The plane ride to Valero Notte was simple enough. Getting a hotel room was simple enough. Deciding how they were going to go after a monster with no leads...not so much.
The only real clue that had was the man's appearance. He didn't leave anything behind when he made off with McGee, and he didn't run in any discernible direction when Tony and Ziva confronted him- he flew up and away, out of sight.
Based on his agents' vague description of the creature, Gibbs felt that he knew exactly who it was. At first, he wanted to keep this to himself, but the last time he did that, it cost Tim his life. No, Jethro had learned his lesson. So, they had only been back in Valero Notte for a few hours when he held a meeting in his hotel room, ready to put the pieces together.
"What did he look like?" Jethro began without pretense. He had already asked them this before, but the more information they had, the better. "The flightling who took Tim. Details."
"Most likely 6'0," Ziva began. "Medium skin tones, brown hair with some blond."
"His eyes were unique, even for a flightling," Tony added. "They were...light brown, but that doesn't sound right."
"They were almost caramel."
"Yeah. Sorry to sound poetic, but you know that color of whiskey when light shines through it? Like that."
Impressed, Ziva raised her eyebrows. "Exactly like that. He hissed at us too."
"He was like a classic looking guy, but completely modern too," Tony said. "Like if Sean Connery and Pierce Brosnan-"
"DiNozzo."
"Right, sorry. He was wearing dark clothes, but I wasn't exactly paying attention to them."
"What about his wings?"
"They were an off white," Ziva said. "Which is odd. We've only seen white wings in photos. All the flightlings we've hunted had gray or black wings."
Tony pulled out the notebook Gibbs had given them. "I was just looking through a page about that...it says that wing color is naturally some shade of white or light brown based on personality. But the more souls they take, the darker their wings become."
"So was this man a new flightling? Or does he not take souls?" Ziva asked.
Gibbs got up and looked for one of the many files of active and wanted flightlings he brought with him. Digging and old, worn file out of the stack, Gibbs tossed it to Ziva. The very first thing she saw was a picture of the flightling in question.
"This is him!" she said in surprise and turned to their team leader. "Who is he?"
"Apollo Clark. The Clarks were one of the oldest flightling families, but he's all that's left."
"So we know who it is," Tony said. "That saves us a lot of work."
"But wait. Why does his file have a large red x on it?" Ziva asked.
Gibbs looked at her for a moment. "He's supposed to be dead. I killed him three years ago."
"What? Then why did we see him the last time we were here?" Tony asked in exasperation. "Guess he's not dead, then."
"Ya think, DiNozzo?"
"What do you know about him?" Ziva intervened.
"He's a good fighter. And he was friends with some of the most dangerous flightlings in the world. Fornell tried to corner him, to find out where some of them were, but he turned on them. Killed one of Fornell's guys, so Fornell and I went after him."
"God," Tony commented after seeing some of the reports on Apollo. "How many agents has this guy killed?"
"Two," Ziva said bitterly.
"Well, let's stop him before he kills anyone else."
"Ziver, call Fornell and Vance."
As she moved to her laptop to set up a video call, Gibbs and Tony continued to look through the file.
"He's the only member of the Clark family?" DiNozzo asked skeptically.
"Biologically. But he sort of adopted an girl from New York." Jethro pulled another photo from the file. "Victoria Clark."
The picture had been taken quickly, most likely by someone surveilling her at the time. Tony looked at her large blue eyes. "Wow."
"She went missing after we took out Apollo. If he's alive, she's probably wherever he is."
"What do we know about her?"
"Nothing. Just her name."
"Gibbs," Ziva called from her seat at the desk. "The director is ready to talk."
The three agents leaned in towards the laptop to see Vance's face. Tobias was in the background.
"Any luck?" Leon asked.
"We identified the flightling."
"And?"
"And it's Apollo Clark."
"What?" Tobias exclaimed, approaching the camera so that he could see and hear better. "He's supposed to be dead."
"Guess not."
"No kidding, Jethro. Is Victoria with him?"
"We don't know," Tony admitted.
"Could you find out of Apollo lives in Valero Notte?"
"Well, he had a house before he disappeared," the director informed. "I'll ask around, see what I can find, and we'll call you in an hour."
The hour passed faster than expected, and Vance did in fact have answers.
"One of the agents in Berlin right now knows about Clark. He says that he and Victoria are in Valero Notte, in the old mansion."
Fornell popped onto the screen with news of his own. "You all really take the cake, you know that? You must have the best luck."
"Why is that?" Ziva questioned.
"Because according to one of my guys, Apollo and Victoria are having a party tonight. At their house. There will probably be 50 or so flightlings there."
"Better get some formal wear," Vance said. "It'll be upscale."
Ziva and Gibbs turned away from the laptop to get ready for the party, but Tony lingered for a moment.
"Uh, Fornell. About that luck thing...were you being sarcastic or were you serious?"
Tim had never seen the house so bright or full of life, and the guests hadn't even arrived yet.
