Thanks to my wonderful beta Kristen! Very happy as I've finished another story today!

Chapter 10: The Cave

Lily hid behind a rock at the back of the cave. Ziva was a few feet away, behind another rock.

They had all arrived a few hours ago, and decided to enter the cave early. It was long but narrow, and already starting to fill with water. The storm McGee had warned about was nearby. Outside, Lily could hear the wind roaring and the rain pelting down. She was extremely glad she was out of it.

Her only concern was that the meeting might be cancelled with this weather. Either party might choose to stay indoors or arrange a different location. If this were the case, she would be freezing her butt off for nothing.

The rising water was niggling at the back of her mind. As long as the meeting was conducted on time, there should be just about enough time to arrest everyone and get out. If it ran late or was cancelled, things would spiral out of control rapidly.

She vaguely recalled a few horror stories of fast-rising water killing everyone in cave systems, and forced down her panic. They would be fine. It rarely happened. The only reason she knew about these incidents was because she knew someone who had died that way. She was going to survive. LJ would survive since he was practically invincible, and his team would not die unless they were given permission.

So why was she still worried?

LJ was somewhere to her left and McGee was somewhere to her right. Tony had chosen to stick near the cave entrance to cut it off. Lily felt the water was doing a good enough job of that. If it continued to rise for much longer, the deal would definitely be off.

A scrabbling outside was her only warning as someone entered the cave. Judging by the cologne, it was Kieran Holland. She decided not to stick her head out just yet, but to wait as see if Ben Thomas arrived too. If they nabbed Holland before Thomas, Thomas might make a run for it. Alex would appreciate it if she could get Thomas.

Thursday evening, in the SUV

"You really think I would appreciate it if you got Thomas?" Alex wondered.

"Considering you now work for the CIA, I'd be more worried if you didn't," she told him.

Alex shrugged his shoulders. "The man is a brute. He deserves to be put in prison for a long time."

Thursday evening, two hours earlier

Holland moved around for a while trying to keep warm. Just as Lily had decided to grab him and the tech anyway, another scrabbling indicated another arrival.

"Ben," Holland greeted the newcomer.

Definitely Ben Thomas then. A good start. They were both here. Lily knew the plane was to let the deal proceed so they could actually arrest Thomas on a real charge. Lily had a few stuffed up her sleeve in case things went wrong.

"You got what I want?" Thomas growled.

Arms dealers. Always so curt. Never any time for pleasantries.

Thursday evening, in the SUV

Alex elbowed Lily. "No time for pleasantries? I seduced you, remember?"

"I remember," she smirked. "I also remember that you were a good guy on the wrong side. Most arms dealers I run into are incredibly rude."

"How many arms dealers have you run into then?" he queried.

She elbowed him back.

Thursday evening, two hours earlier.

"I need more money," Holland demanded.

"We agreed on the price," Thomas retorted.

"Yeah, the price never included staging a suicide."

"Not my problem."

"I got NCIS on my back. I thought they were all doughnut eating rent-a-cops, but they're smart. I think I got the redhead on my side –"

'Oh how wrong you are,' Lily mused.

"– but the older guy, he looked like he would kill me. His eyes see right through you."

"Still not my problem," Thomas replied. "Give me the tech."

"I had to put my fee in someone else's account so they wouldn't spot it!" Holland roared. "I need more money."

"Then we don't have a deal. Go find someone else."

Thomas made to leave the cave, but Holland shot him in the back. Everyone immediately leapt out from their hiding places and pointed their guns at Holland.

"Drop the gun," Ziva ordered.

A standoff had ensued. Holland threatened to destroy the tech, while everyone else threatened to shoot him. Lily did not want to take the risk of the software hitting the water, but could live with it if it prevented the theft.

The water was now swirling around her waist and it was hard to move. It was hard to even stay upright. The current tried to drag her under. She knew Ziva would be experiencing similar problems, but the men were heavier and could stay upright for longer.

Unfortunately, Holland counted as a man.

The water meant she couldn't try any fast moves. Even slow ones were seriously hampered. At least it disadvantaged both sides.

Another wave tried to knock her off her feet, and she realized she would have to negotiate fast to get out of here.

"Hand over the tech and I won't shoot you," she yelled. Negotiation wasn't her strong suit.

"I'll destroy it," he warned.

"I don't give a damn if you destroy it," she tried. "As long as you don't sell it, you can do what you like with it."

"If I give it to you, you'll let me go?" he asked.

"Not a chance," LJ barked. "You murdered Boxall; you're coming into custody."

"My freedom for the tech," Holland bargained.

Lily rolled her eyes and shot him square between the eyes. He hit the water face down.

"What did you do that for?" LJ roared as she waded over and plucked the software from his hand.

"Even if we managed to arrest him," she shouted back. "What would we do with him?"

"Take him back to NCIS," Tony offered.

"How?" she yelled. "The entrance is submerged."

Lily had been paying close attention to the mouth of the cave. Before they had entered, she had worked out that if the entrance was entirely submerged, it would be too far to swim to get out without drowning.

As the confrontation had continued, she had noticed that the entrance had vanished. She immediately shot Holland, as she had no further use for him. He was going to die anyway and she had just done him a favor.

Now she had to protect the tech and help LJ's team to survive. Not the easiest task in the world, but she had a few ideas.

The water continued to rise and she fought down her panic. She was going to get through this and scream at Arbourne for putting her in so much danger. She was going to scream at LJ for dragging her along. She was going to scream at Darlene to make her feel better.

The storm was still not on top of them. It would take an hour or so longer for the eye to hit. The cave would continue to fill with water for a while longer.

Damn.

Part of her was glad to be in the cave rather than outside. Outside she would have to deal with the wind and rain as well, although it was becoming increasingly likely she would drown in here.

But she couldn't.

She waded towards the back of the cave, the others following. It sloped up slightly, so the water appeared lower. Lily estimated the water would rise to cover the roof of the cave. She wanted to vent all her fear in a long scream, but it would scare the others. And anyway, she had a plan.

Being prepared was a CIA motto. Any agent who didn't research or prepare would not last long. Before she had got in the car with LJ to come out here, she had researched the cave system. At one point, someone had charted most of it. She presumed this was the reason Holland and Thomas had picked it as their meeting place. It was out the way, but well known.

"Okay," she addressed the others. "Notice how this water is fairly warm?"

They all nodded. "We're going to drown, not freeze to death," Tony pointed out.

"Au contraire," she grinned. "I've read all your files so I know you can all swim."

"The entrance is submerged," Ziva added. "We cannot swim out of here."

"We don't swim out, we swim up."

They stared at her. "Explain," LJ demanded.

"The cave system is extensive," she told them. "It goes up through the cliff. If you allow the water to carry you upwards…"

"We're in with a chance," McGee concluded. "A slim one."

"Better than nothing at all," she countered. "I don't know about you, but I'm going to let the water carry me upwards. If we can tread water for long enough, the water levels will go down and we can get out."

"How long?" Tony asked.

She totted the figures up in her head. Out the corner of her eye, she could see McGee doing the same. He beat her to it.

"Three hours," he announced. "Maybe a little longer."

Lily nodded her head as she reached the same conclusion.

"Allow the very water that wants to drown us to keep us safe," Tony commented. "Anyone else see the irony?"