Operation Formosa
Disclaimer: NCISLA characters belong to Shane Brennan. All original characters and this story are mine.
Chapter 2
The other agents returned to the USS Arlington to finish the operation that they had been working on, for the past four months. Agent Nassir saw the sadness in Agent Gibbs' eyes when he entered the conference room. He knew that there were other agents involved in the case that he was working on, but he had no idea of their identity. He wondered if the men Gibbs had taken to interrogation were NCIS agents. As he entered his cabin he found his handler sitting on his bed. He hadn't seen him in three weeks, he was surprised to see him.
"Jack, what are you doing here?" His eyes reflected the sadness over what had transpired earlier that morning, but seeing his handler pulled him out of it.
"The risks have soared, my friend. I'm told to tell you who else on this ship is here for your backup. We almost lost two agents this morning." Jack's grey eyes bore the concern for Michael.
"Cromwell attacked one of our own, another agent killed him to save the other agent and himself. Director Vance thinks it's too risky for you to not know the identities of the others for this case, Mick."
"Cromwell was in on this?" He hadn't suspected Cromwell. His suspects were higher up the chain, Ensign Roger Davies and Lieutenant Lewis Jackson.
"It looks that way. Cromwell attacked one of our own, who were following his suspects, O'Leary and Cary. You know them?" Jack stood, ready to leave. It was always important to keep his visits short.
"Yes I do. You want me to watch them?" Jack nodded.
"Be careful." He left Nassir and headed upstairs to his office. He was the onboard NCIS agent who was delivering information between Director Vance and the agents on board. He knew the ship like the back of his hand, moving about undetectable was a breeze. But even as he walked up a couple of flights of stairs and down some corridors, towards his office, he felt eyes watching him. Fear for all of them grew within Jack's gut. He needed to call Vance fast. They all needed to get out of there ASAP.
Navy Yard
Ellie Bishop poured over the notes from their now closed case. With the USS Arlington leaving port in ten hours time, they had no cause to return to the ship and help the undercover agents onboard. O'Leary and Cary were too cocky for their liking. Even Gibbs appeared to be on edge from it all. She was aware that Gibbs knew one of the agents onboard, but the rest were strangers. Yet, he treated them all as one of their own. But today, Gibbs was more curt than normal in his approach with his team. His frustrations were vented onto all of them around him. They understood the reasons behind it and really wanted to help. Abby had filled her into what happened over a year ago, with Gibbs' friend and daughter. Gibbs' behaviour made perfect sense to her. She picked up her laptop and files and left their open office for a quiet room. She found one vacant and slipped inside. She needed to focus to find what it was that had been niggling at her since the beginning of this case. Vance had stressed that this case was now closed for them, but it never was when more agents were in danger.
Timothy McGee entered Abby's lab and wasn't surprised to find Tony down there. "You too?" He raised his brow in question.
Tony nodded. "I love the boss, but I can't think with all that negative energy pouring out of him."
"Well then you can make yourselves useful, if you're going to hang out down here. At least then if Gibbs finds you down here, you are seen to be doing something productive."
Both agents nodded and followed Abby's directive. She handed them a laptop each.
"We're tapping into USS Arlington's security system, for starters." She looked at McGee. "If we can't be on board to help our men stay safe, we can at least be another set of eyes to help warn them."
McGee nodded and set to work to break through the firewalls of the naval ship's security system. Abby cleaned up behind McGee's breaking in, so they couldn't be traced.
"What do you want me to do, Abs?" Tony watched on amazed at how swift Abby and McGee worked together. "Tell me again why the two of you never worked out as a couple?"
Two sets of eyes pierced through his soul as embarrassment and something Tony couldn't quite get his finger on from Abby, displayed on their faces.
"Shut up, Tony." McGee replied. "Don't ever mention our history around Delilah. It's hard enough having her working abroad and only getting to see her once in a while."
"I don't mean to offend either of you," Tony tried to reason. "If you could just see what I see—-" Their eyes glared intently at him again. "How the two of you seamlessly work together without even talking, like you're mind reading or something. It's beautiful. Like two souls who were meant to be together." Tony grinned from ear to ear, satisfied he had managed to tell them what he thought.
