28 Seconds: Blood & Iron

On 21 November 1977, The United States Congress authorized the formation of an Elite group of US Army Special Forces soldiers that answer only to The President of The United States. They would be known as The Delta Force, or simply "The Unit".

These are their stories.

Chapter 1

A New Life: Part I

0235 hours, 6 June 2003, Corinthos Mob Family Casino, Washington D.C.

"All in" a woman, dressed in a beautiful red dress said as she tossed in the remainder of her chips. "5,000" she said.

"Call" a man, dressed in a sharp black tuxedo, untied bowtie and all, replied in a deep, New York accent. The dealer turned over the river, giving no help to the woman who had been stuck with a pair of queens, losing to the gentleman's heart flush.

"I will need another 25,000" the woman said to the pitboss as she signed the slip.

"Of course, Mam" she said.

"I admire your courage, Ms.?" The tuxedoed man asked as he pulled out a silver cigarette case, and pulled one out. He snapped it shut and tapped the cigarette on top of the case a few times before sticking it in his mouth and flicking open his zippo

"Cane, Natalia Cane" she replied. "And I admire your luck, Mr.?"

"DiNozzo" he said as he lit the cigarette. "Tony DiNozzo" he said, snapping the lighter shut and blowing out a puff of smoke.

"Mr. DiNozzo, would you care to raise the stakes?" she asked.

"Oh, I have no objections" Tony grinned. Not that he would have any objections, seeing as his adoptive father, Michael "Sonny" Corinthos Jr., the founder and head of the Corinthos Crime Family, owned the Casino. As the dealer shuffled the cards, a man came over and whispered something in Tony's ear, before handing him a note. Tony looked down at it.

"Tally Ho" it read.

"My, apologies everyone" he said as he stood up, crumpling the note in his hand. "But I must take my leave" he said. "Have these changed" he said as he handed his chips to one of the attendants. As he slipped on his jacket over his shirt and suspenders, complete with his holster that held his stainless steel Berretta Inox 9mm. The woman, Ms. Cane, walked over to him.

"Pity you have to leave, just as things were getting interesting" she said as she slipped on her wrap. Tony only chuckled as the man behind the counter handed him to packets of $100 bills.

"My apologies mam" Tony said as he tucked the cash inside his jacket. "I'm married" he said as he knocked his wedding ring on the counter. "Good night" he bowed his head before heading for the door. He stepped through and quickly made his way down to the street, where his baby cobalt blue (with a white racing stripe down the center) 1967 Ford Mustang convertible was parked. Tony jumped over the door, stuck his keys in the ignition and fired it up. He revved it a few times before putting it in gear and pulling away.

0300 hours, 6 June 2003, MCRT Bullpen, NCIS Headquarters, Washington Navy Yard, Washington D.C.

The elevator dinged and Tony stepped off. Not much had changed since he'd 1st visited NCIS all those years ago. The walls were still the same hideous orange and the layout was still the same. The bullpen that belonged to Gibbs' MCRT was still in the same place, right next to the stairs. The only thing that had changed was Tony. Back then, he had been a Delta Force Officer, and now he was worked here.

"You ruined my evening Gunny" Tony said as he tossed his jacket over his shoulder.

"Its 3am DiNozzo" Gibbs said after checking his watch.

"Gibbs, this had better be important" he said as he took a seat on the edge of the desk next to Gibbs'.

"That's Viv's desk" Gibbs told. "And that one is Stan's" he said as he pointed to the one across from Viv's.

"Yeah, I don't care" Tony told him. "Gibbs, we are both Supervisory Special Agents. You run an MCRT and I'm on my own. That's what you promised me when you offered me this job" he said.

"Yeah, I know" Gibbs nodded.

"In one month, I have been handed 9 murder cases. I have closed all of them" he said.

"I know"

"And aside from the shockingly disturbing murder rate, that is a damn impressive record" Tony told him.

"Yeah, I know" Gibbs said. "Tony, did you take yesterday off to go to the funeral?" Gibbs asked.

"I went" Tony said. Gibbs gave him a look. "Ok yeah, I didn't go" Tony said.

"Won't Ambassador Quartermaine be a little peeved that you didn't go to her parents' funeral?" he asked.

"She'd better not be, she didn't go either" Tony said. "And how the hell did you find me?" he asked.

"I called Izzy" he told her.

"So you call her to find out where I am, but not on her birthday?" Tony asked.

"You're not exactly a candidate for father of the year either" Gibbs snapped.

"Yeah, but I have 5 kids and remember all of their birthdays. You can even do that for your one" he said.

"Fuck you" Gibbs said.

"Gibbs, as you said, it's 3am. Why the hell am I here?" he asked as he put his hands on Gibbs' desk.

"A case" he said.

"A murder?" Tony asked.

"Unclear" Gibbs told him. "But this case is way above Burley and Blackadder" he said as he handed his colleague the case folder.

"Lieutenant Douglas Warren, USN" Tony read. "Reads like an accident to me" he said.

"And to me, as well as the ME out at Pearl" Gibbs informed him.

"Pearl is way out of our jurisdiction" Tony told him. "And why the hell isn't the JAG Corps handling this?" he asked.

"Lt. Warren is the son of Elizabeth Warren, ring any bells?" he asked.

"As in Congresswoman Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)?" Tony asked.

