Chapter 24

Two more days passed (and one more date with Zahara) and then, Tim finally got a response to the messages he'd been sending out. The reply was very short, but he understood why. He took the information in the message and hopped online. He followed the instructions to set up the secure link and then, he sent a ping indicating that he was there and ready to talk...if they were available.

It took an hour to get a reply.

"Tim?"

Tim jumped. He hadn't been paying attention to the computer and he spun around quickly to see Lawrence and Amin in all their pixelated glory looking at him.

"Tim, it's been a while," Amin said.

"Hi," Tim said. "I wish it was under better circumstances, but it's nice to see you again, even like this. How are things going for you?"

"Quiet at the moment," Lawrence said. "We're doing some mopping up is all. I've seen your name on some of the intel we've been given."

"Just doing a few things here and there...as I'm needed."

"Until you're obsolete or dead?" Amin asked.

"Yeah, but I don't always think about it like that anymore. It's still true, just not as...bad as it was when I worked with you."

"I'm glad. Really, Tim. That's good to hear. Now, what made you track us down? It must be for a particular reason."

"It is. I'm hoping I won't need this, but I need to find out what's possible."

"Need? What? And why us?" Lawrence asked.

"I'm in a little trouble. A lot of trouble. Or at least, I will be."

"You will be? Most people don't get to know when they're going to get in trouble."

"Lucky me. The FBI... no, not the FBI. Director Jorgenson is trying to get me arrested so that he can take control of me."

"What good would that do him?" Lawrence asked. "It took me less than a week to figure out that you don't work your best unwillingly."

Tim smiled a little. "I get the feeling he doesn't care. I think he wants something specific from me."

"Then, you must have an idea of what that specific thing is."

"I do. Do you know any of the details of how I got pulled into this stuff in the beginning?"

"Some of it."

"Well, it involved being forced to design a program, one that I've built twice and destroyed twice."

"You think he wants that?" Lawrence asked.

"So you do know about it."

"Yeah, I do. I had wished that you'd have been able to build it for us to use. Everything I saw about it told me it was an amazing resource. The holy grail of intelligence gathering."

Tim smiled grimly. "I wouldn't have done it. Not for anything. After the last time, I decided that I'd never create that program again, no matter the cost. I found my line in the sand, and not even my life would be worth it."

"But why would he want that?" Amin asked. "What good would it do him? I mean, it sounds like it has great potential and all, but there's so much that could go wrong and it's not like he doesn't have plenty of resources at hand already."

"Not for much longer," Tim said.

"Meaning?"

"This is his last year."

"Oh, right. It is. You think he wants to hold onto power somehow."

"Yeah. Do I know that for sure? No. But I would be willing to bet quite a bit that this is what he wants from me. It's the only thing I can think of that would explain why he's been so persistent for so long."

"Okay. So how do you think that we can help? We don't exist, remember?"

"Right now, I'm in hiding. Out of his reach, and so far as I've been able to tell, the charges haven't officially been made."

"What charges?"

"Treason."

Amin and Lawrence scoffed in unison.

"I'm glad you feel that way," Tim said with a smile.

"That's absolutely ridiculous," Amin said.

"I know, but I don't think he cares. And so much of what I've done the last few years has been the stuff that doesn't exist, it'll be easy for him to make the accusation. Plus, I won't have much evidence to support my side of it. ...without corroborating witnesses."

"I see," Lawrence said.

Tim could tell that Lawrence was reluctant to get involved like that. He didn't blame him at all. This would be risking exposure that they didn't want or need.

"If the answer is no, I understand. I may not even need to call on you. I'm just seeing what the possibilities are. I cannot tolerate being enslaved. They'd try to dress it up somehow, but that would be the end result and I can't deal with it. I've had too much trouble dealing with things already. When this comes up, I want to be able to bury him under the weight of everything that vindicates me. In fact, I want him to be humiliated to the point that he can't show his face in Washington ever again."

"Bitter, Tim?" Amin asked, although he was smiling.

"Yeah. Bitter, angry, furious, and at times, depressed. It's just not fair that this is something I have to fight. I should never have to fight against my government and they're forcing me to do just that."

"You know that we're sympathetic, Tim."

"I know. But you can't."

"That's not what I'm saying," Lawrence said, quickly. "What I'm saying is that I can't make a guarantee. The only person who gets to know that we exist is the President. ...but if it came down to it, we would possibly be able to make a statement through him. It might not be enough, but as much as I'd like to take care of Director Jorgenson myself, what we're doing is too important."

"I understand. That's actually more than I expected."

Amin smiled.

"You made an impact on us, Tim. More than you might have realized. You're the opposite of our coin. We're doing a lot of the same things you do, but we all got into willingly. You were a pointed reminder that not everyone has that luxury."

"I'm surprised that I made any lasting impact at all," Tim said.

"You did. And we'll do what we can. If you get to the point that you need us to speak for you, contact us through this linkup. We'll see what we can do about it."

"Thanks. Really. I appreciate it," Tim said.

