The Day of the Explosion
0800 Hours
Tim sat at his desk, his mind contemplating the Water Devil and The First Son. All security precautions had been taken, with more than thirty families currently being held in protective custody. Due to who his father was, Tim now had a security detail with him at all times, except when he was inside the Navy Yard. Over the past three days, the chatter had increased, with every ship currently at sea heading for port, and if not, friendly waters. NCIS Intelligence had no idea what the threat was or where it was coming from. With no new ideas in the past hour, Tim decided to go back to how he did things in the CTOC.
"Tabitha, Tracy, Ziva, Frank, can you come in here please?" Tim looked out over the floor, looking for anyone else he could use. "Ben, you too." Benjamin Schofield panicked, wondering what he done to get called into the Bosses office. "None of you panic, you're not getting fired." Tim moved back to his desk, waiting on the five people. Tim watched as Frank waited for Tracy and Ben, coming in last and closing the door. Tim took a deep breath before speaking.
"We are lost. All the intelligence and chatter tells us that the Water Devil and The First Son are about to be attacked. We need to narrow it down, quickly. But, we need a new method. Ziva, we've done this before, when we've had too many suspects. Find a way to narrow it down, get me a smaller target pool, take Ben with you." He watched as Ben paled. "Ben, the people around you are some of the most experienced NCIS has when it comes to Intelligence, but we've also been staring at it for weeks. You are the newest, you may see something we haven't. Go." Tim said, dismissing them. After they had left, he addressed the rest. "We need to know what this attack will be. Reach out, to everyone, everywhere. Leave no stone unturned, this attack is only hours away now, no more than a day. Get to it." Tim watched them leave, all of them understanding the seriousness of the situation. Tim, for the first time in a few years, felt lost. It was not a good feeling.
"I believe it's time. Time for our revenge. Abigail, you have been such pleasant company these past two weeks, in another life, I would never looked twice at you. I promised not to let you die, and that is true. I will call the police to come for you, but not for a few hours." The blonde man looked down at her, smiling. "I just ask one thing of you, please tell Timothy I told him I would destroy him, and today I will. Tell him Michael says hello." Michael DeLa Tour looked at the Goth woman, feeling nothing but disgust for the woman. If she had been nicer to Tim when he was bit by the dog, there was a chance they never would have met.
Michael DeLa Tour stepped out of the room, closing and locking the door. Jack Chapman stood outside, waiting for his best friend.
"Do you really think it was wise to tell her your name?"
"Jacques, I did not tell her yours, did I? Now, how is your revenge coming?" Michael had come up with some of this plan himself, the rest belonged to his revenge seeking best friend, a boy he had shared holidays with in France.
"The Devil will be soon dead, and my face will be the last thing my fathers killer sees."
"Time to send the messages. I do hope Timothy appreciates this gift." Michael DeLa Tour smiled, a smile that promised vengeance and pain for Timothy McGee.
1100 hours
"Ziva, tell me with have something." Tim demanded, walking into the conference room off the Bullpen, the Intelligence rooms all full of people working different angles at the moment.
"Tim, to target both the Captain and First Officer, you would need to know their daily routine and be betting these two people would not deviate from that. We have an idea to protect them further."
"Let me hear it."
"Put them in separate crew quarters," Ben Schofield offered. "There are only two places you can guarantee the Captain and XO will be, that's the Bridge and their individual quarters. Keep them away from both. The Captain and XO can run the ship from the Engineering sections or Cyber warfare sections of their ships." Tim saw the logic in the plan.
"That is a great idea, I'll run it past the Director. Any others?"
"Whatever ships are too far out for assistance, get some of our allies to assist them. We have good relations with France, Germany, and the UK. Can we get them to pull alongside our ships, or at least, keep an eye on them?" Ben was much more confident now than before, he wouldn't say it to McGee, but Tracy Sheridan was a nightmare to work for.
"Yeah, that we can get done. Any more?" Tim asked, kicking himself he hadn't thought of it.
"No, that's it for now." Ziva said.
"I'll go to the Director, now." Tim left the room, heading for the stairs when he saw Stan Burley heading for him.
"This is for you. I heard you were in before 0600. Take this coffee, eat the apple and the banana in the bag. If you don't come meet me for lunch at 1300, I will come and drag you out of whatever you are in. It's either me or Bryn that does it, your choice?" Tim was floored by the support, realising that Cassie must have been in touch with Bryn, and Bryn told Stan.
"I'll take you, Bryn will give me a lecture worse than Cassie. Thanks for this." Tim was grateful for the coffee and the food.
