t was early on Thursday morning when NCIS Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo was getting ready for work. He put on a green sports shirt and a pair of jeans then walked out of his room to the kitchen in his apartment. He opened one of the cabinets to look for something for breakfast, but closed it when he heard a knock on his door. Tony walked up to the door and looked through the peephole. He saw one of his friends from work; Abby Sciuto. He opened the door and said,
"Morning Abbs, what brings you here?"
"Can I come in?" She asked. Tony motioned for her to come inside and shut the door. Abby sat down on the couch while Tony went back to the kitchen.
"You want some breakfast?" Tony asked.
"No I … I need your help with something." Abby said nervously. Tony walked back into the living room and sat down on the couch next to Abby.
"What do you need help with?" Tony asked. Tony raised his eyebrows at Abby when she didn't say anything.
"You know that disc I burned last week on the audio files we recovered from Petty Officer Glenn's house?"
"Yeah, what about them?"
"Well there's this guy I don't even know his name … I talked to him once and he asked if he could have the disc. He's been following me Tony." Abby explained. Tony was shocked at what he was hearing.
"Why didn't you say anything? Does Gibbs know?"
"Yeah I called him last night. I didn't say anything because I just realized yesterday that he was following me."
"Just one question." Tony said. Abby looked Tony in the eye and asked,
"Yeah?"
"Why'd you come here when I'm going to see you at work in an hour?" Tony asked. Abby looked down and Tony could tell that Abby was scared about something. Abby lifted her head up then looked at Tony and said,
"Because when I was on my way to the navy yard … I saw him again so I came to the nearest house I knew." Tony got up from the couch and grabbed his gun out of its safe. He walked back over to Abby then smiled as he patted her shoulder and said,
"I'll give you a ride." Abby smiled as she stood up to give Tony a hug.
"Thanks Tony, you're the best." She said. Tony hugged her back and smiled.
"I know." Abby pulled back then hit Tony on his shoulder. Tony kept smiling as he went back into the kitchen. He opened the pantry and grabbed a bagel then walked back into the living room. Tony grabbed his jacket off a chair and said,
"Let's go." Abby followed him to the door. When Tony opened the front door, there was a man with brown hair, a mask over his eyes, and a shaved beard standing in front of his apartment with a gun pointed at Abby.
"Any sudden moves and I shoot." The man said in a stern tone. Abby and Tony looked at each other as they put their hands in the air.
At 0900 Special Agent Gibbs walked into the squad room with his morning coffee. As he walked in he saw McGee at his desk working on the computer and Ziva at her desk checking emails. Gibbs looked over at Tony's desk and wasn't all that surprised when he didn't see Tony there since he was known for being late. Gibbs sat down at his desk and placed his coffee down. A few minutes later his phone rang.
"Yeah Gibbs … where? … alright we're on our way." Gibbs hung up then got up from his chair and said, "Grab your gear; we got a dead marine at Quantico. Where the hell's DiNozzo?"
"I don't know." Ziva said as she grabbed her gun out of the drawer. Gibbs looked over at McGee when he heard a cell phone shut.
"I just tried to call him, but he's not answering boss." McGee said. Gibbs started to get concerned so he called Tony too. "Abby's not here either boss I just tried to call her but I didn't get an answer. Maybe she's with Tony." McGee said. Gibbs hung up his phone when Tony's voicemail picked up.
"You two go to Quantico and take care of the scene." Gibbs said as he walked towards the elevator.
"Where are you going?" Ziva asked. Gibbs pushed the down elevator button then looked back at Ziva and McGee and said,
"To Tony's place." Ziva and McGee looked at each other as Gibbs stepped into the elevator. Back at Tony's apartment, the man still had a gun pointed at Abby. The gunman reached for Tony and took his gun then walked inside the apartment as he shut the door behind him.
"Cell phones." The gunman ordered. Tony and Abby slowly pulled their cell phones out then handed them over. The gunman turned both of their cell phones off then looked at Tony and asked, "Who are you?"
"Tony, her friend."
"Why do you carry a gun Tony?" he asked. Tony looked at Abby and thought it was best to cooperate with the gunman for her sake.
"Because I'm a federal agent." Tony said. The gunman turned around when he heard a knock on the door. He pointed his gun at Tony and said,
"Answer it, but remember what I'll do if you say anything." Tony looked at him as he put his hands down. The gunman followed Tony then stood next to the door with his gun pointed at Abby. Tony opened the door nervously, but was relieved when he saw Gibbs.
