Chapter 10
Salvation- Part 3
0605 hours, 23 January 2001, Forensic Lab, Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Headquarters, Washington Navy Yard, Washington D.C.
Bullets continued spraying through the windows and shattered glass flew everywhere. After about 30 seconds, the gunfire stopped and the 3 men heard tires screeching. Both Tony and Three quickly jumped up, their pistols drawn. They fired 4 rounds each through the broken widows, not hitting anything. "Palmer" said Tony as he spit on the floor. "You ok Gunny? Ms. Sciuto?" Tony asked.
"I'm fine" said Gibbs as he stood up and brush the glass off his blazer. "Abby?" he asked. Abby stood up and gave Tony a huge hug.
"Thank you my knight in shinning armor" she said as she kissed his cheek.
"I'm married" he said holding up his left hand.
"Pity" she said as she went to check on her computer. "Damn it" she yelled.
"Computers fried?" Three asked.
"No… I spilled my Cafpow" she said with a huge frown.
"Your what?" Tony asked.
"It's a drink, half coffee, and half juice. It comes in a 64oz container, like Tali's Double Gulps" explained Three. Tony shook his head in disappointment.
"Three, go pick up Red Cap from The White House, I want her here, at NCIS. I want her and Abby tracking that son of a bitch via satellite, traffic cams, I don't care, I WANT THIS BASTARD!" Tony yelled.
0730 hours, 23 January 2001, Marshlands- Colleton Family Estate, St. Matthews, South Carolina.
It was another Beautiful South Carolina Morning as Master Sergeant Chester Martin and Former Colonel Thomas Colleton sat on the front porch, enjoying a morning cup of coffee. "So what did you and Colonel Barrett talk about last night?" Chester asked.
"Backdraft" said Tom, who was gazing out into the field in front of his house. Not even Chester Martin, the self proclaimed "King of Jokes" could crack one about that. The 2 men sate in a comfortable silence for a few more minutes before Tali came bursting out onto the porch.
"Dad, Chester, come quick" she said in her South Carolina drawl. Both men shot up from their chairs.
"What is it Tals?" Tom asked.
"Abba, just please come quickly" she pleaded. Both men flowed her into the house. Despite having lives in The States for almost 5 years now, Tali would sometimes slip back in Hebrew when she was really stressed or flustered. Tali lead them into the living room as she switched on the TV And changed the channel to ZNN.
"This is Jill Waddington reporting to you live from NCIS Headquarters in Washington D.C. early this morning, at approximately 6:00 am, gun fire crashed through the lower level windows, as an unknown numbers of attackers sprayed the building with automatic weapons fire. as of now, no deaths have been reported, how ever, ZNN has been told tat several have been injured, although their conditions at this time are unknown"
"Good God" said EJ.
"When Three last called in, he told me that he and his father would be at NCIS this morning" Tali informed them.
"Get Sky Train or Movie Buff on the horn, now!" EJ ordered. Then he turned to Chester. "Ironman, have Shark Bait and Phantom run a perimeter check, post ricki-tick" he ordered.
"Yes Sir" replied Chester as he rushed out of the room.
1435 hours local time, 23 January 2001, Mossad Headquarters, Tel-Aviv, Israel
With the news on in the background, Liat DiNozzo poured herself a fresh cup of coffee. She had been up the entire night doing filling for Director David. Fuck him Liat though. She turned around and glanced quickly at the TV when something on it caught her eye. "NCIS" she said quietly to herself. She grabbed the remote off her desk and turned up the volume.
"This horrible attack comes only 3 days after Clark Palmer, a former Federal Agent who was imprisoned at Fort Leavenworth, escaped. Palmer was originally arrested almost 2 years ago by NCIS, and convicted of Treason and Espionage. He was sentenced to death, and was sitting on death row, appending appeal. It is unknown at this time if the 2 events are connected. However, an unidentified source within NCIS has stated that NCIS as well as other agencies are working under the assumption that this attack was in fact orchestrated by Clark Palmer, and that this is only the beginning of a much larger plot for revenge. This is Jill Waddington, ZNN"
Revenge Liat though. Then her eyes opened wide. "Abba" she said quietly. Her father, Lieutenant Colonel Anthony D. DiNozzo Jr. was one of the people that had helped take down Clark Palmer. Abba need my help she though as she placed her coffee mug on her desk and removed her holster, which held her Jericho 941 pistol, from her belt and placed it inside her desk. She quickly locked it up and made her way out the door. "DiNozzos never sit on the sidelines when their people are in trouble". That was what her Father had always taught her. and she would be damned if she was gonna sit this one out.
