Table of Contents [Report This]
Printer Chapter or Story


- Text Size +
Author's Chapter Notes:

Trouble may be on the horizon!




Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.


Un-betaed

All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

 

 

Days in the Lives of Jethro Gibbs and Family

 

 

Chapter 21    Watch your six

 

 

Now working on the more administrative side of things I don’t get to hear the idle conversations that agents sometimes carry on little aware that their voices may carry and other people may hear bits of what they think is a private conversation.  That’s why I make a point to curtail any conversations regarding sensitive material to strictly private areas.  But this bit of sloppily leaked information has given me an advantage that I will use.  Returning from a management meeting with the CIA Director I decide to stop by the offices of a few of my former fellow agents.  Walking down the hall to meet my former co-workers I walk pass an office at which the door was left ajar.  As I walk pass I hear someone mention the name ‘Leon Vance’. It catches be by surprise but as there are other people in the hallway I do not want anyone to take notice of my hesitation and so I continue to my destination.  

 

After meeting with my former co-workers I make it back to my office. Even though I have a stack of paperwork on my desk I take the time to think about why CIA agents would talk about Leon Vance.  Not wanting to draw any attention to any inquiry I might make about why the CIA would have interest in the NCIS Director I decide to delay any investigation of my own until I reach home.  The rest of the day I spend working through the files on my desk and talking with staff overseas.  With overseas staff you have the time the calls just right because of the time difference.  You don’t want to call someone when they are not at work.  Satisfied with my progress I notice that it is time for me to leave. Closing down my computer and locking the files away I leave my office secure until tomorrow.

 

It’s my week to pick up Richard, Nicole and Justin from karate class so I drive by and get them and then head home.  I cooked last night so all that I have to do tonight is warm up the food.  We drop off Justin at his home and make it home a few minutes later.  The twins go upstairs to shower and change. After the karate class the staff at the facility help the children with their homework.  While Richard and Nicole are showering and changing I check their homework.  Everything looks good.  In the kitchen I pull out the food for reheating.  Tonight it is baked chicken, broccoli with cheese and mashed potatoes.  For dessert we will have apple pie, one of the twins’ favorite desserts.  The twins come down to tell me all about their day just as Jethro enters.  He disappears upstairs for a few minutes and then joins us in the dining room.  I try to have dinner ready by the time he gets home because knowing him he probably didn’t stop to eat lunch.  Some days we have lunch together then I know for certain that he eats on those days.  

 

We sit and eat and then Jethro plays with the children while I clean up the kitchen.  We alternate on this chore and it’s my night to wash and put away the dishes.  I decide not to say anything to Jethro about the Vance matter until I can get more information. On my secure line at home I can do a bit of sleuthing without anyone being the wiser but I will wait until the children are in bed.  Tonight the children want to read the new books that came in for them. Once a month they check out books from the library and they choose one to read to us.  We sit in the living room and they read their book. They read each night until they finish and then the other one reads their book.  This time Nicole reads her book to us.  She gets so involved in her reading that thirty minutes have elapsed when we stop because it is their bedtime.  The thing that I like about the reading time is we get to do it as a family and each child gets to have their time to take center stage. You can tell that they enjoy it also because they never argue about who gets to read; they patiently wait for their turn.

 

Once Richard and Nicole are in their beds for the night and Jethro goes down to his workshop and I retreat to my office for a little sleuthing. Circuitously I find the information being careful not to leave a trail that will lead back to me.  As a result of Leon’s kidnapping and rescue the CIA is watching him.  There is concern that Leon may be a plant for Nigel Hakim, the terrorist who kidnapped Leon.  They fear that Leon was brainwashed to do Hakim’s bidding and intend to keep him under surveillance.  This is not good.  Why don’t they simply put the guy through a psychological exam instead of following him and trying to trap him into doing something he may not know he’s doing or why he’s doing it?  If Hakim did brainwash him who knows what kind of triggers he installed in Leon’s psyche?  

 

Wait, wait a minute!  Jethro told me about their last case where the Secretary of Defense ordered NCIS to stand down on a case but Leon permitted the staff to pursue the case. Now I don’t know Wynn Crawford, the new Secretary of Defense, very well but I have heard about him and he is not one to take kindly to having his commands ignored or overruled by an underling. Sometimes I wonder how these people are selected for leadership positions and have such fragile egos.  Leon just may have made himself a new enemy.  Some people don’t need to take such positions if they are so threatened by others around them who can think for themselves and in certain circumstances know more about the situation than they do.  That’s what it sounds like happened in that case once Jethro told me the particulars.

 

That reminds me of the SECNAV who came after Clayton Jarvis was killed.  I don’t care that she is a female she has no military background so is unqualified for that position.  If they want someone with business acumen then get a retired admiral who has his own business and an MBA.  I met SECNAV Sarah Porter at a function not long after she was appointed.  While speaking with her I made a point to make my responses short.  She asked if I had a problem with her and I responded that I did not but I did say that she was not qualified for the position.  She then asked me if I thought that the President made a mistake in appointing her and I answered that the mistake was not his but hers.  She asked how did she make a mistake and I responded that she made the mistake by accepting the position.  I then walked away from her and had no further dealings with her. I knew that she could try to find dirt on me but I also knew there was no dirt to be found and anyway my clearance level is higher than hers.  Now she can make trouble for Jethro at NCIS but then that will just make her look petty so at least she hasn’t done that.

 

Now Wynn Crawford is another matter in itself.  He can cause major trouble for Leon and if he knows about the CIA involvement then he can be very dangerous.  Once I complete my research I call for Jethro to meet me in my office.  I had the office soundproofed and secured from electronic surveillance.  I tell Jethro everything that I discovered and suggest that he tell Leon to watch his six, which means to watch his back.  But to emphasize the seriousness of the situation I also suggest that Leon watch his three, his nine and his twelve. In others word he needs to take extra care in his actions and interactions with other because we don’t know whom the CIA has on its payroll and we don’t yet know if Leon was brainwashed and we have no way to know without Leon submitting to a psychological exam and even then we don’t know if doing that might trigger something totally unexpected.  Well this may turn into a wait and see game.  Who will blink first?

 

 






Chapter End Notes:

This story line is based on the ending of the season 16 episode 12, 'The Last Link'.  What do you think about it?  Leave a review.







Enter the security code shown below:
Note: You may submit either a rating or a review or both.

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.