A/N: Sorry this took so long. A bad case of bronchitis is mostly to blame, but it also took forever for me to put together the pieces of how to make this chapter work. It's intense and it's long. Believe it or not, the next chapter is the last one for this story. If you are still reading, please let me know. Sheila

Smug Bastard

Chapter 6

The door to the interrogation room opened and Gibbs lifted his head. Purcell came in to the room. "Have a good nap, Agent Gibbs?"

He squinted as his eyes adjusted to the light.

"While you've been sleeping, your people have been busy."

Gibbs said nothing. He hadn't slept a wink. He'd spent the last 7 hours praying that his team would make it through the night.

"I should start with some updates. First, a member of the British embassy woke me at 3 a.m. to demand Dr. Mallard's release. You didn't mention that he held dual citizenship, but, of course, you wouldn't. What would be the fun in that? The British are very particular about how we interrogate one of their subjects. You'll be happy to know he is now in a federal court building getting bail. We had to convince him to leave. He wanted to stay until you and Miss Scuito were released."

Gibbs nodded. Old Duck would be there 'til the end.

"I found Gorman's wallet in my mail. There was a note attached that said, "Ready for retirement." Bet you thought that was funny."

Gibbs stifled a grin. McGee's sense of humor was a dry one and Purcell was clearly in no mood for what he really thought. "I want to see Abby Scuito."

Purcell shook his head. "Not possible. Like the rest of your hamsters, she's been busy. She stole a cell phone off an agent. Used the battery from that plus some food item from her evening meal to form a little explosive. Tried to blow the door on her room. Didn't work but she set off all the fire alarms on the west end of the building. My lab is going nuts trying to figure out how she did it. I wasn't interested in any more hijinks so I gave her to Fornell. He seems to have an endless capacity for your brand of nonsense."

Gibbs couldn't hide his grin anymore.

"I'm glad you think this is funny. Your team is still out there. Their faces are plastered all over ZNN. They are public enemy number one. Do you think this is going to end well?"

"My team is innocent."

Purcell nodded. "I can believe that DiNozzo and David are. I know you foster the kind of loyalty that one finds only in a foxhole. I'm sure that they'll believe in McGee up to the moment someone finds the disc on him. Then it's going to break their hearts, but that will be the least of their problems. I just think it's sad that their loyalty will be their ruin."

"McGee didn't do this thing."

"There isn't a jury in the world that wouldn't convict him. There is too much evidence. A military court isn't going to sit on this for more than a day. McGee is a traitor and a murderer, and if we don't stop him, he's going to be responsible for soldier deaths."

"If that were possible, I would be helping you capture him. I would sit at his execution."

"Gibbs, your problem is that you're too arrogant to recognize when you're wrong. That character flaw makes you just as responsible for what happens to David and DiNozzo as McGee is."

Gibbs couldn't stand as he was handcuffed to the table, but he raised his head to Purcell. "I know that boy as well as I know anything. He didn't do this thing. He's incapable of it. My people are out there trying to keep him alive."

"Save it, Gibbs."

"I want to talk to Vance."

Purcell cocked his head. "That's another funny one. I tried to talk to him this morning, but he's unavailable. His secretary says he's gone hunting."

Gibbs closed his eyes.

"I'll have an agent bring in some breakfast for you. I don't want any more complaints about CID hospitality."

Purcell shut the door behind him, and Gibbs cursed loudly, tugging at his cuffs in frustration. They were all fighting for their lives and he could do nothing to assist. It was the worst kind of torture.

"Eli, how are you, my friend? Took a while to get you on the phone." Vance leaned against his car in an abandoned parking lot. Balboa's team loitered nearby.

"Leon, how's the weather?"

"Hot and sticky, exactly like the situation your daughter has gotten herself into."

"Really? I do not hear from my beautiful Ziva very much."

"We've known each other too long for lies, Eli. She and her team are on the run. Special Agent Timothy McGee has been accused of espionage. They've disappeared. Every law enforcement acronym in the book is looking for them. So I had to ask myself. How did they disappear so effectively, so quickly?"