"Hey boss, what brings you here?"
"You. Why are you still home?" Gibbs asked. He looked over Tony's shoulder and saw Abby standing behind Tony's couch. Gibbs knew that something wasn't right.
"I uh … just woke up."
"Then why are you dressed?" Gibbs asked. Tony looked down at his clothes then back at Gibbs.
"I'm a fast dresser." Tony said in a suggestive tone.
"I don't think so." Gibbs said as he walked into Tony's apartment. Before Tony had a chance to stop Gibbs, the gunman lunged forward and took Gibbs' gun. He kept his gun pointed at Abby as he started to question Gibbs.
"Who the hell are you?" The gunman asked in an orderly tone. Gibbs was shocked and confused at what was happening. He put his hands up as he said,
"Gibbs, who are you?"
"That's none of your damn business." The gunman said sternly. He turned to Tony and said, "Down on your knees." Tony slowly kneeled down while he kept his hands up. The gunman turned to Gibbs and said, "Down on your knees." Gibbs did the same thing as Tony. The gunman pushed Tony onto the floor and took Gibbs' cell phone. He pulled some rope out of a small backpack he had. He handed the rope to Gibbs as he kept his gun pointed at a terrified Abby. "Tie him or I shoot." Gibbs was hesitant, but followed the gunman's orders because he didn't want anything to happen to Abby. He took the rope then tied Tony's feet together. "Hands behind his back." The gunman ordered. Gibbs glared at the gunman then pushed Tony up from the floor and tied his hands together in front of him. The gunman pushed Tony back on the floor then took more rope out of his backpack. He pulled Gibbs' hands down and tied them together behind his back. He pushed Gibbs onto the floor then moved down and tied his feet together.
"Sir, you're scaring me." Abby said nervously when the gunman pulled her hands down.
"Good." The gunman said as he tied Abby's hands behind her back. He pushed Abby onto Tony's couch then tied her feet together.
"Now where's that disc?"
"I don't know." Abby said nervously. Abby gasped in fear when the man pulled his gun back out. He leaned over to Abby's face as he said,
"Now why don't I believe you?"
"I don't know that either sir." The gunman glared at Abby then put his gun away. He walked over to Tony and Gibbs.
"Get up!" The man ordered to Tony and Gibbs as he pushed them up. He took his gun back out and asked, "Which one do you prefer I shoot first?" Abby looked at Tony and Gibbs and saw fear in Tony's eyes, but in Gibbs eyes she saw him trying to tell her to cooperate. Abby looked nervously at the gunman and said,
"In my apartment, I had to take it home to burn a copy."
"Address." The gunman ordered.
"300 Westminster Avenue, apartment twelve." She said nervously. The gunman took out a piece of paper and wrote down Abby's address. He pulled a roll of duct tape out of his backpack then taped Abby, Tony, and Gibbs' mouths shut. Before the gunman left, he cut the cord to Tony's home phone and took the batteries out of the cell phones he had taken from them. He pushed Tony and Gibbs back onto the floor as he made his way to the door. When the gunman walked out of the apartment and closed the door, everyone struggled to try and get lose from the rope that was tightly tied around them. Back at NCIS Ziva and McGee just got back from Quantico. Ziva set her things down on the floor next to her desk then walked over to McGee's desk.
"Have you heard from Gibbs?" She asked McGee.
"I haven't." McGee replied. "I'm sure he's okay though." McGee said as he made his way to Abby's lab. McGee thought it was strange when he didn't hear music blasting from Abby's lab. He walked into her lab, but didn't see Abby. McGee had a concerned look on his face as he ran back to the elevator and pushed the up button repeatedly. When the elevator doors opened, McGee ran in but bumped into Ziva.
"McGee, you look scared still." Ziva said.
"Stiff, scared stiff. Ziva, Abby isn't here."
"What do you mean?"
"She's not in her lab and she's not answering her cell." McGee said as he stepped into the elevator. Ziva followed McGee into the elevator.
"Do you think something happened to her?" Ziva asked in a concerned tone. McGee looked at her and said,
"I hope not." They stepped out of the elevator once they reached the floor to the squad room. McGee ran to his desk and opened his tracker program on his computer. He entered in Abby's cell phone number and was surprised when the result he got came back saying, 'Number disconnected.' McGee looked up at Ziva and said,
"She took her battery out." Ziva looked back at McGee with a surprised and concern look on her face. "You go to Gibbs' house see if she's there. I'll go to her apartment to see if she's still home."
