Chapter 17
Or so they thought. As they started to move out from the canopy, Tim heard a voice that sounded familiar if not quite right, "You said The Grove and an LLC; you did not tell us names!"
Tim looked at his dad, whose eyes were wide, both eyebrows raised. Near him, Tony's jaw had dropped and he was trying to say something to Maggie.
Ellie frowned, "Tim, who's that?"
He whispered in her ear, "She sounds like Ziva."
"Oh!"
Dad was already talking to Blake who was shaking his head, pointing to the passenger manifest. Catching movement out of the corner of his eye, Gibbs turned to see Ziva standing at the top of the gangway staring at him, tears rolling down her face. He opened his mouth but when she quickly shook her head, he shut it, holding his arms open.
Still under the canopy, Shannon frowned and turned to Ellie who shook her head, whoever it was, they weren't to talk about it here. Thinking about it, Shannon looked at her eldest who was pale and sweaty. Maggie was curious while Tony was clutching Maggie's hand on one side and Arin's on the other. He relaxed when Maggie said something to him, laughing a little at himself.
That told Shannon who this might be, the long absent Ziva David, her husband's last stray chick finally come home to roost. She laughed to herself, a new grandchild and a new daughter all at once, that hadn't happened since she and Kelly first came home.
Ziva, or whatever name she was using, was wrapped in Gibbs' arms. She whispered to him that her name was now Ana Campo and that she hadn't known her family was here until she thought she saw McGee on the plane with the little boy. Saying she had many questions, she felt the rumble of her surrogate father's laughter. "Think that goes both ways, Ana."
Turning, she took the proffered nametag from Blake, clipping it on. When she looked up, she blinked several times. "Is that DiNozzo, with a small boy?"
"Yes, that's his wife Maggie and their son Arin. Their baby Juliet is in the house, napping. Arin is 3 and the baby is new, four months old."
She shook her head as though to clear her thoughts. "I never thought he'd marry, much less have children."
"Eh, he was a late bloomer. Fell in love with Maggie and here we are."
She nodded, "And McGee?"
"He's no longer McGee. Few years after you left, he and I discovered we're father and son. He's now Timothy Jackson Gibbs and he's right there with the kids who look just like him, his wife Ellie, the double stroller and my newest grandbaby Henry."
"He…what?"
"He's my son, mine and Shannon's."
"How…I'm sorry, that is too personal."
Gibbs chuckled, "At some point we'll tell you our stories. By the way, after the discovery that he's mine, I adopted Sarah, Rob and Geordie. And Tony finally let me adopt him last year when they were pregnant with Juliet."
Her mouth dropped open again and she stood in disbelief. "That's…5 children?"
"Six. Turns out Shannon and Kelly were in protective custody. C'mon, I'll introduce you to everyone."
Watching her father-in-law with the woman, Ellie's eyes widened behind her sunglasses. She'd seen enough photos of Ziva David over the years but if that's who this was, she'd changed her appearance. Her hair was cut short in a trendy bob and was colored a light brown, close to Tim's hair color when he hadn't been in the sun. As she moved, Ellie could see there were streaks of blonde and a different color, she couldn't tell what. The woman wore sunglasses so she couldn't see the color of her eyes but she bet they were a lighter color too.
The DiNozzos suddenly appeared beside her, with Tony holding Maggie's hand and Arin holding his daddy's. That was good, that should help ground Tony. Breena and Ricky joined them.
Seeing that his agent was nervous, Leon decided to give him another minute or so of grace. He'd had a text from Jethro that the familiar woman was now called Ana Campo. As she approached, he stepped forward, "Ana, it's good to see you again!"
Ana smiled, remembering that in her current back-story she'd never worked for NCIS, kissing his cheek, "Leon, how wonderful to see you! You're looking well." He was interested to hear her accent completely changed and she'd used a contraction.
Kayla was there and Ana greeted her, genuinely surprised to find her an adult rather than the young teen she'd last seen.
Ana had already met Shannon and Mac. Now she greeted Tim and Tony together. Observing them, Ellie thought that was a good thing. Oops, now Ana was being introduced to Maggie and her.
Smiling, she gave the woman a light hug while over her shoulder Maggie stifled a chuckle; she and Ellie had already shared a concern that Ana would be a magnet for trouble. Breena was next to Maggie on the other side, offering support for all three of her friends.
When their kids asked to stay, Tim and Ellie agreed, they'd all stay. They gave Mackie some fruit, enough for now. Henry was sleeping peacefully next to Mackie in their double stroller while Lia and Ricky were chattering happily away in the Palmers' double.
