Chapter 12

Tim was asleep on the gurney, although he seemed restless. Gibbs was sitting silently beside him and Ducky was looking through some papers he'd managed to find about early ESP research.

The door to the room opened and Dr. Jessop stood in the doorway. He didn't speak. Instead, he gestured for Ducky to follow him. Ducky looked at Gibbs who just nodded and stayed where he was. Ducky got out and followed Dr. Jessop back to his office.

"Do you have some results to share?" Ducky asked.

"Yes, but I'm still not sure what it means. Dr. Mallard, this is very concerning. Not just that Agent McGee appears to have the power of telekinesis but that this was done by meddling with his brain. I'm also concerned about how enervating using that power is to him. It seems as though the ultimate source of the energy he uses to do these things is his own body. If he were to overdo it, I'm worried that the strain could actually kill him."

Ducky nodded. "I'm concerned about that as well, Dr. Jessop. I noticed how tired he was during the EEG, and his larger outbursts have been accompanied by unconsciousness. But you have more?"

"Yes. I looked at the EEG and went back to the MRI. During the EEG, the times when he was using that... ability, his brain activity skyrocketed. Now, the only place that we could measure directly that was definitely meddled with was the parietal lobe, but that showed a dramatic increase in both beta and gamma waves, but they were strangely organized."

Dr. Jessop turned his monitor around again and showed the EEG. Sure enough, during one section, there was a dramatic increase in brain activity but all the waves were moving together.

"I've never seen anything like this before. So I went back to the MRI and started looking at it more closely." He tapped on a few keys and the EEG was replaced by the MRI. "I was looking at those straight lines again and..."

"What?"

A few more taps on the keyboard.

"Those aren't just injection sites, Dr. Mallard. Those are wires. Someone has implanted four extremely thin wires into Agent McGee's head. Those four wires meet at a single point in the thalamus and there's something there."

"Something?" Ducky repeated.

A few more taps, and an image came up showing the central area of Tim's brain. Dr. Jessop leaned forward and circled a very small spot on the image.

"That right there is not natural. That's not part of his brain. It's a thing, an object. I don't know what it is or how in the world they got it in there without turning him into a vegetable, but if that's a piece of machinery, if it conducts electricity then, maybe that's what's triggering these events. And it's in the thalamus. If that's where the energy begins, I can see why he's so emotionally unstable right now. There's an object interfering with the proper function of his brain. It's tiny, but it's there and it shouldn't be."

"Do you have any idea of how it might work?"

"Only guesses. If I'm right that this is a source of electricity, then, let's suppose that it's on some kind of cycle. Every... 30 minutes, let's say, it lets out a small burst of electrical energy into his thalamus."

"What might keep it running?"

"No idea... unless maybe... it's charged by his brain waves? I really don't know if that would even be possible. Brain waves carry a voltage but it's tiny, a millionth of a volt. I don't know how that would be enough. But I'd hope for that over the idea that there's a battery of some kind in his brain that might start leaking acid sometime in the future."

Ducky winced at the image that evoked.

"However it happens, that electrical energy would be conducted along those wires from the thalamus into his parietal lobe, his amygdala, his cerebellum and his hypothalamus. When that happens, it triggers an emotional reaction and if conditions are right, it sets up a feedback loop that causes the buildup of energy. With the electrical energy feeding into his brain, those parts of his brain begin operating in tandem and... somehow, this leads to a telekinetic burst which is how his brain rids itself of the energy buildup. If I'm right, then, this will keep happening as long as that object keeps functioning."

"Can it be removed?"

"I don't know. It shouldn't be in there at all, but it's now been there for a couple of weeks and that means that it's possible that the brain has expanded around it. Removing it could be even more dangerous than the original placement was, especially since it's right in the middle. But if we could find some way to deactivate it, perhaps remove the wires themselves which can be accessed more easily, we might be able to stop this from happening without killing Agent McGee in the process."

Ducky sat back and looked at that tiny, innocent spot on the MRI. What monsters had done this? How? Why?

"Do you have any ideas on how this might be done?" he asked.

"Not at the moment, but I can start working on it if you'd like. We may need to get more data from Agent McGee, but I can get started. Do I have your permission to share this with some of my colleagues? I'll respect your wish not to share the effect of this damage, although I'm sure there will be plenty of questions."

"If you can speak to your colleagues without details, then... yes, I will give you permission to share it, but whoever did this is likely part of the medical community."

"I know. I've thought of that myself. It's disgusting to consider, but I don't see how it could be any other way. Tampering with the brain is always risky. You can't be as successful as they were without knowing what you're doing."

"Very true. Do you see any reason to keep him here any longer?"

"No. But I would suggest that you try to keep him from using this ability. It's obviously not helping him function and I know he's emotionally unstable at the moment, but I'm worried that the next time he uses it could end up being the last time if it's too draining."

Ducky nodded in agreement.

"Once he wakes up, we'll get out of your hair. Thank you for doing this on a day you're normally closed."

Dr. Jessop smiled a little. "I was skeptical that this was necessary, but I'm glad I didn't insist that you come on our normal hours."

"Anything else you find, please let me know."

"Will do."

Ducky walked back to the room and saw that Tim was in the process of awakening. He seemed to be distressed as he had been every time he'd regained consciousness. Something about that process was likely reminding him of his time with the people who had attacked him. Gibbs was doing his best to keep Tim calm enough to wake up without causing more damage than he already had.

Ducky sat down beside Tim and gently tapped his cheek. Just enough to hopefully connect Tim with the waking world, without making him panic.

"Come on, lad. Time to wake up. You're safe and secure here. No one is going to hurt you. Just calm yourself down and wake up."

Tim started mumbling unintelligibly.

