Inter-agency Nightmare 4/?
"Here, I was told to make sure you were fed." A tray clanked on the table
Tim raised up from where he'd been dozing on the table to rub his face. "Pork chops?"
"Believe me, if we were going to torture you, you'd been given the fish."
The voice at the door caught McGee's attention and he turned. The new arrival was obviously a civilian from his longer hair and casual demeanor. "Let me guess, they cook it until it turns into a piece of rubber."
"You've met our cook, then. I'm Daniel, by the way."
McGee watched as the other man slid into a seat across from him. "I'm Tim, but you already knew that. So what's a civilian doing interrogating a prisoner?"
The door opened once again and the Airman brought in a second tray, setting it in front of Daniel. "Here you go, Dr. Jackson."
"Thank you, Airman." Once the Airman left, he turned back to Tim. "Just hated to see you eat alone."
For a military facility the food was surprisingly good, more like the officer's mess than what the enlisted would eat and much better than what Tim expected them to waste on a suspect. However, it had been a long time since the take out Gibbs had brought him, so Tim ate every scrap that was on his plate.
Daniel also ate silently, watching the other man. Despite the slight trembling in his hands, McGee ate slowly, carefully cutting his meat, precisely setting his knife on the edge of the plate before taking each bite. They had taken a gamble giving the two prisoners real silverware, but Jack had wanted to see what they'd do. McGee, at least, was biding his time it seemed. Daniel spoke just as McGee finished his last bite. "Why'd you do it?"
Tim very carefully laid down his knife and fork, pressing his hands against the table to hide just how scared he really was. "Do what, exactly?"
Without being summoned, an Airman slipped into the room to remove the trays, which told McGee that someone was actively watching what was being recorded. Once the trays were removed, he laced his fingers together in front of him, forcing himself to keep them relaxed. Instead, he pressed his toes down hard inside his shoes as an unseen physical outlet for his fear as he waited.
"So it was just a coincidence that you were at your desk all night after your boss got himself into something he shouldn't have?"
Tim had to stop himself from telling Daniel that Gibbs didn't believe in coincidences. "My boss is a taskmaster, what can I say." Tim remembered Gibbs' rule about always being specific when you lie. "It's easier to do maintenance on the computers when not many people are using them."
"So that's the job your fancy degrees got you? You're tech support?" Neither of them had noticed Jack's arrival and he hitched his hip up on the table so he could look down at McGee. "Kinda thought the son of an Admiral would have higher aspirations."
His toes were beginning to cramp. "Everyone on the team has their strengths. When we're not out in the field, I handle the computers. Sometimes that means defragging them and backing up the files. Whatever it takes to make sure the team can get the job done."
Daniel glanced up at Jack before asking the next question. "Defragging and backing up files is pretty basic, why doesn't he do it himself?"
McGee snorted before he could stop himself. "Let's just say that Gibbs is kinda old school. His idea of defragging would be putting a bullet through the hard drive."
It took some effort, but O'Neill ignored the muffled laugh from Dr. Jackson. "I see."
Schooling his features, Daniel continued the questioning. "According to you, you spent the night just doing basic maintenance on your hard drive."
"Except to use the head, I don't think I stepped away from the computer all night. Not until you dragged us out this morning."
"And Gibbs stayed all night, too?"
"He made the dinner run, brought back coffee a few times. Other than that, I think he was at his desk most of the night." Tim shrugged. "I get my nose buried in the computer and don't pay too much attention." Finally finished, Tim quieted, waiting to see what they would do next.
O'Neill nodded slowly before brushing off a non-existent piece of lint from Tim's jacket. "So your boss just sits there all night, watching you work. I'd think that would get on your nerves. I know it would mine."
"Agent Gibbs is the most dedicated man I know. First one in every morning, last one to leave at night. If one of us stays to work, he's usually around someplace."
"So, he doesn't trust you."
The barked laugh was a surprise to the two interrogators. "If he didn't trust me, he wouldn't have put me on the team. Gibbs will never ask any of us to do anything he wouldn't be willing to do, himself. If one of the team has to pull an all-nighter, he's not going to go home and get a good night's sleep. It's not his style."
"Okay, then what is his style?" O'Neill leaned closer, but McGee didn't blink. Either he was too tired or he'd spent a lot of time with people trying to intimidate him. Being a fellow geek, Daniel suspected the latter as he continued to watch.
McGee might have been feeling a little reckless, but he still chose his words carefully. "He's always there for us, watches our back. Once a Marine, always a Marine and Marines don't leave their people behind."
