"Lucas. If you put the gun down, I'll give you what you came for."
Lucas Martin scoffs with abject disbelief. There's no way in hell she's being honest with him and she should know that he's not stupid enough to believe her for a minute. Feeling cornered even with a gun in his hand, he plays his trump card, pointing the gun now at the one person in the room who is obviously not planning to let him leave here a free man, and pretends to swallow her bait, somewhat, at least. "Whattaya say I take you up on your offer – just as soon as I get rid of our uninvited guest, hmm? Three's definitely a crowd in this room."
***NCIS****
Riding in the ambulance carrying Sarah to Bethesda, Ziva is relieved to see Sarah wake up after a few moments of rather rocky riding as they made their way out of this backwoods hellhole.
"Ziva?" Sarah croaks weakly.
"I am here." Ziva reassures her quietly.
"No." The younger woman objects as her eyes fill with fear. "You have to go back! Save mom!" Sarah's energy is quickly depleted and she closes her eyes in exhaustion, even as tremors overtake her.
Wrapping the warming blanket the paramedics had placed over Sarah, more closely around the shivering young woman, Ziva nods as she takes out her cell phone. "Alright. But you will not be left alone. I will send another agent with you."
Sarah nods without speaking; knowing the NCIS Agent needed to know she'd heard her.
Calling Tony because he is their SFA and for once she respects that, Ziva is quick to ask his opinion on this change of plans.
"Good idea, Da'vid. My gut is bothering me about leaving Gibbs back there alone, too. Give me a second to stop this parade and we'll get Agent Morris to go with Sarah while you take two of Fornell's guys back with you."
"Tony, I do not nee…"
"Ziva! You're taking back up." Tony orders firmly. "Already lost Tim. Not losing either of you two to this bastard, too."
Ziva's eyes close in a moment of relived pain at the reminder of her lost teammate and friend. Suddenly, the stubborn need to do this her way evaporates in the face of Tony's reasoning that as Senior Field Agent he was not required to give. Recognizing his way of showing her he is being reasonable, Ziva swallows around the lump in her throat and gives him what he needs most at the moment; her cooperation. "Alright."
It's all of three short minutes before the cars with Tony, the FBI agents and the other NCIS agents catch up with the ambulance. All vehicles stop as Ziva climbs out of the ambulance and Agent Angela Morris takes her place. The exchange complete, the ambulance continues speedily on its way, sirens wailing.
Tony looks in the rearview mirror and can't help a small chuckle as he and the team continue their frantic race with daylight, back to the state park. At the questioning glances from the others in the car with him, Tony can only explain it with one word. "Ziva."
Glancing behind them, all they see is a cloud of dust Ziva's left in her wake. She'd wasted no time, once her demand to drive had been acceded to, putting the accelerator pedal all the way to the floor.
****NCIS*****
Informed by phone of the change in plans, Tobias Fornell offers only a quick word and nod of understanding. When questioned about letting the NCIS agents change things without consulting him, the Lead FBI agent reminds the team riding with him that over the years he has learned to trust Gibbs' gut over the years and recognizes its validity with DiNozzo and Da'vid.
Ziva stops the car close enough but far enough away from the cabin to maintain silence. Ordering the FBI Agent with her to stand guard at the door, she goes into her ninja stealth mode, entering the house alone.
****NCIS*****
"…up" Martin demands of Gibbs. "Back up right now, so I won't be wearing your blood when I put a bullet in your head."
Gibbs backs up, making sure his steps take him closer to Megan as he does so. He's hoping to stop her from making this mistake but before he can do or say anything to prevent it, Martin's yelling angrily.
"Get away from her!"
Taking a minute to stare silently at the bastard willing to drag this out, Gibbs sees in his peripheral vision that Ziva has returned. Deliberately keeping his eyes focused on Martin for a moment longer, the Team Leader lets Ziva continue to move as she sees fit. He knows she will position herself where she can be most useful at disarming this standoff without any fatalities.
"C'mere doll." Martin orders Megan as he slides his eyes over to her. Finding her unzipping her sweatshirt, his eyes remain glued to her almost naked body.
Taking advantage of the diversion, Gibbs locks eyes on his agent long enough to see their team signal for him to move to the left on the silent synchronized count of three.
