You may be wondering about the lack of updates? Well, I really only have one word: virus. I thought that since I've got an anti-virus thingy, I wouldn't be infected. Well...how wrong was I?
Anyway, thanks for sticking by me, and here's the next installment!
Chapter 22
Alex hadn't spoken to Matthew since the Incident the previous day. He felt that he was perfectly justified in acting that way, since the boy had literally assaulted him without any prior motivation (well, aside from the fact that he couldn't get the girl he wanted, and had thus somehow come to the conclusion that it was all Alex's fault...).
Unfortunately, Dessi had become annoyed at his "childish behaviour", and had thus decided to ignore both boys. Which was a pity, since it meant that he had to contend with Matthew's triumphant look each time the girl brushed him off.
Luckily though, a distraction soon arrived that caused all three to forget about the silent treatment.
"Ziva!"
The surprised shout tore through their rented room, and sent people tearing out of their various spots to the front door, where the very-battered-but-but-definitely-alive Mossad agent was standing, a big smile on her face.
"How're you feeling?"
"D'you want to sit down?"
"Want any water? Food? Coffee?"
"Guys, guys! Settle down!" Tony said, waving his arms madly from his position behind Ziva. "Let the woman through!"
"Don't mind him; he lost to McGee," Ziva said, grinning, as McGee came in with the car keys, looking very pleased with himself. K-Unit, who had basically allocated themselves as Ziva's personal protectors, sniggered in the background.
Slowly, Ziva made her way to the nearest couch, which was promptly cleared of all its items. When she'd made herself comfortable – and shot pointed looks at everyone else to stop crowding her – she asked: "So, what did I miss?"
Alex, Tony and Ben took turns in filling the others in. Halfway through Tony's explanation about contacting Abby (then explaining who Abby was), Alex looked up to see Dessi detach herself from the rest to make her way towards Gibbs, who'd somehow come in unnoticed.
They were talking in quiet tones, about what Alex wasn't sure, but it definitely looked like Dessi was apologizing. Especially judging by the look on Gibb's face.
If it makes her feel better, Alex thought wryly, before turning back and joining the retelling once more.
.
Half an hour later, with each member of their extended and heavily liaised team caught up to speed, they broke up once more to trace the path of Michaelis Menten, the ghost.
Ziva was itching for revenge; so much so that they literally had to wrestle her gun away from her and pin her down to stop the agent from personally tracking Menten down herself.
"We need to find him before you can exact revenge," Rose had finally pointed out. It was enough to get Ziva to drop into the couch with an annoyed sigh, before pulling out her phone and no doubt calling in several favours.
McGee had gotten in contact with Abby once more, and seemed to be debating with her about the best way to hack into the FBI database. Matthew was on the phone with the AIS Director of Intelligence. K-Unit had disappeared to "protect their base" – which pretty much translated to "get some coffee while the rest of you do the boring part of your job".
Alex had somehow managed to get himself roped into Ben and Rose's half cooked plan. Since he had the highest rank (maybe not on paper, but definitely in situations such as this one), he'd been assigned the task of calling up headquarters and trying to access info that way. Apparently, it was working.
And Dessi? Well, she was sitting cross-legged on one of the tables lined up against the wall. Normally she was well in the thick of things but right now, she was rather content to just sit back and observe.
Of course, her momentary solitude wouldn't last long..
"Here," Gibbs said, holding out a very familiar-looking knife in his hand. "Take it."
Dessi started, blinking several times before meeting Gibbs's gaze. "Sudden change of heart?" She asked, accepting the knife and fingering the handle, "Didn't see this coming."
"Nah," Gibbs smiled, sitting down next to the girl, "More like, returning a belonging to its rightful owner."
Dessi tucked the knife away carefully. For a while, they sat in silence, before Gibbs said something that completely threw the girl.
"He was a good kid; Jake."
She whipped around to stare at him so fast that she was sure she heard something crack. Gibbs must've heard it too, for he let out a soft laugh; or maybe, he just found her shocked expression amusing.
"You knew him?" Dessi whispered.
Gibbs nodded. "Worked with him, in fact. Of course, at the time, I didn't realise it. Thought he was just some kid caught up in a mess. Wasn't until after he left that I found out the truth."
"Probably for the better. You'd never have trusted him otherwise."
"Touché," Gibbs said, tilting his head in acknowledgement.
