Chapter 2

~1600 hours: 6 hours left~

A rapping at his car window startled Tim out of a sound sleep. He turned to find the source, and came face to face with a metro police officer.

Great, this is just what I need, he thought as he rolled down his window.

"You can't sleep here. This is private property," the officer said, rather abrasively.

"I'm sorry… I was taking a long trip, and needed a rest, and—"

"What's all that?" the cop asked, looking over Tim's shoulder at the laptop sitting open on the passenger seat. Tim reached into his coat pocket and produced his NCIS ID. He flashed it to the officer.

"It's a classified project I'm working on."

"Okay, you can go. Just find someplace else to sleep, all right?"

"Will do. Thanks." Tim rolled up the window as the officer stalked away, silently kicking himself for falling asleep. He turned and picked up the laptop to check his program. He was terrified to find that his program had timed out, and he'd lost all of his information.

"No!" Tim shouted, slapping the steering wheel in frustration. He looked at his watch. He had six hours left to finish the program, get the required information, and send it to him. He couldn't bear the thought of what might happen if he failed.

Knowing he couldn't stay parked behind a Tim Horton's anymore, Tim started the car. The crappy '96 Saturn roared to life. He had to find a less conspicuous place to hide, and he had an idea.

NCISNCISNCIS

1700 hours: 5 hours left

"What do you got, Abbs?" Gibbs asked, setting a caf pow next to her. Abby was reluctantly working on breaking through the seven levels of encryption on Tim's computer, and not making much progress. Ziva had brought it and other evidence back from Tim's apartment. He still hadn't called in yet, and Gibbs had moved to full-on panic mode. He had Tony running BOLOs, and Ziva attempting to track any credit card usage from the Junior Agent.

"Tim's encryptions are pretty secure. Even if I can get in, I'll probably bump into six more levels of encryption on each file in his hard drive. When Tim wants to hide something, it's virtually impossible to figure out what it is."

"Keep trying, Abby. We need to know what happened to him last night."

"Do you think he's all right?" Abby asked worriedly.

"If he is, he's got a lot of explaining to do." Gibbs' phone rang. He turned away from Abby and answered it. "Yeah, Gibbs."

"We got a hit on the BOLO, Boss. A metro cop called in a man fitting McGee's description, sleeping in a beat-up Saturn behind a Tim Horton's not far from here."

Gibbs put his hand over his phone's mouthpiece, and turned to Abby.

"Can you trace the GPS on Tim's Porsche?"

Abby quickly ran the trace.

"I've got it. It's in Silver Spring, Gibbs."

Gibbs swore. Tim was definitely running from something. He put the phone back to his ear.

"Did the Metro cop get a plate number, DiNozzo?"

"Yeah, I'm running it now."

"I'll be there in a minute." Gibbs hung up, glanced at Abby, and left the lab.

NCISNCISNCIS

"What have you got for me, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked as he entered the bullpen minutes later.

"This is getting weird, Boss. The Saturn is registered to McGee."

"What is he hiding?" Gibbs asked aloud, to no one in particular. He turned to Tony. "Get a BOLO on that car. Find him."

"Already done, Boss."

"Good."

Tony's desk phone rang as they spoke. He picked it up and talked for a moment, and hung up just as quickly.

"That was metro. They spotted McGee's Saturn parked outside the Moonbeam Café."

"I have been there," Ziva said. "It is not far from here. I go there sometimes on lunch breaks, when there is time."

"Do you have an address, Ziva?" Gibbs asked as he sheathed his weapon. Ziva wrote it down on a sticky note and handed it to Gibbs as he walked by. "DiNozzo! With me."

Tony jumped up and followed him. He only hoped the Probie hadn't gotten himself in too deep.

It took them about ten minutes to get to the café. Tony spotted Tim through the window, crammed into a corner booth. He started toward the door, but Gibbs stopped him.

"Tony, cover the back entrance. I'm not taking any chances."

"Shout if you need me." Tony slipped around back of the café. Gibbs made his way along the building. Tim would see him coming through the windows in front, and he didn't want to give him the opportunity to escape. He slowly opened the door and went into the café. It was a small coffee shop, with a few tables here and there, and a couple of cozy chairs in one corner.

Gibbs headed for the corner lined with booths. Tim didn't seem to notice him. He casually slid into the booth opposite Tim. The young Agent didn't see him at first, being focused on whatever he was doing. Gibbs tapped the table with his fingers to get his attention. Tim practically jumped out of his skin when he realized he wasn't alone.

"Boss! What are you—how did you find me?" he asked, honestly astonished that he'd been tracked down.

"You may be able to keep us out of your computer, but you did a crappy job of hiding yourself."

"That cop… he called in my license plate, didn't he?" McGee asked as he continued to type.

"What in the hell is going on, McGee? Why are you running?"

"I can't tell you right now, Boss. I have to finish this."

Gibbs reached over and slammed the computer shut. Tim had a terrified look on his face.

"Why did you do that! I hadn't saved my progress yet! That program is going to take hours to fix!" Tim shouted, attempting to open the computer. Gibbs kept his hand on the laptop.

"You're going to tell me what the hell you're doing, McGee, or you're leaving in handcuffs, and you can tell me in Interrogation. What'll it be?"

"You don't understand! I have to finish that program! Boss, you need to let me finish—hey! What are you doing!"

Gibbs was on his feet and yanking Tim out of the booth. He pulled out his handcuffs and pulled Tim's arm behind his back. Tony had come through the back entrance at this point. Gibbs motioned to the computer sitting on the table. Tony took out a pair of gloves and started to pick up Tim's things.

"You can't arrest me! I have to finish it! Please, Boss! I need my computer!"

"Tony has your computer. Now shut up, you're making a fool of yourself."

"Give it back, Tony! I want my computer! I have to finish!" Tim screamed as Gibbs dragged him from the café. Tim thrashed in Gibbs' grip as he was led to the car. When they got there, Gibbs slammed him up against the side of the sedan.

"You're going to get into this car and shut the hell up. I don't want to hear another word out of you until your ass is in Interrogation. Do you understand me?"

"Boss—" Tim felt Gibbs shove him harder into the car.

"I asked you a question, McGee. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, Boss," Tim finally said in defeat. Gibbs pulled him upright and threw open the back door. He practically shoved Tim down into the car and slammed the door.

TBC…