According to Victoria, Apollo was known for the occasional party.
"He somehow has a knack for throwing together the most upscale events within a day or two," she said. "But it's not the usual boring fancy party. There's actual dancing. And his friends are the best. There are some real characters."
Tim could agree on his surrogate father's ability to throw together a party. Catering had already arrived, and the band was setting up. Victoria sold herself short on her own planning abilities : she arranged multiple vases of gorgeous fresh flowers, all grown and cut from her garden. And she had quickly and effortlessly cleaned the house and opened the windows, shedding much needed light into the house, which otherwise was as still as a mausoleum in its age.
McGee finished getting dressed, and with a quick check in the mirror exited his room. The guests were supposed to be arriving any minute, and he could hear Apollo speaking with the band in the ball room before he even entered. The oldest Clark turned to him in relief.
"Oh Tim. Can you tell Victoria to come see me as soon as she's ready? I need to speak to the both of you."
"Sure," he said and turned back towards the hall. Victoria's door was open halfway, and he knocked before entering.
"You can come in, Tim."
She was seated in front of a mirror, finishing her makeup. Her long blue dress made her eyes stand out even more, and she was wise enough to hardly apply any eyeshadow or liner. (Any more accentuation of their bizarre color would have made her look downright freakish.)
"You look great," he told her.
"Thank you. So do you."
"Apollo said he wanted to talk to us."
"Ok. Just a minute, I'm almost done."
As she finished up, McGee looked around her room. It was the first time that he'd ever seen it, but it didn't surprise him in any way. It was tasteful yet simple, but it had many affects that every other young adult would have. A poster of some band he didn't recognize hung on the far wall.
On the dressing table there stood a small marble statuette. A female figure with wings outstretched behind her stood proudly.
"I recognize this," he murmured.
"The statue of Nike," Victoria said, looking down at it fondly. "It's my favorite Greek sculpture. The real one's much bigger than this, of course. This one is a replica."
"Her head and her arms are missing."
"Lost to time, like many of the classic works. They're wherever Venus de Milo's arms are, I suppose," she smiled.
"Nike...hung out with Athena in Greek mythology."
"Right. Athena was the goddess of war, Nike was the goddess of victory. Apollo says it can't be a coincidence that my name is Victoria. He gave that to me when he took me in for good."
Straightening, she smoothed her dress and turned to the door. "Let's go see what he needs before everyone gets here."
Apollo was standing right were Tim left him.
"I was afraid to mention it," he began as he pulled them aside, out of earshot of the band. "But there may be hunters tonight. One or two always tries to slip in. Be on guard."
"What do we do if they show up?" McGee asked, afraid of the idea,
"Don't engage them unless attacked," Apollo warned. "And do not speak to them. We will try to avoid a battle if we can."
Suddenly the bell rang, and he went to open it. Several guests entered, all moving to hug, kiss or shake hands with the owner of the household. The band began playing, and within the hour over 150 people were in the ballroom and the library. Some were dancing, some talking in groups. But as far as Tim could see, no hunters had shown up.
"Don't worry," Victoria advised.
He looked down at her. "Care for a dance?"
"Absolutely."
As they spun around with the other couples, she smiled in approval.
"You're a pretty great dancer, Tim. Where did you learn?"
He earnestly racked his brain for a moment, but as always, turned up nothing.
"No idea," he grinned.
When the dance was over, she led him to a circle of people their age, all clearly flightlings.
"Come meet my friends, Tim. You know, that girl over there in the red dress has a thing for green eyes..."
Without needing an invitation, crashing Apollo Clark's party was a piece of cake.
Tony and Ziva joined a large group of guests as they entered, quickly gaining access to the main room and marveling at its size.
Gibbs entered a few minutes later, intending to do as his kids had done, and just melt into the crowd. However, the motion of the large group of newcomers forced him into a sort of receiving line, where Apollo was greeting all of his friends. Eventually he came to the front of the line, and stood face to face with his old enemy, who went pale at the sight of him.
Apollo regarded Gibbs warily. "Jethro," he said, allowing his grimace to melt into a -somewhat- friendlier smile. He didn't know why the man who hated him above all else had decided to show up to this party, but he wasn't worried.
"Clark," Gibbs greeted curtly. "We need to talk."
"I'm free as soon as the party is over," the flightling said icily. "If you've come to attack me in my own home, then you'll have to wait until the guests leave."
Gibbs was about to retort when a large man came up behind Apollo and thumped him on the back.
"Clark, that son of yours is an intelligent guy, isn't he? Next time you come visit us in Kenya, bring him along."
Fear struck Apollo as he nodded politely and smiled, yet his eyes flicked back to Gibbs, who was still standing in front of him. He had hoped to keep Tim a secret from the hunters.
Without a word, he moved on to the people behind Gibbs, who had not heard their conversation. Angry but satisfied with the response he got, Jethro went to find Tony and Ziva. It was now three against three, he thought. Much more dangerous than before.
