AN: warning – ends with a cliff hanger. If you hate them, it's probably better to wait until the next chapter is up so you don't have to wait so anxiously.

"Boss … Boss … are you OK?"

Gibbs came back to consciousness to the sound of McGee's anxious voice and a shaking of his shoulder. He allowed himself a moment of weakness and groaned.

"Boss?" came Tim's voice again. "Wake up!"

"I am awake," said Gibbs crossly. "Stop shaking me!"

"Sorry, Boss. I was just trying to wake you up … I didn't mean to …"

"It's all right," said Gibbs as he remembered that Tim was supposed to be an office bound researcher rather than … well, rather than whatever had happened to him. "You OK, McGee?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm fine," said McGee.

Gibbs frowned: it hardly seemed fair that McGee was fine while he had been knocked out. "What happened?" he asked.

"You got knocked out," said McGee.

Gibbs closed his eyes for a moment but quickly opened them again lest McGee take them as a signal to resume his shaking. "I know," he said, "What happened to you?"

"Oh, me," said Tim. "I'd just left the guesthouse when someone stopped to ask me directions. Except they didn't want directions, they wanted me. Two more men showed up and they bundled me into a car. And then they brought me here and locked me in. Where is here, Boss?"

"Western Dock," answered Gibbs. "Hermitage Basin."

"Oh," said McGee, "I thought we must be in the docks somewhere but they laid me down on the floor of the car so I couldn't see out. How did you know I was here?"

"We didn't," admitted Gibbs, "But we found out where Sewell worked and I got a job here too. We figured we'd go with the idea that your disappearance was connected to our case and try and pick up clues that way."

"It worked," said McGee.

Gibbs stared at him; sometimes Gibbs thought about drawing up a list of rules and now he thought that one of the first rules should be don't state the obvious. "Yeah," he said, "It was good work doing the Morse code, McGee."

McGee flushed with pleasure, "You sure you're OK, Boss? It sounded like quite a thump."

"I'm fine, McGee. I had a sergeant once who used to get our attention by slapping the back of our heads. Compared to him, this is a walk in the park."

It was McGee's turn to stare, torn between admiration of Gibbs' stoicism and horror at the thought of a superior who used violence. "That's …"

Gibbs was destined never to find out what McGee was about to say as, at that moment, the door opened and three men walked into the room.

"Gunnery Sergeant Gibbs," said one of them. "I wish I could say it was a pleasure."

Gibbs recognised the speaker as the man they had crossed the Atlantic to capture, "I'm here to arrest you, Alexander Lambert," he said. "Give up now and it will go better for you."

Lambert seemed genuinely amused at Gibbs' bravado, "As I said, it's not a pleasure but at least I know where you are now."

"How did you know we were after you?" asked McGee.

The smile stayed on Lambert's face although Gibbs didn't think he'd bet any large sum on it being a sign of friendliness. "I knew the Office of Naval Intelligence were sniffing around," he replied. "And I knew that the Gunnery Sergeant was leading the investigation … and that he had a new sidekick in you."

"Is that why you came to England? To get away from us?" asked McGee.

"It suited my plans," said Lambert vaguely. "It just meant I came to England a little earlier than I'd planned. I will admit it was annoying when the person I employed to keep an eye on Gibbs told me he was on his way here … but I'm used to adapting to circumstance. Flexibility is a necessity in my business."

"You planning to sell the secrets you stole here?" asked Gibbs.

Lambert laughed again, "No! I haven't stolen any secrets. If you've lost any, I suggest you search again."

"Don't give me that," said Gibbs, "We know you were hanging around trying to get information about the US submarine capacity. And that's treason, you know."

"Dear me, is it?" said Lambert in mock horror.

Gibbs narrowed his eyes to stare at Lambert as he tried to work out what was going on.

"Ah, I've puzzled our poor Gunnery Sergeant," cooed Lambert. "Yes, I was hanging around the submarines but not for the reason you're thinking of."

"Then why?" demanded Gibbs.

"I was looking into whether we could use submarines for our smuggling operations," said Lambert. "Although even that was an afterthought. I originally went to Portsmouth to see if I could get details of navy patrols … the submarine idea was just a bonus."

