Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters.
"NCIS! Hands in the air!"
Special Agent Tony DiNozzo's voice joined dozens of others reverberating through the office building as the MCRT and a team of Metro PD officers and FBI agents stormed out of the stairwell and single elevator onto the top floor. As expected, Harper Dearing's men scattered in an ill-attempt to avoid arrest, but were easily overwhelmed by the raid's perfect execution. Three men in the main room were immediately detained, and Tony could hear shouts echoing down nearby hallways and offices signaling additional arrests.
With everything under control, Tony holstered his weapon and strolled toward a cluster of tables situated near the office's large bank of windows. Bright sunlight streamed across the papers lying haphazardly across the work area, and Tony examined a few of them with little interest. Just a bunch of useless propaganda.
Dearing had been pulling in far too many fanatical followers thanks to social media and paper pamphlets and other materials stuffed mysteriously into newspaper subscriptions. What had started as one man's quest for revenge and a twisted sense of justice had turned into something much bigger these past few months.
Tony sighed when Gibbs' joined him. Judging by the look on the older man's face, the news wasn't good. Dearing wasn't here. Still, he supposed the raid wasn't a total bust. Taking down a handful of Dearing's operatives and eliminating one more safe house for him to crawl into and hide had to be counted as a minor victory. The more resources they took away, the harder it would be for the wanted man to continue terrorizing the Navy.
Sooner or later, Dearing would make a mistake and Tony would finally be able to repay the bastard for the bombing at HQ.
Tony glanced over to Gibbs, who was looking back at him with his eyebrows raised, clearly expecting a report.
"Junk, boss. All of it," Tony said, indicating the materials in front of him.
"Not all of it, DiNozzo."
Tony glimpsed down to see Gibbs spreading out a large blueprint atop the nearest table. Stepping up to get a closer look, Tony swallowed hard when he recognized the building.
"ONI." Gibbs said nothing as he examined the building plans. "We may have just discovered his next target, boss."
Gibbs nodded, his gaze drifting off to the right. Tony looked and saw a smaller alcove tucked away behind the main room's support structure. The door was open, and through it Tony could spot…
"Is that McGee?"
"Leave him be, DiNozzo," Gibbs warned as he stepped into Tony's line of vision. He pointed at the group of handcuffed individuals currently kneeling around the room, each in different stages of being read their Miranda rights. "We've got more important people to deal with."
"Aw c'mon, boss," Tony whined. "You know he knows something."
"Dorneget's got it covered," the lead agent stated.
Tony huffed in annoyance and was gearing up for a good argument, but it wasn't needed as moments later an agent was pulling Gibbs toward a different part of the building. Tony waited until the older man was out of sight before zeroing back in on his favorite target.
"McGeek!" Tony called out loudly as he approached the nearly enclosed office space. "How's my favorite 'hacktivist' doing?"
Timothy McGee rolled his eyes at Tony's air quotes but said nothing as he remained placidly seated in his chair. He seemed almost comfortable, were it not for his hands currently behind his head, fingers interlocked together.
"I got this, Dorneget." Tony narrowed his eyes when Ned hesitated for a moment, but the junior agent nodded from his position behind McGee before walking away.
Tony slid into Dorneget's place and leaned over McGee's shoulder to look at the three monitors set up on the desk in front of the seated man. All appeared frozen, each with the same message: 'Error: Hard Drive Not Found.' He made a tsking noise as he grabbed one of McGee's biceps and pulled him to his feet, bringing the younger man's hands down off his head and locking them in metal cuffs. Tony pushed McGee back into his seat and spun it around so they were face to face.
"So, what's on these computers?" Tony made a show of pulling out his notebook and gawking with rapt attention. McGee scowled. "Aw, don't be like that. You know my guys are just going to come in here and restore whatever it is you've just deleted. Save us both the trouble, McGeek."
"That isn't my name," the seated man emphasized through clenched teeth. He lifted his chin towards Tony's hands. "Still using a pen and paper, Agent DiNozzo? Most agents are using Evernote now. Or Papryus, at the very least. A bit behind the times, aren't you?"
Tony shrugged, plastering a huge grin on his face. "Maybe I'm just old school."
McGee snorted and looked away. "Yeah. I'm sure that's it."
Tony's smile disappeared. "Why you hiding in here, huh? There's a nice view just outside your door there. Dearing not paying you well enough to get the high-rise view?"
McGee's eyes flickered briefly out said door, but just as quickly resumed their careful examination of the bland walls. "Maybe I like working alone."
