A/N: This story arose out of a nightmare I had one morning about being followed in a parking garage. It grew into this. shrugs It's fairly intense...and even action-packed on occasion, but don't hold that against me. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I own nothing of the NCIS franchise. It should patently obvious, but I'll still write it...just in case.
Followed...
by Enthusiastic Fish
2 a.m. Saturday morning...
Tim sighed as he listened to the voice needling him over the phone. It was bad enough that he had to deal with Tony every day at work, but now when work was long over and he was on his way to his car after going out to unwind, Tony still was bothering him. He closed his eyes and tried to keep himself from hanging up. Tony wouldn't do this if he hated me, he reminded himself and then added that maybe it would be better if he did.
"Tony, did you really call me up just to be annoying? I was having a very nice evening until you started talking."
"Oh, come on, now, Probie! Don't be like that!" Tony said, and Tim could just picture him with his mock-innocent expression. At least they were separated by however many miles because otherwise Tony would undoubtably be throwing something at him...or else, Tim would finally snap and punch him in the face in an effort to wipe that annoying expression off it.
"Tony, please, do me a favor and..." Tim trailed off and looked back. There were two shadowy figures behind him. They had been about the same distance behind him ever since he had come into the parking garage. It was late and very few other people were around. Tim sped up his pace just a little bit, his shadows did as well. He slowed down; so did they. He was out-numbered, and his car was still quite a distance away. Who knew if (assuming that these guys were actually following him) there were more people waiting for him when he got near his car. What was the best thing to do here?
"McGee?"
Tim suddenly remembered that he had been talking to Tony. "Tony...I think...I think I'm being followed," he said slowly.
Tony snorted. "Right, McGee."
"I'm not kidding, Tony."
Tony rolled his eyes and leaned back on his couch. What a perfect end to his day: Probie-baiting. "Come on, Probie. This is pretty lame, even for you."
Tim really did sound nervous. "They're catching up to me, Tony. I think..."
Tony sat up and muted the television when he heard distant voices.
"Stop!"
"What do you want? Why are you–?"
The phone hit the ground and Tony winced from the feedback. "McGee? McGee! McGee!"
He heard the sound of scuffling and then a single high-pitched scream.
"McGee!" he shouted. He quickly called Gibbs. "Boss...we have problem."
"Yes, we do, DiNozzo. It's two in the morning and you woke me up."
"No, I think McGee was just attacked."
"What?"
"I was talking to him on the phone and he said he thought he was being followed. I heard him talking to someone, but..."
"Where is he?"
"I don't know. I just called him."
"Well, don't disconnect. Call Abby. We need to run a trace and find where he...was...if he's not there now."
Tony disconnected from Gibbs and hurriedly dialed Abby's number. He hoped that they wouldn't find McGee's body...or what would be nearly as bad...nothing at all...
x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x
Monday morning, 7:30 a.m.
After two full days of looking for Tim, they had nothing...nothing except Tim's phone which had been lying on the ground in the parking garage. Even Tim's car was gone without a trace. The security cameras in the garage were broken in the section where Tim had parked his car. Everyone was exhausted, having worked through the night and slept at their desks. Abby had refused to leave. They had even checked out Tim's apartment on Saturday. There was nothing there. Tim seemed to have vanished without a...
The elevator dinged.
"Morning, guys!" Tim said jovially as he stepped into the bullpen. Tony, Ziva, Gibbs and Abby looked at him in shock which quickly turned to disbelief and then amazement.
"Tim! You're okay! Where have you been?" Abby shrieked and launched herself at him, nearly taking him down in her excitement.
Tim was totally confused as he fended off Abby's welcome. "What are you talking about, Abby? It's Monday morning. It was the weekend. I was home. What are you all doing here? Did I miss something?" Tim looked worriedly at Gibbs who was still standing by his desk in shock. "Boss, I swear, I lost my phone somewhere this weekend. I haven't been able to find it. I had no idea you guys were working. What's the case?"
Ziva and Tony looked speechlessly at Tim.
"Where have you been all weekend, McGee?" Gibbs asked finally.
"Just in my apartment, typing."
"Did you ever leave?"