As the space under the canopy was getting pretty crowded, they all donned their sunhats, earning smiles from Granducky, and joined their family. After Ana's former teammates greeted her and she'd met Ellie, Maggie and greeted Breena, the children were next. They smiled politely, having no idea who this was. Breena joined them, introducing her three and then pointing to Lia, "This is Lia, Tim and Ellie's younger daughter and my future daughter-in-law." They laughed while Lia and Ricky squealed.
Her hand on Ana's arm, Breena pulled her away a few steps. "What name would you like the children to call you? Aunty Ana or maybe Tia Ana? And just to let you know, it won't just be Palmers, Gibbs and DiNozzo kids, it'll be Alex, the Perrys' son, Sarah and Bob's twins, the Vances' twins, the Hubbard kids and any other child who comes along."
"In that case, I love Tia Ana."
"Great! All right, kids," she motioned to all of them, "this is your Tia Ana."
Grinning, they greeted her, almost in unison.
Sarah had driven back to check on the twins and missed the dramatic entrances of her new nephew and her old friend Ana, formerly known as Ziva. Now when she saw a strange toddler asleep in the stroller with Mackie and her father grinning like a loon, she frowned. Then she spotted Ziva and opened her mouth to exclaim when her husband suddenly kissed her, whispering, "Don't say her name, she's changed it. She's now Ana Campo."
"Uh, ok. Who's the baby?"
"As far as I can tell, he's a new foster son. The caseworker who handled all the adoptions showed up right after you left and…" he told her what had transpired.
"Wow, that's incredible."
"Yes. Hang on; this is the last of the expats."
She smirked, "They're not expats anymore."
"You're right."
Realizing there was suddenly a new baby in their godson and nephew's family - along with a mystery guest - the Cranes and Hubbards were greeting the newcomers. Matt, Hannah, Ty, Ainsley and Callum were speaking with the children, telling them a little about their new home.
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As more people walked down the gangway, Tim smiled at the man following them, Jay Whitman. Squeezing Ellie's hand, he walked over to say hello. They shook hands and Blake congratulated him on his new son. Jay, who'd been busy helping his charges, missed the whole thing and now shook his head, "What?"
Blake replied, "Those people left Henry by himself on the plane. When the social worker arrived, she had a walking cast on and Tim asked if he could get the little boy for her. Apparently he and his wife are certified foster parents and they're going to foster him."
Jay broke into a full smile, "That's wonderful and a relief! I worried about him, poor little guy. His birth parents apparently came to Bacia to offer their children for adoption and when that didn't work, they left Henry behind. He ended up in a Catholic orphanage so he's been in good hands but not a family."
"Their children? Henry has a sibling?"
Jay nodded, "Yes, I didn't have time to track her down; she's his twin."
"Oh boy."
"The orphanage told us she's not in Bacia, whoever took her was traveling through the country."
"Ok, so she's not in danger there."
"No but it'll take some time to find her. If we can. The orphanage had someone who could tell me more but the woman wasn't around. And they left the day before we did, by truck not plane, on their way to Brazil."
"Do you have their contact information?"
"Sure, I'll send it to you. Is this crowd your family or the LLC?"
"Parts of both."
"I'd like to speak to them for a couple of minutes."
"Do you have time to wait until everyone is transported over to our place? We've got the A/C running in the shelter, with cold drinks and lots of goodies to share."
Blake smiled, "Free food, we're in!"
Jay laughed, "That should be our motto, 'will negotiate almost anything for free food!'"
"Are you guys like us in law enforcement - live on junk food because otherwise you'd starve?"
"Yes, that's us. If it weren't for official dinners, we'd never have sit-down meals."
"Wow. Thank you for your service."
He'd meant it half-jokingly but when both men beamed, he nodded.
Pete and his helpers soon emptied the jet's cargo hold. Before he left to drive to The Grove, Dave motioned him forward, "Folks, I'd like you to meet Pete Ware, our resident mover. I first met him a year ago when he drove his rig from New Mexico to Virginia to load our belongings onto his truck and lead us here to safety, outrunning a nuclear attack. He's one of my heroes! Today, he came home from a grueling 14-day cross-country triple move and when he heard what was happening, volunteered his services to get your belongings moved. He's eaten but hasn't had more than a four-hour nap in the last 30 hours. So give him some love and then we'll let him get moving before he falls asleep on his feet."
The newcomers applauded while Pete sketched a salute before returning to his truck.
