Ransom of the World

Written for the Sacrifice Challenge.

Rating: T/FR 15

Summary: One of the team decides to make the ultimate sacrifice in order to save the rest.

Disclaimer: Don't own anything, and I'm sure certain characters are very happy about that.

A man who was completely innocent, offered himself as a sacrifice for the good of others, including his enemies, and became the ransom of the world.

~ Mahatma Gandi

XXX

"No, McGee. There's no way in hell I'm letting you do this. No way!" Tony used anger to cover up the terror he was feeling as he desperately tried to stop the flow of blood from the wound in Gibbs' chest.

"It's not about letting me, Tony," Tim growled as he tended to the fourth member of their team who had suffered a similar injury. "Gibbs and Ziva will die if they don't get help, soon. You're not in much better shape—"

"I'm fine, Probie, it's just a flesh wound."

"That 'flesh wound' is bleeding like hell, Tony. You need medical assistance or you'll bleed out like Gibbs and Ziva are currently doing. There's no time to argue. We've been given one option and I'm taking it."

"As senior agent—"

"If you're going to play that card, then consider this an act of insubordination."

"Damn it, Tim. You know we don't negotiate."

"It's not a negotiation. Borucki wants a hostage to make sure he can get past the checkpoint. Once he leaves here with said hostage, you can call for help. We don't have time to wait for the FBI to find us. If he doesn't get a volunteer in the next two minutes he'll kill us all and take his chances. End of story."

"It will be the end of you if you leave here with him! You know he'll kill you as soon as he's sure he's not being followed."

Tim looked away for a moment and took a deep breath before return his attention to his partner. "I know."

"Then why—"

"You know damn well why, Tony. It's the only way. Look: we've all accepted that we might have to do something like this at any point in our careers. Hell, we've already faced the possibility, several times. This isn't any different." Tim gave him a weak smile. "Take care of the Boss and Ziva. Take care of yourself, too." He rose and yelled to their captor. "OK, Borucki, you've got your hostage."

The man smirked. "Well, well. The Geek has decided to be the hero. Let's go." He turned to Tony. "As long as nobody follows us, and as soon as I'm in the clear I'll drop him off someplace, safe and sound. I give you my word…as a gentleman."

Tony groaned inwardly as he recognized the reference. "Yeah, trust me, I've learned by now that you are not a gentleman."

"True. Come along, Agent McGee, you're driving. Nothing funny or I'll gut-shoot you and leave you to a slow death. Got it? Toss your phone. I can't have them tracking us too soon."

Tim just glared at the man before pulling his phone from his pocket and tossing it towards the collection of presently empty guns Borucki had taken from the team members. He then headed for the exit with Borucki right behind.

"McGee…"

He turned and gave Tony one last look. "Tell Abby I'm sorry."

Borucki chuckled. "Aww, I think I'm going to cry." He gave McGee a shove and the younger man stumbled before regaining his footing and walking out the door. As soon as they were gone Tony crawled over and retrieved his phone. He punched a number on speed dial as and prayed.

XXX

The sounds of sirens soon reached Tony's ears and he breathed a sigh of relief. Gibbs' pulse had grown weak, as had Ziva's, and he couldn't get either of them to wake up. He silently cursed McGee for his stubbornness, yet at the same time was sick with worry. Each minute that ticked by reminded Tony of how quickly McGee's time was running out. That is, if it hadn't already. He had no idea how they would even find Tim in time: he had no cell phone to trace, the FBI was an hour out, and BOLOs weren't fast enough. Tony looked down at Gibbs and then Ziva, wondering if he had delayed too long to save them as well. As he was studying his other partner, he noticed a red smear on Ziva's right hip, around the pocket where she kept her phone. He gently patted the pocket and quickly determined it was empty. He couldn't help but smile.

Attaboy, Probie.

He immediately called Abby.

"Tony, what-?"

"Abby, trace Ziva's phone, now."

"Oh my God, what happened, did she-?"

"Just do it, Abby!"

Before he could say anything else, he was interrupted by the arrival of the EMTs who immediately started to work on Gibbs and Ziva. He assured both of them that it would be OK, his hand lingering longer on Ziva as he felt a stab of guilt. He had allowed their partner to sacrifice himself, but now he could try to rectify that, if only he could get to the younger man in time.

"Abby?"

"It's moving, west on Route 50, about ten miles from your location."

"Thanks, Abbs. Let me know if it stops."

"Tony, what's going on? Where is she going?"

"It's not Ziva, it's McGee. He left so we could get help."

"He left you there?"

"Abbs, it's complicated. Just tell me where he goes." He watched as the EMTs carried Gibbs and Ziva towards the waiting ambulance. One of the EMTs approached Tony, medical kit in hand.

"How are they?" he covered the speaker of the phone and asked before the man could say anything.

"We have the bleeding under control, but the sooner we get them to the hospital, the better."

