cameras in that area."

"Trying to!" Sam snapped.

Then traffic got too heavy, even for a nimble little car like the one they were driving, and despite Callen's best efforts and Eric's help, they soon lost the van. Then Neil had more bad news.

"You guys need to get back here; facial recognition just coughed up the name of the shooter and it ain't good."

Deeks repeated what Neil had just said to Dabi and she scowled. "You're about to have a bitchy teenage girl on your hands and a pissed off Supervisory Agent on your hands and that ain't good either!"