Game Shame

For this fic, I'm going on the assumption that Abby is the only Forensic person in the agency that can help them with this case.

Spoilers (if you squint) of Missing, Bloodbath, Reveille, there might be a couple more. Nothing big. Enjoy!

Where are they?

Present Time…

Agent Gibbs slammed his phone back into its receiver, adding an angry "dammit!" for good measure. Ziva was too preoccupied with attempting to filter Lieutenant Cooper's bank records from the huge database while simultaneously speaking to a contact in France on the phone to notice. Her pretty face was haggard from the stress of doing the work of three people and being barked at by Gibbs all day.

"Ziva, you hear from either Abby or DiNozzo?"

She spared him a glance and shook her head before continuing typing.

Gibbs glared at McGee's empty desk. Of all the weeks to get the flu…he looked at Tony's empty desk and felt a mix of fear and anger. He had gone to lunch with Abby almost an hour and a half ago. No one had heard from them since. An image of Agent Todd flashed in his mind. She had once been kidnapped after going to lunch with Tony and Ducky…Ari, that bastard…Gibbs' lips tightened. What if Tony and Abbs couldn't contact him? What if they had been kidnapped too?

A case had popped up while Tony and Abby were gone, and if NCIS wanted to keep Lieutenant Cooper in the States, Team Gibbs needed to prove he was the one who killed Petty Officer Smith before he hopped a plane to New Zealand in…Gibbs looked at his watch.

Two hours.

There were witnesses to be interviewed, forensic evidence to process—they weren't even 100% sure Cooper was the killer yet. Gibbs and Ziva were working half blind and with one arm tied behind their backs. And now the rest of his team might be in serious trouble.

3 hours earlier…

"Tony?" Abby found her friend sitting at her desk, rooting in a drawer through her issues of Crime Quarterly and Electronic Gaming Monthly. The glass doors swooshed open.

"Hey Abbs." Tony stuck his hand deeper into the drawer.

"What are you doing?"

"Lookin' for my new GSM."

"I don't have your lad mags, DiNozzo." She slapped his questing hand a little harder than necessary. He let out a squeak and pulled away as she pushed her drawer shut.

"I thought maybe McGee was reading it down here, that's all."

"He wasn't." Abby reached around Tony and grabbed her coffin-shaped bag, sliding it up over her shoulder.

"You okay, Abbs?"

She stopped, then exhaled and looked at him fondly. "Yeah. It's dumb, really. McGee and I were supposed to go to this gaming convention this week. We'd planned it like months ago, but now Timmy has the flu…"

"Oh that sucks, Abbs." Tony stood up and peered at the clock on her wall.

"Unless…" Abby said, "you wanna go?"

"Me? Now?"

"Yeah! You like video games—"

"But, Gibbs—."

"We can go and be back in an hour easy!" Abby said. "It's just up Washington Street!"

"I don't know, Abby…if a case comes in and we're at a convention…?" Tony trailed off. "Gibbs would kill us!"

"We'll bring our phones." Abby said, a sort of desperation in her voice. "We already have the tickets even—and let me tell you, they were not cheap. Pleasepleasepleaseplease?"

Tony looked down at her pleading eyes, her clasped hands, her pouty lips.

"Fine." He said. He stumbled under her hug, feeling very much like he would regret this.

Gibbs flipped his cell phone shut, fuming. Who could have taken them? There was no "Ari" they had to worry about. Jen had called another lab tech on his day off to come run the evidence. Ziva was off interviewing Smith's co-workers. Gibbs was about to go talk to Cooper's girlfriend. The bank records still needed accessing, and Gibbs got the impression that Cooper's nymphomaniac girlfriend would really be better suited talking to DiNozzo. Gibbs swore to himself and flipped open his phone again. He pushed McGee's number and waited.

Tim looked up blearily, his cell phone buzzing on his nightstand. He stared at it for a few moments, his head pounding, seriously debating about just letting the thing go to voicemail. Something urged his hand to pick up though, and he pushed aside his heating pad and scooped up the phone, reeling slightly with dizziness. He blinked at the display.

"Gibbs?" He muttered. He flipped open the phone. "Boss?" His tired voice came out as a rasp.

"McGee, I need you to do a trace."

Gibbs at least had the grace to sound somewhat sheepish.

"Boss, I'm not the only person at NCIS who can trace a victim's cell…" McGee rubbed his aching forehead, trying not to fall back asleep.

"It's Abby and DiNozzo."

2 hours ago…

"Jeez, it's loud in here!" Tony said. He and Abby entered the giant room that was filled with flashing screens, gunfire, people talking, and various other hoots and hollers and electronic warbling.

"Oh! Let's go over here!" Abby dragged him to a display featuring the latest Bioshock game. They eagerly grabbed controllers. Before long they had played a demo of a new motion sensor-based game, the next Mario Brothers game, Rockband, Guitar Hero, and Call of Duty.

"Tim's gonna be so sad he missed this!" Abby yelled as they each sped around a dirt track in the desert. The stationary cars they were in jostled and vibrated as they crashed other cars and flew over ramps.

"Damn!" Tony's car landed in some quicksand and 'Gameover' flashed across his screen. He sat in the idle car and tugged out his cell phone.

28 missed calls

"Oh shit…" Tony clicked into his voicemail and plugged his other ear with his finger.

"Where the hell are you, DiNozzo? We got a case." Gibbs' annoyed voice said. Tony winced, dread filling his stomach. He clicked into the next message.

"DiNozzo. Call me."

The subsequent few messages were more of the same, with Gibbs sounding more and more pissed off and worried as they went on.

"Oh man," Tony muttered, sliding his phone back in his pocket. "Gibbs is gonna kill me…"

"Ya think, DiNozzo?"

Tony froze. He clenched his teeth and gripped the plastic steering wheel of his fake Ferrari a little harder, really, really hoping he had imagined that.

Gulping, he turned and saw Gibbs standing quietly beside the car, staring at him like he wanted to kill him.

"Hey…Gibbs." Tony tried to smile, but his face wouldn't cooperate. He was in deep shit.

"Yay!" Abby sailed over the finish line a few cars down, oblivious to their boss' presence. Tony looked up into the florescent lights high overhead, praying.

"Get Abby." Gibbs said in a low, steely voice.

"Yes, boss." Tony stood up and hopped out of the car, trotting towards his friend. "Abbs," he leaned down beside her black Camaro, "we gotta go now."

"No, come on!—One more, I swear, then we'll go back."

"No—we really gotta go now."

"Why?" Abby unbuckled herself and stood, noting the seriousness of his tone. Tony looked at her grimly and gestured behind himself. Abby let out a little gasp when she saw Gibbs.

"Gibbs…" She said slowly, tiptoeing towards him, "why are you here?"

They were answered by Gibbs dropping his hands on each of their shoulders and forcefully steering them towards the exit. Tony and Abby exchanged a solemn look.

This would be bad.