"Sounds like a plan, but what about Tony?" Ziva asked. McGee looked up at Ziva then off to the side. He thought hard for a minute then looked back at Ziva and said,
"You go to Tony's and I'll go to Abby's." Ziva pulled her bag over her shoulder and said,
"Good luck." McGee watched her walk to the elevator then grabbed his stuff when the elevator doors closed. Back at Tony's apartment, Gibbs was getting more frustrated by the minute. He stopped struggling and laid his head on the cold hardwood floor. Gibbs remembered something he should have thought of earlier; the gunman didn't tie up Tony he did. Gibbs was able to push himself up and into a sitting position. He scooted his body towards Tony and rolled him onto his back.
"Mmow." Tony grunted through the duct tape. Gibbs moved his hands toward Tony's and was able to grasp the rope. Within a few minutes, Gibbs was able to untie the rope from Tony's hands. Once he was free, Tony rolled back onto his back and pulled the duct tape off his mouth. He breathed heavily for a minute before saying,
"Thank God, one more minute like that and I swear I would have …" Gibbs cut Tony off by hitting him in the side with his knee. Tony looked at Gibbs who motioned his head towards Abby.
"Right." Tony said. He leaned over and untied his feet then got up and pulled the duct tape off Gibbs' mouth before he walked toward the couch to untie Abby.
"Abby, what the hell was that about?" Gibbs asked. Tony pulled the duct tape off of Abby's mouth so she could talk.
"Remember that guy I told you about last night?"
"Was that him?"
"Yeah. I just don't get it all that was on those audio files were some books on tape." Abby said. When Tony finished untying Abby he headed back over to Gibbs. He knelt down to untie Gibbs' feet as Gibbs kept talking.
"Books about what?"
"Petty Officer Glenn recorded some books on tape that he had written about his travels."
"I know why he wanted them." Tony said as he pulled the rope off Gibb's feet.
"You do?" Abby asked.
"He probably wants to know where to take a vacation." Tony said jokingly. Gibbs wanted to slap Tony on the back of his head but couldn't since his hands were still tied. Tony stopped laughing when Gibbs turned around and glared at him.
"Sorry." Tony said as he untied Gibbs' hands. "I think he probably wants to know where Petty Officer Glenn has been traveling so he can find out what he was researching." Tony pulled the rope off Gibbs' hands then helped him get up. Once Gibbs was on his feet he smiled as he slapped Tony on the back of his head then walked to the couch and sat down next to Abby. Tony sat down in the chair that was next to the couch but got up again when he heard a knock on the door.
"Hang on." Gibbs said as he pushed Tony back on the chair. Abby and Tony watched Gibbs walk to the door. They hoped it wasn't the gunman again. Gibbs looked through the peephole and saw Ziva. He put his hand on the knob then turned to Abby and Tony as he said, "It's Ziva." Abby and Tony sighed with relief as Gibbs opened the door.
"Gibbs?" Ziva said confused as she walked in. "What are you doing here?" She asked Abby.
"I live here Ziva." Tony said.
"Not you." Ziva said in an annoyed tone.
"This guy was following me so I came to Tony's cause he was the closest to where I was." Abby said. Ziva looked around the room and saw all the rope lying on the floor then asked,
"Was he here?"
"Oh he was here." Tony said as he stood up. "Tied us up then left."
"Do you know where he went?"
"He went to my apartment to look for the disc he wanted from me."
"Your apartment?" Ziva asked with a concerned tone.
"Yeah, why is that a problem?" Abby asked.
"Yes because McGee is heading over there to look for you." Ziva said. Abby got up from the couch and leaned against Tony.
"Does he have backup?" Tony asked.
"He does not."
"Why?" Gibbs asked.
"He told me to come here and look for Tony." Ziva said. Tony raised his eyebrows and said,
"Really?"
"Don't start DiNozzo." Gibbs said. All of a sudden, Ziva's cell phone rang.
"David … McGee!" Ziva put her cell phone on speaker so everyone could hear. Abby ran over to Ziva so she could talk to McGee.
"Are you okay McGee?" Abby asked concerned.
"Yeah I'm fine Abby. I may have just killed someone but I'm glad that you're okay."
"Who did you kill?" Tony asked.
"I don't know. The guy was wearing a mask, but he fired at me so I fired back and ended up killing him."
"Thank God he's dead." Abby said relieved.
"You know him?" McGee asked.
"No, but he's been following me since yesterday."
"Well you're safe now, Abby." McGee said.