Chapter 20
Behind Enemy Lines
1550 hours, 20 February 2001, CNP Command Post, Quebec City, occupied territory, Republic of Quebec.
"The American Media is reporting the death of their soldier as we speak" said Colonel Lex Jaguden, commander of the Canadian Garrison in Quebec City and loyal CNP Party member.
"Excellent news Colonel" replied Mossad Officer Teo Gold, whom, unbeknownst to both Liat DiNozzo, was still in Quebec. "Director David will be pleased, as will General Clarke" he added.
"Yes, they will" said Colonel Jaguden with a sinister smile.
"Although Colonel, I am not convinced" said Gold bluntly.
"How so?" Jaguden asked.
"It's too easy, far too simple" Gold replied.
"This coming from a man who is in violation of orders simply by remaining in Quebec. You were ordered out 2 days ago by Director David, were you not?" Jaguden asked.
"Yes, that is correct. However, I chose to stay behind" Gold informed him.
"Why is that?" Jaguden asked.
"I believe that someone here in Quebec City is leaking information to the Americans" Gold revealed.
"Who?"
"Mossad Officer Liat Tuvia" Gold said firmly
"Why do you not bring these suspicions to Director David yourself?" Jaguden asked.
"Because, Officer Tuvia is a good friend of Director David's daughter Ziva. If I am wrong, it will be my head" said Gold as he rubbed his hand on his throat.
"I see" sympathized Colonel Jaguden.
"But back to my point Colonel, about the American"
"You actually believe the American isn't dead?" Jaguden asked.
"I have my suspicions" Gold said.
"Very well, follow me" said Jaguden as they walked out of the Colonel's office. They left the building not being used at the command post, after the last one was blown sky high, and walked down the street towards said destroyed building. "There" said Jaguden pointing to a body covered by a sheet. "I dispatched a group of CNP Guards to bury the remaining bodies, most of them were dirty papists anyway" said Jaguden, using the Canadian derogatory slang for Roman Catholics. Gold walked over and pulled back the sheet. The body was horribly burnt and disfigured. Almost all of the skin was burned in some way. It wasn't pretty. "What are you looking for?" asked Colonel Jaguden.
"Something" said Gold as he peeled off the burned shirt from the body.
"I can see that, but what specifically?" Jaguden asked again.
"Dammit!" yelled Gold as he threw down the dead man's arm.
"What?"
"Look at this tattoo" said Gold. Jaguden came closer and saw 3 black dots in the shape of a triangle. They were tattooed just below the knuckle of the middle finger on the left hand. "This tattoo belongs to The CNP Guards. They were used to identify members of the Coup" said Gold. "This man is a CNP Guard. That Fucking American is still alive!" Gold yelled. Gold turned to Jaguden and pointed his finger at him. "You, find Officer Tuvia and detain her until I return" said Gold as he began to jog away.
"And just where are you going?" Jaguden asked him.
"To kill the American" Gold said coldly.
1615 hours, 20 February 2001, Mass grave site, 8 miles northeast of Quebec City, occupied territory, Republic of Quebec.
There was a resonant beeping as the dump trucks raised there beds, dumping out the bodies of General Clarke's latest mass executions. The bodies of Catholics, men, women, children alike, all fell into the swallow ravine. Once the hundreds of bodies, which had made up the remnants of Quebec City's Catholic population, had been dumped in to the ravine, the dump trucks lowered their beds and move away from the ravine. A few guards fired a few rounds into it just for good measure. After that, the guard packed into the trucks as they drove back to the city. For the next few minutes, the only sound that could be heard was that of the dead. In other words, utter silence. Despite the below-freezing temperatures, the stench of the dead was unbearable. Slowly, as if coming back from the dead, a body slowly rose from its shallow grave. The man rose up and climbed out the grave, using a piece of torn cloth to with the blood of the dead off his face and body, but to no avail. He had been marked by the dead. He reached down to his right pant leg and pulled out his sate phone. "Any US callsign, this is Sky Train over" he said and then after getting no reply, he repeated himself several times. Then he checks the sate phones battery. "Damn" he said as he threw it down. A bullet had passed right through it. He squatted down and put his head in between his knees, trying to think of what to do next. As if by the will of God, he hears his father's words ring through his head. "DiNozzo's don't quit" he states out loud, quoting his father. Knowing what he had to do next, Three pulled out a map from his breast pocket. He quickly unfolded it and marked his position, the mass grave site, for identification later. Then he noticed something else on the map, a small red x, about 45 miles northeast of his position. "The Seat" he said to himself. When Lieutenant Hodges had punched out, the strong winds had blown him miles from here his seat had landed, the seat that carried the homing beacon. If he could reach it, he could activate the beacon, and hopefully, an American Unit would pickup the signal. Three checked his watch. 1638 hours. It would be dark in a couple of hours and he was facing some of the steepest terrain in Quebec. But he had no choice. Armed only with his 45 and Bowie knife, Three set off. His mission from the get go had been survival. But now, there was something else attached to that. Located with in that ejection seat, are the photos Lieutenant Hodges took of the mass grave sites in Quebec. Now more than ever, Staff Sergeant Anthony Dominick DiNozzo III knew exactly what he had to do.
