Bound by Blood, Forged in Fire

Fugitive

Jace and Ziva were on their way to NCIS, they were on their way back from the commissioning ceremony of DDG-144, The USS Margaret Patterson. The Patterson family seemed to be in better spirits, Josh had taken a desk job to spend more time with his family. Julian hadn't been to such events since the memorial of the fallen during the GTNE attacks. Ziva had been checking in on him a lot, she was worried about him; lately, he had trouble sleeping, and tended to drift off into his mind. He stopped going out with the other members of his teams, Gibbs had noticed that he was more reserved than usual. Her attempts to get him to open up to her were only met with unbreachable silence.

After Jace dropped her off she made her way to MTAC, they were going to work with the FBI on a crisis overseas. The GTNE cell responsible for the attack in Lebanon had taken a cargo freighter hostage. They were attempting to track the vessel but the pirates were eluding the strike group the Navy sent for the search and the satellites lost them. Special Agents Fornell and Taylor were selected to liaise with them.

Ziva was concerned, this was DEVGRU jurisdiction which meant the possibility of Jace deploying on the operation. FBI was sending in an HRT element to go with them, as soon as the SEALs were ready, they'd be on their way. If Jace was going on this mission he wasn't going to stand down.

. . .

The team had just been briefed on the op, they were prepping their course of action. Operations like this were delicate and required great precision, once they got a location it was time for action. In the meantime, they were on their way to link up with the strike group.

Jace had packed an HK416 D10RS, MP7, and a Sig MK25 for close quarters; if the operation would require a sniper he packed an SR-25 and HK417. Jace's mind wasn't only on the operation, they were flying to meet with the strike group but they were going to be operating from the USS Margaret Patterson, which was already on its way to rendezvous with the others. This was also going to be a joint venture between Echo-Team and November-Team, maritime hostage rescues were unpredictable and they needed to control as many variables as possible.

He needed to get his head back in the game, otherwise, he was a liability. They were flying out in four hours, it was time to get his head in the game.

. . .

The GTNE pirates had been cornered in the Indian Ocean between Mozambique and Madagascar. The regional fleet had set up a maritime interdiction and both governments were on alert. The team had HALO'd onto the scene and set up a War Room on the Patterson. The pirates demanded the release of Yosef Amin, one of the founders of the Guild. He had been captured by a CAG troop and a team from the Red Squadron on a joint op three months ago, ever since then, the GTNE had been going through a power struggle. The remaining head of the terror group was Murtaza Rahim, he had spearheaded the remaining forces to regain control and coordinate the pirating operation.

The FBI had been trying to negotiate alternative options with little success, so now it was their turn. With the blockade up the pirates were getting restless, they had less than two hours until sundown. ISR showed at least thirty pirates on board, five were guarding the hostages on the lower aft of the vessel, six in the bridge, four in the engine room, and the rest were spread out on the ship.

Together the SEALs were made up of twenty-four operators, they were going to split into four-man elements. Each one was going to take a side of the ship, November Team was going to be responsible for aerial sniper overwatch. Two helicopters were going to circle the ship, each one carrying two shooters. The rest of November was going to be on the ships as they close in on the cargo ship, providing security.

"Jace."

The sniper turned around, seeing Ziva. He was aware that NCIS was involved, but was hoping that another team would be assigned to the case or at least be on another ship. As much as he considered them family, Julian needed to focus.

Ziva held up a finger. "I am talking, you are going to listen."

Jace simply looked at her.

"I know that downrange all you are is a warrior, it's your nature, your identity," the look in her eye told Julian that this mattered to her. "I only express my concern so that you can be who you are, who you're meant to be. I don't want you to take yourself out of the fight, otherwise, you wouldn't be you."

She was done.

Jace held her by her face, looking her straight in the eyes.

"I understand, Ziva."

"Good."

As they parted Jace watched her leave, he returned to his gear, unaware that she was watching him as well.

. . .

At the Command Center the NCIS team and FBI set up aboard the Patterson, the agents were going over the intel they gathered during the negotiations. Amin and Rahim had been working on cultivating new relationships between up-and-coming radical cells and absorbing dying ones. When Amin was apprehended most of the deals were put off, meaning if the GTNE got him back they'd have the resources and means for a comeback. DiNozzo and McGee were on their way to the lead ship on the other side of the interdiction, and Taylor and Amato were coordinating with the regional governments. Gibbs, Ziva, and Fornell were spearheading the operation with Lieutenant Commanders Rorke and Webber.

Jace was prepping November Team for their aerial assault on the target. Jace was packing an HK417 and Chief Rhodes was using an SR-25. They were going to be on the right side of the aircraft while Dodd and Miller were going to be on the left. Everyone was ready to go when Webber and Rorke motioned for Jace and Senior Chief Drake over; the news was not what they wanted to hear.

Two lifeboats had been deployed from the cargo vessel, ISR confirmed that there were six people in each boat. Both contained two armed combatants and four bound hostages. If Amin wasn't delivered to them within 18 hours all eight hostages were going to die.