Chapter 12
The next morning saw Tim politely kicking people off their computers and slowly working his way through the company files. After lunch, he took a break from that to look through the equipment Aisha had ordered. What he saw confused him enough that he braved going to her office to talk to her.
"Ma'am? Er, I mean, Aisha?" he said timidly, sticking his head inside her office.
"What is it, Tim?"
"I just wanted to clarify some of the equipment you ordered."
She looked up from her computer, giving him her undivided and threatening attention. "Yes, what about it?"
"Well, judging by what I've seen in your files and the way you run this office, you're spending a whole lot more on connective capabilities and memory than you need. I just wanted to be sure that I hadn't given you the wrong specs yesterday."
"No, I understood. We're planning on doing some big expansions. I simply want to have the space available when it's needed."
"But with the rate at which the technology keeps improving, there's a good chance that what you have ordered will be out of date by the time you need it."
Her smile never left her face, but Tim saw her eyes harden just a little and it was all he could do to keep himself from backing away. Man, she scared him.
"You are not yet privy to the details of our expansion plan, Tim. I promise, we'll need the space sooner than you think."
"Y-yes, ma'am. Th-thanks for clarifying the issue."
"No problem, Tim. Keep up the good work."
Even though she didn't say it, Tim heard an explicit or else attached to the sentence. He nodded nervously and went back to work at his own computer for awhile.
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"Mark, you idiot," Tim whispered quietly a couple of hours later. He'd been doing his job as Gibbs had ordered him when he came upon a hidden file Hanson had left on the computer he'd used. It looked as though Mark had been trying to do something right for once in his life... or else he had devolved to the role of blackmailer. Tim saw that he'd been secretly compiling data about Sindhind Imports. He shook his head. Even when he was doing the right thing, his arrogance still took precedence over his common sense. And yet...
Tim found himself tempted to do something stupid himself. Gibbs had told him explicitly not to do anything beyond the job Aisha had hired him to do, but it would be so easy to set up a silent program to keep track of what was done on all the computers on the network. It wouldn't transmit. They'd probably notice that, but it would log all the keystrokes and file names, the conferencing, things like that. No one would notice it, and he could gather evidence without doing anything... not really. He'd only set it up and let it run. Once a week or maybe once a day he could save the information onto his flash drive and put it on his home computer. Then, when they took Aisha down, they'd have evidence.
It was worth the risk of having Gibbs wanting him dead as well as everyone else. Tim took one brief glance around the room. No one was paying him any attention, but he didn't dare linger anywhere. He had noticed the security cameras lining the office, and he was sure people would be watching him... at least, if Gibbs' theory about Mark's death was right. He leaned back and stretched, arching his back and enjoying the feeling of tensing and relaxing all his muscles. Then, he leaned forward and began to type once more. This time, creating a program that he could transfer to the computers along with all the other files, a program that would spy on his employers.
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"So?" she asked.
Jon shrugged. "He's so... polite. Did you see him stuttering when he asked people to move off their computers?"
"Better than that, I saw him stutter when he came into my office to ask about the extra orders I put in."
"I knew he'd notice."
"And I knew he'd back down with one stare from me." Aisha made a show of inspecting her fingernails. "Which he did."
"So you think you have him thoroughly beaten down?"
"Absolutely. Right now, he may ask questions, but he'll roll over if I stare at him. So has he talked to anyone beyond asking them to vacate their terminals?"
"No. I saw him talking to a computer a couple of times."
Aisha raised her eyebrows.
"That's what he was doing. He's not wearing a wire. He's been scanned every time he comes into the building. I guess he just has a greater affinity to mechanical objects than to people."
"Right. He's kind of an odd duck."
"No kidding."
"Keep watching him. We'll need to keep him under surveillance until we're sure the deal is done."
"Is the meeting scheduled?"
Aisha sighed. "For about the fifth time. They keep changing the date. If it weren't for the fact that we need this deal to get inside, I'd tell them to forget it." She looked out the door. "Uh-oh, the puppy dog's on the move."
Jon stood quickly and turned just as Tim entered the office.
"Um, sorry, a-am I interrupting?" Tim stammered. "'Cause I can come back later."
Jon walked up to Tim and looked him up and down. He looked back at Aisha and sneered.
