Monday, April 11
McGee leant down, meticulously flicking the sprinkles from his jelly doughnut into the bin beneath his desk. He resurfaced only to see Gibbs standing fixedly in front of his desk, a thick manila file clutched tightly in his left hand.
"You found DiNozzo yet? " Gibbs demanded.
"No Boss." McGee replied, placing his doughnut on a neatly laid out napkin. "I've tried his cell and apartment, no answer." McGee hastily added when his initial reply was met with Gibbs' bone shaking stare.
"And Ziva?" Gibbs snapped, not moving from the spot.
"Ditto Boss."
At nearly 08.30, the office was now buzzing with agents, support staff and ringing phones, with the exception of Team Gibbs, which was currently missing half it's members.
"When they get here, you tell them they're both fired." Gibbs brusquely stated, as he slammed the file on his desk and made his way to the vending machine area.
"Boss, shouldn't you tell them?" McGee shouted after him. He sighed before dialling the number for the tenth time that morning.
"David."
McGee could hear the noise of bustling traffic and tooting horns over the receiver.
"Where are you? Gibbs is doing his nut." McGee had to almost shout over the din.
"Relax McGee, I had a flat tire. These Mini Coopers are not what they once were. I will be there in fifteen minutes."
"Have you seen Tony?" McGee asked, more in desperation than expectation.
"Worried about me McAnxious?" Tony taunted, as he snatched the phone from Ziva's grasp.
"Not me, but you'd better watch out for Gibbs, he's after your asses."
McGee heard Ziva loudly cursing some unsuspecting motorist, who'd obviously beeped his horn at her.
"Now you see, I always thought the Boss was more of a breasts man." Tong replied reflectively.
"Funny Tony. Why weren't you answering your phone?"
"You heard Ziva, we were busy changing the tire."
Ziva grabbed the phone back from Tony. "I was busy changing the tire. Tony spotted the attractive Latino who had stopped to help and decided to 'assist.'" She turned to Tony, "You know my English is not so good Tony, 'assist', is that what it is called in America when you flirt with a girl, while watching your co-worker struggle to change her …" Ziva was cut off mid sentence.
"If you two don't get your ass's here in five minutes, the only assistance you'll be needing is emergency." Gibbs boomed.
"Yes Gibbs." "On it Boss." Both agents replied in unison.
OOO
Tuesday, April 12
Having eventually turned up an hour late yesterday, Gibbs had made Tony and Ziva do desk work; filing, archiving, report writing, all day – boring them into submission and repentance.
Ziva arrived to work early the following day, surprised to see Tony hadn't yet turned up. After the day they'd had yesterday, both had vowed to arrive well before Gibbs.
"Morning Ziva." McGee cheerfully greeted as he walked over to her desk. "What a beautiful morning."
"You are in early." Ziva replied, looking up from her computer.
"Got a call from Gibbs, told me to get here, collect you and the car and get to Dale."
"We have a case?"
"Don't know, he hung up before I could ask."
"Should we not wait for Tony?" Ziva asked, starting to get up.
"He didn't say to and as he was in an even worse temper than yesterday, I thought it best not to ask."
"A wise move McGee." Ziva replied, grabbing her gun and rucksack before making her way to the elevator with McGee.
OOO
The vehicle skidded to an abrupt halt at the junction. Several marked and unmarked police cars and a tow truck blocked the road ahead. The double track road was some miles off the main highway and was flanked on one side by a high bank of dense shrubs and the other a grass verge, after which lay deep, impenetrable woodland.
The sun still lay low, making it difficult to see more than twenty meters ahead. Ziva shaded her eyes as she struggled to view the scene through the windscreen.
"Looks like an RTA." Ziva eventually said as she glimpsed a car smashed into a large cedar tree just behind the cordoned off area and the throng of LEO's and emergency personnel.
"Well you're lucky you didn't cause one yourself. They have speed limits for a reason Ziva." McGee replied, unbuckling his seat-belt and alighting the van. "This road doesn't look like it's used much. Hard to see what could have caused an accident."
