Tim moved through the open doorway, allowing it to close behind him. He knew his watcher would lock the door, only opening it again at the right time.
"What gave me away, Tim?"
"You seem to know everything, you tell me?"
"It wasn't my attitude, I was perfectly respectable at all times."
"Exactly, too perfect. You were always helpful. Obeyed orders. Hell, you even went above the call of duty on occasions. But that wasn't it. Try again."
Tim saw movement on his lower field of vision. His hands moving in perfect co-ordination.
Bang!
The 9mm bullet spat from the barrel of his Sig Sauer 229 straight through the traitors right kneecap. As Tim saw the blood spatter his hands moved automatically, the gun repositioning over the heart of this SOB.
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" He crumpled to the floor, clutching his bleeding wound.
"I wouldn't move again, the next time, my hands won't move and the bullet will go straight through your heart. Ever seen an autopsy done on a person who has been shot through the heart? Would you like me to describe what will happen to your body as a piece of metal pushes its way through your body?"
In Tims mind, traitors were one of the worst sort of criminals. They betrayed, they lied, they stole, they didn't care about anyone other than themselves. Hell, for the right price, they would betray the cause they were betraying their country for.
"The bullet will penetrate your skin, first your epidermis, the outermost layers of the skin, then the basement membrane. The dermis is next, this is when you will feel pain. The bullet will push through the nerve endings located here, telling your brain something is wrong. Having been shot, I can tell you, feeling a bullet pass through you hurts. What it will feel like for you, well, if you survive what happens next, I'll visit you in Guantanemo and you can tell me."
Tim had maintained eye contact with this guy at all times, one wrong move and he was a dead man. Looking into the traitors eye, Tim suspected he knew it too.
"After that its the hypodermis, otherwise known as the subcutaneous tissue. This is connected to the bones and muscles of your body. This will probably hurt more. Once through this, the bullet will reach your sternum, or breastbone. If the bullet is travelling fast enough, it will just pore through this bone. If not, the bone will fragment, the pressure of the bullet pushing the bits of bone into your heart. After this, the pericardial sac is ruptured. Fluid will leak out of the sac, filling the space around your lungs. Might make it difficult to breath."
Tim knew he had to wait. Everyone had to see, had to hear why this had happened. Thats why he was giving this man a lecture in human biology. If he asked him Why? Tim knew he'd kill him within seconds.
"The heart, as I'm sure you know, is slightly larger on the left than on the right. Thats why some murder scenes have more blood than others when the victim is shot through the heart. Picking a certain side will determine the amount of blood lost. Because I don't want too much of your blood spilt, I'm aiming for the right side. This bullet will pass right through the right upper chamber of your heart, otherwise known as the right atria. If this doesn't kill you, what happens next might."
Tim could see the man he was beginning to call friend pale at his words. This man was a traitor before Tim knew him, but Tim felt betrayed all the same. He had broken his oath to his country, to his government, its Constitution and its people. Tim wanted him to die.
"Once through your heart, and piercing the other side of the pericardium, the bullet will hit the thoracic vertebrae, most likely T5 through T8. Once the bullet has broken through your spinal column, you will most likely be dead. If you are alive, you will most likely suffer some form of permanent paralysis."
"Tim, everyones here. They are coming in now."
Jenny Shepard stood in MTAC, having watched the whole scene play out in front of her. She always knew Tim McGee was a good man, an intelligent man, a loyal and just man. Now she knew what else he was. A patriot, a soldier for his country, a warrior. He didn't wear the uniform of a sailor, soldier or airman, but, by God, he was just as brave as any of them.
Looking around at the three men with her, she was not surprised to see they had the same tears rolling down their cheeks as she did. No one deserved to have to go through this.
Tim heard and felt the doors open behind him but he did not move. He dared not take his eyes from the man on the floor. Who knew what he had kept hidden?
"Tim, how did you know he was the traitor?" Amanda Ryan had never dared to believe Timothy McGee could figure it all out. That would mean he knew everything about her most probably. Her career was, for all intents and purposes, over. Her cover blown wide open.
"Everything about him was too perfect. His timekeeping, his work, his clothes. His offers of assistance. He had perfected his cover to what it should never be. Flawless. Everyone has a flaw, a chink in their armour, a human fallacy somewhere. This guy didn't."
