Chapter 26 – Information is Power… or Trouble
NCIS Headquarters – Gibbs' Office
After Jason's surprise visit, Gibbs' team could no longer concentrate on their work.
Tony DiNozzo twirled his pen between his fingers, his gaze fixed on the computer screen, but he wasn't reading anything in front of him.
Kate Todd kept her arms crossed, tapping her foot impatiently.
McGee, on the other hand, was engrossed in the keyboard, typing rapidly.
"I still can't believe it…" Tony finally broke the silence, turning his chair to face Kate. "Gibbs has a son and never mentioned it."
Kate sighed.
"And that's not all. This son of his is apparently a ghost. No record, no trace. It bothers me."
McGee continued typing, his eyes glued to the screen.
"Well… maybe we can find something out on our own."
Tony frowned.
— What are you doing, McGeek?
— Hacking.
Kate's eyes widened.
— McGee!
— Hey, I'm not hacking into anything illegal… yet. — he murmured.
Tony leaned over his shoulder.
— Right… what have you found so far?
McGee continued typing, lines of code flowing rapidly across the screen.
— Well… for a soldier, Jason has an extremely clean record. No mention of him in conventional military records. But that doesn't mean he doesn't exist.
Tony crossed his arms.
— What if he's in some more… confidential database?
McGee looked at him and smiled.
— I'm going after it.
McGee's screen suddenly changed, showing a set of restricted files.
— Here we are… — he murmured.
Kate approached.
— Is this from JSOC?
McGee nodded.
"That's right. The Joint Special Operations Command. And… oh, look at this."
He clicked on an encrypted file.
Tony leaned closer.
"What does it say?"
McGee typed in some access sequences… until a large red warning appeared on the screen:
"CLASSIFIED – UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS"
The computer emitted a shrill alarm, and the monitor flashed red.
Tony quickly stepped back.
"McGee… what have you done?!"
McGee swallowed hard.
"I think I just triggered a government security alert."
Kate looked at the two of them, alarmed.
"Are you idiots?! This could get us into serious trouble!"
McGee's phone rang immediately.
He answered hesitantly.
"Agent McGee…"
A serious and direct voice answered from the other end.
— This is Director Tom Morrow.
McGee swallowed hard again.
— S-Sir…
— Stay exactly where you are.
The line dropped.
Less than two minutes later, the elevator opened again.
Tom Morrow, director of NCIS, descended with firm steps, his expression anything but friendly.
He walked to Gibbs' desk… and looked directly at Tony, Kate, and McGee.
— Who here tried to access classified JSOC files?
McGee slowly raised his hand, looking like a child caught doing something wrong.
Morrow narrowed his eyes at him.
— Do you have any idea what a mess you just caused?
Tony tried to lighten the mood.
— Director, with all due respect… can we say it was out of journalistic curiosity?
The look Morrow gave him made Tony shut up immediately.
Kate sighed and took responsibility along with McGee.
"Director, we were just trying to figure out who Jason was. Gibbs never mentioned him before, and suddenly we discovered he might be someone extremely important."
Morrow closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath.
"I just got a call from JSOC. They know someone here tried to access information about Delta Force."
The three agents exchanged nervous glances.
McGee cleared his throat.
"And… did they say anything?"
Morrow crossed his arms.
"They just asked if we had a new agent dumb enough to try hacking Tier One operator files."
McGee sank into his chair.
"Oh…"
Tony scratched his head.
"So… Gibbs is going to find out about this?"
In response, the elevator opened again.
And Gibbs stepped out, holding his coffee.
He looked at the group, then at Morrow, and finally at McGee's monitor, which still showed the red alert. Silence.
Then, Gibbs smacked McGee on the head.
"Ouch!"
Gibbs took a sip of his coffee and looked at Morrow.
"What did they try to access?"
Morrow sighed.
"Your son's file."
Gibbs frowned.
He turned slowly to his team.
"You tried to hack into classified military records?"
Tony raised his hands.
"Technically, only McGee did it."
Gibbs smacked him on the head too.
"Ouch!"
McGee shrank back in his chair.
"Sorry, boss…"
Gibbs took a deep breath.
"And what did you find out?"
Kate hesitated.
"Well… we only managed to access the system before the alert appeared. But… it seems Jason is involved with Delta Force."
Tony leaned forward.
"That means he's one of those guys who 'don't exist,' right?"
Morrow interrupted.
"Stop speculating. The truth is you guys played with fire. JSOC isn't something you investigate casually. If you'd gone any further, there would be federal agents here right now taking you in for questioning."
McGee paled.
Kate took a deep breath and looked at Gibbs.
"Why didn't you ever tell us about him?"
Gibbs took another sip of coffee before answering.
"Because he doesn't need me talking about him."
Tony crossed his arms.
"But now we know. So… will he show up again?"
Gibbs gave a small smile.