"Any time, Tim. Let me know if the team can help in anyway. We're on cold cases for the day so far." Stan headed back to his desk. Unlike Gibbs, Stan preferred not to have his MCRT doing terrorism cases, at least, not the intelligence side of things. He knew where the strength of himself and his team lay, and it wasn't watching videos and reading reports over and over again. Tim headed up the stairs, needing to speak with the Director. Opening the outer office door, he found Gale Trench at her desk, on the phone.
"The Director will not be available for the call at 1200 hours. She asked to reschedule for this afternoon, at 1500 hours," Gale held a finger up, Tim knowing the I'll be right with you gesture. "Thank you. Timothy, how can I help?" Gale asked, putting the phone down.
"I need five minutes, can she be interrupted?"
"Of course, she's in there with an old friend, one of yours, too. She just needed to cancel the call until he's gone." Gale said, knowing Tim could be trusted.
"Until who is gone?" Tim asked, wondering who he was walking in on.
"Deputy Director Vance." The alarm bells began ringing in Tims mind, all the pieces of Intelligence slotting together like a jigsaw puzzle. Tim grabbed the phone on the desk, hitting the red button on the phone. The call was answered immediately.
"This is SSA McGee, lock down the Navy Yard, secure all entrances and exits, no one in or out. I don't give a damn if the President herslef wants into this yard, no one has clearance to enter or leave, understood?"
"Understood." Came back the voice of Ben Oswold. Tim slammed the phone down.
"You know what to do?" He said to Gale. The woman nodded. Tim marched into the office, not closing the door. "Jen, Leon, it's you two. You are the targets." Tim watched as the two people looked at him blankly.
"Tim, what do you mean, we are the targets?" Jen asked, not following her head of Intelligence.
"You are the Water Devil, Vance, the First Son." Seeing he was not being understood, Tim explained. "I've put the Yard on lockdown, no one in or out. Listen, the chatter talks about the Water Devil and The First Son of the Water Devil. No offence, Jen, but you are a scary lady, and with the red hair, you could easily be called a Devil. Being head of NCIS, the Water Devil, the evil one in charge of water is an apt description." Leon could see Tims train of thought, but not how he was connected to it, and said so.
"Not to spoil your theory, Tim, but the Director didn't give birth to me."
"No, but as you are the most senior of the three Deputy Directors, you are the Heir Apparent, in some cultures, the Heir Apparent is the first son born. If both of you are killed, NCIS is left without a functioning head. It would be a fight for either Granger, Craig or someone new to take over." Tim was seeing it all play out in his head. "NCIS would be weakened severely with the loss of you both, the agency would suffer, morale diminished, work not getting done, the terrorists would have an easier time of it." Tims mind was moving even quicker now, seeing the DoN security agents coming through the door, led by Ben Oswold. "Ben, the Director and the Deputy Director need to be taken into protective custody. They go nowhere, not even the bathroom, unaccompanied."
"Hang on, Tim…"
"Wait a minute…"
"No!" Tim said in a raised voice, silencing his two superiors. "We have been focusing all our efforts on everyone but NCIS. We haven't got any protection in place for either of you, except what you normally have. Ben, coordinate with the West Coast, place the Vance family in protective custody." Tim was taking no chances. "We also need Deputy Directors Craig and Grainger covered as well. Don't use any NCIS safe houses, they may be compromised. Here's my keys, use my place, you know its secure." Tim offered his place without a second thought, reminding himself to tell Cassie. "Book hotels throughout the city, phone all of them if you have to, anything to confuse people. Don't tell anyone where you are except me and SecDef." Tim was just as worried about his honorary uncle, he had two daughters and no sons. The SecNav post, while important, was not as high profile as the head of NCIS or SecDef, but he could still be a target. "Pull in Secretary Davenport as well, lets keep all our bases covered. Director, Deputy Director, you need to leave now. You will need to inform Agent Burley of the changes as you leave, Ma'am."
"Tim, you should take charge, you know the situation better than anyone." Vance saw the Director who this man would one day be in that moment.
"No, Sir. I need to be where I can do the most good, and that's in Intelligence. I can't leave them now, or do both jobs. Agent Burley is the most senior field agent in the building, it's his right by seniority." Tim was not backing down on this. "I'll be returning to my apartment later this afternoon to collect some belongings. Whichever of you stays there will have the place to themselves. Me and Cassie can stay with friends. no arguments. See you both soon." With that, Tim was out of the door, walking quickly to Intelligence. He needed to brief his team and the the National Security Council.
Jen watched McGee leave. The man was so different than any other she had worked with. Most people would love the idea of the big chair, yet he pushed it aside without a thought, knowing what he needed to do, and sitting in this office wasn't his idea of a promotion. Jen looked as Leon, seeing the worry in his eyes as well. It was now she wondered if this was what it felt like to be caught in the cross hairs of a sniper.