"Well I suppose we had better go and find out. Gibbs is over by the car." Ziva said, spotting him. Showing their badges to the Officer, they made their way under the tape.
"It looks like a black Audi TT. Nice car." McGee admired.
"You mean was a nice car." Ziva corrected.
As they got closer they could see that the front end passenger side of the vehicle had been almost decimated by the impact.
"Tony drives one. Bit ostentatious for my liking. Definitely Tony's style though." McGee joked.
Ziva quickly gave McGee a worried look, before rushing over to Gibbs.
"What is going on?" Ziva hastily asked as they approached Gibbs.
"Got a call from Fornell. The local LEO's got an anonymous call at 06.07 this morning. When they identified the car as belonging to a Federal Agent, they contact the FBI."
"Is it Tony's? Is he okay?" Ziva anxiously asked, as she studied the wreckage.
"No sign of him at the scene." Gibbs calmly responded.
"Have you checked the hospitals?" McGee asked as he joined them.
"Well gee McGee, I never thought of that." Gibbs replied, letting a little of his frustration
show.
"Sorry Boss."
"Well what do you think happened?" Ziva asked.
"That's what we're going to find out Agent David." Gibbs replied. "McGee you sketch and shoot, Ziva take fingerprints and samples of everything. Get them to tow the vehicle to the NCIS garage when you're finished McGee. I'm going to join Fornell and his men, searching the surrounding area."
"I will try Tony's cell phones." Ziva stated, pulling hers from her belt holder. "Maybe he is injured and disorientated."
"Already done it." Gibbs replied. "His personal cell phone was found smashed on the edge of road and his work one is switched off."
Ziva looked towards the road, where she saw the yellow marker, indicating where Tony's phone had been found.
"Boss, isn't this FBI jurisdiction? Tony's a civilian, not navy or marine personnel." McGee said.
Gibbs walked up to him, until they were almost nose to nose.
"You have a problem with us dealing with this McGee?" Gibbs rigidly replied. Despite their similar height, Gibbs seemed to tower over the younger agent.
"I didn't mean anything Boss."
Gibbs steely eyes bore into him.
"I'll go take the photo's." McGee quickly replied, making his way the short distance to what was left of Tony's car.
OOO
Ziva and McGee returned to the Navy Yard around midday, logging in evidence while the tow firm unloaded Tony's vehicle inside the garage. They were met by Abby, Ducky and Vance.
"Where's Gibbs?" Vance sternly asked.
"He went to Tony's apartment." McGee politely answered. "He wanted to speak to the security guards to see if they noticed anything suspicious recently and collect Tony's laptop for us to look at." McGee turned to Abby, who was staring at Tony's mangled vehicle. "You okay?" McGee asked.
"What do I need to check first?" Abby replied unemotionally. Ducky put his arm comfortingly around her.
"Well Gibbs wants you to check mine and Tony's car tires." Ziva replied.
"Can I get a SitRep before you go any further?" Vance demanded. He'd seen this team hell bent on finding one of their own before. If he didn't take control now, he knew it may slip from his grasp forever.
"Tony's vehicle was found smashed into a tree three miles off interchange 79. An anonymous call led the LEO's to the scene." McGee explained. "The LEO's arrived at 06.34 and secured the area. They ran the licence plate and found it belonged to a Federal Agent and contacted the FBI. Fornell then contacted Gibbs. Both arrived at the scene at 07.00. There were three sets of footprints leading to and from the vehicle, blood inside the vehicle and leading to the road, plus a liquid found on the drivers interior door. There were several sets of tire tracks, which we have taken imprints of. From observation, Tony's vehicle had both the back tires blown out."
"My car had a blow out yesterday and you know how Gibbs feels about coincidences." Ziva added.
"You don't think it could just be an accident and maybe he wandered off and got himself lost or some kind stranger has taken him in?" Ducky asked, hopeful that Tony's disappearance wasn't any more serious than a road traffic accident. "If he suffered a blow to the head, it could be that he has amnesia and doesn't know who to call."