1800 hours, 20 February 2001, Marshlands- Colleton Family Estate, St. Matthews, South Carolina.
"I still can't believe it" said Billy as he and Tom sat down at the dinning room table.
"Ya know you've been saying that all day, and it's really starting to get on my nerves" Tom told him.
"I know that Colonel, but still. I mean, this is Tony we're talking about here. I just don't understand how Tony, a decorated war hero, could have been raised by a piece of shit like this" said Billy in disbelief. "Does Tony know about all this?" Billy asked.
"Know about? He's taken part in most of it" said Tom as he took a sip of his bourbon.
"WHAT?" Billy yelled, stunned. "That's impossible" Billy yelled. Tom opened one of the files they had been discussing earlier and began to read aloud.
"At the tale end of 91' two men, 'Duke' Lavery and Julian Jerome, tried to kill Tony's stepfather. Tony put 2 rounds in each of their chests and dumped their bodies into the Port Charles Harbor. In 1994, Frank Smith, one of the nations most notorious Gangsters at the time, put a hit out on Tony's father. Tony put a round in the back of Smith's skull and buried his body in the backwoods of upstate New York. In early 95, Tony, along with Chester and Malachi, stole 5 million dollars from The Armenian Mob in Los Angeles. 2 million when to Tony's father and the rest of them each kept one" Tom read. Billy's jaw dropped. "Then later in 95, he covered up the murder of one Joseph Scully Sr, a rival of Tony's father"
"I don't believe you" Billy spat out.
"To be fair, these are only the crimes we know about" Tom said with a smile.
"I don't get it, why would Tony do all this. And how long have you known?" Billy asked.
"Why?" Tom stated. "They 'Why' is simple. How old were you when your mother died?" Tom asked.
"She's still alive" Billy replied.
"How about when your father started abusing you? And then later when he disowned you?" Tom asked.
"My father never abused me. He died a few years ago. He loved me" Billy said, not quite understanding what Tom was getting at.
"Lucky you. Tony's mother died when he was 10. You wanna know what his father did after that? Do ya? Tony's biological father blamed Tony for Rebecca's death. He would beat Tony night after night. Later, after Tony and Kate married, when they were almost 16, Tony's father disowned. Him. Tony was left out on the street with a newborn son and a young wife. You wanna know why Tony protects this man? This man took Tony in and raised him as his own son, and Three as his own Grandson" Tom said. Suddenly, Billy felt overwhelmed by guilt. He had had a loving childhood; he still had his mother and older brother.
"Who else knows about this?" Billy asked.
"Obviously Kate, Three and Liat, but other than them, well… Tali, Bridget, Chester, Malachi and Izzy" Tom explained.
"How the hell does Izzy know?" Billy asked, surprised.
"She was, at one point, MI-6's foremost expert on Tony. She knew everything" Tom informed him.
"Then why are you telling me all this now?" Billy asked.
"Because, I would like you to meet an old friend of mine" Tom said. A man, with combed back black hair, dressed in a designer beige Armani suit, walked in to the room. "I would like you to meet, Tony's Godfather and stepfather, Michael 'Sonny' Corinthos Jr."
0035 hours, 21 February 2001, Statue of The Angel St. Mary, 50 miles northeast of Quebec City, Republic of Quebec.
It was Zero Dark Thirty when Three finally arrived at the Statue. Just below the angel was a frost covered fighter pilot's seat. His hands nearly frostbitten, he scraped off the frost in a desperate attempt to local the transmitter beacon. "Come on, come on" he mumbled to himself. The pressed on the button several more times before he heard a faint beeping sound. The signal was transmitting. Three let out a sigh of relief. Now he just had to hope that it was an American and not a Canadian unit that picked up his signal. Three pulled his overcoat tight around his body and leaned back against the Angel. His closed his eyes as he tried to get some rest.
0045 hours, 21 February 2001, CNP Command Post, Quebec City, occupied territory, Republic of Quebec.
