章 20: Aftermath

Ziva sat in the backseat of the Dodge Stratus, her eyes trying to find the taillights of Commander Wilder's car, which was several hundred meters ahead. The night had grown darker, with the orange glow of streetlights casting fleeting shadows as they sped down the road. She leaned forward in annoyance.

"Alex, you're half a kilometre away. If you get any farther, we might as well be tailing the wrong car," Ziva muttered with a hint of irritation.

From the driver's seat, Alex flashed a grin, the rear-view mirror catching the twinkle in his eyes. "Come on, Ziva. You know the saying—keep your friends close, but your enemies at a distance."

"Alex, I understand the need for caution," Ziva said, her tone clipped, "but at this distance, we might actually lose him."

Alex's smirked. "Relax, It's not my first rodeo."

Gibbs just squinted his eyes (trying to find the suspect's car ) but said nothing.

Just then, Ziva's phone buzzed in her pocket, pulling her attention away from Alex's driving. She pulled it out and frowned at the notification. "I got an update on the two men who kidnapped Commander Tanner—Willis Hirst and Vincent Pazzo—were mercenaries for the Kosovo Liberation Army. They worked as 'coercion' specialists for a warlord.'" She passed the phone to show the perps photo.

"Torture," said Gibbs, looking at the picture.

Ziva nodded, understanding the gravity of the situation. "If Wilder hired them, it's not just a case of simple kidnapping anymore. He's in deep."

Alex continued the pursuit, but the entire atmosphere in the car shifted. Finally, Wilder's car made a sharp turn into a secluded parking lot. Alex parked their car one block away, far enough to remain unnoticed but close enough for a swift approach. then they saw a man coming out the car to meet Wilder.

It was Willis Hirst.

Ziva swiftly raised her camera, snapping several photos of the exchange. Wilder handed over Zach's iPod to Hirst, confirming their suspicions. After handing over the iPod, they left in different directions.

"Follow Hirst; we will deal with Wilder later," ordered Gibbs.

Alex kept a steady eye on Hirst's car as they trailed him through the winding streets. The tensions rose. Ziva, her instincts sharp, had her weapon ready as they neared their destination—a rundown auto workshop on the outskirts of the city. The area was deserted, save for a few flickering streetlights that barely illuminated the cracked pavement.

Hirst's car pulled into the garage, and Alex parked their car a safe distance away. They exited the vehicle quietly, with Alex taking charge, gesturing for Ziva and Gibbs to follow him. They remained close providing cover, his eyes scanning the surroundings as they approached the garage. The smell of oil and rust filled the air, and the faint hum of machinery echoed inside. Alex could smell fresh blood, a lot a fresh blood.

They crept along the side of the building, peering through a grimy window. Inside, they could see Hirst talking to another man, presumably one of his associates. The garage was cluttered with old car parts, tools, and a suspicious-looking contraption in the corner where Commander Tanner was strapped, bleeding and barely conscious. His hands and legs were bound to the device, his face pale from the loss of blood.

Ziva's eyes narrowed as she saw Tanner's condition, whispered, "We need to move fast."

Alex nodded and signed. "On my signal."

He motioned for Ziva to take the back entrance while he and Gibbs would head in through the front. As Ziva slipped around to the back, Alex counted down silently—three, two, one.

They burst through the doors simultaneously, weapons drawn.

"NCIS! Drop your weapons!"

Hirst and his associate reacted instantly, drawing their own firearms. The sound of gunfire erupted, echoing through the garage. Alex ducked behind a workbench, returning fire as Ziva flanked from the rear, taking down the associate with a precise shot to the shoulder. Hirst tried to retreat, but Alex was quick, firing a shot that hit him in the leg, sending him crashing to the ground.

Meanwhile, Gibbs moved swiftly, covering Ziva as she rushed to Tanner's side. She quickly assessed his condition, her hands moving with precision as she checked his pulse.

"He's alive," she called out.

Gibbs approached Hirst, who was writhing in pain on the floor. He kicked away the gun and grabbed him by the collar, his voice low and dangerous. "Where's the rest of your team?"

Hirst groaned, his face contorted in pain. "I... I don't know... "

"Wrong answer," Gibbs snarled, slamming him back down.

Meanwhile, Ziva untied Tanner from the contraption, supporting his weight as he weakly asked, "Zach... is Zach okay?"

Gibbs crouched beside him, his voice uncharacteristically gentle. "Zach's fine. He's safe, Commander. Let's get you out of here."

"T..Thank yo.."

Tanner let out a ragged breath of relief, his head lolling back as he lost consciousness. Ziva tightened her grip on him, stabilizing him as Alex grabbed the garage's first aid kit to stop the bleeding.

Just then, Gibbs' phone buzzed. It was Tony.

"We got Laura, boss. It looks like she was part of the Vincent Pazzo's group. She was trying to destroy evidence at Q&R HQ, but we caught her and she's in custody now."

"Good work, DiNozzo," Gibbs replied, his voice gruff. "We're wrapping up here."