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After Breena, Ana met Kelly who shook her hand, welcoming her home. Then she was in Sarah's arms. "Welcome home!" She was introduced to Bob who welcomed her, solemnly shaking her hand.
While Ana was being welcomed, other members of the family were still guiding the rest of the newly repatriated folks into the shade. After meeting the former NCIS agent, Bob joined the flight crew, Jim, Tony, Jethro, Tim, Dave, Matt and Callum in loading the suitcases, bicycles, bits of furniture and plastic bags full of photo albums and personal treasures, into Pete's trailer.
Each item had been tagged with a name but since the newcomers would go first to the shelter to select their houses, the men decided to take the moving truck over to The Grove and wait for further instructions. Pete was wilting fast in the heat; once the adrenaline rush was over, he was going to crash hard. Jim said he'd ride over with him; they could decouple the trailer from the cab so Pete could return to the ranch in the cab and get some sleep. The others would lock up the trailer once it was empty and he could pick it up later.
Pete's helpers returned to the crowd. The last few people were leaving the plane when Tim's mouth fell open. He grabbed the kids and beckoning to Ellie and Breena, he said, "Follow me quietly, you're about to meet the Secretary of State!" With Henry and Mackie in the stroller, Tim pushed it while Ty and Victoria pushed Ricky and Lia in the Palmers' stroller. Ellie, Brynie, Breena and Teddy walked with them, ready to help if needed.
Secretary McCord smiled as she reached the last step on the gangway. "Ah ha, who do we have here?"
Tim smiled, "Madam Secretary, I'm Timothy Gibbs and welcome to Albuquerque! This is a surprise!"
"Director Gibbs, I'm so glad to meet you! I asked Secretary Porter if you'd all be at work and she indicated she might be able to do something about that. Hope there are not any bad guys getting away!"
They shook hands, he quickly introduced her to Ellie, Breena, the children and the rest of his family who'd come over.
Looking up at the hatchway behind Tim and the Secretary, Leon's face burst into a surprised smile. Glancing back, Tim exclaimed, "Secretary Porter! It's good to see you again, welcome!"
"Thank you, Tim!" She laughed at Leon, "Ha, fooled you, Leon!"
"You sure did, Ma'am."
Jethro nodded, "Welcome! Let's get everyone over to the ranch and we'll reconvene in the shelter. It's the biggest and coolest place for all of us."
Pete's truck was already gone; the rest of the group gathered their new friends and surprise visitors, got them into vehicles and after introducing the two Secretaries to Tamara and Tomas Ortiz, drove back to Rancho La Serenidad. As Tim drove, Secretary McCord smiled to herself as she said, "Director Gibbs, I understand we're not the first folks from State you've dealt with in your career."
Tim's brow furrowed before remembering the undersecretary he'd told to 'stick it' during his probationary year. His eyes widened. "Ma'am – we were in the middle of an undercover case…she was…"
McCord patted his shoulder, "You did well. I've seen the report from Undersecretary Elliot – she admitted she'd been hounding you instead of giving your team time to do your job. She had little experience with the realities of law enforcement. When she heard the art thief was a serial killer and that your agent barely escaped with his life, her eyes were opened. She's retired now but still consults for us. When she heard that a group of NCIS agents was coming to the rescue of the Bacian refugees, she contacted me, told me the story and I read the report."
Tim nodded, "Thanks for telling me."
She chuckled, "The incident certainly hasn't hampered your career!" He smiled as he gave her a sideways head tilt.
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Parking close to the main entrance of the shelter, everyone went inside, sighing in relief at the cool air. Ana looked around, "This is where you sheltered? How long were you in here?"
Several voices answered, "Fourteen weeks."
The SecNav and SecState were looking around, "You have a commercial kitchen! This place is huge!"
Shannon chuckled, "It's the deluxe version. We had everything but sunshine and we had sun lamps for that."
Ty added, "There's another shelter attached, that's where our pets lived."
"Oh my!"
The newcomers had also been looking around, looking into the open, mostly empty bedrooms. "You had private bedrooms?"
"Yes, for the adults. The children slept in dormitory style rooms. A nursery for those under 5, girls' and boys' rooms for the young school age, separate teen and young adult girls' and boys' rooms."
"And a classroom!" That was from Secretary McCord who was walking the perimeter, "And a library, ooh my husband would love this!"
She smiled as she returned, "Love the garden too. This is far more interesting than the shelter we were in."
She turned to look at everyone. "Now, who among you helped set up the Evacuee housing and decided to help our newest group of returning citizens?"