"Colonel Jaguden!" one of The CNP Guards yelled. Colonel Lex Jaguden came running over to the young Guard's station.
"What is it son?" Jaguden asked.
"We're picking up a distress signal Colonel, 50 miles northeast of the city" the soldier explained.
"Is it one of ours?" Jaguden asked.
"No Sir, it's an American signal" the soldier said. Colonel Jaguden got an evil grin on his face as he backed away from the Control Panel.
"Gold!" Jaguden yelled to Mossad Officer Teo Gold
"What?" Teo yelled back.
"We have a location on the American" Jaguden said with a sadistic smile, one that was shared by Officer Gold.
"Give me one of your men as a guide and 6 hours. I will track down the American Imperialist dog" Officer Gold said with conviction. Jaguden looked around the small room.
"Assault Leader Howe" Jaguden yelled across the rom. Assault Leader was the CNP Guard equivalent of a Corporal
"Yes Sir" said Assault Leader Howe as he snapped to attention and saluted.
"You will accompany Officer Gold, understood?" Jaguden ordered.
"Perfectly Colonel Jaguden Sir" replied Howe, who still at a stiff attention. Then Jaguden turned back to Officer Gold
"You will have 5 hours, before my men will close in behind you" said Jaguden.
"Fine, but you must find the girl, Officer Tuvia, before she is able to inform the Americans that there operative is still alive" Teo said, jabbing his finger into the Colonel's chest.
"Don't worry, we'll find the little brat" Jaguden assured him.
"You better" said Gold as he stormed out, Assault Leader Howe in tow, close behind. Jaguden looked around the room once again.
"Sergeant Crosby!" Jaguden yelled.
"Yes Colonel, at your service sir" Crosby replied, standing at a stiff attention.
"Sergeant, take a squad and locate one Mossad Officer Liat Tuvia. She is wanted for questioning" said Jaguden as he handed a photo of Liat to Sergeant Crosby.
"Yes Sir" Sergeant Crosby sang out.
0100 hours, 21 February 2001, US Forward Operating Base, 7 miles south of Riviere-du-Loup, Republic of Quebec.
Only hours earlier, Sergeant 1st Class Tali Colleton had cried herself to sleep over the loss of a dear friend. When Tony, her partner and best friend had been called away for some classified, unspecified mission, he had asked her to watch over his son. And now Tony's son Three, was dead. She had failed. She had given Tony her word and she had failed.
She had fallen asleep on one of the desks in the temporary CP, when she was awoken by a beeping on the computer control panel on the desk she was sleeping on. She looked up, her cheeks still stained with tears. She shook her head to drive away the sleep and looked at the screen. "What the hell" she said as she sniffed back a few tears. She did some quick typing and her jaw dropped. "Oh my god" she exclaimed as she jumped up from chair and stormed out. She sprinted down the hall and out of the building as she ran down the road to a small farm house where the family had been gracious enough to put up Brigadier General Morrell. She sprinted up to the farm house and started banging on the door with her fists. A minute later, a very sleepy General Morrell answered the door.
"Sergeant Coleton, you better have a good reason for rousing me at 0100" said Morrell angrily, most of the anger being contributed to the fact that his friend's son had just died, and the fact that he had slept very little in the last 48 hours.
"General Sir, I have very little time to explain, but I need you to follow me" she told him. Morrell shot her a funny look. "Please Sir" she pleaded with him. Luckily for her, Morrell had fallen asleep in his fatigues.
"Lead on Macduff" Morrell half joked as he slipped his shoulder holster over his shoulder. Even for a man who was fast approaching 40, Morrell was able to keep pace with the young, much more agile Sergeant Colleton. When they reached the CP, Tali did some more quick typing and show the General what she had found. "Well I'll be damned" said Morrell. "And you're sure this isn't so Canuck trick?" Morrell asked her.
"I'm positive General, it's one of ours" Tali confirmed.
"Rouse Staff Sergeant Deeks, I want a Ranger chalk ready for takeoff in 3 hours, hooah"
"Hooah" Tali replied.
0320 hours, 21 February 2001, 48 miles northeast of Quebec City, 2 miles southwest of The Statue of The Angel St. Mary, occupied territory, Republic of Quebec.
With his WA2000 Sniper slung over his shoulder, and the arrogant young Assault Leader (Corporal) Howe following close behind. "The Statue of the Angel is only a few more miles away" Howe pointed out.
"Yes, I know" Gold replied smugly. Suddenly, there was a loud clicking sound below Howe's foot. Both men stopped in their tracks.
"What is it?" gulped the very nervous Howe.
