HANDLE WITH CARE
Chapter 1
Cynthia was at her desk finishing a report on one of the dirty cop cases when she heard the squeal of tires outside the building. Being that they were close to the precinct, she thought it was one of the officers. She then heard a car door slam and then the door to the office open up.
"Where's Justin?" Jennifer said frantically.
"He's not here right now, Jennifer. What can I do for you?"
"I need to see Justin!" Jennifer screamed frantically.
"Let me get him on the line. I believe he's next door."
As Cynthia was talking to Justin, Jennifer was madly pacing the floor in front of Cynthia's desk. She knew Justin was going to be frantic when she told him.
Just then, the door to the office opened.
"Mom, what's going on?" Justin asked. He looked at his mother and she looked like she was about to panic. He led her over to a chair as Cynthia got her a glass of water.
Jennifer took a gulp of water before she started. "I went to St. James to pick up Molly and she wasn't there. I then talked to the principal, Mr. Sheldon, and he told me that Molly left with her father. He's on the list for picking her up if something happens to me. So I called him and asked why he has my daughter. He then told me that he's been at work all day and never went to the school. I then told that to Mr. Sheldon and we went to security to check the tapes. It showed a man picking her up and it looked like she was going willingly with him. And then they were gone. I didn't recognize the man at all."
"Cynthia, call Brian and get him, Gibbs and Tony over here. "We need to find her before something happens."
"What do you mean Justin?" Jennifer started to cry.
"I've learned that if a child is not found within seventy-two hours then…" Justin couldn't finish what he was about to say to his mother.
"No, don't tell me." Jennifer was shaking. "I don't want to know."
Just then, the door to the office opened again.
"What's going on Justin?" Gibbs asked.
"My sister, Molly, is missing. Mom went to the school to pick her up and she's gone. Mom said she didn't recognize the man who took her. We need to find her."
"Tony," Gibbs began to say, "I know you can't look for a child until they have been missing for twenty-four hours but could you get a couple of officers to look through the files and find anyone who would kidnap a child Molly's age. Justin, I want you to go to the school, get a copy of that tape and send it to Abby. She can do a facial recognition. I'll call Vance and ask if Abby can do this for us. Brian, call 'Child Find' and get her picture up on the website. Jennifer, do you have a recent picture of her?"
"Yes," Jennifer replied sniffing. She dug into her purse and came up with a picture. She handed it to Brian.
"Cynthia, could you get some tea for Jennifer?" Gibbs asked. "She shouldn't be alone right now. I'm going to call Mac at the FBI and see what he can find out about any kidnappers in the area."
They all raced to do Gibbs bidding. If anyone knew how to find a child, it would be Gibbs. Gibbs pulled out his phone.
"Director Vance, please, its Jethro Gibbs calling." He waited a few minutes.
"Gibbs, what's going on?" Vance asked. He knew it wasn't a social call during the day.
"Leon, this is not a social call. We have a child missing. Justin's sister been kidnapped outside her school. I have Justin getting a copy of the video. Could Abby do a facial recognition on him?
"Of course you can, I'll let her know," Vance replied. "Anything else you need?"
"Thanks. Not right now. I have Brian working with 'Child Find' and Tony is working with a few detectives to see about kidnappers in the area. I'm going to call Mac at the FBI here and see if we can find anyone who would do something like this."
"Seems like you have everything covered," Vance replied. "If you need anything, call. We all know what happens to children when not found."
"Thanks Leon." Gibbs hung up on Vance and called Mac. He wanted this call in private so he went into Brian's office.
Brian was sitting at his desk putting the information on Molly into the system. He looked up when he saw Gibbs enter and close the door. Brian knew he didn't want anyone to hear what Gibbs was about to say.
"Special Agent Mac McGill," Gibbs said. "Jethro Gibbs." He waited a few minutes. "Mac, its Jethro Gibbs."
"Gibbs, how are you," Mac asked. "I take it this is not a social call."
"No, Justin Taylor's sister, Molly, is missing. Her mother went to pick her up a school and the principal said that her father picked her up but he was in the office all day. She said that she didn't recognize the man from the video. I have Justin picking up a copy of the security tape and sending it to DC where a friend of ours is going to do a facial recognition. I have Tony looking through their files with a couple of detectives and Brian has her picture up on 'Child Find'. We could use your help."
"What do you need?" Mac asked. When it came to children, Mac dropped everything. Children fall under the jurisdiction of the FBI when kidnapping is involved.
"We need you to look through your files and see if anyone got out of jail recently or if you have open cases involving children missing. We will do what we can on our end. We also need to put out an Amber Alert on her."
"I'll get a couple of agent's right on that. I do have a case involving children gone missing in the area. We think that someone is kidnapping children to sell them. It sounds like a human trafficking operation. How old is she?"
"Twelve. She's at that vulnerable age right now. I just hope we don't find her with that group. She could disappear all together if she's not found soon."
