Help Me Survive Here
"Hey, Kellie, I asked for a decaf Angel City, not an espresso…"
Kensi hadn't been paying attention, she was too busy watching the door; it was 08.35, Tim was never this late. Traffic, that must be the problem, an accident somewhere, highway maintenance, that would be…
"I'm so sorry sir, my mistake…there you go, take a large one at no extra cost…"
She handed him his drink and turned to her next customer.
Thirty minutes later, her shift was over and she called Eric.
"Have there been any major traffic problems this morning?"
Eric shook his head before remembering that Kensi couldn't see him.
"Nothing out of the ordinary, is there a problem?"
"Tim hasn't been in for his coffee. He could be sick I guess. Can you call him on the secure line Eric?"
"No problem Kensi, you on your way back?"
"Yeah, let me know if you make contact."
"Will do."
Eric opened the secure line, an encrypted satellite phone that was hidden in Travis' apartment. It was the only line they had that wasn't traceable, and it was only to be used in emergencies...as he punched out the number Eric crossed his fingers...let him be home sick...
Two hours later
Consciousness returned slowly…and painfully…Tim opened his eyes and tried to sit up…bad idea, his headache and nausea intensified...he ached all over. To make matters worse, it was his own fault that he was in this situation. He'd always been able to lose himself in what he was doing, to zone out the rest of the world as he concentrated on the task in hand…An ability that stood him in good stead when he was trying to study in noisy dorms, but which had proved his downfall here.
Tentatively, he attempted to stand; a few minutes and several stumbles later he knew where he was…a rarely used sub-basement at Ferroman; no surprise, given what he had discovered. The saboteur was Duncan Leach, Tim simply couldn't believe it, Duncan owned Ferroman, every penny he had was tied up in this company, why on earth would he try to ruin everything? His own brother was a Vet. lost a leg in Afghanistan; Duncan had told Tim that Dan's injury had been the catalyst for specialising in the research that they were doing at Ferroman. So why do this, why betray his own brother?
Tim attempted to climb the steps, if he could get out of here, maybe he could get a message to Eric, but he couldn't make it…not yet. He fell to his knees and took a deep breath…tried to clear his head, but all he felt was pain, and nausea…judging by the way he felt right now, Leach hadn't been too gentle about getting Travis down the steps...He sat back down and leaned against the wall…come on Tim, get it together…time to look around. Tim checked the room, looking for something that he could use as a weapon...but unless he hit Duncan with a discarded prosthetic arm...the cupboard was pretty bare...
Maybe Duncan wouldn't come back, this place was only used to store obsolete equipment, it could be days before anyone had to come down here...it was up to him to get out. His head was feeling a little clearer so he tried once more to stand; he leaned against the wall for a moment, let the world get back into focus, then he started to look through the drawers, if he could find some thick wire, maybe he could pick the lock.
He was leaning over the last drawer when he heard the door click open; Duncan Leach locked the door behind him and headed down the stairs, his face a mask of suppressed anger. Before he was half way down he called out.
"I want you to tell me who you're working for. Someone's already been asking for you at reception, said he had a personal delivery for you…who are you working for? Are you with them? Is that why you were snooping, checking up on me? You should have left well alone!"
"How could I? You're wrecking the chance to make a real difference to people's lives..."
"What's it to you? It's my company, I do what I want."
Tim shook his head, and swayed a little, okay no more sudden movements.
"You can't mean that...we're doing good work here...your brother..."
"Leave him out of this!"
"How can I? You said yourself we could give him a better life..."
Tim was astonished to see Duncan's eyes fill with tears, his hands were shaking uncontrollably.
"I can't do this...it's killing me...when I saw what you were doing, you could have ruined everything, got them killed…you don't know what I'm dealing with...if they found out...so I hit you and put you here...I couldn't let it happen again, not after Hallam..."
"What happened to him?"
"He opened his mouth too wide, and they killed him..."
"They? Who are they Duncan?"
"I don't know! All I know is they have my family...and if I don't do exactly what they say...my wife and son..."
There it was, the reason Duncan would betray his brother. Tim was beginning to understand some of the pressure that Duncan must have been under, but there were options…
"Why didn't you contact the police; they know how to deal with these situations."
Leach clenched his fists in frustration.
"It's not a 'situation'…they took my family Travis…Is that even your real name?"
"Tim…and I'm truly sorry about your family, but listen…I can help you with this; not just me…I work for NCIS, you know what that is?"
A brief nod from Duncan, he was barely keeping himself under control.
"There's a great team behind me. We can get your family back safe, you don't need to go through this alone."
A faint glimmer of hope crossed Duncan's face.
"B…but what can you do? I don't know where they are, how can we get to them?"
Tim looked deep into Duncan's eyes.
"We have surveillance and tracking systems you can't even imagine. We can find them Duncan, I promise."
Duncan's shoulders slumped and he started to shiver.
"I'm so scared…what if I do what they want and they still…Jill and Peter…they mean everything to me..."
Tim put his hands on Duncan's shoulders, and spoke slowly and quietly.
