Prologue

After getting her degree in Journalism at Georgetown, Sarah McGee happened into a job at the Post. Her boyfriend of the moment was working at the Post and introduced her to the City Editor Eleanor Powell, who was impressed with her scathing wit and intelligence. She asked for a sampling of her writing and was offered a job two weeks later. Sarah took the job because she needed one, but after a couple of months she was hooked on being an investigative journalist and Eleanor knew that she had a star in the making.

Because of her brother's job at NCIS, she knew that remnants of the once powerful Philly and Baltimore crime family the Macaluso's were using navy personnel to smuggle drugs from China cheaply for distribution throughout the East Coast. Over dinner, Tim had mentioned the case because they were working with the FBI on it, yet they had the lead and the reason was simple: Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo. When Tony was a cop, he almost had singlehandedly taken down the Macaluso Family. It was the reason that he made a detective's gold badge so young.

Tim was telling her how at first Tony was his old sarcastic self, but after a couple of weeks of coming into contact with old Baltimore contacts, detectives he worked with, and occasionally members of the Macaluso Family that he'd become serious 24/7. She remembered him saying that a quiet Tony was a dangerous Tony. His obsession with taking down the Macaluso Family once and for was starting to affect the team.

"He and Ziva are fighting. She thinks he is being reckless with his life," said Tim.

"How so?" she asked over their third glass of wine.

She knew that Tim's tongue loosened when he had a little too much to drink.

"Without backup he went into a mafia bar in Baltimore's Little Italy. He told Gibbs he was following up a lead, but instead he went into the bar to prod a hornet's nest. Mike Macaluso's son, who is still in a Super Max because of Tony, was there. He threatened to have a hit put out on Tony. The only reason we found out about it was because the FBI has an undercover man working in the bar," Tim explained as he sipped his fourth wine. "Ziva and Gibbs are worried that he is going to get himself killed. I mean there has to be a reason for his behavior but he won't share. I checked the old case and it got bloody at the end. A young woman was shot and killed, one of the daughters of the Philly Macaluso Family. Fornell said the rumor was that she loved Tony and he led her on. I think guilt is at work here."

"And she is angry with him?" she asked.

"They have a complicated relationship," smiled Tim.

"Are they sleeping with each other?" she asked wanting to sound like she cared about the team dynamics as much as the case.

"No, but part of me wish they would. I think if they slept with each other they would either discover they are really just best friends or that they are soulmates," he said.

"Soulmates, Tim, really? Grow up," she chuckled.

She knew that she was far more jaded when it came to relationships than he was. Her brother was still stuck on the Forensic Scientist at NCIS Abby Scuito. She thought Abby was leading him on and wasn't good enough for him anyway. Tim needed someone who'd support him to go back to his writing. She wanted her brother out of the navy cop business and back to being a bestselling author.

"I think they exist. As a matter of fact, I bet you have one," he said.

She laughed then decided to push her luck a little. Tim was sounding really loose and more than a little drunk, if he was willing to talk about soulmates with her.

"Have you got the navy personnel yet?" she asked.

"That's the problem. So far, we got one Petty Officer and he will not talk. Gibbs thinks the navy side is being run by some ex-marines who run a brutal and efficient smuggling ring," he said.

That was all she needed to know to start her own investigation. It took two weeks of snooping, asking questions, and even greasing some palms, but she finally managed to get a scared Quartermaster, Chief Billy Moss, to talk to her. He wanted her to introduce him to her friend in the FBI for protection, but first she wanted to meet with him and talk to him. They arranged to meet in the park area of Rock Creek Park at eleven a night.

It was a chilly December night. Sarah arrived at quarter to eleven in order to make sure she was being set up. Tim taught her how to be paranoid. She sat in her car without the heat on, lights on, or engine running. The car was parked in an almost hidden spot. She had arranged to meet Chief Moss at the park bench, which she had a good view of.

After twenty minutes, she thought about lighting a cigarette to warm up a little since she was freezing. She was trying to quit, but still smoked one or two under stress or after sex. Tim would have a fit if he knew I smoked. Hell, Tim would have a fit if he knew I had sex.

Finally, a car showed up and Moss in his civies got out. He walked over to the bench and sat down. She could see the steam coming out of his mouth from the cold air.

"Well, it's show time," she said to herself.

Before she could even open her door, three rough and hard men came out of nowhere. It was as if they were sitting in wait for Moss. Form the way they moved, held themselves, and looked, she guessed that they were military, probably marines. The leader of the three had a sadistic smile on his face, which reminded her of sculpted granite. Moss saw them and started to panic. Shit, shit, shit, this is a setup.

She readied to start up her car and get out of there, but first she needed to see what happened to Moss. Watching the men, they wasted no time. The granite face one barked an order and one of the other men took a knife out of his leather jacket. Moss started to run, but he was caught instantly and had his throat cut.

"Shit!" she screamed.

Starting up the car, she gunned it and took off. As she did, she heard gunfire and the back window of her Volkswagen New Beetle. In a panic, she dumped her bag out on the passenger seat as she looked for her I-Phone. She picked it up and speed dialed he brother. He picked up.

"Yeah, Sarah," he answered.

"Tim, I'm in trouble."