Chapter 3

When they got to Tim's door, Tony knocked. There was no answer. Never one to let that stop him, particularly when Tim's apartment was involved, Tony bent over and quickly picked the lock.

"NCIS. Hello? Sarah McGee?" Tony called. There was no answer.

"I thought you said Tim was neat. This place is a mess," Ziva observed as she pulled out her gun.

"It's been clean the times I've been here." They walked slowly, clearing every area. There was no sign of Sarah.

"We still have the bathroom," Ziva said and pointed out the closed door. Tony nodded and they headed toward it carefully.

"On three," he said. "One, two... three!"

They flung open the door and moved in quickly. Pulling aside the shower curtain, Ziva revealed a battered, restrained and gagged Sarah McGee. She looked at them with frightened eyes.

"Hi, Sarah," Tony said putting his gun away. "We'll get you right out of this. Don't worry." He looked at the duct tape on her mouth. "This is gonna hurt, alright?"

She nodded and he felt her body tense in preparation..

Tony smiled encouragement and pulled off the tape.

"Ow!"

"Sorry."

"Is Tim okay? Did you find him? That guy didn't kill anyone, did he?" Sarah asked as soon as she could talk.

"Yes. Yes. Sort of," Ziva answered succinctly. "What can you tell us?" she asked as Tony worked on removing the rest of the duct tape binding Sarah's hands and feet. Once she was free, she hugged Tony tightly.

"Thank you. Thank you so much." Then, she blushed and pulled back. She looked at Ziva. "I thought you said Tim was okay. Didn't he tell you what happened?" She stood and followed them into the living room, leaning on Tony a little as the blood rushed through her extremities, making them tingle. She sat down on the chair before Ziva answered.

"He wasn't very clear."

"Why not?"

"Probably a result of his concussion."

Sarah was alarmed. "Concussion? What happened to him?"

Tony interrupted. "He's fine, Sarah. He was just in an accident. He's at the hospital, but he's fine. No broken bones, no coma, just a concussion and a few scrapes. So what happened?"

"You're sure he's okay?"

"Yes. We're sure."

"Okay." Sarah took a deep breath. "I can't tell you much. Tim and I were going to go home for a visit this weekend, sort of a McGee family reunion." She smiled sheepishly as Tony and Ziva raised their eyebrows. Tim had never mentioned his actual plans for the weekend and now they knew why. Sarah continued, "We've been planning for months, trying to find a weekend when we were all free. It happens so rarely. Tim was in the bathroom getting ready to go. I was out here waiting for my turn."

"And?"

"I thought I heard the door open. I turned and there was a man standing there. He grabbed me. I screamed, and Tim ran out. But the guy had a gun and he threatened to kill me." Sarah got a little teary, but she managed to push on. "He said that Tim had to do exactly what he told him and he wouldn't hurt me. Tim just stood there with his hands kind of up. He was scared, but he asked him what he had to do. The guy just laughed and said that Tim had to help him kill someone. Then, he hit me and I woke up in the bathtub." She shrugged helplessly. "That's it."

"Did he say who he wanted to kill?" Ziva asked.

"Not while I was conscious. Sorry."

"That's okay," Tony said. "We'll take you to the hospital. You can get checked out and see McGee while you're there."

"I'm not going to get interrogated this time, am I?" Sarah said, only half-joking.

"Of course not... unless you think it's necessary," Ziva answered with a trace of a smile..

"No. Definitely not."

As they walked out of Tim's apartment, Tony pulled out his cell phone and called Gibbs. "Boss, we found Sarah. She's all right, but she says that some guy used her to force McGee to help him kill someone. We're taking her to the hospital now."

"Fine, but after you do that, check on our witness. I'll talk to McGee. We can't let this take precedence over the case."

"Is he ours then?"

"He is now; so hurry it up."

"Got it, Boss." Tony hung up and watched mournfully as Ziva got to the driver's side first again. "Sarah, you should probably get in the back. You're not going to want to see Ziva's driving up close."

"Very funny, DiNozzo."

Sarah looked back and forth between the two agents. She wasn't feeling the greatest after her experience, and this time, Tony looked... well not sincere, but at least honest. "I won't take any chances this time," she said smiling weakly and got into the back seat.

"At least take pity on the wounded, Ziva."

"Why, so you won't feel sick yourself?"

Tony gave up. "Let's just go."

"Whatever you say, Tony," Ziva said, grinning maliciously as she got in the car.