CHAPTER 10

Navy Yard
Men's Room
8:08p.m

The coolness of the tiled wall penetrates through McGee's pricey suit jacket. The cold sweat that forms at his brow balances itself on the brim of his eyebrows.

Jeffery Dommers is standing before him. His fist held tightly as a needle protrudes through both opening ends.

McGee inhales sharply, but silently as he tries to find a way to pick his gun off the floor.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you…" Jeffery's eyes boil with red.

McGee stills his hand and silently hopes for any means of rescue.

8:17p.m.

Gibbs's jacket swooshes behind him while he heads to the last men's bathroom.

He holds his breath. His back presses against the wall. His gun is gripped tight in his hand as his mind reels with ways of getting inside without anything happening to his Agent.

An employee is at the end of the hallway. Gibbs raises his finger to his lips to indicate to the employee that something isn't kosher.

The employee nods while escaping for a means of paper and pen. After several moments he returns and quietly hands it to Gibbs.

Gibbs nods and sends the employee with the piece of paper on its way.

8:30p.m.

"Think about it--okay, Jeffery?" McGee tries to speak with the enraged man before him. "If you kill me you'll be killing a Federal Agent and I don't think you want to know what's the price or doing something like that."

"Shut up!" He growls. "You sound like them, but you don't look like them."

McGee knits his eyebrows.

"I don't follow."

"Them…those…monsters." His eyes brim with tears. "They're all the same."

"Calm down and explain." McGee lowers his arms as they had been over his head for too long. "I'm not going to try anything--my arms are just tired."

Jeffery accepts this.

"She left me."

"Who did?" McGee questioned.

His shoulders slump as he walks over to the heater and sits on it.

"My wife." He grits his teeth. "For them."

"There's better ways of handling something like this." McGee begins. "I can't believe I'm about to say this from lack of experience, but there's plenty of other women out there."

"I don't want any other woman. I want what's mine."

8:43p.m.

In the hallway, Gibbs opens his phone and sends a silent text to Tony's phone. After the phone notifies him that it has been sent, he tries for Ziva with a separate urgent message.

NCIS HQ
Abby's Lab
8:47p.m.

Abby drops her camera when she hears the shrill of the phone. So much for taking pictures of yet another new computer.

"Tony oh my god is Gibbs okay? And Ziva?"

"It's Mcgee" He manages to say.

"MCGEE?!" Her stomach lurches forward. "What can I do?"

"I need you to run a background check on Jeffery Dommers."

"Is McGee going to be okay?" She is in fear.

"He'll be fine if you do what I just told you to do as quickly as you can."

"What am I looking for?" Her fingers are already on the keys.

"He works in the Navy Yard as a janitor so search our database first."

"Right--anything else?" She stills her fingers for a minute.

"Find out if he's got a wife and where she's located."

"Done."

"And when you find the information be sure to send me a message--don't call. We're in a tight situation here."

She agrees, then hangs up her phone.

"Damn it McGee…" She looks longingly at his photo taped to her desk.

Navy Yard
Broiler Room
8:59p.m.

Tony is following Ziva while Ziva is following Gibbs.

"There." Gibbs points to the crawl-space vent a few inches higher than him.

Tony stops to take a look as Ziva grabs for the nearest box.

"Maybe I should do this." Tony interjects.

"Why?" She is curious.

"I've seen enough bank robberies in movies to see how it's done."

"Movies aren't real life, Tony." She is slightly annoyed.

"Let me--" He puts his hand on the box, ready to take it from her.

"It's a tight squeeze." Gibbs tells Tony. "Ziva's the only one that can do it."

Tony is about to protest, but he sees the seriousness in Gibbs's eyes.

Ziva smirks knowingly in Tony's direction before she puts the box down in front of the vent.

"It won't hold." Gibbs rips the box away before she puts her foot on top of it. "DiNozzo, get over here and hoist her up."

"What is this 'hoisting'?" Ziva is slightly alarmed and confused.

"He's gonna lift you up." Gibbs tells her.

Tony's eyes begin dancing as he considers what an experience it will be.

Gibbs notices his reaction and whacks him on the back of the head.

"If you try anything she is liable to kill you." Gibbs reminds him. "Get to it!"

Tony's grin falls flat within seconds.

Navy Yard
Men's Room
9:13p.m.

