Chapter 42
Tim knew that Edwards didn't want him coming along, but Tim was coming along. He would not be left behind. There was too much riding on this operation for him to wait at the hotel or at the airport. Ahmed would see that he cared, that he was willing to do what it took to get him out.
And he might be able to stave off his automatic reaction to the situation. He could feel it coming, but if he could just keep himself focused on what needed to be done then maybe the breakdown wouldn't happen until they were safe. He knew it was coming. He had never avoided it in some form. But he had to keep it together.
"Agent McGee."
Tim was startled out of his thoughts. Omar was looking at him.
"What?" Tim asked.
"Are you sure you want to be there?"
"Yes. I know people don't think I need to be, but I think I need to be and that's what matters. I can hold my own."
"I don't doubt that, but what if the worst happens to your brother-in-law?"
Tim smiled a little grimly. "Then, the worst might happen to me, and I'm not talking about dying. I don't know how I can face my wife knowing that I couldn't save her brother. He's the only family she has left. And I need to be a part of bringing him home."
Then, after a moment of silence, Tim had to ask.
"Who are you? Why does everyone defer to you when you say something?"
"Maybe I'm just the one saying the smart things," Omar said.
"No, that's not the reason. Even if you're saying smart things, that's not what deferring is. Who are you?"
Then, the door opened.
"Let's go," Edwards said. "We're ready to try this out and I hope it works."
Tim let himself be distracted from an admittedly unnecessary question.
"So do I."
They all trooped down to the cars. Tony and Suhayl were in one and Tim walked to that one. Omar followed while Edwards went to the other car.
"Are you all ready?" Edwards asked.
"Yes," Tim said.
"Okay. Last chance to change your mind, Agent McGee."
"Let's go," Tim said.
Edwards nodded and they all got into the car. Omar was driving and Tim was slouched down so that, if there were people watching for him, they wouldn't see him in the car and Omar would blend in with the native Egyptians.
They drove south of Cairo, to an industrial area. There were factories all around, but there were also abandoned buildings. A lot of traffic in and out of the area and the two cars were able to blend in with the workers during a shift change. That was part of the plan. They didn't want to get anyone else involved, but driving at a time when many others would be driving would further disguise them. Tony was also lower in the seat so that he didn't stick out as an obvious white guy.
One block away from the targeted building, they parked and got out. They all walked into a construction site. The site was currently shut down because of a lack of funds and so no one was there to stop them or question their presence. Once they got inside, they went up to a higher floor and set up shop. This location had the benefit of a clear shot of the place where Ahmed was being held. Edwards was making this their command post. Carroll began assembling a sniper rifle. It would give him plenty of range for covering fire if needed. He had spoken very little thus far, and Tim could tell just by the way he held his weapon that he knew what he was doing. He was very business-like about it. He handled the gun like Tim handled computers.
"Tim," Suhayl said softly.
Tim looked away from Carroll. Suhayl handed him a gun and Tim saw that Tony was already armed. It took everything Tim had to say something about Tony not coming along. He knew there was no way he could stop him.
"Okay. You get in and get out with Mokrani," Edwards said quietly. "Meet up with Thomas and then come back here. If necessary, we'll be out by the cars, ready to get you out. If worse comes to worst, we head for the airport separately. If it gets worse than that, head for the consulate. No matter what, we don't linger. If any of them get away, let them. Our goal is to get out."
Tim felt himself tense. He didn't want to let any of these people get away. In this situation, they wouldn't be arrested. They'd be free to do it again. He couldn't let that happen. He couldn't let them come after his family again. He didn't say anything, but he was thinking that he couldn't accept any of these people getting out of this alive.
If he had to kill each one of them himself, he would.
They sat down to wait for nightfall. No one spoke. No one moved except Carroll who had set up his sniper rifle and occasionally looked through the scope at the building.
Finally, the skies darkened as the sun set. It was swelteringly hot, but Tim said nothing about the heat. All his focus was on getting Ahmed out and killing his captors. The streets in this area were calming as factories closed down for the night. Still, they all sat in silence.
Tim glanced out the north side of the building, where the walls had not yet been completed and he was surprised to see the Big Dipper. For a moment, he was hurled back in time to a time when he had lay on the floor, tied to a chair, arm broken, and he had seen a single star out a window and wondered what it was. Everything else had vanished except for those stars.
