DEEP SIX: ROCK HOLLOW

Special Agent Bobby McGregor sat with a tired smile at his desk filling out his latest case report. His unit had been under investigation by the DEA in a baseless witch hunt thinking L.J. Tibbs' team was covering up evidence from their major drug bust two weeks prior. Now that the team was cleared from any wrongdoing, McGregor was looking forward to catching up with Ryan. It had been days since they'd last seen each other, but they hadn't had much time to make up after their fight. Their workloads and stress from their jobs had kept them apart, though they were finally able to have an entire weekend to themselves. He could begin relaxing again, which was sorely needed.

McGregor heard ringing and instantly reached for his desk phone, but then realized he'd forgotten to switch his phone to Vibrate. He reached into his pocket and smiled when the caller ID read 'Ryan Matthews' on the screen. He quickly looked around to make sure no one was paying attention to him, then answered.

"Hey," he whispered. "How are you?"

There was a brief pause, then the man's familiar but exhausted voice replied, "I think I'm okay, it's been a bit of a day. How about you?"

"That bad again, huh?" he replied. "My day has been okay, just finishing my report from the interrogations."

"Sounds fun as always," Ryan joked, seeming to lighten a little bit. "Are you able to slip out for a quick lunch?"

McGregor smiled. "I think so, but you know how it is. I might have to leave in the middle."

Ryan chuckled through the phone. "Oh, I know. How about McGinty's? I need those killer-"

"-Killer wings," McGregor completed with him, remembering well the place where he and Ryan had their first date. "Sounds good. I'll be there in an hour."

"I'll be waiting. Bye."

"Bye," McGregor whispered and hung up.

He quickly sped through the rest of his report, now motivated with getting food and seeing Ryan sooner. Tibbs had stepped away from the bullpen, so McGregor left the report on his desk and turned to Tommy while putting on his coat.

"Hey, I'm heading out for lunch, shouldn't be too long. Let me know if we get a case."

Tommy notched up his eyebrow with intrigue. "I take it you and Ryan made up, then?"

McGregor thought of replying, but instead gave a coy smile and strolled down the stairs and out to his car. He saw Ryan's silver truck parked outside the bar and sprinted happily inside. He looked around the nearly empty bar and quickly found Ryan sitting in a booth with his right leg propped up on the seat and his head leaning back against the wall, his eyes closed and face relaxed. McGregor quietly walked up to him and leaned against the booth. There was a glass with a few drops of whiskey left and a basket of thoroughly stripped chicken wings on the table, and Ryan's shirt was unbuttoned under his sport coat.

"You know," McGregor began, "I know you can hold your liquor, so those wings must've been spiked for you to look like this."

Ryan opened his eyes and shot an uneasy smirk at McGregor. "Oh please, Bobby, you know I only get day-drunk when my favorite bands break up."

Bobby grinned as he pulled Ryan out of the booth and into an embrace. He still was getting used to hearing other people say his first name, and it sounded nice coming from Ryan instead of Amy. It also sounded better than Amy shouting out 'Robert' whenever he was in trouble, which Ryan never did. Ryan gave him a quick, tender kiss, then led him to sit in the other side of the booth. Between the strange look Ryan gave him and the fact that Ryan had eaten before he had gotten there, he could tell that the man was troubled about something and quickly became concerned.

"Is everything okay?" he asked.

Ryan chewed his lip, then looked up worriedly. "I made a decision today, and I think it was the right choice, but it's… not good for us. I quit the NSA."

Bobby's eyes widened as he took it in. "Wow, that's huge. I know you said you weren't really happy there, so this is good, right?"

"Yeah, that's part of it," Ryan replied with a half-smile. "But the other thing…" he paused and gave a heavy sigh, but steadied his gaze into Bobby's eyes and completed, "Last week, a software company in San Jose offered me a job, and I'm thinking of accepting it."

"S-San Jose," Bobby stuttered, his jaw and stomach both starting to drop. "That's… wow."

