"Missing In Action, Pt. 2"
NCIS HQ...
DIRECTOR VANCE'S OFFICE...
REAL EARLY THE NEXT MORNING...
Tony, Ziva, McGee, and Ducky sit/stand in Director Vance's office discussing the situation at hand.
At this point there is an argument going on in Vance's office.
"If Gibbs is down there, alive, then we should be down there looking for him!" Ziva argued, with Director Vance.
"Out of the question, David." Director Vance shot back.
"She does have a point, Director." Tony agreed, from the side.
"Agent DiNozzo." Vance said, as he shot Tony a sideways glance.
"And I'm not just sayin' that, just because she's my wife." Tony said, with a crooked grin.
"We owe him, at least, that." Ziva added, her voice rising a few octaves.
"I can't tell you how many times Gibbs pulled my sorry self out of the fire...as many times as I've messed up since I joined NCIS." McGee chimed in.
"I can, Probie, and its quite a few...but that's beside the point." Tony said, in that playful way that he did with McGee.
"All else aside, Director, they're all right." Tony added.
Vance dropped into his seat, behind his desk, and gave a sigh.
"Look, I want to help Gibbs just as much as anyone else here." Vance started.
"But." McGee said, knowing that there was a 'but' somewhere in what Vance was about to say.
"But, NCIS is still recovering from its last operation in Colombia." Vance continued. "I'm still taking heat from the Colombian National Government for the trouble you guys stirred up last time."
"But that's the point, Director, if the Colombian Government finds out that Jethro is still alive, and in their country, there is no telling what they might do if they catch him." Ducky chimed in, as he leaned forward in his seat.
Vance sat in his seat, in silence, obviously deep in thought. He glanced at each of the people sitting in his office at present as if trying to see what their eyes might tell him.
It was always the same thing; and then finally after a few moments had passed, he spoke.
"Fine." Vance said, folding his hands in front of him on his desk. "But only one of you, can go..." Vance added.
Everyone in the room glanced at one another quickly.
"...Everyone else will stay here, where I can see you." Vance finished his sentence, after having taken a deep breath.
Ziva stepped forward. "I should be the one to go." she said plainly. "After all I was trained, by Mossad, for missions such as this."
"True." Vance agreed.
Tony stepped away from his perch near the door and moved close to Vance's desk, arms folded across his chest.
"But if anyone of us is going...its me." Tony said.
Ziva turned on her heel and faced Tony.
"Why?" Ziva asked, flatly, questioning Tony's reasons.
"Why?" Tony repeated.
"Yes, considering what happened the last time you were there...why should you be the one to go?" Ziva pressed, her voice rising an octave. "When the logical choice here, clearly, is me."
Tony stepped closer to his wife, and dropped his arms to his sides.
"You want a reason why I should go instead of you?" Tony said, attempting to match his wife's tone.
"Yes, I do." Ziva replied.
"Okay, fair enough." Tony said, flashing that crooked grin again. "I guess I could pull rank on you, and that would be that. I could also argue that I've actually been to Colombia more than once, so I know the area better than you--someone who's never actually been." Tony said, narrowing his eyes into that 'Gibbs trademarked' stare that he had learned from his boss.
There was a feeling of apprehension in the air, and everyone in the room could feel it.
"But with the exception of Ducky, and perhaps Director Vance--I know Gibbs better than anyone else in this room." Tony finished, quietly.
After that there was a moment of silence that actually felt like it lasted more than just a mere moment.
Vance finally spoke, deciding to be the one who would get things started back up.
"Alright, its settled then." Vance said, after clearing his throat to get everyone's attention. "Special Agent DiNozzo, how would you like to proceed?" Vance asked, looking up at DiNozzo, with a serious expression on his face.
Tony turned away from Ziva so that he was fully facing Director Vance.
"I've already made arrangements for extraction once the mission is completed." Tony informed Vance.
"Really?" Vance said, sounding somewhat amused. "You weren't really gonna give me much of a choice on this one, were ya?"
"No sir, not really." Tony replied, again with that goofy grin of his.
