Gibbs stood in the Director's office a printout in hand, Jenny sat behind her desk while Ziva sat opposite. "A sniper’s brass is like signing your signature. That’s why a sniper always polices his brass. Lapua, 308 casing, boat-tail, moly-coated full metal jacket bullet." Jethro moved forward before presenting the printout to the Director.
Ziva looked up at Gibbs lazily. "That’s what you shot as a Marine sniper is it not Agent Gibbs?". To further her look of disinterest she kicked her legs up, placing her feet on the Director's desk. "At Mossad we use Sierra 6.5 hollow points."
"It is what Ari has been using to shoot my people. How do you know what I shot, Miss David?" Gibbs enquired.
Shepherd looked from the printout to the people before her desk. "She profiled you for Ari." Picking up a pen the Director prodded one of Ziva's feet prompting her to remove both from the red veneer.
"Ari’s missions involved NCIS. As his controller I wrote dossiers on everyone he might interact with." From a bag sitting by her chair she "If he wanted you to know he is the sniper, why didn’t he use your rifle? An M-40 no?" Â
 Â
"The Bravo-51 he fired is called a Kate!"Â Gibbs exclaimed, fist pounding the desk.
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"I still don’t believe Ari is the sniper." Ziva looked unfazed by Gibbs' outburst. "However what you have said should be investigated."Â
Jenny cocked her head to one side, regarding Gibbs with curiosity. "I’m not saying you’re right, but if you are, how do we prove it?"
"We? Did you just join my side?" Jethro smiled pleasantly at the Director, sending a brief glance to the woman sitting to his side.   Â
"Jethro, I’ve always been on your side. What do we do?" Shepherds sympathetic voice stung a little. He was tired of the sympathy and the pity.
"No not we, Miss David. Just set up a meet." Gibbs turned to look down at Ziva.  Â
"Set up Ari for you to kill?"Â Ziva scoffed as if offended by the thought of betraying one of her own.Â
"No. Set me up for Ari. And if I’m wrong about this, he won’t show up."
"And if you’re right?" Jenny asked however Gibbs' attention stayed fixed on Mossad agent.
"Then I’ll be counting on you to back me up." A sly smile crept across Jethro's face.
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McGee stood in front of a wall of mirrors, at least that is how it seemed to him. Finding a handle he pulled one of the mirrors and it slid to the side revealing a rack of clothes.
"Armani, Gucci, Cavalli, Versace, Hugo Boss. What a label queen." McGee muttered looking at the tags on all the shirts hung up.
"What was that McGee?" Abby's voice drifted through to the bedroom from wherever she was investigating.
"Nothing!" McGee slid the wardrobe door shut and headed off in search of Abby. "What are we even supposed to be doing here Abs?'" Finding her leafing through DVDs, all neatly stacked in a large storage unit next to a modest television. McGee looked around, DiNozzo's apartment was very neat, very unlike how he kept his desk. Everything seemed in its place here.
"We need to take him some things for while he is in the hospital." Abby looked to McGee as he studied his surroundings.
"Abby that could be quite a long time." McGee never thought of the day that Tony and Kate wouldn't be there bugging him. He was almost happy at the fact that Tony too had been injured by Ari, Tony was proving to be a good distraction from Kate.
"I know." Abby looked solemn before a smile broke out "Which is why we should take DVDs!" Abby turned back to the cabinet, closed her eyes and waved a finger around the DVDs before pointing at one, opening her eyes she reached in and removed the case. "Escape to Victory. Never heard of it, he must like it."
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The hospital corridor was loud and that smell Gibbs could not stand still lingered. Nurses and doctors meandered up and down the hallway shoes squeaking as Gibbs sat guard outside DiNozzo's room.
"How is Agent DiNozzo doing?" Fornell sat in the chair next to Gibbs'
"If I ask you something, Tobias, are you going to lie to me?" Gibbs ignored the FBI agent's enquiry, if he had not spoken it could be perceived as Gibbs was ignoring his presence altogether with his eyes staring straight ahead.
