Chapter 37
"We're starting our final descent into Cairo. If you're not buckled in, please take your seats and put on your seatbelts."
"All right, Jonathan, time to sit in your seat again," Zahara said.
Jonathan plunked down in his seat and Zahara got his seatbelt on while Tim checked Salma's. Zahara was dreading what would happen at this landing. She was full of fear for her brother and soon she knew her husband would be in danger again as well. She wished that Tim would just continue on to the States with her, knowing that the CIA would still look for Ahmed and would try to bring him home.
But at the same time, she was also hoping that Tim was right and that he would be able to work a miracle and find her brother. She knew he would never give up and the CIA might be forced to. It was a conundrum and she knew that she couldn't insist on staying. Not only would her pregnancy cause Tim more stress, but they had two children who needed to be cared for by one of their parents and Zahara could admit that she wasn't really trained for any of this.
Maybe that can change once this is over, she thought to herself.
What would Tim say if she suggested that she take self-defense classes or if she received something of the training he was getting? The thought was enough to break through her fear and make her smile just a little bit. It couldn't last, but she would take any moment of lightness that she could get.
The descent began and they touched down on the runway, the brakes engaging, bringing them nearly to a stop and then the plane began to slowly taxi to a hangar, Zahara knew that the time was coming when she would have to say good-bye to her husband and hope that it wasn't forever.
"All right, we're only going to be here for an hour so those of you getting off, need to get ready and do it now so that we can keep to our schedule."
Everyone started to move, including Tim, but he simply stood up and turned to Zahara as she stood. Before she was ready, he grabbed hold of her and hugged her tightly.
"I'm going to bring your brother home," he whispered.
"Bring yourself, too," Zahara whispered back. "Don't make me lose you, Tim."
"I'm going to do everything I can."
"I know."
Then, he let her go and looked at Salma and Jonathan.
"Baba, aren't you coming home with us?" Salma asked, sounding afraid.
Tim knelt down in front of them.
"Your uncle is in trouble. I'm staying here to help bring him back. When we've found him, we're coming home. All of us."
"Baba, I help?" Jonathan asked. He flexed his arms. "I strong!"
Tim laughed, but Zahara could see him holding back tears as he pulled Jonathan to him and hugged him tightly.
"You are very strong, Jonathan, but I need you to be strong for your mama. Can you help her until I get home?"
"Yes, Baba!"
"Good. Salma, you can help, too."
Salma hugged him. She would never be easy about Tim being suddenly gone, and even worse, this time, it was obvious that there was something wrong and so she was genuinely frightened.
"I promise, Salma. I'll come home as soon as I can."
"When will that be, Baba?"
"I don't know, but it won't be very long."
"Promise?"
"I promise."
"I'll help Mama," Salma whispered.
"Good."
Tim gave both Salma and Jonathan a kiss and then he stood and kissed Zahara gently on the forehead.
"Don't give Ziva any grief, okay?" he asked, smiling a little.
Zahara forced herself to smile back. "I am not the one who needs to hear that."
"I know."
"Agent McGee, if you're going to stay here, we need to go," Omar said.
He somehow managed to make that into something uncertain, as if Tim might actually change his mind. Zahara was impressed but unsurprised as Tim hugged her one more time and then turned away.
"I'm coming."
And Zahara had to watch as Tim got off the plane with Tony, Omar and Suhayl following along. She knew that Tim would be protected from those who wanted him and from himself as much as possible, but she knew there was no guarantee of success.
Just as when Tim had been taken, she knew that she wouldn't feel right about this until Tim was back... and she knew that even his return might not be the end. It rarely was, but if he was back and if Ahmed was with him, then, she would take what she could get.
Then, the door was closed once more and Zahara suppressed her own desire to cry.
"All right. We will be flying soon, so it's time to get back into your seats," she said.
"Mama, will Baba call us?" Salma asked.
"No, Salma. He will not be able to call."
"But he has his phone."
"Yes, but he'll be busy. He may call us when he's coming home... with your uncle."
"We go home, Mama?" Jonathan asked.
"Yes, Jonathan. We're going home and Ziva is coming with us."