"The U.S.S. Ronald Reagan is stationed just off the coast of Venezuela--they're engaged in training maneuvers, luckily for us." Tony continued. "And I just happen to have a friend on board that particular carrier who owes me a favor...or two." Tony added, with a grin.
Vance tried to stifle a chuckle.
"I don't suppose, then, that you have a plan for actually getting there...or have you made arrangements for that already too?" Vance mused.
"Actually I do, and she should be here in 3...2...1...Now." Tony said, as he pointed one finger at the office door.
At nearly that same moment there was a knock at the door.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Came the knock at the door. It wasn't a really loud knock at all either, but it was still audible.
Vance stared at the door for a beat, and then looked up at Tony.
"Come in." Vance instructed.
The door opened slowly, but surely, and Forensic Specialist and Wife to Jethro Gibbs entered the room closing the door behind her as she did.
"Abby?" Vance said, to Tony.
"Yep." Tony replied, with a grin.
"Abby is going to provide me with a fake passport, papers, and ID." Tony informed Vance, as well as everyone else in the room.
"Planning to lie about your age, Tony?" Ziva mused, in that playful way that she did.
Tony shot his wife a sideways look.
"No, but, I would like to have the element of surprise on my side just in case things go South." Tony said.
"Gut feeling?" Vance asked, with an amused look on his face.
"You could say that, yeah." Tony replied.
"Hmm, and I thought only Gibbs got those." Ducky said, jokingly, from behind them.
"So, what's your cover then?" Vance asked Tony.
"Tourist." Tony replied. "Just a happy go lucky, single, Real-Estate agent looking for a little...R & R." Tony added, with a grin.
McGee crossed from where he was sitting/standing over to where Abby stood near the door.
"Are you sure you're up for this?" McGee asked Abby. "I mean this has all happened kind of fast-" McGee started.
Abby cut him off.
"If it will bring Gibbs home, then I'll help in any way I can." Abby said, sharply, yet quietly.
There was another brief moment (or two) of silence before anyone spoke up again.
"Alright then...anything else?" Vance asked.
Tony turned back to face Vance once again.
"Yes, I'll need MTAC set up as a monitoring station...with McGee at the helm, of course." Tony added, sort of matter-of-factly.
Vance stood up, behind his desk, and straightened himself out/up quickly.
"Dismissed." Vance said, resuming a slightly more professional air and tone of voice.
Tony, Ducky, McGee, Ziva, and Abby all gave a nod, and then filed out of Vance's office.
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NCIS HQ...
Outside of Vance's Office...
Hallway/Corridor...
Tony, Ducky, McGee, Ziva, and Abby are walking together, down the hallway that leads away from the directors' office, and back to the squad room.
"Tony, is there anything that I can do to help?" Ducky asked, quietly.
Tony looked at Ducky.
"As matter of fact, I think there might be." Tony replied.
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MEANWHILE...
Somewhere In/Near The Mountain Ranges of Colombia...
Outside In The Forest Not Too Far From The Hut...
Gibbs is walking towards the hut with a bundle of firewood in his arms.
Off in the distance, not too too far from where Gibbs is at that particular moment, male voices are heard talking to one another, with at least one familiar voice in the group of voices standing out.
From a distance though its hard to make out exactly what they are saying.
Gibbs slows down, and stops for a brief moment before laying his bundle of firewood down onto the ground carefully and as quietly as he possibly can.
He slowly and quietly edges his way through some of the more dense foliage as to get a better vantage point for hearing observing the commotion ahead.
He finally reaches a small knoll at which he can observe the commotion going on just outside the hut.
The older man who Gibbs had been staying with, and who had been taking care of him, Raul, was arguing with a group of armed men.
After a few minutes of arguing one of the men pulled out a pistol and shot Raul point blank in the chest.
Gibbs flinched (which wasn't something that he usually did) as the older man fell to the ground, dead.
"Damn." Gibbs whispered to himself, angrily.
The group of three men then drug Raul's body back into the hut, and shut it up inside.
Gibbs pulled himself up off of the ground and started to slowly make his way backwards in the direction in which he had come.
Suddenly there was a loud SNAP!
Gibbs froze in his tracks realizing that he had just, accidentally, stepped on and snapped a twig or stick, or something of that sort.
