Chapter 20

Levi hesitated for only a few seconds before picking up his phone again and dialing a number.

"Levi, what's going on?" Tamara asked, softly. They had only just gone to bed when the phone rang.

"That was Tim. He and his family are on the run in Egypt and I need to let the appropriate people know."

Tamara grabbed his arm and Levi glanced at her for a moment.

"I'm not going anywhere, Tamara. I'm just calling one person on the phone. That one person will be able to take over and I can stay here and relay messages as needed."

"Why?"

"Because that's what I promised I would do."

Tamara nodded and remained facing him as finished dialing the number. It began to ring and ring. It was not so late that it was impossible to get an answer. Levi knew that he now went to bed earlier than many people.

"Gibbs."

"Agent Gibbs, I've just had a call from Tim. He said he was on the run and he was going to need help getting back to the States."

There was a long pause, and Levi was pretty sure he knew what Gibbs was thinking.

"He called me because I told him to if he was worried about what the fallout of asking for help might be. No one would expect him to call me first."

The pause continued. Then...

"What are you expecting me to do?"

Levi smiled.

"Tell the people who need to know and make plans to get him back."

"But where is he?"

"Besides Egypt, I have no idea, but I wouldn't be surprised if he chose to leave the country completely."

"On a plane?"

"I think, if it was that simple, he wouldn't call. He would just run. I'm guessing on foot. Probably with some assistance."

"CIA?"

"Probably."

"It must be pretty organized if he doesn't think he can get to the airport."

"Must be. Tim will call me back if he can, but for now, I've told you what I know."

"You sure?"

"Yes."

Another pause.

"I'll let you tell the ones you think should know, but I'd advise you to include the CIA. They may already know something and if you keep them informed, they'll likely reciprocate."

There was no acknowledgment of his advice, but there was something more than Levi expected.

"Thanks."

Levi smiled a little, even as he felt the worry from knowing that Tim was in danger. Along with his family.

"You're welcome."

Gibbs hung up and Levi lay back in bed.

"What now, Levi?" Tamara asked.

"Now? I try to sleep and hope that this is resolved without them needing me to do something stupid."

Tamara smiled a little and waited. She obviously knew that there was more he could say.

"There wasn't any sound on the other side of the line. Tim wasn't calling me from a firefight. He was pausing in his flight to call, meaning that he was likely somewhat safe for the moment."

"Are you worried?"

"Yes."

"About more than just Tim getting away?"

"Yes."

Levi looked at the ceiling.

"He's with his family and that means that they're all in danger. Tim will go farther for his family than he would just for himself and that means he's risking ruining his life. I can't let that happen."

Tamara grabbed his arm.

"You won't help Tim if you go too far yourself."

"I know."

"That's not why you're staying, though, is it."

Levi sighed. "No, it's not. It's because I know that I'd be hard-pressed to get there at all, let alone be able to physically track him down and get him out. I'm just trying not to think about that part."

"You're doing what you can, and that counts for something, Levi. They'll get him. They have every other time." Tamara hesitated. "And...if when he gets back, he needs your help, then, you can do something for him."

Levi smiled. "I know that was hard for you to suggest."

"Better than to wake up and find that you hopped a flight to Egypt."

"I won't do that. Not this time."

"Good," Tamara said. "But I'll pray that Tim gets home with his family quickly."

"So will I," Levi whispered.

He could only hope.

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

Once he accepted the fact that Tim had called Levi first instead of anyone else, Gibbs focused on what needed to be done to find out where Tim had gone and get him safely home. He knew why Tim had said very little. Whatever the situation was, he was likely worried about being overheard, whether through someone being too close or through some kind of trace. He still didn't quite trust the government to have his best interests at heart and he didn't want to give them any reason to think that they could take him away.

All in all, Gibbs could understand that, but it did make getting him home more difficult. He didn't want to have Tim talking only to Levi and no one else. He'd have to see if he could be at the Carew home for the next little while.

Whether he liked it or not.

For now, however, it was important to get things moving. He looked at his watch. Just after nine. No one would be sleeping yet.

He dialed Tony's number.

