Dedicated to 3 victims of Air France Flight 8969 and the surviving passengers and crew who went through the terrible ordeal. A plane stands on the tarmac in New York. It's been taken over by hijackers, who are preparing the worst terrorist atrocity the world has ever seen since 9/11. The men are heavily armed and carry powerful explosives. Leroy Jethro Gibbs faces a terrible dilemma. Storm the plane, lose 173 passengers and crew, including Tony and Ziva, but let it take off, and there will be an even bigger price to pay.

TWA FLIGHT 1177
PARIS, FRANCE
11:15 A.M.

Tony and Ziva were coming back from Paris on TWA Flight 1177. They were seated in the very front. As the plane was about to prepare for takeoff, four men dressed in black coats board the plane. The plane would only be on the ground for the short time it would take to clean, refuel and board the passengers for the flight to America.

Boarding was nearly over, but another sign of the security situation. Police boarded the plane for one more check.

"Presidential police," the leader, Achmed Yousef, identified himself, revealing an ID badge from inside his jacket-suit as did the other three as they entered. He motioned at two of his men. "You two, take the rear." Ahmed went into the cockpit, with the fourth man standing guard at the door, holding an Uzi submachine gun.

COCKPIT

Ahmed entered. "Police, nobody move please." He showed his ID. "Presidential Police. We're carrying out an identity check." The captain nodded and headed for the door. Ahmed blocked his path. "No. You stay here. We'll handle."

"It'd be best if I made an announcement," the Captain suggested.

"Okay, go ahead."

The Captain spoke into his ear piece. "Ladies and Gentlemen. Good morning. This is your Captain speaking. There will a short delay while the police..."

CABIN

"...will come to the cabin to carry out a passport check. Please remain seated. We apologize for the inconvenience. We should be on our way shortly."

"Passport," Mohamed, a man with a scar from his right eyebrow to his hairline, asked Tony and Ziva. They gave them their passports. Mohamed looked at them and gave them back and moved on. Ziva noticed that they were armed. That was really unusual because police don't usually board planes with Kalashnikovs.

"Passports please," a man without a scar asked, holding a Uzi strapped to his right shoulder.

This unauthorized delay to Flight 1177 was making the French military suspicious. The GIGN were already heading toward the plane.

"What the hell?" Tony asked himself, looking out the window looking at the GIGN.

Why are there so many of them? Ziva asked herself. "I don't know what's happening, but something odd is going on."

Mohamed came over and looked out the same window. "Talout!" he whispered in frustration as he ran towards Achmed.

Ziva's eye nearly popped out of her head. Talout was Arabic for Infidel. "We are so fucked."

"Oh, shit," Tony grunted.

A French man got out of his seat and walked toward Ahmed, reaching into his pocket to retrieve his wallet. Mohamed noticed him and followed.

"Hey!" Mohamed yelled. "Hold it! Sit down!"

Ahmed came out of the cockpit to see what was going on.

"Can I help?" the Frenchman asked, showing his ID to Achmed. The man was a French police officer.

"No, thank you," Ahmed answered.

"All right..." the man said as he put his ID back into his jacket. As he looked down, he noticed a grenade on Ahmed's belt and an Uzi strapped inside his jacket.

Realizing he'd been made, Ahmed pulled out his Uzi and put it in the policeman's face. "Hands up! Get back! Get back right now! Get back!"

At that moment, the man without a scar, Ramzi, pulled out a pistol and herded everyone to the back. "All of you get the back! Hurry!" Some music was playing at the rear of the plane. Ramzi aimed his gun at a flight attendant. "SHUT THAT VOICE OF SATAN!" She did immediately. "Sit down! You two! Don't move. Nobody move."

Ahmed came into the cabin wielding his Uzi gun. "We are not the police. We are Mujahideen," he said, starting his rant. These men were not the police, but terrorists. They belonged to a violent group of Muslim extremists. They aimed to enforce an Islamic state on Algeria, which was still under French and American influence, no matter what it took, and seizing the plane was part of that plan. "We are aware of the truth. We will not stop until Algeria is returned to her former holy glory. We can do it! Our time has come. It could be in fighting, anything, whatever! We will succeed! Insha'Allah!" Ahmed finished, waving his Uzi.

Ramzi pulled out a bunch of dynamite stuck together from his jacket. "Look at this! This is a very powerful bomb! There are others just like it, ready for a great firework show in the sky!"