"I understand that the missing disc contains missile codes. This is something that you should've alerted us to as soon as it happened, Leon."

"Don't change the subject!"

"We need to work together on this."

Agreed! Now, where are my agents?"

"They are safe, Leon, and they are going to stay safe until we recover the disc."

"If they are working for you, that constitutes a huge betrayal to their country."

"They are working for no one! They are safe, and they will stay that way until this is resolved!"

Eli, those are American codes, not for your eyes."

"Of course. You do not want me to see what is pointed at my country. I will not argue with you. The bigger issue is to keep the disc out of the hands of the Iranians."

"This is unlike you, Eli. For all you know, McGee could be guilty as sin."

"The last time I was in Washington, that young man was part of the NCIS detail at my safe house. I played many games of backgammon with him. He has neither the stomach nor the heart for betraying his country. Power and money have little meaning for him. He lives merely to serve his country."

"You learned all of this from backgammon."

"A man is unguarded when he thinks he is merely playing a game."

"For what it's worth, I don't think McGee did it either, but the evidence is daunting. And it will not look good for any of them to be found with the Mossad."

"Leon, as you have seen, I do not have control over my daughter."

"Tell them I am looking for them. I want to help. Tell them to contact me."

"I will pass it on, my friend. Shalom." The phone went dead.

Eli David's nonchalance had always stuck in Vance's craw. It seemed as nothing could ruffle the Mossad Director. Vance shook his head and signaled for Rusty Balboa.

Balboa came trotting over. "What's the plan?"

"I know they're not running. They're working the case. It's the only thing that makes sense. We work the case. That's our best chance of finding them."

"Director, you don't really think…"

"Balboa, I don't think anything. Let's just 'em before someone else does."

….

DiNozzo was wearing a t-shirt and jeans as he knelt next to the old man in the lobby. "Seen this guy before?"

The old man looked at him warily. "You were dressed a lot nicer yesterday."

"Yeah, well it's casual day at the precinct. Look at the picture."

"Yesterday, you said you were NCIS."

Tony rolled his eyes. "It's complicated, Pops. Just trust me when I say I'm trying to solve the murder of your neighbor."

"That guy was weird."

"Look at the picture. Ever seen him around?"

The man peered at a picture of Escondido. Before the man could answer, another man called out, "Hey Harold, look at the telly! Your friend there is a wanted man!"

DiNozzo looked up to see an old picture of him on ZNN. "That's not me."

Harold narrowed his eyes. "Looks like you."

Tony shook his head and showed his profile. "Get a good look at me. I'm much more handsome than that chump."

"I don't know."

"Come on, Harold, do you know the guy in the picture?"

Harold looked at the photo. "That's Patti's weird friend."

"Not Roomy's?"

"Maybe. I don't know. I guess I saw him hanging out with that hot chick, Patti, more."

Tony patted his shoulder. "Good work, Harold."

"You better run, boy, 'cause I'm calling the real police now."

Tony gave him a big wink and stood up to leave.

Harold called after him. "You seem like a nice fella'. I'm going to give you a five minute head start."

"Ziva, I need better screen captures," he said into the phone.

"I am doing the best I can. I can't just stand behind her and take pictures of everything she's doing on her laptop." She leaned against a high top table in the coffee shop and pointed her phone at the blonde seated at the counter.

"I just need a few more screens so I can know where she's been. It'll be easier to track her."

"Okay McGee, I got it." She thumbed him off, and regarded the back of the beautiful woman. A person sitting next to the blonde finished their coffee and got off her stool. Ziva pulled her thick hair out of her ponytail, fluffed it, and then slid into the empty seat.

Patti Miller looked in her direction and Ziva gave her a warm smile.

….

McGee stared at the blinking light on the laptop. It was Abby. After his trip to L.A. with Gibbs a few years ago, he and Abby set up a confidential space on the internet if they ever needed it, secure even from NCIS. Sometimes, they met up there on the weekend to discuss work if one of them was on an unsecured computer. That blinking light told him she was there, but he didn't move to open it. Abby wouldn't tell anyone about their space; she would hold out under pressure unless Gibbs was being threatened. He didn't know if that was the situation or if the ever resourceful Abby Scuito had gained access to an actual unsecured computer.

