Chapter 8 – Jimmy Has a Plan

"Jimmy, I don't know about this," Abby said, nervously. Tim glanced at his almost-brother-in-law, and grinned triumphantly. Swinging Palmer to his side hadn't been that hard, he just had to convince him that he'd talk to Jasmine for him. Timothy McGee knew his baby sister and knew his way around her moods – he'd successfully navigated his way around them for nearly 25 years, now.

Abby and Ziva, now they were a tougher sell. "The GPS in the glasses should work, obviously we can't rely on the GPS in my phone," Tim said, as he put them on. "Well, how do I look?"

"All you need is your turtleneck and you really would look like an English professor," Ziva said, admiringly. "Now, you've got my backup weapon?"

Tim put his foot on a chair and hiked up his pant leg. "Right here."

"Holy cow," Abby suddenly said. "Guys, check this out. The owner of that coffee shop, the one with a portal into the next dimension that keeps sucking our people up… it's owned by a woman from Gibbs' past. One of his ex-wives." The group walked en-masse over to where Abby was doing a computer search on the coffee shop. "Well, that explains… pretty much everything," Jimmy commented, to nobody in particular.

"Hey, do they know that Duckman has a new assistant? I mean, you're clearly not new, Jims, but… maybe new to them?"

"Abby, if anything happens to Palmer, my sister will kill me. Slowly. Does drawn and quartered mean anything to you?" Tim was clearly apprehensive about what his wife was suggesting.

"Hey, if it means helping to get Dr. Mallard back, I'm up for it. You're right, I'm a pretty obscure member of this team. I doubt they'd know who I am. They might know Tim, though." Jimmy seemed more than willing to try, in spite of Tim's hesitation.

"Hmmm… were you transferred from Norfolk before, or after, Gibbs' last divorce was finalized?" Ziva asked, curiously.

"Well after the fact," Tim answered her, thinking. "So, they might not know who I am, either. Jimmy, you up for this?"

"All for one, one for all, and hopefully, if we're careful… not five for five," he said, with a shrug. "Anyway, I've got an idea…"

……………………………………………………………………………

The woman behind the counter looked up by force of habit, as the doors to her coffee shop opened. She watched a vaguely familiar tall young man with short, sandy hair enter, and choose a seat.

She searched her memory briefly, trying to remember where she'd seen him before, but came up empty, until she approached him and he ordered a latte.

"I'm sorry, Sir, but you look so familiar, I just can't place you," she said with a warm smile and a sheepish giggle. Timothy McGee looked at her cautiously, shaking his head. "I think I was here with my wife several months ago. We were on our way home from the hospital with our newborn daughter." The red-haired woman shook her head, only vaguely remembering this young man. "Grande or regular?" she finally asked, giving up on her sketchy memory. Tim smiled again, "Grande, please. Thank you. Oh, and could you put that in a take-out cup, please?" The woman nodded politely, as he thanked her, then sat back and waited.

He watched in his peripheral vision as the door opened again, and another young man entered. Tim saw the woman look up again, towards the entrance, as she watched Jimmy Palmer approach the counter with a picture in his hand.

"Uh, excuse me, Ma'am, could you tell me if you've seen this gentleman in here?" Tim reached up and pretended to scratch his head as he adjusted the ear piece he wore. He carefully observed as the woman tried unsuccessfully to hide a look of brief alarm. "I'm sorry, Sir, I don't think I have. I see a lot of customers in one day, I'm sure you understand." Jimmy nodded, regretfully. "I see," he said, turning around. Right on cue, he locked eyes with Tim for a brief split second, and then turned back to the woman. "Could you tell me where the men's room is, Ma'am?"

Tim took out his phone and pretended to talk into it, as he spoke to Abby through the wire. "Got a lock on him, Abs? He's in position. I think she's suspicious enough to take him."

"Stand by, Babe… Yeah, I've got him, he's locked and loaded. Ziva's watching you. The camera in Jimmy's glasses is operational, as well. You guys are cleared for take-off," he heard her giggle briefly.

Tim reached up and fiddled with something behind his ear, pretending to adjust the glasses he himself wore. "Palmer, she take the bait?"

Jimmy turned to look at his general direction, and reached up to scratch his nose. Tim smiled. "He's ready, Abs," he whispered, as he pushed a button on his phone. He managed to close it just in time for his order to arrive.

Quietly, he sat and waited, and watched as Jimmy disappeared into the men's room. "Next dimension, here he comes," he muttered to himself, under his breath.