Chapter 11

"Agent Burley, I need you to breathe in and then exhale slowly for me," Dr. Banks said.

Stan heard the words but he was extremely confused. He was already breathing, but it felt like he wasn't. It felt like there was something stealing his air from his body.

"Agent Burley, exhale, please."

"What's...going...on?"

"Just exhale. Stop trying to talk. Stay still and breathe."

Stan tried to breathe, but he didn't understand why it wasn't working. He was breathing like he had his whole life but it wasn't helping. At all. It felt like he was suffocating even though he had all this air going into his lungs.

"Gas exchange seems normal. The problem is something internal."

"Okay. It must have to do with this drug, but I have no idea why."

Stan heard the voices, but it didn't seem to require his input at all. He just kept breathing, hoping that the next inhalation would help. It didn't make any sense that it wasn't. He heard beeping that was really irritating. Then, more talking.

"We're going to put him on 100% oxygen. Hopefully, that will be enough that some of it will make it into his system. Enough. Agent Burley? Did you hear me?"

Stan looked at Dr. Banks. He nodded.

"Good. We'll get the mask on in just a second. Try to relax."

In moments...moments that felt like eternities...there was a mask and after another minute or so, it actually felt like breathing was doing something. It wasn't as much as he wanted, but it was way more than he had been getting.

"Breathe slowly and deeply, Agent Burley. Try to keep yourself calm. It will make things easier for you."

Stan tried to listen. He still felt breathless, but not like he was going to suffocate.

"Better?"

"Yeah."

"Don't talk, Agent Burley. The less breath you use, the better you'll feel."

"What happened?" Stan asked, although the mask muffled his words quite a bit.

"We don't know yet. That was the fastest breakdown I've seen in a long time. We've got you monitored now, and do not try to move, to get up, to do anything. Just focus on being able to breathe."

Stan nodded. For the first time, he actually felt fear for himself. He'd been worried, anxious even, before, but he was generally pretty positive about things working out for the best. As long as he had his faculties, he figured he could get himself out of most scrapes. Now, however, he was genuinely afraid. He wished that there was someone with him...just to distract him from his fear.

He stared at the ceiling, breathing in and out. It was like he was in some kind of low-oxygen environment, although, if he'd heard them correctly, he was breathing in pure oxygen.

"Dr. Banks, there's an urgent call for you from NCIS."

"All right. Tessa, can you stay with him until I get in touch with them? They may have some answers."

"Yes. I'll keep my eye on him until my rounds. I'll get someone else if you're not back."

"Good. Thanks."

Stan looked over.

"Tessa?" he whispered.

"Sh. Don't talk, Agent Burley. Just keep breathing. That's all you have to do."

"What...?"

"We're figuring it out, Agent Burley. You need to let us do that. Don't try to force anything. Keep breathing and I'll be happy."

Stan smiled and patted her cheek. "That's...important..."

"Sh! Stop talking, Agent Burley! Man, you're impossible."

"I try."

"Well, stop it. You're not a bad guy, and I'd hate to see anything more happen to you."

"Flirting?"

Tessa rolled her eyes. "No. I'm married. Stop talking."

"Why?"

"Stan, just relax. I keep telling you to rest and let us do the work. Start listening to us."

Stan breathed deeply. How much more deeply would he have to breathe to feel like his body was getting enough oxygen? ...and what if it got worse?

Tessa stayed with him, but then, another nurse came and took her place while she checked on her other patients. A nurse he didn't know. She didn't try to speak to him, and since he was supposed to keep quiet, the room stayed silent except for the clicks and beeps of the machines keeping him breathing.

It was lonely. Frightening.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Dr. Banks got on the phone.

"Dr. Banks. This is Abby Sciuto from NCIS. We have something to tell you about the drug!"

"That something will go wrong and lead to Agent Burley being unable to breathe or rather unable to absorb oxygen?"

"What? It's happened already?"

"I just left his room. How long the onset was, I don't know, but it was fairly sudden. Do you have any ideas about what we could do?"

"What are you doing now, Dr. Banks?" Ducky asked.

"We have him breathing 100% oxygen, but it's only a temporary fix. If it progresses and gets any worse, he'll asphyxiate. We don't have any way to force his body to use the oxygen. It's getting absorbed somehow and he feels like he's getting nothing."

"I'll bring everything over right now," Abby said. "We'll get something figured out! We have to!"

"As soon as you can. It took us completely by surprise."

"Okay!"

"Dr. Banks, is there someone with Agent Burley right now?"

"One of the nurses will be monitoring his condition."

"But a genuine visitor?"

"No. No one else."

"Oh. I had hoped..."

"What?"

"I think that he would be helped by a friendly presence, especially if he is as confined as you have said."

"I'll take that into consideration."

