~Seven~

It took longer to reach the cabin than he'd anticipated. With one man short, Gibbs decided to approach the cabin from the front, instead of sending Ziva circling around to the back. They'd lost their advantage when Tony hit the tripwire, anyway. Morrison knew they were coming - Gibbs figured on walking up to the front door. But with the ground washed away in areas because of the recent surge of rainfall, and the overgrown bushes that wove together and conspired to create impenetrable walls, they had to backtrack and circle around to the main trail so many times, it took much longer to reach their destination.

By the time Gibbs stepped onto the small front porch and approached the door, he knew much more time had passed than he intended in leaving McGee alone. Worry had begun to gnaw at his gut, and he knew better than to ignore it.

Back pressed to the wall beside the door, weapon ready, he knocked and announced, "NCIS, Morrison. We just want to talk."

Ziva caught his eye from the corner. He nodded and she disappeared around the side of the cabin. Tony joined him on the porch and hugged the wall on the other side of the door. "Open the door, Morrison. Let us in."

A loud squeak of wet wood alerted Gibbs that Ziva was through the backdoor. He grabbed the handle and surged through the front, Tony right behind. The one room cabin was obviously empty, but they spread out and searched for hiding places, anyway.

Ziva moved to the center of the small room. "They're gone."

"But they haven't been gone long, Boss." Tony pointed to the small wood-burning stove sitting in the corner. "Fire's still burning."

"He knew we were coming. And he had plenty of time to leave." Gibbs put his gun away. "We would have seen them if they'd come out the front, so they must have left out the back." He stepped out of the cabin and the others followed. Within just a few minutes of searching he found what he was looking for: signs of the trail that Morrison had made. He stood still, visually sweeping the mountain, head craned back as he followed his sight up. It didn't make sense for Morrison to head farther up; how could he expect to escape that way? His gut gave a twinge, talking to him, and Gibbs listened. He tossed aside the small broken branch he'd found and instead turned on his heel and headed back the way they'd come.

"This has taken too long."

"Boss?" Confusion laced Tony's question even as he followed.

Ziva voiced her doubts. "I thought the trail led farther up the mountain."

"That's what he wants us to think. Morrison has circled around and is headed back down the mountain."

"Toward McGee." Tony's steps quickened and he noticed Ziva caught up, as well.

The way down took less than half the time the way up had. When he knew they were close Gibbs stopped and held up his hand. Tony and Ziva drew up beside him. "Tony, you go left, Ziva, right. Try to stay as quiet as possible."

The rain and sleet had ceased some time ago, but the temperature had continued its downward plunge. Unbelievably, a tiny dusting of snow began to fall, smudging the air white and gray. Dark, wet wood absorbed the extra moisture quickly, swallowing any evidence of a wintry mix. By morning, no one would believe it had snowed unless they'd seen it with their own eyes.

Gibbs kept his lips pressed together, but could do nothing to hide the white clouds of warm breath escaping from his nose. Wet ground and saturated undergrowth acted like a cushion underfoot, cradling his steps as gently as carpet. He made no sound as he slowly advanced toward the man leaning over McGee. He ignored how still McGee lay, pushing his worry aside for the moment. But when he saw the knife gripped in Morrison's fist, he could wait no longer.

"Freeze! NCIS! Put the weapon down, Morrison, and move away from him."

Morrison held both hands shoulder high, dropped the knife, stood up, and turned to face Gibbs. "This isn't what you think, sir."

Gibbs' eyes squinted dangerously. He was about to respond when McGee groaned and shifted against the ground. Morrison lowered his hands but Gibbs persuaded him to keep them where he could see them. "Freeze, dirtbag. Stay away from him." He took a sidestep closer to McGee. "McGee? You all right?"

"Boss?"

"How's your leg?" Keeping his hands up, Morrison turned his head to look at McGee.

McGee seemed to take an internal inventory, then surprise hit his face. "Better. Much better."

"Morrison - where's Jason?"

Morrison turned back to Gibbs. "He's in your car, probably nice and toasty by now. I taught him and Rodney -" his voice faltered for a second. He cleared his throat and continued, " - I taught Jason and my brother how to hotwire cars. I'm sure that's something else you can add to the charges."

Gibbs put his gun away. Ziva moved in close and knelt by McGee. McGee nodded at her question and looked back up at Gibbs. "He saved my life, Boss. I developed some kind of syndrome in my leg and he -"

"Compartment Syndrome. I didn't save his life, really, I just made him more comfortable." He turned around when Gibbs gently pushed against his shoulder and told him to put his hands behind his back. Gibbs clicked the handcuffs in place, then pulled Morrison back around. "I just needed to get my head straight, sir."

Gibbs nodded, quiet understanding in his lifted brows. "I hope you got it together, marine, because there's some people who have a lot of questions for you."

McGee struggled to his feet with assistance from Tony and Ziva. He held his hurt leg slightly forward and put all his weight on his good leg. Within just a few steps, it was clear that his weight was too much for Ziva. She and Gibbs switched places. It was a long way back down the mountain. Before they reached the car, the cuffs were removed and Morrison took his turn at McGee's side. He and Tony managed to get McGee into the car without bumping his leg too badly, then joined him in the back seat.

Ziva opened the front door, made shooing motions toward Jason, and scooted in beside him. Gibbs slid in behind the wheel, made a quick head count, then shifted the car into drive and headed for the hospital. He decided not to mention the keyless ignition until later.