"DiNozzo."

Gibbs decided that he would just get it out right away. He knew how Tony could be about things relating to Tim's situation, but it was vital that he know the important thing before he simply reacted emotionally. If he'd do that.

"Tim and his family are on the run. Someone went after them in Cairo."

There was a long pause.

"How do you know, Gibbs?" Ziva asked. Clearly, Tony had put his phone on speaker.

"Carew called me. Tim called him because he knew that no one would be expecting that."

"He's on the run? Where?"

"Don't know. He couldn't say when he called. He might call again, but for now..."

"For now, it's important that we get started," Ziva said. "We will need to tell the Director."

"And the CIA," Gibbs said.

Another pause.

"They have people there already, DiNozzo," Gibbs said, bluntly. "They won't have to share if they think we don't know anything."

"Right. Plus, if we're going to get over there..."

"You're going?" Gibbs asked, feeling a little surprised, although he knew he shouldn't.

"Yes. If Tim is needing someone to get him out, it's not going to be just the CIA doing it. We're going to be a part of it. No matter what."

"Let me know."

"You want to come, too?"

Gibbs smiled.

"Yeah, but I'll stay here and help be the communication line."

"With Carew?"

"If he doesn't throw me out of his house. If Tim is calling him, then, I'll be there."

"We'll find him, Boss. We won't come home without him."

"Good."

Gibbs hung up. He knew he'd find it hard to sleep, but he decided to go to bed and try anyway. The wheels were now turning.

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

Tony and Ziva were both quick getting dressed and Ziva called Jenny on their way out the door, heading back to NCIS, hoping that there could be something important known already.

They spoke very little to each other. What was there to say? It was the worst possible situation and they both knew it. When they arrived, they ran up to MTAC, hoping that Jenny would be there already.

They were admitted and saw that, not only was Jenny already present, she already had Roy on the monitor.

"–and that means..."

"Means what?" Tony asked. "You find out what happened?"

Jenny raised an eyebrow at him, but Tony was focused on the screen.

"No. We do know that three of Agent McGee's guards are dead. Two are injured. Two are missing. However, more information will hopefully be coming in as the night progresses. We have no knowledge of who might have been leading the attempt, no idea where they had planned on taking him."

"Why not just Egyptians?" Tony asked. "Wouldn't that be the simplest assumption to make?"

"Because, simple or not, that's still an assumption, Agent DiNozzo. Occam's Razor only applies when all other things are equal. Things are not equal in this instance. It won't be that simple."

"You're going there, I assume?" Jenny asked.

"Not personally, but yes, I'll be sending some people over there very soon to start figuring things out and looking for Agent McGee and his family."

"We're coming, too," Tony said. "Ziva and I."

Roy looked surprised for just a second.

"Agent DiNozzo, I'm not sure you understand what we'll be doing there. This is not a guns blazing operation. We will be going into Egypt without the permission of the government. This will be a clandestine operation since we don't know who we should be blaming. We'll be tracking Agent McGee's whereabouts, and we'll..."

"No, we do understand," Tony said, firmly. "We understand that Tim needs help getting himself and his family out of Egypt. We also understand that Tim could end up psychologically damaged from this happening to him again, and we won't let this experience ruin him. So we're going to be there. If you want us to possibly get in your way, force us to go on our own. That's your choice, but we will be going to find him and doing whatever we can."

Roy's eyes flicked to Jenny only for a moment. Tony caught it.

"And it won't matter if you try to get Director Shepard to stop us. We'll go as private citizens if we have to. We have passports."

"And we do not need special visas if our visit is of short duration," Ziva added. "We could go tonight if we wished."

A moment of silence and finally Jenny spoke.

"While I acknowledge your focus on protecting Agent McGee and even your greater experience in these matters, he is still an NCIS agent and I would like to have NCIS representation on this operation." She gave Tony and Ziva a warning glance. "Both Agent DiNozzo and Agent David recognize the need for subtlety and that the CIA will be leading, not them."

