Chapter 44
Deluge
0900 hours local time, 23 March 2002, Takar Ghar, Arma Mountains, Afghanistan.
"There it is" Three yelled as the chopper neared the crash site. Operation Anaconda had come and gone. In terms of kicking the shit out of the enemy, Lieutenant Colonel DiNozzo's plan had gone off without a hitch. Unfortunately, the main objective of the plan, the capture and or killing of Osama Bin Laden, the son of a bitch had flown the coop once again, most likely back into Pakistan.
"I see it" Chester said. "Echo Lima Bravo, this is Ironman, package located" Chester said. Earlier that morning, 2 CH-47 Chinook Helicopters, both fully loaded, were shot down over the Takar Ghar. General Morrell had immediately order Chester, Deeks and Three to take a Ranger Company to rescue them.
"Copy that Ironman, you are cleared to engage all hostiles" came the reply over the radio.
"Understood" Chester said. "Dragnet, this is Ironman over" he said into his radio.
"What's up Ironman?" Deeks replied over the radio from the 2nd chopper.
"You have the medics. CASEVAC is en route from Bagram" Chester informed him. With that, the Hueys they were riding in touched down and the men disembarked. "Move, move!" Chester yelled. "1st and 2nd Platoon, secure a perimeter, 3rd Platoon, help with the wounded" Chester ordered. They needed to be in and out as quick as possible. Both choppers were fully loaded when they went down, meaning that in total, there were 116 soles that Chester was tasked with bringing home alive.
"Dragnet!" Chester called out.
"Yeah?" he replied.
"Find me one of the pilots, the brass what to know what happened" Chester ordered as his sate phone rang. "Go for Ironman" he said.
"Ironman, this is Freedom, over" said Tali.
"I'm kind of in the middle of something, so if this ain't real important,.."
"Just shut up and listen, I have you on a sate feed. I have numerous groups of hostiles en route to your location"
"How long do I have?" Chester asked.
"Hostiles are less than 5 klicks out" she said gravely.
"Copy that" Chester said as he hung up. "Sky Train!" he yelled out. "Sky Train, tighten up the perimeter, we're gonna have some company" Chester ordered.
0730 hours, 23 March 2002, Belvedere- Ben-Gidon Family Home, Haifa, Israel.
Following his return from Afghanistan, Malachi had requested, and received 2 weeks of vacation. He had originally intended to spend it with Ziva, but he then realized that other than really awesome sex, there was nothing he and Ziva had in common. Come to think of it, other than the sex, there was nothing he even liked about Ziva. And with both Liat and Dana on duty, that left Malachi with only one option… his father, Field Marshall Mordechai Ben-Gidon, Commander-in-Chief of IDF. To say that Malachi and his father didn't get along would be a serious understatement. Malachi had been physically abused by his father as a child; it had gotten even worse after his mother, or rather, step-mother, passed away when Mal was 15. His step-mother, Alana, had raised Malachi ever since he was an infant. It was only is recent years that he had learned that Alana wasn't his biological mother, and that he was the product of one of his many extramarital affairs.
But still, he had always enjoyed his childhood home, it had always had enough rooms for him to hide from his father. However, once Mal had turned 16, he had joined the IDF, and he had remained there since. At 32, he was a 16-year Military veteran, 6 in the IDF and Mossad, and 10 years with the US Army's Delta Force. And even since, he had only on a handful of occasions had he returned to his childhood home in Haifa.
Either way, being home allowed him to sleep late, as in 0730. He enjoyed watching the sun rise as he sipped his morning coffee.
