Chapter 14

He was too slow. They must have been watching him more closely than he had realized.

In the time it took him to get hold of the gun, remove the safety and raise it to his head, the door burst open again and he was tackled to the ground, the gun going off harmlessly at the wall.

He didn't have the strength to fight back, and so he didn't bother trying. Instead, he lay where he was, painfully pinned to the floor, one arm twisted behind his back. He could feel his already-abused muscles trembling. His breathing was shaky and his heart had started thumping again. He was definitely not as young as he had been the last time he'd been a prisoner.

"What did you think you'd accomplish, Director?"

He waited until he was sure that he could actually speak, although it would have been easier if they'd ease off on the pressure keeping him on the floor.

"What do I have to lose? If I'd...made it... Whoever is behind this, it's about more than just information. This reeks of...revenge. It would have been...a triumph to snatch that chance from him by killing myself before he can do it...to me. You're already doing the worst you can to me. How do you think you'll...punish me for my attempt to end my own life? Kill me?"

They let him go and he rolled onto his back, taking deep, shaky breaths, trying to even out his heart rate and his breathing at the same time. His eyes closed, but he managed to smile.

"Your...move," he whispered. "But you can't win this game. No matter what. You'll lose."

"That's what you think. I'll win."

He had just enough cognitive awareness to track in on that slight emphasis. This man was in it for some personal reason. In fact, it was likely that he didn't care about any of this. All he wanted was what he'd been promised. A mercenary.

The man he'd knocked out was dragged out of the room and he was left alone.

He lay there for a while, not caring. He'd failed. He didn't mind that so much. The chances of success hadn't been high, but he felt that it was likely he was at the best level he could expect to be while in their hands. If it wasn't now, it was never.

And he'd failed.

He took a few deep breaths, pushing away the pain, the discomfort, the grief. There was still another way.

...and he went back to the farm.

He could still make it.

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

Roy was just coming into work when he was met by an agent.

"Director, we have a problem."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Not out here," he said.

What a way to start his day. Roy hated when he was greeted with things that couldn't even be discussed openly within the walls of headquarters.

"My office."

The agent nodded and they walked in silence. When they reached his office, Roy paused.

"Will this take long?"

"Not likely."

"All right. Marjean, I should only be a few minutes."

"Yes, Director. There haven't been any calls yet this morning."

"Thank goodness for small favors," he said and smiled.

He walked into his office and turned around.

"What is it, Agent Velazquez?"

"We had someone running fingerprints at NCIS."

"NCIS? Whose fingerprints?"

Agent Velazquez raised an eyebrow, and Roy only barely suppressed a groan.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Who's running them?"

"The request was put in by an Abigail Sciuto."

Roy was more than a little surprised. Could it be? What were the odds that this man would be involved in Carew's abduction? And why?

"When?"

"Just about twenty minutes ago."

"Did she get the results?"

"No. I managed to block the request before it could be filled, but that doesn't mean it will stay that way."

"No, it doesn't. All right. Have you seen any other sign of him?"

"None. This was the first thing I've seen in four years."

"Great. All right. It's in my lap. I'll take care of it."

"What if the request comes again?"

"For now, go on as if nothing has changed. I'll let you know if something actually has."

"Okay."

"Is that all?"

Then, Agent Velazquez grinned. "Do I get a raise or a demotion for this?"

Surprised at the question, Roy let out a chuckle.

"I'm still deciding. I'll let you know that, too."

"Have a nice day, Director."

"I won't."

Agent Velazquez left the office, still smiling.

Roy's smile didn't last, however. Of all the people who could have fallen onto his plate today, this was about the worst one to do it, but that was the way these things went sometimes. They said that bad news came in threes. He'd had two so far. What would be the third? Regardless, his schedule was now ruined. At least, for the morning.

Quickly, he walked out.

"Marjean, call my driver and clear out my schedule for the next few hours."

"Yes, Director. What do you want the excuse to be if someone protests?"

"An unexpected emergency. Tell them that I should be back to my office before noon and reschedule if they can't wait."

"Yes, sir."

Then, Roy went back into his office to sit and collect his thoughts.

What would Director Shepard have to say about this?

That did make him smile.

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

Tim opened his eyes after a restless night. He had slept, but he had awakened multiple times, unable to sleep deeply. In fact, he was glad that the night was over. Then, he thought that it seemed lighter than it usually was, and suddenly, he realized that his alarm hadn't gone off. He sat up quickly and looked around. It was clearly later than he usually got up.

