8

Chapter Nine

Tim felt drained, they'd worked so hard to get here, and now this…

"Hey Tim, how're you doing?" Now they had some light he could see how beat his friend looked.

"Tired I guess. How about you? That's quite a shiner you've got there."

Very gently Tony put a finger on his cheekbone. "Zoe's gonna kill me, we're supposed to be meeting her parents Saturday."

"You're going to make one heck of a first impression." He took a good look at Tony. "You sure you're okay, you look…"

"Like hell I'm guessing; pity there's not a mirror here, you'd see you've had better days."

"We both have I guess. Okay Tony, time for me to take a look at what they've left behind, see if we can get past this thing." He went to the window and peered out through the grimy glass, hoping maybe that help was already here, he tried to figure out how long they'd been missing. "The position of the sun…I'd say it's around 09.00."

Tony let out a low whistle. "Gibbs is going to kill us."

"He won't have to kill us if we don't get out of here…I don't get it Tony, what's in here that has to be protected by explosives?"

"Us?"

"God I hope not, there had to be something here before they put us in that cellar."

"We can always get a team here when we get out…if we get out." Tony glanced at the small package and guided Tim toward it. "We can't do nothing Tim, there's a timer, see. We have twenty-nine minutes. Have you seen one of these before?"

Tim wiped the sweat from his forehead and took a deep breath. "I think so…a month ago at FLETC, course it looks different in a classroom…" He knelt down and took a closer look. "If it's the same, we cut the wires in sequence; red, black then green."

"You think you can do this without making us go boom?"

"Not sure Tony, my knife, it's pretty blunt after we used it as a screwdriver. Do you still have yours?"

Tony's hand went to his belt and he grinned. "I'd let you slap me on the head if it wasn't already ringing; how could I forget?" He unclipped the knife and held it out. "I can't do this Tim, if I have another dizzy spell and cut the wrong wire…can you?" He looked into Tim's eyes, saw the pain his friend was trying to hide, he also saw absolute determination.

"I'll do it Tony, I need a minute." Tim took a few deep breaths, he had to focus, now more than ever.

"No hurry, you still have twenty-four minutes, just don't go all James Bond and leave it until we have three seconds left."

Tim shook his head slowly, trust Tony to come up with a movie reference, even at a time like this. "Okay, let's do this."

Tony patted him lightly on the shoulder and took up a position by the window. "It's all clear out there, looks like they're long gone…maybe we're a loose end they're tidying up."

"Not if I can help it we're not." Tim cut the first wire and held his breath for a few seconds. "No boom Tony, time for the next one, you ready?"

"I'm a DiNozzo, I'm always ready."

"Then be prepared to run when I cut the last wire because if I'm wrong…"

"You're not wrong. Tim, I know you, when you see a thing once it's stored up here." He tapped his temple. "I'll be ready to get the door open, not because you might be wrong, because I want to get out of this God-forsaken place."

"Okay, here goes nothing." Tim wiped his hands on his shirt front, gripped the knife, cradled the black wire and cut. There was an instant when he expected the world to explode, instead he felt a pat on his head.

"Way to go Tim, just one wire to go and we still have twenty-one minutes."

The digital readout was still counting down, there was time, no need to hurry, take it steady. Tim breathed in and cut the green wire, all was quiet, had he done it? "Let's get out of here Tony." Tim was suddenly emotionally spent, his energy drained, all he wanted to do was get into a hot shower then a comfortable bed…

"Hold on Tim, I've got you."

"Me…why?"

"You drifted off for a second, take my hand, up you get…good work. Now the door." Tony pulled down the handle and wasn't surprised when it opened smoothly. "Knew they wouldn't lock it, why would you with this stuff wired and ready to blow?"

Tony held on to Tim's uninjured arm and guided him out the door, they both breathed in the fresh air, the freedom. "Oh this is good, Tony, can we sit for a while, just…"

Tony shook his head. "Wish we could, problem is we don't know who put us in there and whether they'll be back. We have to start walking, see if we can find somewhere to make a call, maybe get a drink of water."

"I know Tony, was just hoping. Doesn't look like this place has been used in years, no chance there's a vending machine around…looks like walking is our only option."

They took one last look at the concrete box that had almost been their grave and stepped out onto what had once been the taxi-way of a small airfield, both of the hoping a public road wasn't too far away. They'd only just stepped off the tarmac when Tony put his hand on Tim's arm. "Do you hear that?"

Tim stopped and listened. "I don't hear anything, you sure it's not the ringing in your head?"

"Help us, socorro!" A woman's voice, hoarse and distant.

"Now do you hear?"

"Over there, in the hangar."

They set off at a run, working on instincts honed through years of service, if someone was in trouble they had to help.

NCIS NCIS

"This intel better be good Tobias."

"He told his handler they processed the drugs in one of the outbuildings at the airfield, said it was a good place to lose someone for a while."

"He confirm DiNozzo and McGee are there?"

