Personal Time:

It was well past morning when Tony DiNozzo came fully awake. The aggravating sound of a gasoline-powered leaf blower seemed to bore into his brain. He sat on the edge of the bed for a moment trying to decide whether to get up, or flop back down. His stomach made his mind up for him when it growled at him as if to say "Did someone cut your throat?" After washing his face, and a quick shave, he made his way to the kitchen. Opening the refrigerator, he found some ham. He gave it a sniff. It smelled okay, so maybe it was safe to eat it. He had to get to the grocers soon, he thought.

He was just finishing the sandwich he had made when his cell phone rang. It was his boss, Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs on the line.
"What's up boss?"
Gibbs replied, "What's up, is where the hell are you, DiNozzo? You were supposed to be at your desk four hours ago. Are you sick or something? And before you answer that, if you are sick, you had better be answering this from the hospital".
DiNozzo said, "Don't you remember boss? I'm off today. I told you about it last week and you gave me the okay. I have some personal business to take care of."
There was silence for a moment, then Gibbs replied, "Oh, was that today? Okay, take care of whatever it is you have to do. See you tomorrow."

Tony dressed and went to the apartment next door. An 80 year old woman named Tillie Madson lived there. Miss Tillie, as everyone called her, was an independent lady had who lived alone since her husband, Robert, passed away two years ago. She was in relatively good health and baked the best oatmeal raisin cookies he had ever tasted. He had found himself becoming quite fond of her and checked up on her regularly. She had asked him to take her to the bank that afternoon to take care of a problem with her account. For reasons she could not understand, she seemed to be overdrawn when she thought she had enough money to pay her bills. She came to the door and smiled when she saw him.
"Anthony, you didn't forget me."
"How could I forget a woman as attractive as you, Miss Tillie?"
"Oh listen to you. I'm old enough to be your grandmother, and as wrinkled as a day old prune and you know it", she said with a twinkle in her eye. "Please come in. Would you like a cup of tea?"
"Why, yes ma'am, I would, thank you." As she was making the tea he asked, "What exactly do you think happened with your money Miss Tillie? Have you written any checks that you forgot to post in your checkbook?"
She thought a moment and said, "No, I don't think so. The only checks I have written lately was the check for five hundred dollars that I gave to my nephew Ronald last week, and I wrote a check at the pharmacy for my medicine. I had five thousand dollars in my account but the check I wrote at the pharmacy came back for insufficient funds, I don't understand it. They must have made a mistake and I want to talk to them face to face to see what they have done with my money."
He had a feeling he knew what had happened. He asked, "Why did you give your nephew that much money?"
She shook her head. "That boy, he's Pearl's son. Pearl was my sister. Anyway, he can't keep a job and he said he was about to lose his car and needed the money for a payment. He is going to pay me back as soon as he gets back on his feet."
This nephew, he thought, is beginning to smell like a bad egg. "Miss Tillie, get your coat. We are going to see if we can straighten this out."

On the way to the bank, the old lady told him that Ronald's last name was Coleman. He made a mental note to check with a friend at DC Metro to determine if Ronald had a record. But first, he had the unpleasant task of proving to Miss Tillie that the bank was not at fault, and that probably her nephew was the reason her money had vanished.
At the bank, his suspicions were confirmed when they produced a copy of the check made. The amount had been altered to read five thousand dollars instead of five hundred. And it was done quite professionally, which told Tony this was not the first time Ronald had done this sort of thing. The next stop was the police department, where a reluctant but increasingly mad Tillie Madson swore out a complaint against her nephew.

Ronald Arthur Coleman had indeed been a bad boy. He had a rap sheet as long as an arm for everything ranging from forgery to armed robbery. A trained welder, he should have been able to find work without a problem. Thing is, he found it easier to steal money than to work for it. He had not been seen or heard from since he cashed the altered check at the bank. But a little leg work would no doubt turn up a lead to his whereabouts.

Coincidence?

At his desk the next morning DiNozzo used his computer terminal to do a background check on Miss Tillie's errant nephew. He had just got a hit when his boss, the venerable Leroy Jethro Gibbs, answered the phone. When he hung up the phone, Gibbs said, "Grab your gear, we have a shooting involving an off duty Marine, and a civilian." Upon arrival at the scene of he reported incident, they observed a young man, obviously the Marine, sitting on a concrete bench while a DC metro cop held a snub nosed .38 revolver in a plastic bag. The officer gave Gibbs the weapon and indicated a prone figure behind a small row of bushes. The Marine, Corporal Tom Lawrence, told them he had shot the man in self defense. DiNozzo checked the victims pockets and found a wallet with an expired Maryland driver's license. He turned to Gibbs and said quietly aside, "Boss, I know who this man is, or was. His name is Ronald Coleman and he has a history of forgery and robbery. He stole a wad of money from his own Aunt a few days ago. "
Gibbs said, "How do you know that?"
DiNozzo replied, "That personal time was to help his aunt, one of my neighbors figure out where her money went. This guy, her nephew altered a check she had given him and wiped out her checking account."
Corporal Lawrence stated that the man came from behind a tree holding a gun and had demanded his wallet. He stated that the gunman seemed unsure of himself, and when he saw an opening, he had taken the pistol away from him. The Marine then stated that the would be robber produced a knife and lunged at him. He said, "That's when I shot him."

