Chapter 24

Tim lay on his back, staring at the ceiling in the darkness. Two weeks into this, and he wasn't doing well. He knew it. He could feel it. Perhaps his guard could sense the instability as well because he hadn't been telling him to get to work quite as often. Maybe that punch in the face had done something or maybe he'd been warned by the ones in charge.

He'd slept, but not much. He would fall asleep and the nightmares would start and he'd wake up.

He was at the point where he didn't actually feel the tiredness. He knew he was tired, but it was subsumed under everything else and he just felt generally wiped out.

"Are you awake, sir?" came Curtis' voice.

"Yeah," Tim said.

"You should sleep."

"I can't."

"I can see what it's doing to you, and it's not helping."

"I know, but I can't. Every time I close my eyes... I'm sorry, but... you may end up having to decide whether to get me out or kill me and leave me. I don't know if I'll completely break down or not. I have before. I'm kind of hard to deal with when I break down." Understatement of the decade.

"No, sir. That decision has already been made. If we have a chance to escape, you're coming, too. There's no way that I'm leaving you here. I will die myself before I leave you behind."

"I don't want anyone dying for me," Tim whispered. "I can't handle having any more deaths on my conscience. There are too many as it is."

"My death shouldn't be on your conscience, and if I die here, the people that would kill me don't have a conscience at all. They only care about themselves."

"Don't die for me, Curtis," Tim said. "I've had other CIA agents die for me, and I always hated it. I never wanted to be important...someone worth dying for. Until I'm obsolete or dead. ...and right now... dead sounds better, more achievable."

"No, sir. You're getting out of this alive."

Tim just sighed and didn't respond.

The silence fell again. Tim didn't know whether or not Curtis was still awake.

He was.

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

"The message was clear, Jen," Gibbs said. "He's falling apart because of what he's being forced to do."

"I know that," Jenny said. "So does everyone else who's looking. We can't force the satellites to do what we want them to do. I haven't heard from the FBI this morning, but Director Norton has reported in every morning and evening. He's not keeping us out of this. I..."

Her phone rang and Jenny answered, while staring at Gibbs.

"Now? All right."

She hung up.

"Norton."

"MTAC?" Gibbs asked.

"Yes. I'll call you in if there's something, Jethro. Not right now."

Then, Jenny stood up and left the office.

Gibbs didn't try to follow. He stood there, alone in the room for a few minutes. Ever since they'd deciphered the latest message from Tim, Gibbs had been wanting to do something. Everyone was working, but until something came of their attempts to get at a location, they were left sitting around, hoping. Tim was breaking under the strain of what he had to do, and Gibbs was powerless to stop it.

And he hated it. This was the time when his own guilt, never quite removed, surged to the fore again. Tim's situation was his fault, ultimately. Everything Tim had gone through had begun because of Gibbs wanting to know something he had no right to know. It always came back to that. Tony could feel guilty for his minor part, but Gibbs was the catalyst. He had begun everything. He had set Tim's life on a track he couldn't get off of.

Because Tim had hacked the CIA. Because Gibbs had told him to do it.

They had to get Tim out of there.

No matter what it took.

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

"All right, Lucia. Thanks. That gives me something," Ray said. He stood to leave.

"Ray."

He stopped and sighed, wanting to leave but wanting to stay at the same time.

"Do you see them?" he asked.

"Sometimes."

"How often?"

"Maybe once or twice a month. They still talk about you. I don't know if they quite believe the story they were told. Ray, you should tell them. They're your parents!"

Ray turned around.

"And do you really think it would make them feel any better to know that their son killed an innocent woman? Do you think that it would be better than them thinking I killed myself? No, Lucia. It wouldn't be better."

"It wouldn't be worse."

"Maybe. Maybe not. But it wouldn't be better."

Lucia stood up and grabbed his hand.

"Ray, they're not my family, but they might as well be. They didn't ever get over thinking you were dead. If they knew you were alive..."

"If I was alive, all that would mean is that the grief is a little fresher," Ray said. "I killed someone, Lucia. Not a criminal. Not a terrorist. A woman who was trying to help me track someone down. I killed her, and if my parents knew I was alive, the only difference would be that they now know what I actually did. I don't want that. I'd rather have them believe I committed suicide than know that I killed someone who was innocent."

"I don't know if I can... not say anything."

"When was the last time you saw them?"

"Last week."

"Then, it'll be awhile. You have time to forget it."

"I won't, Ray. Will I see you again?"

"No. Once this is over, I'm going back to my hole... trying to find something that might make up for what I did in some way."

"Then, I'm going to do this whether you want me to or not."

"What?" Ray asked.

Lucia stepped close to him and hugged him tightly. Ray tried to resist, but he couldn't and he hugged her back, closing his eyes and wishing he could turn back the clock. Then, he pulled away from her.