"Depends on the question." Fornell crossed one leg over the other and brushed away some imagined lint from his suit jacket.  Â
"What’s Ari Haswari’s real mission here?" Gibbs leaned forward, still not looking to his companion in the brightly lit hallway.   Â
"I’m going to lie to you. Mossad lies to the CIA. They lie to us. I lie to you. I don’t know who you lie to, being the bottom of the armed Fed Food Chain and not married." Fornell looked to Gibbs, cracking a slight smile. Â
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"So you don’t know." Gibbs finally turned his head to look at Fornell, a look of disappointment on his face.  Â
"Correct. I do not know." Fornell stood, he turned and opened the door to DiNozzo's room. Looking in at the prone agent, bandaged and bruised. "Why don't you go and rent a DVD?" Fornell spoke as if to DiNozzo.  Â
"You have something in mind?" Gibbs played along, this is how Fornell worked. He would never just give you the information you required, he'd point you somewhere that you could get clues if you were smart enough to discern that.     Â
Tobias closed the door and started to make his way towards the bank of elevators. "The Peacemaker."Â He threw back over his shoulder and Gibbs nodded, not that Fornell saw it.
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Agent Cassidy walked off the elevator and into the bullpen, it looked much different to what she had been used to for the past few months. There wasn't a porthole for instance. The blonde agent made her way to where she saw McGee sitting behind a desk, he was looking at his screen intensely.
"Agent McGee." Tim looked up startled, clicking his mouse to minimise a window.
"Cassidy, h-hi!" McGee stuttered slightly.
"Looking at porn?" Paula asked, setting a backpack down in front of McGee's desk. Tim looked shocked at the accusation, but continued his skittish behaviour.
"N-no, just looking at cars." McGee stumbled out, he straightened up a calendar that sat on his desk in an attempt to calm himself.
"Okay." Paula drew out the word, an expression of disbelief on her face.
"For Tony." McGee said, looking up at Paula from his seated position. "Hand controls." His gaze lowered.
"Oh." And Cassidy's eyes matched his. "Um, I should go see the Director." Paula picked her bag up.
"Up the stairs and to your left." McGee spoke and Cassidy nodded, turning and making her way to the stairway.
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The incessant beeping was driving Abby insane, she was perfectly happy that Tony's heart with still beeping away but did she have to be reminded of it? It was really beginning to affect her enjoyment of George Clooney.
"Gibbs?" Abby looked over the bed that held DiNozzo to Gibbs. The senior agent had phoned her while she and McGee had still been at Tony's apartment, she had grabbed some clothes, toiletries and a suitcase full of DVDs. "Can we switch Tony off for the rest of the movie, he's beeping annoying me."
Gibbs snorted but continued to watch the onscreen action taking place on the television/DVD-combi attached to the ceiling. The contraption confounded Gibbs but Abby had no problem. He realised though that he would have to talk to one of the hospital staff, there was no way DiNozzo would be able to get a DVD in there, even Abby had been on tiptoes despite the height of her platform boots.
An hour of the film passed and neither Gibbs nor Abby spoke, there silence was interrupted however by Tony. It had started as a slight twitching of his hand which Gibbs noticed but thought nothing of, then there was a groan just loud enough to be heard over the film's dialogue. That got the two visitors attention, both of their heads swinging in the direction of DiNozzo's.
"Did you let Probie drive?" Tony ground out through gritted teeth, eyes clamped tightly shut.
"Tony!" Abs yelled and made as if to hug him but stopped, knowing it would do more harm than good.
"You fell off a building DiNozzo." Gibbs said leaning over to press the call button beside the bed.
"Oh"
"Ari shot you down." Abby explained
"Well that makes me feel a bit less stupid." An eye opened slightly to look up at Gibbs"Boss?"
"Yeah?"
"Where's the morphine?"
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"Ziva!"Â The director shouted down to the Mossad agent who sat once again at Kate's desk as she and Gibbs came down the stairs leading from MTAC and the Directors office. "Deputy Director David is on teleconference for you." Ziva jumped up passing Gibbs as he strode to where McGee and Cassidy sat both at McGee's desk, trying to look like they were deeply concentrated on the computer screen. Jenny turned and followed Ziva.
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"Did they lose a nuke, Boss?" Tim asked when Gibbs was close enough that he did not need to shout to be heard.
