5 days before the explosion

Tim and Cassie had decided to not put their lives on hold any longer, and had gone out on a double date with Jimmy and Bryn. They were eating at Zaytinyas, a Mediterranean restaurant both Cassie and Bryn liked. For the first time in a long time, Tim felt relaxed, enjoying a Saturday night out with his girlfriend and friends.

"So, Jimmy, any thoughts of what to do after your transition year is up?" Cassie asked, not really knowing Jimmy that well.

"Dr. Hampton and the Director have both said I can stay on permanently with NCIS. Jordan has been asked to lecture at Georgetown in the fall, once a week for the criminal autopsy class, so rather than have her split her time, that day I'll be left on my own and if we get a case, I get the full credit of Medical Examiner and Jordan gets credited as my supervisor." Jimmy said this with pride, his years of hard work paying off. Tim watched as Bryn smiled at her boyfriend, the two of them finally finding their balance of work and play. "Hows the Pentagon?" Jimmy asked Cassie in return.

"Not as bad as I feared. We are pretty much left on our own up there, only assisting the Navy Yard when we need to. We focus much more on drugs and fraud up there. Trust me, you'd think people would learn not to smuggle using Navy equipment, but they don't."

"So, when's the next book out, 'Tom'?" Bryn asked, being a massive fan of the series Tim had written, going as far as to buy two sets, one for reading, and another set personally autographed by Tim for posterity.

"One is going through final editing, another through the proof reading. Should have both out within six months." Bryn was a very happy woman right now.

"Tim, I could barely find the time for a degree and part time job, a job that actually coincided with the degree and one that gave me course credits. How do you do a full time job, all the extra work that you do, keep Cassie very happy, bake cakes and write not one, but two books?" Jimmy wished he had just one extra hour in the day, let alone the ten Tim seemed to find.

"Time management." Tim smirked.

"He means people management," Cassie translated. At the blank looks from her two friends, she continued. "Tim delegates certain responsibilities. So two of his meetings with NCIS Deputy Directors are taken by heads of sections, one for each of them. This gives him an extra two to three hours a week. Instead of travelling to the White House for meetings with NSA, FBI and CIA, he sits in his office on teleconference, avoiding the travel time."

"There is another reason for that as well," Tim interrupted

"Yeah, you don't want to hit them." Everyone smiled at this point. "Instead of meeting just one section head at a time every day, he has them all in his office at the same time for a morning and afternoon meeting, and one to ones throughout the week, saving him another five hours."

"Plus, that also saves on the reports. Everyone knows what everyone is doing, without having to sit there, writing and reading emails all day." Tim countered, knowing he did things differently to Gloria Tainer. Tim remembered the conversation he had had with her when she called in on him.

Flashback

Tim was sitting on his three seater sofa, hidden partly from view by the conference table that dominated a third of the room.

"Tell me you have brandy in this office?" Tim heard the dry tone of Gloria Tainer, standing up to see her at the door.

"Only the bottle you left me," Tim replied with a smile.

"That will do, sonny, make it a large one." Gloria invited herself in, taking Tims spot on the sofa. "This is what the office was missing, how did you get it? I asked for years."

"I asked Jenny." Tim replied, sotto voce.

"So did I."

"I told my godfather," Tim smirked at her, seeing her blank look. "As a lady of great discretion, please tell no one that my godfather is Philip Davenport."

"No worries here, did that work?" Gloria asked, hoping Tim was not one of those kids who used his family connections.

"Not a chance, he just laughed at me. So, I listened to my mom. When all else fails, do it yourself. So, I went out, bought it, got it delivered, and then abused my power."

"You got probies to bring it down?" Gloria smirked.

"Never," Tim said, horrified. "I got interns to bring it down." Tim smirked. "No, me and a couple of friends moved it in on a Saturday. Trust me, the chairs in this place maybe ergonomic but they still get damned uncomfy." Tim had taken Cassie, Jimmy, Bryn and Stan Burley out for a burger and beers that Saturday afternoon.

"Preaching to the choir, here, Tim," she said, accepting the brandy he offered. She noticed he wasn't drinking with her. "No drink, Tim?"

"Driving home, plus I've got a staff meeting in twenty minutes, not the best idea to be smelling of liquor when I start shouting."

"True, that's part of the reason I'm here." Tim wondered where this was going. "I get more complaints since I left than when I was here."

"OK, let me guess, people don't like the seating plan, or the meeting schedules, or the extra responsibilities." Tim saw her mouth open slightly in surprise. "So, right on all three then."

"Tim, I was head of Intelligence for twelve years. I personally recruited and trained half of the analysts out there, all of the section heads were my personal choices. This is too much change for them."