"Thanks, Lucia."

"Bye, Ray."

"Bye."

Ray left the NRO and headed out to an area that had been frequented by people who commonly spoke about "fixing" the government so that it represented the people.

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

Nothing else happened that morning. They continued to work. Levi and Bri (along with Tony, to Gibbs' surprise) had come up with some possible ideas for how a rescue could go. Ziva, working with Agent Andrews and his team, had come up with some general approaches. They were as ready as they could be without knowing the location. Tim's message only added a sense of urgency. They all knew what he could mean. Tim's mind had broken once and he had worked himself into a stupor. What would happen this time? The fact that he knew he was falling apart didn't give them any comfort. He clearly felt powerless to stop it, and it wasn't as though the people who had taken him cared about his mental health.

Then, in the evening, Gibbs watched Jenny walk across to MTAC. He said nothing. She said nothing. She only glanced down, but the silent exchange led to Tony and Ziva both getting quiet as well.

There was a tense silence as they all waited. Waited for something.

Then, Gibbs' phone rang. He answered, conscious that Tony and Ziva were both staring at him, their desperate hope almost shouting into the silence.

"Gibbs."

"MTAC."

"Tony and Ziva?"

"Bring them, too."

Gibbs tried to keep himself calm, even as he hoped that this was going to be a sign that they had a location, not that Tim had been found dead or something.

He hung up the phone and stood.

"MTAC," he said.

"On your six, Boss," Tony said.

They both followed him up the stairs and into MTAC.

"Gibbs and his team are here, Director Norton," Jenny said, as soon as they stepped into the room.

"Good. I know you're impatient, but you need to see what we've done so you understand the current situation. It will take some time. Please, just be patient."

"Understood," Jenny said, giving the three of them warning looks.

Gibbs did understand. They were not going to antagonize the director of the FBI, even if all they wanted was a location and nothing else.

"Good," Director Norton said.

His image was replaced with a satellite image.

"With the help of the NRO, we got into the satellites and accessed the data of a satellite that was pointed at the general area from the day and time that Agent McGee was taken. Because of the location, in a park with plenty of trees, we had a hard time pinpointing his location. In fact, we went back further and found his car and tracked it to the appropriate area."

Gibbs almost bit his tongue to keep from telling Norton to get on with it. He clearly had a reason for what he was doing.

The image zoomed in until it was close to the trees. There was a hint of a car visible.

"All we had was this to start. That car had been there for two hours before Agent McGee's arrival. Clearly, they knew where to expect Agent McGee, at least to some degree. So they were watching him. Then, this happens."

The image advanced and there was a small flash.

"A car door opening and closing, we believe."

Finally, a car appeared out from under the trees. A gray sedan.

"Virginia plates?" Gibbs asked.

"Yes, so far as we can tell. We never got a really good view of it. That means that we lost the trace multiple times once it was out on the main roads, and it was hard to track in on it again. Gray sedans are far too common. We can't zoom in enough to read the make of the car, and we followed a number of them to different places. Some we've eliminated on the basis of Agent McGee's description, but..."

Then, two different images appeared on the screen. Two large houses, both with open space around them and both in a similar area.

"We don't know which of these it is. Both meet Agent McGee's criteria. We can't see if there are bars on the windows, but they're large houses with open yards, significantly open yards. This breakthrough happened about an hour ago and we need to see if we can get close enough to verify which house it is, but that will take time and could tip our hands if we're seen."

"Have you done anything yet?" Jenny asked.

"No. I'm asking what you would like to do, given that it's your agent we're after."

"What about the CIA? There's a CIA agent, too," Jenny said.

"While I know that we want everyone out, I'm under no illusions that this is about anything other than Agent McGee. Perhaps Bill Joyce as well, but the reason we're all working together is not because of Curtis Jacobs or Bill Joyce. It's because of Tim McGee."

There was a moment of silence and then, it was broken by Tony.

"Could we get Carew in here to look?"

Gibbs looked over at Tony and saw Ziva looking at him like he'd suddenly grown a second head or something. Tony looked embarrassed at the reaction, but he cleared his throat and went on.

"He said that he makes leaps to decisions based on the evidence at hand. And he's smart enough to be right about it."

Jenny hesitated and then looked at Norton.

"Would you be willing to allow Levi Carew to see what you've done?"

Gibbs could see the resistance, but he could also see that it was mostly automatic rather than based on anything specific.

"All right. How long will it take to get him here?"

"He only left a few minutes ago," Gibbs said.

"Okay. Bring him in and I'll let him see the two choices."

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

"We stayed too long today," Bri said.

"Yes," Levi agreed. "But it was necessary."

"They can do this without you, Dad."

Levi laughed tiredly. "Yes, they can, but they'll do it faster with me, as much as they hate to admit it."

His phone rang and he answered.

