Dead Man Walking

Chapter 3

"Stop!"

The woman halted mid-stride and turned to Gibbs as he and Tony caught up to her.

"What?"

"Are you going to tell us what the hell is going on?"

"That is not a topic for discussion in public. I will be happy to tell you once I have helped Tim."

"Help him how? And how did you know-?"

"Agent DiNozzo, I will explain, but not here. I presume you have a car parked outside?"

"Well, yeah, but-"

"Then let us go to it." She started walking again and after glancing at each other Gibbs and Tony followed her to the exit. Once they had reached the passenger pick-up area she paused and turned to Gibbs expectantly. They stared at each other for a few moments before Gibbs spun on one heel and headed for the car.

Once they reached the sedan and were seated inside Gibbs turned to the woman sitting in the back seat.

"OK, talk."

She sighed. "I am an old friend of Tim's. He called me when you found my cousin. He suspected this might be something in my area of expertise. I suspected what happened to Tim might happen so I got here as quickly as I could. Now, can we go help Tim?"

"Your 'area of expertise'? Is what, exactly?"

"Pharmacological toxicology."

"So he was poisoned?"

"In a manner of speaking. Now, may we please go to him? I have...an antidote."

"Why didn't you say so in the first place?"

She just rolled her eyes. "As I told you, not in public. Now, please, take me to Tim."

"Why not in public?" Tony asked as Gibbs guided the sedan out of the parking lot and towards the exit. She just gave him a tight smile and remained silent. "OK, fine, but how did you know...I mean, why couldn't I tell Tim wasn't dead?"

"Better question: why didn't any of us notice, including Ducky?"

"Suggestion is a powerful thing."

"What do you mean?"

"You found Tim, Agent DiNozzo, correct?"

"Yeah, why?"

"OK. You had a case earlier where you found a man dead for no reason. That was no doubt on your mind when you found Tim. The poison he was given was designed to put him in a death-like state, but he would still be alive. The normal markers of life would be too faint for you to detect. It is not your fault."

"But the rest…?"

"The suggestion was in place for them as well, and they had no reason to doubt your assessment. It was a domino effect, of sorts...with a little additional help."

"What sort of help? Were we...I don't know, hypnotized or something?"

She laughed. "No, not exactly. However, I do not think you will believe the truth, at least not right now."

"My dead partner apparently came back to life. I think I'd believe anything at this point."

"Possibly, but there is much more to this than you currently know. It will take some time to...what is the phrase? 'Read you in'?"

"This is an op?" Gibbs' glare in the mirror was ice-cold.

"No. It is, unfortunately, a very long story, and not all of it is mine to tell."

"What can you tell us?"

"The man who is behind the attack on Tim and the death of Maurice Saintilaire is known as Toussaint, although that is not the name he was given at birth."

"Did you tell Tim this?"

"He knew. He also knew there was no way to prove it."

"Did he know this guy was going after him?"

"I did warn him. He promised to be careful, but I am sure he did not realize just how...persistent this man can be after he identifies a target."

"How do you know this Toussaint is behind this?"

"Again, that is a long story. He would never leave evidence that you could trace back to him, and essentially it would be my word against his." Her expression darkened. "That is why I will deal with him."

"Not gonna happen."

She simply smiled and lapsed back into silence. Before either of the men could ask another question Gibbs' cell phone rang. He checked the number and answered.

"What do ya got, Abbs?"

"Gibbs, I tried to find out more about this N. Bourdain person, and...it's all locked down. His information is very well protected. I couldn't even find his full name!"

"Her name, Abbs."

"What? Oh, you found...her. What did she say? Does she know who...who did this to McGee?"

"Yeah. See what you can find on a man named Toussaint."

"Does he have a first name?"

Gibbs glanced back at the woman and she shook her head. "No."

"OK. Well, the name sounds French. Should I look-"

"Haiti." Gibbs glanced at the woman again and she smiled and nodded.

