Chapter 8

Tim didn't sleep well that night, but that was becoming the norm. He simply dealt with it, like he dealt with everything else in this operation: by himself. When he woke up in the morning, he didn't bother trying to delay his meeting. There were things they needed to know, things that he needed to do. So he got going. He had no issues with the work itself, only with his treatment.

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

As he headed over for the meeting, he looked back over his shoulder once and caught a glimpse of someone following him. He had watched for shadows for weeks now, and it was almost a relief to find one. He pulled out his phone, dialed a number and then headed back to confront his tail.

"Excuse me," Thomas said, "I believe you're invading my space."

The man tried to pretend that he hadn't been following, but Thomas was unconvinced.

"Go back and tell your bosses that if they try to put a tail on me again, they can find someone else to do the work. I don't like people in my business. Unless and until they get me working for them, they have no right to try and figure out my every move and quite frankly, it's annoying."

"I have my orders."

"If you don't disobey those orders right now, I'll knock you out and you won't have the conflict. Would you prefer that instead?"

The man pulled out a phone and dialed a number.

"Yep. I've been made. Yeah, he's standing right here." He grimaced. "She wants to talk to you."

"Nice of her." Thomas took the phone. "Stop having me followed," he said.

"It's for your own good."

"No, it's for your paranoia. You're not the only game I'm involved in. Get that straight right now. I'm discreet, and I'm in demand. You want me on your payroll, you give me my space. I catch someone else tailing me and it's over."

"I don't like threats."

"I don't make threats. I make promises. I have survived in this game by doing my job well, and by keeping every job separate. I do not intend on letting you spoil that. You're not big enough to be worth it. Got it?"

There was a long pause. Thomas hoped that it would work. It should. They usually caved, but he didn't like that the following was happening so soon. It smacked of making things more difficult down the line, and he didn't want to deal with another layer of complexity. If he were honest, he wasn't sure that he could deal with another layer.

"We might be a bit bigger than you think."

"You can't be big enough to warrant this level of scrutiny and I'm not dealing with it. Call off the hounds or find someone else."

"You remember what I said in the office?"

"I don't care. I'll take care of this goon and be gone before you can get to me. I'll take my chances. I don't squeal. I can keep things to myself, but you had better back off."

"One slip."

"If I had slipped before now, I'd already be dead."

"Give the phone back."

Thomas held it out and the man took it. He listened, protested briefly and then hung up.

"Go ahead. She's called off the tail."

"Does that mean I can kill you if I catch you following me?"

"I suppose so. You're not worth the effort." He turned and walked away.

Inside, Tim was shaking, knowing that he had come very close to either dying or to ruining everything. He turned back on his way and only pulled the phone out of his pocket when he had put a few blocks between him and his would-be tail. He also was trying not to look at every single passerby.

"You okay, McGee?"

Tim was relieved to hear genuine concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just..." He could hear the tremolo in his voice and quickly modified it back to Thomas' manner of speaking. "I just had to convince someone that they didn't want to go where I was going."

"Are you sure it worked?"

"Yes. I'm headed in."

"Be careful."

The omnipresent resentment flared up again. "Well, I'm not going to walk around shouting out my destination."

"McGee!"

That flare-up had been unexpected. Tim figured it must have been a result of his nerves. He didn't respond, but he headed off on his way. ...and made it to base in record time. He started to drag his heels as he mounted the stairs. There were so many things they could say to insult him. He wasn't sure he wanted to deal with any of them. No, scratch that. He knew he didn't want to deal with any of them, but he wasn't sure which would come up.

He knocked on the door.

"Welcome, oh wise one," Tony said dramatically as he pulled open the door and stepped back, gesturing grandiloquently for him to enter.

Tim rolled his eyes and walked in without comment.

"McGee."

"Yeah, Boss?" Tim asked, tamping down on his irritation.

"You have a problem you come out and say it. I've had it with your retorts. You go too far and it's over. Got it?"

Thomas stared at him, almost unable to believe that was all Gibbs had to say.

"Are we clear?" Gibbs repeated.

Thomas glanced at Ziva who was studiously pretending she couldn't hear the dressing down. Tony was behind him. He didn't even want to imagine what kind of gleeful expression Tony had on his face.

"Clear. Boss."

"Good. Now, tell us what happened both yesterday and just now."

He wanted to play it like the matter was over? Fine. Thomas sat down and noticed an expression of minor relief on Ziva's face. What did she expect? That he'd suddenly freak out and start shooting randomly? They didn't know him. Not at all. They didn't care enough to bother.

"I've been hired," Thomas said. "They're going to contact me within the next couple of days and I think I'll be taken to their headquarters. The woman who interviewed me wasn't the head person but she must be pretty high up on the food chain. She gave the report and approved my continued survival. She's also the one who tried to get me followed."

"How did you get them to back off, McGee?" Ziva asked.