Abby punched Tony in the upper arm, causing pain to shoot through him. "Ouch! What's that for?"
"Shut up, Tony." Abby glared at him once more before turning around and refocusing on her job. Her face had flushed to a red colour from embarrassment. The truth was that she had been jealous of McGee and Delilah at the beginning, that was before she got to know the DEA analyst. Now she was really happy for McGee and she had stopped ever hoping for them to get back together again. They were good friends, best friends, and worked well together.
"I'm only speaking the truth." Tony continued to defend himself. His words now fell on deaf ears as Abby and McGee focused on the job at hand. He succumbed to their silence and decided to join them. "What do you want me to do, Abs?" His change of tactics rewarded him with a smile from the goth Forensic Scientist. She walked over to him and brought up a site and broke through the password and secured site.
"Here." She pointed to the files. "Copy everything you can onto this thumb drive. We need everything you can find on the Formosa Cartel. We can get Ellie to analyse the data," Abby looked behind Tony, "she's not coming too?" Abby was used to Ziva following the boys down to her lab, when hiding out from upstairs.
"She's gone awol." Tony shrugged. "Couldn't hack Gibbs, so she took her laptop and files and hid herself away in a room somewhere. I don't blame her. I wish I could do that sometimes,"
"You'd miss us." Abby butted in. "You'd go stir crazy not having us to talk to, like you are doing now." She pointed to the laptop. "Focus, Tony." Tony nodded and returned his focus on his task.
Gibbs looked around him and realised he was alone in their bull pen. He looked at his watch and realised that it was late and he thought they had gone home. But evidence of their bags and coats proved otherwise. He narrowed his eyes as he looked around. Other staff in their office had gone home for the night, but Vance remained upstairs, undisturbed. He heard a noise from above and followed the Director's footsteps with his eyes as he left his office for MTAC. The undercover operation 'Formosa' had hit a nerve with him and something hadn't settled inside his gut about O'Leary and Cary. After the confession from their agents, Wilson and Chambers, he worried over Nassir and the other agents onboard not only the USS Arlington, but every other ship involved in this operation.
He knew how violent the cartel were, after one survivor of the cartel from their agency's previous operation led to the death in a park of his friend and colleague, Special Agent Greg Smith, and his ten year old daughter, Carrie. He decided to bite the bullet and ran up the stairs. He scanned his blue irises and let himself inside MTAC. He was quiet as he entered, hoping for Vance not to detect his arrival. He slid into a chair at the rear and listened into the Director's conversation with their onboard NCIS agent.
"Are you sure that you were being followed, Agent Stevens?" Jack Stevens nodded his head. "From Agent Nassir's cabin to here, Sir. It's no longer safe for any of us to be onboard. Request to abort this operation before another threat be placed on any more of our agents, Sir."
"I will need approval from the SecNav, Agent Stevens. We still have nine hours before your ship leaves port. Be careful in the meantime. Stay clear of all agents on board."
Vance's brown eyes looked worried when he turned around and found Gibbs sitting there. "Gibbs, what are you doing in here?"
Gibbs stood and pointed to the screen. "Agent Stevens is right. O'Leary and Cary are onto our agents, Leon. They're too cocky, they know something far more than the job that they're being paid to do by the Formosa Cartel. It wouldn't take much for any of the suspects on this list to follow any of our people onboard this ship or any others involved in this operation and we then lose twenty-five men. Twenty-five, Leon. That's a hell of a lot of agents to lose in one operation. Five men on five ships, let alone our assigned agents to each ship. How long would it take for news to spread from the USS Arlington to the USS Winston Churchill?" He'd seen the list of ships in the files and knew that each ship under surveillance ported in Norfolk.
"Not long," Leon agreed.
"Not long with the level of suspects on each of these ships going as far up the ladder as Lieutenant. If it was only Petty Officers, we might have been able to of contained the situation on USS Arlington." He took a few steps towards the door, before turning back.
"I'm acting as fast as I can on this one, Gibbs. Have your team ready, just in case we need you to get our men out."