"Thank you!"

Abby hung up and Dr. Banks sighed. It was like every time they thought they had a handle on something, it all unraveled. He shouldn't have assumed that Stan was stable. In dealing with something completely unknown, it was foolish of him to have thought they understood how things were developing.

As he was considering what was going on, he suddenly remembered that Tessa had mentioned Stan speaking with the McGees, finally.

It wouldn't hurt to ask.

He walked to the ICU and peeked in. Yes, as he'd expected, the McGees were there.

"Mr. and Mrs. McGee?" he asked softly.

They looked over at him.

"Dr. Banks. Good morning. Is there some news?"

"Not about your son, I'm afraid."

"Agent Burley, then?"

"Yes, and it's not good news."

Naomi and Sam shared concerned looks.

"What is it?"

"He's had some kind of respiratory crisis and is breathing very badly. In fact, he's on pure oxygen and is only barely getting enough to survive."

"What happened?" Naomi asked.

"I wish I knew. At this point, we don't have any idea except that it's related to the drug in his body. But if I'm not intruding..."

"No, of course not!"

"Well, one of his colleagues feels that he might benefit from having someone there to talk to him. With his gas exchange being so poor, I don't want him doing any talking at all, but it could help to have someone there to distract him from his struggles."

"Of course. Tim doesn't need both of us here," Naomi said.

"I'll come," Sam said at nearly the same time.

"Thank you. Don't get him excited and don't make him laugh, and remind him not to try talking. In fact, he should stay as still as possible to keep his oxygen requirements lower."

"Okay. I can do that. I'm good at talking," Sam said with a smile.

"You can definitely do that," Naomi said. "I'll stay with Tim."

"Hopefully, I'll have more news for you...but right now..." Dr. Banks said.

"No. That's fine. You have two patients in strange circumstances. Tim is stable at least."

Dr. Banks led Sam to Stan's room.

"Keep in mind that any exertion will likely be overwhelming. Otherwise, he's still conscious and aware."

"Will do."

Sam rolled into Stan's room. Dr. Banks headed back to his office, to wait for Ducky and Abby to arrive.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

"Tony...this is hopeless," Ziva said. "It is like these people do not even exist."

"They do and we're going to find them," Tony said. "I don't care what it takes. I'm not letting anyone who could do that to the Probie get away with it."

There was a sound of someone clearing their throat. Tony turned around. He and Ziva had been parked down in the evidence garage for a while, barely coming up for air. To have someone else down there was a surprise.

"Agent DiNozzo, Agent David?"

It was Keating from Cybercrimes.

"Yeah?"

"Director Vance had me looking for how whoever they are got a hold of a Kilauea-class ship. He's not here right now, but it's your case; so I figured I could report what I'd found."

"What is it?" Ziva asked.

"Well, apparently, they had an auction...they being the Navy. It was purchased by an unnamed buyer and...well..."

"Spit it out, Keating!" Tony said.

"Well, Agent McGee was in Cybercrimes. It was like someone attacked one of us. So...we found the name of the unnamed buyer."

"Don't tell me how you did it," Tony said. "I don't want to know if it was legal or not. Just tell me who and where."

It was clear that not explaining how they had managed to track down the buyer was nearly choking Keating, but he managed to suppress it. Tony had a brief thought that it must be a feature of computer geeks.

"It's a company. I've never heard of it, and we couldn't find anything much about it...anywhere. It's listed online. I have the address, but..."

"Keating! Spit it up!" Ziva said.

Keating started to laugh but turned it into a cough. Tony couldn't blame him. Ziva did pretty good with the idioms by now, but when she got upset, she didn't think about them enough. Tony just raised his eyebrows, warning Keating not to correct her right now.

"It's called AntiEP, established in 2004, apparently. Some kind of research firm, I think. Their main offices are listed as being in Dover, Delaware, but they have some property in Arlington."

"What kind of property?"

"There's a building of some kind on the site."

"And you're sure about this? However you got this information is a valid source?" Tony asked.

Keating didn't even flinch. He met Tony's gaze head-on.

"Absolutely. Even if it's a shadow company, this is who bought the ship. I'd stake my life on it."

Ziva looked at him. "Would you stake McGee's life?"

"Yes."

Tony nodded.

"Call Gibbs. I'll meet you upstairs."

Ziva hurried to the elevator. Tony looked at the piles they still had to go through. There was a pile of paper from one of the men who had been found on the ship.

"Keating...you have some time?"

"Sure."

"Keep going through these things, and if you find anything else, let us know...right when you find it."

"Okay."

"Thanks."

Tony ran up to the bullpen. Gibbs was already there.

"Well, Boss?"

"Let's go."

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Sam settled himself beside Stan's bed.