<<Scene Break>>

Later that same night, the NCIS Major Crime Response Team reconvened at Q&R HQ. The building loomed ominously in the darkness, its glass windows barely reflecting the chaos inside. Employees were still milling about, whispering nervously as the NCIS team stormed through the lobby.

Gibbs led the charge, his expression deadly serious. He wasn't here to negotiate or to chat—he was here to take down a traitor. They made their way to Commander Wilder's office, where the man was still trying to feign ignorance of the situation.

Before Wilder could even utter a word, Gibbs tackled him to the ground, pinning him with the full force of his fury. Wilder gasped in shock, his hands raised in surrender as DiNozzo and Ziva moved in to secure him. Wilder could tell he was caught.

Wilder looked up, panicked, "I'm not resisting!"

Gibbs glared down at him, his SIG-Sauer in hand. "Too bad."

Wilder's face drained of colour as he realized there was no way out. DiNozzo slapped the cuffs on him while Ziva stepped back, her eyes cold and unforgiving.

As Wilder was dragged away, Gibbs remained silent.

Tanner was reunited with Zach. After getting patched, he rushed to the Navy Yard to find Zach. It was a touching moment, especially for Alex, who stood in a corner away from all the attention. For the better part of the last decade, he has been doing rescue missions, but he almost never got to see the end result because by then, he would have the file for the next mission in his hand. So it was kind of good to see what happens in the aftermath.

But then he got a text on the second phone.

"Location V, 0400 hours."

It was from Actual. Alex waved the team goodbye and left.

[Pre-Dawn, Columbia Island Marina]

Location V was one of the 2 mobile locations of the UA; Alex had his senses on full alert, scanning for any kind of trouble as his firebird discretely entered the marina; it was empty for the most part, except for a slender blonde woman in her 50s. She wore a white dress and had a green scarf wrapped around her neck. Alex parked his bike and walked over to her. It was Lucille Porter

"Bishop, why can't you, like a normal adult, get a car? Those things are a death machine."

"First thing I will be doing tomorrow, Mom." Alex quipped

Lucille narrowed her eyes at Alex, clearly annoyed at him. "Trust me, Bishop, With all the crap you have pulled, if I really were your mom, you'd be grounded for the rest of your life ."

Alex smirked. "Grounded? Woman, you are aware that I broke out as a prisoner from Butyrka, right? You think ceder windows will hold me? "

" So the files says. Anyways...."She started walking to the docks and stopped next to a 2000 Bayliner, Alex estimated a length of 40 feet. Clad in white and blue, the yacht named 'Merlin' was a beauty. "There are more important matters to attend to."

Porter and Alex boarded the Merlin, a.k.a Location V; contrary to how it looked outside, the yacht was a Mobile Sanctuary, as in it was a set up with a heavily stacked armoury and a state-of-the-art surveillance system.

"You wanna tell me what's going on, Porter?"

As the Merlin quietly cruised along the river, Lucille Porter motioned for Alex to sit down in the lounge area. The yacht's interior was sleek and modern, with lights casting a warm glow over the leather seats and polished wood surfaces. Despite the cozy surroundings, there was an unease in the air. Lucille poured herself a glass of whiskey, taking a small sip before starting.

"Alex, the situation with Honour Code... it's far more complicated than you realise," Lucille began, her voice steady but laced with the weight of the information she was about to reveal. "What you've been dealing with—the kidnapping of Commander Tanner, the mercenaries, all of it—it was nothing but a smokescreen. A well-crafted distraction, to be precise."

Alex leaned forward in his chair, his eyes narrowing.

Lucille set her glass down, her gaze locking onto his. "Mike Wells, the CEO of Q&R Software. He's the real mastermind behind everything."

"Wells? Agent McGee couldn't find any connection."

Alex remembered Porter saying he was one of the suspects, but the man's been out of the country for the past few weeks, and McGee couldn't find any link between the Kosovo mercenaries or Wilder that connected to Wells.

"Wells is Failsafe."

Alex nodded slowly, absorbing the information. "So Wells planned the entire kidnapping to divert attention away from himself? To make sure no one would suspect him of... what exactly?"

Lucille sighed and continued. "He knew that if Tanner's kidnapping made headlines, all eyes would be on the investigation—and away from him. While NCIS, Feds and everyone else was scrambling to find Tanner and the Honour Code project, Wells was free to move forward with his real plan."

"Honour Code isn't just a cyber master key that can disable any encryption—it's a weapon," Lucille said grimly. "If it falls into the wrong hands, it could be used to dismantle the global financial system, cripple military networks, and essentially bring entire nations to their knees. Wells intended to sell it to the highest bidder—a foreign government or a terrorist organisation."

"Or at least that's what we initially thought, But what Wells has planned is a bit different and a lot more sinister. He fragmented and altered the honour code, duplicating it into several versions."

"What do you mean?"

"Think of it this way: We have anti-virus software, right? there's the cheap free ones, the normal ones, and the premium ones. Similarly, the Honour code was somehow fragmented, to be sold to different organizations as per their request and how much money they can cough up."

"That's.."

"It's bad."