Ryan tightened his lips nervously. "Yeah. It's really something. It pays practically three times what I make at the NSA, but more importantly it's real research and development, creating something, not spying or tracking people down. I just… I just don't know what that means for us."

Bobby looked down at the table, then slowly glanced back up to Ryan and took one of his hands in his. "I don't know. We've only really been together for a couple of months, but… you know I love you and I want you to be happy."

"I love you too," Ryan replied. "I… I just remember what you said about Amy, and that it was something real even though nothing ever happened. Neither of you were ready before, but you both are now. If I'm out of the way, maybe it would give you that chance to make it work and you could be happy together."

"No," Bobby urged, trying to keep his voice down. "It'll never happen between me and her. I just want you."

Ryan shut his eyes and breathed deeply. "That just makes this harder, then." He propped his elbow on the table and hid his face in his hands. "I don't want to leave you, but I can't stay here in DC. I don't belong here."

Bobby thought about it for a moment. "What if I came with you?"

Ryan gave a confused frown. "Bobby… that's crazy. We've only been together for a couple of months. You have family, friends, the team, all of your work, it's all here. You can't just uproot like that for someone like… I'm not…"

"Don't you dare say you're not worth it," Bobby sternly cut him off and squeezed his hand tightly. "You've done so much for me and not just as a boyfriend. You kept me from throwing away my career doing something stupid just to figure out what the DEA was really after from my team."

"And now I'm asking you not to throw it away just for someone you just met," Ryan pleaded. "I've been thinking about this for a while, and I know this is the right thing for me. I just don't know how – or if – we can make it work."

Bobby paused and looked around at the bar, the thought suddenly occurring to him. "That's why you wanted to meet here. We first got together here, and now we're breaking up here. It's symmetrical."

Ryan hung his head. "I guess. I do love you, and I know I'll never love anyone the way I love you. But I wanted to leave it up to you, if we just make the most of whatever time I have left here, or… if we just stop, pull away quickly like ripping off a band-aid."

Bobby drew in a shaky breath, feeling winded by the sudden change. It took a minute for him to find his voice. "I don't really know. I really didn't picture this being what you were going to tell me."

"I know. I wasn't sure what I was going to do until today," Ryan admitted.

Bobby started feeling uncomfortable and awkward, not knowing what to say and in no condition to order anything to eat. His stomach was in knots and he was trying to keep himself from shuddering with nerves. He had to leave. "I… um… I should get back to the office. Can I think about it? I just need a little time to process all of this."

Ryan nodded, but said nothing as Bobby collected himself and walked briskly out of the bar.

Bobby slammed his car door shut and thudded his head against his steering wheel. After a moment he tried to recompose himself for work and began driving back. He had been thinking of transferring, but thought he had all the reasons to stay. Every aspect of his life flashed through his mind as he drove.

He'd dealt with his feelings for Amy, and he'd made his choice. He thought he had a future with Ryan, but now Ryan was leaving. Amy still had feelings which made things awkward, but it was nothing they weren't going to handle. He'd made his peace after discovering the secrets his teammates were keeping from him, but he also knew he couldn't advance on the team as long as Tommy was around as the Senior Agent, and he didn't seem to want to go anywhere. He had a good relationship with his sister, but she was fiercely independent and didn't often need his help. The job he thought about was down in L.A., not even that close to San Jose; but it was at least on the same side of the country and in the same state. He didn't think he'd ever meet someone like Ryan, and he didn't want to; he wanted the real thing. But realistically he had only known him for a few weeks, and he never made any decisions while overly emotional like he was now. He couldn't ask Ryan to stay just for him, which is the same reason why Ryan wouldn't let him move away.

He sauntered into work and into the elevator, completely unaware of anyone around him. He shuffled back to his desk, ignoring both Tommy and Lisa, and stared at his blank computer screen while his mind reeled. He remembered that he had the transfer form still in his desk drawer, and that he still hadn't signed it because he wasn't sure. He could go, but he had just as many reasons to stay. He knew that facing the option would help him decide, so he pulled out the folder and stared at the page. The empty signature line stared intensely at him as he decided his fate.

