A/N: No, I haven't abandoned this story. I'm just very busy at the beginning of a semester. Plus, I am having my semi-annual crisis of faith about why do I write this stuff and does it feel like the last story I wrote and am I really growing as a writer. You know, we all go through it, but I will hang in there. Out of over 25 NCIS stories, I have only not completed one. Sheila

P.S. Someone asked me where I got my inspiration for this story. I got from the movie, Argo.

A Man Left Behind.

Chapter 3

Tony hugged his arms around his middle and stamped his feet in the early morning cold outside the landfill, waiting for McGee's friend, Stewart. It was still hours before sunrise. Ziva pulled up in the sedan with a trio of hot coffees. He waited until she came up to him and took one gratefully. She wrinkled her nose a little when he got close. "Tony?"

"I didn't drive. I had a cab drop me off."

"I don't care. You still smell like whiskey."

"It 4:30 a.m., Ziva. What the hell do you want from me?"

She put the coffee tray on the hood of the car and cupped his face. "I need you to take care of yourself."

"I'm trying."

"Tony."

He looked away. "I close my eyes and I see Kate in the morgue and then I see him dead in a mass grave somewhere, and then I see you going to Berumi. I'm not in control of myself."

"Look at me!"

He directed his rheumy eyes at hers.

"I need you! Gibbs needs you! McGee needs you! Do you understand?!"

He nodded slowly.

"I love you, Tony, and I know you love me too. I also know that we both love McGee." She patted his cheek. "You know you've found love when there's a hole created in their absence. I know you have a hole in you. I have one too, but we can't give up. Okay, Tony? We can't give up. Not now."

He nodded and pulled her to him tightly.

"DiNozzo?"

He blinked hard and looked into the darkness of the early morning. "Stewie?"

"Hey! Come in out of the cold." He pushed them into the guardhouse at the gate. They nodded at a portly man hunched over a cup of steaming hot coffee and Stewie steered them into a small breakroom. "How you doing? You sounded real serious on the phone. Timmy alright?"

DiNozzo sat down across from Stewie and pushed a coffee at him. "Stewie, this is Ziva. She works with Tim too. We're here because we need your help."

He frowned. "Timmy's in trouble?"

"Big trouble. I need to ask you some questions, okay?"

"I don't understand."

"I'll tell you more later. Right now, I just need you to help us with some answers."

He nodded.

"Do you remember Laurent Pierce?"

One side of Stewie's mouth twitched. "Of course. Everyone knew Laurent."

Ziva leaned forward. "He and McGee were close, right?"

"Ah…I guess so. I mean, Laurent was close to whoever could help him pass classes."

"Tell us more."

"I don't know. He talked a good game, but he wasn't good at theory, and he hated to spend any time in the library. He'd make friends with people, and then sort of ride on their coattails. Why do you want to know about Laurent?"

Tony sighed. "He works at Interdyne, and Tim brought him in to help on a case."

"This is how Timmy got in trouble?"

Tony looked at Ziva. "We don't know. He helped us with a case and it went bad, and Tim…ended up getting hurt."

He screwed up his face. "You want to know if Laurent could've been the reason he got in trouble?"

Ziva shook her head. "We just want to know more about Laurent."

Stewie slapped the table. "The guy would sell his mother if it helped him get ahead. I was trying to be polite, but it's true. Laurent is not a good guy. He used to treat Timmy like shit. Always talking about how gullible he was and how he could talk him into doing all his work. I used to tell him all the time that Laurent was using him, but Tim always wanted to believe the best in people. Finally, senior year he figured it out and cut him off. Pierce almost didn't graduate."

Ziva reached across and grabbed his hand. "Would he hurt McGee? Do you think he's that kind of person?"

Stewie swallowed. "I guess I always saw Laurent as weak more than mean. He just never struck me as someone with much in the way of character."

Ziva sat back and cursed under her breath. "Sometimes, that can be the most dangerous kind of person of all."

…

"McGee! McGee!"

"I'm here, Boss. On your six. Always on your six," he murmured.

"We don't have time. Wake up, McGee!"

Tim rolled his head against the clay wall. "On it, Boss."

"McGee, it's Paolo!"

