The drums of war

Director Vance made the rounds with his wife and, guided by a marine escort, goes to a private room in the back of the ballroom, connected to the main festivities area by a long corridor, where some powerful officers, both from the Navy and the Air Force, are quietly chatting. SecNav immediately signals to him, while he's talking to a man whose back is turned to Vance.

Vance walks towards SecNav with his wife. His smile freezes on his face as he gets closer to the two men talking, and the unknown person turns around, his smile as sleazy as it had been when they met for the first time in his office.

"Vance, please, let me introduce you to the newest Commander of our Tactical bases in the South Pacific, Commander Kieran McGee." Kieran looks at Vance, and he's almost gleeful at the shock the NCIS Director couldn't hide for a second, before his professional polite mask slipped in.

"Oh, we've met," says Commander McGee, smiling like the viper he is. "My oldest son, Timothy, is one of his agents," He turns to SecNav.

"Really?" SecNav turns to Vance. "You never told me that."

"Yes, Special Agent Timothy McGee, from the MCR team." Vance stares at Kieran who smiles charmingly. Jackie lightly touches his arm. Vance covers his wife's hand with one of his own in an unconscious gesture of protection.

"Who is this charming lady?" Kieran smiles at Jackie. She keeps smiling, but let's Leon do the necessary introductions.

"My wife, Jackie Vance." Vance continues to eye Kieran, wondering what he could be possibly plotting in that devious mind of his.

They are approached by a gray haired man, dressed to the nines in four star Brigadier General Air Force dress blues. He's posture is of one of those men that fought many battles, and have all the scars to prove it. Despite his battles, he's still kept a jovial approach to life, and walks towards the small circle with a smile on his face.

"Fellas, ma'am, do you mind if I join you?" His eyes glide over Vance and Commander McGee, stopping over the last one for some seconds, which makes the Commander stand straighter in his uniform, while Vance studies the General.

"Hello, O'Neill, I thought you hated these types of parties," says SecNav, shaking the General's outstretched hand.

The General smiles charmingly. "You know me, free food, free beer." He looks at Jackie, and shrugs smiling, eliciting a sincere smile from Vance's wife. "I couldn't resist it." He glances at Kieran. "But I have a complaint to make, why don't they serve a decent beer here? Just these sissy European ones, flavored." Vance studies the General, who is now looking at him with a smile on his face, but with very serious eyes. "What happened to good old American beer?"

"Probably being served in good old American bars, not in receptions of the Navy," says Kieran with a smile, evoking laughter from both the SecNav and the General.

O'Neill looks at Kieran, and SecNav, silently asking to be introduced. "General Jack O'Neill, let me introduce you to Commander Kieran McGee, and Director Leon Vance, from NCIS with his very charming wife, Jackie."

Jack shakes all the hands, elegantly kisses Jackie's palm, smirks, and turns to SecNav. "Are you playing golf next week?" He asks, sipping his drink, but for some reason Vance feels that golf is the least of the worries in the General's mind.

SecNav smirks. "Sure, invite that tall foreigner friend of yours, he has a wicked swing."

O'Neill smiles. "Will do." His phone rings so he excuses himself and leaves their circle, to answer it.

"O'Neill." He immediately tenses with whatever he hears. He turns slightly, and his eyes cross with Vance for a moment, and Vance feels a foreboding sense of doom. Something is wrong, very wrong.

General O'Neill closes his phone, nods briefly at Vance and marches out of the room. Vance can't help but stare at his back as he leaves.

"Something wrong, Director?" asks Commander McGee, smiling at Vance as he knew something that the Director didn't, he looked far too proud of himself, but Vane couldn't figure out the reason why.

Vance turns to him, sees his satisfied smile and he feels the extraordinary urge to punch it off of his face. "No, I don't think so." He takes his wife's hand, excuses himself to SecNav, and guides her away from them.

Jackie keeps an awkward smile plastered on her face until they leave the room. As soon as they get to the corridor, she turns and looks at him, worried. He pulls out his cell phone and dials a number.

"What's going on, Leon?"

"Something is happening," he answers vagely as he glances back to the SecNav and Commander MGee talking and laughing. "Something bad. And I have to find out what it is."

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Gibbs phone rings, he picks it up and looks at the ID caller. Joy glances at him, as the SUVs and the Porsche stop at a red light.

"Vance," he says to her, as he answers the phone. "Leon, isn't it a little bit late for you to be up and about?"

"Cut the crap, Agent Gibbs, and tell me what's going on," says Vance, irritated.

Gibbs looks at the SUV in front of the Porsche turning onto Connecticut Ave. "We have a situation right now, but we're working on it. Why are you asking?"

"Because I'm at in the Renaissance hotel, where Commander Kieran McGee and SecNav are talking as if they were longtime buddies, and General O'Neill just left the room as if the hellhounds were after him, right after receiving a phone call. So, cut the crap and tell me!"

Vance senses Jackie's eyes on him, studying his face, but for the first time in a long time he can't hide his astonishment to what he's hearing, and she sees him becoming pale, and freezing as if the news he had just received was very terrible indeed.

"Leon?" She says his name softly, trying to get his attention, but he's staring at the wall, first with a surprised face, then slowly fury starts to boil and he can barely restrain his anger. "Leon?" she says again. When her husband turns to her, she sees his deep burning anger and that frightens her.

"Where are you now?" He asks whoever he's speaking to. He nods. "I'm in one of the private rooms in the back, so is SecNav and him, I'll be waiting for your arrival."

He disconnects, and notices the worried look of his wife. "Who's with the kids?"

Jackie shakes her head. "The normal security detail, why?"

He hands his phone to Jackie, and she sees that he's no longer Leon, her husband, he's now Vance, the director of NCIS. "I want you to call home, and ensure that everything is all right. Speak to the agent in charge, and tell him to call back up immediately."

"You think someone might attack our kids?" Jackie feels panic rise inside of her.

Leon shakes his head. "It's just a precaution, there were other attacks tonight." He looks into the room, where SecNav now talks with another Navy officer, with Commander McGee by his side.

"What attacks, Leon?"

He glances back at his wife. "Go, the Valkyries are coming."