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Gibbs arrived in autopsy to a pitiful sight. He couldn't recall the last time he'd seen his agents so miserable. At least when they had returned from rescuing Ziva there had been an air, if only slightly, of triumph.
Ducky was beside McGee with a blood pressure cuff round his arm and a stethoscope. He was frowning slightly. Tony wouldn't tear his eyes from them, even as Palmer applied a butterfly bandage to his head. Ziva's focus was shifting between the two agents and her worry seemed to be about even more than the current incident.
Gibbs made himself known just as Ducky was taking off the blood pressure cuff. He came to stand beside the older man and studied his younger agent. McGee's eyes were still closed, but he appeared to have a little more color.
"What's the damage Ducky?" Ducky took the stethoscope and hung it around his neck
"Timothy's blood pressure is very low, it's definitely shock. Anthony and Ziva are shaken; though neither have concussions, I imagine both will be sore for a few days, especially Anthony with his ribs. I recommend they all go to the hospital to be checked out." He concluded.
"Can you take care of them here?" Gibbs asked. Ducky started to shake his head.
"Jethro, I really think-."
"There is a guy out there who not only snuck a sniper rifle into the Yard, he also managed to the get a bomb into NCIS headquarters, having the CIA deliver it nonetheless." Gibbs interrupted. "I don't want anyone on my team setting foot out of this building unless absolutely necessary. The building is on lockdown. I called Abby on my way down and she's going to stay in her lab away from windows."
Ducky sighed and glanced at his three charges.
"Anthony and Ziva will be fine, and Timothy…" He shook his head. "I'll bandage the burns and monitor his condition. There are little shards of metal and glass in his back but they don't appear to be deep. I can remove them here if necessary. I must warn you though shock is a condition that can come on very quickly and be deadly."
"Ducky," Gibbs grumbled. "I know that. Can you take care of them here?"
"I'll certainly try. As long as we keep an eye on him he should recover as well." Ducky concluded. "Mr. Palmer please get my supplies and you'll assist me in removing the foreign debris from Timothy."
Gibbs let his eyes sweep his agents again, taking note that while Ziva wasn't talking she seemed to be listening, but Tony appeared to be slipping further and further from the conversation. Gibbs recognized that look and knew he had to get him back.
"Hey." He waited for Tony to look at him before giving him a nod of reassurance. Tony sighed and glanced back at McGee.
"How did he get a bomb in the Navy Yard?" Ducky asked as Jimmy returned with what the supplies.
"Probably the same way he got a sniper rifle into the Navy Yard." Ziva said dryly. Ducky only murmured in response as he and Jimmy carefully rolled McGee onto his stomach and began removing his shirt.
Gibbs shook his head. "Somehow he was counting on us to drop security enough for him to be able to smuggle the bomb in. He knew we'd trust the CIA and he knew the CIA would trust the FBI."
"I can't believe it worked." Ducky said shaking his head as he began to remove and drop small bits of metal and glass from McGee's back into a small glass jar. "His whole plan hinged on our security being dropped. That was quite a bold move."
"Bold is his specialty." Tony said tiredly, speaking for the first time. "His file says he anticipates. He knows what you're going to do before you do it, sometimes before you even know you're going to do it."
"Why wasn't the explosion bigger?" Jimmy asked suddenly. When everyone turned to look at him, he blushed under the scrutiny.
"What?" Tony asked.
"It-it's just that-I mean."
"Spit it out Jimmy." Gibbs said impatiently.
Jimmy took a breath and started again.
"If you're going to try to sneak something into CIA and NCIS headquarters, you should it as big as you can. He made the effort to get it here. Why not make it big enough to kill somebody. McGee was pretty close. How much more of an explosion would it have taken to kill someone?" He finished looking around.
"A little bit of C4 does go a long way." Ziva said thoughtfully. "There is no reason someone with his experience couldn't have made a bomb small enough to be hidden and yet powerful enough to kill even Tony and I where we were."
A small moan from McGee interrupted the conversation and caused everyone's head to swivel in his direction.
Ducky put his hand comfortingly at the nape of his neck.
"It's alright, lad." He gently soothed, then raised his head to address his assistant. "Mr. Palmer would you apply some numbing gel to the area and start putting antiseptic and bandages over these larger gashes." Ducky instructed.
"Yes, Dr. Mallard."
McGee stirred again before his eyes slowly opened and he blinked owlishly. Ducky leaned into his line of sight.
"How do you feel, dear boy." Tim didn't say anything for a moment.
"Hurtsss." He finally slurred.
"What hurts?" Ducky asked.
"Head, back."
"Yes, we're working on your back and Mr. Palmer will get you something for your head."
Gibbs pulled up Ducky's rolling chair and sat so he was eye level with his agent. He placed his hand on the top of McGee's head.
"Hey," he said firmly, "you're going to be ok."
McGee nodded.
"Did you see the bomb?" He asked.
"Bomb…attached to…cell phone." He flinched slightly when Jimmy injected some pain medicine into his arm.
Gibbs nodded encouragingly. "Attached to C4."
"Yes."
"How much C4 was there, Tim?"
"A square…about 1 inch long, deep and wide."
"That is more than enough to kill anyone within 50 feet of the explosion." Ziva commented.
Gibbs nodded, never taking his eyes off McGee.