McGee chewed at his lip for a moment.

"It's Paolo! I am not your boss."

"Paolo!" He said, his eyes popping open. "Paolo!"

"Come here, you idiot American!"

McGee rolled off his metal cot onto the damp clay floor. Pain erupted from his aching bones and muscles, but he ignored it and crawled to the hole he shared with his last remaining friend. He peered through anxiously. "Are they coming for you?"

"Not today, my friend."

"Thank God!" He rubbed at his eyes.

"I need two words."

"What!?"

"Words. I have a former student who will broadcast two words about you. It cannot be your name. These broadcasts are being monitored. It cannot be something that will be traced back here. Can you give me two words?"

McGee took a deep breath. "Something they will understand. A name, maybe. Something unique. DiNozzo! Tell him to say DiNozzo."

"De-noisy?"

"DiNozzo."

"The notes- oh?"

"DiNozzo!"

"This will not work. It has to be understood by the ears of at least two more people. By the time it is broadcast, it will be nothing like this odd name."

"Gibbs lives."

"Gibbs. I can say this. This is good. Did you use this name in interrogation?"

He moaned. "I think I may have. I used his name. He was already safe."

"It's too much of a risk. Gibbs. Gibbs. Gib-son. You are close to this Gibbs? Gibson. How about 'Gibson lives'? I knew a Gibson. It is not an uncommon American name."

"I have to think."

"There is no time," Paolo hissed. "He is at the door. We will try 'Gibson lives."

The dark eye disappeared from the hole. McGee rolled over onto his back carefully, staring at the moldy ceiling. He thought about the name, Gibson. It was a good American name, and there was something about it that was oddly appealing.

The son of Gibbs. Would anyone pick up on it? What would Tony think? He'd always fancied himself as the son of Gibbs. Tim smiled. Tony would handle it just fine. After all, he was like a brother, and most brothers had the same father. His mind relaxed into the memories of the team, and how well they knew each other. It was like a family. Tony could always read him like a book. It was almost creepy, and there was Ziva- so beautiful and powerful. She was always protective of him as if she was years older than he. Gibbs was strong and silent, but McGee had learned to read his face. He saw the love and concern the man felt for all of them.

He thought of Abby- sweet, eccentric Abby. She wasn't like a sister. He felt something for her very deep inside. It was hard to understand and even harder to articulate. He'd always hoped that she would recognize the same deeply held feelings within herself. They were so different, but he believed in his heart that his quiet demeanor was a nice counterpart to her more frenetic energy.

He felt a hitch in his heart as he thought about all the things that would never happen for him again: Tony teasing him, Ziva smiling with all the complexity of a Mona Lisa, Gibbs telling him that he did good, Abby wrapping him into one of her bear hugs, Sunday brunch with Penny, the reunion with his father that he so craved. McGee put a hand on his chest as he heaved his emotions, but he didn't cry. His tears had dried up weeks ago.

…

Gibbs opened the door. "So I am here to get my ass chewed or am I being fired?"

Vance looked up from the file he was reading. "Neither. I'm surprised it took you as long it did to contact the old man."

"You approve?"

"I don't get to have the luxury of sentimentality. I get an order and I follow it. I knew you would go around me eventually. I didn't think it would take so long. Glad to have you back, Gibbs."

Gibbs sighed. "What do you want, Leon?"

"I don't want to sit on the outside anymore having to spy on my own people. I know what Mallard is up to, and I have my suspicions regarding David."

"I'm not sure you can play our game."

"You must've forgotten who I was before I took this job."

"I didn't forget but I thought you had."

"What's next?"

"Fornell is bringing Kort in this morning."

Vance whistled. "How did he wrangle him?"

"I don't know and I don't care. Bastard's got some explaining to do."

…..

"Are you just going to sit there and stare at me, Gibbs?" Kort sat across from him, hands folded neatly.

"I'm just thinking about what I'm going to do to you if you don't tell me everything you know."

"It's the CIA. We're in the business of keeping secrets."

"Not this kind."

"Gibbs, this attachment to your people limits you. Always has. We do dangerous work. We should expect outcomes like this."