"The very same" Gibbs nodded. "Lt. Warren was killed during a training exercise off of Kiribati"

"It says that Lt. Warren was a pilot. What the hell is he doing with a SEAL Team?" "He was TAD to SEAL Team 2" Gibbs said. "Which is under the Command of a Lieutenant Nathan Westbourne, your brother-in-law" Gibbs said.

"At least tell me I'm going in alone" Tony said.

"Nope" Gibbs shook his head. "But this part you actually might like" he said. "Director Morrow pulled some strings, and got you a partner that won't ruffle any Navy feathers" he said.

"Who?" Tony asked.

"Lieutenant Loren Singer" Gibbs said. "Your cousin, I believe?"

"Yeah" Tony nodded. "Even with the Political implications, why me?" Tony asked.

"Call it a gut feeling" Gibbs said.

"Rule 16: The problem with gut feelings, once you have one, you only see evidence that supports it" Tony said. "When am I expected at Pearl?" he asked.

"ASAP. You got a 7:30 flight out of Andrews. Lieutenant Singer will meet you there" he said.

"Alright" Tony said he said as he stood up and began to walk away. When he reached the end of the bullpen, he paused and turned his head. "Gibbs, how far am I permitted to go?" he asked.

"Do whatever you have to do, DiNozzo" Gibbs told him.

"Right" Tony nodded as he headed for the elevator.

1030 hours local time, 6 June 2003, Euphrates River, Iraq.

Fallujah. The last defensible position the Iraqi Army had before Baghdad. As the Iraqi Army completed their build up, the Alpha Team watched across the river. "Why the hell don't we just swing around from the southeast?" asked Sergeant Alex "Zander" Smith.

"Supply lines" said 1st Sergeant Chester Martin, the Delta Force's Senior NCO and Team Leader. "If we come straight up from the south for the main assault, the fucking Fedayeen will take a fucking razor blade to our supply lines. If we come across the desert from Jordan, we can push through Fallujah and encircle Baghdad from the South. When Saddam makes a run for it, it'll be to the North, towards Kirkuk and Mosul" he said.

"Where the Kurdish Rebels and 82nd Airborne will be waiting for them" said Master Sergeant Tali Colleton. Since Chester had taken over the team, Tali had been his number 2. "Our orders are to scout enemy positions across the river and report back to General Morrell" she added.

"Hey" said Staff Sergeant Anthony Dominick "Three" DiNozzo III as he pointed across the river. "Convoy approaching from the Northeast, 2 limos, heavy escort" he pointed out. Chester unwound his binoculars and lifted them up.

"Well I'll be damned" Chester grinned. "It appears we have a visitor" he said. "Tals, get on the line to HQ, let em know what we found" he ordered. Tali nodded and grabbed the radio from one of the 2 Humvees, which were concealed behind a large sand dune.

"You think it's really him?" Zander asked.

"You wanna see him?" Three grinned. "Right there, 3rd from the left" Three pointed out. Zander took aim with his sniper rifle and gave a look see.

"Quite the peacock isn't he?" Zander joked, looking over Saddam's extravagant uniform.

"The Napoleon of the Middle East" Three grinned.

"No dice, boys" Tali yelled. "HQ says that if we can take him alive, great, but making him a martyr will make this a 10 times harder" Tali said as she walked back over. Zander and Three watched across the river as Saddam walked up to the water's edge. Zander grinned as he stuck up a wet finger. "Stand down, Sergeant" Tali ordered. Zander ignored her as he brought his modified M-16 Sniper Rifle to his shoulder. "Goddamn it Razor, stand down" She yelled. Zander squeezed off a round. "Zander!" she yelled. Across the river, the round slammed into the epaulette on Saddam's left shoulder, taking the ornate piece clean off. Saddam jumped back and ran away like a frightened puppy. Zander grinned as he lowered the rifle.

"Wind kicked up" he smiled.

"Sergeant, don't you ever do that again" Chester snapped at him.

"Yes, 1st Sergeant" he replied.

"Now, come on, let's get the hell outta here" Chester added.

2000 hours, 6 June 2003, Andrews AFB, Maryland.

The sun was just beginning to set as the President's motorcade pulled up next to Air Force One. "He needs to do it" Rick yelled at Sonny as they got out of the car.

"If he does it, he'll be admitting he was wrong" Sonny, who was Senior Advisor to the President and the General Chairman of Obama/Edwards '04, shouted back.

"He has to do it now, before he has to do it later and it looks forced" Rick said.

"Both of you, shut up" the President said as he walked past them, his body man Rex following behind.

"Amen" Meg, the Chief of Staff agreed. Despite the President having announced that he would seek re-election over a month ago, he was still sinking in the polls. So it was put for by Rick, who was Campaign Manager, and agreed upon by both Meg and Sonny that the President should do a full on announcement from his hometown in Hawaii. And so, everyone, and I mean everyone would be making the trip to the President's compound in Hawaii. As they stepped onto the plane, Stephanie was immediately mobbed when she entered the Press Cabin.

"Ok, ok, I can only take 84 questions at the time" she said. "We're taking off in a few minutes and you'll get a full briefing then" she told them.

Meanwhile, after making sure his daughter Gigi was settled, the President moved to the Conference Room, to get the ball rolling. To say that he was unhappy would be a huge understatement. A magazine crushed in his hand, he threw open the door, and slammed it violently behind him. "It's this kind of crap that pisses me off" he said as he slapped the magazine, Newsweek, down on the table. His picture was on the cover, a headline reading "Don Obama's White House Mafia".

