Chapter 54

This time, Tim wasn't conducted to the conference room. He was led to an office. The intern didn't go in with him and when he got inside, no one else was there.

He sat down and looked around, unsure of what was coming next.

Then, he heard a raised voice outside the room. He couldn't understand the words, but he could hear the irritation in the voice. He sat where he was, wondering if he should be doing something, and why he was alone in the office. It didn't look like a regular one. There was a window, giving some natural light, although less now, in the early evening. Tim suddenly realized that he had been in this building all day. It should have been boring, but it was still so full of stress that he couldn't find it boring.

The door behind him opened with a bang and Tim stood and turned around as quickly as he could.

And he came face to face with Secretary Stidden.

For a long moment, they just stared at each other. It was the first time that Tim had been in the same room with the man who was to blame for all of this. It was almost funny that the man who had been the cause of all Tim's efforts had been almost completely absent from everything that had gone on.

He wasn't very tall, Tim realized suddenly. He was thin and had a drastically receding hairline. And he was probably five or six inches shorter than Tim himself was.

"Agent McGee," he said, finally.

Tim was amazed at how Stidden could make just a name sound like a threat. However, he had got what he wanted, and that meant he wasn't going to show this odious excuse for a human being anything at all. Or at least, nothing besides satisfaction.

"Nothing to say?"

"Nothing to say to you," Tim said, evenly.

Stidden raised an eyebrow.

"No apology for what you did?"

"Are you going to apologize for what you did to my father?" Tim asked. "And even if you did would you actually mean it?"

Stidden stepped closer.

"If you think that you've got away with this," he said in a soft voice, the threat becoming more explicit.

"I don't think. I know," Tim said. "Your story fell apart as soon as you tried to kill Charlie. You do whatever you want to me. I don't care. You can't touch my dad, not now. You're going down for what you did thirty years ago and, if I can manage it, you'll go down even further for what you tried to do now. And even with all that, you failed. Everything you tried to do to cover it up failed."

"Secretary Stidden, I thought you'd left already."

The voice behind them made Stidden step back very quickly and turned around.

Secretary Drake was standing in the doorway. His tone had been pleasant enough, but his expression was much more stern.

"I also thought I made it clear that you were not going to interfere in my investigation, particularly now that you've been implicated."

"You were quite clear, Evan."

"Good. Then, you can do what you told me you were going to do. And just as a friendly notice, I've already informed the President. The exit is just down the hall, as I'm sure you remember."

Stidden looked back at Tim for a moment, and Tim could see the distaste in his eyes. He stared back, evenly. There was a great deal of satisfaction at seeing Stidden on the defensive.

"Thank you, Roger. You can go."

Stidden took a breath and left the room. Secretary Drake stepped into the office and closed the door behind him.

"Sorry for that, Agent McGee. He was supposed to be leaving."

"Actually, I didn't mind."

There was a slight uplift of the corners of Secretary Drake's mouth at that.

"All right. Have a seat. I'm sure you're aware of the reason why I'm speaking to you alone."

"I'm guessing you've made your decision and you don't want anyone to know about it."

"In a way. It'll be obvious to those involved, but there's no reason to have a definite record if it's not necessary. I can't guarantee that there are no listening devices in this particular office, but I'm as sure as I can be that it's private."

"Understood."

"All right. I don't know who informed Roger of these meetings, but needless to say, he's now aware that everything is starting to implode. He was threatening to take everyone down with him, but he had a few people telling him that it would be a mistake and would likely just make things worse for him. That being said, the Department of Defense has no idea that you hacked them."

"Oh." Tim was surprised by that. He had assumed that he hadn't been careful enough and that was why they'd found him at the shack. "I don't know if I should say whether I'm glad about that or not."

"I suggest that it's probably best not to admit to being happy about getting away with a crime, especially not to a high-ranking federal employee."

Again, there was the merest hint of a smile.

"And it would also be a bad idea for a high-ranking employee in the federal government, particularly someone on the President's advisory committee to congratulate you for getting away with it."

Now, it was Tim's turn to suppress a smile at that. The knots in his stomach were slowly loosening as it became more and more possible that he wasn't going to have to pay the price for what he'd done. It was a price he'd been willing to pay, but he had dreaded paying it.