In a flash, it's over, as Martin finally sees Ziva and angrily firms his grip on the trigger of his gun, preparing to fire the kill shot at Gibbs. As Gibbs moves his upper body out of Ziva's way, he's unprepared for Megan's move as she throws the knife with all her might, directly into Martin's heart. It stops the bastard cold but only for a second; the roar of his gun deafens them as his trigger finger jerks in one last reaction before death takes him.
****NCIS****
Traipsing through the park in less than pleasant weather is never fun and with the far less pleasant task ahead of processing the scene where his probie's wallet has been found, Tony finds himself very reluctant to get there. He is afraid what is waiting for him there will be the final blow. He knows there's no time to waste but that call from one of the agents with Ziva about shots being fired at the cabin, seriously rattled him. The earlier call from Abby about Tim possibly being the John Doe at the city morgue is making things seriously worse to the point he almost feels so sick at heart, he's ready to puke.
In reality, he can't stop wishing the boss would call with the good news that the John Doe is not Tim. Please let us all wake up and this have been a dream! Please let me wake up. McGee doesn't deserve this! Why wasn't I a better friend? A big brother? Hell, I wasn't even there for him when Gibbs was! Gibbs! God, don't let anything happen to my team at that cabin!
Frustrated and tired, Tony looks to the FBI Agent beside him, leading the way to where Tim's wallet was discovered. "How much further down this path? We've been hiking forever! Not to mention this is miles away from where we were this morning. You sure we're even in the right place?"
With a sympathetic half smile, the agent reassures him. "Feels like it when you can't get where you're going fast enough, doesn't it? It isn't far. Wait! Earlier? The blood trail with NCIS written in it? You didn't see any clues as to how your guy was taken from there, right?"
"That's right." Tony admits grudgingly.
"Then you had no way of knowing how far of a perimeter to search. There's no way you would have thought to extend it this far from the original scene. None of us would have. Here." The FBI Agent points to the wallet lying on the ground; open and obviously looked through. Great, another messed up crime scene.
"Search the area for anything else. Bastard might have left more clues behind when he dumped this." Tony orders firmly, his own eyes searching the surrounding brush for anything sticking out. He frowns as his gut screams at him. Even as it unsettles him, he moves out the standard extension of fifty feet and sends his eyes around the area again. When he sees the edge of the rock area fall away, his heart stops. No way! He couldn't be…!
With his heart up in his throat, Tony steps over to the edge and looks down.
****NCIS****
As the smoke clears from the gunfire, the only casualty from the discharged weapon is the mirror on the wall that now lies shattered in pieces on the bedroom floor. Quickly looking to Martin, it's clear the man is dead, compliments of the knife sticking out of his chest. Seeing the man who caused so much pain, suffering and damage to the lives of people he cares about, brings up a rage in Gibbs that almost has him reaching out to kick the man until he feels better. But he knows that he cannot allow himself such an outlet.
There is still work to do and a crime scene to process. First there's a victim to take care of. Gibbs looks over at Mrs. McGee to make sure she's alright and breathes out a sigh of relief when he sees her standing there on her own two feet. She is breathing normally, apparently unhurt by this brutal ending to her ordeal.
"Ziva, get another ambulance out here and get her outta here!" He's quick to order as he stares now at the dead madman. "And tell those FBI Agents to get in here and get this room processed."
Even as Ziva wraps her arms around the mother of her deceased friend, she feels the poor woman's backbone stiffened with either shock or stubbornness. Either way, Megan McGee is not moving; her eyes are fixed on the man who's taken so much from her. While it is true her Sarah is alive and was not raped by this bastard, the fact remains that her little boy, her son, is gone now. Taken just as cruelly and violently from her as he had been given to her: her little boy, with both an inner core of steel and a beautiful heart hidden behind his somewhat lanky exterior
Without warning, Ziva finds herself rushing to catch Megan as the woman's knees give out and somehow she is able to get her to a chair before she hits the floor. Not unexpectedly, shock is setting in, demonstrated by the tremors that take over the body of the older woman.
***NCIS****
Probie! Tony's mind scrambles to believe what he's seeing, the beaten, crumpled form of his missing dead partner and little brother, lying silent and still in the barely visible culvert just off the almost invisible path in the very park where the team processed that desperate message for help yesterday. The earlier reminder that the two scenes were miles apart, did little to ease the wave of grief that threatened to overwhelm him now. Tossed away like someone's trash! The Senior Field Agent's blood boils. Tim McGee deserved so much more than this. It just isn't right!
