Chapter 26
"Agent Gyllenskog, what are you–?" Don's question was quickly cut off when the butt of a gun connected with his head. He fell motionless to the floor.
"Over-eager fool," Agent Jeremiah Lowe spat at the prone figure.
"Shut up, Jerry."
"Fine. Are you sure that device is going to work?"
"Yes. You stay out of sight."
"Why?"
"Because you requested a transfer. You're not supposed to be here and those NCIS agents will know something is up."
"Fine. What's the plan?"
"The only one who has to die is Terence Ainsworth."
"What if they see you?"
"Then, they will be witnesses. That's why I want you out of sight. I can take them out without them seeing me. You are backup. Am I clear?"
"Yes."
"Good. If I see any sign of you, I'll kill you myself."
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As Jenny and Gibbs walked out of her office, Gibbs looked down at his phone. "Why is my phone on silent?"
"I don't know, Jethro. I didn't do it."
"How do I change it?"
Jenny took the phone and pushed a couple of buttons. "You have a message."
Gibbs took the phone and looked at it. He glared at it. "I hate these things." He accessed his voice mail and put the phone to his ear as he and Jenny left the office.
"Boss... um, Gibbs." Gibbs rolled his eyes at the hesitancy in Tim's voice. "I just found out who the mole is." Gibbs stopped moving and looked at Jenny. She started to ask a question, but he held up his hand as Tim continued. "The lead agent in the Ainsworth case is Jackson Gyllenskog. The-the man I-I killed talked to someone on the phone before the-the accident. He called the man Jackson. The man who attacked Sarah and the man who tried to kill Terence are one and the same. I'm taking the car. The phones are dead. I don't know what else to do." The message ended abruptly.
"McGee's taken my car."
"What?"
"Give me your keys."
For once, Jenny wordlessly handed over her keys without argument and watched as Gibbs ran down the steps to the elevator.
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Tim sped down the road. Every bump made him want to close his eyes. Only the fear that he would not get there in time kept him driving. He avoided the Beltway. Jackson Gyllenskog. It left a bad taste in his mouth and a sense of anger that a man who was supposed to be protecting this country was helping destroy it.
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It figured that the man he had hired was dead. It hadn't been 36 hours yet, but after hearing the conversation between Tony and Ziva, Agent Gyllenskog knew that he had to speed things up. He had known that there was a problem when Terence had not been killed yesterday. He walked softly down the hall to the corner. That Agent DiNozzo acted like a goofball, but he was serious about his job. He pulled out a strange-looking gun and loaded a dart into it. As he had told Agent Lowe, he didn't want to kill anyone except his target. One shot would take Tony out. He stood silently listening to Tony's pacing. Back and forth, back and forth. When Tony's steps receded, he quickly stepped around the corner and shot him once in the back of the neck. Tony started to turn, his hand automatically reaching to finger the dart; however, the sedative took him down in seconds. He didn't even get a chance to say a word. One down.
He pulled out the video receiver and noted Ziva's position inside the room and then crept down the hall to the next location.
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"What was that?" Ziva stood and walked to the door, her gun ready.
"I didn't hear anything," Terence said in a worried tone.
"Get into the bathroom and lock the door."
"What?"
"Now, and don't come out until I tell you it is safe." Ziva turned back, all warmth gone from her face. She was not joking and her warning was to be heeded. Terence went into the bathroom feeling like he was headed to a prison. This was not supposed to be happening.
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Tim parked the car and jumped out, grateful that he had his badge as he had no intention of waiting to explain what was wrong. He flashed it to the nurse on duty and ran past her.
"I won't mess up this time," he promised himself.
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Ziva pulled out her cell phone. It was dead. She grimaced and tossed it to the side. Her gun trained on the door, she sidled over to the phone by the bed and picked up the receiver. It was dead as well.
"This is very bad," she said aloud. She wondered what had happened to Tony. The worst thing she could do now would be to check on him. That would give whoever was out there the chance to take her out as well.
The door flew open and Ziva immediately opened fire.
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Gibbs knew he could be no more than a few minutes behind Tim, but with the seriousness of the situation, that could be the difference between life and death. He pushed the gas pedal down to the floor. However, he couldn't help admiring Jenny's choice of car. It had great acceleration. He had tried to call Ziva and Tony, but there was no signal. He knew that he was heading into a situation which could end with his whole team dead as well as the witness. In his current state, Tim would be more likely to take dangerous chances. Tony and Ziva would have been more than able to stop this if they had known, but it looked like they had no idea. Finally, he saw the Naval Hospital looming ahead. He increased his speed again. He would not be too late.
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As the darkness closed in, Ziva heard gunfire, but it wasn't directed at her. She couldn't have stopped it anyway. The dart had been effective. Her last conscious thought was, How had he known where she was?