Callen sat on a slab as Ducky quickly examined him. "Well, Agent Callen, all things considered, I think you faired pretty well. You've got a couple of nasty bruises, but you should be fine," Ducky said.

"I told ya you'd get out," Gibbs told Callen.

Callen glared at Gibbs. "At what cost. Where is he, Gibbs. Where's Tim?"

Gibbs sighed. He knew the question was coming and he also knew Callen would not be satisfied with his answer. "I don't know."

Callen narrowed his eyes. "You came to see me a few days ago. You went on about how better a man I am than you and how that was rewarded with extreme loyalty. I know you were talking about Tim, so don't tell me you don't know where he is!"

"Things have changed since then," Gibbs said simply.

"What's changed?" Ducky asked worriedly.

"Yeah, how about you fill us in, Gibbs? What the hell happened? Why is the CIA looking for Tim?" Callen asked.

"You should talk to Vance about this," Gibbs said.

"Screw Vance! I'm talking to you! What the hell happened? You told me that there were those working to get me out. You never mentioned that sacrificing one of my people was part of the plan!" Callen yelled angrily.

"Because it wasn't!" Gibbs yelled back. He then took a deep breath to calm down. "Look, no one thought this would happen. I doubt Tim even thought it would happen. But I guess when it did, he felt he has to run with it."

"What happened?" Callen asked. He tried to keep his short temper in check, but it was not working too well. He had one hell of a week, 'hell' being the operative word, and now he was coming back to find that his freedom was coming at a friend's expense.

Gibbs sighed. "The CIA set you up, Callen."

"Yeah, I got that all on my own. Kort's an arrogant bastard. I let me know it was him without actually saying it," Callen said.

"Okay, well he took precautions to keep NCIS from investigating. There was a court order banning anyone in this agency from investigating," Gibbs continued.

"That's why you were so cryptic when you came to see me. You wanted me to know that someone was working to free me, but you couldn't tell me who," Callen realized. It also clicked in with why Tim would even go to Gibbs. He would only do that if there was no other choice in the matter.

"I wanted you to have hope. It was my way of giving it to you without compromising Tim," Gibbs said.

"Well, obviously he's been compromised," Callen said snidely.

"He wasn't caught. But Kort he was working some kind of angle to try to free you, even if he couldn't prove it. He must have put in a contingency plan just in case. I think he thought Tim wouldn't exonerate you if he did it that way," Gibbs said.

"Did it what way? What did he do?" Callen asked. He was almost afraid of the answer.

"He made it look like Tim was the one to set you up," Gibbs finally told him. He then prepared himself for the explosion that was sure to come. He didn't have long to wait.

"No way! That is a load of crap! There is no way that Tim would ever sell me out like that. Not to mention that he is no terrorist!" Callen exclaimed vehemently.

"I know that and you know that, hell even Vance knows that, but we can't prove it," Gibbs said sadly.

"Oh, Timothy," Ducky said to himself softly. This was what he was afraid of. He told Timothy that the CIA would fight to protect themselves, but he had been insistent. He wanted those responsible to pay.

Callen slammed his hand down on the slab angrily. "Dammit! He should've just left it alone!"

"Come on, Callen, you have to know that that was never an option. He's not the kind of person to just walk away when someone he cares about is in trouble especially when that person is someone who is responsible for everything that he has now. He couldn't let it go. It's just not who he is," Gibbs said.

"Well, he should've! I would've rather stayed in that pit than have Tim take my place," Callen said.

"Who says that's going to happen? Tim might not have been able to keep himself from being implicated in this disaster, but that doesn't mean he's going to allow Kort and his band of jackasses to get their hands on him. He hasn't been seen in days. He's obviously gone off the grid. What do you think the odds are of him being found before he's ready?

Callen had to admit that Gibbs had a point. Tim had been taught well. He knew how to disappear if he needed to, which he obviously did in this case. If he didn't want to be found, he wouldn't. "About zero."

"Exactly. He won't go down for this. He won't let himself go down for it. And neither will you," Gibbs said knowingly.

"You're damn right I won't," Callen said as he jumped off the slab and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Gibbs asked.

"To beat the ever loving crap out of Kort until he admits the truth," Callen said angrily.

"Like hell you are!" Gibbs yelled before grabbing him by the arm.

"Get the hell off me, Gibbs!" Callen yelled angrily before yanking his arm free.

Gibbs grabbed him again by the shirt and pulled him against the wall. "Hey! You need to get your head on straight now!"

"My head is perfectly straight! Kort's won't be when I'm done with him though," Callen promised.

"I get it, you're pissed. You've been locked up for almost a week and now you find out that the person responsible is going after someone you care about. I'd be pissed too. But that does not give you the right to squander the gift Tim gave you. Do not disrespect him that way."

Callen gave him the nastiest face he could manage. "Who the hell are you to talk to me about disrespecting Tim. Should I introduce you to the kettle, Mr. Pot?"

"You're absolutely right. I did disrespect him, more times than I'd like to count. But I'm right too. Going after Kort will only end with you behind bars again. And then what? That means everything Tim did for you was for nothing. You really gonna do that. You gonna make his sacrifice mean nothing?" Gibbs asked.

"I have to do something!" Callen exclaimed.

"Fine, do something, but be smart about it! Don't go off half-cocked like some rookie or DiNozzo. Play it smart, like Tim did. I know you're capable of it because Tim learned from you," Gibbs said. Callen was certainly capable of handling this better. He was just not thinking clearly right now. He needed to get his brain back on right.

Callen sighed. As much as he hated to admit it, Gibbs was right. Getting angry was not the right way to handle this. It wouldn't help Tim any and it would just put him back behind bars. "Alright. Let go. I need to go talk to my team."

Satisfied that he wouldn't do anything stupid, Gibbs released Callen wand watched him leave autopsy.