"Director Vance has expressed complete confidence in you, and he has borne witness to what has been happening to your parents. Secretary Jarvis has described his own role, minor as it has been." Then, Secretary Drake suddenly leaned forward. "And while I can't talk about any of the rest of it, I have to thank you."

"Thank me? What for?" Tim asked. He didn't think he'd done anything needing thanks. Lectures, maybe. Reprimands, definitely. But thanks?

"The Nicaraguan ambassador informed me that the bodies they recovered from the jungle were cremated and interred in Nicaragua, albeit without any identification. If this crime had been committed by your father, as the head of the team, they would be likely to make it very difficult, if not impossible, to get the remains back and have them interred here. Because we now have evidence that he refused his orders and that he tried to withdraw and that the destruction was caused by someone else, they will be less likely to blame it on the team itself. That means that they will be much more willing to return the remains. The families of that team will finally have the closure they've never had. After thirty years, it's not much, but it's more than they've had before. I was dreading having to attempt those negotiations, believing that the team's commanding officer was to blame."

"Oh." Tim really didn't know what to say about that. He had never considered the other people involved in the operation. Actually, now that he was thinking about it, it was kind of a shock that he'd become so myopic. Anything not directly related to his father hadn't mattered.

"It's all right if you weren't thinking about them."

"I wasn't. Is it shameful that I didn't think about anyone except for my father?"

"Hyper-focused, maybe, but not shameful."

"So...what's going to happen to me?"

"Nothing."

"Really?"

"Because the Department of Defense never discovered any activity, there is officially no evidence of your actions."

"But...I confessed."

"Yes, you did. However, you're fortunate in that your father is right. It'll just be more to worry about to pursue charges against you in addition to his. Besides, we don't need another hacker being cheered by the public. Because Secretary Stidden doesn't know about all that, he can't raise a stink about it. As far as he's concerned, you tracked down Charles Leadore because of your father's past friendship with him. You were still employed by NCIS. The State Department is declining to pursue charges, but this had better not be the start of a trend, Agent McGee. Leniency once does not mean leniency later. What it means is harsher punishment later."

"I understand."

"Good. Now, while it does take these things time to leak out, I anticipate that you'll not have to worry about the threats continuing. You may want to be cautious tonight, but beyond that, you should be safe enough. I have your evidence and a record of Mr. Leadore's changed account. You're free to go. My intern is probably giving himself an ulcer worrying about what he might have to do next. This has been, by far, his most exciting day, and he probably won't be able to top it during the rest of his internship. He's probably glad of that, but he should be right outside the door."

"Thank you, sir."

Secretary Drake simply nodded. Tim stood and started to leave, but then, he turned back.

"What about Charlie, sir?"

"What about him? He was threatened. In the eyes of the law, he has justification and he's now making it right. Or are you asking beyond that?"

"Do you think he was being sincere?"

"I don't know him from Adam."

"I didn't know him before a couple of days ago. I barely remember him from when I was a kid."

"Agent McGee, I can't tell you what should happen. That's a moral decision, not a legal one. It also has nothing to do with the State Department. The only people who can make a decision like that are those who were directly affected by his actions. My job depends on reading people, and from my position of limited knowledge, I would say that he was sincere. Certainly, his feelings about the mission itself were genuine and his desire to protect Dr. McGee from that. Very few people can pale on demand. Beyond that, I can't say. What I can say is that you should probably try to take a vacation, if Director Vance will let you after your time UA."

Tim nodded and turned around. He left the office and the hapless intern was still there. He led Tim back down the hall. As they neared the waiting area, Tim turned to him. He looked to be just old enough for college.

"Thanks for all your help, today," Tim said.

The intern's face reddened.

"You're welcome," he said.

Then, they were back (the intern left very quickly) and everyone was staring at him expectantly. He noticed that Charlie wasn't there, again. Gibbs didn't look worried, though, so Tim didn't worry, either.

"Well?" Tony asked. "What happened?"

Tim felt himself start to smile with relief more than anything else.

"No charges."

"Just like that?" Tony asked.