"Oh, of course, Saintilaire was from there, that makes sense."

"Anything else?"

"No, I...I've checked the stuff from Tim's apartment and I found prints, but they're all from stuff Tim would have touched, and…" They could hear the tears in her voice. "I'm still working on it, Gibbs. I should get back to work."

"Thanks, Abbs." He closed the phone and slipped it back into his pocket.

"Why didn't you tell her, Boss? About McGee?"

"Because seeing is believing, Agent DiNozzo, and Agent Gibbs does not yet trust me to that extent."

"You got that right."

"So do you have a first name, Ms. Bourdain?"

"Of course."

"Care to share?"

"All in good time, mon ami." She smiled and slipped back into silence for the remainder of the trip. When they got to the hospital they were directed to the diagnostic section and soon found Ducky and another doctor quietly arguing outside one of the rooms.

"What's going on, Duck?"

The M.E. turned to them, his smile brittle. "Dr. Appleton and I were just discussing the results of Timothy's MRI. It seems we still have unanswered questions, and are debating the next course of action." He raised his eyebrows when he caught sight of the woman with them. "And you are?"

"Dr. Bourdain. I need to see Agent McGee, immediately."

"I don't recall seeing your name on the list of approved doctor's at this hospital," Dr. Appleton snapped. She pulled a thin leather wallet from her pocket and opened it, raising it up for both of the doctors to see.

"I'm a specialist."

"A research toxicologist? How exactly-?"

"His room number, if you please."

"Follow me," Ducky offered and headed down the hallway, ignoring the sputtering protests of Dr. Appleton. The rest of the group immediately followed and soon Ducky stopped in front of one of the doors. "I recognized your name, Dr. Bourdain, and if this is what I suspect, then I believe you can help."

"Thank you, Dr. Mallard." She opened the door and stepped into the room, followed closely by Gibbs and Tony. Tim was lying on the bed, a thin blanket covering him to just above his waist. He was deathly pale, his eyes were closed and he had an oxygen mask over his nose and mouth. Several wires were attached to his bare chest and head, and while they could not discern that he was breathing, the monitor showed a very slow, very weak heartbeat.

Jimmy was sitting next to Tim's bed and looked up when they came in, his cheeks flushing in embarrassment when he saw the lead agent.

"Agent Gibbs, I...I am so sorry, I don't know how this happened..."

Gibbs ignored the stammering man and stared at the still form of his agent. If it hadn't been for the monitors he would have still believed that McGee was dead.

The sound of a zipper drew his attention and he turned to see the woman removing a flat case from her backpack. She opened the case and withdrew a somewhat familiar-looking object.

"An epipen? This is an allergic reaction?" Tony asked incredulously.

"No to the second question, but the pen provides a good means of transportation. And concealment." She walked over to the bed, leaned down and caressed Tim's cheek. "I am so sorry you had to go through this, Tim. I truly am."

"What are you doing?" Dr. Appleton demanded as he barged into the room. She ignored him as she brought the pen down hard onto Tim's upper arm and pushed the button.

The beeping on the heart monitor started to increase and as they watched the slow beat quickened and became stronger. Suddenly, Tim gasped and sat up, his eyes snapping open as he gazed wildly around the room, his breath coming in panicked gasps. The men all stumbled backward from the bed in shock as the woman grabbed Tim's arms and tried to stop them from flailing.

"Easy, Tim, easy. You are all right. It is over. Calm down. It is over. It is over."

Finally Tim seemed to register her words and he turned to face her, eyes wide and wet.

"N-nathalie?" His voice was barely discernable through the oxygen mask but she smiled and nodded as he reached up and pulled the mask from his face.

"I am sorry it took me so long to get here."

Tim surged forward and wrapped his arms tightly around her before burying his face in her shoulder, his whole body trembling. She returned the hug, whispering soothing words in a language none of the rest understood, but they eventually seemed to calm Tim enough that his shaking subsided and he slowly released her.