   Â
"According to the Deputy Director, Israel doesn’t have nukes." Jethro remarked, watching the two women climb the stairs together. "They have a power plant in Dimona where a small amount of plutonium is missing." Gibbs turned back to his temporary team. Cassidy would only be helping on the case until the two new team members arrived. Shepherd had not been forthcoming regarding their identities.
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"Hamas is making a bomb?" Paula asked from her position, she had taken McGee's chair and Tim himself was crouched over without a seat.
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"They have a core. No detonator. Ari was to buy a Krytron trigger. He delivers it to the Hamas cell with the plutonium." Gibbs explained looking down to see McGee shift uncomfortably.
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"Mossad grabs him." Cassidy noted as she nodded along.
    Â
"Only he’s a little behind schedule. They’re getting nervous. Deputy Director David is up there right now ordering Ziva to cooperate."  Gibbs turned to look up at where Ziva and the Director had been.
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"I am never flying anywhere with you." Luis spat out as he departed the plane, Seb stumbling slightly while trying to get the handle of his carryon to extend.
"I hate airline food, I warned you." Having won the fight with his case Seb fought to catch up with Puchalski, who was moving at an annoyingly fast speed.
"You are a government agent, the smell of potatoes should not make you lose your lunch." Luis ground out exasperated. Fletcher simply shrugged as he stepped into line beside his partner.
The two made their way to the baggage collection area where they waited for hours it seemed. Well, for Luis it felt like hours having to listen to his companion talk about all the good things that could not be done on a plane. "I can put paper in a toilet. I can open a window or fresh air. I can go outside to get said fresh air."
"Fletcher, if only you had mentioned it earlier. I'd have thrown you through the fucking window." Luis growled, pushing through the crowd surrounding their assigned carousel to pick up one of their bags. "Listen, you stay here while I call the Director. Find out where she wants us." Puchalski dumped the case down beside Fletcher before moving off and away from the crowd.
Walking over to an unused carousel and sitting on the edge Luis pulled out his cell from his jacket pocket. Flipping the device open he dialled the Director's number before placing it to his ear. "Shepherd, Puchalski. We've landed." Luis nodded along to what he was hearing, watching as Seb pushed past a well dressed man with an apologetic smile to grab another of their bags. "Understood." Luis snapped the phone shut but stayed where he was, looking over at Fletcher.
â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"
Jethro made his way blindly down the stairs to his basement, the only light drifting from the low light at the top of the stairs. The basement itself was pitch-black. Gibbs switched on a solitary lamp by his workbench, placing a small bouquet of roses on the countertop. Fumbling with a lock and key he opened a hidden drawer beneath the workbench. Empty.
"Are you looking for this, Jethro?" Gibbs turned to the voice coming from the darkness, a silhouetted figure sitting, rifle in hand. "I want you to know I wish I hadn’t had to shoot Caitlin." The voice came again and Gibbs' eyes began to adjust to the darkness, more of the figure becoming clear.
   Â
"Why did you?" Gibbs spoke to the darkness.
   Â
"To cause you pain." Ari was clearly visible now, his voice no longer disembodied. "You have the misfortune of reminding me of my bastard father."Â Gibbs looked surprised by the explanation. All the pain Ari had caused to Gibbs and his people was because of one individual that Gibbs bore some resemblance. Gibbs knew he really was dealing with a crazed son of a bitch.
 Â
"He didn’t marry your mother huh?" And the best tactic when dealing with crazy people is to antagonise them. Gibbs smiled, shutting the drawer that should hold his rifle.   Â
"That’s what makes me a bastard, not him. From the moment of my birth, he groomed me to be one thing…his mole in Hamas. He sent me to Edinburgh to become a doctor so I could work in the Gaza camps alongside my mother. When he had her killed, I had no trouble joining the Iz Adin al-Kassam." Gibbs had seen enough movies to know that exposition was never a good thing. This was the unveiling of Ari's master plan. Of course in all of the movies he'd seen, the bad guys were defeated almost directly after their 'here's why i'm killing you speech'.
