"Missing In Action, Pt. 5"
NCIS HQ...
Inside MTAC...
At first the entire room was silent, but then just as suddenly as it had gone quiet--it came right back to life.
"If the DEA killed one of their own Agents..." Vance started to say, as he got up out of his chair and moved closer to the plasma, viewing screen.
On the viewing screen they could see Tony rubbing his forehead in deep concentration.
"...It means that not only is the DEA here probably working with or for Cota--it also means that they have a reason for not wanting us to find Gibbs." Tony said with a sigh, as he finished the Directors' sentence.
"This does not look good." Ziva commented.
"You're right...it doesn't." McGee agreed, with a sigh.
Vance turned, slightly, and shot McGee and Ziva a hard look.
Assuming that the two federal agents got the message--he then turned back to face Tony.
"Agent DiNozzo, do you have weapon--or a means of acquiring a weapon?" Vance asked.
"As a matter of fact I do." Tony said, as he raised the hand gun that he'd bought up in front of the screen so that they could see it.
"I also purchased a couple of extra ammo mags...just in case." he added.
"Good work." Vance complimented Tony.
"Its not exactly a Sig, but, it'll do." Tony said, as he replaced the side arm back into the hip-holster it came with.
"McGee, I'm gonna need you to keep tabs on the DEA's activity for the next, oh I don't know...until we get home would be nice." Tony instructed McGee, in that comical way of his.
"On it." McGee said, as he stood up from his chair and straightened his sports coat, quickly.
"And Ziva, I'm gonna-" Tony started to say.
The sound of people arguing in the background, behind Tony, suddenly caught everyone's attention.
Tony turned and looked towards the back end/side of the medium-sized church--towards where the entrance would be.
Everyone was silent as they listened, though they could not understand what exactly was being said.
Then suddenly there was the sound of a gun going off.
Tony jumped up away from his seat, drawing his gun from its holster with lightning speed.
"DiNozzo?" Vance said, trying to get Tony to relay back what he was seeing that THEY could not.
Tony didn't answer just focused on what was happening.
Then he spoke.
"One of the voices sounds familiar...but,-" Tony started to say, slowly and quietly.
But then there was a second gun shot, and then the church doors flew open to reveal several armed men.
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Colombian Church...
Inside The Church...
Tony ducked to one side just as the men opened fire with their automatic and semi-automatic weapons. He took cover, low, behind one of the nearby pews.
His quick, reflexive action caused him to accidentally bump the table that the laptop was sitting on which sent it toppling to the ground--fortunately it didn't do any visible damage to the computer.
"DiNozzo!" Tony heard Vance shout his name, through the laptop.
Tony tried to look up over the pew, but the men were firing wildly and it was just too dangerous he decided.
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NCIS HQ...
Inside MTAC...
Inside MTAC everyone was now standing, apprehensively, unable to see what was going on over on Tony's end.
"DiNozzo!" Vance shouted (sort of) again.
The others moved closer to the big, plasma viewing screen.
"Tony!" Ziva shouted, after Vance had done so.
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Colombian Church...
Inside The Church...
Tony lifted himself up just enough to fire off a few rounds of his own, before ducking back down.
Just then, to Tony's displeasure he watched a stray bullet put his laptop out of commission, permanently.
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NCIS HQ...
Inside MTAC...
"DiNozzo, Sit-Rep!" Vance shouted (sort of) again.
"Ton-" Ziva started to say, just as the big, plasma, viewing screen went dark with electronic snow (static).
"What happened?" Ducky asked.
McGee rushed, quickly, over to one of the nearby computer terminals and began to work feverishly.
"Get him back...McGee!" Abby commanded, in a fast, snappy, and upset tone.
"I'm trying...alright!" McGee snapped back.
After a few seconds had passed...
"McGee!?" Vance pressed.
McGee finally turned in his seat at the terminal, and looked up at everyone.
"we-we lost him." McGee said, somberly.
"Tony's connection has been severed...maybe permanently." he added.
Vance turned to another one of the 'tech guys' sitting not too far from where he was standing. "Get me the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan...Pronto." Vance snapped.
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Colombian Church...