"Hi, Agent Burley. I heard you were having some problems. I'm really sorry."

Stan just shook his head.

"Well, I'm here to distract you by talking your ear off. How do you feel about that?"

"Sure..."

"Oops. I'm not supposed to let you talk. I'll get you in trouble again. So...I have no problem talking, but the subject matter is the only problem. So I'll get your feelings. Thumbs up or thumbs down, okay?"

Thumbs up.

Sam smiled.

"Okay. So...I'm a lit professor."

Thumbs down...and a weak smile.

"No lectures. Got it. I hope you don't mind some quotes, though. I don't know if I could carry on any kind of conversation without a few quotes thrown in."

Thumbs up.

"Great. Family?"

Thumbs up.

"I would much rather hear about you and your background. You're tantalizingly mum about them."

Thumbs down.

"Well, I can't grill you anyway...right now. But when you get better, you'd better be ready for some questions. Naomi and I are always interested in the people our son comes in contact with. However, I'll slake your curiosity. I'm guessing that you're most curious about Tim himself?"

Thumbs up.

"Thought so. You don't go through something like this, sharing experiences, without it affecting you. After all, Dag Hammarskjold said, 'Friendship needs no words – it is solitude delivered from the anguish of loneliness.' I think you and Tim, no matter what else happens, will be friends from this. Either one of you alone on that ship would have been much worse off, no matter what."

A slow nod, although Stan kept his eyes on the ceiling. Sam figured it was because that was easier in his current state and he took no offense.

"Okay. So...Tim is...unique. He's no genius, at least in the formal definition of the word, but he's really quite smart. That worked against him in high school to some degree. There was a bit of bullying. Not all the time, but enough that he was affected by it and couldn't wait to get out of school. I think part of the reason he graduated at 16 was because he knew that he couldn't get away from high school kids until he graduated."

A smile.

"So...we found out, a little later on, that he made an impression on some teachers at the school. We didn't know it before, but his high school P.E. teacher was quite impressed with him. When we went to a parent-teacher conference for our daughter Sarah, he actually sought us out and asked what Tim was doing with his life. Turns out that Tim had been given detention for a school fight and the coach had been overseeing it...and been impressed by whatever happened there. He told us that he knew Tim would succeed at whatever he wanted to do. It was quite a surprise to us, hearing that kind of thing from someone who had Tim in the only class he failed to do well in."

Sam fell silent for a moment, ruminating on the strange situation he was in, telling his son's story to a man who had known him for only a few days before both had been in a dire situation. He felt a finger on his arm.

"Sorry, Agent Burley..."

"Stan..."

"Okay. Sorry, Stan. I was off in the realms of my mind. Anyway, Tim graduated and went to MIT. None of us were surprised that he wanted to go there, but we were surprised at how much he flourished there. He had mentioned to us once or twice that he wanted to become a detective, but we thought that had fallen by the wayside. Turns out that, no, it hadn't. Tim was just coming at it in his own way. He knew he was good at using computers and he didn't see any reason to deny it. So he decided to use that as a way of getting where he wanted to go: NCIS. His grandfather had actually told him that becoming a Navy cop wouldn't tarnish the family honor. I don't know if I'm really happy about that part, but Tim seemed to love the idea of working in law enforcement...no matter how much his mother and I worried about it. It was his dream, and dreams, as Thoreau said are 'the touchstones of our character.' Tim wouldn't have been happy doing anything else. Content, maybe, but not happy."

Sam could see that Stan wanted to ask questions, but he just couldn't at the moment.

"You want me to stop?"

Thumbs down.

"Okay. So...Tim wasn't satisfied with just getting one degree. Oh, no. Not our son. No, he had to get his Master's degree in computer forensics, but even then, it wasn't enough. He finished up at MIT and went to Johns Hopkins to get a degree in biomedical engineering. I think he just wanted to indulge in his nerdy side, but we supported him in it, and we, again, assumed that he had given up on his NCIS dream. ...but no. He hadn't. The next thing we knew, he had started the process. As well as I feel we know him, he continually surprises us. He knows what he wants and he goes for it. If people tell him that he shouldn't, he puts his head down but still does it covertly...and he does it. It's the way he is. He doesn't like fighting about things but he doesn't want to give up either."

Stan's eyes moved from the ceiling. He smiled.

"You?"

"Me? You want to know about me? Oh, I'm boring."

Thumbs down.

Sam laughed.

"I'm just a former Navy man turned lit professor," Sam said. "I've always had an interest in quotations. I wooed my wife with them. I wasn't very eloquent on my own in the old days, but I have a good memory for other people's words. After I left the Navy, I knew what I wanted to do. I could have fought what happened, but it didn't make any sense to me to do it. I have a bit of a visual impairment, not that I'm blind, but I don't have some peripheral vision. I wouldn't have been able to work again anyway. So I left the Navy and went back to college...grad school. Finished my Ph.D. and was lucky enough to get a job in Ohio. Inland. I don't know if my dad would have forgiven me for it...except that he'd mellowed a little bit by then."