"Yeah, I'm sure that's it," Tony said, sarcastically echoing McGee's earlier words.
Tony took a moment to study McGee. They'd crossed past only a few times prior to this raid, and each time McGee managed to wheedle his way out of custody. Gibbs and the top brass at the FBI hadn't deemed it important to explain to DiNozzo how that had happened, but Tony had done some digging and had a pretty good idea. Still, a good lawyer and family connections didn't make one immune to terrorist activity. McGee was in deep. Tony could feel it.
And it was only a matter of time before Tony proved McGee's involvement in Dearing's deadly attacks and he'd be put behind bars for good.
A shout and then loud cussing was heard through the paper-thin walls as one of the extremists put up a minor fuss, pulling Tony out of his contemplation.
"Quite the interesting group of friends you've got," Tony remarked and McGee's gaze snapped back to the agent.
"Who says they're my friends?" McGee asked with a touch of genuine curiosity.
Tony shrugged. "You certainly spend a lot of time with them." McGee looked confused, so Tony continued. "Maybe not these specific bozos, but others just like them. I've seen you hanging around with all sorts of nut jobs."
McGee rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Ah yes," he said, "I've seen you following me. I'm not sure if I should be flattered or terrified."
"Flattered, definitely." Tony smirked. "I don't just tail anyone, you know."
"Oh, I've heard all about you and your exploits of chasing tail," McGee responded with a leer of his own. "Mostly, I think I'm worried for the state of our law enforcement when a simple computer repairman such as myself can spot you. What are they teaching at FLETC these days?"
"Wh… what?" Tony faltered. "You know what? Forget it."
Tony stuffed his notebook and pen away. McGee's smugness was making Tony's skin crawl, and he'd had enough. Putting one hand on each side of the chair, Tony leaned in and towered over McGee, all traces of humor gone.
"We've gone through this a few times before, you and I," Tony growled. "People are dying, McGee. And just because you sit behind a computer screen doesn't make you any less guilty than the people pulling the trigger or lighting the fuse. You're just the coward who helps them from behind the scenes and gets away with it each and every time."
A tick in McGee's jaw was the only outward indication that Tony's words were having any sort of effect. His eyes still held the same haughty, bold look as usual, but when he spoke, his voice lacked a bit of the self-assurance it usually held.
"That's because I haven't done anything wrong."
"Or it's because you have friends in high places," Tony countered, leaning in even closer, whispering in McGee's ear. "Like your Admiral father, perhaps?"
Tony swore that the other man stopped breathing. He smiled as he pulled away just barely, his eyes level with McGee's as he continued to press for answers.
"Time to fess up, McGeek. What kind of work are you doing for Dearing? Because I can sure as hell tell you that it isn't computer repair."
"Who says I work for him?" McGee asked, his voice rough with high nerves. "Maybe I just sublet the place."
Tony laughed bitterly. "I see. Subletting. That's very interesting."
He straightened suddenly and grabbed McGee by the crook of his elbow, dragging him out of the room.
"Where are we going?"
"For a walk," Tony answered as they abandoned the corner office and strode across the main room. A few of the criminals still present laughed and shouted out encouragements to McGee or lobbied curses at DiNozzo when they passed.
"Tony?"
Tony waved off Dorneget, who had started moving toward him to offer his assistance. Tony figured Gibbs had appointed the younger man as a babysitter because okay, yes, Tony had probably taken things a bit too far in the past with his surveillance on McGee. Ever since Gibbs had found out about his extra-curricular investigations, the boss had been a bit more cautious when leaving Tony alone.
"Just going for a walk, Ned. We'll be right back."
Tony threw open the staircase door and gripped McGee's arm tightly as they walked, side by side, up the stairs. The hacker stumbled and tried to slow Tony down, but he was in too much of a blind rage to stop.
"Agent DiNozzo…" McGee's voice trembled slightly and Tony smiled. Finally a reaction. Good.
The rest of the trek was made in silence and a few moments later the two men reached the top of the stairwell and Tony pushed open the door. McGee blinked due to the extreme shift of lighting as the sun shone brightly on the building's exposed roof, but Tony allowed no time for either of them to get their bearings.
"Agent DiNozzo... Agent DiNozzo!"
Tony ignored the increasingly panicked pleas, only releasing his grip when they were near the edge of the roof and Tony stood between McGee and the exit. McGee was shockingly pale in the glare of daylight, and a clammy-looking sweat had already broken out across his forehead and neck.
