Disclaimer in the first chapter, but for the record, I don't even have possession over my own computer. Sharing really has come to mean belonging to the sibling who makes up the most convincing lies—i.e., my sister.

I am really sorry it's taken me so long to update!! I am thinking this is going to be slightly regular for me until school tapers off and I get into the normal routine of dealing with homework. It sucks, but hopefully I won't get any longer in between updates! Thanks to everyone who reviewed—you're the reason I stopped procrastinating in the first place!

And kudos to crokettsgirl—you hit the nail on the head big time with my story arch

Her Mission, his Mistake

Abby's lab was dead quiet and eerie shadows cast their light across the machinery as McGee took one last slurp from his CafPow. The Director had assigned him and Abby the extremely boring job of watching the live feed streaming from Jamal's room in shifts of eight hours, and his shift was fifteen minutes from over.

The tunnel feed was filtered directly into MTAC, and so far, all the interesting information had come directly through there. They already had a feed on Jamal's, and Kaman's, master plans almost two days ago. Gibbs and the Director got to sit in the comfortable theatre chairs and listen to the soldiers discuss tactical plans for arming planes in Los Angeles to drop bombs over U.S energy plants.

McGee was stuck down in the lab listening to the bug Ziva had planted in Jamal's room just in case something came up. He liked being with Abby, but Abby was very un-Abby since Tony and Ziva were gone, and he wasn't a fan of being cooped up with angry Abby for eight hour shifts.

So far, all he had heard were a few muffled conversations between Jamal and his personal servant and a handful of extremely awkward conversations between Jamal and Ziva. So awkward, in fact, McGee had felt his ears blush pink. At least, until right now. The conversation he had tapped right now was so unexpectantly important, McGee snapped to attention—sending his rolly chair flying behind him and his CafPow zipping straight from his hands and onto the floor.

"Boss!" McGee shouted, his eyes glued to his computer screen, his mouth dropped open ever so slightly. McGee scrambled to hit the button on the intercom again, transmitting his face directly into MTAC. "Boss, you better get down here!"

"McGee?" Abby's muffled voice wafted up from under her desk. A rumbled pigtail came into view and she tried to stand, slipping on the puddle of ice. "What's going on?"

"Jamal Koram isn't working with Hacksmani to drop a bomb."

"But what about Los Angeles? And the energy plants?" Abby's confused face peered up at McGee from over the desk. "We heard the soldiers talking from the tunnel. And he hired Tony to help Hacksmani gather enough explosives, and Ziva and the Director know Koram as an explosives guy."

"It's a trap, Abby, I know it. I heard him talking to Ziva. He's planning something bigger, something much more dangerous. We have to stop him before he gets a chance."

"We will, McGee." Gibbs assured voice rang out from the elevator as both he and the Director stepped into Abby's lab. "This is why we had Ziva plant the bug. I want to hear everything."

McGee nodded and fiddled around on the computer. The sound of Koram's voice filled the lab, followed by a slightly muffled version of Ziva's. The words were clear, and after three or four minutes, both Gibbs and the Director were sure they had been duped by the feed in the tunnel.

"Which plan is he going to carry out, boss?" McGee asked. "There is no mention of bombs in this version, but that doesn't answer why he would need Tony or Hacksmani. Jamal doesn't seem like the type of business man to hire people unnecessarily."

"He's not." Jenny supplied with a shake of her head. "If he hired Tony for Hacksmani, he was planning on using bombs."

"Then why mention anthrax at all?" Abby wondered. "Is it possible there are two entirely different plans happening at the same time?"

"No." Gibbs answered firmly. "Koram likes control and order. Having to missions going on at one time leaves too much room for error. He would have to make too many sacrifices. It would be smarter to just choose one."

"So one, either the anthrax or the bombs, is a fake." McGee supplied. "Maybe he's bluffing, or he lied to his men, in hopes that we would hear him bluff. He's testing his limits."

"Why would he go to the trouble of making one up unless he knows that we are on to him?" Gibbs wondered out loud.

Everyone exchanged glances silently, eyes wide and thoughts whirring. If Jamal knew there were bugs planted around, chances were he knew Tony and Ziva had planted them. And if he knew that, they wouldn't make it out alive.

Yeah, I know, it's short. It had to be--it is a filler chapter between the drama meant to tie up any loose ends. I am hoping to get the next chapter out by Monday, but it all depends on my homework this weekend. Blame my teachers, I know I do.