But on this particular morning, he would be doing neither. When he arose that morning, he instantly knew something was off. When he sat up in bed, he didn't hear his father's voice screaming at the help, demanding this and that. He quickly got up and grabbed his black t-shirt and blue jeans off the floor, and quickly dressed. He then threw on his holster and pulled his Jericho. He quietly pushed open his bedroom door and slowly crept out. He walked over to the phone, which sat on a small desk. He picked it up, and nothing, there was even a dial tone. It was dead. "Shit!" Mal yelled as he dove for the floor after a bullet cracked past his head. Mal crawled back into his room and kicked the door closed with his foot. He heard footsteps in the hall, and quickly fired 2 rounds through the door. He heard a "thud" as a body dropped to the floor. Mal stood up and opened the door once again. On the floor, was a man with 2 bullet holes in his chest, a Glock 17 in hand. Mal kicked the gun away, and quietly made his way down the hall to his father's room. "Abba" he whispered as he pushed in the door open. The room was empty so Mal when inside and checked the bathroom, finding it empty too. He walked back into the bedroom, towards the door. When he reached the door, a man appeared in the frame, an Ithaca-37 Shotgun in hand. The man saw Malachi and raised the shotgun to fire. Mal grabbed the door and slammed it on the man, his hand and shotgun caught between the door and the frame. The man fired, but it went wild. Mal put his shoulder to the door, and grabbed the barrel of the shotgun with both hands. He ripped it from the man's hands, threw it up in the air, catching it by the pump. He pumped it with one arm, ejecting the spent shell, and pointed it at the door. He fired, pumped it and then fired again, leaving 2 large holes in the door. He pumped it again and kicked open the door, on the floor was the man, 2 large holes in his torso. Mal smiled as he stepped over the body. When went to the top of the main staircase, where he saw 2 more men, both of whom had Glock 17s in their hands. Mal fired at them several times, sending them careening down the staircase. Mal dropped the shotgun at his feet and he made his way down the staircase, and out the front door to the circle driveway, where there were 2 black Lincoln Town Cars parked. A man exited from the driver's door of each car, Glocks in their hands. Mal drew his Jericho and quickly shot and killed both men. Malachi ejected his spent clip and inserted a new one. He quickly made his way around the side of the house, back towards the pool. He went over to the Pool House and kick the door in. when he did, he found a gun, a CZ-99, in his face. When the man saw it was Malachi, he uncocked the pistol and lowered it.
"Sorry" the man said.
"I'm sure" Mal said. "Abba, we need to leave" Malachi said. "Those men were here to kill you"
"I'll stand and fight" the Field Marshall replied.
"Like hell you will" Mal retorted. "Now come on, we need to leave" Mal urged his father. "You really need to get out of town"
"No, I'm not leaving" he said. "This is my town, my city" he said defiantly. "I'm not leaving, one way or the other"
"Then at least let me get you somewhere safe" Mal offered.
"Fine" the old man finally relented. "Where are we going?" he asked.
"To the only person I can trust right now" Malachi said, pulling out his cell phone, as they got into Malachi's Chevelle.
0830 hours local time, 23 March 2002, Haifa Lee Breakwater Lighthouse, Port of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.
When Malachi pulled up to the old Haifa lighthouse, there was only one man waiting for him. He was standing at the gate, cigarette in his mouth, a Jericho 941 in his shoulder holster, and a Winchester 1897 Trench Shotgun in his arms. "Can you trust this man?" Malachi's father asked him as the 2 men pulled up.
"Dana and Liat both vouch for him" Malachi said as he shut off the engine. Both men got out. "Abba, this is Captain Marcus Sharon" Mal said.
"Captain, this is my father, Field Marshall Mordechai Ben-Gidon, Commander-in-Chief, IDF" Malachi said, making introductions.
"Field Marshall" AJ (Marcus), said, blowing out a puff of smoke.
"No salute?" the field Marshall asked.
"Probably not the best idea right now" AJ said.
"You live here?" the Field Marshall asked.
"The Lighthouse is decommissioned. Not many people make it out here" AJ said.
"Can you handle this alone?" Malachi asked.
"I'm not alone" AJ said as Dana exited the house, her Jericho in hand.
"I told you not to call anyone" Malachi said angrily.
"He didn't call me" Dana said. "I was here" Dana said, meaning she had spent the night.
"Who's after him?" AJ asked.
"Tarzan" said the Field Marshall.
"That's Ludwig Fainberg" Dana clarified. "Former KGB Officer. After the wall came down, he moved to Israel, where he moved from Espionage to Organized Crime" she explained.