"Unlikely Ducky." McGee replied. "It looks like someone shot at Tony's tires. We also found his cell phone smashed at the side of the road."
"And we found blood. It's unlikely he could have got far with that blood loss." Ziva added.
"When Gibbs gets back tell him I want to see him immediately." Vance stated. "And I want to know everything. I know it's difficult, but if there is even a whiff of us breaking protocol, the FBI are ready to jump in."
"But they hate Tony." McGee bluntly stated.
Abby punched him in the arm. "No one hates Tony. They just like to accuse him of murder every now and again."
"If DiNozzo doesn't turn up by 18.00, I want your preliminary reports on my desk before you leave this evening. SATNAV will want to know if we have an 'incident' here." Vance said, before heading to the elevator. They all new that by 'incident' Vance meant that Tony had been targeted because of his connection with NCIS.
"I am deducing from the looks on your faces, that you aren't planning on going anywhere this evening." Ducky surmised, staring at the three determined faces in front of him.
"My record for staying awake is five days." Abby stated, "Although I did feel a little dizzy and was seeing Elvis, in a pink tutu, dancing the tango with my father," She shook her head, trying to get the mental image out of it. "But the point is, we have to find Tony within five days because I really, really don't think I can stay awake longer than that."
"I rather hope we will locate him sooner than that Abigail." Ducky added, not needing to articulate to the team, what the chances were of finding him safe and well after five days missing.
OOO
The young, olive skinned woman sat in the drivers seat of the stolen SUV, parked at a private airstrip just west of Washington. She removed her green leather gloves as she pulled her cell phone from her jacket pocket. Placing the gloves and recently acquired Walther P99 pistol onto the passenger seat, she pulled down the sun-guard and looked at herself in the vanity mirror. She reapplied her lipstick before lifting the shield back up and picking up the phone. She dialled the number she knew off by heart.
"Ruiz." The man answered on the third ring.
"Giovanny is on his way to you with the merchandise." She laconically stated.
"Any problems?"
"One potential witness. I will tie up loose ends and will fly out to you in a few days."
"And how did it go yesterday?"
"Fine. The bomb was placed where requested and they have no idea." She laughed.
"Do not get complacent." Ruiz counselled. "We've got a long way to go before we can start to celebrate. Let me know when the witness has been eliminated." Ruiz rang off.
She tossed the phone onto the passenger seat, smiling to herself, before replacing her gloves and driving off at full speed back to Washington.
OOO
McGee was already back at his desk, looking through Tony's computer files by the time Ziva returned to the bullpen, having driven her car to the garage for Abby to check.
"Found anything yet McGee?" Ziva asked.
"Just started, although looking at the websites Tony goes to, I've already uncovered an obsession with South African culture and history that I never knew he had."
"Probably trying to impress a girl."
"You might be right. I found a picture he'd saved on his computer. Very attractive. Looks a bit like you actually, brown eyes, black hair." McGee replied smiling.
"Let me look." Ziva replied as she made her way to McGee's desk.
"You need to start looking at old cases when Tony was Team Leader." McGee stated, stopping her in her tracks. "There's a lot to get through before Gibbs gets back."
She looked over at Tony's desk, silently chastising herself for getting sidetracked with finding out who Tony's latest lover interest was.
"I will also need to speak to the Captain's of USS Ronald Reagan and USS Seahawk to get the case files sent over." Ziva stated, returning to her desk.
"The files should all be stored electronically on the central system. You'll just need to get the access code from the Admiralties office." McGee offered.
"When this is over McGee you will have to tell me why your Carriers and Ships are named as they are. There is no logic to it."
The sudden blaring of alarms inside the building stopped the conversation short.
"This is really not a good day to be having a practice fire drill." Ziva stated exasperatedly, picking up her bag before quickly making her way to the stairs with McGee.
OOO
Abby found McGee and Ziva sitting on a bench in Anacostia park, the faint sound of the alarm still audible in the distance. The beautiful weather had led most of the office staff to have an early lunch and soak up some sun.