"I told them that I worked other jobs for people and if they tried to breach my boundaries, I wouldn't work for them because it would ruin my other work."

"Wow. Good thinking, Probie," Tony said.

Thomas caught the slight tinge of surprise that he could think like that and felt angry.

"I don't know how long that will last, though," he said, trying to sound normal. "If they're already paranoid enough to try and follow me at the beginning, they may start having tighter observation that I'm unaware of." A sudden thought struck him. "Maybe I should cut off contact with everyone for a while...you know, keep separation so that there's no indication of my duplicity."

"I don't like that idea," Tony said instantly.

"Why not?" Thomas asked. "I can handle myself. I have the GPS locator in my shoe, the transmitter in my watch that I can turn on if I need to, and I won't be able to wear a wire or the earwig when I'm working with them anyway. What if they tried to tap my phone or something like that?"

"You would be on your own, McGee," Ziva said. "We could not help you."

Like you're helping me a lot right now anyway. "Don't you think I can handle myself? It's been more than two months that I've been doing this."

"Two months does not make you an expert, McGee," Gibbs said.

"What do you suggest, then, Boss?" Thomas retorted. "Would you prefer that they accidentally stumble across this apartment or maybe that they find the earwig or the wire? Would that be so much better than me being out of contact for a few weeks?" He paused, gathered his thoughts. "Besides, I'm not saying that it has to be permanent...but at the beginning of working for them...they're going to be suspicious. It will be safer for me if I don't have the worry of being pegged as a cop." If I don't have you idiots rambling away in my ear like I'm five years old.

"I'll consider it. Finish your report," Gibbs said, giving him a disconcerting stare.

Thomas continued explaining everything that happened. A couple of times Tony and Ziva tried to interrupt, but he refused to let them get a word in. Instead, he spoke over them and after a little while they stopped trying, although they were looking at him strangely. Probably annoyed that he had the upper hand for once.

"Can you give a description of the woman, McGee?" Gibbs asked at the end of the report.

"Of course."

"Good. Abby's on standby back at NCIS. Get on with her and start compiling a sketch."

"Abby?" Tim asked.

"Over there. We have the video feed all hooked up," Ziva said, pointing. She smiled at him...the first time in a long time she'd looked at him without disdain.

Tim felt ambivalent about talking with Abby. On the one hand, he missed her...but on the other...what if...

"Go on, Probie. I'll bet she's salivating."

Tony's voice raised his hackles a little, but Tim walked over to the computer and sat down. Almost eagerly, he punched up the feed to Abby's lab.

"Hey, Abby."

"Timmy!"

He heard the shriek before he saw Abby's face, but the sound of her voice, how eager she was to see him made him grin...and feel happy.

"Oh, Tim. I haven't seen you in so long! I've missed you! Man, you look scary. You're so skinny and there are circles under your eyes! You need to take better care of yourself...or I guess you don't because that might blow your cover and I wouldn't want that to happen because then you wouldn't come back and that would majorly suck. But Tim, it's just not the same around here without my geek! I get to see the others sometimes, but I haven't seen you, not for weeks!"

"Abby!" Gibbs growled from across the room.

Tim grimaced but then wiped that expression away as he saw Abby scrutinizing him.

"Right. So we're going to be do the sketches. Of course, you know how it all works. So let's just get started." She leaned around and was obviously getting the program started. She paused and looked at Tim again.

"What, Abbs?" Tim asked.

"You know...you're eyes look huge right now. It's like half your face is your big green eyes."

"I thought we were having me describe the woman...not analyzing my looks," Tim said, smiling.

"Yes, you should get on with it, Abby," Ziva said.

Tim again felt angry. This was his conversation, not theirs.

"Okay, okay. Right then. Let's go over face shape first."

"She has an oval-shaped face," Tim said instantly. "The third choice on the menu, not the second."

Abby laughed delightedly. "Tim, did you practice before coming here?"

"I might have written down a feature or two," he confessed, feeling more like himself than he had in ages.

"Okay, Mr. Smarty-pants. Hair."

"Dark brown but with auburn highlights, probably artificial, although I'm not positive on that point. She has it cut into a layered look hitting just above her shoulders."

Abby was working away. Tim waited and then looked at the screen as she moved it around for him to see.

"Like this, Tim?"

"A little shorter with the hair and a bit more auburn."

More tinkering.

"That'll work for now."

"Okay. Eyes."

"Her eyes are brown, maybe hazel. They're slightly narrowed at the edges and she has long eyelashes. Maybe extensions, but again, I don't know."

"Planning on sleeping with her, too, McGee?" Tony asked.

Tim flushed and then ground his teeth slightly. Abby didn't notice that time because she was working again. By the time she looked back, Tim had got his face under control again.

"Timothy! It has been a long time since you graced us with your presence."

Tim smiled. Even if he hadn't recognized the voice, he would have recognized the words. Only one person at NCIS could get away with talking like that.

"Hey, Ducky."

