Chapter 26

"Tim is with Suhayl in Saudi Arabia."

"Whoa. Wait a minute. Saudi Arabia? How sure are you of this, Gibbs?" Tony asked and gestured to Ziva as he put the phone on speaker. They were just getting ready to try to sleep and get an early start in the morning.

Ziva looked at him in surprise.

"As sure as we can be without Tim saying so. It makes too much sense."

"Okay. Well... that's great but Saudi Arabia is a big place."

"Working on that."

"Of course you are. ...but there's another problem."

"What?"

"Ahmed is missing," Ziva said. "It looks like whoever was after Tim took him."

"You're sure he's alive?"

"No, but they didn't just kill him there and they did kill the CIA agent who was guarding him."

"How many dead then?"

"Four, all together," Tony said. "Three at the hotel, and the one killed who was with Ahmed."

There was a long pause.

"Yeah," Tony said to Gibbs' unspoken words. "This is going to be bad for Tim to hear about. ...and he will eventually."

"Yeah. We still need to find him and get him back."

"Right. Well, even if he's back in the Empty Quarter like he was before, that's still a lot of area to search. Are you going to try what we did before?"

"Might do that. Have to see what's possible first."

"Okay. We're still wrapping things up here, but..."

"...but we will tell the CIA what you have learned," Ziva said, firmly.

Tony looked at her and she met his gaze.

"If we can get Tim and his family out of here and back to the States, it won't be on a normal flight," she said, sternly. "We will need the CIA's help."

"Yeah, she's right. One of the men who was killed looks to be from Russia although we didn't have any verification of that today."

"Russia?"

"Yeah."

"Carew said that there had been attempts by groups in Russia in the past."

"Oh, yeah," Tony said. "Director Morgan told us that back when those other guys abducted Tim before. Groups located in Russia or groups from Russia?"

"Don't know. But if it's from, there's a bigger problem."

"I'll say. I'm not sure I'm ready to be fighting against the Russian government, Gibbs. I don't think there are enough of us for that, not even for the CIA."

"Then, it had better not get that far. See what you can find."

"We will, but that's both good and bad as far as information goes. I think we need to find Ahmed sooner rather than later. If he's alive, it's because they want to use him and he can't lead them to where Tim is. It's obvious that he wasn't with them when they ran away."

Ziva took a breath and rubbed her wrists. "And that means he will be an example... a way to manipulate Tim into doing what they want."

"Probably. We'll let you know."

"We?"

"Carew and I."

"Did you move in?" Tony asked.

"Temporarily."

Tony blinked a couple of times. "Wait. You did?"

"Yep."

"He let you?"

"Yep."

"And you did it?"

"Yep."

"You're crazy."

"Yep."

Tony laughed a little and then hung up. Almost instantly, he sobered and looked at Ziva.

"You think that the Russian government would go this far just to get their hands on Tim?"

Ziva shrugged a little. "If they thought they could get away with it. As long as none of them are taken alive, we have no evidence that they were sent by the government. It's just speculation and the U.S. will not say anything if they can't prove that it was at the government's instigation."

"Man, this is worse than just someone wanting him if it's true. All the little guys gave up after the last time and left the big guys still in play."

Ziva nodded. Then, she looked like she'd come to a decision.

"Tony, we should tell Agent Edwards tonight. Now. That will let him know that we're serious about being part of the team, not just here with them. They will be more likely to work with us and not attempt to leave us behind if they find something."

Tony wanted to say no. While he was much better than he had been, the dislike and distrust of Carew and anyone associated with the CIA was still mostly automatic. However, he also knew that Ziva was right. He hated that she was, but she was.

"Okay," he said, reluctantly.

Ziva pulled out her phone.

"Agent Edwards, we have something to share with you. Could you come to our room?" She listened. "Yes, it is important."

Then, she hung up.

"He's coming now."

"I guess that's good."

"It may help us get to Tim faster," Ziva said. "That is good."

"Yeah, I know."

In a couple of minutes, there was a knock on the door. Tony checked and it was Edwards and Hammami. He opened the door and let them in.

As soon as it was closed, Edwards turned and faced both Tony and Ziva.

"Okay. What is it?"

