Chapter 43
Tim looked at Tony and, while everything inside him was screaming to get rid of this person who had caused so much suffering, he knew that Tony was right. He hated that Tony was right, but he knew he was. He wanted this man dead...
...but he couldn't do it and still be himself...even if he wasn't sure he liked who he was.
Finally, he dropped the man to the floor where he gasped for breath and lay limply without much movement.
Still alive.
Tim stared down at him, breathing heavily, unsure of how he felt.
"Ahmed," Tony said, softly.
That got Tim out of the momentary freeze and he looked at the chair where Ahmed was sitting. He hadn't moved during the altercation, hadn't even seemed to realize there were others in the room.
Tim understood and he hurried over and then knelt down while Thomas took over with the man on the floor. Tim touched Ahmed gently on the arm, afraid that he would be dead, but there was a twitch. No sound but a slight twitch. He was alive. Before doing anything, it was important to know how badly he was hurt. Would even removing the blindfold cause pain?
"Ahmed, ayn ta'thiat?" he asked, knowing his pronunciation wasn't good, but knowing also that Ahmed was probably in a state where he would have a hard time understanding what people were saying to him and speaking in his native language would be better than his second...or third. He had really worked hard on learning Arabic, and he was still terrible, but better than he used to be.
For a long moment, there was no response. Then, Ahmed stirred a little.
"Sā'adnī..." he whispered.
Tim felt a mixture of fury, grief and guilt at the quavery voice, so changed from when they had been walking around and enjoying themselves on vacation. He really hated that this had happened, but for now, he needed to get Ahmed free, but carefully so that any pains wouldn't be worsened.
Gently, he removed Ahmed's blindfold and was relieved when he blinked in the light, even the dim light of the room. He seemed dazed and weak, but he was alive and his eyes were undamaged. That was something.
"Ahmed, ayn ta'thiat?" Tim asked again.
Ahmed blinked a few more times and looked at him.
"Kulu juz'," he whispered.
"Okay. I'll be as careful as I can. It still might hurt, but we're getting you out of here."
Tim knelt down and began to untie Ahmed's arms and legs. This whole thing brought back bad memories. If he closed his eyes, he could imagine Tony or Ziva or Gibbs being the ones suffering because of him. His hands shook a little as he focused on the knots.
Then, someone was kneeling down beside him and he looked over. Tony was there, helping him. He wasn't the one suffering this time.
"I'll get his legs free," Tony said.
Tim just nodded and freed Ahmed's arms. They fell limply at his side and he sagged. Tim hurriedly supported him to make sure that Ahmed wouldn't fall over. That would definitely not help.
"I've got you, Ahmed," Tim said. "I won't let you fall."
Ahmed said nothing in response. Tim didn't know if it was because he couldn't or because he couldn't understand what Tim was saying or if he just didn't care. It didn't matter at the moment. Tim was saying the words as much for himself as for Ahmed. He was there and he was fixing what he could.
Tony got Ahmed's legs untied, but Ahmed whimpered a little bit.
"Tim, look at this," Tony said said softly.
Tim looked down and saw where it was clear that they'd stabbed Ahmed more than once. Mostly into the muscle and away from the major blood vessels, but it would have been painful and the injuries looked infected. They would definitely need treatment.
"We need to get moving, Agent McGee," Thomas said. "There were four here, but there could be more."
Tim nodded. "There probably are."
He started checking over Ahmed's body to make sure that there weren't any broken bones that would cause extra pain. There were bruises and lacerations, but no broken bones that Tim could discern. He knew that there were pains that didn't leave any outside marks, so he looked at Tony.
"Help me get him up?" he asked.
Tony nodded and got on Ahmed's other side. They lifted him together and Ahmed groaned but said nothing. He just sagged in between them. Tim wanted to explode with the feelings inside but for now, he had to focus on getting Ahmed out.
Omar walked over to the door and put out his hand.
"Let us check first," he said. "Suhayl?"
Suhayl nodded and the two of them disappeared. Thomas was on guard at the window. Tim looked around for the men who had been holding Ahmed and none were in view. In the brief time that he had been focused on Ahmed, they had been... removed from the room. Alive or dead, Tim didn't know. He would want to later, but for now, there really wasn't time for interrogations.