"Now, we have to get off and get back to work," Lawrence said.

"No problem. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

The image went blank and Tim quickly shut down the connection. Why let anyone find them because he was complacent? Then, he smiled to himself. Lawrence would approve of his paranoia.

It was a start, and a better start than he had expected.

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

"Agent Gibbs?"

Gibbs looked up from his computer. Tony and Ziva looked up as well.

Cynthia hadn't been down to talk to them for a while. Her expression was grave but not shocked.

In Gibbs' mind, that meant only one thing.

It was starting.

"Director Shepard would like to speak with you in her office."

Gibbs nodded and stood up to follow. Then, he glanced over at Tony and Ziva. Would it be fair to keep them out? No. They'd been in on this stuff from the beginning. They knew what was coming. He gestured and they both jumped up to follow. Cynthia paused for a moment but didn't say anything to stop them. They all went up the stairs and into Jenny's office. She looked up and for just a second, she looked like she wanted to tell Tony and Ziva to leave but then thought the better of it.

She stood up from her desk and walked around to the table. They all sat.

"Charges have been filed," she said with no preamble. "It's started. I hope you're ready."

"What took them so long?" Tony asked. "It's been almost a month!"

"I can only assume that Agent McGee's flight made them reconsider how they were going to do it."

"How are they doing it? Open or behind closed doors?" Gibbs asked.

"Behind closed doors, for now. If it makes you feel any better, both the CIA and NSA have already filed official complaints."

"It doesn't," Tony said. "They're not the ones making the problem."

"I am not surprised about the CIA, given everything that has happened, but the NSA, too?" Ziva asked. "Why?"

"Because, apparently, Tim has been of great help to them in the last few years...mostly without my knowledge," Jenny said. "Did you know?"

Tony and Ziva both shook their heads.

"But Abby said he had mentioned something about the NSA once. He did not give details," Ziva said.

"Gibbs?" Jenny asked.

Gibbs shook his head, although he felt that he should have known that all those requests wouldn't go away. It seemed that they were going directly to Tim instead of working through Jenny. Obviously, Tim hadn't felt it was necessary to tell anyone about it...which was good, in a way. He wasn't upset about it, and he was overcoming his previous paranoia. However, it was also irritating that he was keeping it to himself.

"So Tim has some high-profile defenders," Tony said. "Will it do any good?"

"Some," Jenny said. "Enough? I don't know."

"Do we have enough?" Ziva asked.

"We have some, but maybe not enough," Gibbs said.

"How do we...proceed with this?" Tony asked. "If it's being done quietly."

"It's not so much quiet as it is not in the media, at least, not until Jorgenson is sure he'll succeed. Right now, he's presenting his claims to people he thinks will believe him. It's up to us to do the same...without the media, for now."

"So do we get the full list?"

"I've already put in a request for it," Jenny said. "It should be coming in the next day. After that, we'll have to respond very quickly. I want you to be ready for it."

"Are you going to give us the time?" Gibbs asked.

Up to now, they'd been doing their regular jobs and only working on Tim's situation before and after work and at odd times during the day. If they were going to be ready to respond, they would need time.

"Yes," Jenny said. "As soon as I get the full list of charges and the reasons for them, I will give you all the time you need to formulate a response. As quickly as you can."

"Anything else?" Gibbs asked.

"No. Not for now. I just wanted you to know that it's finally happening, so that you'll be ready for it."

Gibbs nodded and stood up. Tony and Ziva followed suit. They left the office, nodding to Cynthia as they passed.

"Anything I can do, Agent Gibbs, just let me know," she said.

"Will do."

They kept moving. Out on the balcony, they paused.

"Boss..." Tony began.

"Not here. My place. Tonight. Tell Ducky and Palmer."

"And Abby?"

Gibbs shook his head.

"I'll do that."

He gestured for them to go down to their desks while he headed for Abby's lab. If Tim had been trying to keep up on what was happening, maybe she could contact him. It was a long shot if Tim was trying to keep himself hidden from everyone, but it was worth a try.

Abby's music was blaring when he walked into the lab, but for once, he didn't bother turning it down. He just walked over close to her.

"What's up, Gibbs?"

"Charges have been filed."

Abby's expression got worried and angry at the same time.

"I wish..." Then, she stopped herself. "What now?"

"Can you contact him?" Gibbs asked, deliberately not using names.

"I don't know. I can try, but..."

"Try. Just let him know that it's starting."

"Okay. I will."

"Tonight. My place."

"Yes, sir," she said, forcing a smile.

"Don't call me sir," he said and kissed her on the cheek.

"Then, stop giving orders like an officer," Abby said, her smile more genuine.

"You don't listen if I don't."

Abby laughed. Gibbs kissed her on the cheek one more time and then left the lab. He got on the elevator and sent it up, but he stopped it and sat down on the floor of the elevator for a few minutes. In a way, it was good that it was finally starting, This meant that, instead of dreading it, they could start to fight. But at the same time, it was now the time that he had to confront what he'd done to Tim anew. He pulled out the flash drive and looked at it. Tim was apparently safe enough right now, but what if this attempt failed? What if they couldn't prevent Jorgenson from getting the authorization to take over Tim's life? Gibbs didn't like letting himself worry like this, but he felt that it was his responsibility to get Tim out of it.

