A/N- If you were confused by the last chapter, don't worry, it was sort of designed that way. Hopefully, much will be revealed in this next chapter
Chapter 14
A Diplomatic Solution- Part One
1300 hours, 10 February 2001, Ready Room, Loring AFB, Maine.
"Damn it, I wish they would tell us what we are doing here" complain Navy Commander Harmon Rabb Jr. to his RIO, or Radar Intercept Officer, Elizabeth "Skates" Hawkes.
"Just calm down Harm, I'm sure we'll be briefed soon enough" Skates reassured him. it had been a tough week for Harm and JAG, which was still recovering from the bomb blast only 2 weeks earlier. JAG and Lieutenant Colonel Mackenzie in particular, had been put in charge of Paloma Reynosa. Mac's idea seemed rather simple, put her in a jail where her allies would least expect it, in El-Paso, Texas. Well that had lasted all of 24 hours before members of her cartel shot up the small jailhouse and took her home to Mexico.
And then he was roused from his bed at 0530, on his day off, and was quickly whisked away to Loring AFB in Maine. Now he and his old RIO, Skates were sitting in the base's ready room, dressed in their flight suits, waiting. Harm's thought process was quickly cutoff when an Army Captain entered the room. "Good Afternoon, my name is Captain Bridget Sullivan, and I will be briefing you" said Captain Sullivan. "As you may have already heard, Scuttlebutt is true, and in approximately 48 hours, The President will go before Congress and ask for a formal declaration of War against 'The Protestant Republic of Canada'. What I ask of you know, is essential to that declaration" said Bridget. "There have been reports that The Canadian Military, in particular, CSIS Units, have been massacring Quebecois Catholics. They are reportedly using chemical weapons in order to kill as many of them as fast as possible. What we need from you is low level photography of these suspected mass graves" said Bridget. "Get in, and get out, and for God's sake, do not get shot down" warned Bridget. "Any problems?" she asked.
"Just one, what happens if we do get shot down?" Harm asked.
"Well, what religion are you?" Bridget asked him.
"Protestant" Harm replied.
"And you, Lieutenant Hawkes?" she asked Skates.
"Catholic" she replied.
"Well then" said Bridget as she let out a deep breath. "Harm, I suggest that you flash your dog tags and show them that you are Protestant, and hopefully they will only take you prisoner" Then she turned to Skates. "As for you Lieutenant Hawkes, run, and don't stop running, because if you stop, they will catch you, and they will kill you" Bridget said gravely.
Helmets in hand, Harm and Skates made that slow walk down the flight line. "You ready?" Harm asked Skates.
"As I'll ever be" she replied timidly. At the end of the flight line, was parked the F-14F Tomcat that they would be flying. Photo bird missions were tricky ones. In order to be as fast as possible, they carried no armaments, which meant no missiles and no bullets. Harm and Skates
"All set Griggsy?" Harm asked the plane Captain, Petty Officer 3rd Class Johnny Grigonis III,
"All set Commander Rabb" Griggsy replied as he threw the Commander a salute. Harm quickly returned it. "Good Luck Sir" Griggsy added.
"Thanks Griggsy" said Harm as he climbed the step into the cockpit. Harm and Skates quickly went through their pre-flight check and were ready to go. Harm fired up the engines and moved the plane to the center of the runway. "Wing Sweep automatic" said Harm
"Wing Sweep automatic" Skates echoed.
"Loring Tower, this is Badman One, requesting permission for takeoff, over" Harm said into the radio.
"Badman One, this is Loring Tower, permission granted" said the controller.
"Here we go" said Harm to Skates as he pulled back on the throttle.
1330 hours, 10 February 2001, Galtier Family Farm, 20 miles east of Riviere-du-Loup, Quebec
"Come on Izzy, let's get a move on!" Billy yelled to his partner as he threw his pack into the back of the red Jeep Wrangler.
"Hold you dogs, I'm coming" she yelled as she walked out of the farm house.
"It's horses, Izz, hold your horses" said Billy correcting her.
"Oh shut up" she said with a smile as she got in the passenger's seat of the jeep.
"Whatever" Billy replied as he put the keys in the ignition. The Unit had less than 48 hours to gather whatever Intel they could before the US launched its invasion.
As they drove, Billy began singing "The Irish Volunteer", much to Izabella's dismay. "Do you have to sing that bloody song?" Izzy yelled.
"Wow, you're almost as bad as Mal was when Tony would sing his country music" said Billy with a smile, fondly remembering that mission in Georgia. "Fine, I'll sing something else" said Billy as he began singing The Unionist Version of "Dixie", which was highly offensive to anyone from the South.
"Good God, Billy, don't you know any sounds that won't piss somebody off?" Izzy asked.
"Nope" replied Billy simply with a bright smile. After they drove for a few more minutes, Billy pulled the jeep off the road just before they hit Riviere-du-Loup.