I never found out, he thought to himself. I only knew that it wasn't Polaris.
Suddenly, Tim really wanted to know what stars he had seen at that moment when he had assumed that his only chance of escape had been to die. He hadn't died. He had survived, but he had never known what stars he'd seen.
...and the people who had tried to torture him to death had been killed by Suhayl and his people.
A hand on his shoulder startled him and brought him abruptly back to the present. He turned away from the stars and looked at Tony.
"Let's go," he said.
Tim nodded.
Tim, Tony, Omar and Suhayl left the building and headed toward their target, keeping to the shadows, walking around the block to make sure that they weren't in full view of the building, just in case their targets were on watch. As they approached the front door of the building, Thomas appeared out of the shadows.
"Third floor. I've counted at least four involved," he said softly.
"Have you seen Ahmed?" Tim asked.
"Got a glimpse once. He's tied to a chair in the middle of the room. Blindfolded. It'll be hard to get to him and keep him protected."
Tim nodded.
"There's a fire escape, but they're watching that most of the time. We're just going to have to do a frontal assault, but that means they'll have the advantage."
Tim felt a little helpless. He wanted Ahmed free, but he didn't want to get anyone else killed while doing so. For a moment, he panicked at what seemed to be a no-win situation. ...but then, he remembered the first time he had tried to save people he cared about. It had worked then. Maybe it could work again. It's not like these guys would have been there to see his plan in action almost ten years ago.
"What if we change it up, then?" he asked.
"How?" Tony asked, sounding a little concerned.
"Distract them by giving them what they want. Me."
"No!" Tony said. "You're not..."
"Tony... I'm sorry, but... shut up for a minute," Tim said.
Tony did, mostly out of surprise. Tim made a mental note to apologize later.
"They'll be watching the fire escape. A frontal assault is probably going to get someone killed. They're not going to kill me. If that was all they wanted, they would have tried that before, but they didn't. We all know what they want. If I go to the front door and I'm right there, that will be a major distraction. Who would expect it? Then, we can move in like we planned and get Ahmed out. We have to do something to fix what we know won't work. Do you have a better idea, Tony? Do any of you? If you do, I'll gladly go along with it. If not, let's not argue about it and just get it done."
There was a long silence. Then, Suhayl stepped forward. He had said little but Tim knew he was watching everything and everyone.
"If you intend to do this, you will not be alone at the door," he said. "I will be there, out of sight, prepared to help."
"Okay."
"We can't get up the fire escape fast enough from the ground," Tony said. "What's right below them?"
"An empty room," Thomas answered. "Offically, anyway. That doesn't mean there might not be someone there."
"Then, we could get through there to the back and only have one story to climb?" Tony asked.
"Probably."
"Then, we'll be ready," he said.
Tim looked at everyone else. They all nodded. Then, without speaking, they all went into the building, climbing up the stairs in complete silence. On the second floor, they walked together to the space below where Ahmed was being held. Thomas opened the door within seconds and they went inside, checking the entire space to make sure it was empty. Then, they went to the back of the room to where there was a window and they opened it silently. Thomas looked out and up and then gave them a thumbs up. Tim nodded and then walked toward the door. Tony caught his arm. He didn't say anything but Tim understood the expression. He just smiled a little and then gently removed Tony's hand.
Then, he and Suhayl walked up the stairs to the door that would, hopefully, lead them to Ahmed. Tim walked to the door silently. Suhayl melted into the shadows.
For a moment, Tim was afraid of being completely alone like this, but then, he pushed that aside. He would focus on Ahmed and nothing else. Not even the others involved. It was just getting Ahmed free. Ahmed needed help. The others were more than competent. He stood there and stared at the door, not sure what would happen.
Then, he knocked.
He waited and then the door swung open with a man on the other side looking more than a little shocked. Tim caught a glimpse of Ahmed slumped in a chair and he was filled with a black fury.