I need to clean up my own mess.

No matter what, Tim would not be paying the price. Gibbs was going to do it. He hadn't been able to promise Tim at the beginning. He thought of that moment when Tim had tried to get him to promise, tried to force him to do it and Gibbs had known that his promise would possibly be a lie, so he hadn't given it.

"McGee, I can't promise that no one will get hurt." There was a flash of something in Tim's eyes. Gibbs wasn't sure what it was. As astute as he usually was, Tim was confusing him. "...but I can promise that I'll be there, that I'll do my best."

Tim held his gaze for a few more silent seconds. Then, he said softly, "What if your best isn't enough?"

Then, Tim had actually apologized when he had tried to sacrifice himself to end it. He had apologized for wanting Gibbs to fix what he had screwed up. It had been painful to hear. Now, Gibbs was determined to fulfill the promise he hadn't been able to make before. This was over. This would be the last time. No matter what it required.

He stood up, turned back on the elevator and got back to work.

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

"Lawrence."

Lawrence looked up from his computer.

"What is it, Xandra?"

"You wanted to know."

"Already?"

"Seems to be."

Lawrence got up and followed Xandra to her station and leaned over.

"Treason, just like you said."

Lawrence swore feelingly.

"Amin, it's happened," he called.

Instantly, Amin came over, joined by Thompson and Sam.

"The FBI has officially filed charges of treason against Tim," Lawrence said.

"Evidence?"

"Don't know yet," Xandra said. "I'm not seeing anything specific."

"What do you want to do about this, Lawrence?" Amin asked.

"Can we do anything at all?" Thompson asked. "If we make a statement, we're ruining our anonymity."

"Only if we make a public statement," Amin said.

"You're suggesting that we get the President involved in this?" Sam asked. "Should we really go that far?"

"Yes," Amin said, firmly. "Once Xandra works her magic and figures out the details, if we can help by saying something, we will. Tim saved hundreds, if not thousands, of lives a few years ago. If the FBI is going to say that he was the cause of the danger, it is our duty to make sure that doesn't stand."

"But who knows how many more lives might be lost if something goes wrong?" Sam said. "He's just one man."

"Yes, he is," Amin said. "So am I. So is each person who survived that day. One life. Tim was willing to die for each of us, for each of them. He would have done it if it had been asked of him. He's one man."

Then, they all looked at Lawrence. He was the one in charge and the final decision fell to him. He could see Sam's point. She was right that Tim was just one man and their mission was so much wider in scope than one life. But Amin was right, too. At the end of the day, they all owed Tim for the work he'd done and even if they didn't, he was an innocent man who would only suffer more if they did nothing.

He looked at Xandra.

"Do what you can to find out the details. If there is any reference to the bombing in Arlington, I'll contact the President and tell him Tim's role and the importance of removing that as evidence of duplicity. If there is not, then, we stay silent. Realistically, we can only vouch for the time we spent with him. Even if we know it's ridiculous, we can't just say it. All right?"

There were nods all around. Xandra turned back to her station and began seeing what she could find. Thompson returned to his analysis of all their mechanics. Sam returned to her own station to resume a conversation with the other Sam who was doing some reconnaissance. Amin said nothing. He left the room and Lawrence followed.

"This is wrong, Lawrence," he said.

"I know."

"I can't stay silent."

Lawrence shook his head. "You have to. Legally..."

"Legality has nothing to do with this, and you know it," Amin said. "This isn't about justice. This isn't about the possibility of Tim going to prison. He won't. We all know that. What will happen to him is worse. Lawrence, Tim was so afraid of what might happen that he ran. Tim doesn't run. He's not the kind of person who just runs away, but he did. That's how afraid he is."

"Amin, Tim would agree with me. If we can't comment directly on the charges, then, we shouldn't say anything at all."

"Tim would agree that it's the big-picture thing to do, but do you think for a second that he'd say nothing if it was one of us in his place? He was willing to risk a lot more to save his team and he wasn't even sure if they were still alive. He went far beyond what he would normally be willing to do, just to save them. We can't let the big picture obscure why we do this at all."

"And why is that?"

"To save the guy walking his dog on the sidewalk who has no idea how close he might come to death from day to day. To save the family who is sitting, listening to Mass, secure in their faith and their location. We aren't saving people. We're saving one person at a time. And Tim is another person we can save. ...or at least, we can help save him. And if we can, then, we should. Period. End of story."

Lawrence was surprised at Amin's vehemence. He hadn't ever realized how deeply Tim had affected Amin during their brief time working together.

"For now...we wait. We wait and see what Xandra can find. All right?"

"All right, but I'm not turning my back on him, Lawrence. No matter what."

Then, Amin walked away, leaving Lawrence to consider anew what the best course of action would be.