"I agree," Mac replied. "I'm going to send you a copy of this file to Brian. I have his email address. You can go through it and see if we missed something. With your years in law enforcement, maybe you could spot something. Can you get Brian to send us a picture of Molly for the Amber Alert?"
"Thanks Mac," Gibbs said. "I'll keep you up to date on this end. If she leaves the country, we may never find her."
"Okay," Mac said and hung up.
"Brian, Mac at the FBI is sending you a file on an open case involving missing children. He thinks that it involves a human trafficking ring but they don't have enough info right now. They have been working on it for a week. Could you send a picture of Molly to Mac for an Amber Alert?"
"Got it," Brian replied. "I'll print out a few copies and we'll check it out. I'll send that pic right now."
After printing the file, Brian handed it to Gibbs.
Gibbs then took the file and began to read. The FBI had six kids missing between the ages of four to fourteen: two were boys and four were girls. They were all of different ethnic groups. Four of the children were from Pittsburgh and two were from the surrounding area. He then got up and headed to the precinct.
When he entered Tony's office, Tony was looking through files on some missing kids.
"What have you got?" Tony asked as he heard his door open.
"I have a file from the FBI on six missing kids," Gibbs replied. "It's a new case to them, only a week old. Mac at the FBI thinks it's a human trafficking ring but not sure. How many kids have you found?"
"We have twenty-one kids missing. Does your file include pictures?"
"Yeah." Gibbs handed over the pictures and Tony compared them to the ones missing on his computer.
"Your six kids are on my list. Do you think that some of these other kids could be involved?"
"I would think so. The FBI probably hasn't connected some of those faces."
"Okay," Tony began, "I'm going to open up these six cases with the two detectives, Mac and James. They did great work on putting the Stockwell cases together. Between all of us, we will have those kids home and maybe a few more. Now I need to see the Chief."
"I'll call Mac and have him come here with his two men," Gibbs said. "Maybe with all of us we can come up with something. I want Brian on this but not Justin. He's to close to the case. He can take care of his mother in the mean time."
"I agree. I'll get a conference room set up as an office so that we can brainstorm these cases."
"I'll call Mac," Gibbs said.
Both men got to work.
Tony went to see the Chief of Police, Carl Horvath. As he entered the outer office, he went to the Chief's PA.
"I need to talk to the Chief ASAP," Tony said. "It involves kids gone missing."
"Come with me," the PA replied.
They entered the office with the Chief behind his desk.
"Captain, what can I do for you?" Carl asked. He saw a look of concern on the young man's face.
"Chief, we have a missing girl," Tony began. "She's Justin Taylor's sister, Molly. She went missing when her mother, Jennifer, went to pick her up from school."
"What do you need?" Carl asked. Kids were a sore spot for all detectives.
"I have Gibbs, Brian and I along with two detectives and the FBI looking into the case. Gibbs found out that the FBI have been working on a case involving young children gone missing in the past week. Mac says that they think it's a human trafficking ring. We pulled our files involving children that have gone missing and they match up with the six kids that the FBI have on file.'
"Alright, you put together a task force to find these kids," Carl replied. "You can use one of the conference rooms at your precinct. MacMillan and James are for you to use. Anyone else you need?"
"Mac from the FBI is coming over," Tony answered. "Gibbs, Brian and I will be working on it also. Gibbs said that Justin would not be working it because he could taint evidence because of his sister missing. Mac is also bringing a couple of his agents over to help. Gibbs will be in touch with Abby Scuito about a facial recognition on the video. Vance said if we need help, he would give it."
"That's good," Carl said. "Man, this is going to be some long nights."
"You got that right, Chief. Now I should get back and set up the task force. We'll holler if we need some help." Tony stood and moved towards the door.
"Tony, bring her home and any others you find."
"I will Chief." With that said, Tony made his way back to the precinct.
After Gibbs called Mac, he went back to the PI office. When he walked in, he saw Justin with his mother sitting the reception area.
"Justin, can I talk to you?" Gibbs asked.
"Mom, I'll be right back." Justin then went with Gibbs into Brian's office.
"I'm sorry about your sister. We found some things with the FBI and we're getting together a team that will work on this case. I want you to look after your mother."
"The fuck I will!" Justin yelled. "That's my sister out there and we need to find her."
"Justin, calm down. We will find her. You're to close to this case. I will keep you informed but I can't have you on this case. It will compromise evidence if a family member is involved. We have two detectives, three FBI agents, Brian, Tony and I on the case. I want you to help your mother. She's going to need support. Can you do this?" Jethro was trying to stay calm for Justin's sake.
"I understand, Jethro," Justin calmly replied. "I wish I could work on this case." Justin reached into his pocket and pulled out an evidence bag. "I found this in the parking lot where kids are picked up by their parents. Don't worry, I used gloves and put it in an evidence bag. It's a button. But there's something about it that I can't put my finger on." He handed over the bag.
