Chapter 6 Part 2
Gibbs slowly blinked his bleary eyes. One of Abdul's men had come in at about five thirty and gave Gibbs and injection of something that obviously knocked him out. He was disoriented. Whereas he was in a dimly lit room before, now he was sure he was outside. The chill and wind in the air told him that. But he wasn't on the ground. he gently rolled himeslf on his back and felt a cool smooth surface. Marble? He was confused now. Sitting up slightly, he saw a courtyard about eight feet below him and to his right the dim outline of what seemed to be an entryway to an ampitheatre. Still confused, he looked to his left and and in the gathering darkness saw what looked like thousands of lightly colored flecs in his vision. He blinked a couple of times trying to rid what he thought was an after effect of whatever drug Abdul used on him. When he saw the white flecs were permanent, he was hit with a wave of realization of his location. The realization changed quickly to anger when he realized that it was The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier that he lay on. Checking the tape on his finger by flexing his fingers, he realized with relief that he had worked the tape down to a ripable state. He didn't want to rip it just yet, but wanted to wait for Abdul to be completely distracted. He need to know the situation before he made a move.
"Ah, Leroy, you are awake." Abdul had just climbed up to the top of the Tomb.
"What are you playing at Abdul? How dare you dishonor this tomb with your sick games?" Being a true Marine, Gibbs was furious with the blatent lack of respect Abdul had for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
"You know Leroy, you Americans are comical. Ironic even. You erect a great place of honor for soldiers who are nameless, wishing to honor their service to your country. The irony is that you do not bat lash at the hundreds of thouands of innocents that these dead soldiers killed. Those people had names. Those people had families. Instead of honoring the dead innocents, you honor their killers!" For the first time, Abdul betrayed his mask of calm indifference. Gibbs saw anger and pain in Abdul's face. And for the first time, Gibbs began to get a look into Abdul's true soul. It was a sad place, that looked as though joy and hope had been ripped from it. Gibbs kept whatever sympathies he had at bay however, because his and the rest of his team's life were in danger. But at the same time, he couldn't help but see a little bit of himself in Abdul.
"So is that it Abdul? You had someone special taken from you? And so now, you've been reduced to a murderer? All because of your grief, your pain?"
"Leroy, you know nothing of pain! Nothing! Because you are an intelligent man, I will shed some light. I had a family Leroy. And I loved them and one day, I came home from a trip to Afganistan and found my village wiped from the face of the earth. Why? Because some lofty Americans thought there was threat in my village. Shoot first, ask questions later. That was the day I embraced radical Islam."
"You don't have to do this Abdul. You can turn around right now and leave. I know what it's like to lose a family. I lost my family to a drug cartel. A filthy drug lord. And you know what? I blew his brains out when I got home. Hurting others because you're hurting does not help! It may feel good in the moment, but in the end you are still alone and nothing fills the hole. This is not the answer. I've found a way to hurt less. So can you. Just, leave and stop this. Because there is no turning back."
"Moving words Leroy. But you see, I had found a way to hurt less. Ari Haswari. He was like a brother to me. And you killed him. You ripped my heart in two again. No more Leroy. You will suffer."
Gibbs sighed and lay back down. He knew that Abdul was too far gone. He would not stop with his destruction until he succeeded or was killed. Gibbs honestly prefered neither, but knew it was hopeless idealism. Abdul was a broken soul that was beyond repair. Gibbs thoughts came to an abrupt halt when gun shots erupted somewhere in the cemetery.
"Ah, good. Leroy, your team is here." Abdul pulled out military binoculars with night vision from somewhere in the long coat he was wearing. "If you do not mind the lack of conversation, I think I shall watch.
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"McGee, this is serious. What's with the robot get up?" McGee was already at the cemetery when Ziva and Tony arrived. He was clad in NCIS issue raid gear, similar to a SWAT uniform. In addition to the gear, he had on a thick harness around his torso, strung with wires that led to what looked like a laser tag gun.
"Funny Tony. If we're lucky, this "robot get up" is what's gonna keep us from blowing up," replied McGee hotly.
"Easy Probie. Just trying to lighten the mood. I'm nervous too."
"Are you ready McGee?" Asked Ziva as she came from the back of Tony's car, sporting what seemed to be a sniper rifle. Tony rasied his eyebrow at it.
"What Tony? You think shooters are going to make themselves easily seen? I will be able to take careof them without an issue."
"Hey, fine by me. Okay. McGee do you have this thing tested?"
"Yeah Tony. It's in working order. It should at te very least pick up on the explosives that the trip wires are rigged to."
"Great job Probie. Our primary concern while getting though this is McGee's safety. If he goes down, we're totally blind. Ziva, since you have the sniper rifle, you take shooters as you see them. You'll be behind McGee. I'll be in front making sure he doesn't get shot and cutting wires if we come to them. I hope you guys have your best gear on. Chances are we're gonna get shot up pretty good."
McGee nodded without responding to Tony. He felt nervous about being the one protected. If they were going to risk there lives to keep him alive, he'd have to do his very best to keep them away from bombs. He owed it to Tony and Ziva. He owed it to Gibbs. He stood up and aimed the sonar gun to the trail they were to enter. The screen lit up with a picture of the area. McGee instantly noticed tip wire devices at the bottom of all the tomb stones. All except two. They marked the beginning of the trail.
"Tony, this way," said McGee, pointing to the two tomb stones. They three teammates made eye contact nodding. They knew one false step would doom them. They trusted each other to keep each other safe. Gibbs would expect no less.
They were barely five steps onto their designated path when a peel of gun shots erupted. The three croutch low to avoid being hit.
"This guy isn't gonna cut us a break it he!" yelled Tony in frustration.