Gibbs nodded and pondered for a moment before he went in search for his team. He guessed that Bishop would be hidden away somewhere focussing on something and that the boys would be with Abby. At least they were all very predictable on where to find them in this building. He tested doors along the way. If they were locked, he knocked and waited for an answer. If they were unlocked, he opened and peeped inside. It had to be the last room she'd pick, Gibbs sighed.
Gibbs gently knocked on the door and turned the handle. Ellie Bishop sat on the floor with her laptop on her lap, surrounded by files. He smiled when he noticed what it was that she was working on, Operation 'Formosa.' She had his back and he was impressed by how quickly Bishop had slotted into the team.
"Found anything?" Ellie looked up with full concentration expressed on her face and in her hazel eyes. Her dark brows remained knitted together as she analysed the data in front of her.
"I think so." She pried herself from the floor, and moved the laptop and files onto the table, which she had pushed into the corner. "Here." She urged Gibbs to sit down and then went through with him what she had concluded. "O'Leary and Cary, have a history of getting into trouble on the USS Winston Churchill, USS Stout, USS Normandy and the USS Gravely, all ships involved in the investigation on drug smuggling. Both Petty Officers were moved to the other ships together by their overseeing Lieutenants. They all have to be involved in this. This is all a ruse, Gibbs. O'Leary and Cary are being paid to look like trouble, but what they are really doing is moving easily between all the ships that the Formosa Cartel are using for drug smuggling. Intel between each ship is easily maintained through these two Petty Officers. During their time on each ship, they succumb other Petty Officers to the Cartel and that is why Cromwell wasn't on our agents' list. He's a new recruit. They should have been separated or placed in the brig, not sent together to another ship."
Anger bubbled below the surface, while Gibbs listened intently to Bishop's findings. "Good work, Bishop. Let's find Tony and McGee and sort these goons out for good."
Ellie scrambled the files together and grabbed her laptop into her arms and followed Gibbs to the elevator. Gibbs allowed her to enter first, before pressing the button for the basement. As the doors pinged open, he could hear Tony's chatter from the lab. He and Bishop were swift in their movement and observed the three of them involved in their own research for operation 'Formosa'. Gibbs smiled, proud of his team.
"What do you have for me, Abs?" His voice caught the three of them off guard making them jump, with Tony rushing to voice his defence in being down there.
"Ah, hi boss. We're just helping Abs break into the Formosa Cartel and the USS Arlington's security systems." He gave Gibbs a nervous smile, waiting for their boss to node in approval. He relaxed when Gibbs smiled at them.
"Gibbs," Abby pulled him over, "McGee and I have tapped into the security cameras on board of the USS Arlington. You've got to see this." She showed Agent Jack Stevens leave Agent Nassir's cabin and O'Leary and Cary following him.
Gibbs nodded. "We've got to get them out of there. Contact Stevens and tell him to stay locked in his office." He instructed Abby, as he bolted out of the lab in a rescue attempt to Vance's office. As he waited for the elevator doors to open, he shouted back to them. "Gear up." Bishop, McGee and Tony followed their boss, pleased to be doing something to help their men onboard the USS barged through the doors into Director Vance's office. He stopped midway when he saw the grim look on his face. His cell rang and he saw that it was Abby. He pressed to answer and his face fell when he heard her voice.
"Gibbs, Agent Stevens has been stabbed. I just saw it, we've got to get our men out of there." Gibbs pressed his cell on speaker, so Vance could hear Abby's frantic call.
Leon picked up his phone and dialled. He looked at Gibbs, "go."
Gibbs put his phone to his ear. "Thanks, Abs. Let the Captain know, and call for paramedics. We're on our way. Was it O'Leary and Cary?"
"Yes it was, Gibbs. Hurry!" She watched on in horror as the two Petty Officers continued to stab Agent Jack Stevens until his body went limp and his eyes stared out into space. They would be too late. She quickly dialled the Bridge on the USS Arlington and set off an emergency alarm on the ship.
"NCIS Agent Jack Stevens has been stabbed. His body's been moved back inside his office."
"Who is this?" A stern voice on the other end of the call asked her.
