McGee gave a heavy sigh and set his bag down next to his desk. Everything on his desk was covered in tape, but not just any kind of tape. The tape that covered his desk was industrial grade non-clear boxing tape. It would take forever to get it off. Luckily the culprit which Tim still suspected it to be Tony, had not covered his computer screen and therefore the tape would not cause any permanent damage.
Tim slowly and carefully began unrolling his desk. "You know Probie whoever did this has some skill. It makes me disappointed in my own past pranks. I'm gonna have to step it up if I want to compete." Tim inwardly sighed, either Tony was telling the truth and he didn't do it or he was getting better at lying. If Tony was telling the truth then that meant he would have to deal with another prankster in NCIS.
It took a while and a lot of patience but Tim finally managed to unravel his desk. His fingers were raw from tape peeling and he was finally able to start his computer. Tim took the time to look around and brainstorm. Abby was on vacation and therefore this prank would probably have been too much work. Ziva wouldn't waste her time with this elaborate of a prank. Since Tony swore he didn't do it, McGee was out of ideas. Suddenly a thought came to mind. Gibbs wasn't in the bullpen yet and it was nearly an hour after opening. "Has anyone seen Gibbs?"
Ziva glanced up from her computer, "I believe I saw him with the director when I walked in." She immediately got back to whatever she was doing.
Tony looked at McGee with a smug grin on his face. "Why Probie, can't go an hour without someone to boss you around." As an answer Tony received a swift head slap. He flinched and turned back to his computer but did glance over to watch Gibbs walk to his desk. Tim looked up at his boss and noticed a smirk on his face. Suddenly Gibbs placed a tape roll on his desk. Tony noticed the exchange and his mouth fell open. Ziva glanced up and smiled slightly. Gibbs simply turned around and grabbed his gear."Grab your gear. Were heading to a Virginia research facility"
The words broke Tony and McGee out of their surprised faces and the team quickly grabbed their gear.
The car ride was silent and Tim researched the facility on his computer.
"Wow." Tony looked back at him from the front seat. "What, McGeek?". "The research facility is a bioengineering lab that tests chemicals and artificial accessories on animals. It says here that it's where they came up with a cure for arthritis in dogs." The team raised curious and confused eyebrows at him, including Gibbs who was driving. "It means they test different chemicals in animals to see if they can cure different diseases or create new species." The group nodded and Ziva snorted. "I don't see why animal testing facilities are so lenient with their testing. Abby would be very upset if she was working this case.
The rest of the trip was silent until Tony ventured the question everyone was wondering. "So Boss, why are we heading to a research lab in Virginia?" There was a momentary silence and Tim wondered if Gibbs had ignored Tony. "Its complicated. Vance just said that the lab has been having problems with missing money and since the navy is funding most of the experiments and projects they sent us to investigate."
The rest of the trip went by in silence and Tim worried silently for Tony, he was never usually this quiet. But his worries vanished when Tony began to ramble on about some girl and how they had spent time in some rural area of Virginia.
Finally the car pulled into the lab parking lot. Strangely the parking lot was almost deserted. There were only four visible cars and the lot itself was huge. The cars were also spread out extremely far apart and away from the actual lab. "This doesn't look right." He mumbled. Tony glanced at him but no one made any other remarks and they headed for the building. Gibbs walked up to the door and looked inside, the lights were on but there wasn't any one inside. Gibbs opened the door and Tim followed behind with Ziva and Tony close behind.
"Hello?" Gibbs called out. The words echoed through the large, white lobby. Suddenly a bone chilling sound was returned through the empty halls. It was a woman's scream, one of pain or complete terror. They all pulled their guns out and made their way towards the sound. They walked down a lengthy hallway with several doors on each side, all closed. Ziva and Gibbs went into the closest door to her left and Gibbs backed her up. Tim went into the closest right door and Tony followed.
Tim crept through what looked like an experimental lab with chemicals overflowing on several tables. He almost missed the small door at the end. Tony was busy looking at some oddly bright colored tubes when Tim opened the door. It led to another large room that was very similar to the first except there were a few animal cages but they were all empty. Suddenly an inhuman sound came from somewhere close and Tim jumped to the side just as something flew past. He turned and was met with the most terrifying thing he had ever seen. It looked like a tiger but the color and ears were off. The color was a light green, feathery fur and the ears looked more like drooping dog ears. The claws and front of the animal were stained a deep burgundy and the snarl it continuously emitted was so terrifying that Tim was surprised he didn't die of fright.