Jonathan clapped and waved at Ziva who smiled and waved back.
"Yay! I play with Marra?"
"Yes, we'll get Marra and you can play with her."
"Good."
Zahara made sure that their seatbelts were secure and then she excused herself for a moment and went into the bathroom. She sat down and started to cry. It was the first time since finding out about Ahmed that she felt she could truly let out how she felt. She knew that Tim felt guilty about what had happened. She knew that her children were already afraid and she couldn't add to it.
But she was afraid and she didn't know how she was going to hold everything together until Tim came home. ...with Ahmed. Hopefully.
And so for now, she sat and cried, hoping for the best but desperately fearing the worst possible outcome.
After a few minutes, there was a soft knock on the door.
"Zahara? It is Ziva."
Zahara wiped her eyes and opened the door. Ziva was standing there. She took in Zahara's face which was streaked with tears and then, silently, she hugged Zahara without saying a word. For a little while, they just stood there, Ziva offering comfort in the only way she could for the moment.
Then, Zahara pulled back.
"Shokran," she whispered.
"You are welcome. The plane is preparing to leave. Can you sit in your seat?" Ziva asked.
Zahara nodded. "Yes. I can."
"Come."
Zahara walked back to her seat and sat down. Ziva sat beside her and the plane began to taxi out of the hangar and head for the runway.
"We're next in line for takeoff."
Zahara took a deep breath and then smiled at Jonathan and Salma.
"We're going home," she said.
x.x.x.x.x.x.x
As they walked down the steps, Tony decided just to ask. Maybe it would make a difference.
Probably not.
"Tim, are you sure you want to do this instead of getting home with your family?" he asked.
"Yes," Tim said, firmly. Not even a trace hesitancy.
Unfortunately.
"You know that they won't stop looking just because you're not here."
"I know that."
"Then, why?"
Tim stopped and looked at Tony, looked him right in the eye and Tony was surprised at what he saw. There was anxiety and guilt, yes, but there was something more, something he hadn't seen in Tim's eyes for a long time.
Steel.
"This is my responsibility, Tony. Ahmed is my family. No matter how much people will try to tell me that I don't need to be here, I know that I do. My being here will make it much more likely that the people who have Ahmed will tip their hand. They want me. They've been willing to kill already... but we all know that they don't want to kill me. If that was all they wanted, they could have done that. They want me alive, not dead. And I'm not walking away. No matter what it takes."
Tony had seen it before, had heard it in Tim's voice before. It was, to be overly dramatic, as if everything he had gone through in the past had been a crucible, making him into something stronger, something unbreakable.
And Tony didn't have it in him to see if he could break it. There was no reason to try when Tim spent far too much time in a breakable state as it was.
"I think we've gone over this enough," Omar said. "Let's just get on with it and meet up with Edwards."
Tony glanced at Suhayl. Suhayl simply gave him a significant look. He said nothing, but he didn't have to.
"So...where will Edwards be?"
"I don't know, but I can find out. You ready for that?"
"Yes," Suhayl said. "It will do us no good to stand and wait even if this man will be coming."
Without another word, they started out of the hangar. Tony noticed that Tim didn't look back, not even once. That steel wouldn't permit it.
They walked out of the hangar and headed for the exit. They didn't make it more than one step out onto the street before a car pulled up and Edwards got out, looking not particularly happy.
"Get in, quick," he said. "I don't like being out here."
No one delayed. As soon as they were in the car, Edwards started driving.
"What are you doing here, Agent McGee?"
"I'm making sure that you get my brother-in-law back alive."
"Don't you trust us?"
"I don't trust them. You need me here, even if you don't think so."
"What I need is you out of the way."
Tim smiled with that same steel. "Well, you're not getting that."
"I can tell. Just what do you think you're going to be able to do?"
"At worst, be bait. At best, give you a definite location."
"I'm not using you as bait. I don't care what you try to say, I'll hogtie you and leave you under guard if I have to, Agent McGee. You're not going to be bait."
"Then, don't make that necessary and let me help."
"And just how will you do that?"
Tim smiled once more. "I can't tell you that. There's a rule that if you have a secret, you don't tell anyone."