"Sir…" Jared spoke up.

"Allow me to read a few seconds" he said as he picked it up and flipped it open. "At the head of the "family" is President Obama himself, accompanied by his underbosses, Senior Advisor Sonny Corinthos and Secretary of Education Jeb Bush, the latter of whom has become the President's right hand when it pertains to domestic policy, and his Consigliore, Chief of Staff Megan Martin. With the help of his Caporégimes, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Wesley Clark, CDS Coalition Commander Irving Morrell, his deputy Major General Todd Manning and Admiral Sam Carsten, President, or Don Obama is quickly becoming the most powerful executive in our nation's history, and well on his way to becoming an American Caesar"

"Ouch" Sonny said.

"Not for nothing boss, when you kept me on and brought in Sonny, you had to know this was coming. The Justice Department has tried 3 times to bring RICO charges against Sonny. Luckily for me, I've never been charged, but I did defend him the last time" Meg spoke up.

"This has nothing to do with organized crime, it's all about Iraq" he said. "It was near unanimous in both the House and Senate. What the hell happened?"

"The initial declaration was only for the purposes of liberating Kuwait" Sonny said. "When we moved against Iraq itself, it required both an addition resolution and funding bill. Elway's paleocons voted against both, as did the liberal democrats" he said. "You're loved by center, but loathed by the flanks"

"We are this close to knocking Saddam from power. If we don't do it now, we never will" the President said.

"No one is arguing with you, Mr. President" said Secretary Bush.

"Will General Clark be in Honolulu?" he asked.

"Yes Sir" Sonny nodded. "He's flying out tomorrow morning"

"Good" the President nodded. "Let me have the room please" he said as he poured himself a cup of coffee. Everyone stood up to leave. "Jeb, stay behind a minute" he said. Once everyone was gone, Jeb closed the door behind them.

"What can I do for you, Mr. President?" he asked.

"You've been taking quite the beating in the papers as of late" the President said. "Liberals bashing you over your domestic policy targeting teacher tenure and more testing, Conservatives over your work with my administration" he said. "Given everything that's happened to you over the past few years, it's been quite the rollercoaster" he added.

The past 5 years had seen a lot of ups and downs for John Ellis Bush. It all started in 1998 when he was elected Governor of Florida. A year later, it came crashing down when his daughter Noelle and son John Jr. were killed in a car crash. Noelle had had a serious substance abuse problem, with crack-cocaine in particular. She had gotten into a car, high as a kite. John Jr. had tried to stop her, but Noelle ended up putting the car into a tree at 80mph, killing them both. It was soon after that, that Jeb's wife had filed for divorce and returned to Mexico, leaving Jeb and their son George (named for Jeb's father and brother) alone. In 2000, when his brother was elected President, things started to look up. That would all change on September 11th, when George, his wife Laura and daughter Jenna were killed at the family ranch in Texas. Jeb had been left to raise his niece Barbara, alone. Despite the urgings of his parents, Jeb had not only decided not to stand for re-election in 2002, but also resign the Governorship entirely. However, after hard convincing from his son, George, and niece/adoptive daughter Barb, he decided to stay in office. He would go on to be re-elected by the widest margin in state history.

"That would be a very large understatement, Mr. President" he said.

"Jeb, you came onboard with the promise that I would let you run the Education Department your own way"

"And you've kept that promise" Jeb said.

"Jeb, what I need from you now is a lot more. And that's why I'm going to give you an out. If you want, you can walk away when we land in Hawaii and I'll hold nothing against you. There's a Senate seat opening up next year in Florida. But if you choose to stay, I could really use your help" he said.

"What do you need, Mr. President?" he asked.

"I need you to be the Harry Hopkins to my FDR" he said. "These wars are gonna require me to give most of my attention to foreign affairs. However, I owe it to the American people to make sure that domestic affairs are looked after. I want that person to be you. While officially you would remain Secretary of Education, I would see to it that Interior, Agriculture, Labor, HHS, HUD, and Energy all report to you" he said. "Secretary Palmer will handle all foreign relations, and Reed will handle all security and military matters. McMahon will handle the FED and such. Everything else, would fall to you.

"That wouldn't be a problem, Mr. President" Jeb said. "Country First" he added.

"Country First" the President agreed. "I do everything I can to keep you out of the re-election stuff" he added.

"Actually, I wouldn't mind doing what I can" Jeb told him. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm a Republican through and through, but if you look at the clown car of assholes running, none of them are republicans. I mean sure, they call themselves Republicans, but none of them stand for what real Republicans stand for. I joined the Party of Lincoln, TR, Dewey, Eisenhower, Ford, my father" Jeb said. "All these ideological purist assholes care about is just that, ideological purity. And with the growing strength of the evangelical and paleoconservative wings, don't leave much room for folks like me. I mean, look at the list of real "winners" they're trotting out.

- Senate Majority Whip Don Nickles (R-OK)

- Governor Bill Owens (R-CO)

- Governor Bob Riley (R-AL)

- Fmr. Senator Bob Smith (R-NH)

- Representative Tom Tancredo (R-CO)

"None of them have the balls to follow through in the Middle East. Nickles is the closest thing in the group to being a moderate, and that's saying something" Jeb said.

0530 hours local time, 7 June 2003, Naval Station Pearl Harbor, Pearl Harbor, Honolulu, Hawaii.