He stared at it some more. Posting a simple message stating that he was safe would surely bring her some comfort, and there was no way it could be traced. Even on the simple laptop Mossad had left at the safe house, he knew enough tricks so that he couldn't be tracked. Yet, it felt wrong; just another way to pull her into something he'd worked so hard to protect her from.

It was weird. Abby was strong that people realized. She acted like a child sometimes, but McGee had come to know that it was part of her brilliance. Her naïvete was actually an endless sense of wonder that made her a terrific scientist. Authentic curiosity was like spun gold. Sometimes, her social skills were a little unsophisticated, but it never bothered McGee. His need to protect her was something primal; deeper than he had words to express. He loved her powerfully, and yet it was effortless. He accepted her for who she was in every way. In the beginning, it had left him vulnerable. He was the sweet kid with the 'Mom' tattoo, ever eager to please. Her unpredictable moods stung him terribly. With time, he grew as a professional and a person. When she got angry with him now, it didn't devastate him and it never lasted. Besides, he saw her as a free spirit, and as such, allowed that she was subject to unusual reactions and interpretations. These days, he tended to sit back and watch it all with nothing other than passing interest.

At work, they stimulated and complemented each other so completely that she felt like a part of him. There were moments when he contemplated something deeper between them, but he couldn't imagine disturbing what they already had.

He clicked on their site, and stared at her message. "Whatever you need, I'm here."

She could help so much. His fingers ghosted over her words. She was the ying to his yang, and she would undoubtedly focus him, but he couldn't do it. He clicked the screen closed, and returned to the blurry screen captures Ziva was sending him.

…..

Abby leaned forward, her chin in her hands and watched the silent screen. Fornell leaned over her shoulder. "Anything?"

"He doesn't want to involve me. I can tell. It's like he thinks I'm a child." Abby sat at the cluttered desk in his office.

He patted her back. "He doesn't want any of you involved. It's who he is."

She looked up at him. "I can trust you?"

"Abby, there isn't a country in this world where I could safely escape Jethro Gibbs' wrath if I crossed one of his team."

She frowned. "You did kind of frame Tony for murder."

"Well, that was your lab assistant. I was just investigating. Never actually charged him, if you recall."

"If you double cross me, I'll gut you with a—"

He squeezed his eyes shut and shuddered. "My dear, your…threats are duly noted. Now, let's find your geek."

….

The CID agent approached Gibbs carefully. "Now Gunny, I hear that you threw breakfast at the last agent that tried to feed you. Let's not have that. The director wants you to have all the hospitality we can offer. Seems we were a bit short on it with your agent. So, I'm going to put this sandwich and coffee down and then I'm going to uncuff you. Got it?"

Gibbs barely acknowledged him. "Am I being held under the Patriot Act?"

"Gunny?"

"You heard me! Am I being held without the right to a lawyer? Am I being held as a terrorist?"

"I guess I don't know. I'm just here on lunch duty."

Gibbs gave the CID agent the full force of his steely glare. "You put that food down on this table, and you're going to be scraping it off the wall."

"Gunny. That's just plain childish. A hunger strike? You oughta' know better."

"I don't eat until I know what's happened to my people. You need to take the food and leave. Find out if I am a terror suspect because if I'm not, I want a lawyer and I want a lawyer now."

The agent stared at him for a moment and then nodded. "I heard you were the real deal, Gunny. I guess you are. I'll go see what I can find out for you."

The agent left and Gibbs shook his head. He was exhausted and hungry, but now of that meant anything as long as the well being of his people was in question.

….

Tony picked lightly through the suitcase once more and then picked up his phone. "Hey McGee, I'm in Patti Miller's apartment now and I found her passport and tickets to Belize. Lady's getting ready for a trip."

"You broke in!"

"Calm down. On the list of things we're in trouble for, this doesn't even rank. We're rogue, remember? What are you doing?"

