Chapter 9: Sarah
Sarah looked out the window of the library. It was the best place to wait because no one really talked and no one really paid attention to anyone else. She had been warned, and now she was waiting for a sign that it was really all over. She tried to tell herself that it was for the best, that she was glad. If Tim had been discovered as a plant, then that meant she could go back to her life. And yet there was a niggling thought in the back of her mind: what life? Sarah knew that she had little to look forward to but another assignment, another life to create and then destroy. She sighed. Tim had been such a good person. She hadn't known Thom, but his file had revealed a person who had been destroyed by life long before he had been destroyed by others. Very little could be gained by resurrecting him, by showing Tim who he used to be. She wished that he was her brother.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of Tony and Ziva. She smiled as she watched them enter the building. This was almost exactly the same place she'd been when she'd first met them all, at least officially. In reality, she knew more about Tim's team than he did. She knew she should call the bosses and tell them that there was imminent danger of discovery. She also knew that she could get away easily, but she found that she didn't want to escape; she didn't want to warn them. She had been Tim's sister for nearly a decade and she didn't want that to end. It would have to, but she didn't want to abandon him. Somewhere along the line, she had stopped pretending to care and started actually caring.
She looked at their uncommonly serious faces as Tony and Ziva approached. She smiled sadly and said, "Do you want to cuff me this time? It's not necessary because I won't run, but I can understand if you don't trust me anymore."
Tony and Ziva looked at each other. Sarah suddenly seemed a lot older than she had the last time they had seen her. "You know why we're here?"
"Yes. You must have found out about Thom."
"Thom? You mean, Tim?"
She blinked. "You mean, you don't know?"
"Know what?"
She jumped up. "We have to get to NCIS, fast. Call ahead to Gibbs and tell him that you can't let Tim answer his cell phone." When they didn't move, she moved closer to them and said, "Please, don't stand here and look dumb. I know you're not. Tim will die if you don't stop him."
"Why?"
"Stop asking questions, please." Real tears welled up in her eyes and threatened to spill down her cheeks. "Tim may not be my real brother, but he's the brother I wish I had. I don't want him to die." She grabbed their arms and started to pull them along. Finally, they moved of their own accord. Sarah hitched her backpack onto her back and followed them to the car.
She watched nervously as Tony pulled out his cell phone while Ziva started driving. It was all going too slowly.
"Gibbs? We have Sarah. She says that you can't let McGee answer his cell phone or else he'll die."
"I already took his cell phone away, DiNozzo."
Tony looked over at Sarah and repeated Gibbs' words.
She raised her eyebrows. "Both of them?" At Tony's incredulous look, she rolled her eyes. "Please, Tony, if you can have a cell phone for secret work, why can't Tim?"
"How did you know?"
"We don't have time for this. I'll explain everything, but later!" Instead of waiting, she grabbed the phone from Tony's fingers. "Gibbs, this is Sarah. Well, that's not my real name, but that's not important right now."
"Not important?"
"No! It's not as important as saving Tim's life. He has a cell that he almost always keeps with him. It's how he reports and how he receives instructions. I don't know where it is, and neither does he."
"How is that possible?"
"Please, Gibbs. There is not much time. They could decide Tim is too dangerous to keep alive at any moment. If they call and give him the signal, he will kill himself without a thought. I don't want that to happen. You need to go into interrogation and search him."
There was silence on the other end of the line.
"Gibbs, I know you feel betrayed, but it's not what you think it is. Tim doesn't deserve this. He is innocent, just not in the way you're thinking. I'll explain it to you, but now is not the time."
More silence.
"Please, Gibbs. I don't want to lose my brother."
Silence. Then, a terse, "Fine." The phone disconnected.
Sarah handed the phone back to Tony and leaned back in the seat. She had done all she could. It was now up to Gibbs.
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Gibbs walked back down to interrogation. He didn't know what to think at the moment, but if Sarah was right, it didn't matter. He walked into the room. Tim stood up from the files, dropping them to the floor again, and backed away as Gibbs approached.
"Boss, please, I–" he stopped at Gibbs' expression.
"Where's the other cell phone?" he asked bluntly.
"What other phone? I only have the one you took from me." Tim didn't know what was going on. He kept backing away.
"Your other phone. You have two."
"No, Gibbs. I don't. I only have the one you..." Tim trailed off and his gaze went completely vacant. Gibbs heard the telltale sound of a phone on vibrator, but this was a pattern he didn't recognize. He watched as Tim reached down to the cuff of his pants, rolled it up and pulled a phone out of a holster around his leg. Before Gibbs could take it from him, he lifted it to his ear, still staring emptily at Gibbs. He listened for only a second before he dropped the phone and took a small capsule from his jacket pocket. He lifted it to his mouth, but finally Gibbs unfroze himself and lunged at Tim. Together, they crashed over the chair and to the floor; the capsule flew from Tim's hand. Except for the sounds of the struggle, the room was silent. Tim never said a word. He didn't even fight, really. All he was trying to do was follow the order given him. Gibbs tried to hold him back, but he was relentlessly attempting to crawl away from Gibbs' grip to get to the capsule. The two struggled for a few moments and after he took one look at Tim's empty eyes, Gibbs suddenly realized that he couldn't reason with Tim, couldn't simply restrain him. Without hesitation, he punched him hard on the jaw. Tim stopped struggling and dropped to the floor, his eyes slowly closing, one hand still stretched out toward the instrument of his death.
Gibbs stood painfully. That wasn't what he had expected. One of the technicians from observation came running in, gun drawn.
"It's okay. Everything is under control. ...now." Gibbs took a deep breath and waved the technician away. "I'm fine. Just watch him from the booth and call me immediately if he stirs." The tech nodded and withdrew while Gibbs bent over Tim's prone form. He handcuffed his hands behind his back and then set him on the floor in a more or less comfortable position. Then, he picked up the small pill and took it to Abby. Sarah obviously knew something about what was going on. He needed to know more, a lot more.