Despite the early hour, it wasn't too early for Tony and Loren to begin their investigation. They had gotten said in a small classroom that had been used for classroom instruction for Navy pilot trainees "Nathan, what the hell is this" Tony said as he held up a piece of paper.

"My after action report" he said.

"It's 4 paragraphs long" Tony said. "My sister has written prescriptions longer than this" he said.

"There isn't much to say" Nathan said. "It was a simple training exercise. A 30-30 insertion"

"What's a 30-30 insertion?" Loren asked.

"Helo flies at 30 knots, 30 feet off the deck. They jump naked" he said.

"Naked?" Loren gave him a puzzled look.

"Without a parachute" Tony explained. "Nathan, what the fuck happened?" Tony yelled.

"I don't know" he said. "When we reached Doug in the water, he was dead. We rendezvoused with Dallas and made our way home" Nathan said.

"The Dallas? You RVed with a sub?" Tony asked.

"Yes" Nathan nodded.

"That isn't in your after action report" Loren told him.

"It isn't?" Nathan asked.

"No, it just says that you made the rendezvous and proceeded back to Pearl Harbor" Loren re-read. "We had assumed you had call back the chopper" she said. "Would you like to amend your statement?" she asked, handing him the paper. Nathan nodded and quickly wrote down the relevant information and signed his name a 2nd time.

"We tried, but by the time we radioed in, the chopper was out of range" Nathan said. "So we treaded water for a couple of hours until the RV"

"2 hours?" Loren asked. "Why the delay?"

"We were supposed to complete a 2 mile swim to shore and back" Nathan said.

"That wasn't in you report either" Loren continued her questioning.

"No, because we didn't do it" Nathan said. "We didn't want to leave Doug's body" he said.

"Was Lieutenant Warren capable of making that swim?" Tony asked.

"Yes" Nathan said. "He made a 5 mile swim the day with us the day he reported in"

"Nathan, what the hell happened out there?" Tony asked.

"I don't know" Nathan told him. "I guess he must have hit something in the water"

"That isn't in your after action report either" Loren said.

"I don't put speculation in my reports" he told her.

"Was this a Black Op, Lieutenant?" Tony asked.

"No"

"You're dismissed, Lieutenant" Tony told him. After Nathan was gone, Tony and Loren stepped outside and Tony lit up a cigarette.

"You think he's lying?" Loren asked.

"Through his teeth" Tony growled.

0700 hours local time, 7 June 2003, Obama Family Estate, 41-505 Kalanianaole Highway, Waimanalo Beach, Oahu, Hawaii.

The Obama Family Estate wasn't much of one, at least, not when you compared it with the likes of the Bush Family Ranch in Crawford, Texas, the Reagan Ranch in California, or Jimmy Carter's Peanut farm in Plains, Georgia. The estate was a total of 200 acres, with the main compound sitting on approximately 5 acres on the southern coast of the island of Oahu. Despite having had grown up relatively poor, the President's family had owned the Estate from back before Hawaii was even a state. His great-grandfather had bought the land when Hawaii 1st became a US territory, for a whopping 2 cents and acre. Back then, however, it was over 500 acres. The value of the land had risen considerably over the years, allowing various generations of the Obama family to make whatever additions they wanted. But it was in the 60s, when the Hawaii Department of Transportation came in, and bought up 300 acres at a considerable price to build the Kalanianaole Highway. The money from that sale is what had allowed Barack Sr. to invest in stocks that would later prove quite fruitful. However, it wasn't until long after his death that the stocks would pay dividends and it was the President who had built up the estate during his time in the Senate. At Main house was a Spanish Colonial revival, 2-story L-shaped structure. In addition to that, there was also a guest house, a boathouse, greenhouse, tennis court, stables, as well as a man-made tidal pool and private beach.

The sun was just coming over the horizon as Rick and his father walked along the water's edge. "We can't assume that it's gonna be Nickles" Rick said. "I know that he has the most institutional support and name recognition, but there are too many unknowns, especially in New Hampshire" he said.

"Right now is the most dangerous time for an incumbent, when there's no opponent yet" Sonny agreed. "However, Nickles is the only one who can't hit us on foreign policy, seeing as how he voted for resolution to continue on into Iraq"

"And that's why we need to be prepared for the others too" Rick said.

"You miss it?" Sonny asked. "All this?"

"Hell yeah" Rick smiled. "I thought I could give it all up after the blood bath 3 years ago, but god did I miss it" he grinned. "We have just over 48 hours until the speech, he'll need all the time we can get planning it"

"Is it written?" Sonny asked.

"Totally" Rick nodded.

"THAT'S IT, WE'RE STARTING FROM STRATCH WITH A BLANK PIECE OF PAPER!" the sound echoed off each of the buildings. It was Gabby's voice.

"Or not" Rick said.

"Get. The. Speech. Done" Sonny said as he poked his son in the chest.

"Yes Sir" Rick nodded. "Hey" he changed the subject. "Is that Meg?" he asked, his jaw hung slightly open. Sonny turned and saw a beautiful blonde women in a tight one-piece bathing suit stepping out the water, her face obscured by her wet hair, which hung down over her face. They watched as the women bend down and threw her head back, putting her hair back in place. And sure enough, it was Meg. Rick grinned widely as they walked over. "Meg" he smiled.

"Rickey" Meg returned the smile as she wringed out her hair.

