Bound by Blood, Forged in Fire

Joint Forces

It had been some time since Jace had been to the Navy Yard, he hadn't visited since the loss of the Cape Fear and the SEALs that had been killed in Pin Pin Pula's attack. Though his father had come out of his short-lived retirement Julian never felt compelled to visit his father's colleagues in their workplace. Whenever he and Kathleen met with Ziva it would either be at their respective homes or in public. He occasionally exchanged emails with Tony & McGee, Skyped with Abby, and met Ducky & Palmer over drinks. However, this wasn't a personal visit, this was for work: Julian's platoon was selected for a Joint DOD/DOJ initiative to combat terrorism and transnational organized crime syndicates that were involved in the proliferation of WMDs and narcotics along with other activities that support terrorism. The DOD provided the primary assault forces, such as Navy SEALs, MARSOC Marines, and Special Forces Soldiers while the Justice Department provided shared intelligence from the FBI and DEA, the State Department's Diplomatic Security Services were in the mix due to the unique nature of the task-force's of working with foreign governments, and the CIA would provide actionable intel, all while providing secondary tactical elements. NCIS was involved as both a law enforcement entity and source of intelligence, Jace was to be the go-between with the military personnel and NCIS, due to his unique relationship with members of the organization. He was in his Khakis, his Chief insignia neatly displayed on his collar, he used his Navy-issued jacket to hide his trident; he wanted to avoid attracting the attention that came with it.

As he entered the elevator he thought of the nature of the operations, jurisdiction was going to be a problem, Jace and his platoon had gotten used to working with Marines and Green Berets, but working with federal agents would be new. Not to mention how the DOJ components would work with them and each other. As the elevator doors opened Jace was met with a face he knew all too well.

"Ziva."

The Israeli broke out in a smile that was met with his own. "Jace, It's so good to see you again!"

The two hugged before continuing to the squad room,  Ziva joined arms with her fellow operator. "Are you here about the task force? It's all everyone's been talking about for weeks."

"As a matter of fact, yes. I'm here to brief Director Shepard and your team, you've been selected to be NCIS's component of the task force."

"Well, I for one am glad to be working with you. Your dad has been very clear about his expectations of the team's work ethic, having you around may help, this is the first time we'll be part of a joint initiative."

"Well, I'm happy to help in any way I can."

They made their way to the MTAC, Jace was nervous, the facility brought back memories that he wasn't too fond of. Ziva noticed this and put a hand on his arm. They entered together and were greeted by the team and the other members of the initiative. In MTAC stood the Team, Captain Joshua Patterson from the Army's Special Forces, FBI Special Agent Jacob Taylor, and DEA Agent Sharon Patterson, Joshua's younger sister. Patterson stood at five-foot-ten, was clean-shave, had dark blonde hair and blue eyes, he wore his dress blues was his beret rolled in his right hand. Taylor was a Caucasian male with pale blue eyes, light brown hair, and stood at 5'11", he had a simple black suit on. Sharon was a tall (5'7") blonde woman with hazel-green eyes, she wore a black pantsuit with a white blouse and had her curly hair in a tight ponytail.

"Jace, we were just about to get started." Said Patterson, glad to see his brother-in-arms again. He and the younger Gibbs had been on deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan together in the past.

"We took the time to get to know the NCIS team you told us about," said Sharon, glaring daggers at DiNozzo in the process. "You were not kidding about their. . . unique traits."

Tony merely shrugged this off. McGee and the older Gibbs were sitting the Director's immediate right.

"Well, now that everyone's here, let's get started." Said Agent Taylor.

"Operation Sword & Shield is very simple, the Departments of Defense and Justice are going to combine their intelligence and manpower to gain the upper hand in the War on Terror." Said Jace. "SOCOM and JSOC have previously worked with the FBI to combat terrorism, but with new relations between Jihadist cells and International Crime Syndicates have called form a more aggressive approach."

Agent Patterson took over. "The DOJ and DOD have selected specific units to surgically attack these organizations on specific fronts." the blonde woman clicked on a remote and the big screen showed maps of South America and the Middle East. "For example cartels in Brazil and Nicaragua have been purchasing opiates from Islamic cells in Iraq."

"The drugs are grown in Afghanistan, processed in Iraq, then shipped to their buyers," pitched in Jace. "Those drugs are worth more than anything the cartels can produce and they're worth even more in the States."

"As the FBI, NCIS, and DEA work the investigations the SOF units will actively seize evidence and detain any people of interest along with our tactical elements." Resumed the female Patterson.

DiNozzo raised his hand, which only irritated the female agents.

"We've worked with the rest of the alphabet before, why do the FBI and DEA need the G.I. Joes for?" Tony regretted this statement as soon as he said it, it caused both Julian and Josh to glare at him, implying that they were imagining the best way to silence him permanently. Ziva and Gibbs simply swatted him at the same time.

"This isn't the first time the military has assisted the Justice Department in their projects, SEALs and Green Berets were present in Operation Snow Cap and Deltas were the ones to nab El Chapo," responded McGee.

"Exactly, the DOJ needs operators to pull off certain jobs," said Sharon, wanting to focus on the matter at hand. "For example, FBI HRT can't do a body snatch and Green Berets aren't trained in forensics."

"When an ODA or SEAL platoon are deployed FBI HRT or DEA FAST elements will go with them," said Jace.

"MARSOC Marines will also be in the mix as far as operators go and we'll also be working with the CIA and DSS for intelligence and counterproliferation," said Agent Taylor.

All agents seemed to be on board and were eager to begin. Director Sheperd was particularly pleased with the idea of the task force, this did not go unnoticed by Special Agent Gibbs.