Tim gathered the ranch residents and LLC members who were there. "When I told the LLC members what the State Department was doing in Bacia, my grandmother, Dr. Penelope Langston, asked if the LLC would entertain the idea of giving them homes. That's how it happened."
Penny was half-listening, mostly too thrilled at Tim calling her his grandmother to pay much attention. Nevertheless, she smiled when Claire gave her a gentle nudge and said, "I didn't shelter here during the Attack, I was overseas when the evacuation order was given and by the time I reached San Francisco, everyone east of Nevada was sheltering. Then I had to leave again and it was months before I could finally get here. So I missed all the fun of planning and putting everything together, greeting the Evacuees. And it seemed like a natural fit as many of the Evacuees have left for new jobs and new homes."
"That's wonderful, Dr. Langston, thank you! Now I realize not all of your residents are here, I know at least one NCIS employee is still at the office. Thank you." Several people were handing out cold beverages and circulating with trays of sandwiches and homemade cookies.
Leon nodded, "Yes, our Chief Medical Examiner. He had three autopsies to perform today, in Chicago, Mayport and Bremerton. His wife and children are here." Breena and the kids waved, Ricky squealing.
Jethro turned as he heard the tunnel door open, "Doc's here now. Good timing, Jimmy!" Dr. Palmer grinned as he walked into the shelter, "Sorry to be late, I wanted to welcome everyone before you see your new homes….Hello!"
The group chuckled at Jimmy's surprise when he saw the two Secretaries.
Secretary McCord smiled after shaking hands with Jimmy. "I'm here to thank you all for opening your hearts to our newest evacuees. Your generosity is wonderful. You've made them welcome and I see smiles instead of anxiety. You've also made my staff and me very happy and believe me, in our work that doesn't happen often! Next time China's Foreign Minister hangs up on Blake or me, we'll have a happy thought to replace him. And the same goes for Jay and the rest of our staff."
She paused, "I know we're imposing but we've read about the homes you built before the Administration even had their program up and running. You and several other grass roots groups did a kick…ing job of providing homes and hope to so many people! So yes, I'm nosy, Blake's curious and Jay wants to make sure his people are happy. May we please see The Grove?"
Several of the adults smirked as they realized she'd been about to say 'kick-ass' but changed her wording in deference to the children.
The others laughed and Liz replied, "Of course! We just wanted everyone here to greet them, let them cool off and show them the models from which they'll choose their homes. We think we know what they'll want but don't want to assume."
Tony pulled the screen down against the outside wall of the media room. They'd used this to show the Disney movies when there were too many people to fit inside the room. They'd talked about moving the screen outside for summer movies but hadn't gotten around to it yet.
While Tony did that, Tim found the photos he wanted to show them. Putting them in the right order, he turned to the group. "I know you've seen the slideshow that we did last year. Now we're going to show you photos of specific homes, the ones you'll live in. We took these on Saturday while we were making sure everything was ready for tomorrow."
There were chuckles at that and he nodded to himself, overall they didn't sound too traumatized at having to leave early. Having to leave at all yes, but not leaving early, that might have been a relief.
"This first home has one bedroom, one bath. An extra room can be used as a small second bedroom, an office, den, a library or maybe a hobby or craft room. Once you decide what you want to do with it, let us know and we'll take you to our storage barn to pick out the furniture you need."
There were murmurs and then a hand raised. Tim nodded at the young woman who stood, "You have a barn full of furniture? We can just go pick it out?"
That brought smiles from their hosts. "It's not really a barn. It's a large storage shed but we jokingly call it a barn. We do have a lot of furniture. Each home is furnished with the basics: beds, dressers, nightstands, dining table, chairs, a couch, side tables, coffee table. When we were developing The Grove, we split into teams and one of the teams was Furnishings. The local stores donated all the beds, those are all new, but most of the rest has been acquired by scouring the state, through newspapers, online and by car, for good used furniture. Didn't matter if it needed repairs, my dad and father-in-law are skilled carpenters and can build or fix anything. We scrubbed, patched, painted or re-stained a lot of it. So when someone decided the second room should be an office and asked for a desk, we brought a desk and chair, along with a desk lamp and maybe a bookshelf or two. When that person left, the next resident might want to use it as a second bedroom, out comes the desk, chair and light, in goes a single bed or pull-out couch."
"Wow, that's cool, thanks!"
