"I wonder what is in McGee's secret safe deposit box?" Ziva mused thoughtfully as the car sped through the Washington traffic.

Tony glanced over to Ziva in the passenger seat before returning his attention to the road.

"Well I can tell you what won't be in there. Secret plans and Intel that he has sold out to a foreign power. He probably has a Valentines card from 1986 and his first boy scout badge."

"Why do you persist in not considering McGee as a potential threat?" Ziva turned in the passenger seat to look at Tony with curiosity written across her face.

"Look Ziva, you don't understand. When Kate died, McGee was there. Even after the funeral, he called to make sure I was ok even though he never said that was what he was doing. When Gibbs 'retired' and went to Mexico, McGee was there. He turned up every day and sat at his desk and looked at me and I had to just keep it all together. He was my Senior Agent and he was a good one. I trusted him to watch my back.

When I was hanging off the side of that parking building who came and pulled me back over? McGee did. He saved my life. When you didn't come into work and the next thing we know the FBI is after you? Who was there? McGee was. He is ALWAYS there. Maybe not in the front where everyone can see him all the time but he is there, day in and day out and I want to make sure that this time I'm there for him."

"Ah so it's personal." Ziva nodded sagely and Tony almost exploded.

"Of course it's personal! Look, I of all people know that sometimes people aren't what they seem. But right now? Right now I need to believe in McGee the way someone believes in Santa Claus. Just because the reality of believing in a strange creepy old guy in a red suit who comes down your chimney and goes around the entire world in a night is better than thinking your parents and every adult in the world has lied to you."

*****************************************************************************************************************

"A package for Abby Scuito?'

Abby turned on her stool and lithely hopping off signed for the package. She shook the cardboard box curiously and then after putting on latex gloves and cutting open the securing tape she carefully opened the box.

Staring at what lay inside she picked up the phone.

"Uh Gibbs? Can you come down her please?"

When Gibbs strode into her lab Abby shoved the small open box under his nose.

"Is this what I think it is?"

Gibbs stared at the gun and nodded his head.

"Yes Abby that looks exactly like what you think it is."

"McGee sent US his GUN. The gun that shot YOU. The gun that the agency has registered in his name. Why would he do that?"

"He doesn't want it to fall into the wrong hands. He also knows we are trying to track him down and he doesn't want his actions to be traced. What better way to make sure it gets locked away and kept safe?"

"But its evidence Gibbs! He is sending us the very thing that will get used against him! How are we supposed to prove his innocence if he keeps doing this sort of stuff?"

Gibbs looked at Abby and spoke firmly but softly.

"Abby, he did do it. I saw him. He pulled the trigger and he shot me. He isn't innocent. We aren't trying to track him down to prove his innocence but to try and find out what he is doing. Hopefully we can find him before he does anything else stupid and gets himself killed."

Abby stared at Gibbs and she frowned as if trying to understand what Gibbs was saying.

"Tim isn't innocent?"

"No Abby. He's not." Gibbs softened his voice but held her gaze in his own strong blue one.

Abby frowned again and chewed her lip anxiously

"But he's not a bad person is he?"

Gibbs paused for a moment and for a flash he saw the dark haired man who had killed his wife and daughter lined up in his scope on his high powered rifle. Gibbs shook his head

"No Abby. He's not a bad person."

Abby nodded her head slowly as if trying to settle her thoughts and then she carefully placed the gun into a plastic tray ready for the prerequisite testings she would perform to prove that it had in fact been the gun that had shot Gibbs. Underneath the gun was a small note in Tim's precise handwriting, which Abby carefully picked up with tweezers.

I know I have no right to ask for anything but please protect Sarah for me. I'm sorry.

Tim

"Gibbs!! He's not even TRYING to save himself" Abby shook the small piece of paper angrily as if it could somehow transport its dire situation to its previous owner.

Gibbs had already disappeared out of the lab determined to stop Sarah McGee from returning to her study group. For someone who didn't know a lot about her brothers past she was proving to know a lot of the answers.

*********************************************************************************************************************************************************

"Director Vance?"

"Yes Lincoln? How have your investigations gone?"

The small man absentmindedly twisted the bottom of his good luck Atari t shirt he was wearing under his jacket. He didn't quite know how to tell the Director that his Golden Boy was rapidly becoming tarnished.