NCIS

Tim grinned happily as he pulled the last page from the typewriter. He looked over at Jay, who was laying on the warm carpet of the bedroom blinking sleep from his eyes while he waited for Tim to go to bed.

"I promise, this is the last late writing night," Tim reminded his dog.

It was just past midnight into Saturday, and Tim had just churned out the last of the chapters he needed to finish the book. He didn't get his previous pages or his computer back from the FBI until late Thursday evening after the FBI's interrogations about La Grenouille were over, and he was relieved to find that no pages were missing or out of order. He had called Riley as he had promised and confirmed that he wouldn't be able to stay at the cabin for long, but Riley still wanted him to come. Tim hadn't asked because he didn't want Riley to make any decisions until after he'd read the book. He got the idea to leave the book open-ended when thinking about how things were with Riley, and how Riley needed to figure out what he wanted. To emphasize it for Riley, he took two blank pieces of paper and put them just after the end, hoping Riley would see it as an opportunity to fill in his idea for how they should go forward. Tim felt good about their chances of continuing their relationship and he wanted Riley to know that he'd be there no matter what.

He skimmed through the pages again one last time looking for the stray punctuation and spelling errors. Like his last book, it wasn't an overly thick novel like some mystery and crime books, but he was happy with the quantity and quality of his work. He just hoped his publisher and his audience would feel the same.

Tim stood up and stretched, which Jay learned was the nightly signal for "I'm finally done writing, let's go for a walk before bed." After Jay had been relieved outside, they both went through their nightly routines of Tim brushing his teeth and Jay patrolling the apartment for unattended food. As Tim lay back in bed, his eyes stayed glued open staring at the ceiling, wanting it to already be morning so he could see Riley again.

NCIS

Abby stirred in her sleeping bag, at first not minding the hard ground underneath her, but then gradually wishing she were back in her own bed. She saw light seeping through the drab, olive-green side of her tent indicating that it was possibly her last full day. It was hard enough getting to sleep last night knowing she was less than 48 hours away from being either killed or spared, and her wits were strained further as her internal timer fell below 36 hours. She had taken all the precautions she could, though Ari shooting the windows of her lab only a few years ago reminded her that it only took one bullet to end it all.

She reached across the small tent into her backpack and retrieved the satellite phone Director Shepard gave her, then checked her watch. At 7:30 AM, it was just early enough to justify a distraction. She powered on the phone, then dialed one of the rarely-used extensions for her lab at NCIS. The call then connected through the modem card on one of the spare computers she kept in the back of her lab. The computer had nothing else connected, not even a monitor for anyone to know it was useable, but it stayed quietly powered on. She heard a handshake tone from the modem card, pressed the number 1, and hung up. The computer then remotely connected to her laptop at her apartment and started a timer. In 30 minutes, a set of pre-programmed macros would start the mouse on her laptop moving and clicking around to make it appear as though she were checking her emails and browsing the internet for tattoo designs at home. She smiled as she hoped someone tracking her would take that to mean she was back home, or at worst appearing at NCIS, giving her a few extra hours to scout out a new spot without someone watching her.

She sifted through her change of clothes in her backpack and tightened her pigtails before plotting a new course on her map of Black Ridge Woods. She knew she had one more night to go before having to really hide, and she wanted to make sure there was no way she'd get lost.

NCIS

The two hours between when Tim programmed Riley's cabin into his GPS and when he pulled into the long driveway only seemed to last seconds. His head had been wrapped up in worry about what mood Riley would be in when he arrived, if he was dressed too casually, if Jay would handle a long drive well, and how long he should stay, though none of those questions were answered by 10 AM when he saw the large house perched on the hill. As he approached he noticed a silver Ford sedan parked outside of the garage where Riley's truck was parked. Riley hadn't told him anyone else was coming when they spoke on Thursday night, and his stomach lurched wondering who it could be.

