Ch. 5

"Tell McGee, that if he doesn't find his girlfriend in thirty minutes, she's dead."

The buzzing of the dial tone broke through the silence once the caller hung up. Gibbs, Ziva and Tony glanced at each other before eyeing Tim, who looked like he was about to pass out on them. Each were furious at the killer who had dared to threaten one of their own.

"Do you recognize that son of a bitch's voice?" Gibbs asked, pointedly looking at McGee. He was hoping that it was not McGee's childhood friend, as it seemed as though he was still close to the young man. It would be heartbreaking enough if he lost his girlfriend: it would be even worse if it was at the hand of a lifelong friend.

"It was Matt. I can't believe he would do something like this." McGee's eyes widened with terror. "Oh my God! Matt was meeting Beth this morning at the coffee shop we firsthand met at!" Tim exclaimed, grabbing his pack, gun and badge. Gibbs stopped him before he could bolt out the door.

"McGee, slow down. It won't help us find Beth if you go out there half-cocked. Can't you trace her number or something?"

Tim dropped his pack to the floor before running back to his desk. "Yeah, I can if her phone is still on," he said, typing furiously. A moment later, he looked up to his team mates, who were hovered around his desk. "It's still on and it shows that she is about two blocks from the coffee shop."

"Gear up!" Gibbs ordered, realizing it was pointless, as Tony and Ziva already had their gear, Tony handing Tim his pack as the four ran to the elevator and got on.

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Beth had been excited to meet up with Matt and talk to him one on one over coffee. She wanted to learn as much as she could about Tim and the relationship the two men had. But, after about five minutes, it appeared that Matt was not who he said he was. He became negative the more he talked about Tim. So, she excused herself, telling him that she had to get to work. She left, not realizing that Matt was following her.

She was just about to pass the alley next to the coffee shop when she felt a strong arm around her neck and a hand clamped over her mouth. "Don't scream or you are dead. Understood?"

She nodded, not sure why Matt was dragging her into the alley. He pulled her behind a dumpster, so that no one could see what he was about to do. He whispered in Beth's ear. "You know, Tim and I used to be friends. Best friend. But something changed a couple of years ago. It was when he started writing his first book. It was as if writing was his only friend. But he always did try to call me a couple of times a week. I have to give him that. But then, he met you a few weeks ago."

He tightened the grip on her neck, keeping her immobile. Beth was scared to death. All she wanted to do was get away and run straight to the Navy Yard and into the loving arms of Tim. But Matt was effectively cutting off her air supply, stopping any chance of escaping.

"Once he met you Beth, he stopped calling altogether. It didn't help that my girlfriend rejected my offer of marriage. His fourth book that came out last year, gave me the idea for all this. It's the one about the childhood friend that goes psycho and kills his girlfriend and three other people. This is before he tries to kill McGregor's girlfriend."

Matt glanced up before whispering again, "But the difference in the book and real life? You'll be dead before Tim can find you."

Her eyes widened in shock as she felt the first blow from the knife as Matt thrust it into her stomach. He yanked the knife out and plunged it deep into her chest, before pulling it out again. Her legs shook for a moment before she sunk to her knees, then fell forward, landing facedown in the alley. She felt Matt grab her iPhone out of the back pocket of her jeans, then watched as he hid the knife in his jacket as he left the alley

Her last thought, before she lost consciousness, was that she didn't want to die and hoped that Tim would find her in time.

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"The GPS shows that she should be here!" Tim exclaimed frantically, circling the area in the alley. Tim and Gibbs were at one end and Tony and Ziva at the other end. Tim was scared to death. Even though he and Beth had only been dating for a couple of weeks, he knew he loved her and was scared to lose her.

"Hey! I found her phone!" Tony yelled, holding her iPhone in the air. Tim and Gibbs ran to the other end and meet up with Tony and Ziva. Tony handed it to Tim. It was then the phone whistled, her ringtone to let her know when she had a text message. Tim gasped when he read it. Time's up, Tim.

"No! No, we have to find her!" he yelled, after reading the message to the others.

Gibbs grabbed his shoulders before he could take off. "Tim, believe me we are going to find her."

"In time?"

"In time. Now, in your book, where did McGregor find his girlfriend?"

Tim took in a deep, calming breath, trying to steady his nerves, closing his eyes in thought. "He finds her in an alley, after getting a text on her phone. She's found...oh my God, the team finds her in the alley next to the coffee shop."

"That's less than a block away," Ziva stated as Tim broke into a dead run. Ziva, Tony and Gibbs followed the emotionally distraught agent.

As soon as Tim rounded the corner to the alley, what he saw had him stop dead in his tracks. There, lying almost in the middle of the alley, was Beth. Tim ran as fast as he could, reaching her in a couple of seconds. She was laying face down, a small pool of blood forming underneath her. Tim couldn't tell if she was alive or dead. "No, no, no! Please don't be dead Beth! Please don't be dead!" Tim pleaded, tears beginning to fall from his eyes, his heart feeling as though it was going to pound out of his chest.

Ziva reached his side a moment later, having heard Tim pleading for Beth's life. He glanced up when Ziva kneeled next to him. "I called for an ambulance, McGee. They will be here at any time."

"Thank you Ziva. We need to turn her over," he said. She nodded, helping Tim to carefully turn Beth over onto her back. They both sucked in a breath when they saw that Beth was bleeding from two stab wounds.

Gibbs and Tony reached their side a moment later. Tim checked her carotid, praying he could feel a heartbeat. It was faint, but there. Her breathing was shallow, too shallow for his liking, but at least she was alive.

Gibbs and Tony promptly kneeled over Beth, covering her wounds with their hands. They pressed down, hoping to put enough pressure to stop the bleeding. This increase in pressure caused Beth to whimper softly, her head moving slightly.

"Boss?" Green eyes pleaded with him, the rest of the question conveyed silently. Ziva had stood up so she would be out of the way, but was watching the alley to make sure the killer didn't surprise them.

"We're doing all we can. Talk to her, see if you can get her to wake up," Gibbs answered, pressing down a little harder as blood began to seep between his fingers.

"Beth? Can you hear me Beth?" Tim pleaded. He was rewarded a moment later when Beth's eyes opened to a slit. "That's it! Come on babe! Open the beautiful brown eyes for me."

"T..Tim?" she stuttered out, not sure if she was just seeing things or not.

"I'm right here babe. I'm right here."

"Hu...hurts," she said, whimpering again as Tony and Gibbs put more pressure on the knife wounds.

"I know Beth, I know. An ambulance is on the way. Just hang in there for me, okay? You'll be okay," Tim said, hoping that what he was saying was going to be true.

"Hey Beth," Gibbs began, getting the young woman to swivel her head slightly so she could see her boyfriend's boss. "You do not have permission to die. You hear me? You don't have my permission to die. You hang in there."

She smiled weakly as the sirens could be heard getting closer. "Y..yes sir."

Tim looked to his boss and mouthed thank you, before looking back to Beth. "Once Gibbs gives an order, you can't disobey him."

"I..I know. You...you've told....me...before," she gasped out, as her breathing became more labored.

The ambulance had just screeched to a halt at the beginning of the alley when Beth went into respiratory distress. She began gasping for air, clinging to Tim's hand like it was her lifeline, as her lips began turning blue from the lack of oxygen in her body.

Tony whipped his head around, yelling, "Hey! Hurry up! She can't breathe!"

The two paramedics ran and had just reached to the group when Beth's eyes rolled into the back of her head, her hand going slack in Tim's and she lost consciousness. It was then she stopped breathing all together.