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When Worlds Collide 2: The Assignment Summary: Who was that man at the airport and why is he there? NCIS Headquarters Leroy Jethro Gibbs was not having a good day. Last night he had gotten together with some of the Marines from his old unit, and they had stayed out pretty late, drinking and telling stories. Then, just as his tired and aching head hit the pillow, ex-wife #2 called, wanting to hash over details of their break-up that he felt were better left buried. And now, he had Ziva and DiNozzo in front of him, bickering like two children fighting over a toy. "Well, I am the senior agent-" Ziva cut him off. "But I am far more experienced at covert surveillance." "Ha! Do you know how many stakeouts I was involved in back when I was on the force?" " 'On the force'? Is that some kind of Star Wars drug?" Ziva's limited command of American slang tripped her up yet again. Tony rolled his eyes. "On the force. As in working for the police department. See, I would blend in much better than you - I don't get my words mixed up." "Enough!" Gibbs held up a hand and both of them subsided, still grumbling. "DiNozzo, you've got the assignment." Ziva started to protest, and he quelled her with a look. "Nothing against you, Ziva, but he's right. If our target sees you, and he would, he's going to know someone's on to him. Besides, DiNozzo's got the dopey tourist look down pat." Tony grinned. "Thanks, boss. Uh, I think." Ziva laughed at him. "On second thought, maybe you are better suited to the job, Tony." "Now that it's settled, what do we know?" Gibbs looked at his team. McGee clicked a button on the remote and a handsome face appeared on the monitor. "Abraham Hassan is a Lt. Commander in the Navy Reserve. He's also a pilot with Oceanic Airways. "Two times in the last three months, he's been spotted having conversations with Mahmoud Rafik, a known al-Qaeda operative in London." Ziva took over the briefing. "In the second of these meetings, Hassan was seen handing Rafik an envelope that appeared to contain cash. A search of his bank records turned up no unusual deposits or withdrawals in the last year." "So someone else is supplying him with the cash, and he's using his position as an airline pilot to courier the money over," Gibbs concluded. Ziva nodded. "And we haven't seen him meeting with any terrorists here in the US." DiNozzo corrected her, "Any known terrorists, that is." "So we're inserting Tony on a flight to London that Hassan will be on," Gibbs summarized the assignment. "Once there, you are to keep Hassan under watch until he meets with Rafik. And then you can take Hassan down. With any luck, he will give up the names of his benefactors and maybe even Rafik himself." McGee gave him an earbud and a flag pin. "These will be linked to Abby in the lab, so we can keep you abreast of anything new we find out, and you can tell us what's going on." Tony slipped the earbud in and pinned the flag to his jacket. "Hey there, sexy, what's shaking?" he murmured. "We're just fine, Agent DiNozzo," the Director's voice came clearly through his earpiece and he winced. "Aahhhh! I'm sorry, ma'am, uh, I just, uh ..." "Never mind, Agent DiNozzo. Just come back safe and sound and with Hassan. I'll leave you in Abby's capable hands now." Tony relaxed a moment too soon. Just then, Gibbs' hand made contact with the back of his head. "Rule No. 49. Always make sure who's on the line before you start talking." Dulles Airport Tony breezed through security and headed to the people mover that would take him to his terminal. Thanks to a little flirting with the ticket agent, he had gotten a free upgrade to First Class. Now I'll have room to stretch out, he thought to himself. The bus was pretty empty, so he took a seat near the door. Instinctively, he looked around the people mover to see who was there with him. A mother with three children. A few men in business suits. His glance stopped at a very attractive woman. Dark hair. Long legs. Big- before his gaze went any further, he saw the tall man with her, staring at him. He had short hair - looked military despite the civilian clothes. Quickly, he looked away. Oh well. Can't win them all, he comforted himself. |