0800 hours, 23 January 2001, Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Headquarters, Washington Navy Yard, Washington D.C.
"God damn it! Who the fuck told them that we were going after Palmer? Not only will this make it harder for us to track him, but now, if there is another attack, it'll fucking cause mass panic" yelled DiNozzo for everyone in The NCIS Bullpen to hear.
"Calm down Dad, Palmer probably already assumed that we would be looking for him" said Three, who was sitting at the desk next to Stan Burley's.
"I know that. But if somehow he didn't, he certainly knows now. Who the fuck opened their mouth?" Tony yelled. Gibbs placed a hand on Tony's shoulder.
"You need to calm down Colonel, you're becoming obsessed. Rule 10- Never get personally involved in a case" said Gibbs.
"A little late for that Gunny" said Tony. Three's cell phone rang and he got up to take the call. Tony turned to Bridget, who was working at the desk across from Agent Burley. "Find anything Red Cap?" he asked. Bridget shook her head no.
"The vehicle they used was dumped 2 miles away, wiped clean of prints. After that, they split up and went their separate ways, all of their paths conveniently had no cameras" she said.
"Their probably former DSD, just like Palmer" said Tony. "Palmer has obviously been planning this for sometime; he probably had a network of former DSDs in D.C waiting for him" said Tony as Three walked back into the Bullpen.
"That was Tali, she wanted to make sure we're alright" he said. "Also, Ex-Caliber wants to know who talked" he said.
"Tell him to join the club" replied Tony as his own cell phone rang. He picked it up and answered. "Go for DiNozzo" he said.
"Hiya Buddy!" said an overjoyed voice. Tony faced tensed up.
"Palmer, I was wondering when I would be hearing form you" Tony spat out.
"Actually, I was calling, hoping to confirm your death, but obviously, you made it" he said sounding disappointed. Tony snapped his fingers at Bridget and pointed to his phone. She nodded, and began tracing the call.
"So how's life as a psychopath been Palmer, still got those voices in your head?" Tony asked, trying to piss Palmer off.
"Oh Tony, you have no idea what I am capable of, but you'll find out soon enough, I promise. By the way, how is the man the shot me, you know, Tom Colleton, or his sweet daughter Tali?" Palmer asked with a sinister laugh.
Tony leaned the phone into his shoulder and used ASL (American Sign Language) to tell Gibbs to "Have Three call Colonel Barrett. Palmer targeting Marshlands".
"I'll see ya real soon Tony, count on it" threatened Palmer as he hung up.
"Red Cap, did you get a trace?" Tony asked. Bridget typed a few more keys before answering.
"Yes, an Apartment in Georgetown" she said.
"Let's roll" said Tony.
0830 hours, 23 January 2001, Marshlands- Colleton Family Estate, St. Matthews, South Carolina.
"Nice shooting Ironman" said Colonel Barrett as he inspected the dead bodies of the 5 shooters. "Clark Palmer tipped his hand a little too early, got his men killed" he concluded. Then he turned to his fiancé, Navy Psychiatrist, Lieutenant Commander Jordan Parker. "What's your professional opinion Jordie?" he asked.
"From the files you've given me, I don't think Palmer cares about anything, even himself. He likes a dog chasing a rabbit, once he catches it, he has no idea what to do with it. I believe he sold all that intelligence to Mossad for once reason. To obtain the cash for his next adventure high. He loves causing chaos and destruction. When Tom, Tony and NCIS put him away, they took away that high. In those 2 years he spent locked up, he went through withdrawal, one probably more mentally painful than heroin withdrawal" she said.
"So, in Laymen's terms, he's a fucking nut job" said Chester.
