Chapter 5

Ducky swallowed his fears as he walked back to the road, making as little noise as he could. In his mind he was already fearing for Jimmy and Tim. He wasn't so worried about himself. He was a pretty good actor, but if it didn't work...well, he'd had a good life. Jimmy, while capable, was also not really skilled in the area of deception and evasion. He still remembered Jimmy's reaction to helping Ziva covertly. He wasn't sure about it, but when he'd decided, his only requirement...

"All right. I want a codename, something cool sounding."

Jimmy wasn't the same man he'd been back then, but still...

Ducky broke through the trees back to the road. If he'd been seen by the people walking through the forest, they hadn't given any sign of it. He was breathless, but that was all to the better. The rain still fell. He would prefer it if the rain stopped, although the continuing precipitation would be more likely to give cover should Jimmy be forced to leave the cabin.

He crafted an attitude of exhausted dejection as he walked toward the car. He had been unsuccessful in finding help. He was wet. He was tired, and his phone wasn't working. He was coming back from a conference, lost his way, and needed some help.

Of course, if these men had seen him in the forest, that would be much harder to cover...unless...

Yes, I found the cabin and thought that there might be someone there, but, alas, it was empty.

Hanged for a penny. Hanged for a pound. The American saying was to go big or go home. Either way, Ducky was ready. He continued walking toward the car.

When he got near to it, he heard more snapping twigs. That told him that these people knew how seriously Tim was injured and had no worries about needing to hide their treads. They figured it was only a matter of time before they caught up with their prey, a man who would be unable to avoid them. Once they found him, it was over.

"Hello?" Ducky called out loudly. "Anyone there?"

A brief silence.

"Hello?" he tried again, infusing uncertainty into his tone. He wasn't sure he'd heard anything now...or at least that's what he wanted them to think.

"Who's out there in this weather?" A voice returned. It didn't sound threatening or suspicious. They could be acting like he was or he could have succeeded in fooling them. He would assume he was succeeding. He saw two sudden beams of light. Those hadn't been there before.

"My car broke down, and I have to admit that I'm a bit lost."

Two men came out of the forest. Neither looked intimidating in the slightest...but Ducky had to keep himself from tensing.

"What's wrong with your car, sir?"

"I don't know. The electrical system seems to have conked out on me. I'm afraid I'm not very knowledgeable about cars. Would you be able to help me out?"

"You're pretty trusting."

"I have very little option," Ducky said. "There are two of you, and even were I much younger, I doubt I could fight you off were it necessary. I choose to think the best of people in the hope that they will do me the pleasure of behaving as I hope."

The two men chuckled and walked over to the car. Ducky was sure that, had he no suspicions that they were the ones going after Tim, he would be completely taken in by them.

"I can't guarantee that we'll be able to do anything, but we'll take a look."

"What brings you out in this storm?" Ducky asked. "It's not fit for man nor beast."

"We're searching for a friend of ours. We think he may be lost. Have you seen anyone out tonight?"

"Not a one. I wish I had. Not even another car on the road. My phone is inoperable."

"This is a dead zone for cell phones. No one's phones work out here."

"Alas. I have terrible luck. Was your friend hiking?"

"We're not sure."

"Joey!"

Another voice from the forest. The man named Joey straightened from bending over the engine.

"What is it?"

"A mark!"

"Sorry, sir. I have to go check this out."

Ducky nodded but had to swallow to get rid of the pit of fear welling up inside him. A sign! A new one or one from Tim's original path?

"That's fine. I've been stuck here this long. I can wait a bit longer."

"Chas, come on."

The other left. Ducky stood alone beside his car, his heart in his throat. There was nothing he could say that would stop them. He could say something that would likely get himself killed, but since there were so many of them...nothing he could do would be anything but futile. So he stood by the car and prayed that Jimmy had got away safely.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Jimmy knelt beside Tim, feeling more than a little worried...only now, it was for Ducky as well as Tim...but he was more worried than ever that they weren't safe in here. Those men out there would surely see the cabin and would come to check it. It was just one room. There was nowhere to hide...and they had no weapons to fend them off. In short, they were sitting ducks in here.

Sitting duckies, Jimmy thought suddenly in a burst of whimsy.

Quickly, he made a decision and knelt beside Tim. He shook him gently, trying to get him awake.

"Tim, come on! Wake up! We've got to go! The men who were after you are coming!"

To his surprise, Tim pulled himself up.

"Time to go back?" he asked. "Is it time to go back?"

"Uh...yes! Yes, Tim. It's time to go back," Jimmy said, seizing on the one thing that might get Tim moving. "I'll help you, but you'll have to lead me...and we need to be quiet."

Tim was still feverish, and he didn't look like he was really aware of anything beyond this need to return to wherever he'd come from. Still, he got up and leaned heavily on Jimmy. Going back, if Tim could actually get them there, might be dangerous...but if they were all out looking for him, then going in the opposite direction might be the safest way to go, particularly since Jimmy had no idea where to go for help...if there was any to be found.

"We've got to go back," Tim mumbled. "Back...back...promised..."

"We're going back, Tim. I promise. You have to stay quiet, though."

Tim sagged against Jimmy, his head flopping limply. Jimmy hesitated...and then...

Thwack!

"Wake up, Tim!"

Tim straightened instantly.

"Boss?"

Jimmy suppressed a chuckle. Those head slaps really worked...although he'd never dare to do it with Tim in his right mind. Tim might take it better than some, but he would still not appreciate it in any way.

"He's not here, Tim."

"Have to go back," Tim said and started to walk forward, only to collapse against Jimmy once again without his support.