Smiling, he showed them Henry and Bess's current home, explaining who they were. "When they arrived, we only had one of the bigger models available so they moved in there. At one point, we were so crowded that they had another family sharing the house with them. They're retirees and didn't want to leave. They asked if they could move to one of the smaller units and pay rent. That took a few weeks to figure out but when the unit they wanted became vacant, we moved them over. You'll meet them later today. This is their rental unit. As you can see, there is one big difference. Dad and Tobias…Tobias? Guess he's not here. Before Henry and Bess moved, my dad Jethro Gibbs and his friend Tobias Fornell built them a wrap-around deck.
"Here's a photo of the interior of their home before they moved in. There's the bonus room and as you can see, it's empty. Here's a photo showing what Bess has done with it. It's a sewing room for her and Henry has a little shed on the deck where he keeps his fishing gear. They purchased the shed - we need all of ours! Any questions before we go on?"
Someone asked about adding a deck and Tim asked that all add-on questions be held for a later date. "I'm putting you off for a good reason. You've had an exhausting, emotional experience and we want to get all of you into your homes so you can relax, unpack and settle in. When you've had some time to rest and get used to your new surroundings, we'll talk again. While we weren't forced out of a country, all of us here were forced to flee our homes a year ago. We understand having to leave things behind and wanting to make things as comfortable as possible. Jethro will be around for the next three weeks and then he and Shannon will be away for 6 weeks. The rest of us will be here but with the exception of Tobias-the-absent and my daughter Brynie, none of us are skilled carpenters."
Jethro grinned, "Tobias and Mel went into town to take Emily to dinner; it's her 20th birthday. And you and Tony are skilled carpenters, when you have time."
Tim smiled, "Thanks, Dad. And wow, Emily's 20, amazing! All right, here are the homes we prepped for you. Time to start choosing!"
As Shannon hoped, the oldest couple chose the small unit closest to Henry and Bess.
She smiled at them, "That's a lovely neighborhood; I hope you'll enjoy it. You're two steps from the laundry building and not far from the bridge that takes you here." She looked at Tim, "Do they know about the clinic?"
"Coming up in a minute, Mom - thanks. For the school kids and your parents, school in Albuquerque starts mid-August. The dates are on the information sheet your driver will give you. There are buses from the elementary, middle and high schools that come out here. You'll be riding the bus with our kids, kids from the Ortiz Ranch and some from ranches further east. The bus doesn't go out that far; those kids are driven to our bus stop. Until we applied for bus service, their parents had to drive them all the way into town, two round trips a day. The bus stop has a shelter with security cameras, lights, a spray mister and a solar powered heater."
He paused when someone asked about monitoring the security cameras. Smiling, he shook his head, "That would be helpful to know! The monitors for the cameras are on the ranch. We review them randomly throughout any given day but there is always someone watching them while the children are waiting for the bus in the morning and when they get home in the afternoon. As far as the ranch goes, there's always an adult with our kids in the bus shelter in the morning and a grandparent, aunt or uncle waiting for them in the afternoons. We review the recordings once a week, that way we can identify any problems. In the past months, we've been able to nip a few problems in the bud.
"We're generally safe out here. If you feel your kids are old enough to walk from the bus stop to the front gate of The Grove and then to your home, that's up to you. There's also a security camera at that front gate and of course, we have one or two on ours. Had to while we were sealed in here." He paused again, "In case anyone hasn't figured it out, many of us here are in law enforcement. With one exception, our friend Barry who is a police officer in town, we're federal agents, our boss reports to Secretary of the Navy Porter."
Chuckling, Leon called out, "So do you, Regional Director Gibbs!"
Tim laughed, "Yes, Sir. In addition, there are several military folks among us, some retired, some on active duty. As you can imagine with our training and experiences, we're very security conscious."
"Moving on; while there are many wonderful doctors in the city of Albuquerque, including my siblings Kelly, Rob and Jimmy, my grandfather Donald and our very own registered nurse, Claire Hubbard, we worried about folks here without their own transportation during a sudden illness. There are paramedics and ambulances for emergencies, so that's not a problem. I'm talking about a sinus infection, an insect bite, a nail in the foot, something that requires a medical person as soon as possible but isn't a matter of life or death. There is a city bus and that works wonderfully for appointments and shopping but we worried about the unexpected.
"What we've started is something our four doctors did back in Baltimore. They're running a clinic across the street, near the grocery store and gas station. Currently a doctor or nurse is on duty five days a week; our goal is to have someone available every day. The clinic is sponsored by the University of New Mexico Medical Center so we have up-to-date equipment and supplies. You'll see it on the maps your driver will give you. It is not a free clinic but it is sliding scale, based on income." He looked around, "Any more questions or are you ready to see your new homes?"
