Bound by Blood, Forged in Fire

Reckoning

The teams were in place, the breachers were on their way to the target apartment and the ground team just reached the intended floor. Jace and Dodd set up overwatch, they found no indications of any hostile elements.

"November One to all stations, you are clear to move in, over."

The breachers threw a crash grenade through the window and both teams breached. They swept through the room, they found nothing until they came across a locked bathroom door. Rhodes could hear the shower running and found no signs of explosives, another SEAL breached the door with an 870P Masterkey. Once inside they found their target, however, they weren't going to get any intel out of him.

He was dead, strangled; rigor had already set.

"November Two to TOC, HVT is down; someone beat us to him."

The SEALs looked around, for a bomb maker, there was a concerning lack of explosives in the room. Intel confirmed that the target made his weapons in his apartment, but it seemed like he had been cleaned out.

The teams conducted SSE, taking what was left, not that there was much anyway. Once they were done they left. Jace and Dodd dismounted the former switching to his assault rifle.

Once they were off-target the CIA operators peeled off from them, and all NOCs were recalled to the Annex. November Team was to continue back to as well.

. . .

Once the NCIS team and DSS were finished sweeping the embassy they went to the DOP. They were going over external security footage from the embassy and saw that on four occasions in the past month several people were caught photographing the place, pretending to talk on the phone. The car was rented from a local dealer, the team was going back out in the morning; with all the chatter about an upcoming attack no Americans were to be on the streets of Lebanon at night.

Brooke was on her way back from the garage, she had been assisting with the bomb forensics. The lab had been set up in the garage and she had been going over the remains of the IED, in addition to the engine adding more power to the blast the bomb contained ball bearings and flechettes. She was on her way to the barracks where the team and DSS agents were staying, as she passed through she noticed the locals shouting as she got a closer look the EOD saw one of the guards shoot two others. Acting on her training Lydia drew her weapon and shot the assailant. Afterward, the gate doors blew open with a mob of dozens of militants surging through.

Brooke fell back, the alarm blaring past the wind, she made her way to the barracks where the others were staying.

. . .

The team was halfway to the Annex when they heard the roar of AKs and RPGs, Jace immediately radioed it in. Ambassador John Willis was still in Lebanon, which meant the DSS and NCIS were still at the compound.

"November Team, we are getting reports the DOP is under heavy enemy fire, over."

"We're twenty klicks away from the outpost, we can coordinate with the Ground Branch—"

"Negative, the SOGs are collecting all of the NOCs and bringing them back to the Annex."

"Then we'll need air support and ISR over the objective, over."

"November One, we're not officially here, at this time we need to coordinate an immediate EVAC."

"TOC, there is an American ambassador and eight federal agents at that facility, they aren't equipped to hold off a force of that size."

Back at the Annex, Webber was on the satellite phone with Captain Dawes. The Deltas and Echo Team were en route, but they were eight hours away, maybe ten. The CIA was still pushing for an evacuation but getting out of the country would take just as long.

"November-Actual to November-One, JSOC augmentation is hours away, at this time the go/no-go is the team leader's discretion, over."

Jace looked around, all eyes were on him. He couldn't be a bystander, but the team couldn't take on a force that big head-on.

"Listen, guys, it's no secret that I've got a personal stake here," said Julian. "I won't force any of you to go, hell I'll do it on my own if I have to. But we are the only chance they have of getting out of there."

Rhodes was the first to speak up. "I didn't take this job just to let Americans die."

Everyone agreed with this, including Grey and Rider.

. . .

The agents were scattered all over the place, Amato and Brooke were barricaded inside the TOC, McGee and DiNozzo were holed up in the armory, & Ziva and Gibbs were in the haven with the Ambassador and RSO Sitwell.

"DiNozzo, McGee, what's your status?"

"Still holed up in the Armory with DS Mack, no word on the other."

"Amato and Brooke here, we're at the TOC, DS Wheeler was at the gate when it blew, he didn't make it."

Amato watched from the surveillance feed as the assailants shot at the doors of the haven, thankfully it was bulletproof. However, there was something that caught both Brooke and Raya's eyes.

"Guys, they're throwing Molotov cocktails at the roof!"

As Gibbs and Ziva heard this one flew through the windows. The carpet turned into a sea of fire, the flames crawled up the walls, and it effectively looked like hell on earth. Ziva grabbed the ambassador and everyone retreated to the bedroom, Gibbs and Sitwell tried to get the windows open but the bars were reinforced. Ziva used blankets to keep smoke from seeping through the bottom of the doors. They kept low, the agents had their weapons fixed on the doors and windows.

. . .

The team was divided into three teams, two ground teams of four, and two snipers on the roof of the building adjacent to the outpost. Jace took count of the tangos, at least a dozen were on scene, and the majority of the mob must've left once they set the fire to the compound. The ground team went through the gate, what was left of it at least.