"Look Duncan, let me go home…make a phone call, put the team on standby. Then, once you show me how the kidnappers communicate with you Eric can trace them."
He saw the fresh panic in Duncan's eyes, and was quick to reassure him.
"Don't worry, he can do it without anyone knowing, you have my word; we'll get your family."
Two days and ten hours later
Callen did a final com check with his team. They were all in position and ready to go. There had been a number of occasions in the last few days when they were afraid Leach would lose it and give away their plan, but Tim had been able to persuade him that they knew what they were doing, and that his family's best chance of survival was to co-operate with OSP. Under cover of darkness, they had quietly evacuated the adjacent properties, and were currently surrounding a house in a quiet residential street, just off Coldwater Canyon Avenue.
At Callen's signal Eric cut the electricity supply, and the street was plunged into darkness. The team moved in…later, Tim would find it hard to remember the exact sequence of events. The night vision goggle gave everything an eerie, other-worldly appearance...there were shifting shapes silently moving through the house; then there was noise, shouting, crying...But in the end, the kidnappers never stood a chance, they had been totally disoriented in the darkness. Or so the team thought...Callen and Kensi were leading Jill and Peter Leach to the car and an eventual reunion with Duncan when Tim noticed a flash of light in the shrubbery.
"G! Down!"
Tim got off two shots, and was so intent on checking that Callen and the Leach's were unhurt that he was barely aware of the burning sensation in his arm. Sam ran toward him.
"Are you hurt?"
Tim looked down at his arm...there was blood, but it didn't hurt, not really...he had to be sure...
"Jill...Peter, are they...?"
"They're fine Tim, look Kensi's got them..."
"That...that's good...dizzy..."
He slumped forward and his fall was halted by Sam.
"We need a medic! I've got you Tim...help's coming..."
Callen knelt beside them, and gently touched Tim's forehead, he was burning up.
"This is my fault Tim, I shouldn't have let you come...I saw those bruises...should have got you to the hospital two days ago..."
Tim gave a painful cough.
"Not your fault...I wanted to do it...for...Duncan...and look...not raining... last time...raining...cold...""
One week later
Tim paid off the cab, and stood hesitantly at the door. He didn't need to be at OSP headquarters today, he was still on sick leave; the sling on his arm was more of a precautionary measure now, but also a reminder that he wasn't yet ready for duty. He didn't want to go back to his apartment right now...being alone seemed like a really bad idea.
He had been a little worried about facing everyone after what he was sure Tony would refer to as his 'Probie mistake' on the undercover op. Back at the hospital Callen had reassured him.
"Look Tim...you've admitted you made a mistake, but you put things right. You rescued what could have been a disastrous situation, got Duncan Leach to go along with us, and he only did it because of you...he told me that."
"I could have ruined everything..."
"You think I've never been there Tim, or Sam? We've all made mistakes, but we learn from them...it's what makes us better at what we do."
Tim hoped that G meant what he said, and it was true that they had arrested the men behind the kidnapping; co-owners of a rival biomechatronics company, prepared to be completely ruthless in their pursuit of a huge Government contract.
Tim was slowly coming to terms with the fallout from the Ferroman operation, and every member of the team had been busy regaling him with tales of operations they had been involved in that had gone awry…they would not allow him to think that he had failed…too much good had come out of Tim's sojourn as Travis, most important of all the Leach family was together again, and Duncan was more determined than ever to get his prototypes off the drawing board and into action.
No, the failure that was delaying his entry into headquarters was of a much more personal nature. He took a deep breath as he tried to compose himself, tried to erase from his mind the hurt in Verity's eyes, he had tried to wipe away her tears, but she sent him away…
"I couldn't tell you Verity…going undercover…it had to be…"
"A secret…"
"I guess you could call it that, I wish I could have told you more, but…"
"Did you tell your family?"
He couldn't look her in the eye, why hadn't he told her more?
"I did…Verity…I honestly don't know why I told them and not you…"
"Maybe you didn't trust me Tim."
"No! It was…everything seemed to move so fast…I didn't know what to tell you…whether you would understand…going undercover, living a lie…"
"So you told me nothing, just said you had to go away…look at you Tim, you could have been killed and I wouldn't have known anything…how do you think that makes me feel?"
He reached out his hand to take hers, but she pulled away.
"I thought we had something special…I…I loved you…"
Tim winced as he noticed the past tense.
"But love isn't just romance…it means trust, and truth…if you don't trust me…"
She wouldn't accept his words of comfort, his belated apology, and in all honesty he couldn't blame her, he'd made a terrible mistake, and as he closed the door of her apartment he had a feeling he was closing the door on what could have been the most important relationship of his life…
Tim squared his shoulders, opened the door and headed for the OSP office. He gave a weak smile.
"Hi guys…"
One look at his face told them that his visit with Verity had not gone well. They gathered round him, all ready to offer a shoulder to cry on, but Hetty was first to lay a hand on his arm.
"Timothy, the kettle is boiling; let's have a cup of tea, just you and I…"