"I have something," Ray said with no preamble.

Levi sat up, pushing his tiredness to the side.

"What do you have?"

"People talking. About some rich guy who has a huge estate out in Virginia and he wants things done his way."

"A lot of rich people think that way. Actually, a lot of people who aren't rich think that way, too."

"And are offering people money to do something about it?"

"In what way?"

"In a way that has them committing minor crimes and getting paid for it by this rich guy."

"How reliable are these people talking?"

"I don't know. That's not my department. I'm just telling you what they're saying."

"How did you get them to say it to you?"

Levi's phone beeped, signaling another call.

"I told them my sob story...minus the murder."

"Can you go and check out the place?"

"Yes."

"Do it. I'll call back later."

"Fine." Ray hung up.

Then, Levi quickly checked his phone and was surprised to see that it was Gibbs who had called.

"I think we're about to be going back to NCIS."

"Dad..."

"If you insist on driving me home, I'll simply call a taxi to leave again," Levi said. "All you'll do is delay me."

Bri sighed and reluctantly turned the car around.

Levi called Gibbs back.

"Gibbs."

"Agent Gibbs, what can I do for you?" Levi asked.

"Can you come back and look at a house?"

"You have a location?" Levi asked, trying not to get excited.

"Maybe."

"Ah. We'll be there in five minutes."

"Good."

Gibbs hung up.

"Why, Dad?"

"Because I'm needed."

Bri sighed again.

"Being needed is important, Bri," Levi said. "I don't have much I can legitimately do anymore, and if I'm needed in any capacity, then, I'll do it."

"Is that more important than Mom?"

Levi looked over at his daughter. There was no snide expression or tone. It might be a genuine question. He smiled a little.

"Possibly. But if it is, it's only barely."

"You know Mom doesn't want you doing this."

"Yes, I do. But she also knows that I need to, and while she'll be upset that I'm going to be too tired when we get home, she'll understand why I did it."

Silence fell in the car all the way back to NCIS.

They went in, and Levi tried to walk in his usual way, but it was the end of the day and he was out of energy. He'd been out of energy a couple of hours ago but had pushed on. Now...

Bri, no matter her feelings on the situation, put an arm around his waist and helped him walk without comment. Leaning on her allowed him to get into the building without getting completely out of breath. They went up to MTAC and were admitted.

As they walked in, Levi let go of Bri and straightened. She looked a little exasperated, but he needed these people to take him seriously. They wouldn't if he was bent over like an old man.

"What are these houses?" he asked. He knew wasn't completely hiding his weakness, but it was enough.

There are the screen was Director Norton. Levi knew his reaction to the FBI was unreasonable, but he instantly felt more tense when he saw that it was the FBI he was addressing.

"Director?" Jenny asked.

The image of Norton was replaced by two large houses.

"Can I see a wider view of the area, please?" he asked.

"Why?"

"To know where they're located, obviously," Levi said, mildly.

The image magnification decreased. Levi looked for about a minute.

"Now, could you zoom back in to the previous level?"

There was a pause and the images went back to their previous views. Levi thought of what Ray had just told him. A really wealthy guy who wants to take over the government, force his views, believing he was right. He wouldn't trust people to stay off his property because he believed the government was out to get him.

And it is, but only because of what he's doing now, Levi thought to himself.

He looked more closely and thought of Tim's specific words.

"Large house. Open yard. Second-floor bars," he murmured to himself. "His room faces a wide open space. But if it was forested close by, he may not have described it that way. This house seems to abut a small field. There are no trees close to the house, but there is plenty of forest far out. This other home does have a large open yard, but not significantly large. Not large enough that Tim would feel the need to mention it specifically. We could still get close to that house without being seen. It would just be more difficult."

Then, he pointed to the larger house.

"This one, and I have someone checking out a place he tracked down from a slightly different angle. I expect to hear from him anytime. I'll have him verify that this is the same group, but I know you'll start to move people out there to set things up."

"How confident are you, Carew?" Norton asked.

"As confident as I ever am about things like this, but the nice part is that we can verify it quickly. And when I'm right, you'll be that much further ahead."

There were some near eyerolls, and Levi was glad of it. They weren't thinking of him as weak and in need of care. He was just aggravating.

"I'll let you know when my scout has found it. If there's nothing else–?"

"No. Thank you, Mr. Carew," Jenny said.

Levi turned and left MTAC, Bri right behind him. He was glad because, once he left the room, he sagged and might have fallen if she hadn't been there to help.

"Thank you," he said softly.

"You're going home, now, Dad. No more arguments. I don't care what you think you need to do. All you're doing is going home."

"I can hardly protest right now," Levi said.

"Good. Let's go."

As he headed home, even through his exhaustion, Levi felt the first stirrings of hope that he would be able to do for Tim what Tim had been willing to do for him.