"Oh yeah, big time" said Jordan.
"What I don't understand is, why Palmer targeted NCIS' Forensic Lab. If what you say is correct, he would have been targeting Agent Gibbs, who is far more exposed at his desk in the Bullpen. And how could Palmer have possibly known that Movie Buff, Sky Train and Gibbs would be down there at that exact moment?"
"It's almost as if, he was targeting the lab intentionally" said Chester.
"But why, Their Forensic Scientist was still in college when Palmer was originally taken down" said EJ. "Any thoughts Jordie?" he asked.
"No" she replied grimly.
0845 hours, 23 January 2001, Georgetown, Washington D.C
"That was Ironman" said Three as he hung up his cell phone. "5 shooters down, no friendly casualties" he said as he placed the phone in his pocket.
"Good" said Tony as he turned the Black GMC Suburban down the street where Palmer's apartment was located. He stopped a half a block away and pulled over. "Let's go" said Tony as he and Three got out. M4s in hand they approached the front of the building. Tony kicked in the front door and they made their way up the stairs. Tony stopped just before the 2nd floor and both he and Three put their earwigs in. "Red Cap, this is Movie Buff, over" he said into it. Bridget and Gibbs were keeping an eye on them from MTAC back at NCIS Headquarters.
"Copy that Movie Buff, I have you and Sky Train on my screen" Bridget replied.
"What apartment was the call placed from?" Tony asked.
"It's impossible to tell, I was able to break the encryption and trace it to this building only. Palmer must have tapped into the building's main trunk line" Bridget replied.
"So now what?" asked Three, who had been listening in on his earwig radio.
"Plan B" said Tony. "Red Cap, can you remotely access this building's fire alarm?" Tony asked.
"Yes" she replied.
"Good, do it, if Palmer's here, maybe we can flush him out into the street. And if not, he'll be the only on left in side" said Tony. Three picked the lock on a broom closet and the 2 men slipped inside. Red Cap triggered the fire alarm. The building's tenants began filing out into the street below.
"Movie Buff, facial recognition has zero hits on the crowd, if target is there, he is still inside" Bridget informed him.
"Gunny, does NCIS' satellite have infrared?" Tony asked, knowing Gibbs with Bridget.
"Yeah" replied Gibbs. Tony laughed.
"Yet again, NCIS' famous Leroy Jeathro Gibbs proves to the world, why he was voted 'Most Talkative' in High School" joked Tony. Both Three and Bridget laughed, Gibbs remained silent. "Red Cap, get me a heat signature on all remaining occupants" Tony ordered. A few minutes later, Bridget spoke.
"Sixth Floor, I'll guide you in" said Bridget. M4s still in hand, Tony and Three exited the broom closet and made their way up the stairs to the sixth floor. they quickly made there way down the hall until Bridget yelled "Stop".
"Room 666, how appropriate" said Tony as he took his position on the left side of the door, while Three took his position on the right. Tony gave Three a look, and Three nodded in reply. Tony flipped around his rifle and used the rifle butt to smash in the doorknob. Three kicked in the door and entered the 2 men entered the room. The room was completely empty except for an old-fashion jack-in-the-box. When the crank started turning, Tony knew something was wrong. Then he saw a string that was tied to the door, and the other end to the crank handle. The crank handle began moving faster and faster. "Bomb!" Tony yelled as he threw Three back through the door and threw himself on top of him. the Jack-in-the-Box exploded, the blast smashing through the windows and blowing out the door.
"Movie Buff, this is Red Cap, do you copy over" yelled Bridget through the radio. When she got no response she tried again. "Sky Train, this is Red Cap, do you copy, over" she yelled. "Movie Buff or Sky Train, do you copy!" she screamed.
"Ya know, I am REALLY getting tired of rooms blowing up in my face!" Tony yelled as he took several deep breaths. "You ok Three?" Tony asked.
"I'm good, a Mountain Dew and I'll be good" he said as he laid on his back on the floor.
"Smart ass" Tony retorted as he stood up of the floor. "Gunny, get an NCIS, get your MCRT down here, we got a crime scene" said Tony.
