Chapter 7

Tim was vaguely aware of the ringing phone, but he was so horrified at what he could see that he couldn't move.

Faintly, in front of the mirror, Mit was taking shape. He was very well-defined in the mirror, right down to the menacing smile, but he was also taking shape outside the mirror. He didn't remember that this had ever happened before.

"Aren't you happy, Tim? Soon...we'll really be together."

Tim backed away...but the bathroom wasn't very large and he soon ran into a wall. Mit's expression hardened.

"Why are you trying to leave, Tim? I don't want you to leave."

"Leave me alone."

"You wished for me, Tim. Remember? You wanted a friend. I was there. You can't say you don't want me around now. You can't take it back."

"I did..." Tim whispered. "...years ago. I told you to leave...and you did."

Mit's eyes glowed red for a moment...and then, he smiled again.

"I'm back."

"No! No!"

Somehow, Tim broke the hold Mit had on him and ran out of the bathroom...out of his apartment...out into the storm.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Gibbs sat down across from their suspect. He opened the file and made a show of looking at the information in it.

"So...Charles Granden...you're in a bit of trouble."

"I didn't do anything!" Granden said, very earnestly. Clearly, he was sure that no one could have seen his face. "I was going on a trip."

"A one-way trip, looks to me," Gibbs said and smiled. "You didn't give your two-weeks' notice."

"I wasn't worried about that."

"Obviously. So...how long did it take you to realize that Agent McGee saw you?"

"Saw me where?" Now, he seemed more confident, although Gibbs wasn't sure why.

"Oh, I don't know. In the alley where you killed Petty Officer Gray?"

"Oh, really? I don't remember being there. Does he remember me being there?"

Ah. Now, it was clear. Either Granden had heard them talk about Tim being asleep or else he had noticed when he saw Tim in the alley that he wasn't reacting right. He didn't know about the image on the camera. How long to drag this out...

Tony opened the door and casually walked in. He sat down and smiled at Granden and then put a piece of paper in front of Gibbs. Gibbs glanced down at it.

McGee isn't answering his phone. Ziva's going to see if he's home. Bit worried...

Okay, no dragging this out. They had him and that's all that mattered.

"So you're claiming you weren't in the alley?"

"I wasn't there," Granden said confidently.

Gibbs slid the picture of Granden in the alley across the table.

"So...this isn't you?"

Granden picked up the picture and looked at it.

"No...that's impossible...I was..."

"That looks a lot like you, Granden," Gibbs said.

Granden stared at the image.

"So...you want to modify your statement?" Gibbs asked.

"Or, in other words, do you wanna change your cock-and-bull story?" Tony added with a grin.

"I didn't mean to!" Granden exclaimed. "It was an accident!"

"An accident?" Gibbs repeated. He looked at Tony. "An accident."

"So you just accidentally cut Petty Officer Gray's throat?" Tony asked.

"The knife...it's only a...a deterrent! I never used it before!"

Then, Granden realized what he'd just said and closed his mouth.

"We know you're the one who was involved all those muggings over the last year. Don't even bother," Gibbs said.

"If that other agent hadn't...hadn't shown up there. He's crazy!" Granden said. "He just stared at me...and the guy started attacking me, asking for the agent to call for help. Instead, he ran at us, knocked us over and then he ran away. He never said a word...and I could have sworn that his eyes were closed part of the time. It would have been just like normal if he hadn't been there!"

"So it's my agent's fault that you committed murder?"

"It was an accident! I wasn't trying to kill him! I was just trying to take his wallet!"

Gibbs rolled his eyes and stood up. He walked out of Interrogation with Granden still declaring that it wasn't his fault behind them.

"What's going on?" Gibbs asked, as soon as the door was closed.

"I called McGee at least five times. No answer on his phone. Ziva's gone over to check on him, but...I'm worried about him, Boss. He's been off for the last few days. This case...it's only the most obvious thing."

Gibbs' phone rang...and then a couple of seconds later, Tony's phone rang.

"Ziva," Tony said, looking at the display.

Gibbs looked at his display. "Janene and Michael McGee..."

Tony raised his eyebrows and answered. "Ziva?"

"Hello, this is Agent Gibbs."

"Agent Gibbs, this is Janene McGee. My son...Tim. He works for you."

"Yes. What is it?"

"I don't...think that I could explain everything to you in a reasonable amount of time, but I think you need to check on our son."

"Why?"

"He left us a message...and I think...something has happened to him...something that hasn't happened since he was a child...and something we hoped would never happen again..."

"What is it?"

"Could you please just check on him? I'm really worried."

"Tony," Gibbs said, covering the receiver.

Tony shook his head. "Ziva said he's not there...and his car is...and his keys are...and his phone and his gun and his badge. The door was open. McGee isn't there."

"Mrs. McGee?"

"Yes?"

"We just sent someone over to your son's place, and he's not there. If you know something about what's going on, I need you to tell me. We're going to put out a BOLO for him..." He gestured to Tony who nodded. "...but you clearly know something we don't."

"Okay...do you have an email address I could send the message to? That will be as good a place to start as any. We have a digital machine and Michael will send what Tim said to you."

"All right." Gibbs gave her Abby's email address, wondering all the while just what he was going to find out that had frightened Tim's parents so much.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Tim ran out into the snow. He didn't care about the cold. He didn't care about the wind. He didn't care about the darkness. All he wanted was to get away from any reflective surface. Mit had grown so powerful that he could shout at Tim from the house windows as he ran.