Inside The Church...
The shoot out continued for a few more minutes before Tony decided that it was time to make a quick exit before it was too late.
He fired off a few more shots effectively emptying the weapons' magazine; and then he slowly began crawling along using the pews as protective cover.
For a split second there was a lull as the armed men reloaded their weapons, and at the same time began making their way towards Tony.
Tony seized the opportunity, eying a nearby stained glass window. He jumped up and ran full speed towards the window.
"God forgive me." Tony muttered, as he jumped up.
Just as the gun fire started back up, Tony leaped through the stained glass window, using his arms as a protective shield.
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Colombian Church...
Outside The Church/City Streets...
Tony landed with a slight roll as he hit the ground outside the church.
He quickly regained his bearings, and scrambled to his feet.
He checked his gun, and then he heard shouting coming from around the other side of the church.
The armed men were still coming after him.
Tony turned on his heel and made a quick dash into the busy city streets.
As he dodged passed a man pushing a medium-sized two wheeled cart Tony glanced back over his shoulder, and could see the 4 armed men not too far behind, and steadily gaining.
The sun was high in the sky by now, and Tony could already feel the heat and humidity building.
Tony dodged and pushed his way through one crowd after another, before he finally came to an alley which he quickly ducked into.
............
Not too far behind the 4 armed men were gaining ground on Tony, and would soon close the gap.
One of the men signaled to his comrades as he watched Tony duck into the alley.
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Colombian City Streets...
Alley...
The 4 armed men slowly entered the shaded alley, being careful too mind their surroundings knowing that an ambush here would be easy to pull off.
Just a few feet above them Tony had managed to pull himself up onto an overhang that jutted out from the side of one of the buildings.
Something moved, and the armed men jumped in a spin trying to see their quarry.
Above the 4 armed men Tony decided he would make his move on the 1 armed man that was slightly smaller than the other three.
Tony leapt down at the man bringing him down to the ground hard, and at the same time managed to knock one of the other guys off of his feet.
Tony quickly landed a knock out blow with the heavy end of his handgun to the smaller man.
The other two men that were still standing had been startled backwards and were trying to regain their composure.
As Tony tried to stand, the other guy that had fallen to the ground reached out a hand and wrapped it around Tony's arm flipping backwards onto the ground.
The man, in almost no time flat, was on top of Tony trying to strangle him while the other two watched from behind.
Tony struggled to free himself, but found that he was quickly losing air.
In his frenzy though, as he still clutched his hand gun, he did manage to fire off a couple of accidental shots one instantly killing one of the armed men who was watching from behind--the shot, fortunately hit him in the heart--the second man was severely wounded.
The man on top of Tony grunted as he exerted even more force on Tony's wind pipe, either trying completely crush it or trying knock him unconscious.
"I am not going out like this!" Tony growled.
He began beating his fists (while still clutching his hand gun) against the man's arms, hands, and wrists with as much force as he could muster.
Finally just before Tony thought he would pass out the man reared back off of Tony clutching at his hands, wrists, and arms in pain.
Tony pulled himself up off of the ground, as he shook his head trying to ward off the feeling of dizziness and light-headedness that he was experiencing.
Suddenly the man pounced at Tony, but Tony saw him coming in just the nick of time and was able to raise his gun in time to fire off a single shot which dropped the man to the ground on the spot where he stood.
And as much as he would have liked to just stand/sit there and catch his breath, he knew that he could not.
He needed to keep moving.
There were obviously some dangerous people after him, and that meant that time was rapidly running out.
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3 Hours Later...
Privately Owned Air Strip In Colombia...
After walking around for almost three hours Tony had finally gathered the information that he needed.
So when he walked in through the front door of the small management building of the air strip--if he looked tried it was because he WAS tired.
"Not from around here, are you my friend?" The man that sat behind the counter asked, with a grin.
Tony leaned against the counter.
"That easy hunh?" Tony replied.
"We don't get many tourists in these parts, but we get enough." The man said, as he lit a cigarette.
Tony sighed.
"I've asked a lot of people...I mean A LOT of people." Tony explained. "And they all tell me that your the man to see." he continued, straightening himself up and pulling it all back together as best as he could.