When he saw the slight twitch in O'Neill's eye, Tim knew he'd won that round. He sat back and waited, not surprised when O'Neill stormed out.
Once it was just the two of them and the camera in the corner, Daniel shook his head. "We're not the enemy here."
"But you think we are." Now it was Tim's turn to shake his head. "Listen, we fight crooks and terrorists every day, that's what we do. We protect the interests of the Navy. When someone or something threatens the men and women of the Navy or the Marine Corps, we're the ones that step up to the plate and make sure they get a chance to come home to their families. If we can't do that, then we avenge their loss and make sure it never happens again."
"Is that a threat, Agent McGee?"
Only if you're the enemy after all, Dr. Jackson."
---NCIS---
In an office several floors down, the two games of verbal chess were being very carefully watched. "Opinions, Major Carter?"
She thought for a moment. "Permission to speak freely, Sir?"
Hammond nodded. He had a close knit unit, but he always appreciated the question. "Of course."
There was a sharp rap on the door and Jack O'Neill stormed in, so Carter waited for him to sit down. "From everything I've been able to put together, Leroy Jethro Gibbs is a real straight shooter. He's devoted his entire life to this country, first as a Marine and then as a NCIS agent. He's probably earned more awards and citations that they rest of the agency put together, but he never shows up at the award ceremonies to pick them up. He may be short on tact, but he's no threat."
The General had already come to a similar conclusion. "Colonel, your thoughts?"
Jack had been doing his own checking, in addition to observing. "Honestly, I kinda like the guy."
"Be that as it may," General Hammond bit back a smile. "The Joint Chiefs will probably require a bit more than that."
"We've been stalling the families of our missing guys and Dickerson's old man served with Gibbs in the Gulf. Guess we shouldn't have been too surprised he went to Gibbs when he didn't hear from his son."
"We're lucky he didn't go to the press." Sam paused, debating if she should tell the two men about a conversation she'd overheard before SG5 gated to P3X-518. Hammond picked up on her internal debate.
"Is there something else I should know about, Major?"
She pursed her lips together for a moment, then pushed ahead. "Did you know that Airman Dickerson's mother is terminally ill?"
Hammond closed his eyes for a moment, remembering his own wife, lost to cancer. "No, I didn't know that. You think that's why his father was pulling strings, trying to get some answers?"
"Bobby's leave was supposed to start as soon as SG5 returned from their mission. I checked, his mother's birthday was after they were taken hostage."
Jack hated to be the bad guy, but sometimes he had no choice. "Listen, I feel for the guy, I really do. But he's not the only hostage. If we give his father special privileges, what do we do about the rest of the families? There's only so long that 'the mission is currently taking longer than anticipated' is going to fly."
"Suggestions?"
Carter thought she had a solution. "Gibbs was military, he will follow orders, right?"
"Just order him to keep his mouth shut while the negotiations continue? What if we don't get our people back alive?"
O'Neill had serious concerns, but so did General Hammond. "What about Agent McGee? We still don't even know the extent of his involvement in all this." He picked up his phone and called for an update on the computer checks. Five minutes later a heavy-set man with thick glasses was standing in front of his desk.
"We've gotten through about sixty percent of the system, Sir. We'll be working through the night to complete the survey, but..."
"But what, Mr. Edwards?"
"I think we have a bigger problem that Agent McGee. I still don't know if he's been I our system, but somebody has."
Jack frowned as he thought about it. "How do you know it wasn't him?"
"Because the last breech was less than five hours ago, after he was in our custody... and I'm not sure how to track it."
"Well, shit." Jack winced and turned to the General. "Sorry, Sir."
"Understood, Colonel."
"Sir, if I may make a suggestion?" When three sets of eyes looked at her, Major Carter continued. "This is what Agent McGee specializes in."
"You're suggesting that we just hand him the keys to the kingdom, Carter?"
Jack thought about what was happening on P3X-518 and the computer program they couldn't break into. "She's suggesting more than that."
Hammond knew what they were both saying. "Well, if we're going to give a civilian full access to our most top secret files and then ask him to solve a problem on another problem, I want to make sure he's not only our best but our only option. Mr. Edwards, continue your survey into the computer breeches. Major Carter, you and Dr. Jackson find out everything there is to know about our two guest."
"And me, Sir?"
"They're going to be our guests for a while, Colonel. You get to play host. Find them accommodations for the night and get them settled in. It's going to be a long weekend, people."
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