He gripped the thick yellow envelope holding his typed manuscript and wondered if it was a mistake driving out just to deliver it, but he wanted Riley to read it before it was sent out for publishing and didn't want to wait until he was done work for the weekend. Jay leapt out of the car and began sniffing at the new smells, pulling Tim along by the leash. Tim noticed the air had warmed up significantly since the last weekend, and he started seeing more buds appearing in the trees and plants near the house. They reached the front door and Tim knocked, but he didn't see any movement inside. The kitchen appeared empty through the doors, though he saw a black purse and an empty bottle of champagne sitting on the kitchen counter.

As Tim looked around, he heard a woman's laugh coming from the back of the house, so he followed the deck around to the back until he saw Riley sitting at the patio table with a woman he didn't recognize. Riley was wearing a gray Blink-182 tank top and black running shorts, but the woman was seated with her back to Tim so he couldn't see what she looked like in detail. They both also wore sunglasses as they sat in the sun, and each sipped from a champagne flute with what looked like orange juice inside.

Riley smiled when he saw Tim and Jay, then downed the last of his glass before standing up to give Tim a hug and a quick kiss. "Hey, Tim! You made it! And this must be Jay!" He let Jay sniff his hand before bending down and running his fingers through the dog's fur. "He's a good boy!"

Tim smiled, feeling a little more at ease. "Yeah, I was worried he wouldn't like the long drive, but he did just fine."

The woman called over, "He's cute. So is the dog."

At that angle, Tim had a better view of the woman. She had a shorter frame than Riley and had thick, wavy black hair tucked to one side that contrasted her pale skin. She wore a red halter top bikini containing her large bust, with short denim shorts and a boot cast on her right foot which she propped up on one of the other chairs. Her round face held an evaluating look as her piercing hazel eyes thoroughly scanned Tim over the rim of her black sunglasses.

"This is Sabrina," Riley explained as he gestured to her. "Sabrina, this is Tim."

Tim smiled nervously. "Hi. You're Riley's friend who designed his apartment?"

She smiled slyly. "Yeah. And you're Riley's boyfriend that said his ex's name during sex and made me drive out here to listen to his existential crisis over wine and Harry Potter?"

Tim was dumbstruck and his jaw slackened in stunned silence as he tried to formulate an answer, but Riley intervened with a voice full of sarcasm directed at her.

"Don't you have to go home?"

"And miss this? Hell no," she continued with mischievous delight. She reached her hand up to Tim. "My ankle is busted and I'm way too relaxed in this chair to slap you. I'll let you off light and let you bash your face against my palm. Sound good?"

Riley rolled his eyes and swatted her hand away. "Can you go five minutes without slapping someone?"

"Can't help that I'm Italian," she shrugged.

"You're also Irish," Riley retorted with a smirk, "so shut it and drink your mimosa."

"'Shutting it' is not in my repertoire. But hey, cheers." She smiled and sat back in her chair, raising her glass to her lips without taking her eyes off Tim.

Riley turned to Tim and whispered with a smile, "She only pretends to be mad to cover up how much she loves cheap wine and Harry Potter. All bark, no bite. Usually. Well… sometimes."

Tim chortled and sat next to Riley and across from Sabrina at the table, taking a quick glance at the view of the valley on the sunny day. He quickly checked on Jay, who was circling the table sniffing everything he could, then Tim reached over to Riley and handed him the thick yellow envelope. "Here it is, Rock Hollow. It's the only copy, so just be careful."

Riley held the envelope and looked at Tim endearingly. "You know you didn't have to do this."

"I know," Tim replied, slipping his hand over Riley's. "But you know I wanted to anyway."

Riley's cheeks flushed and he set the envelope down away from his drink. "I'll take good care of it, don't worry."

Sabrina's face lit up and she reached for the envelope. "Oh, a new book! Let me see!"

"Oh no you don't!" Riley swiped it up and held it out of her reach. "Need I quote the Stanford Bookworm Accords of 1994?"

"Ugh!" She groaned disgustedly. "Don't say that year, it seems like so long ago and makes me feel old." She took another urgent drink of her mimosa.

Tim raised a curious eyebrow as he watched, then asked, "Bookworm Accords?"