"Aha, so then what is it that I can do for you on this fine day?" The man asked, as he puffed on his cigarette.
Tony leaned in a little bit closer.
"I need a helicopter." Tony said, quietly.
"A Helicopter, eh?" The man said, with a grin.
"I just happen to have one." the man said, as he leaned towards Tony.
He took a hit on his cigarette again.
"Good." Tony said, trying not to inhale the cigarette smoke.
"But...it is not cheap, my friend." the man said.
"Oh, trust me, I've got money." Tony said, with a sly grin, as he straightened himself up again, and turned away from the counter.
"Really." the man replied.
Tony walked towards a picture hanging on the opposite wall, and pretended that he was studying it.
"In fact, if you can get me where I need to be...I'll even pay you double." Tony said, hoping that the man would by his bluff.
"Double, eh?" the man said, puffing on his cigarette.
"Yeah, double." Tony repeated, still not looking at the man.
"So, where is it exactly that you're wanting to go?" The man asked.
"That's kind of what I was hoping you could tell me." Tony said, slyly, as he turned back to the man.
"A, friend, gave me this...well crudely drawn map, and told me I'd be able to meet him there." Tony lied, as he pulled a slip of paper from his back pocket.
The slip of paper he now held was a slip of paper that he'd found inside Agent Hatcher's shoe--well it was the only shoe he'd been wearing when Tony had found him.
Tony showed the slip of paper to the man.
The man took the slip of paper and examined it for a few seconds before saying anything.
"Crudely drawn, yes." the man said, with a slight grin.
"However, I do know this particular stretch of the mountains here." he said, as he pointed it out to Tony on the slip of paper.
"But, my friend, this is not a place you really want to go." The man said, puffing a bit more on his cigarette, which he then proceeded to squash in a nearby ash tray.
"Really...how come?" Tony asked, innocently.
"Because this is where he said I could find him." Tony said.
"No, no, my friend." the man chuckled slightly. "If he is there...then he is probably dead by now."
"Well, I mean can't hurt to check, can it?" Tony said, with a slight grin.
The man just studied Tony for a moment or two before he spoke again.
"Well I guess if you and your friend want to die." he started. "Then, by all means, go right ahead...a provided of course, that I get my money first."
"I'll tell you what..." Tony began, as he took the slip of paper back from the man. "...I'll pay you when we get there." Tony said, with a grin, looking over his sunglasses at the man.
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Meanwhile...
NCIS HQ...
Inside MTAC...
Director Vance stood inside MTAC, before the big plasma viewing screen engaged in a tele-conference with the captain/skipper of the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan.
The rest of the team had already vacated MTAC, and had returned to their work stations.
As Director Vance stood in front of the screen a man relieved the man that was currently talking to Vance.
The two men on the screen saluted each other before parting company.
"Thank you for agreeing to speak with me, Captain." Vance said.
"Yeah." The man replied.
"I've been told that a Special Agent DiNozzo of NCIS contacted you recently." Vance explained. "Is that true?" he asked.
"Yes sir, Agent DiNozzo and I did speak." the man replied.
"And he asked for your services in a rescue mission that he was participating in?" Vance asked.
"Yes, he did." the man replied.
"And you agreed?" Vance continued.
The man rubbed his eyes, and sighed.
"Unfortunately, sir, I did." the man replied.
"Agent DiNozzo called in a favor...one that I was inclined to repay." the Captain explained.
"Why do you ask?" the Captain asked.
"Captain, it has come to our attention that the situation is rapidly deteriorating, and we need you to have your men on standby." Vance explained.
"When the call comes through...you'll need to be ready." Vance added.
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............To Be Continued In "Missing In Action, Pt. 6"............
Author's Chapter Notes:
After learning that his suspicions were far more than just right...Tony finds himself fighting, not just for Gibbs' life, but also his own...
Chapter End Notes:
F.Y.I. For those of you who've already read the first four chapters, just to let you guys know--I have made some revisions on the previous four chapters so you may want to quickly review back over them just to make sure you don't get lost in this chapter or any future chapters...Enjoy and God Bless!!!