"First, we're pretty sure that Tim and his family are in Saudi Arabia."

"Whoa. How did you find that out?" Hammami asked.

"We have a source who has been in occasional contact with Tim," Ziva said. "We don't want to reveal who the source is, but it is someone who is definitely being honest about it."

Tony was impressed at Ziva's verbal maneuvering. Honest. No matter how much Tony disliked Carew, even he wouldn't dare say that he lied.

"Saudi Arabia. That's a pretty big place. Anything more specific than that?" Edwards asked.

"Probably the Empty Quarter, but we're not sure. Not yet. We're hoping that we may, but we can't predict how long it might take," Ziva said.

"And another suggestion that it might be Russia behind this. Not just Russians," Tony added.

"I hate the implications of that," Edwards said. "We're just not prepared to take on that kind of attack... if it comes right down to it. It also means that we might be under more surveillance than we would normally be."

He fell silent for a while and Tony noticed that it wasn't that Edwards thought it was unlikely. He just didn't like it.

"Okay," he said after a minute. "Okay. As much as I hate to do it, I'm going to have to call in and report this. Getting Agent McGee back is paramount, but we can't leave Mokrani in their hands, either. I think this is going to get messy. I'll let you know."

Then, he walked out. Hammami paused at the door and looked back.

"Thanks for telling us. I know you don't like working with the CIA, but it really helps when we're all on the same page," he said.

Then, he left as well. Tony closed the door behind him. Then, he walked back to the bed and sat down.

"I don't like that they're taking the Russia suggestion this seriously. That means it could actually be right," he said.

Ziva nodded.

"I'm not tired now," she said.

"Your fault," Tony said. "I would have waited until the morning to tell them."

Ziva smiled a bit.

"We should still try to sleep."

"All right. I hope Tim is okay," Tony said.

"For the moment, that is all we can do," Ziva said.

Reluctantly, they went to bed.

But neither slept for a long time.

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

The truck was far from smooth on the road, although it was better than the truck Tim had ridden in with Suhayl back in Yemen. Still, he had let Salma climb onto his lap to have some cushioning from the bumps. Jonathan had done the same with Zahara. Zahara was leaning on Tim's shoulder, her eyes closed. Both Salma and Jonathan were asleep. Zahara had relaxed against him and was obviously sleeping as well. Tim was too tense to do anything but sit there as the truck carried them away from the coast and into the Rub' al-Khali.

Omar was on guard as always, and Suhayl was up front with the driver.

Tim's mind was full of everything that could still go wrong. He looked out the back of the truck at the miles behind them. They'd actually had to drive around the city of Mecca and Tim had, momentarily, wished that they could have gone there, but even if they hadn't been on the run, there was no way since Mecca was off-limits to non-Muslims. Now, they were in the mountains. He couldn't think of the name of them at the moment. He could only sit and stare.

"You should sleep, Agent McGee," Omar said.

"You're right. I should," Tim said. But he made no move to relax or even close his eyes. He just kept looking out the back of the truck as it lumbered on.

"Agent McGee, I still remember what Jacobs told us about you. You shouldn't do that to yourself again."

The reminder of his previous experience made Tim feel even more tense and he swallowed. He thought about what Bob would say to him right now.

Stop giving your memories power over you. That makes you weak and you don't have to be weak!

"I won't go that far," Tim said softly. "My family is here."

"If you start out this way, you still could," Omar said.

"How many of the people you work with are dead right now?" Tim whispered. "How many died because we came to Egypt?"

"As many as had to. No more."

"No one had to. This wasn't a vital trip. We could have stayed home."

"Agent McGee, we are willing to do this. Stop taking our choices away from us."

Tim didn't reply.

"Agent McGee, I wasn't assigned to this detail. I volunteered. In fact, everyone did."

That got Tim to look away from the road and at Omar.

"What?"

"I said that we all volunteered to do this, knowing that it could be dangerous if something happened. Agent McGee, no one who guards you and your family goes into it unaware of what might be required. Sure, you could stay hidden away in your home, but you deserve to have a good life and if you want to travel and see family, even if it's technically unnecessary, then, I'm fine with that. I don't think you're being irresponsible to come to Egypt. You did everything right. If someone was more careful in planning than we were able to anticipate, then, that doesn't make it automatically your fault for wanting to come here."