"I've been looking for you everywhere." Abby breathlessly stated, as she fought through the crowds still gathered.
"Abby, do you know what is going on? We have been out here for thirty-eight minutes and no one will tell us why. They just keep moving us further away from the building. I think I am now closer to home than work." Ziva stated.
"Yeah, it's kind of my fault." Abby confessed. "You see, I was checking your tyre, the one that got a puncture yesterday and I decided to check the other tyres too. I moved underneath the car to check and…" Abby looked directly at Ziva. "Promise me you wont freak."
"I do not 'freak' Abby. Just tell me." Ziva irritably demanded.
"I found a bomb under your car."
"A bomb?" McGee exclaimed. People in the vicinity turned and stared at them.
"Yeah, just a little one. No more than the size of a cellphone." Abby explained, in the hope of playing down the incident and reassuring the onlookers.
"I need to get there before they do a controlled explosion. They will destroy the evidence." Ziva stated, rising from the bench.
"You're not going anywhere Ziva." Gibbs suddenly stated from behind them.
"But Gibbs, we could pull fingerprints and DNA from the bomb. If it has something to do with Tony, it may help us find him." Ziva pleaded.
"And lose you. I'm not putting one Agent in danger in order to possibly save another. We don't even know this has anything to do with Tony's disappearance."
"Is anyone going to ask me?" Abby interjected, a smile ghosting across her lips.
"Ask you what Abby?" Gibbs impatiently asked.
"Gibbs, you're losing your touch. You usually know when I know something. And you usually
know, that I know that you know I know something."
"Abby!"
"I already took fingerprints from the car. Also Ziva's busted tire was busted because there was a dart in it, which I also managed to retrieve before I found the bomb."
"Any results back yet?" Gibbs asked.
"I'm not super woman Gibbs. Well I was once. At a fancy dress party. We all had to go as superhero's. I was going to go as you Gibbs, but I couldn't find the right kind of wig and I thought that no one at the party would know you, so then I decided to go as Superwomen and wore …."
"I get it Abs. How long to get the results back?"
"Well fingerprint and dart results will take a few hours, DNA, twelve hours minimum. Hey, the ringing's stopped."
They all turned to see people packing their lunches up and heading back to the office.
"You've got four hours to get me something Abby."
OOO
Gibbs had been summoned to Vance's office immediately upon their return to the office. Vance's assistant, Elaine, had ushered him in, as soon as he'd stood at her desk.
"Want to tell me what the hell is going on? Why there was a bomb under David's car?" Vance demanded. "A bomb which apparently also managed to escape our detectors on the way in this morning."
"I don't know yet Director." Gibbs replied, as he stood opposite the seated Director.
"One of your agents goes missing, the other has a bomb under her car. We seemed to have a situation here, wouldn't you say?"
"Abby's processing the evidence from Ziva's and Tony's vehicles. The bomb disposal team are checking our vehicles and security has been stepped up. I also have the explosives team checking all our apartments. The two security guards at Tony's apartment couldn't tell me anything and his apartment looked untouched. I'm going back later to talk to the night security guard."
Vance studied him. He could see the tightness around Gibbs jaw. Despite his gruff exterior,
Vance knew Gibbs took it as a personal affront if anyone threatened a member of his team.
"I've revoked DiNozzo's security clearance, as per standard procedure." Vance stated, chewing on his toothpick. "Whoever has him, may try to use him to access our systems."
"I know the drill Director."
"So what does your famous gut say?"
"That DiNozzo's in trouble. They've targeted him for a reason. There are lots of Agent's that would be easier targets than DiNozzo. Even if they wanted to target the team, McGee would be easier than Tony."
"Well DiNozzo does have a way of getting people's backs up. Maybe someone took an extreme dislike to him."
"I think they put the bomb under Ziva's car as a way of persuading Tony to do whatever they want. My team are working on cases DiNozzo led. I'll have an update for you by 18.00."
Gibbs turned to go.
"You know what my feelings were on DiNozzo."