Riley grinned at Sabrina then looked back at Tim, snickering while trying to explain, "Heh, yeah. We kept stealing each other's books when we were in the same dorm in college. She was taking Pre-Law needed to draw up a trade agreement for a class, so we came up with ideas. One of them was that we agreed to not steal books that were gifts until the person had read it all the way through."

"Those were the good ol' days," Sabrina sighed happily. "I was upset after a breakup, he was the nearest gay guy with books, chocolate, and a pot connection. It was best friendship at first sight."

Tim's eyes widened in intrigued shock as he looked from Sabrina to Riley. "You smoked weed in college? You were quite the rebel, weren't you?"

"It was a California college in the 90's. Everyone smoked weed," Riley shrugged bashfully, then stood up. "Come on, let's get this inside before she unhinges her jaw and tries to swallow the book whole."

Tim smiled and took his hand to walk with him, but Sabrina protested.

"Wait, don't leave! I haven't gotten to interrogate him yet! How do we know if we like him?"

Riley turned back to her while walking backwards towards the door to the living room. "He has a job and writes books for fun. And a bonus, he's six-foot-two and his shoe size is 12. Think about that for your drive home," he added with a grin.

Her mouth dropped into a scandalous smile which she partially hid with her hand. "Oh my…"

At first Tim didn't understand what Riley meant, but then his eyes shot wide open and his face flushed violently purple when he realized Riley was alluding to Tim's endowment. Riley pulled him and Jay into the house as Sabrina stretched out on the patio chairs, continuing to sun herself.

With two of the six large living room windows open, cool mountain air flowed through the house giving Tim an invigorating chill. Jay eagerly pulled on his leash to sniff around the house, and with the doors closed Tim felt it was safe enough to let him roam. Riley set the envelope down on the desk, then turned around and leaned back against the edge of the desk with his arms folded. Tim walked over and leaned against the arm of the sofa facing him.

"She's something," Riley admitted with a smile. "I think she likes you though."

Tim chuckled nervously. "I hope so. I didn't know she'd be here."

"Yeah, it was kinda a last-minute thing. I thought I wanted to be alone, but then when I got here I felt too alone, so I called her," Riley explained. "We bust on each other a lot, but she's a great listener. She knows how to be there and just let me calm down, yet somehow kick my ass into gear all at the same time."

"Abby's like that with me, too," Tim replied. He noticed that Riley seemed to have a bit more spark than the last time he saw him, but he wasn't sure what to do next. He could sense tension take over the relaxed air between them. "I guess I just thought you and I would get to talk, or that you'd read a little bit while I was here. I thought we'd be alone."

Riley shrugged and took the package in his hand. "To be honest, I… I didn't know what to expect with the book. When you said you wanted to make things work but then that you couldn't stay long, I didn't know if that meant you ended the story where we… well, ended up the other day, or if it would be an extended Dear John letter. Do you know I was never this bad at overthinking until I met you?" he laughed uncomfortably.

Tim chuckled but kept his arms folded. "Well the spoiler I'll give you is that it's not a Dear John letter, I promise. I-I just," he paused and tried to collect his thoughts. "It's like when talking about a computer program or a crime scene, you need all the details to really understand what's happening. I guess I just wanted that same attention to all the details and for people to really see everything between us. And the best way I can do that is through writing and setting the scene. Making sure you got it today and putting an end to your overthinking is worth the long drive here and back."

"You know," Riley began with a snicker, "not many people can get away with comparing relationships to crime scene details, but the rest of it does make it sound very sweet."

Tim grinned sheepishly and rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean. But I was kinda surprised you invited me out here at all. I know how much this place means to you and I didn't think you'd want me back here so soon."

Riley looked away and set the package back on the desk. "I guess I thought if we got to talk, even for just a few minutes, it would make things right – especially if I wasn't going to see you again."

Tim's smile fell and his arms tightened in their fold. "So… you're still not sure about us? Being back together?"

"I know what I want," Riley replied and looked back at Tim with his eyes glistening. "I just don't want to be the one that keeps you from being happy."