Tony's eyes swept over the room, locking on a dazzling young woman. Victoria! It was Victoria, Apollo Clark's surrogate daughter. Even if she wasn't on many lists, Tony -a novice hunter compared to Gibbs or Fornell- could pick her out of a crowd. Her eyes practically glowed, and her open-backed dress did very little to hide the beginnings of two mirrored scars, one on each side of her spine. Where her wings would be.
If she wasn't a monster, he'd find her attractive.
She was laughing and smiling at a tall man faced away from DiNozzo. The pair gracefully waltzed along with the other couples, and when the song was ended, she tugged on his hand, pulling him towards a small cluster of guests.
Tony locked eyes with Ziva and nodded in their direction. "Victoria Clark."
Ziva nodded. "She seems very...she does not look like a cold-blooded killer."
"It's weird," the senior agent said, leaning against the bannister of the stairs and turning his eyes to the ceiling. "Because you're right, she doesn't, but now we know what she's capable of-"
He stopped suddenly, paling. Ziva put her hand on his shoulder, trying herself to ward off the same memory he was struggling against.
"We'll do this for Tim," Ziva said quietly, and Tony straightened up, nodding. His jaw clenched as he turned away from the flightling and looked for Gibbs.
They could see their team leader from their place at the stairs to the library. Jethro was on the other side of the room, clearly furious as he spoke to the host of the party. Perhaps it was the years of working with their fearless leader, but Tony and Ziva could feel him simmering from across the expansive ballroom.
Apollo stepped away from Gibbs and walked away, far too stiff to be natural. The Senior Agent's eyes found his two team members, who were making their way down the stairs, through the crowd, to him.
"Boss...was that-" DiNozzo began.
"Yeah, that's him," Gibbs said angrily. "He's not alone, either."
"We saw his daughter already, Gibbs,' Ziva informed him. "She was dancing. They should not be a problem for the three of us, yes?"
"No, Z," the older man sighed. "Some of these guests are, too."
The two newer hunters fell silent, dreading the job before them. "Do we take care of them all?" Tony whispered.
"Don't have the time. We just take out Clark and his 'family'."
They didn't miss the implications of the word. "Isn't it just the woman?" Ziva asked.
"No," Gibbs said. "He has a son now, too. A young, powerful, unpredictable flightling."
...
Apollo's self confidence was replaced by frustration and regret. If he had known that this party would attract these particular hunters, he wouldn't have agreed to it. Nothing could make him intentionally put his family and friends in danger.
He was torn. On one hand, the hunters could be persuaded to leave with a small amount of threats and a discreet amount of force. But they might refuse, and instead begin shooting all of the guests...
Perhaps they could be dealt with- he trusted that Tim was now experienced enough with his abilities to help dispatch the evil hunters. Apollo hated violence, but after several years' worth of hiding from Leroy Jethro Gibbs, he was ready to fight.
Victoria and Timothy were not hard to find, and he quietly pulled them aside.
"The party is wonderful, Apollo. We should-"
"I am sorry Victoria, but we have a problem."
With that, the smiles fell off their faces. Tim seemed confused, while Victoria seemed to already know what came next.
"A small team of hunters has arrived at the party. Americans, like us. One of them I know. Their team leader has a special...aptitude for hunting our kind."
Victoria looked stricken. "What do we do?"
"Hopefully nothing," Apollo shrugged. "I thought they might go away, for the time being at least, as they are greatly outnumbered. Now I'm not so sure."
The elder Clark looked so worried that Tim was filled with a slight protective anger. "What do we do?"
"Calm down, Tim," Victoria said quietly, putting her hand on his arm to settle him. "Violence isn't going to solve much at this point."
"She may be right," Apollo said, looking at his surrogate son. "If it were any other team, I would be able to chase them off myself. But I cannot fight this particular set on my own."
"We can help," Tim said. Victoria nodded in agreement, but their elder shook his head firmly. "No. Timothy, they don't know who you are yet. The less they know about you the better, and they don't know your face. We need to keep it that way. And Victoria, I don't know if they know anything-"
"I'm sure they do, Apollo," the young woman said. "This isn't the first time hunters have attacked us, remember? They've seen my face before. It's too late for me. I can hold my own...sort of."
"Where are they, anyway?" Tim asked, scanning the room quickly.
"Over there. Three of them," Apollo said, discreetly nodding his head in their direction, but they all faced away from Tim and he could not see their faces. "Two men, one woman."
Apollo turned to the two and sighed. "Tim, go to the roof and wait there. If we need help, we will yell for you. Victoria, come with me."
With a deliberate look at Gibbs, Apollo strode out the room towards the back door into the alley. Tim was already climbing up to the roof, out of sight of his former team. They didn't seen him yet, and he didn't see them. They did, however, see Apollo and Victoria leave, and knew exactly what needed to be done. His agents did as well.
"We're ready, Gibbs," Ziva said, and Tony nodded.
"Let's go."