McGee listens as the crazy man in front of him carries on.

"She left--"

"Yeah, I got that." McGee is tired of hearing the same cry.

"Well good!" He snaps as he makes an advance to McGee.

McGee holds his breath as he sees the tip of the needle glisten.

Navy Yard
Broiler Room
9: 15p.m

"Do you want me to kill him?" Ziva asks.

"No." Gibbs slightly shakes his head in amusement. "Once you're over the Men's room remove part of the ceiling as silently as you can. Once its off make some noise--loud, so we can hear it."

"Then what?"

"Then DiNozzo and I will will bust through the door and point our guns at him."

She nods before she begins her journey through the vents.

Gibbs notices Tony staring at her rear end. His insides turn to slight jealous rage, but he tames it slightly before he delivers another whack to the back of his head.

Tony sheepishly looks at Gibbs.

"I'm trying."

"No. You aren't." His face is without amusement. "Respect the people you work with."

Tony's face grows into a serious expression as he lets Gibbs's words sink in.

"Come on, DiNozzo." His voice is a tired sigh.

Tony walks obediently behind Gibbs.

Navy Yard
9:23p.m

Tony feels the buzz of his cell phone. Taking it out of his pocket, he reads Abby's message.

Handing it to Gibbs he lets him read it quickly.

Inside the enraged man is continuing his intense babbles about what his wife did to him.

Tony looks at Gibbs to see any slight emotions developed.

Gibbs shoots him a look that tells him if he as so much as continues to wonder about his many divorces, he would hurt him with or without repair.

9:43p.m

Ziva quietly shuffles back a bit as she notices two men inside a bathroom. Squinting, she notices McGee pressed against the wall while their killer paces back and forth.

Looking more closely she notices a needle in his hand.

Taking out her cell phone she texts Gibbs immediately.

9:45p.m.

Gibbs hears the buzzing of the phone, but does not feel it.

Tony shrugs to let him know it isn't his time time.

Reaching for his pocket, Gibbs rips his cell phone quickly out of his pocket. Flipping it over he reads Ziva's message.

Flashing the screen to Tony, he lets him read.

9:48p.m

Ziva lifts a piece of the ceiling out as quickly as she was told to do.

McGee notices a whole in the ceiling where he is standing.

He quickly inhales.

"What?" Jeffery demands to know.

"Nothing, I'm just growing a bit restless."

"Am I boring you?" He angrily asks.

"No, of course not!" McGee says almost too quickly. "Please, continue."

Jeffery eyes him suspiciously now. He stops walking towards him and studies him.

"You seem much more relieved than you did moments ago."

"It's been quite a while since I've been in here. Maybe I'm growing use to you." McGee tries to divert his attention. "Isn't this what you want?"

"What do you mean?"

"Someone who will listen to you. Someone who will try and understand you."

Jeffery squints when the beads of sweat fall into his eyes.

"Yes." He admits through clenched teeth.

10:05p.m

The sound of pounding on thin metal echoes through the men's room. In a matter of seconds Gibbs and Tony are aiming their guns at Jeffery. Gibbs at a diagonal angle and Tony on his back.

"I wouldn't try anything right about now." Tony steps into his 'super' and 'very' Special Agent mode. "You're under arrest for the murders of several Navy Officers.

"You can't do this to me!!!" Jeffery tries to fight Tony's cuffs off. "I've got a wife and kids."

"No kids and you wife's been dead for a year." Gibbs says to him.

Jeffery's face pales.

"You didn't know." Gibbs states when he realizes the shock in his eyes. "A hit and run….only a few minutes away from her home."

Jeffery shatters at the news.

Tony holds him up and drags him out in handcuffs.

Ziva hops down from the Vent and lands standing behind Gibbs.

Turning around he notices her.

"Good work Officer David." He says formally.

"Thank you…Agent Gibbs." She clears her throat.

McGee walks over to them with a relieved look on his face.

"Are you okay?" Ziva asks.

"Yeah, just a little shaken up." He sighs. "Sorry boss, I should have known better."

"Not your fault. You can't stop nature." He looks at McGee. "Work on your timing, though."

He leaves them both with a smirk.

"How does that make sense?" Ziva wonders.

"How many times does Gibbs make sense when it's outside of a case?"

Ziva nods with a smirk of her own.

"Exactly." McGee says while they both exit the room.