Tim's gut pushed him towards the other man, all but screaming for him to be assertive. He smiled cautiously and straightened up, then slowly approached Riley and placed his hand on Riley's cheek. "It's because of you that I know how to be happy. I'm not letting you go."

He leaned down and planted a soft kiss on Riley's lips, which Riley drank in and pulled Tim closer by his shirt. The desk creaked against the pressure as they rocked back and forth, tongues dancing and hands grabbing to bind their bodies together. As the tension released from the two of them, they both breathed sighs of relief. Riley snaked his arms around Tim's waist and rested his head against his chest. Tim breathed contently and gently wrapped his arms around Riley, keeping him close. He felt no hesitation from Riley and felt good about his choice to drive two hours each way.

Tim let himself relax into the hug and ran his fingers up into Riley's hair. He put his lips against Riley's ear and whispered, "When you're reading the book, there's something I want you to know: Everything in the story between your character and mine is true about you and me. Everything that happened and everything that could, it's all true. I left an extra couple of pages at the end, you'll understand why."

"Okay," Riley softly but hesitantly replied, and nuzzled up to the crook of Tim's neck.

The door to the deck opened and Sabrina limped in with the help of her crutches. She rolled her eyes at the sight of the two embracing. "Ugh, gross."

Tim felt the man's grin against his chest when Riley gave a muffled retort, "Be jealous, cripple."

Sabrina gave a smart smile back and an approving look at Tim, then passed them with a click of her crutches. "That'll cost you another bottle of red on top of the one I was planning on stealing anyway."

Tim felt confident about their future based on what Riley was saying, and while his gut told him to stay, he knew he needed to get back in case the team got a case. He kissed Riley on his forehead and whispered, "I should probably go too."

"So soon?" Riley asked, still hesitant but wanting. "It's a long drive."

"Yeah, but it was worth getting to see you and hold you again," Tim replied with another nuzzle of their heads together. "Besides, you know how it is in our line of work."

Riley squeezed his arms around Tim, then tilted his head up. His lips tentatively met Tim's, searching and feeling along the familiar territory. He slipped his fingertips under the waistband of Tim's jeans. "Are you sure you don't have a few minutes? I've really missed you."

Tim hummed with lust, wanting nothing more than to stay, take Riley upstairs, and reunite them fully. His gut told him to stay, but his mind kept pulling his thoughts back to his responsibilities. "I really wish I could, but I have to go. I promise, though, once you're back home, I'm all yours."

Riley slowly released Tim and stepped back, then kept their hands together for a moment as he looked up at him. "Let me know that you get back safe. I'll probably keep my phone off for tonight and unplug a little bit while I read, but I'll call you once I've finished the book."

Tim smiled, then called out, "Jay! Let's go."

Jay's leash jingled as he trotted back from the kitchen over to Tim, where Riley bent down to give him a thorough rub behind the ears.

"He really is cute," Riley grinned playfully. "Don't go picking up too many guys with him before I'm back."

"I think I can manage that," Tim quipped with another smile. "I love you."

Riley smiled and kissed him softly again. "I love you too."

Tim was glad to have said it again and heard it again, so with renewed confidence he took Jay by the leash and walked back to his car, hoping and praying the end of their story would not resemble the last scene he wrote in the book.

NCIS

Abby didn't want the sun to come up that morning. She didn't want to be wide awake for the entire night listening for the sound of footsteps or snapping branches, but she was. This was the day where she would have to run, and not even know if she were in danger until sunset. She wanted to call Director Shepard and stay locked in her lab at NCIS for a whole month if it meant she wouldn't have to be alone in the Black Ridge Woods.

She struggled to get herself packed, her hands shaking with fear as she pried the tent posts from the ground. Every sound seemed to be amplified a hundred times louder than she used to hear them. As she hiked across the slopes of the park, Abby wondered if Shepard would give her a raise for going through with this operation under the radar. The train of thought helped distract her from the violent quivering of her insides as she counted down the hours until she would hear her satellite phone ring.