Just beyond the monster was a puddle of bones and blood that resembled a woman. McGee swallowed thickly and held his gun trained at the beast. Without warning the beast lunged at him and he moved just in time for it to miss. But suddenly he noticed something even worse. The animal had actually placed himself between Tim and the door.
Tim couldn't fight his fear anymore and fired two shots at the animal. One visibly lodged in the beast's shoulder but the other went hay wire when the creature dodged. The shots alerted the team and Tim heard yelling and footsteps coming towards him. His sense of relief was short lived when the creature lunged at him a second time. Caught off guard, the creature threw Tim back with a terrible slashing motion of its claw. He slammed hard against the wall and fell limply to the ground. The last thing he felt was a burning in his arm and then nothing as he drifted into unconsciousness.
Tony starred curiously at the bottles and liquids in front of him. They were all vibrant colors and different densities. Some looked more like jello than any type of chemical. Suddenly there were two shots from the room McGee had gone into and Tony drew his attention to the door. He froze when he saw some sort of animal standing in the door with its back to him. The momentary pause allowed for Ziva and Gibbs to make it to Tony's side. They each gasped at the sight but quickly fired shots towards the creature. It gave an inhuman hiss and charged the group. They quickly separated and the creature ran past the group then out the door. Gibbs slammed the door closed and bolted it. Tony's relief became horror when he remembered Tim. He rushed into the adjoining room and looked for his partner. The first thing he saw was a sort of mangled body of a woman and had to turn away. But his heart completely stopped when he saw Tim lying on the ground next to the wall, completely still.
Tony ran to his partner and slid to the ground. "McGee?" He set a hand on his neck and sighed when he found a pulse. Slowly he turned Tim around so he could look for obvious injuries. Tim's right arm was covered in blood and what looked like knife wounds ran across his entire bicep. The cuts were deep and looked jagged and definitely painful. He heard someone gasp behind him and noticed both Gibbs and Ziva standing over his shoulder. "Ziva find a cloth or towel to stop the bleeding and make sure its clean." She rushed off at Gibb's request. "Tony what the hell happened and what was that?" Tony just shook his head as Tim began to come to.
Tim moaned in pain when he woke and felt like his arm was on fire. He opened his eyes and had to close them because of the extreme head ache the light caused him. He reopened his eyes slowly this time and looked tiredly around. Tony was sitting next to him along with Gibbs and Ziva was wrapping a towel around his arm. He winced and moaned again with the new pain. Ziva gave him an apologetic look and continued to dress his wound. "What the hell was that thing?" The team looked at each other and then back at Tim. "No idea but we were way too close for comfort. Tim are you okay. I mean is your arm the only injury you have?" Tim sat up and leaned against the wall. "Ya except for this killer head ache." Gibbs starred hard at McGee and put a hand to his head and held him still. "Well it doesn't look like you have a concussion." Tim nodded and looked over his surroundings. "How do we get out of here? Without getting mauled by that...thing." Gibbs stood in his determination stance and looked at his team. " We figure out what the hell is going on here and hopefully get out of here alive."
Tim stood in the back of the group as they made their way down the hall. They all had their guns trained on different spots in case the creature snuck up on them. Gibbs led the group towards the front door and hopefully towards safety. They could figure out what was going on after they made it out of this hellhole. Tim stopped walking when he glanced in an open doorway and saw what looked to be another body until one of the legs moved. He walked carefully into the doorway and saw a man who was covered in blood just regaining consciousness. Tim knelt down next to the injured man and looked him over. His side was bleeding badly and he seemed to have a concussion but was otherwise okay. "Sir, can you stand up?" The man moaned and sat up slowly. "I..think so." Tim helped the man to his feet and they walked slowly out the door. His heart dropped when he saw that the team was gone but he got some relief when he realized he knew the way out. They continued down the hall. "So what's you name?" "I'm John, I work in the lab." "Do you know what that thing is?" The man sighed, "I helped create it. It wasn't suppose to escape the containment center. That's kinda all I can tell you though." Tim nodded and decided not to push the subject and instead concentrated on keeping John standing. Suddenly there was a low growl and both men's blood ran cold. From around the corner the creature walked right in front of them, once again blocking their escape. John let out a terrified whimper and Tim searched his brain for something to do. Before anyone could act the creature lunged for them. The action separated the two men and the beast turned to John. It allowed one swipe of its large paw and John slammed against the wall with a bone cracking thud, but not before he let out a terrifying scream. Tim starred at John's lifeless body and then his attention was brought to the monster that was now looking at him. McGee pointed his gun at the monster and fired at its torso. The creature yelped and swung at Tim's gun, knocking it to the floor. McGee backed against the wall and the creature lunging was the last thing he saw.