"We were just discussing the President's agenda the next couple of days" Sonny said to his former Consigliore.

"Well, we're gonna need to set a few hours aside. Morrell and Manning are flying in from Kuwait, Holden from Bagram, and Wes & and the Joint Chiefs from DC" she told them.

"Fallujah?" Sonny asked.

"Yeah" Meg said. "It seems that the Lightning Count has come up with a real humdinger this time" she added. "Rick, do you think we'll have the airwaves clear by Monday?" she asked.

"The McCain's funeral was a small, private affair, it won't last much longer" he said. "It's freaky isn't it? Both of dying so close together?" he said.

"History is freaky like that" Meg agreed as she said as she dried off her hair. "I gotta go find the boss man" she said as she slipped a towel over her shoulders. Meg made her way along the beach and back through the gate to the grass of the main compound. The dew on the morning glass was cold against her bare feet. She found the President out by the garage, sitting on the tailgate of an old ford pickup; cigarette in one hand, coffee mug in the other. "Morning Boss" she said as she walked over.

"Meg" the President nodded. "What's the good word?" he asked as he blew out a puff of smoke. "Besides the speech not being done"

"You heard that?" Meg asked.

"I think all of Pearl Harbor heard it" the President said.

"Congresswoman Warren's son was killed in a training exercise near Kiribati" Meg said.

"Terrific, we just gave one of the most anti-military members of congress another thing to rant about" the President said. "And that poor boy" he added. "How old?"

"25" Meg said.

"So young" the President said. "What happened?" he asked.

"Unclear at this time" Meg said. "NCIS and JAG have both sent representatives to investigate"

"Who did they send?"

"Admiral Chegwidden send a Lt. Loren Singer. She recently returned from a tour as Battle Group JAG to Task Force 63"

"She sat 2nd chair at the War Crimes Tribunal didn't she?" he asked.

"Yes Sir" Meg nodded.

"And NCIS?" POTUS asked.

"Supervisory Special Agent Anthony Dominick DiNozzo Jr." Meg smiled.

"Tony's in Hawaii?" the President asked.

"Yes Sir" she nodded.

"Well, let's hope he has enough tact to deal with the Congresswoman" he said.

"He doesn't" Meg said.

"Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of" the President concurred. "So, what have you and Rick cooked up for Monday?" he asked.

"Everything is clear, and we've informed all departments not to make any major announcements so that we can have the news cycle to ourselves. However, we are considering postponing" she said.

"Why?" he asked.

"The 1st round of subpoenas are gonna come out on Monday" she said.

"Aw hell, Meg" he said as he flicked away a cigarette. If we wait 2 months that's when the 1st round of subpoenas will come" he said. "It's a witch hunt. They only thing we can do is get prepared to defend ourselves" he said.

0900 hours local time, 7 June 2003, Joint-Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

"This is gonna be a hoot and a holler" Tony said as he and Loren watched the small gulfstream come in on final approach.

"Did you see that press coverage yesterday?" Loren asked her older cousin.

"You mean when she called the military 'Nazi Stormtroopers'?" he asked. She nodded. "Yeah, I saw it" he said. "Fucking cunt" he snarled.

"Watch it" Loren cautioned.

"Bit me" Tony replied as the plane pulled up next to them and the ramp dropped. "Oh, for fucks sake" Tony said when he saw who was escorting the Congresswoman.

"Congresswoman Warren, this is Lieutenant Loren Singer of the Navy JAG Corps and Supervisory Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo of NCIS" the Congresswoman's escort told her.

"How long have you been with NCIS, Special Agent DiNozzo?" the Congresswoman asked.

"A month" Tony said.

"The agent investigating my son's death has only been on the job a month?!" Congresswoman Warren raved.

"In which time I've closed 9 murder cases" Tony said.

"Before joining NCIS, Agent DiNozzo was a US Army Special Forces Officer" Loren said. "He's also, Lieutenant Westbourne's brother-in-law" she added.

"That's like letting the SS investigate Auschwitz" Warren shot off.

"Fuck you" Tony told her.

"What's your badge number?"

"We don't have badge numbers" Tony told her. "But in case you're wondering, my name is Supervisory Special Agent Anthony Dominick DiNozzo Jr. of the United States Naval Criminal Investigative Service" Tony said as he yanked off his glasses and got right in her face.

"Well, Special Agent DiNozzo, I'll have you know that I won't let the military off that easy. I won't accept that he died with his boots one. There will be no military funeral, no folded flag, no missing man fly over. My son was better than all that. He was destined for more than a 6x5 plot at Arlington" she ranted.

"They all were" Tony told her, shutting her up right quick.

"Lieutenant Singer, why don't you show the Congresswoman where she can freshen up" said the Congresswoman's escort.

"Of course" Loren nodded. "If you'll follow me Mam" she held out her arm. Once they were far enough away, Tony turned to leave when someone barked his name.

"DiNozzo" the voice carried enough venom in it. Tony stopped and turned around, as the voice had emanated from the female agent that had accompanied the Congresswoman.

"Ya know, I thought that back when the Army canned your ass that I'd seen the last a you" Tony said as he slipped his aviators back on.

"Oh Tony, you should've known better than that" she grinned.

"So tell me, Hollis, how much of a pain in my ass are you going to be?" he asked.

"We're on the same side now, Tony" she said. "We both want justice for the kid" she said.

"I'm having a sawbones flown in from the sandbox to do the autopsy. Everyone here is keen on protecting someone"

"Who is it?" she asked.