"Thank you," he whispered as he sank back onto the bed.

"What in the hell did you give him?" Appleton demanded.

"The right thing, obviously," was her flippant reply as she stroked Tim's cheek with her thumb and wrapped her other hand around Tim's. Appleton sent her a glare as he stepped forward to speak to his patient.

"Agent McGee, I'm Dr. Appleton. I...well, I've been trying to figure out why you…were in the state you were in when you arrived." Tim nodded, his gaze flicking back and forth between the doctor and Nathalie. "Do you remember what happened?" A flash of terror crossed Tim's face and his grip on the woman's hand tightened. "OK, we'll leave that alone for now. I need to check you over, is that alright?" Tim gave a brief nod and the doctor began the exam.

When he was finished, he stepped back, confusion coloring his expression. "You seem to be fine now, Agent McGee, although…" He glanced at Nathalie. "I am really not sure how. We took some samples for testing and we're waiting on those results." He turned to Ducky. "I'm becoming more convinced that your theory is correct, Dr. Mallard, and we will test for the substances you mentioned. I will be back later. Please try to get some rest, Agent McGee."

"Thank you," he replied softly as the doctor left the room and closed the door behind him. They could all tell Tim was struggling to regain his composure as he turned his attention wearily to the group standing around his bed. "I'm sorry…"

Before anyone could respond, Tony strode up to McGee's bed and pulled him into a tight embrace.

"Don't you ever, ever, ever do that to me again," Tony declared, his voice muffled against McGee's shoulder. Tim nodded and shakily raised his arms to return the hug. A few moments later they released each other and Tony stepped back, gently ruffling Tim's hair before placing a protective hand on Tim's shoulder.

"What theory?" Gibbs asked, finally breaking his silence. "You know what caused this, Duck?"

"I suspect, and I believe Dr. Bourdain will support my supposal, that Timothy somehow received, along with some other less potent toxins, a small dose of tetrodotoxin."

"Tetrodotoxin?" Jimmy asked, his shocked gaze still on McGee. "That's...from fugu, right?" He turned to Ducky. "All this happened because McGee ate some bad sushi?"

A soft chuckle drew their attention to the woman who had seemingly faded into the background.

"Not quite...Jimmy, is it?" He nodded, obviously surprised by her familiarity. "I am afraid it is far more complicated than that."

"So what did happen?" Gibbs asked, anger beginning to overtake worry in his tone as he turned to Tim. "And why didn't you tell me what was going on?"

A bit of color appeared in Tim's pale cheeks and he averted his gaze. "I didn't really think you'd believe me, Boss."

"If you're in danger, McGee, you tell me!"

"Yes, Boss. But I...I didn't expect...that he'd really come after me."

"Toussaint?" Tim's eyes widened and he nodded. "What did he do to you?"

"He, uh, well, someone…" He glanced at Nathalie and she nodded before turning to Gibbs.

"Tim was given a dose of coup poudre. It is a mixture of natural toxins that is used to induce paralysis and a death-like state. Normally the victim is declared dead, buried, and revived with a second formulation which contains hallucinogens that makes them susceptible to the control of the one who revived them." She smiled. "Obviously the antidote I used is much more humane."

"Why would someone do that?" Jimmy asked with revulsion.

"It is an intimidation tool; the threat of such a fate and the belief in the ability of someone to wield it can be used for gaining control over a susceptible group of people. It can be used to gain a source of cheap labor." Her lips twisted into a rueful smile. "Of course, it is also used for revenge."

"Revenge? Why does this Toussaint guy want revenge against McGee?"

"He does not, at least not specifically." She sent Tim a regretful look and he squeezed her hand weakly in return. "Tim was likely to be, for lack of a better term, collateral damage."

"So Toussaint tried to use Tim to get to someone else? Who?"

Nathalie remained silent for a few moments before she sighed and met Gibbs' angry gaze.

"Me."

TBC...