"Lets not talk about me anymore. That will all come out in my interrogation. I wanna about how Tim McGee was able to get help, I've had the entire network under observation. He made no emails or calls. Even the very attractive director never called him for their "date"."
"How wrong you are."
"Good evening Director. Enjoying the show?" Tim was glad everyone knew she was there.
"Very much so, Agent McGee. This is much better than dinner at the White House." This was a mans voice, one that some in the room knew, others didn't.
"Sunaina, turn the telescreen on please. They have been watching this room since we all left after 6 tonight."
When the screen came on, Amanda Ryan was floored. McGee had gathered three of the big four. Director Shepard stood next to Admiral McGee, the highest ranking Naval officer on the joint chiefs of staff. Next to him was the Directors boss, Philip Davenport, the secretary of the navy.
"Agent Ryan, please relieve Agent McGee of his weapon and stand guard over the prisoner. If he moves, blow out his other kneecap. He won't be needing to walk where he's going." Ryan placed her hands over Tims, giving him some comfort that he needed while letting him know he could let go. As Tim took his hands off his gun, he felt them beginning to shake, the side effects of the adrenaline pumping through his veins.
"How did you do it, McGee? How did you let them know?"
"I only let the director know. I had to get a burn phone to her, but all packages to the Director get eradiated. If that happened, the phone would be useless. What better way to sneak something into NCIS but in the hands of the bosses boss. It is very easy to send something to the Secretary of the Navy, I've been doing it for years."
"Tell me, you sanctimonious a-hole. How did someone like you beat me? I've been doing this for years." His anger was coming out now, his frustration showing over his cover being blown.
"Philip Davenport is more than just the Secretary of the Navy. He was a former Navy Captain, before that, an aircraft carrier executive officer. Before that, an officer of the watch. On three separate tours, as well as at Annapolis, he was the best friend of William Morgan McGee. He's the man standing next to him, my father. Philip Davenport is many things, but most importantly, he's my Godfather."
Everyone in the room looked at Tim. Tim glowed with pride as he spoke of their biggest boss. This was the man who could make or break careers, and Tim was so casual about it.
"I sent the phone to Aunty Claire, his wife, in a sealed prepackaged box with a note. The note asked her to give it to Uncle Phil to pass to Jenny, with a handwritten letter. I said it was a thank you note and present regarding the assignment. Sending it directly, or through internal mail, would be too suspicious. Trusting me as their loving godson, they both played their parts with distinction. The Secretary doesn't stop by HQ often, but when he does, he often brings a small token of appreciation for the all the hard work of the Director.
"His gifts are never opened by security, or even x-rayed or placed through the metal detector. The phone left Jacksonville by courier, went through to my Aunty Claire, bypassing Navy security. Thats how I beat you. You played the system, I played the people."
"And the computer? That program was perfect."
"Yeah, it was. But mine are better. Remember when I first arrived. I had the new computers brought in. I linked up all the NCIS issued phones, as well as home computers. You uploaded the chameleon program to gather data, but first, you crashed the system. Deliberately."
"Of course," Sunaina had realised it just before Tim could continue. "He needed to reboot the system, but couldn't do it himself. He didn't have the authorisation."
"Exactly, he needed me to do it. Knowing I would reboot the system, but restore it from the backups from the day before, he knew he'd wipe out the evidence he had been in the system. Problem was, his phone."
"His phone? McGee, how can a phone give you away?" Ryan really hadn't given McGee the credit he deserved.
"Phones carry a GPS tracker, broadcasting your location. Some people turn theirs off, not a problem, people like their privacy. What this guy didn't do, the same as 99% of the population, is turn off the wi-fi. And with what I'd done to the system, cloning my ID card wasn't enough. He should have cloned my phone too."
"Agent McGee, even I'm not following anymore." Admiral McGee was not a computer expert, in fact he was barely a novice. But having a son who understood more about computers than any five people he knew, he had picked up a thing or two about them. Looking around MTAC and on the telescreen, he knew he wasn't the only person lost.
"Each time he came into the room using my ID card, the security system said I was in here. The computer network didn't. It showed me at home, or out of range. However, the computer network did register who was in here at the time the chameleon virus was uploaded to the servers, as well as the shutdown protocols designed to knock out the system.
"Each time that my card said I was here, and the computer network didn't, the only other presence detected was the cellphone of Michael DeLa Tour."
