Bound by Blood, Forged in Fire

Impact

The team was going to INFIL amphibiously, they would HALO thirty miles off the coast and make their way in via Zodiacs. Once they made it to shore they'd rendezvous with a two-man CIA team on the ground. Grey and Rider tagged along to coordinate with their contacts on the ground.

This was going to be a tough deployment for Jace in particular, he was the only single parent on both teams. He was grateful for his father, his in-laws, and Ziva but part of him just wanted more than a handful of quality time with his daughters. After pondering on this before the flight he immediately got his head back in the game.

The C-130's cargo bay opened, and everyone checked each other's chutes then went out in pairs. Maintaining a close-knit stack the operators' parachutes deployed once they reached the optimal altitude. They released their chutes as they hit the water and set up the zodiacs, riding their way to shore. Upon their arrival, the team secured the CRRCs and made their way to the meeting point.

They met with CSO Brennan and PMO Rockwell, they rode in two SUVs on their way to their base of operations. They set up shop at an abandoned factory, due to the nature of their mission they resorted to using indigenous weaponry, mostly AKs and a few M16s. Other weapons included MP5s, CAR-15s, Browning Hi-Powers, and some 1911 models. Jace and the other members of the Black Squadron were grateful to see a crate of Remington 700 PSS rifles.

Tomorrow night, they'd split into four-man elements, their objective was to conduct reconnaissance on Sok and Kan's place of operations and personal homes. They'd follow them, record their activities, and document anything of interest. Once they had the intel on the scope of the operations the team would either terminate or capture them.

They went over the plans for tomorrow's recon operation, they would plant bugs and tracking devices on their marks' respective vehicles. Both men had meetings on opposite sides of the city, Sok was meeting with the head of a local smuggling group, and Kan was overseeing the setup of his lab. They were each going to be traveling with four-man security details, once they left the vehicles the teams would break into the cars and plant the devices and tail them.

. . .

Washington Navy Yard

Ziva was concerned since Jace went on his most recent deployment no one had any contact with him whatsoever. No one knew where he was, just that he would be gone for four months. She knew what operations such as that were like, they were high-risk and likely had little support if any.

After finishing Ducky's cold case Ziva had tried to gather more information on Jace's mission, but no one could say anything about it. This meant the U.S. had total deniability of the operation, which could mean disavowing the teams. This did not bode well with Ziva at all, they were risking not only their lives but their careers and freedom. Jace could become a prisoner again, she knew why he chose to go forward with the operation, but it still got under her skin.

Now the agents were focusing on a smuggling ring, the group specialized in both people and weapons, and they had confirmed ties to organized crime and terrorists. They traced their base of operations to Cambodia.

. . .

Jace watched as Sok got into his car, one guard was driving, and another was in the front passenger seat while the other two sat at their boss's left and right side. The SEALs tailed their target from a subtle distance, they were riding in two SUVs, Jace, Rhodes, Wesson, and another member of Echo were in one car while another four were riding in the car tailing Sok from an interception angle.

Once they reached the restaurant where Sok's meeting was going to take place. Once all five men were inside Jace and Rhodes moved to the vehicle, the former used a lockout tool to open the car door while his partner placed the tracking device. Jace unzipped the back of the driver's seat, placing the bug inside.

The operators left the vehicle, leaving everything as it was. They tested the functions of both devices, all green lights. They watched as their mark and his bodyguards got back into the car and drive off. They checked in with the rest of the team, their task went equally well.

The SEALs made their way back to the operations center.

. . .

Gibbs was going through the weapons confiscated from a gang bust, the buyers purchased the AKM rifles from a source in Southeast Asia. The buyers had used the weapons in a driveby at a local veteran bar, killing four retired personnel, five reservist, and several active-duty Sailors and Marines. They had arrested the gang responsible, the target was the bartender who had left the gang in pursuit of a better quality of life.

"Boss!" McGee was rushing in like his trousers had been set on fire.

"I was going through our perps' phones and I found an email," said the younger agent holding up a laptop. "The people they were talking to are in Cambodia."

"Talk to the embassy, have Amato request the FBI or DSS pursue it from there and report back to us."

Ziva came in, clearly with critical news.

"Captain Dawes is here," said the former Mossad officer, clearly in a sense of unease. "He wants to talk about Cambodia."

. . .

The SEALs were setting up to expedite their plans, the intel gathered from their previous task had informed them that the Cambodian authorities on the take were arranging for Sok and Kan to set up a national nuclear weapons program for the government under the table. One team was going to ambush Sok before he could make it to the meeting, while another was going to take Kan out at his home.

"We got a problem," said Grey. "The State Department may have just blown our cover."

"We got nixed by State?" inquired Jace. "Don't they know to steer clear from our op?"

"The Feds back home were investigating a gang in D.C. and saw that they had ties tracing back to Cambodia," answered Dylan. "State made inquiries to the American Embassy and the Cambodians didn't like the questions they were asking."

"Are we still going to be able to finish the mission?" asked Rhodes. "Not to mention we can't go to the embassy to get us out."

"The Company is sending in the Maritime Branch to extract us, we have thirty-six hours to complete the op and get out."

Jace grabbed a rifle and got ready for the mission, no one was going to be left behind.