𝐍𝐎 𝐑𝐔𝐋𝐄𝐒 ━━ 𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐳𝐳𝐨

FOURTEEN | impossible mission

"This looks like a lecture. It's giving me college flashbacks. Doesn't this remind you of college?"

McGee clutches the edge of the table for dear life, a panicked expression crossing his facial features almost instinctively.

"Not in the slightest." Tony adjusts his suit.

My legs prop up on the edge of the table, tilting back in the chair. "You'd have to go to a lecture to know what it's like."

"Not all of us were geeks."

"And not all of us were jocks."

He throws an arm over my shoulders, pulling me closer towards him, just as Gibbs enters the evidence locker.

"Hey, boss. McGee thinks we're going to get a lecture."

"You just might if you don't pay attention."

Using the expo marker, Gibbs jots down the word "Domino" in big, bold letters.

"Codename Domino. Domino is the top secret military contingency plan, which specifically details, uh. . .which specifically details. . ."

"Think the freshman's having a senior moment, boss."

"It specifically details how the U.S. would respond to a terrorist attack on a target of interest in Israel or the Middle East."

"It's also what Langer hacked from our system."

"Gold star." Gibbs passes out thick files to each of us. "McGee, study up."

McGee releases a shaky breath. "I'm up. I'm up, boss. I just froze for a second."

And so he begins.

"Electronic files like Domino need to be accessible by multiple sources — the President, Joint Chiefs — yet they need to be secure."

"S.E.C.N.A.V. wants to prevent another breach."

"Well, the only way to ensure that would be off-network. Stand-alone system is hardwired directly to the White House and the Pentagon."

"Like this one here."

Gibbs flips over the whiteboard to reveal schematics of the said system.

"A labyrinth of security measures surrounds the Central Access Hub —"

"Housing Domino. Can't be hacked because it's closed circuit."

"So you're saying the file can't be stolen."

"Well, we're going to steal it."

Four looks of confusion flash back to him.

"It's a test."

Ziva snaps her fingers in realization. "Breach the facility. Enter the central hub. Retrieve Domino. Extract without leaving a trace."

"Boss, it's an impossible mission." McGee the pessimist argues.

"Our leak, our responsibility." Gibbs shakes his head. "Use any resource. Don't let out specifics. I want to hear a plan."

"You're saying no one else knows about this?"

"The guards manning this facility, they don't even know there's a test coming."

An entire day passes by of us brainstorming and coming up with ideas to infiltrate the facility, but we figure it out.

"Get in. Get the intel. Get out."

- - - - - - - - - -

"You read me, Snowman?"