"Good. Call NCIS and have Dr. Mallard meet you there. He's their medical proxy." He put the phone back to his ear and quickly headed towards the exit but the EMT blocked his path. "Sir, you're bleeding badly, we need to—"

"I need to get to my partner. Just wrap it tight enough to last until I can get to him."

"But sir—"

"Just do it! And hurry, he doesn't have much time." He heard a gasp in his ear and winced when he realized who was still listening.

"Sorry, Abby, I—"

"What do you mean he doesn't have much time? Tony, what-?"

"Long story, Abbs. Is the signal still moving?"

"Yeah. It turned down state route 237 headed south, about 12 miles from you."

Tony gritted his teeth as the EMT wrapped a tight bandage around his arm. "Sir, you really should—"

"I'm going after my partner." He tried to run to the sedan but dizziness halted his progress. He shook his head and moved slower but still made it to the car within a few moments. He found his bag and dug through it to find his spare clip, which he slammed into place before climbing into the driver's seat of the sedan.

"Talk to me Abbs."

"Still moving, headed west again on county road 30. Oh no…he's slowing down."

Tony gunned the engine and fishtailed down the road, accelerating rapidly as he tried to make up for lost time.

"Abbs?"

"Still slowing…now he's stopped. Tony, what's happening?"

"If we're lucky, Borucki's dropping McGee off as promised." He heard a loud sniffle. "Abbs?"

"Please bring him home safe, Tony."

"I will, Abbs."

He put the phone in his pocket and pushed the sedan to move faster. Finally he saw the sign for the route 237 turn off and barely managed to make the turn. After a couple more miles, he saw another sign for the county road and made another sharp turn, tires squealing. Finally he saw a car pulled over near a single lane bridge that crossed a small stream. Both doors were open, but he saw no sign of the occupants.

He pulled out his gun and cautiously made his way over to the car, pausing for a moment when he saw a body lying face down on the road in front of passenger side. When he realized it wasn't McGee he scanned the area, but saw no sign of the younger agent.

Tony approached the body and rolled it over, startled to discover a knife sticking out of the man's chest. Borucki was quite clearly dead, but where was McGee?

"Probie!" he yelled, receiving no response. Tony peered over the railing and froze when he saw another body lying face down on the bank of the stream. He climbed over the railing and scrambled down the embankment to reach McGee.

"Tim!" He grabbed McGee's shoulder and felt his heart leap into his throat when he felt no resistance to his grip. Tony rolled McGee over and gasped when he saw the bloom of red across Tim's chest and the ghostly white pallor of his face. He put two shaking fingers against McGee's cold neck and nearly sobbed when he felt a slow, faint beat.

"Come on, buddy. Wake up." He patted McGee's face, praying for a response. Finally McGee's eyes opened. "There we go. Stay with me, Tim." He pulled out the phone and hit the speed dial, barking instructions as soon as the call was answered. As he described the situation, he pulled Tim into his lap and pressed down on the hole in his chest. After getting his message across, he turned his attention fully to his partner, who let out a low groan.

"Easy, McGee." Once again, Tony tried to hide his worry with anger. "Damn, Tim, what in the hell were you thinking?"

"G-gibbs…Z-ziva…?"

"They're going to be fine, which is more than I can say for you when they find out what you did. Gibbs is going to head-slap you into the middle of next week." Tony started rubbing Tim's arm, hoping to restore some heat to his cold body. "Good job on taking down Borucki, though."

"L-least I c-could do…t-take him w-with m-me…"

"You're not going anywhere, Probie, except a hospital."

Tim coughed, and a thin trickle of blood escaped his mouth and tracked down his chin. "D-don't t-think…it w-will…h-help."

"Don't you dare say that, Tim. You're gonna be fine. You know Boss wouldn't let you be anything but fine, right?"

Tim slowly blinked and then his gaze fixed on the older man. "I'm s-so c-cold."

"You took a dip in the creek, Tim. We'll get you warm and dry in no time."

"T-tony?"

"Yeah, Tim?"

"I'm g-glad you're…OK. G-Gibbs…Z-ziva…OK? Y-you s-sure?"

"I told you, they're going to be fine. You're going to be OK, too, Probie. You hear me?"

"Y-you…all…m-my f-friends…m-my family. Y-you a-all…w-worth…it."

Tim closed his eyes and Tony felt a surge of panic. "No, Tim, no, don't you dare! You're not leaving us, do you understand me?" He searched for a pulse, nearly imperceptible over the hammering of his own heart. "You're my family, too, damn it! Don't do this to me. Don't do this to us. We all need you, Tim. All of us…"

Finally, in the distance, Tony could hear the wail of the sirens, harbingers of tentative hope. He looked down at his partner, his friend…his brother, and prayed that he would be given just one more chance.

The End

So, does Tim survive? That's up to you ;)

Obligatory movie reference: Time After Time.