"But you were coming to England anyway?" asked McGee, "Why?"

"Smuggling, McGee," said Gibbs curtly. "That's what he said."

"But smuggling what?" asked McGee.

For answer, Gibbs sniffed, "What do you smell, McGee?"

Tim sniffed obediently, "Er … damp … the smell of the river … and, oh – alcohol!"

"Well done!" Lambert clapped sarcastically. "Alas, Prohibition has not prevented people still wanting liquor …"

"You sound heartbroken," interjected Gibbs.

"You're right, I shed crocodile tears," admitted Lambert, "There are many wealthy people who still want to drink. And they certainly don't want moonshine or other rough forms of alcohol: they have discerning tastes … and deep pockets to afford the finer things in life. And fortunately I can supply them … this dock specialises in high end products including fine spirits and wines and I can divert them to my clients in the New World."

"Why'd you kill Sewell?" asked Gibbs.

"He was nosy … and noisy," said Lambert. "Barged in when we were arranging a shipment. If I'd had more time I would have arranged for a solution with more finesse but, unfortunately, time was at a premium."

"What are you going to do with us?" asked Gibbs, although he had a pretty good idea already.

"Alas …"

"Seems to be your favourite word," said Gibbs.

Lambert smiled again: by now, Tim didn't trust the smile either. "Alas, I am pressed for time once more. I think you will both have to come to a watery end."

"You don't think you'll get away with that, do you?" demanded Gibbs.

"Oh, I think so," said Lambert. "I slit Sewell's throat because I was in a hurry … and I admit, was taken by surprise. And while speed is important here, I have enough time to plan to make your demise be more ambiguous as to cause."

"Scotland Yard are working with us!" said McGee. "They'll be suspicious."

"Of course they will," said Lambert affably. "But suspicion won't help you. And we're closing down this operation and I'm leaving the country so ambiguity serves me well at the moment. England was profitable for a time but I think France will serve me better."

"We're working with an Inspector," said Gibbs.

"Ah, the wonderful PD," said Lambert. "Oh, I don't think he's going to join the dots. He doesn't seem to be the most serious policeman around … or the brightest. And, in any case, he's on his way out. Yours is going to be the last case he works."

Gibbs frowned as he remembered those whispered words from Deputy Commissioner James as he assigned the case to DiNozzo, "Shouldn't take too long, PD. I know you're winding down."

"So, don't expect any help from that quarter," said Lambert with false concern, "Although I'm sure he's been a perfect gentleman to you."

McGee and Gibbs exchanged concerned looks although they each, in different ways, continued to hope.

"Tie them up," said Lambert to his two henchmen. "And don't try anything," he ordered Gibbs as he drew a pistol from his pocket.

McGee and Gibbs submitted meekly enough to being tied up. They knew they might be going to die but saw no point in bringing the moment forward unnecessarily.

"We load boats from these areas," said Lambert. "And this loading area is very flexible …"

"Your favourite word," commented McGee.

"Oh, well done," said Lambert, "It's always good to know that people are listening to what I say. As I was saying, this particular loading area is very flexible. The floor can be raised or lowered according to what the tide is doing, saves a lot of time because we don't have to wait for the tide to be favourable."

"Yes?" asked Gibbs.

"Yes. So we're just going to leave you on the edge … tied up of course, and lower the floor. The tide's coming in, so you'll soon be completely submerged. And then we'll come back later, when the tide has gone out again, untie you and let you drift away. Who knows when your bodies will be found?"

Lambert nodded once more to other men who dragged Gibbs and McGee to the far side of the room and tied them each to a stout metal hoop embedded in the floor. They then hauled on a rope which lifted the metal fence up and exposed the room to the outside.

"Down we go!" said Lambert jovially as he turned the handle which operated the mechanism to lower the floor. "It's cold, but it won't be a problem for long. The tide is rising fast."

"Let us go!" demanded Gibbs struggling against his ropes.

"Now, now," said Lambert, "You don't really think that will work, do you? I would stay and watch but I've got things to do. You two have been quite a nuisance, you know!"