In moments, Omar and Suhayl were back, gesturing silently for them to go. Tim and Tony cautiously walked forward, carrying Ahmed between them. Thomas came behind them as they slowly navigated down the stairs to the ground floor and to the entrance. Then, it was time to step outside.
Omar stepped out first and there was a crack. He staggered back, holding his arm and cursing. There was a roaring in Tim's ears as he stared, unable to think as Suhayl quickly checked the wound. Tim couldn't hear anything. He wasn't there anymore. He was back three years ago, seeing Ray bleeding out on the ground, having protected him with his life. He stood where he was, looking at Omar but not seeing anything but Ray, dying with blood pouring out of his shoulder and...
"Tim, snap out of it!"
The voice was coming from very far away. Tim couldn't tell who it was. Then, there were hands on his arms and he was being shaken.
"Come on, Tim. We've got to get out of here. Wake up!"
Suddenly, Tim could see again and he realized that he wasn't holding onto Ahmed. Tony was holding onto him, meaning that Tony wasn't holding onto Ahmed, either.
"You hear me, Tim?" Tony asked.
Tim realized that he was breathing heavily as if he had been running a marathon and he also realized that he had not helped anyone by having this meltdown. He felt ashamed of himself and very guilty. He had stayed to help Ahmed and he couldn't even keep his mind on that.
Another shake.
"You hear me?" Tony asked again.
"Yeah."
"Good. There's a shooter out there, and we're just trying to figure out how to get him. Omar's fine. It was only a graze."
Tim managed to look around. Ahmed was being held by Suhayl and Omar. Thomas wasn't in view.
"How long have..."
"Just a couple of minutes. Don't worry about it. Thomas is scouting."
"I'm sorry," Tim said, feeling even more ashamed.
"It's fine. Just calm down." Then, Tony leaned in close and whispered. "It's not like Ray. Don't let yourself get pulled into that again, Tim."
Tim was trying to calm himself down, taking deep breaths and genuinely trying not to keep mentally berating himself. It might not work permanently, but for now, he had to focus on Ahmed and getting him free. Getting all of them back to the plane. Just that for now. The meltdown could happen later.
Focus.
Focus.
Another deep breath and Tim straightened. Tony let him go.
"Can we signal Edwards?" he asked. "Carroll was prepared for something like this happening."
"Has to be able to see him, Probie," Tony said.
"Right," Tim said. He felt antsy now that he was in his right mind again. "We can't just stand here waiting and hoping that..."
There was another crack that was definitely not at them and then Thomas appeared.
"Okay. They're driving the car over. That will give us some cover if there's anyone else waiting out there," he said. "We'll have ten seconds to get inside. Everyone understand?"
Everyone nodded.
Then, there was a tense silence. No movement inside or outside. Ahmed didn't seem aware of what was going on. Then, the car pulled up right in front of the door. They moved out. Thomas was covering them, and Tony also had his gun out as he pushed Tim to the car. Omar and Suhayl got Ahmed into the car. Edwards was driving and he started car moving before they got the doors closed. Bullets hit the car frame and they all ducked, but then, there was another single shot and the bullets stopped. Tim looked around.
"Where's Carroll?" he asked.
"Covering us. He'll meet up at the airport," Edwards said.
Tim hated that there was someone getting left behind, even just temporarily, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he turned to Ahmed who was lying limply in the back of the car. Suhayl was beside him and there was no room for anyone else back there so he just looked back.
"How is he?" he asked softly.
Suhayl looked up at him.
"He is alive and he will stay that way. All else can be healed with time. As you know."
Tim swallowed and nodded.
"Does he know English?" Suhayl asked. "You spoke in Arabic to him."
"He does, but I wasn't sure if he'd remember it all things considered. So I tried. He knows Spanish, too."
Suhayl nodded and then looked back down at Ahmed and began speaking to him in a low voice. Tim didn't know Arabic well enough to follow what was being said, but Ahmed wasn't getting upset. He was still lying limply.
"You have water?" Suhayl asked.
Thomas heard and passed back a bottle. Suhayl proceeded to help Ahmed drink. Tim couldn't help but remember his own actions, helping Ziva after she had been tortured. He could feel the breakdown coming. He knew it would. He couldn't hold it off much longer, but he was hoping he could do it long enough to get on the plane. He could feel it building up.