"The CINC of the IDF is in bed with Organized Crime?" AJ said. "Only in Israel" he joked.
"I'm gonna call on Lansky and a few other people, see if maybe Sonny can lend us a hand" Malachi said. "Keep him out of site" Mal ordered.
"I'll take care of him" AJ assured Mal.
"Ok then" Mal said. "Good luck" he said as he got back into his Chevelle and drove off.
1015 hours local time, 23 March 2002, 8063rd M*A*S*H (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital), Bagram, Afghanistan.
"Attention all personnel, no casualties are expected for the 11th straight day, the O.R will remain open for wart and cuticle remove. Come early, win a door prize" was announced over the loud speaker.
"I guess this is the one professional where its better when we're not busy" said Britt as she sipped her bear.
"Why Lieutenant Westbourne, I do believe you have finally warmed up to us simple Army folk" joked one of her tent mates, Army Dr/Captain Matthew Hunter.
"This was supposed to be a TAD assignment, I've been here for 4 months now, cut me a little slack" Britt joked. "But it's not bad" she smiled.
"Check" Matt said as he moved a piece on the chess board.
"That's what you think" Britt smiled. "3 of Diamonds" she yelled as she slapped the card down on the board. She then moved a checker piece to Matt's side of the board. "Crown my king" she said, to which Matt responded by hitting the piece with a hammer. "Thank you" Britt said, not looking up from the cards in her hand.
"It's nothing" Matt replied with a dumb smile. "By the way, you're cheating" he added.
"How can I cheat? There are no rules" Britt gave a laughing reply.
"Oh yeah" Matt did the same. "Knight to knight 7. Full house, you hustler"
"Oh really?" Britt smiled. "Gin" she said as she laid down a hand of cards.
"Let's play again" Matt suggested. "This time I get to play cards and checkers"
"Oh, no, no, no. That's no fair" Britt protested. "Because whoever has the cards and checkers always wins" Britt explained as there was a knock on the tent's wooden door. "Don't look, don't look" Britt said as she covered her eyes. "5 bucks says that Father McMurphy"
"10 will get ya Radar" Matt countered.
"You're on" Britt said, both of them still not looking.
"Come in" Matt yelled.
"Afternoon Sir, Mam" said Corporal Damian E. "Rader" Spinelli, the company clerk. His nickname came from the "M*A*S*H" character of the same name, due to Corporal Spinelli's uncanny resemblance of Radar O'Reilly, and because he had an annoying habit of finishing people's sentences.
"Aah! Radar, you're the last person I wanted to see!" Britt yelled as she tossed a $10 dollar bill at Captain Hunter.
"Spinelli, old buddy, lookin' at you is like money in the bank" Matt joked.
"All the other tents they just say hello" Spinelli said.
"Wanna join us?" Captain Hunter asked after a sip of beer.
"What are you playing?" Spinelli asked.
"Double Cranko" Britt began.
"Ok" Damian said hesitantly.
"Bishops are worth 3 jacks, checkers are wild, and you have to be 21 or over to open" Britt explained.
"You in?" Matt asked.
"You'll get out by dawn" Britt added.
"No thank you, Mam, Sir. Whenever I lose, I always like to know why" Damian said. "Actually, I just came in to see Major Vickers" he said, referring to Major David Vickers, Matt and Britt's tent mate and the 8063rd's Executive Officer.
"Now I'm confused" Britt said. In the brief period she'd come know the Major, Britt had a very high opinion of Major's surgical skills. As for her opinion of him as a person, well…
"I just wanna borrow his CD player" Spinelli explained. "We just got a new shipment of CDs in from Special Services. Colonel Asher says I could play 'em over the P.A. if I can find something to play em on" he explained. Colonel Thomas Asher was the Commanding Officer and ranking Medical Officer of the 8063rd.
"Should be good for breaking up the monotony" Matt said.
"I don't know. Remember their last batch? 'Informer' is still stuck in my head" Britt complained.
"Oh no, it's all new stuff" Spinelli assured them.