"Zahara, what time is it?" he asked.

Zahara rolled over and opened her eyes.

"You have the clock on your side," she said.

Tim looked at the clock, but it wasn't on.

"Is the power out?" he asked.

"Ana nā'im, Tim," Zahara said, yawning. "La a'rif."

Tim didn't catch all of it, but he got that she had no idea. He got up and walked over to his phone. And then, cursed under his breath. If he didn't rush, he was going to be late and he couldn't be late on a day like today...or any day when he was in charge.

"I'm going to be late!"

He ran into the bathroom and checked the water. Nothing. Well, he could shower at NCIS, if necessary. It wouldn't be the first time. He went back out and grabbed some clothes and a bottle of water. Zahara was still sitting in bed.

"Tim?"

"I overslept and the power is out and there's no water. I've got to go."

He ran back into the bathroom, brushed his teeth and did a quick shave. He didn't grow facial hair well, and he didn't grow much of it, but he looked scruffy and patchy when he didn't shave. Luckily, his razor was battery-powered. He shaved quickly, changed his clothes and then hurried out. Zahara was up by then, and she stopped him.

"Tim, calm down."

"I don't want to be late, Zahara. I'm in charge. I can't be late when I'm the one in charge. This is too important."

"But you will not be that late. You did sleep in, but not so that you must run around like... like a headless chicken."

Tim chuckled.

"I've never really been the one in charge of an investigation, and if I'm not doing this, no one is. I can't let that happen."

"No, you cannot, but they will not stop working just because you are not there for a few minutes. You need something for breakfast. Wait that long."

"Zahara, I can go without breakfast."

"Yes, but it is not necessary. It will not take long."

She took his hand and pulled him out of the bedroom and to the kitchen. There, she made him sit down while she got his cereal. He smiled.

"Zahara..."

"No, Tim. Yes, you can do this yourself. Yes, you would be fine without it."

She cupped her hand on his cheek, as she often did. He pulled it down and kissed it.

"I love you," he said. "Have I told you that enough?"

"Yes, but I will always be happy to hear it."

Tim let her hand go and ate his cereal quickly. Zahara handed him his coffee mug and a pastry.

"You can fill it on your way. Be careful."

"Thanks," he said and kissed her on the forehead.

Then, he hurried to get on his way.

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

Five minutes after Tim left, Zahara heard the hum that signaled the power going back on again. She smiled. It figured. Still, that meant that, while Tim's schedule had been messed up a little bit, her schedule could be the same.

Or almost the same.

The door to the spare room opened and Tamara came out.

"Good morning," Zahara said.

"Good morning. I slept longer than I planned," Tamara said, looking a little sheepish.

"The power was out until just now," Zahara said. "Tim overslept and was running around, worried that he would be failing if he was one minute late."

Tamara smiled, but there was a wistfulness in her expression.

"What is it?" Zahara asked.

"I'm sorry. Everything brings my mind back to Levi."

"That is nothing to apologize for. He will be first in your mind. I understand it. Would you like to talk about him?"

"You know him already, don't you?"

"No. I have only met him a few times. He has been very kind to me, but I will admit that his eyes frightened me the first time I noticed them."

"They have that affect on people."

"Come. I will make breakfast and you can tell me about him. I know he is more than his eyes."

Tamara laughed. "Yes, but sometimes, I've thought that his eyes are a good indication of his life. Many people see only the black and nothing else. I see a darker shade of brown that is simply hiding great depth. I just wish he wouldn't hide it from me, too."

"He hides from you?"

"Yes. Not as much as he used to, but it's easier for him to show nothing than to let people in. We've been working on it, and it's been a real struggle."

"Why? Why does he not just open up to you? Surely, he trusts you if you have tried so hard."

"I don't think it's me. I think that, secretly, he doesn't think he deserves it and he isn't sure he wants to try if it's going to fail."

Tamara sat down at the counter and Zahara started to get out the ingredients to make omelets. She hadn't planned on doing a full breakfast, but Tamara might want that. Certainly, like Tim, she could probably use the meal. And it was good to have someone looking after her when she was so afraid for her husband.

"He does not seem to be afraid of that kind of thing."

"That's because he's very good at hiding it. I love him, but all this has been very hard for both of us. In fact, part of the reason we were out there was to have another go at connecting. When we're here, it's easy to get pulled into other things and out there, at the cabin, there's just the two of us. Not even phones. There's nowhere to go to get away."