More than once, Tim felt the pull as Mit tried to take control of him again...but he had the most power in Tim's home or when Tim was asleep and not able to fight him consciously.

Right now, he had to get far away. That meant outside. That meant away from any human dwelling.

The only place that was in his head was Rock Creek Park and he ran unerringly toward it as fast as he could, only barely noticing the growing cold as the wind and snow blasted against him. He didn't know if it was all real or just in his head, but either way, he had to get away from it. He couldn't let Mit get to him again.

"Get away...get away..." he whispered as he ran.

He ran across a street...and narrowly missed getting hit by a car. He stopped for a moment, staring into the headlights and then saw Mit reflected in the windshield and he started running again, ignoring the angry shouts of the people from the car, ignoring the sound of Mit's laughter at his near miss.

Finally, he reached the park. Not content with sitting by the edge, he ran along one of the paths until he reached a bench. It was covered with a thin dusting of snow now, but he didn't care. There was only snow and wind here. No mirrors, no windows, no smooth, shiny surfaces that would allow Mit to get at him again. He felt a little crazy right now. He was more terrified than he'd ever been...even as a child. Because now, he knew how bad things could get...and because Mit had gone a step farther than he'd gone before.

He was taking on life outside Tim's reflection...and he had no idea what that would mean. How many years had Mit been living the mirror world, waiting for a chance to get at Tim again?

He didn't know, but he did know one thing: He wasn't going to let Mit get at him again. Even if he had to sit out here all night. He would rather face the cold and wind and snow than he would seeing his reflection change into a monster.

Tim did wish that he'd managed to grab his coat before he left...but no way was he going back for it now. No way.

How long would he have to stay in the park, in the cold? How long would he have to wait until it was safe to go inside again?

He didn't know, but he wasn't going inside until he knew that Mit wouldn't be there.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

"...if this isn't real then, I should be locked up...because I'm terrified. ...I need help..."

There was something muffled in the background, but that wasn't the important thing. The important thing was that Tim sounded scared out of his wits. Gibbs looked at Abby and Tony, both of whom were staring at him in surprise.

"Okay...what's going on in there?" Tony asked.

"I don't know. McGee's parents are waiting for us to call them back."

He dialed the number and put them on speaker phone.

"Agent Gibbs?"

"Yes. We've listened to it. What's going on? Who's Mit?"

Even though the McGees weren't in the room, they could all sense their reluctance to talk about it.

"Look, Mrs. McGee," Gibbs said sternly, "your son is missing. He sounded terrified. It's snowing out here. We need to know. Who is Mit?"

"Agent Gibbs," Michael said in the tone of someone braving out an unpleasant revelation. "Mit...doesn't exist. He's someone Tim made up when he was a child...as a playmate and became a...a kind of hallucination. Tim was scared of him. He said that Mit made him do things, showed him terrible things."

"He was an imaginary friend?" Tony asked in surprise.

"Not exactly. Mit was his reflection. He lived in the mirrors...and windows...and any place that Tim could see his reflection. He said that Mit only came out when he was alone or when no one was looking. By the time he was about ten years old, he was so scared of Mit that he spent almost every day in the living room...where there weren't any mirrors. He read books, stayed away from his computer. When he told us about it, he was afraid that Mit would punish him."

"What did you do?" Abby asked.

"We took him to a psychiatrist. For months, he would go there every day. I gave up my active duty and took a desk job so that he'd have some stability. For a while, the only mirror in our house was in the bathroom. After about a year, he seemed to be a lot better. With the exception of some sleepwalking...that scared us to death, he was fine."

"Sleepwalking?"

"Yeah. He left the house a couple of times. He was lucky he never got hit by a car."

"He hasn't mentioned Mit since he was ten?"

"Maybe eleven, but definitely not since then. We were all glad to have that chapter over with. Agent Gibbs...my son doesn't scare easily. He's always been tough. ...but to have him seeing this 'Mit' again. I honestly don't know what to do about it."

Gibbs looked at Tony and Abby.

"We're going to find him first. We'll talk to him."

"We're coming out there, Agent Gibbs," Janene said. "If our son needs help, then we're going to be there to help him."

"Okay. When you get here, if you haven't heard from any of us, either call me or check in at headquarters."

"All right...just find our son."

"We will," Gibbs said and disconnected.

He looked at Tony and Abby.

"Abby, I want you to find anything you can to explain that message. Find out what Tim was seeing in there. Get Ducky to help you. Tony, call Ziva."

"Tell her to start looking?"

"Exactly...which is what we're going to do. I don't care if McGee is crazy or if he's seeing something real. We're going to find him before anything happens."

"Yes, Boss."

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Tim felt cold. He began to shiver, but he didn't think it was safe to leave yet.

"Hey...sir? You okay?"

"I'm fine," Tim said, not looking up. Who knew but that Mit might be reflected in the eyes of this person...

"You look pretty cold."

"I'm fine. Thank you."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. I'm happy just sitting here. You can go about your business."

"Okay."

"Thanks."

He heard the footsteps recede and let himself shiver violently. As he sat there, he finally felt some tears build up in his eyes and stream down his cheeks.

"How did he come back? Why? Why me?"

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

The phone rang and Tony looked at Gibbs as he answered.

"Agent DiNozzo. Where? Thanks."

"Well?" Gibbs asked.

"Got a hit on the BOLO. Guy said he saw a man sitting on a bench in Rock Creek Park. No coat. He said that he looked cold but didn't want any help. Answered McGee's description."

Gibbs said nothing. He turned sharply and headed for Rock Creek Park.