"Radar, say no more" Britt said as she stood up. She walked over and grabbed Major Vickers' large "boom box". "Compliments of Major Vickers" she smiled.
"Mam, I can't take it without permission" Spinelli said.
"Don't worry, I take full responsibility" Britt assured him. "Just don't tell him I gave it to you" she added.
"Ok, be sure to thank him for me" Spinelli said
"I'll be sure not to do that" Britt said. Spinelli went to exit the tent, but when he reached the door, he stopped.
"Uh oh" he said.
"No" Britt said in disbelief.
"Attention, attention all personnel. In coming wounded. Ambulances and buses in the compound, choppers on the upper and lower pads" came over the P.A.
"Damn" Britt said as she and Matt rushed out of the tent. Britt quickly ran over to one of the jeeps that had brought down wounded from one of the helipads. She was met by Colonel Asher.
"2 Chinooks when down this morning. A Ranger company was sent to pull em out, they ran into some Pakistani ISI Special Forces" the Colonel said. "The Rangers hell em back, but took heavy casualties. So the Pakistani's are throwing in more troops, so in response, we threw in more Rangers. Long story short: We're about to be very busy" Colonel Asher said.
0300 hours, 23 March 2002, Maternity Ward, Washington General Hospital, Washington D.C.
According to her OB, Jess was due on March 23rd, and boy was she right. Jess had gone into labor shortly after midnight, and was immediately taken to Washington General. With Operations in Afghanistan quieting down, Tony was permitted a 3-day pass in order for him to be present for the birth of his grandchild. Well, not exactly his grandson, but since he and Bridget had legally adopted Rex, Jess' baby was technically his grandson. The fact that his 1st grandchild would be with Bridget and not Kate, had driven the wedge even further between Tony and his estranged wife. Despite their brief reconciliation the previous fall, Kate and Tony were once again at olds following Tony and Bridget's adoption of Rex and Molly, both of whom were now living with Bridget.
When Tony finally arrived at the hospital, he was met in the Maternity Ward's waiting room by Bridget herself. "Hey" Tony said, giving her his best and brightest smile.
"Hey" Bridget replied as she engulfed Tony in a warm and loving hug, one that Tony quickly and happily returned. Bridget buried her face in the crook of Tony's neck. It had been months since they had seen each other, and while neither of them would admit it out loud, that was far too long.
"How are they?" Tony asked when they finally broke the embrace.
"Jess went into Labor a few hours ago. Rex has been staying with Sonny here in D.C for the past few weeks so that he could be near Jess" Bridget said. "He called me and I got Tali to fly me up" she said. Bridget took a deep breath before she spoke again. "We're gonna be Grandparents" she finally spoke.
"Yeah" Tony said as he ran his hand through his hair. "Crazy ain't it" he said nervously.
"You're telling me" Bridget said. "I'm younger than you are"
"Bridget Laura Sullivan" Tony said. "Are you calling me old?" Tony asked with a smile.
"You are going to be 34 in July" Bridget said.
"And you will 30 years old in only 10 days" Tony said with a smile. "The Big 3-0" he joked. Bridget smiled and gave his a light punch on the shoulder. "Where's our daughter?" he asked.
"Over there with her grandmother" Bridget pointed to a couch on the far side of the room. Molly was resting her head on Olivia's lap.
"Hey Mama" Tony said as he walked over and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
"Hey honey" Olivia said. "She's been asking for you" she said, in reference to the young girl resting in her lap. Just as she said that, the little girl began to stir. She sat up and rubbed at her eyes with her small hands. Her face lit up light a Christmas tree when she saw who was sitting next to her.
"Daddy!" she exclaimed as she scrambled over into her adoptive father's lap.
"Hey Munchkin" Tony said with a smile as he kissed the crown of her daughter's head. "You ready to be an Aunt?" Tony asked. Molly bit her lower lip and nodded her head.
"When the baby gonna come?" she asked.
"Soon honey, very soon" Tony promised her as he gave a big yawn. "I need coffee" Tony said. "You want anything Ma?" Tony asked.