As long as no one dies...
If that happened, Tim knew he wouldn't keep it together.
But at the same time, he could hear Bob yelling at him for letting himself be weak when it wasn't necessary, when others' lives were on the line.
But he really was trying. He was clenching his fists, trying to stuff it all in and not let it out. Were they going to make it? They seemed to have escaped, but they weren't at the airport yet. What about Agent Carroll? Would he get there? What if he didn't? What about Ahmed? What if he had more serious injuries than they could see?
He closed his eyes and took some deep breaths that were as quiet as he could make them.
"It's okay, Tim," Tony whispered, putting his arm around Tim's shoulders.
Tim didn't bother to answer. If it was, it didn't matter because Tim felt the same way regardless. If it wasn't, then, it was pointless.
But he didn't mind hearing it.
He couldn't watch where they were going. He couldn't watch for someone following them. All he could do was try not to be more of a liability than he already was.
And so he sat there as Edwards drove them closer to safety. He wasn't rushing at all. Tim was torn between wanting him to get a move on and wanting him to take his time so no one would know who was in this car.
No one in the car was speaking. It was silent as they neared the airport.
Finally, Tim could see the airport in front of them. Planes were landing and taking off. They weren't safe yet, but they were getting closer.
He was really afraid that, at the last second, they would be found out. He kept listening for sirens or gunshots. Anything that would tell him that they were going to have to go on the run again and not able to get back to the States.
But Edwards turned in and drove to the rental place.
"Stay in the car," he said.
Then, he got out with Thomas and left the others in the car. They walked inside. Omar looked at the others. Then, he looked at Tony.
"Get behind the wheel," he said, again presenting himself as in charge in a way that made it seem like he really was.
"Why?" Tony asked.
"Just in case."
Tony nodded and got out of the back and slid into the driver's seat. Tim looked around to see if anyone was approaching them. He felt extremely tense and his nerves were already getting stretched to the breaking point. He looked back at Ahmed who was still not showing much life. Tim knew he was alive, but he didn't react to anything.
After a couple of minutes, Edwards came back to the car, pushing a wheelchair. He pushed it around to the back and opened the hatch.
"Let's get Mokrani into the chair and we can wheel him back to the hangar."
Suhayl nodded and helped gently ease Ahmed into the chair. Tim watched, wincing at how limp he seemed. Then, Edwards gestured and they all got out of the car.
"Let's go. No one knows yet, but I can't guarantee that will continue being the case."
They walked through the airport, went through an abbreviated security and then headed back to the hangar. The plane was waiting. Everything was going as well as it could, but Tim couldn't relax.
"All right. Let's get Mokrani on board and get ready to leave," Edwards said.
"What about Carroll?" Tim asked.
"He'll get here."
Tim forced himself to nod and then looked at Suhayl. Surely, he wasn't coming with them.
"Are you going to be all right getting out of here?" Tim asked.
"Yes. I will be fine."
"Okay. Thank you."
Suhayl looked at him sternly, put his hands on Tim's shoulders and shook him a little bit.
"You have done what you could do. You cannot save every person. You have saved your brother and that is important. Now, you must save yourself. That is what matters now. With all else that must be done, save yourself. You do not need anyone else to do it for you. 'ilā alliqā'."
Then, Suhayl hugged him and walked away before Tim could say anything in response.
And as he walked away, Agent Carroll came into view, looking cool as a cucumber. His sniper rifle was put away, probably completely disassembled in the bag he carried.
"Let's get out of here," Edwards said.
Tim turned back around and saw Tony and Omar helping Ahmed onto the plane. Tim nodded and got on board after them.
Then, he walked to the back of the plane into the bathroom, locked the door and sat down on the toilet. He started to shake as all the stress of the last couple of weeks began to insist on letting itself be felt.
He could try to be strong later. Right now, he was finally breaking down after all the time of trying not to.
He couldn't hear anything beyond the roaring in his ears and he closed his eyes as he tried to keep himself from making noise during this breakdown.
He just needed to ride it out.
Translation:
"Ahmed, ayn ta'thiat?" - Ahmed, where do you hurt?"
"Sā'adnī..." - Help me...
"Ahmed, ayn ta'thiat?" - Ahmed, where do you hurt?
"Kulu juz'," - Everywhere