"No," he said condescendingly. "We're done."
"What can I do for you, Tim?"
Distracted by the obvious dismissal in Jon's glance, Tim watched him leave without answering.
"Tim?"
He turned back quickly. "Uh, sorry, I was just... I need to, uh, back up your computer still... Aisha."
She gave her cold smile. "Of course, Tim." She stood up from her desk. "Have at it. How long will it take you?"
"It depends on how big your hard drive is, how much memory you've used, what programs you run. It shouldn't take more than a few minutes."
"Then, go ahead." She showed no signs of leaving, but it took some time for that fact to register with Tim.
"Oh, right." He walked over to the desk and began to do the required backup. He was tense because while she remained in the office, Aisha made no attempt at conversation. She simply stared at Tim as he worked. He thought that he might as well start putting the idea that he used his flash drive all the time in their heads now. That way, maybe the cold-blooded killer standing in the room with him wouldn't be as suspicious... if she wasn't suspicious already. He pulled it out and plugged in.
"What are you doing, Tim?"
Even though he'd been expecting it, he jumped. "I-I'm saving your registry keys to my flash drive. It's always safer to have the original settings saved if you're going to play with them at all." He chanced looking up at her. Inside, he heaved a sigh of relief. She didn't know what that meant at all. It showed in her face. Even though he was usually bad at actually reading people, years of experience in explaining technology to the clueless had tipped him off on what their facial expressions meant. It was a matter of how much trust she had in him at this moment. In fact, this time, that was all he was doing, but later, that wouldn't be the case. "I always make a backup when I work on other people's computers," he added, feeling a trickle of sweat running down his spine as the silence lengthened.
"Okay. Keep going."
He nodded vigorously and continued his work.
"I don't mean to seem suspicious, Tim."
"N-No, it's okay. I'm new. You don't know me yet." You don't know that I really am untrustworthy. Please, please, never find out.
"Then you won't mind showing me what you've put on your flash drive?"
"No, of course not."
She leaned over him in a mirror of their positions in the coffee shop. He brought up his flash drive and showed her the registry key.
"Good. Are you almost done?"
"Just about." Tim finished as quickly as he could and then stood up quickly, almost forgetting his flash drive. "Done. All yours."
"Thank you, Tim."
"Y-you're welcome."
"I put a rush on the new equipment; it should be here in a couple of days. How do you feel about working on weekends?"
Tim shrugged. At the rate he was insulting and alienating his friends, he wouldn't have anything to do on the weekend anyway. "I don't mind."
"Good. I don't want much of a delay in the transition. Once they get here, I want you to work around the clock to get everything done."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Aisha."
"Sorry. Aisha."
"Why don't you call it a day, if you've finished?"
"Are you sure?"
"I wouldn't have suggested it otherwise, Tim."
"Right."
"So you're done?"
"Y-yes. Yours was the last one."
"Then, get out of here. See you tomorrow."
"Yes, ma'am."
She shook her head as he fled from her presence.
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Ziva sat in her car as she had been for the last few days, waiting for Aisha's emergence from the building. Therefore, she was surprised when she saw Tim coming out. Immediately, she pulled out her phone.
"Gibbs?"
"What, Ziva? You find something?"
"Yes. McGee just came out of Sindhind Imports."
"It's early. I hope he didn't get fired already."
"You know that he is there?" As she spoke, Tim got into his car and drove away.
"Yes, he's working there."
"Is he undercover?"
"In a manner of speaking."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning that he is working there. Any other questions?" Implicit in his words was an injunction against asking any other questions as well as mentioning this event to anyone else. She was always impressed with the way Gibbs could express things without actually using the words.
"None that I think you will answer."
"Good. Have a nice evening, Ziva."
"Thank you, Gibbs." Ziva disconnected and sat back again to watch the building until Aisha came out. She couldn't wait until her shift was over. This was incredibly boring. She thought, instead, about Tim. He had effectively cut himself off from everyone at NCIS... except for Gibbs, she supposed by the way he had spoken to her. Abby had come to work all depressed because Tim had kicked her out of his apartment and Tony had told her about how Tim had screamed at him. She wondered how he would react to her presence. Maybe she'd find out tonight. She smiled and went over various scenarios in her mind to pass the time.