He smiled as Geordie walked into the shelter. Tim introduced him, "This is Major Geordie Perry, the chairperson of the LLC and my brother."
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Geordie smiled, waving to the newcomers. "Sorry I'm late and missed all the fun. As the head of the LLC for The Grove, I want to welcome you home! I know you've had to leave your homes, that it wasn't by choice and I understand. Everyone here understands because we had to do the same thing a year ago. I know this is gut-wrenching and it will take time and effort to deal with. But you're here now, you're safe and we're glad you're home.
"A few things. While we're offering you a home, you're under no obligation to stay! If you want to move somewhere else, that's not a problem as long as you let us know.
"Next, this is Rancho La Serenidad. The parcel of land you'll live on, named The Grove, is next door. We'll take you over and show you around. When we pull out from our front gate, you'll see the bus stop to your immediate right. And then make sure you look to your left. You'll see the grocery store, clinic and gas station.
"We won't do much today as once you get to your new home, you'll want to unpack, wander around, eat and then sleep or sleep and then eat. Over the next couple of weeks, we'll be over there to help you settle in, answer any questions and handle any issues that might come up.
"Your animals are arriving tomorrow, Tuesday, which gives you time to get ready for them. Now, who owns the llamas, alpacas, sheep and goats?"
Hands were raised and he nodded. "Great! Have to tell you, our kids are very excited about your animals. When they arrive, they'll be let out to graze in our paddock and they'll be locked in the barn with our horses every night. There are too many predators around here to risk leaving them outside. That's the same reason that cats have to be indoors only.
"Dogs must be on a leash at all times when outside your dwelling, including when on your patio. Dogs need to be inside before dusk. If they need out after dark, you go with them, with a headband light, a whistle and a baseball bat. We have enough for all of you. The whistle is to scare off predators and to call for help.
"If your dog doesn't do well with children, don't be shy about letting people know. As you can see, we have many young children here and as Tim's said, we're very protective of them. Although coyotes don't usually attack humans, other predators do so if anyone is outside at dusk or before dawn, do carry the headband light, or a flashlight you can wear around your neck, whistle and that baseball bat.
"This may be country but we take pride in The Grove, so doggie owners, pick up the poop. You'll find a supply of poop bags in your houses. We have trash barrels with lids outside of every laundry facility, the poop bags go in there. If we find that isn't happening, we will ask for an extra maintenance deposit from the offending owner."
"As you may have noticed, there are a lot of us. More than 40 people live here on the ranch, in various dwellings. Most of us are related, a few by blood, more by adoption and just being family."
Geordie laughed, "I won't introduce everyone; you'll meet us over time. We'll try to wear our nametags when we're around you."
After looking at the list of selected houses and passing out keys, Geo asked if there were any questions. He looked around the room and then stopped. His training kicking in, he didn't show any emotion but was very surprised to see his boss, Secretary Porter, and Secretary McCord there.
One of the young women raised her hand. "The mover, Pete, he lives in here?" He'd given them an exhausted wave as he and Jim came in, Pete going straight to bed.
"Yes, he's gone three weeks out of four and finds it more comfortable in here. We eat in here when we have a crowd so there are always leftovers in the refrigerator for him and Bill, another of our group who lives in here."
Another hand went up. "Secretary Porter, it's great that you're here but we're a long way from either the Atlantic or Pacific."
She smiled, "But we're not far from the Gulf Coast and the Navy and Coast Guard have interests there. However, I'm here to see what my folks at NCIS have been doing; I haven't seen them in person since we evacuated a year ago. As Timothy said, there are several Federal Agents and they work for NCIS. Leon Vance," she patted his shoulder, "is Director of the agency and Timothy Gibbs our Regional Director over the Cybercrimes division. Others are Team Leaders, Field Agents, Intelligence Analysts and Dr. Palmer is our Chief Medical Examiner. They sheltered here together and Leon decided to open an office in Albuquerque. This is the first opportunity I've had to see my staff and the new office. Also as Marines, Major Perry and Captain Barnes ultimately report to me." She smiled, "I'm grateful to Secretary McCord for allowing me to tag along."
With no additional questions, the group gathered their things. In turn, each driver called out the names of his or her passengers. Kelly took a group in the Gibbs' van while Tim drove her vehicle, Matt's large SUV, taking the Secretaries, Blake and Jay on a tour. Ellie, Breena, Maggie, the kids, Mac and those who weren't driving or helping unload stayed behind.