Silence overtook the pair once more as they sat, watching the others bustle around, comparing notes and whatnot. It was once again Gibbs who broke the silence.
"It was his first mission."
Dessi looked up sharply. Then, realization dawned on her face. "His first mission was in Washington DC. He told me once; he'd never seen the snow–"
" – Until he came here," Gibbs nodded. "Yeah, he told me that too. Good kid," he said again, "Had some sense of self-preservation, unlike most of the spies I've worked with."
"Like Ziva?"
"Like Ziva. I gave him the knife, you know."
Dessi started. Gibbs hadn't changed his tone – it was still amiable – but they both understood the importance of his words. "You..."
"Yeah."
"Why?"
Gibbs shrugged. "Seemed like he needed it; rule number nine, remember?"
"Introducing good habits?" Dessi asked, absentmindedly fiddling with the hidden knife.
"Better late than never."
"Thank you."
It was strange, how those two words could bear so much weight, so much meaning, behind their simplicity.
Gibbs acknowledged her with a nod and a smile. He might've added something else too, If Tony had not rushed up, excitement flashing in his eyes.
"Boss, we've found it; the location of the spy ring's headquarters."
.
It was an old building, more an abandoned factory really. The windows were long shattered, the walls outside painted with graffiti. There were holes in the roof, visible even from their position on the ground. Several of the doors hung on its hinges, dangling precariously in the wind.
In short, it was the last place you'd expect to find one of the most lethal spy rings in the world.
Outside, the group was preparing to raid the factory and the contingent of double-crossing spies that had been spotted inside during their stakeout. Neither Ziva nor McGee would be going in, something which the Mossad agent was furious about.
But it had been doctor's orders for her not to do anything strenuous for a few days, and participating in a shoot-off with a deadly spy ring was most definitely classified as 'strenuous'. For his part, McGee just seemed rather happy at the prospect of not using a gun.
"Not that it makes you any less of a man," Tony said, clapping McGee on the shoulder.
McGee merely rolled his eyes, before clipping his headset in place and running one final check on the four or so computers surrounding him. Tony turned back to the circle, where Dessi had just finished going over the plan once more.
"Alright guys, let's roll," she finished quietly.
"Remember everyone; don't go through the rickety doors!" Rose said cheerfully, hoisting her shotgun up. "They've been booby trapped to go 'kaboom'!"
"Nice way of putting it," Eagle grinned.
"I said, let's roll," Dessi emphasised once more.
They spread out in their assigned groups; Wolf and Eagle sneaking around back, Rose and Ben covering one side whilst Tony and Shark crouched by the other. Alex, Dessi and Matthew hid either side of the main entrance, waiting the signal.
"Snake, Boss, you are in the clear," McGee's voice came over their headsets.
And suddenly, a hail of withering sniper fire rained down upon the factory, causing the men inside to shout in panic. Alex had no doubt, especially with Gibbs's aim, that quite a few of the men had already been taken out.
And Snake was definitely no light weight when it came to snipers either.
The next second, Desiree had burst through the front doors, gun up and firing, with Alex and Matthew hot on her heels. Two other doors burst open to reveal Wolf, Eagle, Rose and Ben.
There were more spies in the room than they'd accounted for, and Alex knew that at any moment, their element of surprise wouldn't be enough to tide them over.
But for now, they had the advantage.
And then, it all started to go wrong.
The spies had recovered, and their own guns were up and firing. Matthew had been taken down in the first wave, his leg bleeding profusely. Not for the first time, Alex was extremely grateful to NCIS for providing them all with bullet-proof vests.
Tony and Shark chose that moment to burst through the door they'd been crouching by. Unfortunately, they'd misjudged the 'safe' doors which McGee had marked from his satellite images.
With an earth shattering "boom", the door exploded, rocking the very foundation of the already highly-unstable factory, and blowing Tony and Shark well away.
Inside, all gunfire ceased as both sides looked up to the roof, which was making a very ominous sounding noise.
And slowly, the roof began to collapse.
"Get out!" Wolf roared, shoving Eagle ahead of him and pausing to grab the injured Matthew.
It was chaos, as friend and foe alike scattered, trying to dodge the pieces of the roof that seemed intent on taking them out. Years of dust swirled around, clogging their lungs and dimming their eyesight.
And in the middle of it all, there was a sudden scream that stopped Alex's heart.
.
CLIFFIE!
Yeah...okay...I'm in a strange mood. I think I've had too much sugar...
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Love Chariots99
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