"What are you doing?" Izzy asked as Billy came to stop at the edge of a beautiful meadow.
"Mrs. Galtier packed us a picnic, it would be rude not to enjoy it" said Billy with a smile as he uncover the whicker picnic basket. "Come on" he said as he lifted the basket out of the jeep.
"Billy, we have recon to do" giggled Izzy as she jumped out.
"Look, we can't do anything until Movie Buff checks in, so we might as well enjoy the peace while we can" he said. With a huff, Izzy jumped out of the jeep and joined Billy. They spent the next half hour just relaxing. Despite it being February in Quebec, it wasn't all that cold. For a little while, it was as if the whole world had gone away, and it was just the 2 of them. Billy sat down against a tree and motioned for Izzy to come over. With a brief reluctance, she did and sat down beside him. Billy put him arm around her and pulled her in tight. Izzy began to relax as she leaned her head on Billy's shoulder. For the 1st time, in a very long while, she was able to find peace.
"I with we could just find a diplomatic solution to all this" complained Izzy.
"Yeah, we don't do 'Diplomatic'" said Billy as he sat down against a tree, Izzy sat down next to him and put her head on his shoulder. "I prefer what we did in Cuba" said Billy.
"What was that?" Izzy asked.
"Aggressive Negotiations" replied Billy with a huge grin.
"What's that?" she asked.
"Negotiations… with an Assault Rifle" explained Billy with a huge smile. Before Izzy could reply with anything more than a giggle, The radio in the jeep crackled.
"Hitman, this is Movie Buff over" said Tony's voice over the radio. Billy quickly jumped up and grabbed the headset.
"Go or Hitman" said Billy as he dug a small pencil and a notepad out of his pack.
"CSIS in possession of CW, have obtained Intel of SCUD Missile sites outside Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto and Ottawa. Relay this message to Central Command, request Air Strike, Incendiary Weapons, over" Tony instructed.
1405 hours, 10 February 2001, Canadian SCUD Missile Base, 2 klicks north of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
"Copy that Movie Buff" Billy replied over the radio.
"Freeze Yank!" yelled someone from behind Tony. Tony quickly dropped the radio, pulled his 45. and dove for the ground. When he popped back up to fire his weapon, he found he was surrounded by Canadian Soldiers dressed in Khaki, holding AK-47s. Before he knew what hit him, one of the soldiers slammed Tony in the face with the butt of his AK-47. He tasted blood in his mouth as 2 of the men dragged him away and them him in the back of a van. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his neck and after a few seconds, everything went black.
1410 hours, 10 February 2001, 2 miles east of Riviere-du-Loup, Quebec
"Movie Buff, come in" Billy repeated several times with no answer. "Damn it" he yelled as he threw down the headset. "They got him" said Billy as he let his hands rest on his knees. He picked up the headset again.
"What are you doing?" Izabella asked him.
"They only thing I know how" he replied as he turned the dial on the radio. "Following Orders" he replied. "Ex-Caliber, Ex-Caliber, this is Hitman, over" he said into the radio, trying to reach Colonel Barrett.
"Go for Freedom" answered Sergeant 1st Class Tali Colleton.
"Freedom, I need to a message through to Ex-Caliber" said Billy.
"What is it?" Tali asked.
"Movie Buff reports, CW Missile sites near Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto and Ottawa. Recommends Air Strike with incendiary ordinance, over" said Billy as he relayed Tony's message. "Be advised, we have lost contact Movie Buff, repeat, we have lost contact with The Movie Buff" Billy added.
"Copy that, Hitman" said Colonel Barrett, who had been listening in. "You and Papillion stay put, Hitman. Coordinate with QNA forces and gather whatever Intel you can understood? Ex-Caliber, out" finished Colonel Barrett.
"So now what?" Billy asked Izzy.
"We head to Toronto and rescue Movie Buff?" she asked.
"Exactly" replied Billy with a smile as they got back into the jeep.
1420 hours, 10 February 2001, Tactical Operations Center, Unit Compound, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Colonel Barrett replaced the headset on Tali's desk and when he looked up, he found Chester standing there, leaning against the desk with his arms crossed. "We've lost contact with Movie Buff" Barrett said to Chester. "He most likely has been captured" he added.
"So what do we do now?" Chester asked.
"With Movie Buff M.I.A and Hitman in Quebec, it's your call Ironman" said Barrett.
"Give me Sky Train and Dragnet, and we'll head to Québec, link up with The QNA, Hitman and Papillion. From there, we'll head to Toronto and rescue Movie Buff" said Chester.
"Get it done" ordered Barrett.
"Yes Sir" replied Chester as he leaned off the desk. "Sky Train, Dragnet!" he yelled. "Grab your gear, we're wheels up in 60" he added, still yelling.
1425 hours, 10 February 2001, 5,000 feet AGL over Quebec City, Quebec.