He looked back over his shoulder to make sure that the three men hadn't heard him moving around before he decided to start moving again.
Unfortunately, over his shoulder, Gibbs could see the three men moving in his direction, weapons at the ready. He was out of options at this point, so he took off in the direction that he was heading before he stopped, running full speed.
The first of the three men reached the higher side of the knoll just in time to see Gibbs disappear inside a dense pocket of foliage.
This first man raised his gun into the air, pointing in the directions that Gibbs had been heading, and shouted something in another language to his comrades.
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NCIS HQ...
THE SQUAD ROOM...
About An Hour Or Two Later...
Tony walked out from around his/Gibbs' desk with his back pack slung over his shoulder.
He walked over to McGee ho was just grabbing a few more things that he would need from his desk before heading up to MTAC.
"McGee, I need you to do somethin' for me." Tony said, as he approached McGee.
"What?" McGee asked.
"I need you to...how do I put this...I need you to do a little spying on our friends at the DEA." Tony said, quietly.
"Wait...you want, me, to HACK the DEA?" McGee asked, quietly, a little surprised, but not much.
"May I ask why?" McGee added.
"Yeah see, its just, I have this 'Gut' feeling, ya know, so just...I-I don't know, humor me, okay." Tony replied, quietly.
McGee displays a weird, unexplainable look on his face.
"And I just figured Hell, you've already hacked the CIA, the FBI, and God knows who else...so the DEA should be a piece of cake, right?" Tony added, with a smirk.
"Sure, I-I'll see what I can do." McGee said.
Tony patted McGee on the back.
"Good boy." Tony said, as he patted McGee on the back.
McGee then hurried off towards MTAC.
After McGee had left the bullpen, Tony motioned for Ziva to follow him ('him' here being Tony) as he made his way downstairs to see Abby.
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MEANWHILE...
Somewhere In/Near The Mountain Ranges Of Colombia...
In The Forest...
Gibbs had only run a short distance through the forest when he decided to stop for just a brief moment.
He found a decent size tree trunk not too far from where he had stopped.
He walked over to it, breathing quite heavily, and pulled a small pocket knife out of his trouser pocket.
He opened up the pocket knife and began to quickly etch/carve something into the tree's trunk. After he had finished his etching/carving he shoved the knife blade down into the dirt near the base of the tree.
Behind him Gibbs could hear the voices and the footsteps of the three men closing in on him.
They were getting closer, and he had to keep moving or he would surely be caught.
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NCIS HQ...
Down In Autopsy...
Abby strolled in to autopsy through the double-automatic sliding doors.
Chloe and Paige walked by her side, while she carried Talia (Ziva and Tony's daughter) in her arms.
Ducky sat at his desk finishing up some last minute paperwork.
"Hi Ducky." she said softly.
Ducky looked up from his work.
"Oh, hello Abigail." Ducky greeted the forensic specialist and wife of his dear friend Jethro Gibbs.
Abby rolled her eyes. She couldn't help but smile (sort of) at Ducky.
"Ducky, I told you, I don't like that name." she said, a smile spreading across her face.
"Sorry my dear. Old habits and all...you know." he replied with a slight chuckle.
"I brought you some visitors, Ducky." Abby said, motioning to the three 'children' she'd brought down with her.
"Ah, yes." Ducky said, as he pushed away from his desk and stood up--switching off the desk lamp as he did.
"Chloe Gibbs, a fine young woman in the making..." Ducky said, nodding at Chloe.
Chloe, as mixed up as her emotions were at this point, could never resist her adopted grandfather's charm. He could always make her smile--well most of the time anyway.
Ducky then turned his attention to Paige, who stood next to her big sister.
"And Paige...Equestrian extraordinaire..." Ducky said with a chuckle. "...and might I had, with quite the voice as well."
Paige blushed at her adopted grandfather's praise, and Abby couldn't help but laugh.
True, most people who knew, said that Paige--10 year old Paige--who'd only been riding horses for a little more than a year (F.Y.I. Gibbs and Abby had been able to get her involved in a horse riding club/stable--which Paige loved a whole lot after she'd turned about nine years old)--but regardless (back to the point of this whole thing lol) she'd shown tremendous promise in just the short time that she'd been riding. Also she enjoyed singing too, so they'd gotten her vocal lessons too (luckily one of the other agents that worked for NCIS had a sister that lived in D.C. that taught voice lessons).
