"What just happened?" The armed guard immediately went on full alert. McGee could hear the safety click off the machine gun the guard was holding.

"Power's out, the back up should kick in any moment." Both their voices carried across the large room. They waited silently for the back up generator to bathe them in green light."Are you so sure about that Special Agent McGee?"

"Well, I've never been in a situation like this; I'm just going by what I know about the procedures set in place here." They both turned to the large metal doors when someone began banging on the opposite side of the door. "That's my partner, Greg," the guard explained, reciprocating the banging sound to let his partner know he was all right.

McGee fished into a pocket for his cell-phone. He sighed slightly as the open cell lit up his face. He wasn't really afraid of the dark, but it was reassuring to have a little light. "I've got a little signal, how about you?"

The guard reached into his shirt pocket and flipped open his own cell phone. "I've got enough." He began punching in the numbers for his partner's cell phone. "Greg, all the power's
out…yeah I know…call dispatch and tell 'em there's going to be a hold up …I don't know how long...no, the prisoner's still en route somewhere-"

"Get him to check the external power lines that go into the building," McGee interrupted. Hopefully their man on the outside could help them get the power back on.

"You here that?" The guard looked up at McGee. "Where is it?"

"Southside of the building"

"Southside of the building Greg, see what the damage is; the sooner the power's back on, the sooner we can get this scumbag to Leavenworth…okay, talk to you in ten." He slammed the phone shut.

"The name's Tim," McGee began.

"Huh?"

"Well, I'm thinking we're going to be here for a while."

"Right, well I'm Rick."

"Nice to meet you, Rick."

"Wish it was under different circumstances , Tim."

"Yeah, me too."

"What's really going on here?"

"I have no idea, but I know we're completely stuck until there's power."

"Stuck?"

"After 9/11 the whole building system was redesigned. If the power goes out, then every single door in the building automatically bolts shut, stopping any terrorist from getting in or out of the building."

Rick sighed. He unclipped his gun and placed it on the floor. "Guess there's no need to be armed."

"Not unless you're planning on shooting your way out of here."

Greg laughed. "I like you kid, you're funny."

"My team-mates wouldn't agree with you on that one."

"Well you're a probie, what do you expect?"

"How'd you know I was a-"

"Probie?" McGee nodded and then quickly realised that Rick couldn't see him nodding. "You've been in this job long enough you just know." Their conversation was interrupted by the high pitched shrill of a cell phone. Rick reached back into his shirt pocket and opened the phone. "Greg? What've you got… what?" Rick turned to McGee. "Someone's cut the wires, Greg says there's a pair of bolt cutters on the ground nearby."

McGee raised his eyebrows at the information. "But why would someone want to-" His first thought
was interrupted by a second thought. "The emergency lighting should have come on as soon as the power went out. Ask your partner to get the back up generator working, there should be a switch on the wall next to the cut wires." Rick nodded and relayed the information. A minute later, the room was bathed with a dim green light.

"That's better."

"For us maybe, I have no idea what the situation is for the rest of my team."

"What do you mean?"

"Hopefully Gibbs and Ziva are okay, but all the doors will stay locked until there is full power and the director puts the security code into the computer. Tony went to get Harker, he could be stuck
anywhere with the prisoner."

Feeling a sense of dread, McGee turned to Rick who had a similar worried expression. Even handcuffed, Harker could do a lot of damage if panicked or if he thought this was his chance to escape.