"Tea, please" she said.
"You wanna help Daddy?" Tony asked Molly, who nodded emphatically. "Hop on" he said. Molly climbed onto her papa's shoulders. Once Tony was out of the room, Bridget came over and sat down next to Olivia.
"Ms. Falconeri, how are you?" Bridget asked.
"Oh honey, call me Olivia" she said. "I remember when I was pregnant with Rick" she said. "In the summer of 68', Sonny had been sent TAD out of Vietnam. We had a few weeks together at home before he was sent back. The next May, I gave birth to Rick, all alone, only my sister Connie and Alexis Clark were there"
"Jessica's family isn't here either" Bridget observed.
"But Rex's is" said a voice from in front of them.
"EJ?" Bridget said. "What are you doing here?"
"Gram called me" EJ smiled, using the nickname that she and her siblings used for their grandmother. EJ took her seat next to her grandmother. "How're Rex and Jess?" EJ asked.
"Jess is about 3½ hours into labor" Bridget said as she checked her watch.
"Is that normal?" EJ asked.
"8 hours is the average for a 1st time mother" Olivia said.
"Is Grandpa Sonny coming?" EJ asked.
"Soon" Olivia said. "Wasn't Rick coming down with you?" she asked.
"He told me he had something to take care of" EJ said. "Why do you ask?"
"So full of questions, Sis?" said Rex as he walked into the room.
"Hey little brother" EJ said as he got up and gave him a hug. "You a father yet?" she asked.
"It's gonna be a while yet" Rex said. "Is Dad here?" he asked.
"He went with your sister to get some Coffee" Bridget said. "He'll be back soon" she added.
"Ok, I should probably get back in there" Rex said as he backpedaled back towards the delivery room.
"Nervous much" EJ commented.
"Wait till you have a family of your own, then we'll see who's nervous" Olivia said.
"He's got more to worry about than most parents" Bridget said. "Once the baby is born, Jess is heading back to Pennsylvania, Rex is gonna have to raise this baby by himself" Bridget said. "Not to mention, he's gonna lose his scholarship to UNH" she added.
"Morality clause?" Olivia asked, to which Bridget nodded. "Tony had one in his back in the day. He was able to skirt it because he and Kate were married" she explained.
"So what is Rex gonna do now?" EJ asked.
"Sonny will take care of that, I assure you" Olivia smiled.
1800 hours local time, 23 March 2002, 8063rd M*A*S*H, Bagram, Afghanistan.
6½ hours into the session of Dr. Westbourne was in high gear. During the entire session, Colonel Asher had ordered Corporal Spinelli to keep playing Music. "For my next patient, I'd like something in a waltz" Britt joked.
"I have a suggestion, I will loan Radar one of my classical recordings to relieve this Rock n' Roll nightmare" said Major Vickers as he operated.
"Nah, you've done enough David. We're already using your record player" Britt said with a smile under her surgical mask.
"What?! Without my consent? I demand it back this instant" Major Vickers yelled.
"Settle down Major" replied Colonel Asher. "I just made it your contribution to the emergency. Music is medicine right now"
"Just once I would like to offer something before it is taken from me"
"Stuff it Major" Said Britt. "Clamp" she said as she continued working on her patient.
"Clamp" the nurse echoed as she handed her the clamp.
"Sponge"
"Sponge"
"Millie, will you please hand me these things on the beat" Britt joked as she tossed a used sponge into the bucket at her feet.
"You're the one who's off" the young 2nd Lieutenant replied.
"Well, than let's get together" Britt said. "Clamp, 2, 3, 4. Sponge, 2, 3, 4" Britt said. "Hey, can someone get Radar to play my request already!" Britt yelled.
"What was it? Doctor, Doctor?" Matt joked from his table.
"Lose Yourself" Britt said. "Close for me" she said as she snapped off her gloves and gown.
"Not that again" Matt said.
"What?" Britt asked.
"Britt claims that Eminem wrote that song about her niece" Matt said.
"He did" Britt protested.