"Just like that," Tim said, although he thought of the thanks he'd received and wondered if he should tell Sam. But that wasn't something he was at liberty to share, and Secretary Drake hadn't actually done that negotiation yet. He should probably keep that to himself.

"What about Stidden? We saw him storm out of here," Chegwidden asked.

"Something will happen. I don't know what, though," Tim said. "Secretary Drake wouldn't tell me that part."

"That makes sense," Faith said. "He's probably not quite sure himself how everything will fall out, and really, it's not our business since we're no longer involved. We'll find out, eventually."

"So now what?" Tony asked.

"I guess we leave," Tim said. "Secretary Drake said we'd probably want to be cautious tonight, but after that, we shouldn't have any problems because all the evidence is here. It doesn't depend on any one person."

"That just seems too easy after all this mess," Tony said.

"I'm okay with easy. Nothing else has been."

"Well, if that's the case, I can give you a ride back to my place, Captain Coleman, and you can pick up your car."

Chegwidden looked at Tim and raised an eyebrow just slightly. Tim nodded in reply. Charlie would also go and get his car. For now, Tim didn't want to tell his parents that Charlie had not only recanted, he'd actually been in the building at the same time. Faith agreed and she and Chegwidden walked away.

"We'll take you back to your apartment," Gibbs said, looking at Sam.

"What do you mean?" Tim asked.

"We've been staying here in D.C. while all this was going on," Naomi said. "It was easier than trying to deal with it all from Ohio."

"Oh."

"Why don't you stay with us, tonight, Tim?" Naomi said. "If we're going to be cautious, you shouldn't be staying in your apartment alone."

"Okay."

Tim found that he couldn't really fathom not having anything to do. The last few weeks had been so focused on doing something that it was strange to have nothing.

And if he was honest, he couldn't believe that it was really over. He had never thought that it would turn out right. To find that it had was bizarre.

As they left the building, Gibbs decided to go and get the car and bring it back, rather than have them all walk down to the parking lot. They waited together at the entrance in a strange silence. Even Tony seemed reluctant to speak. It should have been an amazing, exciting moment, but for some reason, it wasn't. Tim couldn't decide why that was.

When Gibbs got back with the car, Tim suddenly realized a problem.

"Are we all going to fit in here?" he asked.

"We'll let your dad sit in front," Tony said. "Wheelchair in the trunk, and I'll get cozy with your mom."

Tim looked at Tony with a deeply-furrowed brow.

"That sounds really wrong, Tony."

Tony grinned. "I agree. It sounded better in my head."

"I think I'll let my mom sit by the window."

Naomi laughed. "Actually, Agent DiNozzo, you might be risking life and limb if you tried anything."

Tony raised his hands in the air in defense.

"I would never put the moves on a married woman. Promise. Now, if you were single..."

"Not happening," Naomi said.

"I'm glad to hear you say that," Sam said.

Naomi leaned over and kissed him.

"Always."

Sam rolled around and got into the car. Tim folded his wheelchair and put it in the trunk. Then, they all piled into the car, sitting a little too close together, but it was what they had. Gibbs drove them to the apartment and let them out. Tim climbed out of the car and Tony took an exaggerated breath.

"Finally! I can breathe!"

"Ha ha. Maybe you need to lose some weight," Tim said.

"Not me."

There was something keeping them from talking about what had just happened. Tim didn't know what it was.

"You all right, McGee?" Gibbs asked.

"Yeah, Boss."

Gibbs just raised an eyebrow, but he didn't say anything more. Tony took Sam's place in the front and they pulled away.

Tim followed his parents inside.

"You'll have to sleep on the couch, Tim," Naomi said. "But I think it'll pull out into a bed. It'll be all right for a night."

Tim smiled and nodded. He didn't bother to mention the fact that he'd been sleeping on a lot worse surfaces than a lumpy mattress.

"It's early yet to be going to bed, but I haven't eaten all day and I'm starving," Sam said. "How about dinner?"

"Sounds good," Tim said, nodding.

They were all trying to make things normal, but Tim didn't know why no one was talking about what had just happened.

It was like nothing had happened at all.

Or else something was still unfinished.