Tim looked embarrassed. "Not...not really. Time just got away from me, I guess. I hardly noticed the days go by." He looked at Tony and Ziva. "You guys look awful. Didn't you get any sleep at all? What happened?"
"You were missing, McGee," Tony managed to say.
Tim laughed. "Right, Tony. I think I'd know if I'd gone missing."
"I talked to you on the phone Saturday morning. You said you were being followed. You disappeared, McGee."
Tim laughed again, but there was a tinge of worry attached to it. "Okay, is this a joke? My punishment for losing my phone?" He looked around at everyone. They were all very serious. "Okay, I don't know what's going on here, but...this is just silly. There's no way..."
"We searched your apartment on Saturday, McGee. You weren't in it. We found your phone in a parking garage. Tony heard you talking to someone."
"This is ridiculous, Boss. I never went anywhere. I just stayed home. I never talked to Tony." Tim backed away from everyone, feeling most uncomfortable. Their eyes didn't leave him. The confusion he felt was mirrored on their faces.
"What's the last thing you remember, Tim?" Abby asked.
"What kind of a question is that? I woke up this morning, got out of bed, showered, shaved, got in my car and came here."
Gibbs was staring at Tim intently...just his eyes, watching for a flash of something that would show he was lying, or that he was remembering something else.
"Go through your weekend for us, McGee. Start with Friday night."
Tim was nearly back at the elevator again. Another couple of steps back and he hit the wall.
"Why, Boss?"
"Because, McGee, we know that you were missing. We know that you weren't in your apartment on Saturday. What we don't know is what you thought you were doing."
"I wasn't thinking it, Boss! I was doing it."
"What, McGee."
Tim rolled his eyes and sighed. "Okay, fine. Friday night, I was going to go to an opera. My publisher keeps trying to get me to go to these social events to drum up publicity. I didn't really want to go; so I dragged my feet and made sure I was too late getting back to my apartment to go. I went to bed early and decided to spend the whole day writing to make it up to her. I didn't get very far. So I decided to write on Sunday as well. I didn't leave. I didn't go anywhere. Then, I went to bed Sunday night and got up this morning...and somewhere on the way, I stepped into the Twilight Zone."
"Okay, here's the problem, Probie. I know that you weren't in your apartment at 2 a.m. on Saturday because you were talking to me and telling me that you were being followed..."
"I didn't!" Tim protested.
"Then, at around 8 a.m. Saturday morning, we went to your apartment," Tony continued as if Tim hadn't interrupted. "It was empty. There was no sign of a struggle, no sign that someone had been looking for something there. The only fingerprints there were yours, Abby's, mine, Ziva's, and a couple of people who must be friends of yours whose whereabouts we've already verified." When Tim looked as though he were going to protest again, Tony added, "Do you want to see? We have proof, McGee." Tony walked back to his desk and brought up the evidence photos, first of Tim's phone and the parking garage and then of Tim's apartment.
"Wh-When did you take those?" Tim whispered.
"Saturday. Two days ago."
Tim shook his head. "No, that's not possible. I was home on Saturday. I was working!" He looked around at the others who were still staring at him as if he were from outer space. "Stop looking at me like that! I know where I was. I know what I was doing."
"Come on, McGee." Gibbs reached out a hand to direct Tim toward the elevator.
Tim pulled away. He was completely freaked out now. "Why? Where am I going?"
"To see Ducky."
"I feel fine, Boss," Tim said, an hysterical tinge to his declaration.
Gibbs sighed and looked at Tim full on. "You're just reacting right now, McGee. You're not thinking. Think about this logically. What is more likely? That everyone in NCIS from Director Shephard on down is crazy or that something happened to you this weekend that you don't remember."
Tim stared at him with frightened eyes. "I would remember, Boss. I wouldn't..."
"You might not. So, let's get Ducky to tell us if someone's done something to you. Okay?"
Tim finally nodded, glancing worriedly at the photos of his apartment still on the plasma. "Okay."
Gibbs gave Tony and Ziva a significant look as Tim turned toward the elevator. They both nodded. Abby followed Gibbs.
Tim's mind was in a whirl. This isn't possible! There has to be a rational explanation! he said to himself, but he couldn't think of a single thing. He fought down the panic, sure that Ducky would find that nothing was wrong and that it was all just a big mistake. That's all, just a mistake.