"I got enough screen captures from Ziva's camera to start tracking Miller. I hacked her email and her bank accounts."

"Damn, you're just as dangerous as they say."

Tony winced as he was greeted with silence. "Sorry Tim. Bad joke."

"You should see these emails, Tony. She and Escondido were going at it hot and heavy. You get the feeling that she's really the one in charge. They don't say much about Roomy except to refer to a 'job' he was doing."

"You think that's all about stealing the missile codes?"

"Yeah. Roomy was the genius hacker. I don't think Escondido could've done it all on his own. They were probably playing him to get to the codes."

"That's good, McGee. Finally feels like we're getting a handle on this thing."

"Tony, there's an email exchange with a guy that she's meeting at midnight tonight. I don't have a location. He says he'll call when the time gets closer. I've been trying to trace his email, but it's a phony. Pretty sophisticated too. I think this might be the Iranians. I'm going to dig harder."

Tony sat down on the bed and sighed. "That's it. It's gotta' be. She's gonna' meet with them, hand off the codes, and get out of the country."

"We should call someone...the director?…Fornell? We need back up on this."

"Not a chance. It would take days to convince them. We don't have that kind of time. Ziva and I are going to tail her. Your job is to start documenting the evidence."

"You're not going to that meet without me."

Tony smiled into the phone. "So it's the Three Musketeers, huh?"

"This is my fight, Tony."

"If it's happening to you, it's happening to all of us. Don't worry, McGoo. There'll be plenty for you to do."

McGee stared at the name on the screen. Omar Nasir. He'd never heard it before, but a feeling was growing in his gut. Everything else happening to him was momentarily forgotten. This was who he was; the geek who could solve the puzzle and this particular puzzle took him to a man named Omar Nasir. This was what made him special. He was going to take this name, and look for it in databases in the CIA, FBI, and NCIS. There were going to be no asking for permission or letters of forgiveness for hacking this time. This was his game now, and all the decisions were his. All nervousness about committing crimes was over. There was a man out there that was going to buy U.S. missile codes tonight and he was the only one who could stop it. There were no rules left to follow. McGee huddled over the laptop and started breaking through firewalls, his fingers dancing wildly across the keyboard.

…..

Ziva climbed into the car next to Tony. "I followed her all over the city. All she did was stop at boutiques and buy beachwear."

"She's getting ready for the beaches in Belize."

Ziva narrowed her eyes. "She has no soul. How do you betray your country and then plan a vacation?"

Tony shrugged. "She is hot."

She punched him in the gut and Tony leaned over with a groan. He looked up at her. "I deserved that, didn't I?"

Ziva looked at her phone. "It's 5 p.m. She doesn't have to meet with him until midnight. I'm sure she won't leave her apartment for at least a few hours."

"Did you bring food?"

"No. I thought you would. You were the one driving around. Do you think we can get a pizza delivery to the car?"

Ziva sighed. "Are we really going to do this without backup?"

"Nobody left to trust."

Ziva sank back in her seat. "Wish we could talk to Gibbs."

"I know."

"This is no way to set up an op. We should call my father and bring in Mossad."

Tony snorted. "We do that and daddy dearest will pull this out from under us. He'll take the disc."

"It is better than the Iranians."

"Ziva, no foreign government can have that disc, not even Israeli."

She closed her eyes. "I know. I know."

"We don't do this right, and we're all be spending the rest of our lives in prison. Ready for that?"

She looked at him. "I can't live with letting McGee go down for something he didn't do."

He nodded. "Losing him to something like this would be worse than prison, I think."

She reached over and took his hand. "It'll always be like that for us. We'll always be there for each other."

He squeezed her back. "Okay. So we'll do this because it's what we do. We're going to find this disc, and we're going to get our geek back."

She smiled. "Yes."

"Hey," he gestured. "Look."

Patti Miller was moving toward her car rapidly, pulling a suitcase and a carry on.

"She's leaving earlier than we thought."