"Doesn't admitting that you have a secret defeat the purpose?"
"No, because you would never be able to guess what the secret is."
Edwards sighed and Tony was interested that no one else was getting involved in this discussion. It was just between Tim and Edwards. It also was strange that Tim had made such a swift turnaround. It was like he had flipped a switch and now he was suddenly able to deal with it all.
Or had he.
Silence fell until they got to a different hotel from the one they'd stayed at before. Edwards led them all inside and into the hotel room. The other agents who had been waiting in the room didn't look happy about Tim being there, and Tony didn't like that he had the same view as anyone in the CIA. It was irrational and he knew it, but he still didn't like it.
"All right, now, who are you?" Edwards asked, looking at Suhayl.
"He's one of the bedouin," Omar said, before anyone else could. "He's responsible for getting the McGees out of Cairo."
"I am Suhayl Ibn Hunayn al-Hurram. I am here to assist Tim in finding his brother. Nothing more."
"We want him along," Omar said.
Again, everyone deferred to Omar's opinion. Tony had a sneaking suspicion that Omar was way more than just another CIA spook. It might not matter right now, but it could matter later. Tony really wanted to talk to Tim and try and get at his new attitude and what he was hiding, but he knew that he couldn't get Tim alone right now. It would have to wait.
"So I'm assuming that you haven't found Mokrani yet," Omar said.
"No," Edwards said.
"All right, so bring us up to speed on everything."
"We've got some feelers out. We know the NSA is doing some very discreet checking, but so far, they haven't been able to track in on where Mokrani might be. We're trying to find how they got him out of the building in the first place. If we can get some sense at that point, then, we might be able to figure out a path."
"If the NSA didn't see them take Ahmed out of the building, how do you know they left the building at all?" Tim asked.
Everyone looked at him.
"I don't know if that's even a valid possibility," Tim said. "But have you checked?"
"No. I'll admit that we haven't."
Tim looked at Suhayl.
"Do you think you would recognize the people you were following before?"
"It is possible. I did not see them all."
"Tony, could you do a sketch with Suhayl?"
Tony smiled a little, although he didn't really feel like it.
"Why me?"
"Because you're a better artist than I am, and Abby isn't here."
"You got that right," Tony said, trying to keep things light. "Sure, I can do that."
"It may not help," Suhayl said.
"We're still at the stage of grasping at straws," Tim said. "Whatever might help is good, even if it doesn't end up helping."
Then, it was like Tim suddenly realized that he'd taken over the meeting and he looked at Edwards again... with a sideways glance at Omar. Clearly, he'd noticed the same deference.
"I'm sorry," he said. "Do you have any problem with doing that?"
"No," Edwards said. "We're not really at the grasping at straws stage, but anything to help is something that can help, so we'll go with it."
"Okay."
Then, Tim swallowed and took a breath.
And walked into the bathroom and then shut the door, locking it behind him. Tony looked after him and then at Edwards.
"Well, you've got your orders, Agent DiNozzo," he said, smiling slightly. "Badawi, can you give me a report on what happened after you all left the hotel?"
Omar nodded. "Yes."
They walked over to a corner of the room and started talking in low voices. Two of the other agents left the room, leaving Tony standing there with Suhayl.
"I guess... we'll get started," he said.
"Yes," Suhayl said, solemnly.
"Have you ever done a sketch before?"
"No."
"Okay. Then, I'll walk you through it."
They walked over to a table and sat down. As Tony got some paper, Suhayl touched his arm.
"Do not fear for Tim. He is strong, and he has a plan, even if he has not shared it with you."
"Maybe."
"No, he does. He was speaking with authority and that is not something he likes to do unless he knows that he should have it."
Tony raised an eyebrow. Suhayl didn't smile but there was a slight twinkle in his eye.
"I cannot speak of the specific moment, but I forced Tim to be the one making the decisions. He did not want to. Here, he did so without thought. He has a plan, but for now, I will help you by describing those I saw."
Tony was surprised at the return to the task at hand, but he nodded and tried to focus.
...all the while wondering what Tim was planning.