Broken rag doll. The image floods his mind's eye even as his heart struggles with the realization staring him in the face. His probie is gone; killed senselessly amidst so much chaos and misinformation that there hasn't been a chance in hell of finding him sooner. Drawing in a ragged breath, the grieving agent scrambles to reach out through the mess of vines and prickly bush branches between himself and his probie, feeling a desperate need to get Tim out of there and back where he belongs, with his family.
With a concerted effort, he stops himself from going any closer. This is a crime scene first and foremost, in spite of the fact that the victim is one of their own. As with any other crime scene, it needs to be processed and they need to give it their absolute best. Tim deserves at least that much.
Pulling out his phone, Tony makes the call he's been dreading all night. "Hey, Ducky."
"Anthony. I take it this means you have located Timothy."
"Yeah. Benicia State Park, follow the foot trail down towards the sheer drop at the overlook."
"Oh dear God!" Ducky laments quietly.
"Yeah." Tony agrees as he ends the call; too overwhelmed with the senselessness of it all to form another coherent thought as his eyes remain locked on his fallen teammate, surrogate little brother and friend.
"Agent DiNozzo!" One of Fornell's agents hollers out from well over 40 yards away. "You might wanna see this!"
Crushed in spirit and more than exhausted, Tony shouts back "Just document and bag it, Richards!" as he steps aside back to call for the help he'll need. "Somebody get some evidence markers over here. Need the area sketched and photographed, too."
The imperious yet urgent tone in his voice instantly has three FBI Agents at his side, nearly tripping over each other and themselves to get to whatever it is the NCIS Agent has obviously found. "Don't touch him!" Tony barks stridently, praying no one dared cross him on that point.
Having been thoroughly briefed that Tony is running point on the search for his missing and presumed dead teammate, all FBI Agents assigned to assist in the search are well aware that they are expected to answer to Tony and are to do so without question or prejudice. Nor are they to argue with him or give him any grief. Fornell has been formidable in his orders and when he gets like that, no one dares even consider going against his orders. Besides, they are all ready to do whatever 's necessary to recover the slain NCIS Agent.
"Don't worry, we got this." Vows one of Fornell's lead agents as he turns to begin processing the scene.
"Take phones and sketch the scene. And don't forget to bag and tag everything around him." Tony orders, his tone unchanged. "Anyone touches the body will be answering to Ducky when he gets here. And when he gets through with you, Gibbs will be right behind him. Not to mention Ziva. And Abby."
In the rapidly approaching darkness of nightfall, there is no time to lose. Soon the 50 square yards encompassing the area where Tim's body lay is a mass of moving, scene processing FBI Agents that resembles a swarm of worker bees around the hive as they hustles to do this right, while they can still see what they're doing.
The arrival of the Autopsy van brings it home for Tony and his knees nearly give out as his heart comes up in his throat, choking him, when his eyes met Ducky's.
Instantly, the older man's arms are supporting him as together they walk to the back of the van. "Easy, Anthony. You've done your job in finding our dear Timothy. Now you need to allow Mr. Palmer and me to do ours in getting him back home in our midst where he belongs. The very least he deserves is to be laid to rest in peace and with the utmost dignity."
Turning, the M.E. now head towards the ravine, following Jimmy, who has already gone ahead. Now that his attention is on the task to be handled, he notices his Assistant has yet to go all the way into the ravine. Jimmy is standing in place, likely dealing with the rush of emotions this most painful of tasks has brought out in him.
"Come, Mr. Palmer. It's time to take our dear friend home." Ducky urges as he gestures for the younger man to precede him.
Watching the two Medical Professionals go into the bushes to retrieve Tim, Tony feels lost, lost for words, lost in direction. There is nothing that will ease this pain. He can't even see straight, his eyes blinded by tears he fights to hold back. This isn't right. It isn't fair. Tim, of all people, does not deserve to be taken out like this! Hell none of what any of his family has been through is fair.
Raggedly exhaling, Tony fights to pull himself together. He has another call to make, this one much more painful than the last. Punching the speed dial button, he impatiently waits for the call to go through.
"You found him." The extra quiet tone from the boss, as well as the expectation that Tony has only one reason for calling the man, speaks volumes of how badly this is affecting the Team Leader.