"It's okay, Ziva. We got her." Tony waited until she backed out and turned the corner of her street. Then he started to move in behind her. At the stop sign, a familiar sedan appeared.

Tony cursed and then looked into his rearview mirror. Two more sedans appeared. "Damn! It's Balboa and his people! We've been burned."

The vehicles blocked them in, and agents with guns came out of the trees.

Ziva grabbed the phone. "McGee, they got us! Miller ran! You gotta' go. My father won't protect you now."

Agents moved in on them from all directions, guns drawn, screaming at them to put down their weapons. Tony shook his head in frustration, and put his hands on the steering wheel where everyone could see them. Ziva dropped the phone in frustration and put her hands up as well.

McGee dropped the phone and jumped to his feet. He started pacing the room. It had all gone to hell. They'd been so close. He'd even allowed himself to imagine getting his life back. Now, Miller was on the run, and nobody knew where she was going to meet up with Nasir.

He ran his fingers through his hair and tried to quiet his breathing. It would be only minutes before Mossad would descend on him, and he knew that Eli David would have no use for him without any chance of finding the disc.

The disc was going to get passed off, and his life was going to come to an end. Once arrested, he would have virtually no defense. Spending the rest of his life as a traitor would be excruciating, but what it would do to his family and his team was unbearable.

In that moment, the thought of eating his gun held appeal. It would bring everything to a close, and his team would no longer have an obligation to him. The idea filled him with relief. He pulled the gun Ziva gave him off the table and sat down on the couch. As macabre as it was, he knew it was important to take a moment to really think through how to do this. He'd been on the scene for many suicides, and he needed to remember what he knew about how to do this with the least amount of trouble.

Angle was important, and he couldn't lose his nerve. If he only injured himself, he might not have strength to finish it properly. He closed his eyes for a moment before deciding to shot himself in the right temple. He remembered Ducky once talking about the effectiveness of such a maneuver.

A thought popped into his head that he should be leaving notes. The people he loved deserved to know how much he cared; how much they had done to make his life a good and decent one. His throat swelled with emotion. There was so much to say. They were all so special to him. He rubbed at his wet cheeks and told himself that there wasn't time for words. They would have to know in their hearts that he'd hit a wall that couldn't be climbed. They'd have to know how deeply he loved him all.

He choked on his tears and positioned the gun. He closed his eyes and readied himself for the end but nothing happened. He winced and tried again, but he couldn't squeeze the trigger. He dropped his gun hand and the gun tumbled onto the cushions. Then he leaned back, sobbing. "Boss, what are you doing in my head? What do you want me to know? There's no way out of this! I can't survive this! You gotta' understand that! There isn't a rule out there that covers being convicted as a spy, Boss. Nothing covers it!" He covered his face and sobbed. "Get out of my head, Gibbs! You can't help me now!"

For minutes, he lie there with his hands over his face. Slowly, his breathing settled and he felt a sense of calm. He leaned forward but this time he didn't grab for the gun. He got up and paced, mumbling to himself under his breath. And then as quickly as the thought of killing had taken hold, another thought gripped him, but this one had nothing to do with giving up.

….

DiNozzo's hands were cuffed behind his back and he was sitting in the backseat of a sedan. After all his years in law enforcement, he was finally the suspect. The agent in the driver's seat was someone he didn't know, but he didn't try to banter with the kid. He was feeling too much rage for games of any kind.

The passenger door opened, and Leon Vance slid in, turning to face DiNozzo. "I'm sorry it's come to this, Agent DiNozzo. I wish it hadn't. This whole thing has gotten out of hand, and the only way everyone is going to survive this is if you tell me where to find McGee."

Tony glared at him and shook his head.

"Damn it, DiNozzo! They're going to kill him if we don't find him first."

"We were so close, Director. Patti Miller has that disc."

"How do you know that?"

"It all fits. She got close to Roomy and Escondido. We have the email trail. She masterminded this whole thing, and she's meeting with the Iranians tonight at midnight."

"Where?"

Tony narrowed his eyes. "We don't know, Director. We were going to follow her to the drop. We were so close! She's the one selling the secrets. She's the one betraying her country, and now there's no way to track her."