"How did you find it in the box?"
"I-I picked it up and it fell. That's when I saw it."
"Maybe one of the wires came loose when it fell." Tony suggested. "That would have damped some of the effect of the explosion."
"Maybe." Gibbs said watching McGee's blinks become longer and longer, exhaustion and the drug wearing him down before it finally pulled him under. Gibbs didn't pull his hand away until he was sure McGee was completely under.
"What now, Boss?" Tony asked, never taking his eyes off his partner.
Before Gibbs could answer his phone rang.
"Gibbs."
"What's the damage Agent Gibbs?" Gibbs felt his nostrils flair at the familiar, infuriatingly chipper voice, but he kept his tone even.
"You know so much, why don't you tell me?"
He chuckled. "How long do you want to play this game, Gibbs?"
"Not a game to me, Baird."
"You're right it's not." He replied, his voice suddenly ice. "I'm not in the mood anymore,e Agent Gibbs. I want this settled and I want it settled now. I've received word that my grandmother is unhappy with me. So here's what I want and I'm only going to tell you once. I want both my grandmother and my brother freed today. I want the papers detailing their exoneration. I know how legal can drag things out, so I'll give you until tomorrow afternoon. Tomorrow at 12:30pm I want their papers in a black brief case on the front seat of the metro bus 2578. Put it on before stop 12 and there had better not be anyone watching."
Gibbs stayed silent while he continued.
"I can make life hell, Gibbs. I can be your worst nightmare. I know the route the Director's wife drives their kids to school every morning. I know where the Secretary of the Navy's wife teaches her Pilates class on Wednesday, I know the diner under the freeway that you frequent. Your forensic scientist bowls on Lane 8 with the nuns every other Thursday night at the Spare Lanes Bowling Alley. I can hit you where it hurt, Gibbs. I can and I will. This is your last warning, my grandmother and brother release today and their paper tomorrow."
The phone abruptly clicked signaling the end of the call. Gibbs pulled the phone away and stared at it.
"What did he say Jethro?" Ducky finally asked.
Gibbs frowned.
"His grandmother talked to him." He said absently, still staring at his phone.
"How was she able to call him?" Ziva asked perplexed.
Gibb shook his head. "I'm going to find out." He said walking toward the doors to autopsy.
"Nobody leaves here till I get back." He ordered over his shoulder.
Before Gibbs got on the elevator he dialed Vance's office.
"Vance."
"Baird called." Gibbs said cutting right to the chase. "He said he wants them released today and papers clearing them of all charges tomorrow or there will be hell to pay."
Vance sighed. "I don't think it would be a problem with the old lady, but I have issues letting Kyle Baird go."
"I don't know, Leon. He seems like the only one with a conscious to me."
Vance grumbled. "FBI said because of extenuating circumstances they will release the footage to us after they've reviewed it."
"Probably won't show anything anyway. He's too good for that. I'm sure he knew where the cameras were before he set foot into that building."
"Mmm." Vance sighed. "I'll have to talk to Sec Nav about letting them go."
"Yeah, when you do tell him Baird is a fan of his wife's Pilates class."
"What?" Vance demanded.
Gibbs went through the entire conversation.
"Great." Vance muttered. "I'll let you know what I find out." He said before he hung up.
Tony watched Tim's eyes slide closed. He sighed and turned his head to see Ducky watching him, but it wasn't until Gibbs left that he addressed him.
"What's wrong, Anthony?"
Tony sighed again and hung his head.
"I told Gibbs." He said softly and sullenly, misery seeping from every line on his face.
"Ah, I take it Timothy was unhappy." Ducky probed gently.
Tony nodded. Ziva had been listening and couldn't keep silent any longer.
"It was my fault, Ducky." She interjected.
"Oh?" He raised his eyebrow and listened as the two spilled their story. "I see." He said when they were finished.
"I thought I did the right thing." Tony said almost to himself.
Ducky clicked his tongue.
"You think I did the wrong thing?" Tony asked frowning.
"I think you meant well. I think you meant the best. But…Timothy needed someone to trust, to confide in. He needed to be able to trust you more than he needed anything else."
"He confided in me because we were both exhausted and injured and decided that would probably be better than arguing, which is what we were doing before." Tony said irritated.
Ducky smiled. "He trusts you, Anthony. You all can't do the job you do without trust. And he considers you a friend. I've seen that over the years."
Tony looked thoughtful. "Ducky?"
"Yes, lad?"
"You said he trust me, present tense, I think you probably meant he trusted me, as in the past." Tony said bitterly.
"We are human Anthony, we make mistakes sometimes in an attempt to do what is right. I believe that in time Timothy will see your actions for what they were, a caring attempt to mend a relationship."
"What if he doesn't?" Tony asked doubtfully.
"Well then, we will just have to remind him." Ducky said smiling.
I don't actually know how much C4 it takes to kill someone and I was afraid to look it up on my home computer….or my work computer...or the library computer...or even ask anybody. :)
Ok, we still have to find Cal. Tony and McGee have to work things out; Gibbs and McGee have to work things out. Am I missing anything? I think I'm going to go back and rereads all my chapters to make sure everything is coming together. Please let me know if I've screwed anything up in timeline or fact.
You guys are great. Thanks so much for reading!