Tijuana Dance?

After doing a more thorough background check on the deceased Ronald Coleman, DiNozzo turned up an interesting bit of information. When Gibbs entered the room, Tony looked up from his terminal.
"Boss, it seems our dead guy was up to his baby blues in debt to some real bad people south of the border. He was arrested in Texas, and again in California for drug possession, but was bailed out both times by one Hector Ramirez. It seems Señor Ramirez is connected with one of the most notorious drug cartels in Mexico."
Gibbs rubbed his chin. "So Coleman was a mule. See what else you can dig up."
DiNozzo said, "There's more. Coleman was in Tijuana last week. Want to guess who else was there too?"
Gibbs looked a little annoyed and was about to speak when DiNozzo finished. "Corporal Tom Lawrence."
Gibbs raised his eyebrows and said, "Pick him up. And I want you to find out just how they might be connected. And talk to your neighbor, Mrs. Madison was it? See if she knows anything about her nephew being in Mexico. Oh, and brush up on your Spanish."

Tijuana is the western most Mexican city, and has many things to offer. Low-priced alcohol and food, inexpensive shopping, some of the rowdiest bars found anywhere, and, of course, drugs – any kind you can think of. The "redlight" district is known far and wide . The US/Mexican border there is one of the most heavily fortified, and easily defeated in about 30 seconds by guys with $10.00 ladders. This is truly a case of a first and a third world country separated by a border.
It was warm here in the city just south of San Diego. When they arrived, Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo and Israeli liaison Ziva David were met by a representative of the local constabulary. After a shaking of hands and introductions, Sergeant Pablo Ortega lead them to a waiting car, the next stop was the local police station.
Ortega was not what Tony had expected. Probably from watching too many movies, he expected a paunchy man in a khaki uniform. Instead, he was slim, well groomed, and wore a three piece suit. From Ziva's reaction, Tony decided he was probably not too bad on the eyes to women either. Not much could be said for the building the police occupied, however. At one time it most likely resembled what it was supposed to be. Now, windows were broken and repaired with duct tape, (you can fix almost anything with that stuff) and the building was generally in need of a makeover, with the aid of a bulldozer.

Sergeant Ortega led the pair to his office and indicated two worn chairs, and sat behind his desk. He said, "I don't know how much you know about the drug war going on here. Last week, twelve bodies were found in various residential sections of the city. All killed execution style. Their faces wrapped in duct tape, and their hands and feet bound."
DiNozzo said, "I have heard a little about it. What does this have to do with NCIS?"
Ortega stood and looked out the window. "This used to be a fairly nice neighborhood, Señor DiNozzo. People walked the street without fear, business was thriving. But that was before the Mendoza drug cartel took over. Now, corruption is everywhere. In the city government, even in this very police department. I no longer know who I can trust. I need help. The Mendoza brothers have run rough shod over everyone and everything for over twenty years. Now outsiders are trying to take over, and they are fighting back. I have reason to believe that drugs from the middle east are being brought, possibly by US millitary personnel, into Tijuana in an effort to drive the old cartel out of business. Now don't get me wrong, I have no love for either side, but until we find out the whos, whats, and hows, we have a serious problem and bodies are piling up on both sides. I wish you to contact your boss, Special Agent Gibbs, and inform him that I suspect your Corporal Thomas Lawrence is involved in this activity. Along with the late Señor Coleman, whom I believe was shot and killed by the Corporal."
Ziva spoke for the first time since entering the office. "Señor Ortega, what makes you believe Corporal Lawrence is involved? He has a clean service record, and has served honorably as far as we can tell."
Ortega opened a drawer and withdrew a manila folder which he placed on the desk. Inside were several grainy photos, one which appeared to be of Corporal Lawrence, and the late Ronald Coleman with a man in a white linen suit. Ortega tapped the photo. "That is Jaime Mendoza. The, as you would say, the "Head Man" in the cartel. This was taken and smuggled out at great risk by an undercover operative we have placed in the organization."

Later at the hotel the Agency had booked them in, DiNozzo phoned Gibbs and relayed what he had learned. A team was sent to bring Corportal Lawrence into custody. Only he could not be located. It seems he had not reported for duty since the incident involving Ronald Coleman, and none of his known associates knew his whereabouts.

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