"And let's not forget this little munchkin." Abby said, with a smile, as she playfully rubbed noses with little Talia in her arms.
Ducky laughed, as he moved closer to Abby so as to take little Talia from her.
"Oh, I haven't forgotten you Tali." Ducky said, with a smile, as he took the smiling little girl from Abby.
'Tali' was what Ducky called Tony and Ziva's daughter.
"Rest assured, I will take excellent care of this lovely bunch, indeed." Ducky said, with a smile.
"I know you will, Ducky." Abby said.
Ducky shifted Talia in his arms to a more comfortable position for both of them.
"Its not that I don't trust Chloe to watch Paige and Talia...its just that with every that's going on right now; I don't want to overwhelm her." Abby explained.
Ducky grinned. "I understand completely." Ducky replied.
After a moment or two...
"Here, may I take her?" Chloe asked, having stepped forward, arms extended towards Talia.
"Why certainly." Ducky replied, handing the little girl over to Chloe.
Chloe took Talia, and with Paige in tow, the three walked away from Abby and Ducky (while not leaving 'Autopsy')--Chloe talking sweetly to Talia--to the other side of the room.
"Have fun you guys...but don't get into any trouble, alright." Abby said, after the three girls.
Ducky chuckled. "Oh, Abby, I'm sure they will be just fine."
Abby smiled, and then turned to leave Autopsy.
"Abigail." Ducky called after her, quietly.
Ducky walked towards Abby.
Abby's expression had changed. She had put on the brave face for the most part, but now was not trying so hard to hide how she really felt.
Even so, though, Ducky had been able to see through her charade the whole time.
"Everything we'll be alright." Ducky reassured her, quietly.
"Tony will, undoubtedly, bring Jethro back safely." Ducky continued, quietly.
"I know, Ducky." Abby replied, quietly and softly.
Abby sighed.
"I just have to keep thinking happy thought...right?" She said.
"That's the spirit." Ducky replied, quietly, with a grin.
And with that Abby turned and walked back through the automatic-sliding double doors.
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About 3 Or 4 Hours Later…
Somewhere In A Small Town/Village In Colombia…
The Airport Terminal…
The sun was high in the sky outside the airport terminal, and Tony was inside the terminal which, by the way, was not nearly as big as the one that he had left from.
He rubbed his eyes, and tried to shake off the jet lag as he waited in line at the customs/security post.
He figured he had probably been in the line for about almost an hour when it was finally his turn.
He moved forward.
“Lay your bags on table.” The uniformed customs/security guy said, in what Tony considered to be very poor English.
Nevertheless, Tony did as instructed and set both of the small bags, which he’d brought with him, down onto the table.
The man then waved a metal detector over both bags several times, and then opened them up and barely even looked past the top of the bags’ contents.
Then he re-sealed Tony’s luggage, and pushed it back towards him.
“Step forward, please.” The man instructed once more.
Again Tony did as he was told, and stepped forward slightly so that the man could run the metal detector(s) over his person.
He instructed, forcefully, Tony to assume the spread eagle position, with both his arms and legs spread apart slightly.
After he was done he checked Tony’s passport and papers.
“Why you come to our country?” the man asked, not looking up at Tony.
“Well, ya know, my boss is a real jerk…works me straight into the ground most days.” Tony lied.
The man looked up at Tony finally.
“So this is my vacation…my only vacation for this year.” Tony continued his lie. “So I figured, what the hell right…why not spend it as far away from HIM as possible.” Tony continued, with a forced laugh.
The man gave Tony a good looking over once more and then handed his passport and papers back to him, and waved him on through.
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Outside The Airport Terminal…
Tony stepped out into the sunlight, took a deep breath, and then slid a pair of designer sun glasses, which he’d brought with him, over his eyes to shield them from the bright sun light.
People bustled back and forth passed him. They were all either coming or going, this way and that.
“Ah, Colombia, nice to be back.” Tony said to himself, sarcastically.