Thumbs up. Sam wasn't sure what that meant except that Stan seemed to be enjoying the stories. He decided to keep going. Next on the list.

"Naomi was going to be a lawyer when we met and let me tell you that she would have been a fearsome lawyer if she'd wanted to be. I was actually surprised that she decided to give it up when Tim was born. She told me that no one would ever take us because she knew the law, but she wouldn't give up being with Tim if she didn't have to. So we weren't as well off as some other people would have been. The Navy doesn't pay as much as we might have liked, but we talked about it and decided that it was worth the sacrifice. Then, I got on the fast track, and we discovered that our plans to have more children were going to be difficult. Sarah was born eight years after Tim. We'd almost given up and she was a blessing to us. Almost unexpected by that time. People think Naomi must be this sweet-natured woman, but they don't know her very well. She lovely and nice, but you don't get her upset. She's scary when she gets angry, but you'll never have a better person on your side."

Stan smiled.

"And she's on your side, too, Stan."

Sam was surprised by a flash of genuine gratitude...followed by fear. He saw Stan's heart rate increase slightly.

"Hey, Stan, don't you worry. I've heard a lot of stories from Tim about NCIS. They'll get this solved no matter what it takes. Don't worry."

One single tear...but even as little as Sam knew him, he could tell that Stan must be terrified to express it at all. He squeezed Stan's shoulder gently.

"You'll make it, Stan. Promise."

He could see that Stan was afraid of that very thing: that he wouldn't make it.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Ducky and Abby hurried to Bethesda, all their information in hand. Abby was on the verge of freaking out as she always was when things got personal. They didn't have all the answers, but they did have a lot of things to show in the hopes that Dr. Banks would be able to get some value out of it.

"Have a seat, Dr. Mallard, Ms. Scuito," Dr. Banks said. "I hope you have something to help because I don't know if Agent Burley has a lot of time. It was of sudden onset and I don't know if it will progress. If it does...I don't know what to do about it, to be honest."

Ducky nodded.

"I don't know if we have the needed answers, but we do have information that may help."

"Okay. Let's see it."

Abby set up the simulation showing the underlying structure of the drug in Tim's blood. Dr. Banks leaned forward to examine it in more detail.

"This looks like a chelating agent...even if we're not looking at metals here."

"That's what I was thinking," Abby said. "In Tim's blood, it's bonded with..."

"Organophosphate," Dr. Banks said, sounding outraged. "Nerve agents? Who is dosing NCIS agents with nerve agents? What is going on here?"

"I wish I knew," Abby said.

"I think, and I'm not sure, but I think that we may be seeing the results of secret testing of a potential pseudo-vaccine of sorts," Ducky said. "It is meant to stay in the blood until it comes into contact with other drugs of a specific type...like organophosphates which require fast treatment that can be dangerous in itself. If I am guessing correctly, the new larger molecule should then be slowly filtered out of the body preventing permanent damage and allowing the person in question to continue with only minor problems. Only what has happened is that it's bonded but hasn't been filtered. It seems to have saved Timothy from a quick fatality, but it isn't working like it should."

"And here's the simulation when I ran it on Stan's blood. We were thinking that maybe we could find some way of breaking the bonds between this drug and the nerve agent and removing those symptoms, but...I don't think we can, and I don't know if we can wait until the new molecule filters out on its because..."

She started the simulation going. Over time, the unbonded drug began to break down, but the decay of the drug led to a new structure, one that grabbed nearby molecules in order to become stable again. And the molecule that fit best...

"Oxygen," Dr. Banks said. "It's keeping the oxygen from working through his body. Ideally, that would mean that once all the decaying molecules are satisfied, things will be okay, but how long will that take?"

"And not just that," Abby said. "I kept the simulation running, and then I let Tim's run with this new information added in. The same thing will happen to him before the larger molecule can be removed. If we can't counteract this somehow, Tim will...and Stan will..."

Ducky could see that Abby didn't want to even say the words, but the simulation, if it was accurate, didn't have any issue with that. It ran to the conclusion. Both simulations showed, not only a potential death by asphyxiation due to trapping the oxygen gas in the blood and keeping it from being used by the body, but also it showed that the decaying parts which didn't bond with oxygen would begin to affect the body tissues in the areas they touched. The lungs. The heart. Everywhere. In short, it was a disaster in the making with both men dying as the final result.

And if they didn't figure out what to do, they would be forced to face the fact that their only option was to make the death as painless as possible.