Dolphin Hero. Chapter 8
The instant Tony hits the water, the m.o.b system device attached to his life vest triggered the men overboard alarm. Sedna reacts by swaying the boat and maneuvering to allow Stolzer and his man to rescue DiNozzo out of the water by rolling down a rope ladder and helping him to climb over the board.
Kate had been eyeing the incident interestedly. As soon as DiNozzo had stepped over the deck, all of them saw a dolphin jumping out of the water a couple of times and splashing the caudal fin soundly. It was Sheryl. Sedna had released her so that she could follow the boat.
“Holy…Mother!!!” DiNozzo exclaims. “I had just hit the water and felt a hard thing pushing me up from beneath…I really got freaking scared, doc!”
Sedna had smiled with intent: “Forgive Sheryl, DiNozzo, she was just trying to help you”
“Sure, doc,” and DiNozzo leaned over the board and shouted: “You are welcome, Sheryl!!”
Stolzer and his man had went back to their task and Kate kept herself intentionally apart, having eyed her boss coming over the corner where Tony was untying his life vest and peeling his soaked clothes off.
Gibbs faced his senior agent blinking his eyes due to the shinning water, both hands planted over hips, the strap of the camera still hanging in safety from his shoulder.
“What was all this, DiNozzo? We have a job to do here. Stop behaving like a teenager and do it like the well trained agent you are!!!" Gibbs had barked almost touching his nose with his.
“I’m fine, boss. Thanks for asking, boss. ” DiNozzo answered, smiling in a friendly way and trembling under the fresh breeze. It was a funny picture: Gibbs in his diving suit and DiNozzo in his dripping blue boxers facing each other.
Seeing his agent's teeth chattering, Gibbs rage if it was not faked evaporated suddenly. He decided DiNozzo had already enough punishment. His mood smoothed a little.
“Go and get some clothes on!" And Gibbs cuts the "sure boss" by planting the encased camera against his chest: “You erase these damn pictures now !!! Or you are going to walk across the plank “again”, DiNozzo!!!”
He left and let his agent there, dumbfounded, open mouthed: “Does boss think that the sexy doc did it on purpose because…because she knew that he was taking “inappropriate” pictures of her???”
Tony realizes as he shivers, trying to quickly delete the pictures. He glares at Kate as he sees her happy face, looking at him with satisfaction, while giving him that “you deserve it” look.
Apart from a choked laugh, she is rather happy that DiNozzo got what he deserves. She saw him taking ‘inappropriate’ pictures of Sedna, her new found friend. She had tried to dissuade Tony by glaring and hissing at him but the man ignored her point blank, like she didn’t exist.
As she witnesses Tony’s unfortunate events, Kate got distracted with a lean muscular body in a tight navy diving suit that was helping Tony. It was Capt Stoltzer’s body, blocking her view of a wet Tony. And it was a good view, a damn good view.
A smile etched on her face, she could feel herself blushing. The captain is not very young. He is definitely in his early 40’s, attractive in his own way. Well, Kate is always rather fond of older men. Without realizing, she is comparing him to Gibbs.
The Captain has a sweet kind smile, while Gibbs, oh dear, he hardly smiles at his peers, worse at her. All she ever gets is a stiff nod of approval and stern criticism when she follows her heart.
Kate is looking at the ‘hot’ scene, her mind is running. She is contemplating. It is obvious that Gibbs does not share the feelings she has for him. She is a fool, wasting her time. Perhaps it is time to take her chances, ’Wheel of Fortune’-style, with the Captain since the man expressed his interest in her. Despite Gibbs’s and Tony's opinion she finds the blonde Capt. handsome and sweet in his own way.
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A few hours before they boarded the Dolphin siren, she was preparing their survey with Sedna when the Captain entered the office and without beating about the bush, he asked her out on a date. She blushed like an inexpert teenager girl, unable to answer, unsure of herself, torn between her feelings for Gibbs and the chance to get to know someone.
And Sedna came to the rescue, God knows why. She nudged her side with her elbow, about to say ‘no’ to the captain for her. Then she just blurted “Yes that would be nice” because she was done being a foolish girl.
She told herself, Gibbs has no feelings for you. Stop wasting your time and move on, Kate!
Stolzer walks out of the office with a wide smile on his face, his green eyes shining gladly. And Kate concentrates on her task again, avoiding Sedna’s eyes. Despite feeling sad about the realization that nothing was ever going to happen between her and Gibbs, she focused on the positive things, which include Stoltzer, she owes it to herself to give it a try.