NCIS

Saturday came and went with no call for a Major Crimes case, and nothing waited for the team as they sauntered in on that Sunday morning. The whole team had been glad that there was no call waiting for them as they were without both Abby and Gibbs. They could still process evidence without Abby, but she definitely had the team beat for efficiency. Gibbs' absence was almost expected after he repeatedly disappeared throughout the previous day with no explanation.

Sunday found the McGee wandering in wearing jeans and a zip-up Navy hoodie, his usual "casual workday" attire. He felt slightly frustrated in that he would've been able to sleep with Riley before coming back on Saturday, yet he knew it was better to be safe than sorry. As he was pouring his coffee, he imagined Riley stretched out on one of the sofas in the cabin's living room reading the final version of Rock Hollow, wearing the glasses Tim loved seeing him wear. He was anxious to hear what Riley thought of the book so far, but Riley still hadn't reached out.

The hours slowly ticked by and the sun made its way down to the horizon. Even Tony got bored of his own machinations at McGee's expense as the three agents sat waiting and completing whatever busywork they could find. It seemed to take an hour for the clock to tick from 4:59 PM to 5:00 PM, but when it did, McGee, Tony, and Ziva each sped from the building to do all the things they each had planned while they waited for their shift to end.

Director Shepard watched the trio leave from her usual spot upstairs near MTAC. Her eyes were fierce and focused if only to hide the conflict of knowing one of that team's members was now on the run for her life, and they had no idea. She still didn't know who the target would be, but she would soon find out.

She turned back to the door to MTAC and let the blue light scan her eye, which then unlocked the door with a hiss. MTAC was slightly darker than usual as the main screen was completely black. Two Cyber Crimes agents manned a long communications console to the left of the screen and the theater-like seats. Propped on the console was a new-looking laptop with several cables running to it, and a silver USB drive connected to one of the ports.

"Seal the room," Shepard commanded to one of the agents. "Let's get started."

As clamps clicked into place around the exit door, the agent to the left of the laptop pressed its power button. The main screen at the front of the room flashed with OMNI's large, white computer power symbol. The boot sequence ran through its usual steps but did not require an identification number typical to OMNI laptops. Once it completed, it automatically brought up a conference program with several participants present, each represented by icons on the left sided of the screen. The right side held an empty gray section with the text "Target Profile" above it. The agents on either side of the laptop furiously tapped at their keyboards, both attempting to trace the connections but meeting with little success.

Tim still hadn't heard from Riley while he was on his way home. Jay waited dutifully for him inside the apartment, but Tim rushed past him into the kitchen to check his answering machine in case Riley left a message there. His heart rose into his throat when he saw one message flashing on the machine, and he laughed giddily when he saw it. Jay tilted his head to the side at his master's odd behavior and squeaked.

"Just a second, Jay. I have to hear this, then we'll go outside."

He took a deep breath and pressed the 'Play' button.

"YOU HAVE ONE NEW MESSAGE. FIRST MESSAGE: SATURDAY, 4:25 PM"

"Hey, Tim," Riley's soft voice made Tim's heart jump with anticipation. "I know you're probably working right now so I figured it'd be best to leave the message here. I finished reading the book. It's… amazing."

Tim exhaled with relief and put his hand on his chest, hoping to stabilize his pulse.

In MTAC, Director Shepard watched as the icons on the left of the screen were replaced with a large topographical map of the globe. An overhead satellite image was then superimposed over the map, followed by several red dots being placed around the globe. The red dots were labeled "Target." She prayed Abby had a plan to escape in case it was her.

Abby squinted to see through the trees, wondering if she had heard someone following her. She knew she had a secret weapon, but she was no match for an assassin if one were after her. There was still no call ringing on her satellite phone.

Riley's message on Tim's machine continued, "I… I'm really proud that you wrote Matthews as a man, as me, and that you were still willing to show McGregor falling for him. I also love that you gave him angel wings as the tattoo instead of the dragon. That conflict of Heaven and Hell embodied by Matthews and Amy is something I think that all of your readers will be able to relate to, not just you and me. It's deeper than anything else I've ever seen you write."