"We're going. Let's go."

Jimmy had to hold up a lot more of Tim's weight than he thought he would, but they headed for the door and then out.

"Go. Go..."

"Shh, quiet, Tim."

Tim fell silent. Jimmy started them walking further into the forest...away from the snapping twigs.

"Which way?" Jimmy whispered.

Tim was fading again, his head dropping forward.

"Up...go back..."

Up the hill. Of course. The most difficult path. Tim had said he was falling. Maybe he'd tripped and fallen down the hill. Was this a bad idea? If Tim wasn't completely out of his mind, they'd be heading toward the most dangerous place they could be.

...but if they were going to survive in the forest, they had to be willing to take a chance, to risk everything. Tim wasn't really making that choice, but Jimmy was ready to be responsible for his decision.

They struggled up the hill. Jimmy was constantly looking around for anyone coming after them, but at the same time, he was trying to keep Tim from falling to the ground as he exerted energy he really didn't have. Jimmy hoped that this wasn't killing Tim. He wasn't sure if it was or not. He knew that Tim needed medical attention, but he also knew that Tim wouldn't get that out here. He knew that the best chance Tim had was to get somewhere that had that help available...and if they could save the team at the same time, all the better.

So, in spite of Tim's gasping for breath, Jimmy kept them walking. When they reached the top of the hill, Tim collapsed, breathing heavily and irregularly. His heart rate was too high. Jimmy had to let him rest even though he knew that nothing would be cured by something so simple as rest.

"Tim, I hope I'm doing the right thing," Jimmy whispered. "I just don't know. Ducky's so much better at this stuff than I am. He always has the answers...even when he doesn't. Have you noticed that about him? He just seems to know...and when he doesn't know, he still knows. It doesn't make sense."

Jimmy fell silent, staring down through the darkness of the hillside, hoping that Ducky was okay, hoping that they'd all get out of this alive.

Then, Tim started to crawl forward again.

"Go...forward...got to keep going...back...back..."

"Okay, Tim. Let's...let's go again," Jimmy said, hating the wheezing sound of Tim's voice, hating the delirium that was leaving it to Jimmy to make the decisions that could mean life or death. Who would want to have that on his head?

They started to walk once more, Tim dragging Jimmy in what he seemed to think was the right direction and only barely keeping on his feet. After another ten minutes, Jimmy was surprised to see a cabin, larger than the one they'd been in. Only a single light was on inside. Was this the place? Jimmy had no idea.

"Tim?"

"Go back...gotta go back..."

Tim slipped out of Jimmy's grasp and slid to the ground, groaning in pain, panting in exhaustion. Jimmy looked at him in concern. Maybe this would be just a safe haven. Maybe it wasn't the bad guys. Maybe Tim had led them astray, since he was delirious and all.

"What are the odds that we could have been led to a good place by getting lost?" Jimmy asked. "Well, I guess I could go and scout around. I can be quiet. Right. That would be better than dragging Tim around with me. Okay. I'm going."

Jimmy knelt down.

"Tim, can you hear me?"

"Go back..."

"We will, but I need you to stay here. Okay? Can you stay here and be quiet?"

Tim shifted around, feeling the pain as he had before, seeming to be a little bit connected to the world around him.

"I'm hot," he whispered.

Jimmy shook him a little, feeling weird about making demands of Tim, trying to give him orders. It was a strange situation, a reversal of the pecking order...where Jimmy was usually at the bottom. Granted, Tim was hardly at the top, but he was higher than Jimmy was.

"Tim, you need to stay quiet, and stay here. Okay?"

"What's...going on...Jimmy?" Tim asked. "What happened?"

"Tim...listen to me," Jimmy said, wanting to scream in frustration. He wasn't used to being driven to his wit's end. He was used to Ducky being the only real frustration he faced...and that wasn't really that bad. Everything else was just...tolerable.

...but not right now. He was afraid, worried, nervous...and Tim wasn't helping.

"Tim, you have to stay here. Understand?"

"Where is...here?"

"I don't know, but you need to stay where you are. Don't move until I get back."

"Back..."

"Yes."

"Where?"

Jimmy sighed and tried to calm down. He sat down beside Tim who was looking completely bewildered. He didn't know what was going on. He didn't know what had happened to him. He didn't know where he was. He couldn't help the way he was right now, and if he remembered this later on, he would be mortified. ...if they survived it.

"Tim, I know you're confused and I know that you don't get what's going on. Can you trust me?"

Tim stared at him for a long time.

"Yes."

"Good. Stay here. I'll be back."

"Okay..."

"Good."

"Jimmy?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm really hot."

"I know. You have a high fever. I'm going to get you some help." Jimmy hoped he wasn't lying. "Just stay here."

Tim nodded slowly and then his face screwed up in pain. He leaned back against a tree and closed his eyes tightly.

"I'll be back in a few minutes, Tim."

Jimmy got to his feet and started to creep around the house. He peeked in all the windows, feeling like a Peeping Tom.

...but that feeling vanished when he looked in one of the basement-level windows. It was dark...but he could see people inside. People who seemed to be restrained. People who could be Gibbs, Tony and Ziva.

"Oh, great," Jimmy moaned softly. Now that he'd found them, he had to figure out what he should do. Should he try to save even more people he couldn't save? Or should he try to save the person who was also in danger of dying from infection?

Putting off the decision, Jimmy decided to continue his investigation of the house. He crept around, looking for entries to the basement, trying to figure out how many people were still in the house.

He tentatively snuck around to the one window showing a light.

...and when he got there, his heart plummeted to his shoes from what he saw there.

"Tim!"