"Failsafe thrives on instability," Lucille continued. "By creating chaos, they can manipulate markets, governments, and public opinion to achieve their goals. Wells is a supposedly key player in their network, Tier 3, I'm guessing, and he is using his position at Q&R Software to facilitate their operations.

Alex exhaled sharply. "And Commander Tanner? Was he just collateral damage?"

"Not just Tanner. Even Wilder was just a disposable piece. Eventually, when the military learns about the distribution of Honour Code, Wilder becomes the scapegoat and the perfect fall guy for 'leaking' state secret." Porter continued,

"*Sigh*, The truth is Mike Wells was on the UA's radar for some time now. I mean, realistically, It made no sense that when a project like Honour Code got sanctioned, it was outsourced to a private company, especially when the two main code programmers were navy personnel."

"It should have been an in-house project." agreed Alex

"So when Q&R software came into the picture one year back, Claire reported to me and we have been monitoring them ever since."¹

"So you are telling me you were watching them for over a year? What wasn't I told about this? And the suspect list during the phone call you already had them. " asked a slightly annoyed Alex.

"It was need-to-know, Bishop, and you needn't. We compartmentalise our missions; no one person can do everything if that one person is the Huntsman."

"Is that everything?"

"No, that was just the tip. The honour code is being auctioned. Last month, Claire picked up chatter in the dark web that a high-level auction was happening."

"When ?"

"Today, well at 0500 hours, to be exact. Wells has been out of the country for the last month, we have reliable intel that he's hold up somewhere in South Mexico. Once he starts the auction, we will backtrace it back to his location. I have an agent on standby to extract him."

Alex shot up, "Porter, tell me you are joking. You know damn well that there's no one better for this mission than me. I've infiltrated warlord bases, fortified compounds, taken down high-value targets right in the middle of enemy territory, and walked out unscathed. If Wells is auctioning the Honour Code, I'm the one who should be there to stop him."

Lucille remained seated, her expression calm but firm. "Bishop, while you are one of the best, like I said before, we compartmentalise. You don't have to take on every single mission."

"But this isn't just any mission," Alex countered, his voice rising. "You said it yourself—Wells is a potential Tier 3 member in Failsafe, and if we fail to catch him now, we might not get another chance like this in the near future not to mention the whole thing could cause chaos on a global scale. You need someone who can think on their feet, adapt to any situation, and take down Wells before he can disappear. That's me, and you know it."

Lucille sighed, standing up to meet his gaze. "Alex, I understand your drive, and I respect it. But we already have someone in place—an agent who knows the terrain and the players and who has been briefed and been preparing for months. And you know him as well. Operation Overwatch. Ajay Ghale."

Memories of Operation Watchtower surged through Alex's mind like a wave. Operation Overwatch was the closest the world had come to World War III, a covert operation that spanned three months over 14 gruelling missions that started in October 2004.

The operation was classified to the highest level, involving a coalition of elite forces: five from U.S. Special Forces, Navy SEALs, Delta Force, and Green Berets; five from the British SAS; and three assassins from the Israeli Mossad's Kidon unit. This was also where Alex Bishop first encountered the mysterious Pantheon Rank 1, known only by the code name "Warhound." His real name, age, and identity remain unknown to this day to Alex.

Operation Watchtower was a mission unlike any other Alex had been a part of. He had always prided himself on being one of the best, if not the best. Because of his abilities, Alex was trained to the peak of human ability. But when he joined this team, he quickly realised he was among the presence of legends.

Warhound stood at almost 7 feet tall, Clad in a black Delta Force Kevlar armour with his face covered; he, like Alex, was an Assaulter. Despite his size, the guy moved with such precision and lethality that didn't make sense. Even among the elite, he stood apart, and his every action was executed flawlessly. Alex had seen Warhound take down an entire enemy squad without breaking a single sweat or making a sound, his movements a blur that left only death in his wake. No one had details or information regarding who Warhound was, but everyone respected—and more realistically feared—him.

Then there was Sergeant Ajay Ghale, a Green Beret breacher and weapons specialist, two years younger than Alex but already a force to be reckoned with. Ajay's skills in combat were unmatched, and his ability to handle explosives and heavy weaponry made him a vital asset to the team. What struck Alex the most was Ajay's stoic personality; he had the soul of an old man. Alex, who had always thought of himself as the best, found himself humbled for the first time since the abyss.

Each mission under Operation Watchtower was a high-stakes game of life and death. This was the first time the US had intel with proof that the Taliban had nuclear weaponry ranging in the 10s. The team was tasked with infiltrating fortified enemy compounds, disabling nuclear threats, and taking down high-value targets in some of the most hostile environments on the planet. It was a race against time, with the spectre of global war looming over every decision they made.

"Ajay is good, and if he had prep time...he would definitely be a better candidate for the mission. Alex admitted."

"And unlike some people, he follow orders, like a good soldier," said Porter with a smirk.

"Yeah...Yeah I get it."

Suddenly the third screen turned on.

"Rogue-11 to Actual. I am near the enemy compound. Ready for combat." It was Ajay Ghale((Pantheon rank-21))