"If I had just changed the seating plan, that would have been a change, the meetings would have got changed a month later, the extra responsibilities a month after that. That's three changes in three months, never giving them a chance to adjust." Tim had spent more than ten years involved in debate clubs at county and collegiate level, winning more than his fair share of trophies. "That would have just kept knocking them from pillar to post, having them constantly worried each time they stepped through the door that something else had changed." Gloria Tainer took the scolding in the spirit it was meant. She was no longer in charge, he hadn't fired anyone and he had had no complaints.

"I remember some advice you gave me, I'm going to act on it now." Gloria wondered what he was going on about, watching him rise from the sofa and heading towards the door. "Tabitha, I want you and all the section heads in my office, now!" Tim said with a raised voice. Gloria stayed seated, knowing Tim was about to assert his authority. "You might not want to leave just yet," Tim said, waiting on his seven most senior team members to arrive. "Though you may want to cover your ears," Tim suggested. Within sixty seconds, all seven had arrived and had seen Gloria. They were now all glancing at each other, all knowing they had called her at least once in the past two weeks.

"As the seven people in the department with the most analysis experience, judging from the nine people in this room and the look on my face, what is your analysis?" Tim demanded rather than asked politely, as was his wont over the past two weeks. "Come on, now, none of you have seemed shy speaking to Miss Tainer before." Tim left that comment hang in the air, seeing if anyone was brave enough to speak. No one did. "Very well, no one wishes to speak, don't say I didn't give you the opportunity." Gloria saw his authority being asserted and was very proud of the man. Everyone on the floor knew something was happening in the office. The impact would only be made depending on the poker faces of the people she had recruited and trained.

"At the request of Director Shepard and with the blessing of Miss Tainer, I took command of the Intelligence section two weeks ago. That fact seemed to have missed a few of you, considering all of you have complained to Miss Tainer in the past fourteen days regarding this section. Let me make something crystal clear." Tim looked at all seven of them before speaking again. "I have made changes to this section, and I will continue to do so. Not because the old way wasn't working, but because sometimes a new way works better. If you have a problem with anything, come see me. I will listen and let you explain your reasons for not wanting something done. You may even get me to back down." Tim decided to threaten them to get his point across. "Should any of you, or any of your staff, decide to venture into contortionism by going behind my back to Gloria or over my head to the Director, I will make your lives hell. Are we clear?" Tim looked at all seven, all of whom had paled at his words. Not hearing any acknowledgements, Tim raised his voice several decibels. "ARE WE CLEAR?" was heard on the main floor.

"Yes, Sir." was heard in seven, much quieter voices than the one previous.

"Good, thank you all, see you at the 3 o'clock meeting." Tim watched them leave, much quicker than they normally would. He turned to Gloria, "Think that was ok for asserting my authority?" He asked, watching the living legend sitting there, her mouth open.

Tim knew he would never actually fire them, but they didn't know that.

While Tim was enjoying his time, he had no idea he was under observation.

"It's time, hurt him." Said the voice over the phone. The man on the other end said nothing, just ending the call, setting off towards the table of four. If he knew the people sitting there, he would have thought more of it, but he just thought about the money. Within seconds, he knocked the african american woman with his shoulder, knocking her into the standing table. Tim was on him in seconds.

"Wanna watch where you're going." Tim had put himself in front of the group, ready to defend his friends and Cassie. "Cass, you ok?" He asked over his shoulder, keeping his eyes on the man.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Tim." Cassie was also watching the man, pulling her purse to her, sliding her hand inside to grip the gun hidden inside.

"Not my fault your chick can't take care of herself." This guy was going to push Tims buttons.

"One, she isn't my "chick", two, you knocked her, three, she's a federal officer, so do yourself a favour and disappear." Tim was forceful in his words, ready to defend himself and the three people behind him.

"Tell you what, nerd, you disappear." With that, Robert Dolan threw his first punch. What he didn't know is that it would be his last. Tim saw the guy tilt back slightly, and was on the move.

The right hook missed his head by a good six inches as Tim had stepped to the side, keeping himself centred, he stepped forward now, planting his left foot and raising his right. He snapped his right leg out, his foot slamming into the mans left knee pushing it inward. The mans brain knew instantly something had happened, as the signals from the ankle and knee had stopped coming in. The man did what most people do at this point, he spun to face the guy who had kicked him, and saw the man moving again. What actually happened was his knee had given way, the snapped tendons and splintered bones no longer able to function, and he hit the ground. The whole event took less than four seconds. But in that time, the man was surrounded. When he looked up, it was a sight he did not expect.

Supervisory Special Agent Timothy McGee, Special Agents Cassie Yates and Bryn Fillmore, along with two FBI Agents, and a Metro PD Detective all had guns trained on him. The man wondered what the hell was going on.

"Well, that didn't work!" Said the man in the van.

Zaytinyas was a favourite restaurant of the alphabet soup personnel, and Robert Dolan was swimming in it, right now.