A/N: Inspiration finally struck. Please leave me a review! F
Tony looked up in surprise as Gibbs re-entered the squad room and dumped a laptop on his desk. "Need all the information you can give me off that, DiNozzo"
"Boss! We didn't expect you back so soon. How's McGee?"
"Sleeping. The laptop?"
Tony signed the chain of evidence log, but wouldn't let his question drop. McGee was his friend, not just his teammate
"How is he, Boss?"
Gibbs sighed.
"He's fine, Tony. Exhausted and dehydrated. He'll be out in a couple days"
"Exhausted and dehydrated?" Tony echoed
"Well, yeah, DiNozzo, not sleeping or eating for three days will do that to ya" Gibbs sounded sarcastic "The laptop, remember?"
"Boss, if McGee didn't crack this thing..." he trailed off as Gibbs leant over his desk
"From what Abby tells me, he spent the whole of last night working on that damned computer. He looked happy about something to do with it right as they took her for that test. We need to find out what that was"
Tony swallowed.
"On it, Boss" he muttered
As he plugged in the laptop and waited for it to boot, he thought about what Gibbs had just told him. If he took Gibbs' meaning right, and he knew he had, this computer in front of him had used up the last little bit of energy McGee had to break it; and it had indirectly caused his collapse. Agent to the core, he literally hadn't rested til he solved it. Shaking his head, he turned his attention to the computer. You had to admire the Probie's dedication
Logging onto Windows was easy; McGee must have removed the password protection during his decryption. He wondered for a moment where to begin, then realised there was an icon sitting right in the middle of the desktop, away from anything else. It was labelled 'Evidence log'. It made sense; McGee knew he wasn't going to be able to work on the rest of this case, so he'd made it as easy as possible for his less geeky colleagues.
He opened the file the shortcut linked to, and scanned it quickly. His eyes grew wide as he realised the import of what he was reading. Scrolling back to the top of the page, he grabbed a notepad and started making notes. McGee had decrypted the mother lode.
"Boss, you need to see this..."
...
Half an hour later, Gibbs marched up the stairs, past the startled secretary, and into the Director's office. He slammed the papers he carried down on the desk.
"Gibbs" Vance looked up calmly, chewing on his usual toothpick "What can I do for you?"
"Jacobi was just a pawn" he snarled
"He stole millions of dollars from this Agency, Agent Gibbs" Vance reminded him
"He was just the tip of the iceberg, Leon. We found what we thought was his accomplice's laptop. Jacobi was double crossing Townell. Townell was behind it all" He paused before continuing
"Townell was stealing money from this Agency and diverting it to Al-Qaeda"
Vance was suddenly on his feet "You're sure?"
Gibbs gestured to the papers "He left the damned laptop behind. Agent McGee managed to get through his protection. Townell left logs of everything"
...
Downstairs in the bull pen, Tony and Ziva stood before the plasma, studying McGee's evidence log.
"Something's bugging me about this, Ziva. Why would he keep records like this, and then leave the laptop behind when he fled?"
"You are right; it does not make sense, Tony" Ziva agreed "Why keep records like this at all?"
"It was his insurance policy" Gibbs' voice came from above them. Together, he and the Director made their way quickly down the stairs
"He kept the records in case he was ever caught; having information like this on an Al-Qaeda cell meant he could negotiate a lighter punishment" the Director elaborated.
"So why leave it behind, Boss?" Tony questioned
"I don't think he left it willingly, DiNozzo"
Ziva shook her head
"There were no signs of a struggle" the meaning of that sunk in "So he left with someone he knew" Gibbs nodded.
"Gibbs, Townell's phone records showed several phone calls in the last few days to an address in Georgetown, including one around the time we found out about Abby's accident, and one around the time we arrested Jacobi"
"Grab your gear"
...
Silently they took position around the entrances of the small house in suburban Georgetown. The house was understated in a neighbourhood of quietly expensive homes. Nothing appeared outwardly sinister about the building. Once they were properly positioned, Gibbs gave the signal, kicking the door in
"Federal Agents!"
He and Tony quickly cleared the front rooms of the house, then heard Ziva calling out from the master bedroom towards the back of the house
"Gibbs!"
They moved quickly towards her voice. The sight that greeted them was not pretty. A body lay in the middle of the king size bed, eyes glazed. The two closely spaced wounds over his heart told their own story.
"Townell" Gibbs stated calmly, lowering his SIG.