"Jeanne Benoit" Tony said. "I called her before I flew in this morning. She should be arriving at about midnight tonight" he said.

"Ok, I'll keep the wonderful Congresswoman busy until the fair Captain arrives" she told him.

"And I'll see if I can pry the truth out of my wonderful brother-in-law" Tony said.

2230 hours local time, 7 June 2003, US 6th Armored Division Headquarters, Mafraq, Jordan.

With Lieutenant General Morrell on a plane stateside, his deputy, Major General Todd Manning had been left in command of the CDS Coalition. The upcoming attack, codenamed Operation Desert Comet, was to be a massive armored attack across the Western Iraqi Desert, over the Euphrates River, and into Fallujah. The move would split the Iraqi Defenses in 2, and cut off the defenders of Ramadi to the Northwest. It was a risky gambit, but if successful, it could shorten the war by months. Leading the attack, would be the recently resurrected US 6th Armored Division. Knowing that the 6th was mostly untested in battle, General Manning decided to review the tankers personally. There was no doubt in his mind that the 6th was well prepared, equipped with the latest M1A2s Main Battle Tanks. It was once said that training is very useful, but nothing when compared to experience. To that effect, the 6th would be flanked by the Quebecois 1st Armored Division, the British King's Royal Hussars Regiment and the German 7th and 10th Panzer Divisions.

The attack was also important for political reasons. Despite the initial popularity of the Liberation of Kuwait, the further incursion into Iraq itself had turned out to be extremely unpopular with the International Community. The Presidency of Barack Obama and Premierships of Pierre Talon in Quebec and Roland Cartland in Britain were riding heavily on a successful outcome of the war.

As Major General Manning reviewed the men, on the other side of camp, a small Humvee convoy pulled up. Dressed in his sanitized fatigues and a cigar between his teeth, Colonel Thomas Colleton, Commanding Officer of the Delta Force, stepped out of the Humvee. Accompanying him was his aide, Staff Sergeant Izabella Gibbs, formerly of the British Foreign Intelligence. They stepped away from the convoy and moved towards a tent that was off to the side of the compound. She threw back the tent and, wasn't all that shocked what he saw. His daughter, Tali, was topless and turned away from everyone, with a dartboard spray-painted on her back. "Ya know" he said quietly to his aide. "What's sad, is that I am not at all surprised" he said.

"I couldn't agree more, Sir" Izzy agreed. And to think, she's the mother of your grandson" she added. "Ten-Hut!" she yelled. Everyone turned around, even Tali, who had 2 darts hanging from her back.

"Well this is awkward" she slurred, obviously having had quite a few drinks. With a grunt, she reached behind her and pulled the darts from her back, tossing them back on the table. She then grabbed her tan t-shirt and slipped in on.

"What's up Colonel?" Chester asked, his feet up on the table.

"I heard something interesting on my way in" the Colonel said.

"Yeah, what's that Dadio?" Tali asked as she took a swig from a half-empty bottle of vodka.

"A shooter from this team took a pot shot at Saddam this morning" he said as he crossed his arms across his chest.

"Yeah, and who might that be?" Zander asked. He was seated against the fall wall, his back against the one of the tent poles. His modified M-16 was laying across his chest, a cigarette hanging from his lips.

"Gee, I don't Sergeant, who do you think it was?" the Colonel replied.

"Beats me, Colonel" Zander replied.

"Papillion, report in to General Manning that we've arrived. 1st Sergeant Martin, with me"

"Yes Sir" Chester said as he stood up. Once they were outside the tent, Chester lit up a cigarette. "What's up Boss?" he asked.

"You wanna tell me what the hell I just walked in on?" he asked.

"Just blowing off a little steam" Chester said. "Desert Comet has us all on edge" he said.

"That's why I'm here, I'm pulling Alpha Team off of Desert Comet" Colleton told him. "Bravo Team will take your place" he added.

"What the fuck!" Chester said. "We've been on this for a month. We're prepped and ready" he said.

"The Lighting Count has decided to change things up a bit. A member of the Alpha team, your team, will be temporarily re-assigned to Ranger Units"

"You can't be serious?" Chester questioned.

"I am" Colleton replied. "Last night, a Marine Recon Unit called in an airstrike on what they believed was over 100 advancing Iraqi tanks. The Air Force dropped over 11,000 pounds of ordinance. You wanna guess what they hit?"

"Camels?"

"Nothing" Colleton said. "They hadn't slept in a while, which affected their depth perception. They mistook the lights from a nearby village as advancing armor"

"Oh for Christ's sake" Chester said.

"Morrell wants these units to have Special Forces backup from now on. The SEALs were detailed to the Jarheads, y'all get the ground pounders" he said.

"Fine" Chester said. "Not like we gotta choice anyway" he growled.

"No you do not" Tom told him.

"Who am I sending?" he asked.

"I'll leave that up to you" Colleton told him. "Sober up and prepare to move out at 1st light" he added.

"Yes Sir" Chester nodded before turning to leave.

"I didn't catch that salute, 1st Sergeant" Colleton called after him.

"Imagine that" Chester retorted, not looking back as he walked away.

1535 hours local time, 7 June 2003, Obama Family Estate, 41-505 Kalanianaole Highway, Waimanalo Beach, Oahu, Hawaii.