Tony walked along behind Ziva and Gibbs they were almost at the lobby when they heard a scream echoing through the walls. Immediately they turned but didn't see anything, including no Tim. "Dammit McGee." They began to walk back the way they came, they stopped in their tracks when they heard a gunshot. There was an inhuman cry and then silence. The team rushed in the direction of the sounds and came to a heart breaking site. A man lay on the ground, he was obviously dead. His back and arm were twisted in a grotesque angle. The team rushed over and Gibbs checked the man's pulse just to be sure. He shook his head and the group surveyed the scene. There was a small pool of blood across from the body and Tim's gun lay beside it. There were also bloody drag marks going further down the hall. Tony looked at his boss. "What now Boss?" The man sighed. "Try calling Vance and get McGee back." The group grudgingly followed the bloody drag marks while Ziva called Vance.
Tim woke with a pounding head ache and looked blearily around. He lay in another lab next to a table that was filled with chemicals. The beast was nowhere to be seen. McGee tried to move but found his arm had reopened and the towel was gone. But even worse, there was a deep gash covering almost his entire abdomen. Tim moaned with pain when he tried to move. Suddenly he heard footsteps outside the room. Then he saw Tony walk in the room and run towards him. "McGee are you okay?"...I don't know." Tony glanced at Tim's abdomen and winced. "Oh man Tim." Tony pressed his hands down on McGee's wound which caused him to groan weakly in pain. "Boss, Ziva in here." The two team members rushed into the room and stopped in their tracks when they saw the state Tim was in. Without warning the creature popped up behind them and they turned to face the monster. It swiped its paw and got Gibbs' arm. He fell back and held his arm to his chest. Ziva shot twice at the animal and it dodged to the side, moving swiftly along the wall. Tony stood and fired at the animal when it moved to close to him and Tim. The creature screamed out and the decibel of the sound forced the team to cover their ears. It swiped at Tony with its remaining energy and Tony dodged but the claw caught him in the leg and he fell to the side. The creature moved to go forTony again but Tim grabbed the gun that Tony had dropped and fired. The beast changed its course for Tim but he fired several more shots and the creature yelp then fell to the ground. The monster landed on Tim's leg and he winced but breathed a sigh in relief. Ziva rushed over to Tim. "Get this thing off me." Ziva rolled the creature off and he breathed in relief. Right on time the door burst open and several agents and paramedics rushed in. Tim finally allowed his tired eyes to close.
Ziva sat silently in the ER waiting room. She was lucky enough not to be injured and in some way she felt bad. She had been waiting about an hour when Abby, and Vance walked in. Abby was practically in tears but Vance was all business. Ducky and Jimmy were busy with the four bodies at the research center and wouldn't be visiting for a while. Abby ran to Ziva and flung herself into her arms. "I don't understand what happened...how... what was that thing? The FBI came in and took all the evidence. They even took Ducky and Jimmy so they could do the autopsy at the FBI headquarters." Ziva waited until Abby slowed her rambling. "Abby. Calm down. Everything is going to be okay." Abby looked accusingly at Ziva. "How can you say that? Almost the entire team is injured! They were attacked by a monster that we aren't even allowed to know why it was created, what it was or who created it." Abby slowed and turned to look at Ziva, tears pouring down her face. She was obviously emotionally drained. "Do you know if Gibbs, Tony and McGee are okay?" Before Ziva could answer Gibbs stepped through the double doors. His left arm was in a sling and bandaged. Abby ran to him and hugged him gently. "I was so worried." The look in Gibbs' eyes and his distant expression did not bring any hope towards the situation. "Gibbs...?" His eyes focused and he looked at both different but equally distraught women. "Tony is gonna be fine. He just needs crutches while his leg heels." Abby allowed a small smile, "Is Timmy okay?" Gibbs answered with silence and then took a heavy breath. "All I know right now is that they had to bring him into surgery. Something about the cuts in his abdomen possibly doing damage." Abby gasped and reflung herself into Gibbs' arms. "He's going to be okay right?" Gibbs sighed and tightened his grip around his forensic scientist. "I hope so Abs." The silence that followed was deafening and they each slowed their breathing and sat in the hard waiting room chairs.