"I am calling on behalf of Director Vance. Please hurry." She hung up and watched in disbelief as O'Leary and Cary moved swiftly through the various levels of the ship, in search for the undercover agents.
Agent Nassir knew when he heard he emergency alarm that trouble was on its way. He quickly moved to the stern of the ship, heading upwards using the ladder in a different corridor to his cabin. It was in a closed in area only used for emergencies and this was definitely an emergency. His life depended on him reaching the top and getting off this ship.
Abby waited with bated breath as she watched on as O'Leary and Cary headed towards Agent Nassir's cabin which he shared with O'Leary. Relief spread across her face as she realised that Nassir had left his cabin amidst all the confusion over what had happened to Jack. She prayed that all the other agents had done the same.
Leon Vance entered Abby's lab with grief visible in his eyes. "Thank you, Miss Scuito for looking out for our people. Unfortunately, Agent Stevens couldn't be revived."
Tears welled up in Abby's green eyes, as she tried to rein in her emotions. "But I couldn't save him."
Leon stepped closer and made her look at him. "You tried to help him. We had warned him of the risks. He knew they were out there. We will get O'Leary and Cary and bring justice for Stevens. The emergency alarm would have given the other agents warning to escape." Leon sighed. "Bring up the camera feeds for the ladders from the cabin levels and upwards."
Abby moved around on her keyboards, striking commands and soon enough she could see Agent Nassir climbing upwards near the stern of the ship.
"How far away is he from O'Leary and Cary?"
"Three floors and counting. They've gone in search for the other two remaining agents. With Wilson and Chambers out of there, there was only three undercover agents and Stevens left on board." She continued her search and found Agents Johns and Brown near the bow of the ship, doing the same as Nassir. "All three are almost to the deck."
"Close all exits of the ship once they've made it through to the deck. We cannot allow any of our suspects to escape. How far out is Gibbs and his team?"
"Two minutes out." Abby pulled up security camera feeds of the port where the USS Arlington was docked. Next to the Arlington stood the USS Winston Churchill and the USS Stout.
"Can you break into the other two ship camera feeds too?" Abby nodded. She moved over to the laptop McGee had been working on and brought up the Churchill, and Stout on the one Tony had been using. She removed the thumb drive and handed it over to the Director.
"Tony managed to copy data from the Formosa Cartel. I think that all the intel you need to bring these crooks down is on here."
"Thank you, Miss Scuito. I should have asked you and Agent McGee four months ago and could have saved a lot of man hours." Abby gave him a small smile before turning her attention back to the other two ships and the Arlington.
"There. Agent Nassir has made it on deck, Director." Abby moved her view to the cameras at the front of the ship and noticed that the other two agents had also made it out onto deck. It was dark, but she knew it was them. "Locking all doors and hatches to the Arlington now."
"Thank you, Miss Scuito. How's the Winston Churchill and Stout doing?" Leon moved closer and watched NCIS Agents receive contact to leave their ship. Finally word had come through from their handlers to abort the mission.
"They're leaving." He watched on as the five undercover and one assigned NCIS agent from both ships make their way up through the portal ladders onto deck. Each man looked at each other hesitant until their handler nodded to them all and only then did they realise that they were all on the same side.
Abby and Vance breathed out a sigh of relief as their people left their assigned ships and communed with Gibbs as they arrived on the scene. Agents Nassir, Johns and Brown ran over and only then did Gibbs fill them in on what happened to Agent Jack Stevens. Nassir, Johns and Brown remained quiet, as they dealt with the news of a man who had been their only life line to the agency over the past four months.
"We'll get you all back to the office where you'll be debriefed. The DEA and NCIS agents will be here in a moment to search out every suspect on your lists to bring them in for arrest. We have all that we need. We have to wait another five days for USS Normandy and Gravely to arrive back in port. Word has been sent through to them about the situation." Gibbs informed them. Before he had completed his update to the agents involved with operation 'Formosa', trucks with armed NCIS and DEA agents arrived and swarmed the three ships. A bus arrived and transported the agents back to the office, ready for a debrief and a flight home.