"Why didn't anyone wake me up?" I slowly enter the bullpen, plopping down in my chair after the long walk up from Abby's. "Kate, I thought you were going to stop by at five to wake me."

Kate passes me a pair of chopsticks and a takeout box from the local Chinese restaurant."Strict orders from DiNozzo not to."

"Tony, I told you not to make a big deal about this. You should be resting, too." I try to open up the box, but I barely have enough energy to eat.

"Hey." Gibbs snaps his fingers to get our attention. "I want to know what Westfall was doing at Aberdeen by the time I get back."

"Where are you going?"

"Out."

Leave it to Gibbs to give the vaguest answers.

"McGee. . ." He grabs his gun and magazine from the top desk drawer. "I want other reasons why someone would chop off his hands. Tony, go down to Abby's and sleep." On his way out, he stops at my desk to open up my takeout box. "Eva. . .eat something."

Less than twenty minutes later, McGee is pacing up and down the aisle. "Why take someone's hands?"

"Trophies?" Tony picks through some bits of broccoli.

"Okay," He finally stops, "but why leave the other lieutenant's?"

"If he's chopping hands off, I don't think we can expect him to be rational, McGee."

My stomach churns at the thought of cutting someone's hands off after killing them. It's enough to make me close up the takeout container.

"We've got trouble." McGee stares at the elevator. "FBI trouble."

I roll my eyes, recognizing the agent. "The worst kind of trouble we can get into."

"Fornell?" Kate stands up behind her desk.

"We must be in worse shape than we thought."

"Where's Gibbs?" Fornell stops near the entrance. "Where is he?"

"He's out. Try him on his cell."

"I did, but he's not answering."

I grab my bottle of Advil, take one for the pounding headache consuming my energy. "Wouldn't be the first time."

"What's going on?"

"Ari Haswari is back in the country."

"You let that psycho back into the States without telling us?" Kate spits out at him.

Fornell lets out a sigh. "He was supposed to help us uncover an Al Qaeda cell in the D.C. area."

"What do you mean supposed to, Fornell?"

"We now think he's here for more personal reasons." The FBI agent reveals Ari's true plans. "He's planning on killing Gibbs."

"You guys just never learn, do you?"

Within an hour, after forty messages from me and Tony, Gibbs returns to the building unscathed. He lets us know that he and Ari had a cup of coffee before almost being bombed.

"Is it me, or did he take the whole Ari situation really well?" McGee turns to the two of us.

"It's only because Gibbs has been looking forward to this for more than a year."

"Looking forward to what?"

"Finally getting to kill him."

The director of NCIS assigns me, Kate, Tony, and McGee to protect Gibbs, including staking out in front of his own home.

"In his home, two teams, six-hour shifts. Alternating radio checks every ten minutes." Kate reads off her instructions for the protective custody assignment. "Outside, I want a mobile foot patrol and two permanent observation posts."

Tony hooks up his radio to his belt. "Gibbs is not gonna like that."

"Well, screw what he likes, Tony. I'm not going to let that psycho within five miles of Gibbs."

"Try ten." I strap my gun holster around my shoulders, feeling at home with my guns at close access.

She turns to the newest agent. "McGee, I need full audio and video surveillance, inside and out. Everything tied back to MTAC."

"You got it, Kate." He obliges.

The four of us agree to the plan before Gibbs interrupts.

"Go home. It's late." He grabs some stuff from his desk.

"Uh, Gibbs, I don't think we're gonna be going home."

"I'm staying here." He announces. "I do not need an army of agents staying up all night watching me build a boat."

No matter how many times Gibbs tells us to leave, we stay behind all night. He is our boss, our leader, and we are not going to let that bastard kill him.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

"Wow. What a night. I don't know about guys, but I am. . ."

Kate has a gunshot wound through her head, her eyes lifeless.

McGee has two gunshots to the chest, his body slumped over his chair.

Gibbs sits still with his throat slit from ear to ear, blood continuing to poor out.

Tony. . .Tony's pale body lays in front of me, blood dripping out of the corner of mouth similar to when he was dying from the plague.

"How nice to see you again, Evaline."

A familiar hand wraps around my throat, suffocating me to unconsciousness.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

"No. No, don't. . .hurt me."

I wake up with a gasp, the faint feeling of hands on my throat.

"Hey, hey, what's going on?" Tony runs up to me, helping me off the ground. "What happened? Did you get hurt?"

"I. . ." My hands cup Tony's cheeks, tears threatening to fall down my cheeks. "I thought you were all dead."

A chilling sob racks my body as I plummet against Tony's shoulders, shaking and shuddering as I think about the dream.

The frightening nightmare.

"It's okay. You're okay. It was just a nightmare."

Looking over Tony's shoulder, I notice none of the other members around. "Where are they? Tony, where are they?"

"They're just out visiting the defense contracting company." He assures me carefully, keeping me within arm's distance. "Gibbs insisted on letting you sleep, so here we are."

"You should have. . .woken me up." A yawn breaks through my words.

We access the security tapes from Danborne Avionics after it is revealed one of their relic target drones is missing.

"What do you got?" Gibbs enters.

"A shot of our drone thieves from Danborne's security footage from two nights ago. The day the lieutenants were murdered." Tony watches the video clip carefully.

He stands beside me, facing the monitor. "Can you ID them?"

"They're wearing ski masks, so it's a little hard, but. . ." I pause the clip. "There's a chance I'm paranoid, but that face is all too familiar."

Zooming in, I show him the silhouette of Ari Haswari.

"You're not paranoid. That bastard's Ari."

After bringing in Fornell, Tony and I watch the two argue in MTAC, specifically about marrying and divorcing the same woman.

The two call Ari, and we manage to retrieve an address in Norfolk.

The day the entire Marine Amphibious Strike group returns to the welcoming arms of their families right here in Norfolk.

In an attempt to shorten our search timeframe, Gibbs shoots a lamppost and then one of Ari's men guarding the top of a warehouse.

"Tony, Eva, take the fire escape. Kate, with me. McGee, start jamming."

The four of us run towards the building, leaving McGee outside with his computer.

"Right behind you." Tony nudges me up the unstable ladder of the fire escape.

I stop just at the top where I can scan the roof of the building without being seen. "One down, can't see anyone else."

Another pops out from nowhere, but Tony and Gibbs shoot him down from either side.

Before McGee can officially change the path of the missile, Gibbs shoots the computer, sending the drone down into the water.

"Shooter!" Kate jumps in front of Gibbs, taking the bullet for him.

Being the only with any bullets left, I kill the bastard, making him fall through the door.

"Kate." Gibbs reaches down to unzip Kate's jacket, revealing the bullet slug embedded in the bulletproof vest. "You okay?"

"Ow." She drones out in pain. "I just got shot at point-blank range. What do you think?"

"Up and at 'em, Kate." I help her off the ground.

Tony clamps a hand over her shoulder. "You did good."

"For once," Gibbs cracks a smile, "DiNozzo's right."

"I thought I'd die before I ever —"

Snap!

"Kate!"