With that, Lambert and the other two men left the room, making sure to lock the door as they left.

"Er, Boss," said McGee tentatively, "What do we do now?"

XXXXXX

Tony walked along the Hermitage Basin, half expecting to see Gibbs emerge mysteriously from the shadows and berate him for not waiting for him. So far, however, Gibbs hadn't appeared and Tony continued to walk along the water's edge until something caught his attention in the water below. He bent down and focused his torch on the object and then sighed as he realised it was just a piece of paper. Tony was about to walk on when he turned to look again and saw that the paper had a picture of St Paul's Cathedral on it. As he watched, another piece of paper floated past and he saw that this one had a street map on it,

"Looks like a guidebook," he muttered and then, "McGee! He had a guidebook with him all the time!"

Tony lowered himself to the ground and leaned over the dock, "Gibbs! McGee! You there?"

"We're here!" came Gibbs' determinedly calm voice.

"I'll come get you!" said Tony.

"You'll have to be quick," said Tim. "We're nearly under water!"

Tony stretched over as far as he could to try and catch sight of the Americans. "Where are you? Can you see my torch?"

"We see your flashlight," said Gibbs. "A few yards to the left of us."

Tony ran down a few yards and then lowered himself down again. "Do you know where you are?" he asked, "I'll go and see if I can get through to you."

"Too late," gasped Gibbs, "You won't find us in time."

"Damn!" said Tony. He stood up and took his police whistle out of his pocket and blew 3 long blasts on it before shrugging off his overcoat and jumping into the water.

Fortunately, there was a cloudless sky and a full moon which gave enough light that Tony could just make out the faces of Gibbs and McGee.

"Ropes or chains?" he asked.

"Ropes," said Gibbs.

"McGee?" Tony said to Gibbs, assuming he should tackle McGee first.

"Gibbs," said McGee firmly, "He's lower down in the water than me."

Tony wasted no time in argument but took a knife from his belt. "Excuse me, Gibbs," he said as he put a hand on Gibbs' shoulder and used it to trace down and around his body until he found Gibbs' elbow and then ducked down under water to try and cut the ropes. Gibbs was almost grateful that the cold water had numbed his arms as he suspected that Tony was cutting into his flesh as well as the ropes. Tony had to surface and then dive down again three times before he finally got Gibbs arms free. He surged to the top and gasped,

"Can you do your feet? I need to get to McGee."

"Go!" ordered Gibbs. "I can do the rest."

Tony nodded and swam the short distance to McGee who was beginning to be overwhelmed by the rising water.

"Good to see you, McGee," he said conversationally, "Don't worry, you'll be out of here soon."

McGee tried to nod without putting his mouth under water but Tony had already dived down and was beginning to cut at the knots. It took Tony four more dives before Tim's hands were free; as he gasped for breath before diving down once more to get to Tim's feet, Gibbs swam up and tapped him on the shoulder,

"I'll do it," he said.

Tony coughed, "I'll be down in a minute. Just need to catch my breath!"

Gibbs was quick, however, and got Tim's feet free after two dives and before Tony had stopped coughing. As all three began to swim to the dockside ladder, they heard the sound of pounding feet on the dock above and the welcome sound of,

"Police! Police!"

Almost at the same time, Gibbs heard a boat approaching and recognised it as the police launch on which he and Tony had made their trip to St Katharine's Dock a few days before. As he looked harder he recognised Percy Winston leaning over the side with a boathook in his hand.

"Anyone need a ride?" asked Percy.

Gibbs grunted and pushed McGee to be taken on board first. He then looked around for Tony and shoved him forwards and watched him being hoisted into the boat. Finally, he made his own way on board, grateful for Percy's steadying hand. He lay gasping for a few moments and then sat up to see how the others were doing.

"What's going on?" he asked when he saw Tony apparently unconscious on the deck with Winston looking concerned.

"Hey!" roared Winston to the police officer in the cabin, "Get us to St Thomas's! Now! PD's in trouble!"


AN: I won't keep you waiting long to find out what happens with Tony.