"A Mine" said Gold without even looking.
"What do I do?" Howe asked.
"Don't move" said Gold as he walked away. And with that Gold just continued walking on towards the statue. He walked over the hill and then another, when he heard a large "BANG". A sadistic smile spread across the face of Mossad Officer Teo Gold.
About 20 minutes later, Teo had reached the statue. He unslung his WA2000 and switched on the night-vision scope. He setup the rifle on s fallen tree, about a klick north of the statue, his scope set on the ejected pilot's seat. He could see much, except for the faint outline of a gloved hand on the side of the seat. Teo let out a quiet snicker. "I have until dawn my American friend, let us see who can wait longer"
0500 hours, 21 February 2001, Quebec City, occupied territory, Republic of Quebec.
It was soon to be daybreak as Liat DiNozzo walked down the quiet street. It had been a long day and night, and Liat walked at a brisk pace, trying to return to her temporary apartment, where she had a radio stashed. Using her key, she entered the apartment complex and entered the central square. Suddenly, she found herself surrounded by a squad of Canadian troops. "Good evening Officer Tuvia. My name is Sergeant Crosby, and you are under arrest". Before Liat had a chance to react, shots rang out, and several of the Canadians dropped to the ground, dead. More shots, automatic weapons fire, rang out, before the Canadians knew what hit them, they were all dead. Liat was absolutely stunned. Suddenly, a man dressed in all black.
With his P-99 pistol drawn, the man yelled "get the hell away from here" in a heavy German accent. But Liat just stood there, despite all her instincts telling her to run. Other than her father, she had never seen such skillful shooting. "Gott en Himmel" God in Heaven. The man holstered his weapon and grabbed Liat by the wrist and pulled her along. "Come on" he growled.
"Who are you?" she asked, not fighting him.
"A friend of your father" he said as he dragged her along. He dragged her over to a parked Red 1998 Jeep Cherokee 4x4. "Get in" he instructed.
0515 hours, 21 February 2001, US Forward Operating Base, 7 miles south of Riviere-du-Loup, Republic of Quebec.
"Ten-Hut" yelled Staff Sergeant Deeks when General Morrell entered the room. The Ranger chalk snapped to attention. Everyone in the room, except for Tali, was dressed in Commando fatigues and had camo paint on their face. "Chalk Four is ready General" said Deeks as he saluted the General.
"Excellent Staff Sergeant" said Morrell as he returned the salute. Then he turned to face the Rangers. "Listen up men, we have a Ranger down behind enemy lines" Morrell informed them. "Now, he is currently transmitting a locator beacon signal, which we have locked in on, however, I have no doubt that the Canucks have homed in on it too" he said gravely. "Time is off the essence Gentlemen, and we have very little of it to spare" Morrell said severely. "Mount Up!" he yelled. The Rangers quickly hustled out of the room. Morrell turned to Tali, who was dressed in a pilot's jumpsuit and helmet. "You ready Sergeant?" he asked.
"I'm a Colleton, General. I was born ready" said Tali with a confident smile.
"Good, let's move, we're wheels up in 5" said Morrell. With that, Tali left the room, leaving just Deeks and Morrell in the CP. "How about you Staff Sergeant, you ready to lead?" Morrell asked seriously. Before Deeks had a chance to answer, Major General Gregory Bowden, who was Morrell's superior, stormed into the room, followed by 2 MPs.
"General Morrell, you are ordered to stand down" Bowden barked.
"Not gonna happen Greg" Morrell replied.
"Gentlemen, place Brigadier General Morrell under arrest" Bowden ordered. The MPs moved forward, but before they could, Deeks stepped in front of Morrell.
"I don't think so" Deeks said as he unslung his M-4 from his shoulder. When one of the MPs made a move forward, Deeks cracked him across the face with the butt of his rifle. He then turned and slammed the butt of the rifle into the other MP's stomach, causing him to keel over. Deeks then raised up the rifle and crashed it down like a battering ram onto the MP's back, knocking face first onto the ground. Finally, Deeks flipped around the rifle and aimed it at Bowden. "You're not stopping us today" said he said as he jabbed the barrel into Bowden's chest.
"You're finished Deeks, and you too Morrell" Bowden threatened.
"We'll see about that" said Morrell as he picked up his Desert Eagle from his desk and place it in his cross-draw holster. He then picked up his M-16 and slung it over his shoulder. "Deeks, on me" Morrell ordered.
"Yes Sir" replied Deeks, who still held his own rifle.
0600 hours, 21 February 2001, The Statue of The Angel St. Mary, 50 miles northeast of Quebec City, occupied Territory, Republic of Quebec.