  Â
"You don’t really believe your father had your mother killed?" Â
 Â
"It was a retaliatory Israeli strike on a day I was in Tel Aviv…visiting him. After decades of planning, he had his mole in Hamas. He never knew how much I hated him. I wish I could see his face when he realizes he created not a mole but a monster eager to strike at the heart of Mossad and Israel." In Gibbs' mind all he could hear was 'blah blah blah'.  Â
"Yeah, I almost feel sorry for you." Jethro rolled his eyes.  Â
Â
"And I for you. When Ziva told me you were placing flowers on the roof where Caitlin died, I couldn’t believe it. Almost too good to pass up. Almost."   Â
"Why did you?" 'Here it comes' Jethro thought. Â
"I need you to commit suicide with your own rifle. You never did give me enough credit in our game. I knew it was a trap before Ziva told me you asked her to cover you. You’d never trust Ziva. And you need to kill me to taste the sweetness of revenge." Ari stood as Gibbs started to circle around the half built boat in the centre of the room.
 Â
Gibbs scoffed, coming to rest at the bottom of the stairs. "I’ve killed enough men in my life, Ari. It’s going to be just sweet watching you die." Ari stood a couple of meters in front of Jethro, raising the rifle to Gibb's head.  Â
"Sorry to spoil your-"Â Ari was cut off by the shot, bullet ripping through the air and into his own head sending his falling backwards, blood pooling around him.
  Â
"His father is a Deputy Director in Mossad?" Gibbs spoke once again to the darkness.Â
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"Yes." Ziva said as she emerged from the doorway to the basement, descending the stairs.
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Gibbs looked up as she walked down. "Not David?"Â
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Ziva drew level with Jethro, looking up to meet his eye. "Yes. He’s my half brother."
"Family tradition?" Gibbs turned his attention to the body lying on his basement floor and Ziva followed suit her face full of sorrow.
   Â
"Israeli sense of duty. At least on my part."Â Â Â Â
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Luis sat watching as Seb flirted with a pretty brunette nurse, swinging her hair mid giggle. He rolled his eyes. They'd been at the hospital for two hours and for an hour and a half of that time Fletcher had been hitting on every member of staff that paused.
The door beside Luis clicked open and a middle-aged man with a receding hairline emerged. "He says you can go in if you like." The doctor remarked looking down at Luis.
Puchalski stood and walked through the open door, it was the first time in over two years he'd seen his former teammate.
"You look like crap DiNozzo." Luis said as he walked over to a chair sitting by the bed, Tony was flat on his back, eyes closed, head pointing up to the ceiling. "Tony?"
"Morphine makes me sick." Tony said as an attempt at an explanation. "As long as I keep my eyes shut and don't move then I don't feel like i'm on a tilt o'whirl."
Luis breathed out a laugh. "You sure that's got nothing to do with the broken head thing?"
"Could be. Doc says i'm gonna have a set of killer wheels when I leave." Tony didn't sound bitter to Luis, just accepting.
"Yeah I heard." Luis stood and looked at the few cards that sat atop a bedside table.
"So you're my replacement? What happened to staying out of the field and settling down?" Tony cracked open an eye then immediately scrunched it shut again.
"Monica, well…the kid wasn't mine how about we put it like that." Luis shrugged, there had been cheating on both sides. "As for being your replacement, I don't think so. I'm much better looking after all." Luis laughed looking down at Tony, a soft smile spreading across his face.
"Kate would have hated you." The smile turned sad and Luis leaned down, placing his hand on Tony's.
"I'm sorry DiNozzo."
â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"â€"
It was a beautiful sunny day, Jenny stood behind Abby waiting to pay her respects to the fallen agent contained within the coffin before them.
"I was afraid I wasn’t going to make it." Jethro spoke coming up behind the Director.Â
"Ari?"Â Shepherd asked without turning to the man behind her, as Abby moved off the Director inched forward, placing a rose atop the flag and flower covered coffin. Â
"Ziva’s escorting his body to Tel Aviv." Gibbs said quietly from behind the Director, as she moved aside to let him place his own rose. "Sorry Kate."
"This wasn't your fault Jethro." Jenny placed a comforting hand on Gibbs' shoulder. "Or are you going to apologise to agent DiNozzo as well?"
"No, he gets the pleasure of returning to work with me." Gibbs turned to the Director smiling knowing that this truly was only the fault of a deadman.
The Return by tdawg
Author's Chapter Notes:
Gibbs brings down Ari. Tony wakes.