Gibbs looked at Fornell. "Are you the one going to keep me from killing him with my bare hands?"

Tobias shrugged. "Depends. That last remark deserves a black eye at least."

Kort leaned forward. "Do you think I can be intimidated by you?"

"Okay, people. Let's get to the main event, shall we?" Vance growled from where he stood, arms folded. "What do you know about McGee?"

Kort sighed. "He was alive six weeks ago."

Gibbs slapped the table. "What does that mean!?"

"That's our last intelligence. He was taken to Army headquarters from the airport. Monterros might still be the president, but General Saldana is the one with the power. He was there for almost two weeks. It wasn't pleasant. Interrogation. Beatings. Electrocution. We tried to get someone close but we couldn't. Then he was gone."

"That's all."

"Saldana keeps lousy records on purpose. There's no trail following him after he disappeared. Our best analysis says that he's somewhere in a mass grave outside the capital city."

Gibbs frowned. "Do you have any evidence of this?"

"No."

"What are the other possibilities?"

Kort shook his head and sighed. "You are a persistent son of a bitch, Gibbs. Berumi is a country of only 140,000 people, but they have two prisons. One is in the city. We have enough informants to know he isn't there. There is another prison, an old Portuguese fort located on the coast. It's called El Corazon Del Rey. It's filled with political dissidents. We have very little intelligence coming out of there."

"McGee could be there."

Kort threw up his hands. "Why? Why would Saldana put him there?"

"We need to know more about what's happening in there."

"Gibbs, CIA resources are going into bolstering Monterros' rule so that Saldana doesn't topple him. If you had been smart, you would've come to us before you went in country."

"Why?"

"Going around Sheldon Parks at Interdyne was the wrong thing to do. The man has a secret agreement with Monterros that he can circumvent the treaty in cases like civilians trapped in country. Monterros didn't want those two kids captured. It would've been a disaster internationally. He isn't the monster that Saldana is. Parks would've worked with you."

"Are you speculating, Kort?"

"Parks got three consulate people out the day after you pulled that stunt with the Navy dependents."

"Then why did he blow our cover?"

"He didn't. Sheldon Parks never took that phone call."

"Who did?"

"Who else at Interdyne knew? Ask yourself that. Monterros isn't the only one facing the threat of a coup. Sheldon Parks got set up."

Gibbs' breath got shallow. "You know this?"

"Saldana needs an ally at Interdyne industries if he overthrows Monterros. It's not going to be Parks. Parks and Monterros have known each other since they were kids. If Monterros falls, Park will pick up his marbles and go home, and Berumi can't afford that. Interdyne employs 18% of the country's workforce."

"Pierce."

Kort nodded. "If you had vetted him better, you would've known that he's been to Berumi three times in the last 18 months to visit Saldana."

Gibbs' breath caught.

"It was brilliant. He played both sides. He gave Saldana McGee, but arranged for the rest of you to get rescued. He's a hero on both ends."

Gibbs looked at Vance who shook his head slowly. "You can't do this, Gibbs. There was no time for us to gather all of this intel. Think of how long it would've taken for us to squeeze it out of our friend, Kort, here. We had to get in and grab those kids before they were given up to the military."

Gibbs pushed away from the table and got to his feet. Kort watched him warily. "Your agent is gone, Gibbs, but you can help us with Pierce. We want to turn him and make him ours."

"So he can live in Berumi like a king while he feeds you morsels. Are you mad!?" Gibbs looked ready to lunge, and Fornell positioned himself between Gibbs and Kort.

"You gotta' think of the bigger picture here, Gibbs," Kort said, watching him carefully.

Gibbs stared at Kort for a long moment, every man in that room prepared for an assault. Then he grabbed his phone and pulled it to his ear. "Tony. Grab Pierce. I want him in interrogation here at NCIS in the next hour…No excuses."

Kort shook his head. "You can't do this, Gibbs."

"I just did."

….

Laurent peered at the mirrored glass in front of him. He was working hard at being nonchalant, but they were experienced at this and they could see the perspiration on the top of his lip, and the nervous tapping on the table. Ziva turned to Gibbs. "He belongs to me. I will have the truth quickly."

He shook his head.