"Look at this view, Mr. McGee." Tony's anger grew as McGee stood still, breathing rapidly, his eyes never leaving Tony's. "I said look at it!"
McGee's face started to look gray as he was forced to turn his back to the agent and look out at the Washington, D.C. landscape as seen from twelve stories up.
"I figure if you're a sub-leaser on a place like this, you should at least take in the sights," Tony said as he walked slowly forward, until he was standing mere inches away from McGee's back. The other man was clenching and unclenching his cuffed hands and was visibly shaking.
"So tell me, McGee, were you 'subletting' when you hacked in to the SECNAV's database to find ship deployment schedules, so Dearing could set fire to them before they left dry dock?"
McGee turned his face away from the scenery to look at Tony over his shoulder. "No, I-"
Tony's hackles rose.
"Eyes forward, McGee!" he shouted. McGee jolted as if shocked and his jaw ticked again, but he did what he was told. "What about when you crashed the power grid, crippling NCIS surveillance so that Dearing could plant a bomb that killed my friends!"
"That wasn't me!" McGee vehemently denied.
"No?"
"NO!"
McGee spun around, his face inches away from Tony's. He was still pale and shaking, but there a fire in his eyes that had been missing before, and yes… Yes! This is what Tony needed. He needed an enemy that fought back. Because a quiet, confident McGee was too much to handle when for months Tony has been itching for something, anything, to happen that would provoke the other man into a confrontation.
If he couldn't take down Dearing, well… he could settle for McGee.
"I suggest you get your facts straight, Agent DiNozzo," McGee said heatedly, somehow using Tony's title as an insult, "before you start accusing me of treason."
"I know what I'm doing," Tony snarled, and his own hands were instinctively tightening into fists and he wasn't sure he'd be able to hold himself back for much longer, when…
"That's ENOUGH!"
Both men turned away to see Agent Gibbs stalking towards them. Tony immediately took a step away from McGee, his breathing heavy as the adrenaline began to fade away.
"What the hell are you doing, DiNozzo? I told you to leave him be."
"Boss," Tony pleaded, pointing accusingly at McGee, who had taken advantage of the distraction to wisely move a few steps around Tony and away from the building's edge. "For far too long, we've let this guy get away with treason. With murder! This guy has slipped away one too many times to be innocent, and you know it, boss! This guy…"
"Is a federal agent," Gibbs said loudly, interrupting Tony's tirade.
Gibbs walked around McGee and undid the cuffs as Tony stared. McGee looked a little shocked too, but clearly not as much as Tony felt and probably not for the same reasons.
"I'm sorry, what?"
Gibbs smirked as he put a protective hand on McGee's shoulder. "DiNozzo, meet Special Agent Timothy McGee."
"Special Agent?" Tony stared at Gibbs and McGee, completely bewildered. "No way. McGee is responsible for-"
"Saving dozens of lives," Gibbs broke in. "At the risk of his own."
"But…" Tony shook his head, unwilling to accept what his boss was telling him. "NCIS. The power grid. That was you!"
McGee shook his head sadly. "I wasn't lying, Agent DiNozzo. That wasn't me. I tried," he trailed off a moment, his voice pleading for understanding as he turned away from Tony and looked instead at Gibbs. "I really tried, boss. I'm sorry I couldn't stop him."
"Boss?" Tony mimicked incredulously, but he was ignored.
"I know you did your best, Tim." Tony gaped at Gibbs' soft tone of voice and the small, grateful smile that ghosted across McGee's face. "What can you tell me about ONI?"
"Naval Intelligence is not his next target," McGee began, but Tony interrupted.
"We found blueprints downstairs, McGee. How do you explain that?"
"I don't need to explain it, Agent DiNozzo."
The shift was subtle, but suddenly the meekly defiant hacker was the self-assured NCIS agent. It was clear now that what Tony had seen before had been false bravado and pageantry… a mask that McGee had been forced to wear, though he had worn it very well. Yet beneath it all was a young man clearly affected by the knowledge of whom he worked for, and what that man was capable of.
Tony briefly wondered what it would be like to work alongside McGee on a regular basis, then immediately disregarded that thought as a foolish one.
"This was a set up."
"A set up?" Tony repeated the same time Gibbs asked, "For what?"
"I'm not sure, but Dearing's been a bit more skittish lately," McGee explained. "I heard a few of the other guys talking earlier, and I guess Dearing has been pulling up ropes on several of his older sites. He's moved some of his more sensitive files under encryptions like I've never seen. He's tightening his grip, boss, like-"
"Like he knows he has a mole," Gibbs concluded gravely.