"It appears that we have a major situation here I'm afraid Director. The anomalies that we were looking into have turned from small pin prick sized holes into giant massive data sucking super nova swallowing Trojan black holes. Or maybe a leech would be a better example. Leeches than really as they have their fingers into the FBI, Homeland Security, the CIA, ... Ok so maybe leeches don't have fingers exactly."

"Lincoln! Please I need you to tell me precisely what is going on"

Lincoln swallowed and pushed his glasses back up his nose, trying to collect his thoughts.

"Well Sir to summarise it appears that everything Agent McGee has ever touched has been copied, replicated or a private back door has been added for later access. We find one thing that then leads to something else and suddenly the Pentagon is booting us out. Or the IRS. The scale is unprecedented Sir and we are only just scratching the surface. We are going to need to re direct everyone in Cyber Crimes onto our own internal security. I thought I should inform you as...well there appears to be some financial trails starting to turn up consisting of some rather large amounts of money. It appears to be building to something. The information packets are getting larger. As yet we don't know what that is. Or where this information is meant to be going to."

Vance bit down hard on his toothpick. Damn it!

"Why wasn't this discovered earlier?"

"Well it is across so many different departments and it has been such small, even tiny incremental changes over several years that it has never been picked up before. They had adapted WITH the security upgrades. With the search focus being Agent McGee specifically we were able to study only what he has come in contact with rather than trying to sift through years of the entire agencies requirements."

Director Vance glared as his tremulous world came crashing down around him.

"So if Agent McGee hadn't shot Agent Gibbs and raised the alarm then this ...data disappearance would have continued indefinitely?"

Lincoln bit his lip and glanced at the door judging the distance.

"Yes Sir."

"And several other agencies security protocols have already been breached?"

"Yes Sir"

"And it appears that information has been sold for financial gain?"

"Yes sir"

Vance bit down further and snapped the toothpick clamped in his jaw.

"Get everybody up here now. I want to know everything. If I'm going to raise the alarm then this agency is going to walk into one hell of a shit storm and I need to know where to put the sand bags."

Vance stood and stared again out of the window. He hoped that McGee knew how to run fast as every agency would have their best men on his tail once they found out that he had turned traitor on them.

Was this sob story DiNozzo told him about McGee's past just a cover then? Was it simply to give him crucial time to allow him to get away? To create division and uncertainty within NCIS's best team? How deep did a deep cover agent's identity go? Had the entire thing been fabricated through false records and old newspaper articles? Was the man that had come to see Tony claiming to be McGee's father, actually his father? Had anyone on the team in all the years he had worked with them EVER seen McGee's father?

Director Vance clamped his teeth down onto another tooth pick as he glared deep in thought out over the Anacostia.

*********************************************************************************

"Hey Gibbs? We have news. You were right. McGee wanted to get back to Washington but he's not on his way, he's already here. He came in and cleaned out his safe deposit box this morning. We checked the security camera footage. He has got some MAJOR cash to throw around and a gun as well as some other stuff."

Gibbs looked up as his computer binged.

"Oh he's in Washington alright. A BOLO just came up on his Porsche. He's in Georgetown. I will meet you there."

Gibbs snapped his phone shut, transferred the information to Tony's phone and grabbing his things started to head out.

"What are you doing McGee?" Gibbs muttered as the elevator doors shut.

"Are you trying to draw attention to yourself driving around in that obvious car of yours? Is that what you're doing? Are you using yourself as bait?"

The possible implications made Gibbs blood run cold and the long seconds before the elevator doors opened again made his guts clench. Something was horribly wrong.

***************************************************************************************************************************************************

Tim paused and drew his gun, carefully side stepping beyond the tree line as he watched the handsome dark haired man he once called friend climb out of his car. He needed to be careful. For years the athletic man had lorded it over him when it came to the chase and he wasn't going to risk everything now.

Tim ducked his head down as the man turned and scanned the street talking to someone on his cell phone. His dark sunglasses made it difficult for Tim to see what he was really looking at as he leaned nonchalantly against the car.

If only he would listen to him. That's all he needed. A few minutes and he would be on his way again.

Years of training settled like a calming blanket over him and taking a deep breath Tim holstered his gun and stepped out from the trees a deceptive smile on his face.