The box on the right of the MTAC screen filled as a profile began loading. It detailed the target and included a headshot. A breath caught in Shepard's chest as she read over the profile and watched the map, which zoomed into the eastern United States. A phone number highlighted on the profile, and a tracking program began running the number on the screen.

Abby checked her watch and decided it was time to quicken her pace. She kept moving across trails, never staying in the open for too long, and keeping an eye out for any landmarks she'd recognize from her map.

"You wrote that McGregor was ready to give up everything for Matthews, and you said that everything that's true for them is true for us. I never knew that you were thinking of leaving the team because of what happened with Gibbs. Leaving NCIS, running away from my problems and my feelings, is still the greatest regret of my life. It was my home, home in a way no other place has been able to be. It's too late for me to go back, but it's not too late for you to stay."

Shepard watched as the map zoomed onto the selected target and updated its live location. Then it zoomed out and two blue dots appeared a few miles on either side of the Target, each labeled "Asset." The program provided the live location of each and updated as they each moved, the program alerting the Assets to the Target's location. Shepard clutched her phone in her hand and quickly typed a message.

Abby couldn't tell if a deer was trailing along with her or if there were just a lot of small animals around her. Branches were rustling and snapping far back behind her, so she slowly ducked behind a tree. The rustling and snapping continued.

"You left McGregor's fate unresolved, and I guess that's because you don't know what it'll mean for your career as a writer or as a federal agent if you publish this. I can't fill in those blank pages because I don't know what'll happen either, Tim. But just the fact that you're willing to publish this for me… I can't tell you how amazing that makes me feel."

"Tell me you have something," Shepard barked urgently at one of the agents.

"I'm trying, ma'am," the agent replied meekly. "It's really tough encryption."

One of the Assets drew closer to the Target. Shepard's heart jumped as the map on the large screen dropped to one corner and a video feed started buffering in its place.

Abby's gut told her to start running, not just hiking. She knew the steps she heard weren't wildlife. She drew a red handkerchief from her pocket and let it trail down from her hand for a moment, then let it go as she broke into a run.

"I always believed that taking myself out of the equation would always be better off for the people around me, and it made running away easier. I don't think I believe that anymore because of you. You're my reason to stay."

Abby saw the figure dressed in dark camouflage as she crouched in some thick foliage. She saw the gun and the long barrel of a suppressor extending from it as the assassin circled around, his gaze piercing the darkness. Abby's phone rang, and man lifted his gun in her direction.

The video loaded on the MTAC screen from a camera on the dashboard of an SUV. A fleeing motorcyclist ahead raced onto a grated metal bridge and caught a small bump, sending sparks towards the SUV's windshield as it landed and continued. Another blue Asset dot appeared on the small map as a pair of headlights turned into the camera's sight on the other side of the bridge, blocking the motorcycle's path. Shepard watched in horror as the SUV veered and its camera's feed cut to static, but the audio betrayed the unmistakable crunching and smashing of metal.

"I love you, Tim, and I'm done running away. Whatever you decide to do with the book, publishing it with us in it or rewriting it to work with your publisher, I'll be there. I'll be back tomorrow night and I'd really like to spend it with you. I'm gonna ride around the mountain for a while and catch the sunset. I'll call you in the morning and we can talk then. Goodnight, Tim… I love you."

Tim breathed easier after hearing Riley's message. Riley loved him and they would move forward together. With a smile he leashed up Jay for his evening walk. He rubbed Jay behind his ears and told him, "That's right, buddy. Everything will be just fine," as they headed out the door.

Shepard tried to hide the quakes of rage and horror rippling through her body as the live camera feed reconnected to the scene on the metal bridge.

Abby trembled as she watched blood run down the assassin's camouflaged face from a bullet hole in his forehead. She jumped as the bushes rustled and Gibbs emerged, also camouflaged and bearing his sniper rifle. She looked from him to her would-be killer, then to her phone's lit screen with the message from Director Shepard, "You're safe, come back in."

The front wheel of Riley's smashed motorcycle slowly spun to a halt over the dried riverbed as the SUVs drove away from the bridge overhead.