That was the most that Omar had spoken at a time since their flight had begun.

"If I sleep now, it won't be for long," Tim said.

"But if you sleep, that's sleep you've had and some is better than none."

Tim knew he was right, but he didn't want to sleep right now with his children so close to him.

"Just try it, Agent McGee. If you don't make it, then, you've at least been trying to relax and that helps, too."

Tim took a breath and let it out slowly.

"Why do you care what I do?" he asked.

"I care because you are someone I've been tasked to protect. I care because Jacobs told us about you. I care because I know that you're someone who can't accept the idea of collateral damage and so, even if it comes down to a fight, you won't abandon me just to save yourself or even your family. And if I bring you back less than sound, then, I've failed in my task. So I'm asking you to try it. I'm still on watch. Suhayl is in the front. And when we reach our destination, I can rest as well."

Tim still didn't want to sleep, but he nodded and leaned back against the wall of the truck. He wasn't sure he'd succeed in relaxing, but he could try.

He closed his eyes.

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

"Are you sure you're able to do this, Levi?" Tamara asked.

"Yes," Levi said, patiently. "I'm not going to do anything more than walk into the building and ask."

"But you won't be coming right back, will you."

"Probably not. Whether he says yes or no, I doubt we'll be coming straight back, but I can promise that I won't be running around."

Tamara sighed, and Levi walked over to her and leaned in close.

"Tamara, it's not like last time. In this case, all I can do is ask a question and hope for an answer. Tim is far away. The people who are in on the action are elsewhere. That's not happening here. I promise."

Tamara's eyes widened, and Levi knew why. She knew that he didn't like making promises he wasn't sure he'd be able to keep. That he was promising meant something to her. ...and he wasn't doing that idly, either. He never did. She kissed him gently.

"Okay. Come back soon."

"I'll try."

She nodded in acceptance of the lack of promise on this one and then Levi walked over to Gibbs.

"I'm ready to go."

Gibbs nodded.

"You could stay."

"No, I couldn't. Physically, yes, but not in this case. I need to go along. So we should get going."

Gibbs nodded again and they left the house. At first, the drive was silent. Gibbs wasn't much of a talker and Levi was mostly thinking about whether or not Roy would already have considered what they were going to ask of him. He was smart and skilled, but would this have occurred to him?

"Agent Gibbs..."

"Not an agent anymore," Gibbs interrupted.

"I know that," Levi said.

There was a long pause.

"Name's Jethro," Gibbs said without taking his eyes off the road.

Levi raised an eyebrow. This was unexpected. The last thing he would have thought was that Jethro Gibbs would invite such familiarity.

"Okay. Jethro, why are you insisting on staying at my home? It's not just about being there for Tim. It's not just about your team. You know that I would ensure that you were up-to-date on everything that happens and you know that Tim is unlikely to contact me very often."

"I know."

"Then, why?"

Another long pause. Levi wasn't sure that he'd get a response. Not only did Gibbs not talk much, but he also was rarely willing to talk about his feelings... and this was about emotion. Levi was sure of it.

"I can't do anything else anymore," Gibbs said, finally. "I could have said I was going along. Tony would have pushed for it if I had said so. But I can't do it anymore. Getting old. And I don't want to be useless while Tim is in danger." The car came to a stop at a light. Gibbs looked over at Levi. "His situation is my fault. You would never have known about him. No one at the CIA would have known about him if I hadn't made him hack the CIA. And I need to... help him have the life he deserves to have. That's more important than anything else going on in my life right now."

Then, the light changed and Gibbs continued driving. Levi stared at him for a long moment. Who would have thought that he and Gibbs would have the same motivation? Atonement. He wasn't expressing it that way, but it was the same thing. Tim had suffered and he needed to be saved.

"Then, you and I are on the same page, Jethro."

Gibbs looked at him. Levi smiled.

"So at the risk of inviting some genuine camaraderie, we can be two old men doing our best to make things better."

Finally, for almost the first time in the years that they had known each other, Gibbs actually smiled at him.

"Okay."

They were getting close to McLean, ready to do what they could to make up for the past.