"She's not lying" said a man walking in. He had on a surgical cap and mask, and a 45. in his hand. "The line 'EJ's Spaghetti' is in reference to Britt's niece's cooking" the man said.
"Thank you Master Sergeant" Britt said. "And what brings you to the 8-0-6-3" she asked.
"I have a gift for you" Chester said with a smile under his mask.
"Why are you smiling?" Britt asked.
"I have you next patient" Chester beamed. "Bring him in" he called. Both Deeks and Three walked in. "Your nephew ran into a bit of trouble, caught some lead" Chester said.
"Where?" Britt asked.
"He's sittin' on it" Deeks said cracking up. The entire room burst out laughing. Three had been shot in the butt.
0954 hours, 23 March 2002, Maternity Ward, Washington General Hospital, Washington D.C.
It was nearly 1000 hours when Rex finally emerged from the Delivery room. After nearly 10 hours of labor, Jessica had finally given birth to a 9 pound, 23 inch baby boy. A jubilate Rex passed around cigars. He was a father. While everyone else was celebrating, Tony and Bridget joined Rex in Jess' private room where they met their grandchild. "Nice name" Tony said when he read the hospital bracelet on his grandson's tiny hand.
"He's beautiful" Bridget said as she cradled him in her arms.
"You did good kid" Tony said after Bridget passed the baby to him. Bridget smiled ever brighter when she saw Tony face light up. They were grandparents and both of them couldn't be happier.
"How do you feel Jess?" Bridget asked.
"I'm ok" she said. Both Tony & Bridget knew she was lying. After she was released from the hospital, Jess was returning to her family home in Eastern Pennsylvania. They also knew why she was leaving, but that did little to soften the blow. Jessica's father was Clint Buchanan, who himself was the son of Asa Buchanan, President and CEO of Buchanan Enterprises, a multi-national corporation. The Buchanan Family was worth over 50 Billion Dollars. They were also lunatics and Jess believed that they would kill her and the baby if they had found out what had happened. Personally, neither Tony nor Bridget believed her, but they both had decided to keep it to themselves.
There was a knock at the door as Tony handed the baby back to his mother. "Come in" Jess said. "Oh my god" she said when she saw who was there. Jess' shock caused both Tony and Bridget to look as well.
"Mr. President" Rex said. Both Tony and Bridget snapped to attention. President McCain quickly waived them off.
"Please forgive me for being blunt, but I have some bad news. 1st, Tony, Three was wounded earlier this morning. He's fine, but he'll be stateside for a few weeks" he said.
"What happened?" Tony asked.
"He was shot in the ass" McCain said, to which Tony burst out laughing. "And this is man who's father 5 kids" McCain joked. After about 30 seconds or so, Tony had finally calmed down. "There's something else that's more serious. The Pakistani 6th Armored Division crossed the border about 25 minutes ago" he said.
"Shit" Tony said.
"There's a C-141 fueling at Andrews" President McCain said.
"I'm on it" he said as he rushed out of the room.
"Off to save the world once again" Bridget said to herself. With that, President McCain turned to Rex.
"Mr. Bartlett, I've been told you became a father this morning" President McCain said as he shook Rex's hand. "Can I?" he said. Jess smiled, nodded and handed her son to the President. "He's something, huh?" the President said. "What's his name?"
"John" Rex said. "John McCain Bartlett" Rex said.
"You're kidding?" The President said as he looked down at his little namesake. "Great name" he said with a smile. "His middle name is McCain?" to which Rex nodded yes. A tear formed in the President's eye as he looked down at the wee one. He was so young, so innocent, so naïve as to the ways of the world. He had no idea that half a world away, there was a war raging between the US led CDS Coalition and terrorists and thugs. No idea that his grandfather and Uncle Three, along with many others, were doing all they could to save the world. "Congratulations Ms. Buchanan" he said. "Now, Rex, may I speak with you outside?" he asked.
"Of course Mr. President" Rex said as they stepped out into the hall.
"How many college credits do you have?" the President asked.
"60 AP credits from High School. Another 30 from online classes I've been taking for 3 years. So 90 in total" he said.