"Duckman, what brings you up here?"

"I had heard that you might be visiting us, however distantly, this morning, Timothy and I did want to have the chance to say hello."

"Ducky, he's working," Gibbs said.

"Yes, yes. This won't take long. Actually, Mr. Palmer was also mentioning that he was finding NCIS a trifle dull without all of you around. I think he would appreciate the opportunity to greet you. I shall return. Continue your work."

Abby looked off the screen fondly. "Okay, Tim. Let's see how much we can get done before he get back up here."

Tim laughed. "Okay, you're on."

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

Ziva watched as Tim spoke with Abby...and then Ducky and Jimmy when they arrived. He laughed as they commented on how skinny he looked, how long he'd been away. She realized for the first time that something had changed. Tim speaking with Abby was much different than Tim speaking with the team. He was more relaxed, happier. There was an edge that was missing...as if he was open with Abby where he had hidden something from them.

"Tony," she said in a low voice. "Does McGee seem different to you?"

"Different how?" Tony asked, looking carefully at the map of the areas in and around Norfolk. "Besides that weird haircut."

"No. He is...not the same right now as he has been."

Tony looked over at Tim. His eyes narrowed but then he looked back.

"He doesn't seem that different to me."

"Gibbs?" Ziva asked.

"He's just talking to them, Ziva," Gibbs said and pointed at one section of the map. "This is where the restaurant was. Here's McGee's place and here's the club."

"I don't see that they would have the factory and headquarters themselves in this same area, Boss. They seem to be the type to spread out for safety."

Ziva cast another look at Tim who was now gesturing animatedly and looking much more like the man she had known before.

"Hey, Ziva! Focus."

"Yes, yes." She turned back and put her attention on the map.

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

"Oh, one last thing, Timmy," Abby said as they were finishing up.

"What?"

"Your mom called me the other day."

"What?" Tim said in surprise. "She...did you...tell her anything?"

"Of course not! ...and she didn't ask for any details either. She just wanted to know that you were okay. She said that you had mentioned that you wouldn't be around for a while and that everything was okay."

"What did you say?"

"That you were too skinny and that you were kicking hinders, of course." Abby grinned. "I did not however tell her that you were chasing hinders."

"Abby," Tim said, feeling less chagrine than irritation. That sounded too much like Tony.

"No, what I'm wondering is how she got my number, even."

Tim thought about it and then blushed. "Oh...you know what? I'll bet it's from way back when we were...dating. I gave her your number in case there was an emergency and she needed to get a hold of me fast." Tim blushed brighter. "And my mom doesn't throw any phone numbers away. I'll bet she still has the numbers for my friends from kindergarten."

"McGee," Gibbs said.

Tim felt a flash of anger but he looked up politely. "Yes, Boss?"

"Are you finished?"

"We're all done, el Jefe! I'll just start running it through the database and see if anyone falls out. I'm sending you a copy of it. Tim's got a good memory; so it's more detailed than most."

"Good," Gibbs said...but to Abby, not to him.

"You finished with me, Boss?"

"Yeah," Gibbs said as he watched the printer rather than make eye contact. "We'll try it your way for now. ...but if I say that's enough, it's enough. Got it?" Now he looked up.

"Yeah, sure."

"You got it, McGee?" Gibbs asked again.

"I said yes, Boss. I'm not hard of hearing and neither are you." He looked at Abby who looked a bit surprised. "Looks like I've got my marching orders, Abby. I'll see you...sometime."

"Bye, Tim. Be careful."

"I'm careful," Tim said with a little bit of resentment. He gave a mock salute to them all and left the apartment, glad to be gone, wanting to get back to his own place where he could at least hide in the bathroom if he didn't want anyone staring at him.

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

"Well, Ducky?" Gibbs asked.

"Until those last few moments, I was ready to say that you had imagined it."

"Yeah, me, too," Abby said. "But that was weird. What did you guys do to Tim to make him so mad at you?"

"We're not doing anything, Abbs," Tony said. "That's why it's weird. It's the same as usual."

"He was normal with you, but with us he is always like that."

"What do you think?" Gibbs asked.

"Well, I can't know for certain via this medium. It would be better if I could speak to him in person but I know that is unlikely. I would put much of it down to stress. This is a difficult job he's doing and..."

"And is he going to flip?" Tony asked.

"That I can't say. As of right now? I would guess not. His intentions to help are genuine. He wants to do his job."

"You don't think there's any danger of him forgetting whose side he's on?"

"I don't think so, Jethro, but as I said, it's hard to tell. You all are with him most of the time. Why do you need me to tell you what you should know?"

"Good question," Gibbs said.

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

Tim carefully latched the door, making sure they didn't notice him. They were questioning everything about him now. They thought he was going to go native on them. They thought he couldn't handle it...and they didn't think it was because of anything on their side. Typical.

It's always my fault if something goes wrong, but their credit if something goes right.