Gibb's turned to face the Director, his face hard. "I recall you said something about needing more McGee's and less DiNozzo's."
"Well, DiNozzo appears to have a way of crawling under your skin."
"His a damn good agent Director."
"I know that Gibbs. What I'm trying to say is that I've persuaded the FBI to allow you free reign over this investigation. You're off rota for the moment. But if you can't bring this to a successful conclusion, quickly, then we bring in the FBI. We may be able to go head to head with them most of the time, but they have more resources than us. If we're struggling, for everyone's sake, we may need to swallow or pride and ask for help."
OOO
Gibbs made his way back down the stairs. He was stopped by several people asking about Tony. He ignored them all and purposely strolled up to McGee's desk.
"Tell me you got something McGee." Gibbs said. The threat of the FBI taking over, still playing on his mind.
McGee had been studiously working through Tony's work computer, personal laptop and phone records since he'd returned. He felt uneasy about it. Normally when he did this, the person was, at most, just a face and a name. This was different, he felt he was intruding into
Tony's private life. It felt wrong.
"I've looked at Tony's phone records and he made and received several calls a day to a cell number registered to a Mrs. L. Brucks. He also received several emails from her on his home and work email addresses. They're personal." McGee looked up at Gibbs. "Very personal. I've got her address. It's only eight miles from where Tony's car was found." McGee handed Gibbs the address.
"He was making his way home before coming to work." Gibbs surmised.
"Or leaving before her husband arrived home." Ziva added from her desk. "If Mrs. Brucks is still married, her husband has a motive for wanting to harm Tony."
"Not Tony's style to go with married women." Gibbs categorically stated.
"Maybe not intentionally, but remember Monica? He didn't find out until later that she was married." Ziva replied.
Gibbs didn't like this. If Tony had got himself messed up in something over a damn woman, he'd give him more than a head slap when he found him.
"Ziva, you and I will pay Mrs. Brucks a visit. McGee, keep searching and let me know what you can find out about Mr. Brucks."
"Boss, there was a picture on Tony's computer that he'd downloaded from his phone yesterday. It maybe her." McGee stated as he printed off the image and handed it to Gibbs.
Gibbs briefly viewed it before tucking it in his inside jacket pocket and heading to the elevator with Ziva.
OOO
Ruiz stood in the cellar of his sister-in-law's farmhouse in Meridiano. He checked for the fifth time that day that everything was in place for their American friends visit. He tested the steel bars on the small window of the cellar room to ensure they wouldn't break off. He checked the manacle was secured to the bottom of the wall and was not going to snap apart. He checked the lock on the outside of the door. He moved into the small bathroom opposite. He checked there was nothing that could be used as a weapon by their guest.
Finally satisfied he made his way to the stone staircase. He'd just reached the top when the phone rang.
"Ruiz."
"How is it going?" The caller asked.
"Everything is in place Jhon. I will pick them up from the airport in a few hours."
"What condition was he in?"
"Giovanny said he was conscious when they found him. He had a lacerated knee and a gash to the head. Sanchez sedated him and stitched him up as good as she could. He should still be out of it until he gets here and we get him settled in." Ruiz replied.
"Good, I need you to start with him as soon as he's awake. We're working to a tight timescale here. How is Sanchez doing?"
"She's done all that's been asked of her so far."
"I don't trust women, they're too swayed by their emotions."
"She and her boyfriend want a cut of this, they're not going to do anything to jeopardise that, and you've got to admit, her boyfriend being a pilot opens up a lot more avenues to us."
"Him I can see the benefit of, her not so much. She brings nothing to the cause and from my experience woman are better placed to support their men when they return from doing the dirty work needed to keep them in diamonds and Gucci bags."
"We're not asking her to torture the guy. She just had to get him here, which is what she did. You know me Jhon, you know where I like my women."
"Yeah, I remember," Jhon replied laughing, "It's somewhere between your knee and naval, right?"
Ruiz laughed back. "Times have changed and I think she might just be able to help us and add a new dimension. You know people trust women more than men."
