"Got a call from a civilian, screams heard from a Navy Lieutenant's house. Grab your gear."
The house was nice on the outside, everything painted and the lawn cut perfectly.
"It is almost too perfect." Ziva's announcement was met with nods from the other agents.
There was no car in the driveway, but the garage was closed.
"See this?" Tony motioned to the windows of the house, "They've all got blinds… And all the blinds are closed."
Gibbs turned to McGee, "Go find the civilian who called it in. Name is Wendy Roberts, should be that direction."
McGee started off in the direction Gibbs was pointing and Tony and Ziva began moving onto the porch of the house.
"We can't see in, and I don't hear anything. Maybe we're too late."
Ziva looked over at Tony, but said nothing.
Tony reached out to open the door, "Locked."
"The backdoor is locked too." Gibbs came around the house to look at them.
"No other ways in or out."
"Except the garage, but it's also locked."
Tony looked around, "Must be a lot of crime in the area, there are no nearby neighbors to worry about."
"Closest neighbor is a quarter of a mile away." Gibbs informed them.
"If it was a neighbor who called it in, how she'd hear screams?" Ziva wondered aloud.
McGee came running back into the clearing, out of breath,
"She's not there. The backdoor was wide open, the phone was off the hook and there was a trail of blood leading off the porch before it stopped completely. I got samples and took pictures."
"Someone knew she heard?" Tony and Ziva looked at each other.
"She was mowing her grass, right along the border, it's close enough to hear."
"She heard the screaming, went back to report it, and someone noticed that she wasn't mowing anymore." Tony stared at the house in thought.
"We need to get in there." Ziva was moving towards the door, gun out.
"McGee, you go around back with Tony."
Ziva banged loudly on the door, "NCIS! Open up!"
There was no reply, so she banged once more. When there was still no reply, aimed her gun at the door and shot it once, breaking the lock.
She moved to open the door, but it wouldn't budge. She looked over at Gibbs, moving out of the way as he aimed his gun, making a line of holes up and down the side of the door. The door swung open.
Guns raised, they stepped in, moving through the house quickly. Ziva stopped at the back door,
"Look at this."
Gibbs stood beside her, looking at the locks on the backdoor. There were no less than fifteen different locks, starting at the top of the door and going almost all the way down. Ziva unlocked them all and let Tony and McGee in, showing them the back of the door.
"Was the front door like that too?"
She nodded, "Yes."
Gibbs came back to join them.
"House is clear."
"Someone must be in here. You can not lock most of those from the outside."
"Look again."
The agents moved through the house, checking every closet and space they could find. When they finished looking, they had still found no one.
"Another way out, perhaps?"
Tony shook his head, "I didn't see one."
"Look at this." McGee stood in the kitchen, pointing to an almost invisible drop of blood. He leaned down and used a cotton swab to take a sample.
The team combed the house for almost an hour, picking up any fibers and looking for any possible way out of the house other than the doors.
"McGee, take the samples back to Abby, and bring her back, she'll love this."
Abby spun around the lab, stopping in front of a wall, she looked up, trying to figure out which of the walls would be best for hanging up her newest picture.
"Abby!"
McGee set a box on the table, "Evidence from a possible crime. Boss wants you to come back to the house with me, we need your help."
She grinned in pleasure, "My help? Why McGee, I'm honored!"
As soon as she had set the samples in the machine, and grabbed one of her many laptops, she and McGee headed back to the house.
When they arrived, Tony was on the phone outside and Ziva was sitting on the couch inside the house.
"Gibbs!" Abby launched herself at the silver haired man, grinning as he hugged her.
"I have all the samples loaded, and I brought my laptop so I can check on the results."
He grinned, "Good job Abs."
She set her bag down on the couch and looked around, "What are we doing?"
"Looking for a way to get out of the house."
Abby frowned, looking first at the front door then the back door.
"Not through the doors." Ziva motioned to the windows,
"All the windows are unable to open."
Tony came back inside, "Lieutenant Martin hasn't been seen today, he never showed up to work."
"That's some serious lockage!" Abby was examining the back door, "Is Lieutenant Martin paranoid?"
"Not in his medical file," McGee looked up, "He's perfectly healthy. Has only been to the base hospital one time, for a mild case of food poisoning."
Abby frowned, moving from one wall to the other, pressing lightly.
"Already tried that."
Abby looked thoughtfully at Gibbs, "Bedrooms?"
"Nothing we could find. No secret doors in the closets, air ducts all too small, nothing under the beds."
Abby disappeared into the back, looking for any signs or clues to a secret area.
"I don't see anything." She walked back into the living room, walking around the fireplace.
She stopped and turned to face the fireplace.
"Ziva? Can you see the tv?"
Ziva leaned to the side to look at the object in question, "No, the fireplace is in the way."
"Exactly! Who would put a fireplace right between the kitchen and the living room? Most people would put it against a wall. Not in the middle of the room, in front of the television."
Gibbs moved away from the fireplace which he had been leaning on and looked at Abby. "What do you think Abs?"
Abby turned to Tony, "Go outside and find the chimney."
"Aye, aye captain."
Less than a minute later, Tony came back in.
"There's no chimney, I don't think that fireplace is real."
Abby pushed the steels curtains back and ducked inside the fireplace. There was a sliding noise and Abby reappeared, grinning broadly.
"I was right! There's a ladder going up, not very far, it turns to the right."
"Abby, let one of us go up there."
Abby frowned, "No way man! I want to go in there!"
"After one of us. You can't go first."
Abby pouted as Ziva climbed up into the shaft,
"You sure this is safe?"
McGee nodded, "If the Lieutenant knows this is here and uses it, which he most likely does, he weighs 230 pounds, so it should be fine."
One after the other, they climbed through the fireplace.
"It goes down inside the wall, there are no lights."
Ziva pulled a flashlight from her belt and turned it on, carefully climbing down the metal rungs on the wall.
When she wasn't heard anymore Abby called out,
"Ziva, what do you see?"
"There are steps leading down. Come on."
Everyone followed her, those with guns pulling them out.
"Abs, you stay with me." Gibbs reached ahead and grabbed Abby, pulling her back to stay with him.
When he caught sight of the look on her face, he rolled his eyes.
"You don't have a gun, and they know exactly what to do if they come across someone. You stay with me."
He sighed, looking into her eyes, "Abs, I want you safe. I'd never forgive myself if you got hurt."
She nodded, seeing the fright in his eyes. "Alright."
Ziva moved ahead, "There are a set of doors, not locked."
Tony on one side, Ziva on the other and McGee in the middle, they moved in quickly. Gibbs and Abby waited back for a minute then moved forward.
The room was large, bright fluorescent lights on the ceiling with bright white walls. There were three wooden doors, each with several locks.
Tony whistled lowly, "What is our lieutenant doing down here?"
Ziva shook her head, "I do not think he is still down here." She pointed to a door at the other end of the hallway.
"I gamble that it goes up, and out."
"You bet."
Ziva looked at confused, "That is what I said."
Tony shook his head, "No, the phrase is "I bet" not "I gamble.""
"Do they not mean the same thing?"
"We'll discuss this later."
"Gibbs, look, blood."
Abby was looking at the bottom of the first door, where a sliver of blood was running out slightly.
Gibbs aimed up at the lock and shot both of them, moving forward to open the door.
A woman with blonde hair lay on the ground, a pool of her blood surrounding her head.
Chapter one, done. Actually, I've got several chapters already finished, so you'll have regular updates from me. =D
There will definitely be some Gabby coming up in the next chapter.