The doctor is glaring at her as if she had lost her mental faculties but Sedna decides not to speak. She just shakes her head and sighs, she thinks “It would be better to let things go on, for sure the grumpy pretty blue eyes boss should react seeing his petite protégé in Stolzer’s arms, but…the thing is…how in hell is he going to know about this conversation, unless she tell him?
No no no, she is not a…besides, both of them are grown ups. Perfectly capable of handling the situation themselves…. Actually no, they aren’t. Or never had reached the point they are…”
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It was almost noon when they finally reached the lat/long coordinates. The Dolphin siren's engines stopped and they anchored two hundred meters away from their aim. Stolzer and his man are holding the boat, suspended from its chains, ready to be boarded.
Still on deck, Gibbs had his tanks already attached to his back and is adjusting his mask on his face, when Sedna comes over and taps his shoulder from behind.
She doesn’t want to be heard by the others and gives a signal to go further apart. He takes the mask off and follows her to the nose of the vessel. “What is so important, doc?” He sighs impatiently.
She has an upsetting look over her face. Her eyes are sad and all her body language denotes excitement. “I…I think we are facing something in here, Gibbs!!! This is the exactly the point where John, my husband was diving when he… I mean. I just noticed…the latitude longitude coordinates of where the explosion that killed your marine and my Kenny took place, and the location of the shipwreck he was working on, are the same !!!
He keeps looking at her while his brain works furiously. The doctor keeps looking directly into his eyes, trying to read his thinking, but she keeps silent and waits for him to speak.
“Thanks for telling me, doc…let’s go down there and see what we‘ll find, your friend Stolzer is getting more impatient by the second.”
“ OK, Gibbs, if you need help just give a whistle and I will join you.” Sedna decides.
He smirks. “Doc, what would your “Charles” think about your offer? “
“The bastard is not mine Gibbs, not anymore and to hell with him. If he has been hiding something from me I swear he is going to pay !!!”
“Yeah, I guess he would." He thinks that some women look kind of cute when furious, and he can’t help and recalls the same challenging look in the eyes of his pretty brunette agent. For seconds his mind stray over Katie and the bathroom incident, her enraged eyes…Stop!.
“We’ll talk later, doc.” He is going back walking to where Stolzer is waiting, when Sedna calls him again: “Hey, Gibbs!”
He turns around: “What?”
This time, it is her turn to smirk: “Watch your six”.
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In a couple of minutes, Stolzer reaches the given coordinates and stops the motor boat. His man had the anchor ready and eyeing him dropping it. Gibbs estimates that the bottom is no more than 45 •50 feet under.
They are in the shallower area of the bay, and in the middle of the higher density of shipwrecks, the vessel that John (Sedna’s late husband) had been investigating was very old, but there are some more of them in the surrounding area, as he had seen consulting the shipwreck map of the bay.
Gibbs follows Stolzer and the other SEAL goes after them. The visibility is not as bad as he was thought it would be, and the old hull is perfectly visible, covered by algae and barnacles, that cover with their own appearance what once had been a floating home that had turned suddenly into a sea grave for who had lived on it, and being a home for the wide diversity of marine organisms growing now over the metal or rotten wood, giving testimony about the brief dominance that humans have over the sea, before and ever.
After some minutes diving, Stolzer and his man made sure that Gibbs is perfectly able to move alone underwater and left him to go everywhere he wants, but still keeping an eye on him. Stolzer is equipped with an underwater camera (damn thing that he hasn’t got, Gibbs realizes.)
The SEAL’s captain is taking pictures all around and Gibbs keeps an eye on him as well, his gut saying that the stiff captain must know something he doesn’t and surely he has his damn orders.
Schools of fish flourish in and out of the remains of the vessel and dart away as he approaches. Going around what seems had been the nose of the vessel Gibbs finds himself facing a bare surface that lacks all marine life that covers the opposite side like a thick carpet.
On one side of this nude area there is a big hole with sharp cut edges, every one of them is curved up in a very constant angle. The sea floor is irregular and bare of vegetation being covered instead by organic detritus and a mix of substrate rock and metallic debris. “ Oh yeah. This was the epicenter of the last explosion” thinks Gibbs as he recognizes the damage.
Most material had decanted already but it hadn’t been fixed yet and Gibbs moves a hand over the thin layer and gets a small cloud of dust that floats and moves with the current.
He needs light now and switches his L.E.D light on. The sudden brightness makes his surroundings darker and the black mouth of the hole is now full of life - small crustaceans and all the micro life that usually made their homes in the remains of shipwrecks.
In different circumstances he would enjoy the diving. Since his training as a marine he always had loved the feeling of weightlessness and liberty that accompanies the SCUBA underwater incursions and used to spend his holidays at diving beaches.
