"I've… told… you… everything… I know." Ari leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table, trying to breathe evenly. He could feel his stress levels rising, but refused to look up at the glass. He could take it. He wasn't going to reach out to Caitlin.
Vance closed the file. He could almost feel Kate's eyes burning through the glass, scorching the back of his neck. The other presence, Vance was trying to ignore.
Gibbs watched his former enemy. Something was definitely not right. He knew Haswari's health was precarious, but something seemed off kilter.
Vance leaned forward again, pushing harder for a response, "What are you leaving out?"
"Noth..ing." Ari's breath caught, and he wheezed. Fumbled for something in his pocket, tried to stand and staggered. Vance half-stood, reaching out to help as the door crashed open.
"Ari." Kate was by his side in a flash. Slipping an arm round him she reached into his pocket and pulled out an inhaler. Holding it to his lips, "breathe in" she ordered. His hand came up and he clutched her hand and the inhaler.
He breathed, inhaling hard, leaning heavily against the wall. Kate helped support him as he struggled to regulate his breathing. Vance moved out of the way as Ducky arrived to take charge.
Ari sat on the autopsy table as Ducky examined him. "Breathe in." The older doctor instructed. "Breathe out." Ducky moved the stethoscope a couple of inches to the right, "and in again."
Ducky removed the stethoscope from his ears. "Does Kate know?" He asked quietly.
"That within the next two years I will be breathing through a tube?" Ari hung his head slightly, "that within five years I will no longer be able to climb the stairs? That I do not know how long I have left?" He shook his head, "No, Caitlin does not know."
"Ari!"
"I would spare her that." Ari's lips curved upwards in a slight smile, and he shook his head again. "In truth, I cannot tell her." He paused, "I do not know what to say."
The older man nodded, finding himself in rare sympathy with his old enemy. "COPD." He muttered quietly to himself. The younger man nodded.
"I attend the clinic once a week, but there is little that they can do."
"Transplant…"
Ari smiled, "not for me, my friend."
Kate wrapped her arms across her middle and paced quietly. Gibbs watched her, noted the tension in her back, the frozen look of distress on her face. "Kate…"
She looked up. "Gibbs… I…" she sighed, "Ari is sick, he's been trying to hide it from me, and he thinks I don't know."
"Serious?"
Her lower lip trembled, and her eyes filled with tears. "The clinic wouldn't tell me, but they treat long term terminal cases."
Gibbs silently pulled her into his arms, as she put her head against his shoulder.
"I shouldn't care this much, he kidnapped me, he's done some terrible things…"
"But you do care, Kate." Gibbs eased her back a little, with his hands on her shoulders. "Your compassion and understanding, these are what make you a good agent. Although your choice of soul mate we really could have done without!"
The corner of her mouth quirked up in a little smile, and he was relieved he had managed to break through the pain a little.
"So, what are we going to do about this situation?" She dried her eyes. "Ari knows nothing of their plans now."
"But there is a chance that they might still trust me." Gibbs turned, Ari was standing behind them. Gibbs studied the younger man. Now the details fit together in his mind. He noted the little things that he had seen before, without interpretation they just said that Haswari was not the agent he had been. Now he had the key to the code, and the picture was not a good one.
"You think?" he questioned mildly, giving nothing away. Aware that Kate was staring at them both in horror.
Ari was looking at Kate. "Caitlin, we have no choice."
She shook her head, "there is a choice, Ari… there's always a choice."
Gibbs crossed his arms, "what do you suggest?"
"I go undercover, and give you access." Ari held Gibbs' slightly sceptical gaze. "I can do this." He reached out and took Kate's hand, "I have to…"
Her wavering smile was not convincing, but she nodded, "I know."
Gibbs turned, "we'll work up the details, we only have one shot at this." He looked back at Ari, "if anything is even slightly off, we pull you out, no arguments."
The Israeli nodded, "agreed."
The senior agent walked away, hoping that he wasn't making a mistake. Ari Haswari was sick, and not the agent he had been. Taking a chance on a sick man seemed wrong.
