S3 E1 AU Kill Ari part 1

AU stories for NCIS episodes. Each is independent from all the others since this is based on the possibility of parallel universes and multiple timelines…. many, many of them. Later on some may seem to follow something that happened in an earlier AU episode story but it's probably coincidence unless I say otherwise in the beginning. Again, these are AU scenes/stories which means a character may die in one story and be alive in the next one. Or it might be a missing scene.

This is a short alternate universe story/scene for season 3, episode 1, Kill Ari part 1

The original episode aired on September 20, 2005.
Some dialogue may be from the episode.
Rating: K+
Category: general
Warnings: Can't think of any
Disclaimer: Borrowing characters. Just borrowing. No profit.
And finally, all mistakes are mine.

Continued from S2 E23 AU Twilight

"We are almost ready."

"It's time to choose your targets."

The four men smiled, knowing they were on the cusp of greatness. The two sailors were dead and buried. The car had some damage from the bullets but they had pulled out the seats to make it look like it was being stripped for parts. They had successfully stolen the radio flight control unit and the target drone and it was ready to be deployed.

Ari laid the map on the hood of the vehicle. Several locations were circled in red.

"The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is here," and he pointed to a circle. "It is a symbolic target."

"M street in Georgetown is a hub of American commercialism. Choose an ice cream shop, or a coffee shop, or a deli, or a pizza parlor, any one of a number of places.

He noticed they seemed to like those ideas.

"An attack in the subway will cause mass panic and disrupt transportation. Choose a hub where two or more lines converge or inside a car for more casualties."

"Shouldn't we hit them at their monuments?"

Ari looked serious. "You can try, but they are heavily guarded. The weather is warm and a jacket over a vest will be conspicuous."

"I want to use a backpack."

"You may, but remember that many places have security and they search all bags."

In the end, the two men had chosen four targets and knew the time when they should detonate the bombs. They all prayed together and then they headed for Washington, DC while the other two headed for Norfolk with Ari.

"Only one thing left to do and everything and everyone will be in place," he told them as they unloaded the drone. "The locator beacon."

"How will you get it to the pier? They must have security cameras and security."

"Yes, very much. Remember the woman in the apartment next door to us before we moved?" He smiled when they smiled. They all remembered her short shorts, her tank top and her Mercedes. "She is meeting her boyfriend at the pier tomorrow when his ship arrives."

"How will you find her?"

Ari laughed. "Do you not remember her every single morning at exactly 7 at the Starbucks coffee shop?" They sat on the balcony watching people in the area and observed her every day. They knew what she drank, what she ate, where she lived, where she worked and the purses she carried. All were huge with many pockets. "I will run into her right before she leaves for the rendezvous."

Ari called his FBI contact to report that he had discovered the suicide bombers' targets but he had only identified two of the cell members. They needed to know because the attacks were going to happen tomorrow. He gave them descriptions of the men and their possible targets before he called Ziva to arrange a quick morning meeting.

"I believe they are suspicious of me."

"Why?"

"I used the phone the FBI gave me. I managed to hide it before they searched me but they are having doubts about me because there are only four bombs."

"What are you going to do?"

"I have told the FBI all I know but I need to keep looking for the other two. I will use a disposable phone to contact you."

Ziva wished him luck and he walked away with a big smile on his face. His sister could be so gullible.

While the FBI staked out the four locations, Ari ran into the coffee drinking woman in the parking lot of her apartment complex. She was happy to see him, said she'd missed their conversations, and told him she was on her way to Norfolk. Her boyfriend's ship was arriving in about an hour and a half. He told her he'd come to pick up the damage deposit check from his former landlord and while she input what she thought was his new cell phone number in her contact list, he slipped the locator beacon into a pocket of her big purse. Before he zipped it closed he saw it contained a notebook, pepper spray and portable charger. He glanced at her phone as he slid the zipper and saw it was fully charged so she wouldn't need to charge it. When she put her phone back into her purse he saw breath mints, a hairbrush, lipstick and a small makeup case. He smiled his goodbye to her knowing that was the zippered pocket she'd get into right before meeting her boyfriend.

Ari called the two men at the warehouse in Newport News. "The locator beacon has been delivered and is on the way to the pier. Launch the drone in one hour and 45 minutes and return to the safe house." He added a standard Arabic salutation. He then called the bombers and confirmed the time for them to detonate the devices. He added a salutation for them too though a different one since they were about to die.

He called his FBI contact to make it look like he was trying hard to prevent the attacks and headed for Washington DC so he'd have an alibi.

Continued in S3 E2 AU Kill Ari Part 2