"I'm sorry, Boss. I didn't find him in time to save him. Ducky and Jimmy are on the sce…"
"ANTHONY!" Ducky's exclamation rings out across the distance between them.
"What's wrong, DiNozzo?"
"Besides the whole Probie getting' killed, ya mean? And the fact that you're way too quiet? I dunno. Hold on and I'll find out." Holding the phone away from his face enough that he wouldn't blow out the boss's eardrums, Tony hollers back while he quickly closes the distance between them. "What is it, Ducky? Who is Palmer calling?"
"That's right, lights, sirens, whatever it takes to get you here STAT!" Palmer closes his phone and drops it into his shirt pocket before dropping back down beside Tim's body. "Ambulance should be here within 5 minutes, Doctor."
"Ambulance?"" Tony asks in shocked bewilderment.
"DUCKY!" Gibbs voice barks across the phone line.
"Stay with him, Mr. Palmer. Don't take your eyes off his breathing rhythm." Ducky orders as he standsto his feet and strides the few feet remaining between himself and Tony. Taking the phone from the shocked agent, he speaks to him with a quiet relief. "Timothy's alive, Tony. Just barely, but alive nonetheless. Go to him. Be there for him now and let him know he's been found by his family and that he's safe now."
Lifting the phone to his mouth, Ducky relays the miraculous news to the people who next need to hear it most as he watches the Senior Field Agent waste no more time getting to his injured teammate.
"Jethro. Timothy's alive. We always knew he was a fighter and it would seem he has not lost that ability. However, I must say, I cannot make any promises as to his chances of surviving what's been done to him. His body is badly bruised and battered. It appears his left shoulder has been separated. His right knee is also resting at an abnormally painfully looking angle. All of this is in addition to the nasty gun shot wound we already knew about."
"He's alive?"
"Yes. But as I've just stated. I can make no promises."
"Well I can."
"Jethro, I know you and your tea…"
"Ducky! He doesn't have my permission to let go. You tell him I said so!"
Without taking his eyes of Tim's still, barely breathing body, Tony reached a hand back towards Ducky. "Ducky, let me talk to Gibbs."
Without argument or wasted time, the M.E. hands the phone back to the younger man.
"Boss, He needs to hear it straight from you." Tony quietly tells him.
"DiNozzo." Gibbs growls at the impracticality of such expectations. He can't be in two places at once and he isn't happy that he can't be there for his gravely injured agent now. Tony's words are just twisting that knife.
"Boss, if he doesn't hear it from you, I don't think he'll hold on. I don't think he'll make it." Hitting the phone's speaker button, Tony crouches back down beside Tim and speaks to him. "Hey, Probie, we're here for you, buddy. Even Bossman's here with you, well as much as he can be.
McGee, you hold on. You hear me? You don't have permission to let go." Gibbs' loud voice reaches out firmly though the phone line.
"Tim, Honey. It's Mom. Please hang on. We all love you. Don't leave us. I know you're hurting but you can do this!" Mrs. McGee's pain filled request comes over the line on the heels of Gibbs' order and as if Tony has been right, Tim's breathing immediately seems to improve, just enough to be noticeable.
"Well, I'll be." One of the forgotten FBI Agents marvels; reminding the NCIS team of their presence. Still, all attention remains fixed on the injured man.
"Thatta boy, Probie. Your breathin' just got easier, didn't it?" Tony croons to him, his attention once again focused on his friend, oblivious to his audience.
"Ducky?"
Silently, Ducky takes the phone back and steps away from the two guardians of the injured. "As Anthony told you, Jethro, Timothy needed to hear it from you. And hear you both, he has! The medics are close by. We'll get him to Bethesda."
"Meet ya there, Duck."
****NCIS****
Vaguely she notices Gibbs in her peripheral vision as the NCIS Team Leader puts his phone away and quickly covers the now thankfully deceased monster with the blanket off the bed. This time, Megan makes no effort to stop the emotions from escaping as tears of relief fill her eyes and begin to make trails down her cheeks. She isn't even surprised to find that her knees can't hold her as she quickly lowers herself to the chair closest to her,
Her mind overloaded with the emotional rollercoaster still in full throttle so that nothing else seems to register. All she knows is that her knees won't stop knocking and the same thought keeps screaming in her mind, My boy's alive! Oh, Thank God!