"Hi," Tim said. "I'm Tim McGee. Are you ready to die?"
x.x.x.x.x.x.x
There was a commotion from above and Tony was the first one up the rickety ladder. Omar and Thomas were right behind him, but Tony was much faster. As soon as it was obvious that Tim's distraction had worked, he wanted to get in there before anything happened. Never mind that Suhayl was there, too. Never mind that Tim was likely right that they had no interest in killing him. Tony was more afraid of what Tim might do and whether or not he could forgive himself for it later.
He was the one who was here and thinking about Tim's mental health as well as his physical well-being. He still felt some guilt for Tim's situation and he wasn't going to allow it to get any worse on his watch.
He tripped a little bit on the rung and might have fallen, but he was surprised to feel Omar catching him and pushing him up onto the landing outside the room. Tony didn't wait. He plunged through the window, pulling his gun as he did so.
He took in the scene in a moment. Tim was standing in the doorway, his hands in the air, looking completely at ease. Ahmed was slumped down in a chair in the middle of the room, unmoving. Hopefully, still alive. Two men had their guns out and were pointing them at Tim. One was on the ground, already dead. How? He hadn't heard a gunshot.
There should be four. Where was the last one?
Then, there was a gunshot from behind him and he whirled around. Omar had his gun out and had just fired it. Tony followed the angle of the gun and saw a man fall to the floor.
"Thanks," Tony said.
"You're both dead," Tim said, not looking at Tony or at anyone other than the two men in the room. "You're outnumbered, outgunned, and you're dead. The question is how many bullets do you want in your corpse."
That was more than steel in Tim's voice. The steel was there, but that was also pain and fear. Tim wasn't just trash-talking these guys. He meant what he was saying.
Meaning that he intended for them to be dead when this was over. Two already were.
"Don't move," Thomas ordered. "Ne dvigaysya."
One of the men was distracted by the order and actually started to obey, but the other pointed his gun at Ahmed. He was very close to him.
"I will kill him if you don't stop now," he said.
For a moment, everyone paused. Then, in a burst of frenetic movement, Tim seemed to explode into action. He ran forward so quickly that it took the man completely off guard. There were too many people for him to pay attention to. He wasn't ready and Tim was able to reach him before he could fire. He did pull the trigger, but Tim had already grabbed his arm and yanked it up so that the gun was pointing at the ceiling when he fired. Then, they were grappling a bit, but Tim was actually winning. He was fighting with a skill that Tony didn't know he had. It was not just regular wrestling or even sparring. This was a step far beyond that. But then, he got his arm around the man's neck and he began to squeeze. The man began to writhe in his attempt to escape. His efforts did absolutely nothing. It was clear that Tim was cutting off his air supply.
"Tim, don't," Tony said.
Tim didn't even acknowledge him. The problem was that there was still one other man in the room who hadn't yet put down his weapon.
"Omar," Tony said.
Omar nodded and focused on the remaining man.
"Put down your weapon. I will give you five seconds before you will be dead. One. Two. Three. Four..."
The man dropped the gun and Tony ran over to Tim. Thomas began checking the dead men to make sure they were really dead. Suhayl hadn't yet come into view.
"Tim, don't do this. We got them. It's over. Let him go."
"Why should I?" Tim demanded angrily. "If I let him go, it'll just happen again and again. I won't let that happen. Not this time."
"Tim, we're here to get Ahmed out. We can do that. Your family is safe. Let him go and we'll get out of here."
"No! Not this time," Tim said again and squeezed tighter. The man was on the verge of unconsciousness. He wasn't struggling much anymore.
And Tony saw in a moment what Ducky had meant all those weeks ago when he had told Ziva and Tony that Tim would have to choose what kind of a life he would lead. Tim wanted to kill this man. In this moment, he wanted to kill him and if he did, when he was thinking again, he wouldn't be able to get over it. It would fundamentally change who he was because he would be the killer he'd always been afraid he was.
"Don't do this," Tony said.
"Why not?" Tim demanded.
"Because, Tim... you're not a killer."
Finally, Tim looked at him. Really looked at him.
Tony decided to push the advantage as quickly as he could before it was too late.
"Let him go and leave him for the others to take care of. That's their job and they'll do it."
Tim looked down at the man he was slowly killing. Tony didn't know what he was thinking, but he was hoping it was something good.
"Please, Tim. Stop."
The moment seemed to stretch out forever.