"So as you can see here" General Morrell, the Commander of CDS Coalition Forces in Iraq, pointed with his with metal pointer on the map of the screen. "We bypass Ramadi and hit Fallujah head on" he said. "The 6th Armored, supported by several Infantry divisions will lead the assault" he said. "I know that it's a risk, but if successful, it could shorten the war by months" he said.

"I don't like leaving a bulge in our lines" said the President. "What if Ramadi becomes a Bastogne, or Tobruk?" he asked.

"Sir, the Iraqis have but a few Infantry Regiments in Ramadi, nothing that can do any real damage"

"They can wreak havoc on our supply convoys" said Secretary of Defense Jack Reed. "I agree with the President. Even if it prolongs the war, it'll be worth it to prevent further casualties"

"Irv, if we make the move into Ramadi, how long would it take to secure it?" asked General of the Army Wesley Kane Clark, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

"To secure the entire city?" Morrell asked. "2 years"

"How long would it take to eject enemy combat forces from the city?"

"4-6 weeks" Morrell said.

"And when would the kickoff be?"

"June 22nd" Morrell replied.

"How quaint" the President said as he lit a cigarette. "Ok" he paused. "Do we have the strength to move on both Ramadi and Fallujah simultaneously?" he asked.

"Yes and No" Morrell said.

"Mr. President, the CDS has the manpower, but the United States by itself does not. In the case of an all-out, simultaneous offensive against both Ramadi and Fallujah, we would have to heavily on armored forces from the AROQ, British and German Militaries. We would also need support from the AROQ Light Infantry and the British Regulars" said General Clark. "Not that they aren't reliable, but both the British and Germans are facing stiff opposition to the war at home" he said.

"Are any of them in danger of pulling out?" the President asked.

"My team doesn't think so, Mr. President" said David Palmer, the Secretary of State.

"Mr. President, the point we're trying to make is that our Allies are far less experienced than our own boys" said General Morrell. "Less experience equals more casualties" he added.

"Leaving our flanks exposed will surely lead to just as many if not more casualties, as will giving Saddam time to prepare his defenses in Fallujah. We go ahead as originally planned on the 22nd. Is that a problem General Morrell?" the President asked.

"No Sir" Irv replied.

"Good. David, have your people coordinate with Irv's, we'll need to make sure that our allies understand that Irv is running the show"

"Of course, Mr. President" David nodded. As the President stood, so did everyone else in the room.

"Ten-Hut!" Wes yelled as all of the men in uniform snapped to attention. As General Holden continued briefing the Joint Chiefs and the Secretaries, the President, followed by Meg, Sonny and Jeb stepped outside.

"June 22nd" the President said as he lit a cigarette and snapped the lighter shut. "It's like a bad joke" he growled.

"They have good reason" Sonny said. "We were this close to crushing the commies in '68 when Johnson ordered an end to the bombings" he added. "I guarantee you that Wes and Jack are in there thinking the same thing"

"Hey, it's not like I never served" the President said. "I got the Silver Star in Grenada"

"Please don't compare Grenada to Vietnam, boss" Sonny said.

"I wasn't" the President replied. "It was because of all the fuckups in Grenada that things got reorganized giving more direct authority to the Joint Chief and taking it away from the civilians"

"I would still advise against it, Sir" Sonny told him.

"Right" the President said. "Jeb, you've got some foreign policy chops, get together with the staffers over at State and DOD, and start running the numbers on vamping up recruitment. I want hard numbers on my desk for an increase of 2.5 million over 10 years, with a retention of 35% after that" he said.

"Are we gonna raise taxes?" he asked.

"Not necessarily, but we are gonna have to roll back your Brother's 2001 tax cuts" the President said. "Sorry Jeb" he added.

"It's ok, Mr. President. W. would understand" Jeb said.

"Sonny, tell Ricky to start kicking some ass over there on that speech. Also, I want you to start putting together some notes for Stephanie for the upcoming offensive. She's gonna be bombarded with questions once things get rolling"

"I'll take care of it, Mr. President" Sonny nodded as he walked away, leaving only the President and Meg, his Chief of Staff, standing there.

"Meg"

"Yes, Mr. President?" she asked.

"We're gonna need a lawyer, other than the White House Counsel, someone very, and I mean very good"

"I'm on it, Mr. President" she said.

2350 hours local time, 7 June 2003, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

It was nearly midnight as Tony stood on the flight line, cigar between his teeth as he waited for Captain Benoit's flight to land. For Tony, it had been a very, very long day. Despite no longer being in the Army, he still had his contacts. He knew that the Army was preparing for an assault on Baghdad from the west across the Jordanian Desert. He wished like hell that he could be with em, but alas, that wasn't his job anymore. He turned his headed as he saw a C-141 come in on final approach. He grinned as he blew out a large puff of smoke. Despite having only met in March, Tony and Jeanne had become fast friends. They were able to relate on many levels, including the tough childhoods they had each faced. The wheels on the Starlifter screeched as they slammed onto the tarmac as the plane came in for a landing. Tony flicked away his cigar as he walked over to the hangar to which the plane had pulled into. Getting off the plane were mostly uniformed Navy personnel, with duffels over their shoulders. Tony leaded as he waited for Jeanne to step off the ramp. She waived at him as she appeared in the door and walked over, a small pack on her back. "You dragged by ass 8,700 miles, this had better be important" she said in her heavy Louisianan accent.

"8,725" Tony said as he lit a cigarette, snapping the lighter shut.