"That depends on him."
Morrow pointed at McGee.
"And you, Agent McGee… stop hacking classified military files."
McGee just nodded quickly.
Morrow sighed, looked at Gibbs and then at his team.
"If this happens again… I'll personally hand you over to JSOC."
He then turned and left, leaving an awkward silence behind.
Gibbs looked at McGee, then at Tony and Kate.
"If you try that again… the punishment will be worse than an interrogation by JSOC."
The three swallowed hard.
Gibbs took another sip of his coffee and returned to his desk.
"Now, get back to work."
The team obeyed immediately, without further questions.
After all… they had learned the hard way that some things were better left a mystery.
Chapter 27 – The Hell of Fallujah
Fallujah, Iraq – November 2004
The sky over Fallujah was covered by a thick layer of black smoke, the result of aerial bombardments that paved the way for the advancing ground forces. The metallic smell of gunpowder and burning permeated the air, mixed with the stench of sewage and decaying flesh.
Jason Gibbs knelt behind a destroyed wall, clutching his M4A1 Block II, as he surveyed the narrow street ahead. Delta Force A Squadron was in the middle of this inferno.
The Second Battle of Fallujah had begun.
And they were on the front lines.
The Objective: Retake Fallujah
Hours before the battle, Jason and his team were gathered in a makeshift shed, receiving the final briefing.
Major Scott "Hawk" Brennan, the squad leader, placed a detailed map of the city on an improvised table.
"Our mission is to support the advance of the 1st Division Marines."
He pointed to an area marked in red.
"Industrial Sector. This is one of the most critical points. The insurgents have turned the area into a fortress. Traps, hidden snipers, and underground tunnels."
Jason crossed his arms.
"And our insertion?"
CIA officer Daniel Reese, who was with the team, interjected:
"You will infiltrate from the north of the city. We need reconnaissance and elimination of HVTs before the Marines get in for good."
Fox, cleaning the scope of his HK416, grumbled.
"That means we'll be the first targets."
Jason smirked.
"As always."
In the early morning of November 8th, Delta Force, DEVGRU, and Marines advanced on Fallujah.
Jason and his team entered from the outskirts, moving through narrow alleys and destroyed buildings.
Total silence.
But Jason knew it wouldn't last long.
Fox, with his HK416 slung over his shoulder, whispered:
"Strange. We should have encountered resistance already."
Hawk nodded.
"That means they're waiting to ambush us."
Turner, the team's sniper, observed everything from the top of a building.
"There's movement in the building to the right. Three armed insurgents."
Jason picked up the radio.
"HQ, we have confirmed contacts. Can we engage?"
The answer came quickly.
"Green light."
Jason held his breath.
— Fox, Turner, take the first two. I'll take the third.
BANG! BANG!
The first two insurgents fell instantly.
The third tried to run, but Jason aimed quickly and fired.
BANG!
The body fell lifeless.
— Contacts eliminated.
Hawk nodded.
— We advance.
Chaos Explodes – Ambush in the Industrial Sector
As they advanced through the streets covered in debris and burning cars, gunfire began to echo from all sides.
— CONTACT! — Fox shouted, diving behind a low wall.
Jason and the others threw themselves for cover as tracer bullets cut through the air.
— Sniper on the third floor! — Turner warned.
Jason raised his M110 SASS, found the sniper in the scope, and pulled the trigger.
BANG!
The insurgent tumbled out of the window.
But the fight was far from over.
"RPG!" someone shouted.
Jason saw an insurgent preparing to fire an RPG-7 at a group of Marines.
He didn't hesitate.
BANG!
The bullet hit the man right in the eye, knocking him down before he could fire.
Fox laughed.
"Damn it, Gibbs! That was brutal."
Jason didn't respond. He was already focused on the next target.
After an hour of intense combat, Jason and his team advanced to a set of abandoned buildings.
The entrance to an underground tunnel was discovered.
Hawk looked at Jason.
"Guess who goes first?"
Jason smiled.
"Of course it's me."
They descended into the tunnels, weapons raised, flashlights illuminating the dark and damp path.
The smell of gunpowder and rotting flesh was strong.
Then… movement forward.
Fox whispered.
"We have targets."
Jason raised a fist. Stop.
Then, he threw a fragmentation grenade down the corridor.
BOOM!
Screams and the sound of tearing flesh filled the narrow space.
When the dust settled, Jason advanced quickly, finishing off the wounded with precise shots.
The area was clear.
When the sun finally rose, the Marines took up their final positions and the fighting subsided.
Jason sat on the edge of a Humvee, breathing deeply.
Fox tossed him a bottle of water.
"How do you feel?"
Jason wiped the sweat and blood from his face and took a swig.
"Like I've been through hell and back."
Hawk approached, surveying the destroyed city.
— We won today. But this war is far from over.
Jason looked at the horizon.
— So we continue fighting.
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