"Very well," Roy said. "Agent DiNozzo, Agent David, my agents will be meeting to make a preliminary plan before departure in one hour. If you will come to McLean, packed and prepared to leave at a moment's notice, I will allow you to accompany my team. However, understand that we are in charge. That is not just lip service. Once you are with my team, you are a part of it, not leading it. I know your feelings about the CIA and I will not subject my team to insubordination simply because of your grudges. Lives will likely be at stake. Understood?"

Jenny gave Tony another warning glance, and he got it. There would be no understanding if he ruined things.

"Understood, Director," Tony said.

"Fine. One hour."

"We'll be there," Tony said.

The colored bars replaced Roy's face and as soon as he was gone, Jenny faced Tony and Ziva directly.

"Don't mess this up," she said sternly. "Not only does Agent McGee's life hang in the balance here, but his family's lives, too. And if anything happens to them..."

"We'll lose him," Ziva said, quietly. "We know."

"Good. The CIA is in charge. The only situation in which you can get around that is if they make any attempt to kill instead of rescue, but there's no indication of that being a need. Do this right."

Tony nodded. He knew why this kind of order was needed. It was because of him, not because of Ziva. He had to prove that he'd changed because it was clear that Jenny didn't think he really had.

"We will," he said. "We'd better go and pack."

"Then, do it, and I hope you find them all quickly."

"So do we," Ziva said.

They left MTAC and hurried back home. Again, they said nothing on the drive home, but once they were each packing a single backpack, Ziva looked at him.

"I can take orders, Ziva," Tony said.

"I know you can. Will you?"

"Yes. Because Tim's life might depend on it."

Ziva walked over to him.

"He was free when he called for help. And he did call us."

"He called Carew," Tony said, feeling bitter about that.

"Because no one would have thought he would. He still does not fully trust the government's good will," Ziva said. "The government has forgotten about Levi Carew and so Tim knows he can call him, and he did call Gibbs, right away. Please, Tony. You're so much better than you were. Don't let this drag you down now."

Tony smiled ruefully. "I'll try not to, but those CIA guys better keep a civil tongue in their head about Tim. I'll let them have it, even if it gets me fired."

"For that, you will have my support," Ziva said, smiling a little.

"Okay. You have everything?"

"Yes. Let's get to the CIA quickly so they have no excuse to complain about us."

Tony nodded and they both hurried back out to the car and drove to McLean.

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

Tim was tired. His feet were aching, and his arms were aching as well. In spite of her fears, Salma had fallen asleep after they had been on the move for an hour. Now, though, with the first hints of the dawn, Tim was reaching the limits of his endurance. Zahara was tired as well, but she said nothing in complaint. She had said nothing at all since they had changed into the bedouin robes.

Now, they were in rural Egypt, moving silently through a village, miles away from Cairo.

Tim was trying not to show his exhaustion, but he wasn't sure how much longer he could go on.

A hand stopped him from moving forward and he sagged a little, only to find himself moved and propped up against a wall. Blearily, he looked over and saw Zahara looking very tired as well, holding Jonathan in her arms. The CIA agent with them said nothing and showed nothing. They all stood in the shadows while Suhayl walked out toward a larger building.

"What's going on?" Tim whispered.

"I don't know," the guard said.

Tim stood there, without moving. Zahara was next to him, leaning her head on his shoulder but nothing more.

Then, Suhayl was back.

"Come."

"Where?" Tim asked.

"To a sanctuary where you may rest for a time."

"Sounds great," Tim said.

Suhayl led them silently to the building that Tim belatedly realized was a Christian church.

The priest who opened the door, gestured for them to come in and he led them to a small room with nothing more than a few rugs on the floor and a pillow or two. To Tim, it looked like heaven if it meant that he could sleep for a few hours.

"All will keep for now, Tim," Suhayl said quietly. "You may rest."

Tim nodded and carefully lowered himself to the floor. Zahara followed suit and they lay their two children between them. Tim looked at Zahara, saw the fear and exhaustion in her eyes.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

Zahara smiled.

"Do not apologize for what you cannot control. Sleep, Tim."

Finally, Tim curled up on his side, keeping his children and his wife as close as possible.

And he slept.