"I'm worried that he might be on to me," McGee said, and Tony could see how much the confession hurt him. "I've been on the edges for so long. If he hasn't pulled me in to his inner circle by now, it's doubtful that he ever will. The point is, he'd never leave blueprints lying around me and the men you've arrested downstairs. I've never had access to his future plans like that."
"Can't you just hack your way into his files?" Tony questioned skeptically. "See what he's got planned next?"
"I'm not the only computer specialist on his payroll, DiNozzo, and he's got some good people on his team. I can't run the risk of being detected." McGee sighed. "I was able to download a covert keystroke logger within a malware hypervisor that will run underneath the operating-"
"English, McGee," Gibbs said not unkindly.
"Right, uh… when I heard you guys entering the building, I knew Dearing would expect me to wipe the drives. It would be too suspicious if I didn't. He'd rather lose everything than have it turned over to NCIS. So before I wiped them, I was able to send a virus, of a sort, through his private network. It's something I've been working on for a while. If it works, we'll be able to record what keys are being struck at his other workstations."
"We'll be able to see what they are typing, you mean," Gibbs clarified.
"Yes. As long as they are connected to the network at the time."
"Whoah, whoah, whoah, time out. I thought you just said that the guys on his team were amazing techno-geniuses," Tony pointed out. "Won't they find this virus?"
"I said they were good, Agent DiNozzo," McGee said with a smirk. "I just happen to be better." He turned back to Gibbs. "If I could just talk to Abby for a few minutes, we should be able to get a detection program installed in her lab."
"We can talk strategy once were back at the Yard," Gibbs said and McGee nodded in agreement. "Let's go."
McGee angled his body around so Gibbs could re-cuff his wrists behind his back. The two set off across the roof, and Tony jogged to catch-up.
"I still don't get it," Tony grumbled to Gibbs before they passed through the entrance to the stairwell, the brightness of the mid-day sun giving way to the dim interior's emergency lighting. "Why didn't I know about this?" The question of 'why didn't you tell me' was left unasked, but by the way Gibbs looked at him, Tony knew the hurt in his voice gave the real query away.
"The less who know, the better," Gibbs answered quietly. "Besides, the way you obsessed over McGee and followed him around like a little lost puppy lent to his credibility with Dearing."
Tony wasn't able to do anything about the unsatisfying response before they were back on the main level and they paraded McGee in front of the other criminals for show. A short ride down the elevator later, and Gibbs was guiding the undercover agent into the backseat of his sedan. Once he was situated and the door was shut, Gibbs turned around and looked him in the eye and immediately Tony started in on his questions.
"How long has he been with Dearing? How in the world does Abby know about McGee when I don't? What does McGee even do? Why couldn't he stop him from…"
Tony trailed off, because even after three months, it was still difficult to talk about the bombing, and he did not want to think about everyone he'd lost. Suddenly the anger was bubbling again, and it took every ounce of willpower to not open the door and physically demand answers from McGee.
Tony absently wondered when it was, exactly, that he'd started losing control of his focus and self-control.
"Why didn't he warn us?" he asked quietly.
Gibbs sighed and set a hand on Tony's shoulder. "It's his story to tell."
Tony grumbled under his breath about that not being an acceptable response, but let it go for now.
"You going to have a problem with this, DiNozzo?"
"No, boss," he responded instinctively, even as he silently fumed and tried to wrap his mind around the entire situation.
"Good," Gibbs replied, strolling around the hood of the vehicle to reach the driver's side. "Because as soon as this assignment is over, I'm putting McGee on the team."
Tony finally looked down through the rear window to see McGee staring back up at him. Tony held his gaze, trying desperately to reconcile his past beliefs with his new knowledge that the man before him wasn't actually responsible for the deaths of so many. McGee's expression was open and earnest, seemingly unfazed by Tony's penetrating examination, until he broke into a confident grin that had Tony rolling his eyes in a huff.
Apparently McGee-the-arrogant-hacker was re-asserting himself.
"I think I could get used to having a Probie," Tony told his boss, returning McGee's ridiculous grin with one of his own. He wasn't sure if the younger man could hear what he was saying, but McGee's eyes narrowed with suspicion nonetheless.
"Good." Gibbs replied. "And DiNozzo?"
Tony looked away from McGee with a final patronizing wave of his hand. "Yeah, boss?"
"Get in the car."
"Getting in the car, boss."
The End.