Zahara smiled as she beat the eggs. "Tim probably wished that he could do that with me, but I had people to get me to see what the truth was."

"I keep hoping that something will finally jolt Levi out of his habits, but not so far."

"Is it worth it?"

"Yes. The potential is worth it. I wasn't sure at the beginning. Initially, I only was willing to try because I'd promised that I would. Now, I can see the possibilities, and I don't want to lose Levi to this when I can finally see a chance."

Zahara set the bowl aside and touched Tamara's hand. "You will not lose him. Tim is determined to find him and he will."

"I hope so."

"Tell me about him when you were married before."

As she had thought, Tamara smiled at the request and began to reminisce about her younger days.

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

As was often the case when he ran behind schedule, Tim felt as though he was incredibly late, even though he knew that he'd left home only a minute or two later than his usual time. He had stopped to get some coffee, but he did it in a rush. Where all this was so important, he knew he had to be on hand. They were only doing this because of him.

He parked his car and nearly sprinted into the building. Unfortunately, his sprint came to an abrupt end as soon as he got inside.

Someone was ahead of him. Tim ran headlong into the other man and both fell to the floor.

Tim swore.

"I'm so sorry," he said. "I wasn't even watching where I was going. Are you okay?"

The man he'd knocked over started to stand and Tim groaned when he realized who it was.

"Director Morgan! Oh, man. I'm doubly sorry. I'm running late this morning and..."

When he'd regained his feet, Director Morgan just raised an eyebrow. "Agent McGee, since it's probably your fault that I'm here, why don't you come with me?"

"What do you mean?"

"I can't talk about it out here. I have an appointment with Director Shepard, made at rather short notice. I'm not happy about it and I'm sure she isn't, either. So come along."

"Uh...okay, but I really need to..." Tim trailed off at Director Morgan's expression. He understood. This was not really an invitation. It was an order. "Right. Okay."

Tim tried to ignore Henry's grin as he passed them both into the building. He didn't know what this was about, but he really wanted to get down to Abby's lab and see what she'd found, if anything, so that he could figure out where to go next.

All those thoughts rushed through his head, but Tim didn't say a word. What he did was follow Director Morgan to Jenny's office. As he walked by, he saw that Gibbs, Tony and Ziva were already there and he groaned inwardly as they all looked up at him. He could see the worried expressions, but he couldn't do anything more than shrug because he had no idea why Director Morgan would say that this was his fault and he didn't want to draw attention to the situation.

Just keep working, he mouthed to them, knowing that it probably wouldn't happen.

Then, he walked into the outer office and tried to smile at Cynthia.

"Director Morgan, Director Shepard is ready for you," she said. "Agent McGee, if you could..."

"I'm apparently invited," Tim said.

"Yes, I'd like Agent McGee in on this meeting," Director Morgan said.

"All right. Go on in," Cynthia said, but she gave Tim a look.

He just shrugged. He was as mystified as everyone else. He followed behind the CIA director and met Jenny's surprised gaze when she saw him.

"Good morning, Director," Tim said. "I have no idea why I'm here."

"I don't know why you are, either, Agent McGee," Jenny said. "Would you care to explain, Director Morgan?"

Jenny gestured for them to sit.

"Yes," Director Morgan said. "This morning, I was informed that one Abigail Sciuto, forensic technician for NCIS, had made a request for the ID on some fingerprints. Given the nature of the ID, I have made an assumption that this request came from the case that Agent McGee is currently working."

Jenny's eyebrows went up.

"And what do you know about Agent McGee's current case?"

"Please, Director Shepard, don't start this game. I'm not in the mood. Agent McGee is searching for Levi Carew, whether he should be or not. I can't think of any other reason that these fingerprints would have shown up with NCIS."

Jenny looked at Tim.

"Agent McGee?"

"Agent DiNozzo and I did gather some fingerprints yesterday from the destroyed cabin," Tim said, trying to sound professional. "I had Abby running them. I don't think anyone else had a request in yesterday, not for prints."

Jenny nodded and turned her attention back onto Director Morgan.

"So why would these fingerprints cause you to upset my schedule and very likely your own as well?"

"Because they belong to a rogue agent, one who has hidden himself so well that he hasn't been seen or heard from in four years. And suddenly, his prints are being run. That tends to get my attention."