"Ok Harm, one pass and gone" said Skates to Harm as they approached the suspected Mass Grave site near the Soccer Stadium outside Quebec City.
"Camera is rolling" said Harm as he flipped the switch. "Here we go" said Harm as he flew the plane over the site. Suddenly, alarms started going off.
"SAM in the air, repeat, Surface-to-Air missile has been launched" Skates yelled as she tracked it on radar.
"Hang on Skates" Harm yelled as he flicked off the camera, and pulled back on the stick. Within seconds, the plane climbed higher and higher as Harm brought up the plane to 25,000 feet.
"SAM closing fast" Skates yelled.
"Hang on" Harm yelled as he pulled the F-14 into a 0-G turn. He flipped the plane inverted and pushed it into a dive.
"Still on our Six" Skates yelled. The plane was fast approaching the ground and Harm had very little time to react. Harm quickly pulled back on the stick, while at the same time, releasing the full tanks. As Harm pulled back up, the tanks hit the ground, exploding into a huge fireball. The missile flew into the fireball and exploded.
"Holy shit that actually worked" said Harm as he let out a breath he forgot he was holding.
"Let's get the hell out of here" said Skates as they flew off.
1500 hours, 10 February 2001, Sky Dome, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
When Tony finally woke, his vision was blurry a few minutes. He his vision was finally back to normal; he discovered that he was in a dark cell, chained to the wall. "Where am I?" he asked as he tried to move, but discovered his feet were also chained. Then, suddenly and without warning, the chains quickly tightened, lifting him off the ground and into the air. "AHH!" he screamed as he was literally being pulled limb from limb.
"Shalom, Movie Buff" said a voice from behind Tony. A Middle Eastern man walked out of the shadows to reveal himself. "Do you know who I am?" the man asked.
"Mossad Officer/Kidon Operative Ari Haswari; Bastard son of Mossad Director Eli David" said Tony with an evil smile.
"And you are the infamous 'Movie Buff', aka Lieutenant Colonel Anthony Dominick DiNozzo Jr. the unwanted son of Anthony DiNozzo Senior" Ari replied
"Touché" Tony replied. "So… how long has Mossad being doing The CNP's dirty work?" Tony asked.
"Oh, not long, it took them quite some time for them to acquire the proper funds" said Ari as he rubbed his fingers together. Tony burst out laughing.
"Ya wanna know something; you're doing nothing to help the Jewish stereotype right now bro" said Tony through the laughs. Ari walked forward and gave him a hard slap across the face. "Tony tasted blood in his mouth and quickly spat it out. "Really could have done without that" said Tony as he spat out more blood.
"Don't worry Colonel, by the time Adam is done with you… well… you'll find out" said Ari with an evil laugh. Suddenly,. The chains un-tightened and Tony was throw to the ground. The door to the cell opened and 2 Canadian soldiers came in. they released Tony from the chains and dragged him out of the cell and down the hall. Tony struggled every bit of the way until the butt of an AK-47 came crashing into his face. They dragged him into a small room and threw him on top of a steel bed frame, and quickly tied him down. Then, and man walked into the room, one Tony hadn't seen before.
"Hello, Colonel DiNozzo, my name is Shabbak Officer Adam Eshel. And you are going to tell me everything I want to know" he said with an evil smile.
"Fuck You" Tony replied.
"Laugh while you still can, my dear Colonel, as very soon, I'm going to show you just how much pain can be compacted into a car battery.
"AHHHHHHH!" Tony screamed as the volts surged through his body. he screamed and he screamed, but still he refused to talk.
1520 hours, 10 February 2001, Main Flightline, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
"Let's go, let's move!" yelled Master Sergeant Chester Martin as he, Staff Sergeant Deeks and Sergeant DiNozzo III loaded their gear onto the Gulfstream.
"All set Ironman" yelled Three as he popped his head out of the door.
"Chutes loaded too?" Chester asked.
"Packed em' myself" Three replied.
"Terrific" replied Chester sarcastically. "All right, let's go fly" said Chester. He and Deeks made their way up the ramp to the plane and climbed aboard. Just as the co-pilot was about to close the door behind them, it was stopped by a hand. Then, the door was pushed open, by a female. "Damn it Tali, get off the plane" Chester ordered.
"Not happening Ironman" she replied as she threw down her bag and parachute and sat down across from Chester.
"Damn it, Tali, this is my mission, now get the hell of this plane" as he pointed to the door.
"Damn it Chester, I know exactly why you and Colonel Barrett don't want me on this mission" she countered. "It's because Ari was the shooter wasn't he?" she asked.
"Damn it" Chester muttered under his breath.
"Damn it, you don't know Ari like I do, he's a fucking psychopath" Tali explained.
"So what exactly do you plan to do?" Chester asked.
"Kill Ari"
TO BE CONTINUED
A/N- This was originally one chapter, but I decided to break it up into 2 chapters, so that I could update faster.