"We're on our way Colonel" said Gibbs.
0730 hours, 24 January 2001, Marshlands- Colleton Family Estate, St. Matthews, South Carolina.
"Day Four" said Chester as he sat down on the porch next to Tom Colleton, both men enjoying a morning cup of coffee. The sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon as Tom peered out into the field in front of his house.
"Yep" said Tom. "4 days of you damnyankees shacking up on my farm" he jokingly complained.
"Aw, come on Tom, you know you missed us" said Chester, with a stupid grin on his face.
"Yeah maybe" shrugged Tom with a smile. Then Tom notice someone walking through his wheat field. It was a woman, a blond, who looked to still be a teenager. "I'll be damn" Tom mumbled under his breath.
"What?" asked Chester. Tom stood up from his chair.
"God damn it Liat, quit stepping on my wheat" he yelled out into the field. Upon hearing Tom yell Liat's name, Chester shot up from his chair.
"Son of a bitch" said Chester as Liat exited the field and made her way onto the porch.
"Look what the cat dragged in" said Tom with a smile.
"Tom, I do believe y'all have a DiNozzo on the premises" said Chester in a crappy Southern accent. Tom punched him in the arm.
"Leave the Southern accents to me, if you don't mind" warned Tom. Then he turned his attention back to Liat. With her pack slung across her back, she was leaning up against one of the porch's pillars. "Now, what brings you down to The Marshlands?" Tom asked her.
"I heard about the attack on NCIS and Clark Palmer's escape from Leavenworth on ZNN. I thought my father might need a little help" she said. At that moment, Colonel Barrett and Tali walked out of the house and saw Liat standing there.
"Staff Sergeant DiNozzo, how nice of you to join us" said EJ. Tali just let out a squeal and ran over and nearly knocked Liat off the porch with her hug. Liat replicated the squeal and hug, as the 2 girls danced around the porch; much to the amusement of Tom, EJ and Chester.
"Oh Liat, I missed you so much" said Tali.
"I missed you too" Liat replied.
"What are you doing here?" Tali asked, as they finally broke off the hug.
"I heard about Clark palmer's escape from Fort Leavenworth, and his subsequent attack on NCIS on the news. I figured my Abba could use some help" she explained once again.
"Has Ironman brought you up to speed?" EJ asked her.
"No, but I studied Mossad's file on Palmer, and The Unit's file on him on the plane. Where should I start?" she asked.
"Other than The Unit, JAG has the most complete file on Clark Palmer, it might even have some Intel we don't" said Chester.
"Unfortunately, you've have to go to JAG to get it, they don't have a digital database" Tali informed her.
"Liat, how did you get here?" Tom asked her.
"I few into Charlotte last night. I took a train form there to St. Matthews and walked the rest of the way" she said. With that Tom stood up and walked back into the house.
"Sounds like The Golden Girl is going hunting" said Tali, with a grin on her face.
"Ya know, I've been meaning to tell you, that callsign sucks" said Chester. "You need something cooler" he said. "Ooh, how about Tigress?" Chester suggested. Tali just rolled her eyes.
"Really? You want to nickname her after a river in Iraq?" she asked.
"Oh, right, forgot about that" he said.
"How about Princess?" asked Tom Colleton, who walked back out onto the porch, with a set of keys in his hands. Chester and Tali gave him a look. "She's my Goddaughter, I can make comments like that" he said as he tossed the keys he had in his hand to Liat. "Your dad bought this as a surprise for your 18th birthday, but I don't care. Think of it as my revenge for all the crap he pulled under my command" said Tom with a smile. "She's in the barn" said Tom.
"Hey, does that include the time Tony and Kate did on your desk?" Chester asked with a huge grin. Tom just shook his head, laughing.
"Chester, that was you and Meg" he retorted.
"Oh… right" he admitted. Everyone bursted out laughing.
With that, Tom Colleton and his Goddaughter made their way over to one of Marshland's barns. Tom used his own keys to unlock the padlock and pull out the chain. With a small grunt he pulled open the door and slide it all the way back. He walked inside and pulled the cover off the car. "Oh yeah" exclaimed Liat with a huge smile on her face.