Ahmed paced the aisle waving his Uzi. "We are the Mujahideen of the People!" He stopped at the front of the aisle, waving his gun in a semi-circle from the passengers to his chest. "God has chosen us to die and you to die with us!" This man was a notorious killer. "There is nothing to fear...God awaits us all in his heavenly paradise."

Outside, news of what was happening spread quickly, and reporters arrived on the scene. In America, President Barack Obama was alerted about the situation. It was an international crisis. He spent the whole afternoon on the phone trying to figure out what was going on. It was pretty confusing. The French authorities were determined to get tough. It was difficult to discuss the problem with them.

Ahmed and Mohamed came in the cockpit.

"Give me your jacket, Captain," Ahmed ordered calmly. The terrorists decided to put on the flight crews' uniforms to confuse any GIGN snipers. "Take off immediately."

"I can't. The boarding steps are still attached to the plane."

"Then call and tell them to remove the steps."

CABIN

In the cabin, Ramzi was not happy with what he saw.

"Cover your head," He said to all the women in a calm voice. "Cover your head more," he said to another woman. Woman started covering their heads with blankets, veils and other types of clothe. Their Islamic customs were not being respected. Men and women sharing the same restrooms, sitting next to each other, and above all...women with their heads uncovered. That was intolerable for Mohamed. It threw him into a rage. This is what woman had to do if they followed the religion of Islam. "You too," he ordered, pointing his gun at Ziva, with Tony following her. She did as ordered. "Unacceptable. Move to the back!"

Ramzi's character was very peculiar. The passengers called him 'The Madman' because he was always on the knife edge. He had fits of rage and was always on the brink of fury. What he saw in the cabin was intolerable for him. He thought he had to cover these women up.

"...We are the Soldiers of Mercy! Allah has selected us as his soldiers! We are here to wage war in his name!" Ahmed declared on the intercom.

COCKPIT

Now, two hours in the whole damn thing, the hijackers wanted to talk the French military.

"Is this the radio?" Ahmed asked, grabbing the radio speaker.

"Yes," the captain answered.

"You in the tower," he began. "We have taken control of this TWA flight. We are the Armed Islamic Group. Remove the boarding steps." No response. "Do you hear me? Do you understand? Remove the boarding steps! Do you hear me?" He turned to the Captain. "What the hell is wrong with this thing? They don't hear me."

"They didn't hear you because you probably both talked at the same time," the Captain explained. "You have to start again."

Ahmed shoved the radio speaker into the Captain's hands. "You tell them. Do it."

"TWA 1177...What do you want me to say?" he asked Ahmed. The terrorists were determined to take off for Washington D.C. They said that they were going to hold a press conference there. But the plane could not be moved. The passenger boarding stairs were still attached and the GIGN had blocked the plane's path with vehicles. "TWA 1177. The passenger boarding stairs are still in place. Please remove them immediately. I'll repeat it one more time, remove the boarding stairs so that we can leave for America."

They were met with a blind refusal. Things were starting to go wrong for the hijackers. The GIGN strategy was to not to give way on a single point, but it was dangerous policy, which they were soon to find out.

Ahmed grabbed the speaker. "We are going to blow up the world! We are going to blow up the plane and everyone in it! Do you hear me?! Do you hear me?!"

The Captain took the speaker back. "I'll say it once again. Please remove the boarding stairs so that we can leave for America."

Ahmed took it back. "Do you think we are joking? We will show you how we are joking! We are Soldiers of God! We are ready to die!" He put down the radio. "We will show them!" He said to the crew. He left the cockpit. They were about to send a message to the French government.

CABIN

The terrorists selected their victim. A French police officer. Two rows behind Tony and Ziva's new seats, Mohamed and Ahmed approached the said person.

"Can you come with us, please?" Ahmed asked. "We need your help."

Reluctantly, he obliged. He got out his bag and followed them. He was walking, but reluctantly, because he didn't know what was going to happen to him.

"Open the door, please," Ahmed asked a steward. The door was opened as he turned to the police man. "Listen closely. We're sending you with a message for the goverment. Tell them that we're demanding that Abassi Madani and Ali Belhadj be freed at once. Is that clear? Is that clear?"

"Okay," the police man answered.

"Now get out."

The man started walking onto the stairs. Ahmed changed his mind. He nodded at Mohamed, who nodded back. He aimed his AK-47 at the French guy's head.

TBC. I'm going to update very soon, so please review. Appreciate it.