"Quiet Tony! I need to hear," hissed Ziva. Tony glanced over his shoulder and saw Ziva shoot up to her knees and fire of a shot into the darkness. The immediate cease of gun fire show she hit her mark.
"Ziva! Don't do that. You just present your sefl as a target!" As much as Tony knew McGee was the one who needed to be kept safe, he couldn't ingnore the urge to preotect Ziva as well.
"Tony, focus on the mission. I will do my job." Ziva spoke softly, knowing the root of Tony's uneasiness. McGee was curious about the interaction, but decided to make generate another Sonar picture to lead them on.
As the trio wove in and out of grave stones, the gun fire steadily increased, turning from semiautomatic rifle shots to machine gun fire.. Ziva eventually joined Tony in guarding McGee because Tony could not stretch everywhere.
As Tony predicted, they did get shot up quite a bit. However, their assalients must have had night vision, because the vast majority of bullets hit their jackets, while the rest missed. The shots hurt tremendously and would leave fierce bruising, but they continued to press forward. After thirty minutes of crawling, sprinting, and actually jumping over some wires to shorten their route the lit Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was visible. They could make out the sillouette of a man sitting on the top, his feet dangling over the edge.
"That is Abdul," stated Ziva.
"Can you take him out?"
"No Tony. Remember his threat in the video. I believe he is somehow wired to a very effective dead man switch. Besides, with this fire, I cannot get enough time to hit him without being killed myself."
"Okay. McGee we're taking a short stop. Ziva, I need you to take out as many of these shooters as you can from here. We won't get much further with them shooting at us." Ziva crawled behind a gravestone for cover.
After five full minutes of shooting and ducking, all gun fire ceased.
"Guys, it's a stright shot from here. Whether or not we beat the seven o clock deadline depends on how fast we run," said McGee as he shed his precious Sonar equipment behind a gravestone.
"On three. Have handguns ready incase there are more goons who we didn't see. One, two, three!" yelled Tony. The three agents burst up and began running with all the strength they could muster. The stretch was longer than it appeared, and so they entered the lit Tomb area at the stroke of seven.
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Gibbs sighed with relief when the gun fire stopped. He knew his team was alive because Abdul had been cursing his men's inability to avoid being shot. Gibbs' heart froze when he heard Abdul mutter in English.
"At last, they come. It looks like they will make it in time to chose between you and disarming the bomb Leroy."
That was enough to shake Gibbs into action. With tremendous finger strength, Gibbs pulled his hands apart. Knowing the next part of his escape would be strenuous, Gibbs took a deep breath and let it out slowly, to avoid Abdul's suspicion. Taking careful aim, Gibbs sprang to his feet and swung his cuffed wrists at Abdul with all his might. His wrist collided squarely with Abdul's head and the startled terrorist cried out in pain as he fell from the tomb. Unfortunately, Gibbs' momentum took him off the edge as well, just as Tony, Ziva and McGee reached the top of the stairs leading to the Tomb.
McGee happened to be closest to the Tomb and saw Gibbs go down. On pure adrenaline he ran and jumped in to his boss, breaking Gibbs' fall. Before Ziva and Tony had time to react, five more of Abdul's men appeared from the amphitheater sporting hand guns. Tony and Ziva ran to avoid being hit, taking cover down the steps. The men did not pursue; they'd been specifically told to avoid killing the agents.
"Tony, I will need cover," said Ziva as she freed on of her Jerichos.
"And what exactly will you be doing?"
"The control panel for the bomb is at the base of the Tomb. I cannot disarm it and avoid getting shot."
"Fine Zee. On three, we make a break for the tomb. One...Two...Three!" Tony and Ziva ran up the stairs that provided cover, shooting at Abdul's men as they went. Under the same instructions as the previous shooters, the men only aimed for Tony and Ziva's vests. Between the two agents, they took out three of the men before reaching the control panel. Trusting Tony to provide adequate cover cover, she holstered her Jericho and began evaluating the panel. It was newer technology, transmitting wireless signals, wired with old time electrical equipment, which Ziva suspected was for her benefit. As she evaluated the five wires in front of her, two green one black and yellow and two red, she suddenly felt company. Looking up, she saw McGee assisting with providing cover and Gibbs squatted down next to her.
"Hey Ziva give me a gun." Ziva smirked at her boss as she handed him a fully loaded Jericho. Always working, she thought. Ziva was deep in concentration when she heard a yell by her. Her head shot up and to her horror she saw that Tony took a hit to the shoulder and was now on the ground. Fighting the urge to go to him, she refocused on the bomb. After another minute, Ziva cut the black and yellow wire. When nothing exploded she, let out a sigh of relief. Then she realized that she was also listening to silence, as the gunshots had stopped. She looked across the plaza to see the remaining attackers dead. Tony! The thought popped in her mind and she instantly turned to look for him. He was three feet away with Gibbs wrapping his arm in a piece of his shirt.
"Tony are you okay?"
"Yeah Zee. We didn't blow up, we have Gibbs and this is just a scratch." He flashed her a brilliant DiNozzo smile and she couldn't help but grin in response.
Gibbs helped Tony to his feet and turned to look at McGee.
"Nice catch McGee." He was proud of McGee's response in danger. He had definitely grown into a good agent.
"Thanks boss."
The team of four turned to walk away, glowing in their success. Until the heard the click of a gun cocking.
"Take one more step, and this man dies! Turn around!" shouted a voice from between the pillars of the amphitheater. The whole team spun and froze in horror.
Abdul, with a blood streaming down the side of his face, had his arm wrapped around the neck and a gun at the head of a bound and gagged man. The man was from The Old Guard. It turned out to be bad luck that Abdul picked his shifting of guarding the tomb to infiltrate Arlington Cemetery.