Chapter 19
"Gibbs! He's going to leave!"
It was two days later and Tim ran to Gibbs' desk without even pausing to apologize. He was frantic and terrified, and definitely not in control. The other agents on the floor looked worriedly at him.
"Quiet down, McGee," Tony said in a low voice.
Tim ignored him. "He's planning on leaving the country. We have to stop him, boss."
"Slow down, McGee. What are you talking about?"
"Robertson!" Tim shouted angrily. Nearly everyone in the room was looking at Tim. He was gesticulating wildly, pacing back and forth in front of Gibbs' desk.
"Sit down, McGee!"
It was only force of habit that Tim even heard Gibbs' order. He sat down but continued to fidget.
"What's going on?"
Tim stood up again and went to his desk. He typed quickly and put it up on the screen. "Abby and I were analyzing Dobson's files and we saw this." He put a file on the screen. Everyone stared at it blankly. "See?"
"Uh, no, McGee. It's just a bunch of gibberish. Are you okay?"
Tim pushed away Tony's hand. "Sorry, I forgot to run the decryption up here." He sat down and pushed a few more buttons and the screen shifted to real words. Tony tried not to sigh with relief. He had been getting worried that Tim had lost his mind.
"See it now? Dobson was trying to set up an arms deal with some group in Egypt, the Mu'iideen. He had swiped Robertson's contacts and had managed to get a meeting with them. It was set up for this weekend here with a possible followup in Cairo." Tim was speaking too quickly and no one responded. "Don't you get it? Robertson is going to show up at that meeting. He's going to try to either get the deal himself or take down the group for daring to deal with one of his competitors! If the first meeting goes well, he'll go to Cairo and then we've lost him!"
Gibbs considered what Tim had said as well as his obviously aberrant mental state. "Are you sure about this, McGee? What makes you think he'll attend the meeting?"
"He wanted to know what Dobson was doing. He tortured Lieutenant Dobson as well as Acton. He must have suspected that they were trying to cut him out of the deal. Neither one of them must have given any details, and maybe he didn't have time to persuade them so he killed them instead. He must have known that Dobson had the information in his files which is why he needed to decode them. Now, he knows exactly what Dobson was doing and with whom." Tim paused and looked down, embarrassed. "He'll show up at the meeting. If we don't take him then, we'll lose the chance. He'll be gone!" Gibbs looked at him. He held his gaze. "I'm right, boss. I know it."
"Okay, McGee. Where and when?"
"When is on Saturday at noon. The where, we're still working on. It's not encrypted. He used an actual code within the file."
"Okay, then, you and Abby get on it; we'll start setting up the details."
"Okay, boss." Tim walked out slightly calmer than he had been when he entered the room.
"Boss? Are you sure about this?" Tony asked. "He seemed pretty wired."
Gibbs didn't answer for a long minute. Then, he shook his head. "I'll check with Abby about what's been going on down there. However, in the meantime, you and Ziva see if anything we know about these people indicates a location and set up stakeout if possible."
"On it, boss," Tony said, but as soon as Gibbs left, he looked at Ziva.
"He's losing it, Tony."
Tony looked back at his computer. "It's possible, but McGee still knows his stuff."
"How much of that is in his mind?"
"You saw the file. He didn't invent it. Now, do you know anything about this Mu'iideen?"
"They're pretty smalltime so far. They split from the Egyptian al-Jihad a few years ago, one of the student groups initially. They could be trying to make headlines now, especially with the escalation of violence in the Middle East."
"Any Mossad info on the leader?"
"Some," she admitted.
"Well?"
"I'm not sure I'm authorized to reveal that information to you, Tony."
"Come on, Ziva. This could be important."
"He won't be at this meeting. They'll be... feeling each other up."
Tony smirked. "Out, Ziva. They'll be feeling each other out."
Ziva grimaced at the mistake. She'd been so sure that she was correct that time. "Right. If McGee is right, this is preliminary to actually doing business. The first meeting will be attended by someone else, perhaps his second in command, maybe a little lower. He'll decide whether it is a good offer."
"Can you compile a list of possible attendees?"
"Yes. It will be a short list."
"It's probably better that way. Then, we have fewer to track down."
"They're probably already here."
"All the more reason to find them now, isn't it?" Tony looked at her significantly.
She nodded and got to work.