1645 hours, 24 January 2001, Forensic Lab, Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Headquarters, Washington Navy Yard, Washington D.C
"ABBY!" Tony yelled as he got off the elevator. "Please tell me you have something" he pleaded.
"Maybe I do" she said as she skipped out of her office into the front of the lab.
"Are you always this hyper?" Tony asked.
"You betcha Colonel" she said as she when up on her toes and kissed the bridge of Tony's nose. Tony held up his left hand, displaying his wedding band.
"I'm married, and I'm like, 12 years older than you" said Tony. Abby only frowned.
"Pity" she said as she turned to her computer. "Ok, using a black light, our forensic team found a diagram on the wall, although, I'm having trouble identifying it" she said.
"Can you put it up?" Tony asked. With a few keystrokes, a diagram of a multi-story building appeared on the screen. "Wait a minute" said Tony. "JAG" he said as he stormed out of the forensic lab and made an all out sprint up the stairs. He bursted through the doors that lead to Gibbs' bullpen, looking for Three. "GUNNY!" he yelled. He found Gibbs sitting at his desk.
"What is it" he asked.
"Palmer, he's targeting JAG" said Tony. Bridget, who was sitting at the desk next to Gibbs quickly picked up the phone and dialed JAG HQ.
"The call isn't going through" she said.
"Try The Admiral's cell" Tony ordered. Bridget quickly followed it. She shook her head.
"Cell tower is down" she said Grimly.
"Sky Train, with me" Tony ordered as he ran down the stairs to the parking lot, Three quickly followed.
"Dad, what are we doing?" Three asked as they both got into their respective Mustangs.
"We gotta get to JAG, fast" he said.
1730 hours, 24 January 2001, JAG Headquarters, Falls Church Virginia.
"Out of my way Gunnery Sergeant" Tony screamed at JAG's Gunnery Sergeant Victor Galindez. When the Gunny didn't move fast enough for Tony, he shoved the man out of the way, causing even more of a commotion. Tony and Three bursted through the doors into JAG's bullpen.
"DiNozzo!" yelled Admiral Chegwidden. "What the hell are you doing?" he yelled.
"Admiral, there is little time to explain, long story short, there's a bomb, somewhere in this building. So here's what I need you to do" said Tony as he gave a short pause. "GET THE FUCK OUT!" Tony yelled as he began forcing people through the doors.
With the buildings alarm system not working, Gunnery Sergeant Galindez began herding people out of the bullpen. Tony and Three turned to The Admiral once again. "AJ, have any large packages been delivered here in the past few days?" Tony asked.
"Um no, just" he paused and looked over at Lieutenant Colonel Sarah Mackenzie's Desk. "Just Mac's desk" he said slowly. Tony pulled his Bowie knife from its sheath on his ankle and walked into the Colonel's office. Tony jabbed the knife into the corner of the desk and pried off the top, revealing what had to be at least 50 pounds of Semtex explosive.
"Holy shit" said Tony. "Move, Move" Tony ordered as he pushed the 2 other men out of the office. "Go!" he yelled as they made their way down the stairs. They rushed out into the parking lot when Three noticed something. A dark blue Ford 1968 GT-40, with white racing stripes.
"Liat" mumbled Three. He grabbed Chegwidden by the collars and lifted him off the ground. "My sister is here?" he asked.
"She was in the library, doing research" Chegwidden replied. Three dropped the Admiral to the ground as he looked around the parking lot, not seeing his sister. Three bursted into an all-out sprint back into the building.
"Three!" Tony yelled as he went to run after him. Tony shoved people out of the way trying to get to the door.
Then, it happened. As Tony reached the door, a massive explosion ripped through the building. The force of it all threw Tony backwards and onto the ground. Tony's face gritted against the ground, cutting it badly. When his momentum slowed and Tony's body finally came to a halt, he looked up. The JAG building was in flames. "No" he said weakly, before loosing consciousness
TO BE CONTINUED
PLEASE REVIEW
A/N- from here on out, things are going to get very AU, and yes, I will be altering world history. Its gonna be awesome