Fornell shook his head. "From where he was calling he couldn't risk naming names. It's as close to confirmation as we're going to get. They'll be safe Jethro, Taylor wouldn't let any harm come to them." Fornell's words didn't carry the conviction they had earlier, every federal agent knew there was a possibility, slim as it may be, of undercover agents getting too involved in their assignment and turning to a life of crime. He had to pray Carl Taylor wasn't one of them.

"Should I get local LEOs to the airfield Gibbs?" Ellie had her phone in her hand.

"No! Jethro, I promised we'd keep this low-key. There's still a chance we can do this without blowing the operation out of the water."

Gibbs hesitated, he wanted nothing more than to call in every favour he was owed and get Marine helicopters out there, but right now they didn't even know for certain Tony and Tim were at the airfield, and Fornell had gone out on a limb for them. "It'll be the three of us Bishop; when we get out there, if we have to reassess the situation we will. You hear me Tobias? If I think we need more manpower, I'll call it in."

Fornell knew it was the best he could hope for. "Fair enough."

The elevator reached its destination and they ran across the parking lot. Ellie handed her boss the keys; it would take most drivers over an hour to get to the airfield, if anyone could shave minutes off the journey it was Gibbs. As the tyres screeched on the asphalt she smiled, fifty minutes was her guess, she just wished Tony and McGee were here so she could place a bet with them. The smile faded and she reached for the gun at her side, however long it took, when they got to the airfield, she'd be ready.

NCIS NCIS

Tony was first to get to the hangar, he could hear more shouts, the panic loud and clear, he called out. "Listen! Calmarse! We're going to get you out, hold on!" He tried to keep his voice steady, to show them he was ready to help. Tim arrived, his movements slower, more measured, he sighed as he looked at the door. "Don't make promises you can't keep Tony, look."

Tony groaned. "Not again…what is it with these guys and explosives."

The wires were wrapped around the padlock securing the doors and draped along the floor to connect with a black plastic carton. They could see the flickering red light of the digital timer, Tim took a step closer to see how much time they had. He blinked rapidly, trying to clear his vision, it didn't work. "Tony, can you…?" He moved aside, reaching out for the wall to steady himself.

"Oh, oh…four minutes Tim, looks like they wanted this place to blow first. You don't have much time, think you can do this?"

"Honestly Tony, I don't know." He knelt down to get a closer look at the device, his head was pounding, he was cold, thirsty…"Stop, concentrate."

"You okay Tim?"

"Trying to…okay, I'm pretty sure I've seen this before."

"Pretty sure doesn't cut it; we have to get them out Tim." Tony stooped down beside his friend offering a supporting shoulder for him to lean on. "I have my knife, are you ready?"

"As I'll ever be." He checked the wires again, recalling the schematics he'd studied. "Here goes, four wires this time; in sequence, red, black, red, black, working from the timer out…" He cut the first wire as Tony tried to calm down the increasingly anxious women trapped inside the hangar; his combination of Spanish and English seemed to be working, the sudden quiet was welcome. A sharp snip and the next wire was cut. Tim sat back for a moment, breathed deep and tried to steady his hand, then he realised, it wasn't just his hand that was shaking violently, his whole body was trembling, he was so, so cold. "T…Tony, I…you'll have to take over, if I try…I'm going to blow us all to kingdom come."

"And you think I won't?" Tony's light-hearted tone was at odds with his troubled expression. He'd been half expecting Tim to keel over long before now, but he sure wished he'd been able to hold out a little longer. "You'll have to talk me through it, so no zoning out on me, deal?"

"Deal…how's your vision Tony?"

"Better, the DiNozzo's have always been fast healers."

"If you say so. Okay, clock's ticking. Place the knife behind the black wire…you'll need a strong sharp cut, ready?"

Tony nodded, held the wire gently but firmly and sliced through it, one down.

"Good job Tony; take a deep breath, this is the important one. That's right, now take the wire, keep it as still as possible, steady…you've got it, now cut."

The sound of the wire snapping seemed impossibly loud, but there was no ear-shattering explosion. "We did it Tim, two in one day, and we haven't had breakfast…what?"

Tim was pointing at the bomb, a tired grin spreading on his face; Tony looked at the timer and almost burst out laughing…three seconds. "You had to do it Tony, you had to have your James Bond moment." Tim patted his friend on the shoulder. "If you help me up…we can try to open…" Suddenly he was so hot…he slumped to the ground, his physical and emotional energy completely spent.

Tony knelt by his side and checked his pulse, it seemed pretty strong but it sure wasn't steady. "You need help Tim, the women do too. I should try to find the road…" He struggled to his feet, racking his tired, concussed brain for the Spanish phrases that would enable him to explain to the women behind the padlocked doors what he was about to do. Then he heard it, screeching tyres; for a second he thought they were coming back, but when the car turned onto the taxi-way he saw the familiar silver hair and he relaxed; Gibbs was here.