"So, you're technically a college Senior?"
"Yes Sir" Rex replied.
"So in theory, you can easy finish your degree in whatever, taking a few classes at a time over the next few years"
"Yes Sir"
"Sonny tells me that due to son's birth that you've lost your scholarship to UNH" he said.
"Yes sir, a morality or ethics pledge, or something like that" Rex said. "Still, I think it was worth. When I look at my son, when I see the smile on his face, I know its all worth it" he said as he crossed his arms.
"I was hoping you'd say that" The President said as he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a piece of paper that was folded at the length. "Sign this" he said as he handed him the paper and a pen.
"What is it?" Rex asked.
"Just sign" the President said. Rex did as he was told. "Congratulations, Rex" the President said. "You're hired" he said.
"As what?" Rex asked.
"My bodyman" The President said. "Your Official title is Personal Assistant to the President of the United States" he said. "Congrats again" he said. "You can begin once everything is settled down with you and your son" the President said.
"Mr. President, I can begin as soon as you need me too" Rex said. "I just need to find someone to care for John while I'm at work" he said.
"I can take care of that" The President said. "Mrs. McCain doesn't get to see much of her grandchildren these days, she could look after him" he suggested.
"Mr. President, I couldn't…"
"Son, get this straight, in Vietnam, your grandfather saved my life. He's been one of my best friends ever since. He was the one who swore me in as President of the United States. I think it'll be ok" he said.
"Yes Mr. President" Rex said.
"And if you, insist, you begin on Monday" he said.
"Thank you, Mr. President" Rex said.
"My best to Ms. Buchanan" the President said as he took his leave.
0130 hours local time, 24 March 2002, Haifa Lee Breakwater Lighthouse, Port of Haifa, Haifa, Israel.
The moonlight shone brightly as AJ slipped outside for a cigarette. After a minute or 2, the Field Marshall came out to join him. In the distance, up on the small hill, Dana was keeping lookout with her M-24 sniper rifle.
"Beautiful night" The Field Marshall commented.
"So how is it that the Commander-in-Chief of the IDF, wound up in bed with the Mafia?" Austin asked.
"You cross the line once, it's no big deal. But it makes it that much easier to do it again the next time" he explained. Before AJ could say anything else, headlights appeared in the distance. "How often do people come this way?" he asked.
"Not very often, and never this late" AJ said as he pumped the shotgun. Dana came running back towards them.
"What are you doing?" the elder Ben-Gidon asked.
"I'm not leaving her" AJ said as he rushed forward.
"Marcus, what are you doing?" Dana asked.
"Get behind me" he said as the cars stopped. 2 dozen or so men got out, each armed with a shotgun or assault rifle. AJ raised his shotgun to his shoulder, deciding he would go down fighting. He was ready to fire, when Malachi stepped out of one of the cars, Ziva, his BAR Scattergun, in his hand. "For fucks sack Malachi" AJ said as he lowered his shotgun.
"Lansky?" his father asked.
"He's in the US with his family for Passover" Malachi replied. "But I reached New York, I cut a deal" he said.
"With Sonny?"
"With him" Mal said as he turned his head. A man dressed in a charcoal gray 3-piece suit, stepped forward, a cigar in his mouth, his jacket off, a shoulder holster clearly visible. AJ instantly recognized him the famous Murder-Mystery novelist Richard Castle.
"We been on the road 18 hours" Rick began. "I need a shower and some chow. And then you and me sit down" he said as he pulled his 45 from his holster and held it up. "And we talk about who dies" he said.
PLEASE REVIEW! STILL LOOKING FOR 300!
A/N- (Rex's Voice)- Next time on "28 Seconds: Strength & Honor"-
In Israel, Rick teams up with Malachi, Austin and Dana as they take on the dangerous Israeli mob Boss, Ludwig Fainberg. Meanwhile in Afghanistan, another major battle is on the horizon as Tony, Cole, Chester and Deeks attempt to stale a Pakistani armored column. Rex's 1st day on the job proves an interesting one. Finally, while recovering at home from his wound, Three receives a surprise visitor.