It had been almost 3 hours, and Mossad Officer Gold was beginning to lose his patience. He knew that he had only a few minutes before the sun came up and Colonel Jaguden's men would come rushing in. in the past 3 hours, the faint outline of the black glove had not moved. Suspecting something wrong, Gold set down his sniper rifle and drew his sidearm, a Jericho 941 pistol. Slightly crouched over, Gold slowly approached. When he reached the chair, he discovered he had made a grave error. They glove was empty. "Shit" he said. In his peripheral vision, a man quickly rose up from an adjacent snow bank, in his ungloved hand he held a Colt 45. The man fired several shots before Gold had a chance to even open fire. A total of 4 bullets struck Gold, 2 in the chest, one in the throat and one in the head. He was dead before he even hit the ground.
Officer Gold was dead. Too bad it wasn't Rivkin Three thought to himself. 45 still in hand, Three walked over and stood over Officer Gold's body. He raised the pistol and fired the remainder of the clip, just for good measure. As he reloaded he thought, Vengeance is mine, sayith the Lord. A soft rumbling that came from over a nearby hill, jarred Three from his thoughts. Suddenly, dozens of Canadian armored personnel carriers, infantry carriers, and a few light tanks came rumbling and rolling over the hill at breakneck speed. "Son of a bitch" he said as the oncoming vehicles rushed towards him. Then from behind, over the Cliffside, came the unmistakable sound of whirling chopper blades. "Hueys" Three said confidently.
"There he is General" Tali pointed out from the pilot's seat, to Brigadier General Morrell, who was seated next to her in the UH-1 Huey Gunship.
"Take er' Cliffside Tals, Three'll know what to do" Morrell said.
Three watched as the Huey turned parallel with the cliff. Thinking quickly, Three grabbed the tape of film that showed the mass grave sites from the ejected seats and shoved it in his breast pocket. Three was stuck between The Devil and the deep blue sea, he knew he had only one choice. He turned towards the edge of the cliff and took off running. Sprinting as fast as he could, Three felt the heat as machine gun bullets flew past him. "AHHHHH!" he yelled as he jumped for it. He flew off the cliff towards the helicopter. Reaching out, he just managed to catch the skid plate and he quickly wrapped his body around it. Then, a hand appeared in front of his face, an offer to help him up. Three took the hand, which he soon realized belonged to Deeks. Deeks pulled him up and into the chopper.
Sergeant 1st Class Colleton looked back in the chopper at the battered, beaten, but triumphant Three DiNozzo. Still caked in the smell and blood of the dead, Three was finally safe. Tali watched as "Nice of you to join us Staff Sergeant" said General Morrell as he reached for the radio. "This is Kingfish, package retrieved, I repeat, Sky Train aboard" he said. Then suddenly, much to Three's confusion, Morrell switch languages. "Leutnant Breidenbach, Dies ist General Morrell. Engagieren, ich wiederhole, engagieren" Engage, I repeat, engage
"Jawhol, Herr General" replied a female voice over the radio. Suddenly a swam of Eurocopter Tiger attack helicopters swarmed in, opening fire on the Canadian Unit, that happened to be led by Colonel Jaguden himself.
"Who the hell are they?" Three yelled up to General Morrell and Tali.
"Germans" said Morrell as he looked back at Three. "They came in yesterday at about 0900" Morrell informed him. Three just stared back at him. He had been through and seen enough of hell in the past 3 days to last a lifetime. "Let's head for home Sergeant" Morrell said to Tali. Three just leaned back and smiled.
0900 hours, 21 February 2001, Black Cat Inn, Narrowsburg, Virginia.
Colonel Edward James "EJ" Barrett felt very out of place walking into a bar at only 9 o'clock in the morning. He gave a nod to the bartender and proceeded to walk into the back room of the bar. He entered the room and closed and locked the door behind him. "You're late" said the blonde women sitting at the table in front of him.
"Sorry, I hit traffic" said EJ as he sat down in front of her.
"You're lying Colonel. You forget, my men are following your every move" she said.
"What the hell do you want from me Hollis?" EJ asked her.
"It's simple, you are going to help IAD build a case against Lieutenant Colonel Anthony DiNozzo Jr." she said sternly.
A/N- Well school has started back up again and I'm still working full time, but I promise you I will update as quickly as I can. Also if anyone wants to discuss the 28 Seconds series with me, please feel free to shoot me a PM. I love hearing from you guys.
I'm literally uploading this from my car b/c im listening to President Obama's speech on the radio.
P.S- PLEASE REVIEW!