"Fine, but if this goes to shit, I'll remember who introduced her to me." The phone went dead.
OOO
Gibbs and Ziva made their way down the pebble path, towards the wooden house, set some way back from the street. The house appeared to have been built in the middle of a wood, with the neighbouring houses largely obscured by trees and bushes. The surroundings lent a peaceful seclusion to the area. Or as Gibbs thought, excellent camouflage for stalking and storming a house.
The window at the top of the sturdy oak door was partially obscured by the ravenous ivy, which seemed to envelope the entire front of the building. Gibbs rapped hard on the door.
After a few moments, a tall, dark haired women in her mid-thirties answered. She was dressed in jeans and a fitted black t-shirt that accentuated her slender figure and highlighted her vivid green eyes.
"May I help you?"
"My name's Special Agent Gibbs, this is Agent David." Gibbs replied, showing her his NCIS badge. "We'd like to speak to you about an incident which happened this morning."
"What kind of incident?" She questioned.
"May we come in and discuss this?" Gibbs politely asked.
The women opened the door to allow them in.
"Take a seat." The women offered as she sat in the armchair, separated from them by an antique walnut coffee table. She sat with her hands underneath her legs.
"This morning we went to the scene of a road traffic accident involving a Federal Agent, Anthony DiNozzo." Gibbs stated, showing her a picture of Tony. She looked briefly at the picture, before focusing her attention back on Gibbs. "We're trying to ascertain what happened and it appears he'd been calling your cell phone regularly over previous months."
"Is he okay?" She casually asked.
"We have yet to find him." Ziva replied.
"Do you know Special Agent DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked.
"No I don't. I'm sorry but you must have the wrong information."
"McGee does not make mistakes." Ziva categorically stated.
They both looked at the women, who looked lost in her own thoughts.
"Mrs. Brucks." Ziva loudly stated, attempting to get her attention.
"Sorry, who's McGee?"
"Our resident IT guru." Ziva replied.
"Well I'm afraid on this occasion he must have done. I'm sorry you've wasted your time."
She stood up, making it clear that she wished them to leave.
"We're not quite done yet Mrs. Brucks." Gibbs stated.
"My name is Ms. Hampson, maybe that's where the confusion is." She replied, remaining standing.
"Do you know a Mrs. Brucks?" Ziva asked.
"I'm afraid I don't."
Gibbs stood up. "Just in case we need to contact you again, are you planning on going anywhere?"
"No, I'm working from home for the rest of the week, but I really don't see how I can help you further." She made her way towards the door, followed closely by Gibbs and Ziva. "I
really do hope you find your colleague soon and I'm sorry I couldn't help." She said, as she
held the door open for them. Ziva left without a word, while Gibbs politely thanked her for
her time.
"She is lying?" Ziva fumed as they made their way towards the car.
"Do you think?" Gibbs sarcastically replied.
Ignoring the remark Ziva continued. "She knew he worked for NCIS. She said she 'hopes we find our colleague soon'. You must have picked up on that. Why did you not bring her in for questioning? Tony may be being held in her house now, we should get a warrant immediately. In fact forget the warrant, we should just go in and search the place."
"She was scared Ziva. When we mentioned Tony and the accident, she almost turned white.
Why wait for Tony to be halfway home before arranging for him to be kidnapped? It would have been far safer for her to have just done it here, where no one is around. I need to know what McGee found out about her husband and to trace her calls. I also want you to get someone to watch her."
"You still think she is Mrs. Brucks?"
"I think she was. She still had a faint white mark on her wedding finger, where a ring once was."
Gibbs retrieved his phone from his jacket pocket, the picture McGee had pulled from Tony's computer dropped to the floor. Gibbs stooped to pick it up.
"Seems DiNozzo has a few irons in the fire. This isn't the lady we've just spoken with." Gibbs stated handing the picture to Ziva.
"No," Ziva replied, looking at he photograph, "but that is the lady who stopped to help me with my flat tire yesterday."
OOO