"8,725.9157, to be exact" she said as she took the cigarette from Tony's hand and took a puff herself.

"Show off" Tony grumbled, he said as he pushed off the wall and lit up another smoke. "I don't suppose you've seen the news?" he asked.

"I have. Congresswoman Warren's son" she said. "I take it that's why I'm here" she said.

"Yep" Tony nodded as they walked along in the night as Saturday the 7th, turned to Sunday the 8th. "Lieutenant Warren was TAD to a Platoon from SEAL Team 2, led by Lieutenant Nathan Westbourne…"

"Your brother-in-law?" Jeanne interrupted.

"Yeah, although not for much longer" Tony replied.

"Kate still think you went to Iraq as part of some secret plot to cheat on her?" Jeanne grinned.

"Yep" Tony nodded.

"She still sleeping with that Marine Corps, Major?"

"Yep" Tony nodded again.

"Where I come from, she'd be shot for that" Jeanne told him.

"Of course she would. I'd do the same thing if my Uncle was Governor" Tony grinned.

"I thought your old man had Pataki on his payroll?" Jeanne asked.

"He does" Tony said. "But money hardly makes up for flesh and blood" he quipped.

"My family has held power back home for quite a long time, even back before the Kingfish himself" she said. "Uncle Henry is just the latest in a very long line of Long Family politicians"

"You know that your Uncle takes money from us too right?" he asked.

"We're the Longs, of course he's on your payroll. Long is Creole for corruption" she grinned. "So cut to the chase T, why am I here?" she asked as she lit a cigarette.

"I want you to do a 2nd autopsy on Lieutenant Warren" Tony said.

"I'm no Medical Examiner" Jeanne said. "I specialize in keeping people alive, not telling you why they died"

"There's something off about the 1st autopsy. According to that, Lieutenant Warren died when he hit his head on something in the water"

"That's plausible" Jeanne said. "The chance of him having had hit something is highly improbable, but if he did, it likely would have rendered him unconscious, and caused him to drown, if not kill him outright" she said.

"Either way, I want that 2nd autopsy" he told her.

"I'll do what I can" Jeanne told him as she snubbed out the cigarette and lit another. "But don't be surprised if the results don't change"

4 hours later- 0430 hours local time, 8 June 2003, Base Morgue, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

"Tell me you got something" Tony barked as he stormed through the doors to the morgue, Lieutenant Singer and Special Agent Mann in tow.

"Oh, I found something alright" Jeanne said as she lit up another cigarette. "Massive head trauma, 4 fractured cervical vertebrae, a crushed chest and lacerated lungs. Take your pick, they all would have been fatal" she said.

"All of that was in the 1st report" Hollis spoke up. "It was concluded that it was a drowning after hitting his head. Are you now saying otherwise?" she asked.

"This boy never had time to drown" Jeanne said. "He was killed on impact"

"From hitting something in the water?" Loren Singer asked.

"Actually, the water itself" Jeanne said. "It was likely as hard as concrete when he splashed down"

"How?" Loren asked.

"Terminal Velocity tends to do that" Jeanne said.

"Terminal Velocity is 125mph, you can hit that in a 30-30 insertion"

"No, but you can in a HALO Jump" Tony said. "Especially if that jump was from 35,000 feet"

"Bingo" Jeanne said. "His oxygen levels were so low, it was likely that he was already unconscious when he went in"

"So Lieutenant Westbourne lied to us" Loren said.

"Oh, I think he may have done a little more than that" Jeanne said as she stepped away from the table and over to a different one. "Look at this" she said, showing them a disassembled oxygen mask. "According to Lieutenant Westbourne's pre-op plan, this mask was brand new out of the box when it was issued to Lieutenant Warren. Which then begs the question, what the hell happened to this O-ring" she said as she used a pair of forcipes to hold it under a magnifying glass.

"A crack" Hollis observed.

"That's to clean for a crack" Tony said. "That O-ring's been cut"

"We checked that mask before, and it worked" said Loren.

"The cut's too small for it to leak in the warm air down here at Sea Level" Jeanne said. "But in the cold up at 35,000, the ring would contract, widening the slit"

"It'd be like sucking concrete through a soda straw" Tony said.

"So what are you to saying?" Hollis asked. "That Lieutenant Warren's death was intentional?"

"Agent Mann, this here boy been murdered" Jeanne replied ominously.

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(Tony's voice)- Next time on "28 Seconds: Blood & Iron"-

In Hawaii, Tony and Hollis' backs are to the wall as they attempt to break the SEAL code of silence. At the same time, the President's staff prepare to kick off his re-election campaign. In Iraq, Three draws the short straw and gets re-assigned to a Ranger Company.

A/N- I'm back guys. It's been a slow start, but with school and work wrapping up, I'm gonna have a lot of time to write coming up. So please review and send PMs. I absolutely love hearing from you guys. Y'all are the best. Have a safe and Merry Christmas… Or Chanukah… or Kwanza, or whatever the hell you celebrate, have a happy holiday. And if you don't celebrate anything, maybe you can take comfort in these few words: "It's Festivus for the rest of us"

Also, I would like to thank my English 101 & 102 Professor, Prof. Angius, who gave me a second chance when no one else did. It was her who inspired me to keep going and start writing again as I put my life back together. She is a true inspiration to me, and I hope to do her proud.

From all of us here at "28 Seconds", Goodnight.