As he disappears inside the hull case, Stolzer is already done with his photos and looks around for Gibbs. Not having him in view anymore surprises him, and he was there just two seconds before.
“These damn NCIS agents are really good at slipping away”, he thinks, feeling the annoyance invading his mind. Stolzer forces himself to be calm and put aside any remnants of his own emotions. In seconds he regains perfect control over himself, the control that his meticulous training had integrated to his personality and is the base of a SEAL’s being.
He re-evaluates his surroundings again and his mind registers every detail. The visibility is not too fine but his eyes are adjusted to the half-light. Suddenly, his highly developed sense of alarm activates.
Not having received any definite signal of danger he stays still for a moment trying to perceive consciously what was that, coming from the environment that has alerted him. It’s not the hasty Gibb’s vanishing • no, something is going to happen.
His experience along with almost two decades in combat and underwater surveillance is telling him to be cautious and proactive now. His man is not close enough to communicate with by signals, and he curses himself for not having the complete equipment for what he had thought was just a whim of the silver haired NCIS agent.
Instinctively he uses the primitive but useful way to notify his position and inform the other divers that something deserves their attention, his UW caller. The sound spread is echoed by two distinct answers, the first one from his left is his man.
The second, weaker and more bass came from Gibbs. ”The damn idiot got inside the hull", and Stolzer gives the double signal meaning they must join with him at surface.
All of a sudden an unexpected and swift movement attracts his sight. A fast long shadow passes by his side and disappears, at the time he feels the movement of the displaced mass of water over his own body. It was Sheryl. He is completely sure, for some unknown reason the dolphin’s behavior triggered his alarm sense to an even higher level
“What was the dolphin doing here?”. Stolzer knows deep inside that something is about to go wrong. He has to get the damn stubborn NCIS bloodhound out of there and get himself as far as possible from this place.
He finds the entrance to the hull core and switches on his light. Damn it. He is going to take him out of there in seconds, even if he has to drag him to the surface.
They could discuss the matter later, with or without the use of their fists while chatting. Oh yeah, he had been waiting for the opportunity to erase this annoying smirk from Gibb’s face from the very moment they met and he has the best excuse to do it.
To hell with rank… and if he is punished because of the blasted NCIS agent, he will be a happily punished SEAL.
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On board the “Dolphin siren” minutes before:
The ship is rolling slightly over the blue ocean, the wind had calmed and the sun is warming up. It was almost twenty minutes since Gibbs in the company of the two SEAL men went into the blue sapphire water and the tension is mounting on board.
Kate notices that Sedna didn’t move from the place where she had talked with Gibbs before. Her face is half covered by her cap and sunglasses but the profiler can read the apprehension in her normally well composed expression and all her body language denotes a calm even observant expectation.
DiNozzo had changed his clothes. Fortunately Tom (Sedna’s Vet), had some spare clothes that fit him. Kate sees DiNozzo’s blue boxers hung out to dry flagging over the winch of the anchor and shakes her head in disapproval and disbelief. But nobody seems to be interested in DiNozzo’s underwear.
Tom is now at Sedna’s side, speaking to her quietly, and she nods at what he says - always keeping her attentive gaze at where the empty rubber boat is anchored, gently sloping in the slow waves. She had taken off her sunglasses and her eyes looked worried, matching her tense jaw.
Inside the main cabin on the bridge, isolated from the shining sea and sky by the darkened windows, McGee is working on his computer because Abby is too busy with all the tests she had to run for Ducky. So they had divided the task and he was working with the hard disks and Abby had taken the cellular phones.
She had been at the lab overnight and had a very serious face the last talk they had shared. "I don’t have enough Caff- Pow supply! Gibbs is out of town, Timmy!” she said, pouting in the best childish mood.
McGee loves her pretend annoyed face, “Call for delivery, Abbs,” he answered with a little smile, knowing that she misses not the Caff- Pow itself as much as she misses the affection of the hand that usually gives it.
She shrugged her shoulders. “Miss you all, guys. It’s very quiet here with all of you out.”
“Well Abbs, you could have a chat with Ducky….” McGee said while looking at her maliciously. “ Or Palmer” .The not well hidden jealous undertone was easily caught and Abby’s face had recovered some of her usual brightness.
“Are you jealous, Tim???? I loooove when you are!!!! Oh!!!!” She turns her head suddenly and her face was replaced by her left pigtail swaying at the screen
“Timmy, Mr. GC (gas chromatographer) is talking to me!!! Call you soon”, and she disappeared from his screen fast enough to deserve the “Gibbsian way award” of the year.