She stamped her foot. "I got close to him. I believed in him!"

Tony shook his head. "I'm going in. I never trusted the bastard."

"You were fooled just as I was, Tony."

"Neither of you are going in, so do me a favor and shut up." Gibbs never took his eyes off Pierce.

"Boss-"

Gibbs turned sharply. "I mean it. This isn't a game. He might know where McGee is. Stay focused, people."

"Okay," Tony nodded. "You go in alone."

Gibbs left and Ziva wrapped her arms tightly around her middle, shaking her head. "I can't believe I let- I can't believe…"

Tony enveloped her gently. "It's okay. I know you. You would do anything to bring our boy home. I understand. Gibbs understands. And so does Tim."

….

Pierce leaned forward. "Okay. You got me. I am definitely confused, Gibbs. What's going on? Do you know something about Tim? If you do, just say it."

"Actually, Pierce, I was thinking that you might know something."

He cocked his head. "I don't get it."

"It hasn't felt right for awhile. I just couldn't figure out how it all went wrong back in that airport."

"You were there. I wasn't."

"Parks claims he never called the airport."

"Well, of course he does. He's not going to own up to this."

Gibbs nodded. "I agree. It's bad publicity. We did some checking. Parks was on a conference call with a European company at exactly the time the call would've come in. How could he have made that call? It's a real noodle scratcher, Laurent. We don't know what to think."

Pierce shook his head. "You're blaming me. I can see it. You're going to pin this on me."

Gibbs pulled photos out of an envelope. "I got a crazy relationship with the CIA. They really don't like me. It took a lot of finagling to get the right people in the room and then I called in every favor I could think of, but in the end, I got these interesting photos of you and General Saldana."

He licked his bottom lip. "A lot of people have met Saldana. How do you think Interdyne has survived in Berumi?"

"I suspect there've been a lot of deals made under the table, and I think Monterros isn't the only one at risk to be ousted. I think Parks has to be watching his back now too."

Pierce screwed up his face. "You think I'm trying to oust Parks."

"Laurent, don't waste my time with a lot of outrage. If I gotta' spend days dragging this out of you, I'm not going to forget that. I'm going to take it real personal 'cause you and I both know where this is headed."

"You don't understand."

Gibbs slammed his palm down hard. "Then explain it to me!"

Pierce took a deep breath. "I'm the one keeping Interdyne alive. Parks wouldn't deal with Saldana. He was too loyal to Monterros. I had to be the one!"

"What does this have to do with my agent!?"

He closed his eyes. "Saldana didn't trust me. I needed to prove myself. I told him about the rescue, but nobody was supposed to get hurt. I set up the tickets on Swissair to get all of you out. You were all supposed to get on that plane. That was the plan."

"Somehow, McGee got called back."

"Saldana's people were sharper than I thought. They figured it out. I got things to answer to, Gibbs. I understand that, but I saved your life and the lives of those kids."

"That version doesn't work for me." Gibbs said, shaking his head. "I think you got those tickets, but you realized that Saldana wasn't going to be satisfied with just a warning. You knew that you had to give him someone. So why don't give him the kid that showed you up!"

Pierce stood. "Showed me up! McGee! I make three times what he makes. I have money, women, and power. What did he have?!"

"Respect, Laurent. Respect he didn't have to buy. He went out and proved himself in a field outside of his comfort zone and he succeeded. He's a geek with a gun and he wears it very well."

"I didn't care."

"Don't play games, Laurent. I saw your face when I first met you. You were watching him. Wondered how he did it. You were in awe and you wanted a part of what we do. What is it like to be never satisfied?"

"It wasn't like that. It was an accident, Gibbs!"

"Is he dead, Laurent? Can you answer that question?"

Pierce sat down and rubbed at his face for a long moment. He finally looked up. "I don't know. I've contacted Saldana three times. I've tried to convince him that we could use this to our advantage. I want to bring Tim back alive and I'm willing to pay whatever he wants."

"What does Saldana say?" Gibbs was softer as he pulled out the final details.

"He tells me to come to Berumi. He says we'll discuss it there."

"What have you told him?"

Pierce chewed on his lip. "I told him that McGee is important."