Jenny's expression changed. She didn't look at Tim, this time.

"That gets my attention as well. Just how rogue is this agent?"

"He killed his own team, and I don't mean just leaving them to die. He literally killed them, including one who was injured, no one knows why he did it. The only reason we know about it at all was that he missed once. We've been trying to track him down ever since, but we've had almost no luck at all. One glimpse four years ago and then nothing. Until this morning. The ID was blocked because the last thing that we want is to tip our hand when we know that he's in the area, and I'm sure he'll be watching for a BOLO. Any sign and he'll be gone again."

"Who is he?" Tim asked.

Director Morgan hesitated and then nodded.

"I guess you ought to know if this is your case. His name is Marc Edward Logan. He'd been with the CIA for fifteen years before all this went down, supposedly above reproach."

"Until he killed his team," Tim said. "How many?"

"Six. Gunned down in the middle of the night."

"Is this a case of trying to save his own life or is it a case of treachery?"

Director Morgan's eyebrow went up, but he answered.

"Quite frankly, we don't know. I wouldn't have thought he had access to enough information to turn traitor, although it's always a possibility in this kind of situation. If I was honest about it, I would have said that he just got tired of the job and decided he wanted something different."

"And was willing to kill six people just because he was bored? You make him sound like a sociopath," Jenny said.

"Yes. That's the conclusion I came to as well, Director."

"Did he have any interaction with Levi that would make him a likely suspect?" Tim asked.

"No. Not at all. Actually, he was under my purview. He's my responsibility. I receive any reports about him personally, and I don't want him getting away again."

"Are you saying that you're going to be involved?" Jenny asked.

"The CIA is not authorized to operate on U.S. soil, nor is the CIA equipped for investigations. The FBI is the branch authorized to do that."

"But you didn't go to Director Norton."

"He's not the one with the fingerprints."

"Now, who's playing a game, Director?" Jenny asked.

Director Morgan shook his head firmly. "I cannot, in good conscience, commit CIA resources to anything other than apprehending a rogue agent. That does fall under my mandate, although I'll admit that I should get the FBI involved if we're on U.S. soil. However, given the situation, I won't be doing that. What I'm doing is warning you that, if Logan is involved in this, you'd better tread carefully. He was a sniper in the military before joining the CIA and I have no doubt that he's kept up his skills. I doubt he's leading the pack, but I wouldn't be surprised if he was secretly pulling a few strings. My only request is that you let me know if you do track him down. He needs to be taken care of."

Tim glanced at Jenny for a second, to make sure she had no reservations. She nodded fractionally.

"Yes, Director," he said. "I'll let you know if I learn anything about his location. Would it be possible to see his file?"

Finally, Director Morgan smiled. "Would it matter if I said no?"

Tim smiled in kind. "At the moment, it would...until I decided it was necessary find out."

"Then, yes, make the request to my assistant and I'll see that you get it by the end of the day. Please, no BOLOs on Logan. As I said, I'm sure he'll be watching for that. He's avoided us for four years and we didn't catch him before that, either. The CIA isn't perfect, but we're generally pretty good at finding people."

"Right."

Director Morgan stood up and started to leave, but Tim thought of one more question and he stood quickly.

"Director," he said.

Director Morgan turned back.

"Yes?"

"You know him?"

"I thought I did."

"Why would he be doing this now? He has nothing to hang on Levi. You think he got bored and moved on. Why be involved in abducting Levi Carew?"

"I can think of few reasons. He's bored again and wants a challenge. He's turned mercenary. Even traitors need to eat. Maybe he wants back in and thinks he can get there somehow. I doubt it's about Carew himself. Like I said, he won't be in charge, but he'll have control."

Tim nodded.

"Thank you for your time, Director Shepard," Director Morgan said. "Anything else?"

"No. Not on my side. Thank you, Director."

Director Morgan nodded and left the room.

"Agent McGee."

Tim turned back to Jenny.

"Yes?"

"You had no idea?"

"None."

"You're not giving up, I take it?"

Tim smiled and shook his head. "Not a chance."

"Even if I made it an order?"

"Not even then. I'd just have to do it on my own time, but I'd still do it."

Jenny sighed. "All right. I should insist, but I can see that won't make any difference to you."

"No, it won't. Not this time, Director."

"Then, I'll just tell you to be careful."

Tim smiled. "I will, but I don't have to worry about that."

"You don't?"

"No. This time, I'm not in it alone."