Sighing in acquiescence, McGee went back to his task. He found files from two NMMP members that are also members of an NGO for animal welfare known for being extremely radical. He was really not sure if they would be relevant or not, but after analyzing their words carefully, they could contain some type of threat, he has to inform Gibbs.
All of a sudden Abby appears anew on screen and without giving him time to greet her, shouts excitedly:
“McGee!!!!”
“O o - thinks Tim - It is a bad thing when she calls me McGee and before he could answer Abby says:
“McGee! Get Gibbs over here…Now!”
“That is impossible Abby. He is diving with ….”
“Nooooooo…McGee!!! You must call him! Get him out of the water now …you…!!!!” and the technician shakes her head, making her pigtails tremble. Her hands are scratching the air at both sides of her face out of frustration.
“McGee…you get them out of that damn place!!!!…please Mc Gee… don’t ask, just do it. This is serious! “
“Abby….. I…. I can’t do it. We can’t communicate with them, they are underwater now. It was supposed to be a short dive and then they have no communication with us… I thought it would be better to keep in contact but…”
“McGee!!!!!!” Abby is really shouting now.
“Stop blabbing and do something !!!! I…I found the cell from where the explosion was detonated !!! Well… I did it ten minutes ago!!! I was going to call you. It was difficult to be sure because there is a three point’s signal. I had all the cells active to check the entering calls and…and…”
“What Abbs……what?” McGee starts perspiring, looking at the terror painted over the technician's face starts to overtake him: “For God's sake, Abbs!!! Speak!!!!”
“The damn bloody thing is activated, McGee!!!! It happened three minutes ago!!! I needed two minutes to track the signal!!! Is the same protocol that activated the first explosion!!!! I located the other points: the first is in the naval base. The second just one mile from you…. on land!!! Please, McGee, sound the boat siren or something!!! Do something!
All of a sudden McGee understands and feels something cold slipping down his spine, with no word he stands up abruptly and runs for Dunn while praying for Abby to be wrong for once, while his brain shouts at him that she is always right.
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Meanwhile things started to move on board, Tony had gone over the pilot location and got the binoculars that hung there, focusing them at one specific point inland where he had seen something shining.
He is looking at the foot of a dune and there is a vehicle there, half hidden behind the dune. There are some people inside the cabin and he could have sworn that one of them is looking at the “Dolphin siren” with binoculars and that is the thing he saw shining a minute before. “What in hell are they looking for???”
It happened in seconds but it seemed to be an eternity. An eternity that remained imprinted in their minds for the rest of their lives.
Sedna had just seen the SEAL diver coming back into the rubber boat and he started to reel the anchorage in. Dunn sighed, relieved, it means that they are going to be back soon.
She was walking back over to the pilot station when she sees Sheryl jumping out of water at her side, almost grazing her body against the boat's wood. Three fast and consecutive jumps, and with each jump a sharp and urgent whistle breaks the air and it makes her heart skipped a beat.
This is nastiest and most hated signal that a trained NMMP dolphin could do. It means…. damn!!! It means: “explosive device” and the terrorizing thing was that after the jumps Sheryl was fleeing away at full speed.
She curses aloud and rushes over to the siren button at the wheel side. At the same time her sweated palm presses it. She sees the boyish agent running over to her and shouting.
She never heard McGee shouting and the warning siren's sound was fully covered by the strong rumble of thunder that made the entire world turn upside down.
The “Dolphin siren“ trembled and rocked hard to starboard tensing the anchorage beyond its resilience… all them looked shocked at the column of water blooming up to the surface at the place where the rubber boat had been before.
As the Dolphin siren rocks and oscillates over the concentric but decreasing waves, the water bloom spreads over them in a thick and quick rain.
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-Tbc- Dolphinsiren-Novasupernova-BETA(MV)
Author's Chapter Notes:
Gibbs is rigth, the answer is underwater. Could them find it and survive the attempt ????....
Chapter End Notes:
As always, let me remind you that this story is in co-writing with Nova !!!!...We have discussed about the very different directions where they ( KIBBS) could be going to... we had to pick up ONE.... and it was not the easier for them.....hope you enjoy... and please, give us your feedbacks!!!! ... Our brains need to be fed and reviews are better than glicose ... keep our brain cells working......
Sorry by the delay posting this chapter..... I promise the next one ASAP !!!! ...
More reviews we get, more soon it will be posted !!!!!
Sorry by the delay posting this chapter..... I promise the next one ASAP !!!! ...
More reviews we get, more soon it will be posted !!!!!