"You didn't get the GPS on her car?"

"Didn't have time and didn't have equipment, but it didn't matter because we were following her!"

"You should have trusted me."

"We were this close! McGee isn't a spy!"

"I know. Tell me where he is. I want to help."

Tony shook his head and looked away.

Gibbs' head ached. He hadn't gone this long without caffeine in years. He kept his eyes on the table because the lights just exacerbated the throbbing in his temples. He had no sense of time. Agents had tried to feed him three times, and so he assumed that he'd moved into the evening. He knew they were watching him behind the glass, but he didn't care. A good sniper had to be a patient man, and right now, his only job was to wait.

The door opened but he didn't lift his head. He wasn't in the mood for games.

"Jethro!"

He blinked at the sound of Fornell's voice and looked up. Tobias was standing there with Purcell and Vance.

"What? What do you know?"

"We have David and DiNozzo."

Gibbs shook his head. "And you needed to bring me a parade to tell me that."

Fornell turned to Purcell. "Uncuff him."

"This is ridiculous."

"Do it! Nothing happens until he's uncuffed."

Gibbs looked at Fornell in confusion as Purcell worked his cuffs. "What the hell?"

"Vance and I think that a woman named Patti Miller has the disc. She's planning to hand it off tonight at midnight to an Iranian, but we don't know where."

Gibbs stretched his cramped arms and stood. "You believe McGee? Is he still out there?"

Vance shook his head. "Things have taken a pretty wild turn, Gibbs."

Fornell signaled the agent at the door, and he opened it, letting in Agah Bayar.

"What's going on?"

"Bayar here says he knows what McGee's up to, but he won't tell anyone until you're released."

Gibbs looked at Bayar. "What do you know?"

"Your man, McGee, contacted me two hours ago. He believes that Miss Miller will be passing the disc onto an Iranian named Omar Nasir. He didn't know where that would happen, but he has a pretty audacious plan. It took some convincing, but I agreed to help him."

"Spit it out, Bayar. Nobody has time for your theatrics."

"I have run in the same circles as Nasir. McGee asked me to contact him and tell him that I had it on good authority that Miss Miller was an undercover FBI agent, and that the disc in her possession was a plant."

Fornell smiled. "Not bad, McGee."

"He knows that's not enough to keep Nasir from meeting with her so I was instructed to tell him that McGee had the actual disc, and that he could prove hers was a fake."

"Did you do this?"

"Yes, and Nasir will allow McGee to confront Miss Miller with his evidence."

"Where is this going to happen?"

Bayar shook his head. "McGee is a wanted man. He has no belief that any law enforcement agency will back him. He's going in alone."

"He can't prove anything. It's a suicide mission," Vance said softly.

Bayar looked at Gibbs. "He wanted me to tell you that he will do what it takes to keep that disc out of foreign hands."

Gibbs stared at him for a moment and then shook head. "We have to talk to him. I want you to call him. He needs backup. "

Bayar shook his head. "He knows better. That phone's been burned."

"It's a manipulation. McGee is playing all of you."

"Shut up, Purcell!" Vance growled.

Fornell nodded. "We're taking Gibbs. You can invoke the Patriot Act all you want, but I'm the actual Homeland Security guy in this room, and I want Gibbs."

"It's a CID investigation!"

"Missile codes are going into terrorist hands tonight. It's an everyone investigation! We're out of here, Purcell." Fornell pushed Gibbs toward the door and Vance and Bayar followed.

Outside the room, Gibbs grabbed Bayar and pushed him up against the wall. "You contact Nasir and get him to hold off on this meeting!"

Bayar shook his head. "It's too late, Gibbs. This thing has already been set in motion."

Gibbs slammed his fist into the wall beside Bayar's head, but the arms dealer didn't even blink. Gibbs started to say something, but stopped himself, backing up and looking at everyone. "We failed him. All of us. He is innocent and we failed him. Worst of all, I failed him."

He shook his head and strode down the hallway.

….

TBC