Gibbs closed his eyes. "You told him that he's father is an admiral, didn't you?"

"I thought it might help."

Saldana hates the U.S. Navy. You know that!"

"I had to prove that McGee was invaluable. In a country like Berumi, class is everything. The son of an admiral is a very important person." Pierce was stumbling over his words.

"You didn't think Saldana would love to parade his dead body through the streets as a way to thumb his nose at the U.S."

"That hasn't happened."

Gibbs looked away.

"I made a mistake and I'll always regret that."

"Shut up!" Gibbs exploded. "You committed federal crimes, and if he's dead, it is on your head. You're going to prison for a very long time, Laurent."

"Please! I can still help."

Gibbs waved him away and walked out of interrogation, slamming the door behind him.

….

The door to observation opened and Vance walked in. "Where's Gibbs?"

Tony turned. "Taking a break. Pierce confessed. We can put him away for a long time."

Vance stared at Pierce for a long moment and shook his head. "Find Gibbs and bring him to my office. The game has changed."

….

Pierce was handcuffed to the table forced to stare at his image in the two-way mirror. They'd abandoned him here, and left him with no more opportunities to explain himself.

It was with great relief when he heard the door open and saw the very intriguing Abby Scuito come through. She carried a cup of coffee and put it in front of him.

"Abby! I'm so glad to see you! Gibbs won't listen to me."

She sat down quietly. "Gibbs trusts his gut. He knows the truth without even hearing it."

"What did he tell you?"

"Nothing. I am often left out at times when he worries that I'll get upset."

"Thank God! Let me tell you what happened."

She put up a hand. "You don't need to. I knew you were in here, and when I am protected like I'm a child, I fight back. So I tapped into the feed in the observation room. I heard the whole thing."

"Abby, he twisted it."

She shook her head. "No, actually I think you twisted it and he unraveled it."

He deflated. "You're not going to listen to me either."

"I brought you a coffee."

"Laced with poison, no doubt."

"No, I wouldn't do that. It's just coffee."

"What do you want?"

She cocked her head. "I'm thinking back to the 3rd night you stayed at my apartment. We were on the verge of being intimate. Three nights of your comfort and I was so grateful. I knew you wanted it to be more physical, and I was craving some release- something that would ease the pain for even a few moments."

"Abby, nothing happened."

"Nothing happened because I made sure nothing happened. I kept thinking how much I rather it be Timmy, and I knew that in the end I would feel worse. I just couldn't do it."

"Why are we talking about this?"

"I don't know. My work is to use science so we can catch monsters, but I rarely get to meet them. I just- I'm confused. How do you do it? You knew what you'd done yet you could sit with me and act like a friend. Was it hard or does that come naturally to you?"

He chewed on his lip. "I was so sorry, and I thought I could make it up to-"

"Stop! That just makes me sick." Abby pulled away from the table. "You're sick!"

"I got caught up in circumstances, Abby!"

She bent over and heaved, backing up against the wall for support. She stayed that way for a moment until she was in control again. Then she straightened. "The truth, Laurent, is that you got caught up in thinking only about yourself. Sacrificing Tim was going to propel you forward. There's no way other to see it."

She was gone before he could think of a response.

….

Gibbs walked into Vance's office followed by Ziva and Tony. He saw Kort sitting at the table and he shook his head. "Hell no!"

"Sit down, Gibbs," Vance said softly.

"Vance, Pierce confessed. He sabotaged a federal rescue mission. He is responsible for what happened to McGee."

"Sit down and the same goes for your posse."

Gibbs glared at Vance and reluctantly sat. Tony and Ziva followed suit. "He's not getting a free ride, Kort. I won't let that happen."

Kort nodded. "You feel strongly. I get it."

"Then what do you want?"

"We're developing networks in Berumi- looking for intelligence. Got a strange message out of a network on the coast yesterday. My people can't quite figure it out."

"What is it?" Tony leaned forward.

"Two words. Gibson lives. We couldn't find any American named Gibson in Berumi or recently evacuated. Then someone had the bright idea to pull it apart."

Ziva's breath caught. "Gibbs' son lives."

"Probie," Tony whispered.

Gibbs shivered. He's alive."

….