Tony looked around first, and then began to move forward through the crowds of people.
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An Hour Or So Prior To Tony’s Plane Landing In Colombia…
In The Forest…
Gibbs had been running from the three men for a little bit now, and he knew he needed to find a place to hide and lie low for a while…soon.
It had been almost a year since the last time Gibbs had had a decent shower, fresh clothes, and a good shave; so he knew he looked a little bit on the scruffy and unkempt side, but that couldn’t be helped…not right now anyway.
He stood in place, breathing heavily, trying to think of a place where he might be able to hide from these guys for a while. After a few minutes it came to him. He remembered that he had seen a small cave not too far from where he was, he could certainly hide in there for sure.
So he headed off in that direction. He just had to find that cave.
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Colombian Motel…
Tony’s Room…
Tony sits on the edge of the small, uncomfortable bed that was in the room that he had rented for his stay in Colombia�"just fixing to lay back to try and catch a quick nap before he got down to business.
Suddenly his satellite phone, which he had cleverly managed to sneak into the country undetected, began to beep.
“Great.” He mumbled as he reached down into one of the bags that lay next to the bed and withdrew the phone.
He pressed the answer key and held up in front of his face.
Tony cleared his throat.
“Hello.” Tony said, audibly.
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NCIS HQ…
MTAC…
NCIS Director Leon Vance stood in front of the large plasma viewing screen that sat nestled within the walls of MTAC.
McGee was seated in the forward chair in front/center of the computer area working feverishly with one of the computers.
“DiNozzo.” Vance said, into his headset.
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Colombian Motel…
Tony’s Room…
“Hi Boss, I thought I told you I was going away on vacation.” Tony said into his satellite phone, real phony-like.
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NCIS HQ…
MTAC…
“Very funny, DiNozzo.” Vance said, as he shifted his position. “Sit-Rep.”
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Colombian Motel…
Tony’s Room…
“Yeah, just checked into a motel.” Tony said, into the satellite phone.
“I Was thinkin’ about takin’ a nap…ya know refresh myself before I go out this evening.” Tony said, continuing his charade.
Vance’s voice is heard over the satellite phone.
“Did you get through airport security and customs alright?” Vance asked.
“Yeah, yeah it was fairly easy.” Tony replied.
“Good.” Came Vance’s voice over the satellite phone.
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NCIS HQ…
MTAC…
McGee continued to work feverishly with his computer terminal, until finally.
“Got it.” McGee said, as the big plasma viewing screen came to life.
A picture of the world (a globe) appeared on the screen. The image spun around until the image of the South American continent was highlighted and then through a series of magnifications, shifts in coordinates, and the like�"they finally had a clear (well somewhat anyway) image of where Tony was staying.
“The GPS Locator we gave Tony seems to be working okay.” McGee informed Vance.
Vance reached into his pocket and pulled out a fresh toothpick which he proceeded to unwrap and stick into his mouth.
“We have eyes on you DiNozzo.” Vance said, through his headset.
Tony’s voice is heard through the headset.
“Really.” Tony said.
“So, What’s the plan?” Vance asked, through his headset.
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Colombian Motel…
Tony’s Room…
“Well, I was thinking about takin’ it easy here…ya know just until this evening.” Tony said into the satellite phone.
”Then maybe later, I’ll hit the town, mingle a little bit, and see what turns up.” Tony informed Vance, through the satellite phone.
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NCIS HQ…
MTAC…
“Okay, I want to know as soon as you make contact, understood?” Vance said, into his headset.
Tony’s voice is heard through the headset.
“Yes sir, I’ll be back to work in about a week.” Tony said.
Vance chuckled.
“And don’t cause any trouble while you’re down there, alright DiNozzo?” Vance said.
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Colombian Motel…
Tony’s Room…
Tony chuckled.
“I won’t cause anymore than I have too.” Tony said, with a lop-sided grin that he knew Vance couldn’t see but would know was there.
…………To Be Continued in “Missing In Action, Pt. 3”…………
Author's Chapter Notes:
With Director Vance's permission, Tony flies to Colombia, determined to find Gibbs and bring him back alive.