Just this once, Ducky really wanted Tim to have a relatively normal awakening. It would help lessen his own fears of himself if he could wake up without doing anything.

"You're safe. Stay calm and relax."

Suddenly, the chair he'd moved earlier began its same slow spin as before, balanced on one leg and Ducky was conscious of the same pressure. This could become a problem if Tim was startled at this moment. He was already using the same power he had before and if Dr. Jessop was right, startling him might ramp his actions up into something violent. Ducky looked at Gibbs and then gestured to the door. Gibbs nodded and walked over to the door, quietly opened it and then closed it behind him. At least now, Ducky knew that no one would accidentally come in during this delicate time.

"Wake up, Timothy. Calm your mind. Open your eyes."

The chair's spin began to speed up. Sensing an increased risk, Ducky tapped gently on Tim's face again.

"Timothy, it's time to go home. You're safe. Just open your eyes."

Tim's eyes fluttered open for a moment and then fell closed again.

"Very good. You're almost there. Try again."

Another flutter.

"Keep going."

The chair started to wobble. Ducky didn't want it to crash to the floor and startle Tim this time. He walked over to the chair, not stopping its spin, but ready to catch it if Tim stopped making it move.

"Wake up, Timothy," he said again. "Relax."

The chair slowed even more.

"Almost there, lad."

Suddenly, Tim's eyes opened and he sat up. That strange pressure vanished and the chair would have fallen, but Ducky caught it and lowered it to the ground and then hurried back to the bed without saying anything about the chair.

"How long was I out?" Tim mumbled.

"Just over an hour. Do you think you can get up?"

"Yeah." Tim still seemed a little out of it, but he had not done anything violent. Yes, his ability had manifested itself, but it had been strangely gentle all things considered. So violent reactions were not the only way it had to happen, but with Tim being so on edge, it was unlikely that he would wake up normally for the time being... unless someone was there to help him along every time.

"What now?" Tim asked.

Ducky walked over to the door and opened it, letting Gibbs back in. He raised a silent eyebrow and Ducky just nodded at the chair. Gibbs' eyes flicked to it briefly, obviously taking in the fact that there was no new damage, and then he walked over to the gurney.

"What now, Boss?" Tim asked.

"We're going to see if you can learn how to control this and wait for Tony and Kate to get back. When they do, you have to tell them about this."

Tim looked down, not daring to say no to his boss, but obviously not wanting to have to reveal the situation to anyone else. For the moment, no one said anything. They got Tim to his feet and they left the building.

The doors opened before they could push on them.

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

"You idiot! Why in the world did you bring them in here?"

"They were already looking! Did you want to risk them seeing everything and then leaving? And maybe telling someone about it?"

Tony and Kate looked at each other. Their hands were bound behind them with zip ties. Their phones had been taken away, as had their weapons and their IDs. All in all, this was not looking good.

"And maybe they would have just looked and left without any suspicions! But now, we have to do something about them."

"How long do you think it will take for Gibbs to try to call us," Kate asked, almost inaudibly.

"Hopefully, sooner rather than later," Tony said in reply.

"He's always impatient..." Kate murmured.

Tony smiled just a little bit at that.

Now that they were inside the building, they were seeing what must be where Tim had been taken. The room was large and, with the lights on, brightly lit. On one side, there was a closed off section that was lined with windows and inside it was a table with chains attached to it. The table seemed to be connected to a conveyor belt of sorts that led into a large machine.

What all those things were for was unknown, but the space had the look of some kind of twisted operating room.

"How tight are your zip ties?" Tony asked.

"Tight enough," Kate murmured back. "But if we get the chance, I might be able to get out of them. You?"

"Probably, but we need to have them not watching us first."

The two men stopped their argument and looked over at them. They both sat there, stopping their conversation immediately. It wouldn't do to look like they were plotting.

The one who had been angry about their capture walked over to them.

"Why were you trespassing?" he asked.

"We didn't," Tony said. "We didn't come inside until your guy pushed us in. We were getting a tour of the power plant and were wondering what this building was."

"I even said that we didn't have permission to go inside," Kate added, trying to sound helpful.

"And we didn't go inside, now did we," Tony said.

"The foreman didn't know anything about it, but it's part of the facility. We were curious," Kate said.

The man raised an eyebrow at them and Kate couldn't help thinking that they weren't fooling him in the slightest.

"You know what curiosity did to the cat," he said, mildly.

"Good thing we're not cats, then," Tony said.

"I'm curious about why two NCIS agents are getting a tour of a power plant. Last I checked, NCIS was not involved in power production, nor do either of you appear to have any vested interest in a power facility."

"Is there a question in there?" Tony asked.

"Yes. I am not inclined to commit murder, particularly not of people in federal law enforcement. That tends to bring scrutiny which I don't need. However, I'm also not particularly happy to have you two here. My question is whether it's worth it to kill you and simply make every effort to hide your bodies or if there's some benefit to keeping you alive."

"I don't suppose our wit and charm is enough?" Tony asked.

Kate elbowed him in the ribs.

"If you actually showed either, I might be able to evaluate," the man said. "Be aware that I haven't decided to kill you yet, but if you try to escape, you will make that decision for me."

Then, the man walked away from them. He spoke softly to the other man in the room and then left their view.

"This isn't looking very good," Kate said.

"No, not really," Tony agreed. "The only good thing is that he doesn't really want to kill us."

"Yeah, that's why we're still alive now, but there's no guarantee that he won't decide to cut his losses."

"Next time that guy looks away, try to shift over just enough that we can get to the zip ties. Maybe we can even the playing field a little."

Kate nodded and after a few minutes, the man guarding them was distracted by his phone ringing. Kate shifted very slightly so that their hands could touch.

Carefully, Tony started to try to loosen the zip ties on Kate's wrists, hoping that it wouldn't be noticed.