"I'll send this to Abby and see if she can find anything specific," Gibbs said. "Good job. I'll start a file on Molly and enter this into evidence. This is good." Right now Gibbs knew he needed Justin to be calm.
Justin looked into Jethro's eyes. A tear fell knowing he might not see his sister again.
Jethro watched the tear fall and took the young man into his arms. "We'll find her safe and sound. I promise you."
"I know," Justin whispered. "Thank you."
"Now go clean yourself up and go take care of your mother. At least she has one child close but before long, she will have her daughter in her arms. How about you pack a bag for Jennifer and bring her to the farm? She could help with the animals. It will give her something to do while we look for Molly. I will keep you informed about anything we find."
Justin nodded and went into the bathroom to wash his face.
Gibbs grabbed Brian and they went back to the precinct. They both entered a room with a bulletin board and there were pictures up on it including Molly's pic. When Gibbs looked at the pictures with better eyes, something was off.
"Why is there a picture of a fifteen year old girl?" Gibbs asked.
"With human trafficking cases, there is no age limit," Mac replied. "With older children, especially girls, they can be adopted as children but later they are farmed out to have children. We had one case a few years ago that involved human trafficking. We found out from that case that one girl, who was sixteen, ended up having eight children by the time she was thirty. The man gave her everything she needed so she never went without. If she wanted something, then he gave it to her. When she turned thirty, Shelly Harms, had enough. One day she went to town, walked right into the police station, and told them someone kidnapped her fourteen years ago. The police looked into it and found a sheet on her. They didn't recognize her from the picture so they never put two and two together."
"Did she keep her children?" Brian asked.
"No," Mac replied. "Her children were sold once they were born. The man who kidnapped her was using the money he got for her children to give her anything she needed. He was running his own human trafficking ring."
"That is just sick," Tony stated. "How's Abby making out on that DVD we sent her?"
"Let me call her and find out," Gibbs replied. He got on the phone and called Abby. A few minutes later, he looked to Brian. "Do you know a Kip Thomas?"
"That prick," Brian angrily stated. "How did he get involved in this? He accused me of sexually harassing him when he worked at Ryder Advertising Agency. When I was working there, he wanted to get a job that was way beyond his knowledge. I told him that he wasn't ready. This was after we had sex in my office. He then tried to get me to recommend him for the job and I told him no. He wouldn't take no for an answer and sued both Ryder and me for sexual harassment. He later dropped the charges. I didn't know why at the time but two months later, I found out that Justin got him to recant the charges. He told Kip that he was only seventeen and his Dad was going to kill him of he knew he was having sex at that age. Consent in Pennsylvania is sixteen. Anyways, he told Kip he would have sex with him if he dropped the charges against Ryder and me. The charges were dropped."
"Kip Thomas was the man who took Molly," Gibbs said. "It seems after he left Ryder, he moved to New York City and disappeared. What do we know about him?"
Tony got on the computer and brought up the life and times of one Kip Thomas.
"Well, well, he's been a busy man," Tony replied. "Seems like he got himself involved with someone who authorities have been looking for, for some time. His name is Graham Harrison. He's a big wig in the top circles in New York but they have no proof he's behind this kidnapping scheme. He's worth millions but no way to prove where he's making his money. Let me print out his file and we'll take a closer look."
"Sounds good," Gibbs replied. "How did Kip get to know Molly?"
"It says here," Tony began to say, "that he got a job at Taylor Electronics two years ago. Justin's Dad owns that company. Let me call there and see where we go from here."
After about ten minutes on the phone, Tony hung up.
"Craig Taylor told me he hired Kip two years ago. He even trusted Kip to pick up Molly when it was his turn to look after her on the weekends. Craig said that he hasn't heard from Kip since Molly went missing at the school. He wasn't to pick up Molly until next weekend. He wants his daughter back when I told him what happened. By the way, where's Justin?"
"I sent him and his mother to the ranch," Gibbs said. "I thought it would do them some good to be out of the city and it would give them something to do. Besides, one of the mares is about to have a foul. Justin and Keith will keep her busy."
"Thanks Gibbs," Brian said. "Justin's mom can get worked up about things and then she has this other side that when angered, she could make your life miserable."
"Well, this is interesting," Tony said as he read info on the computer screen. "It says here that Kip was working as mall security. Don't we have a girl that went missing at a mall?"
James looked through the files and came up with one. "Yes, Amanda Stuart went missing on December 15, 2014."
"That's the same time Kip was at the mall," Tony replied. "He went missing right after that date. Now we have a connection."
"Now let's get back to this case and see if we can bring more of these children home," Mac stated. "I would like to close up this case. Children are supposed to be loved not exploited to the world."
"I agree," Tony said.
Just then, the phone rang. Tony picked it up and listened. After talking to the other person, he hung up.
"That was one of the beat cops," Tony stated. "They found the body of a young woman that fit's the description of Amanda Stuart who went missing on December 15, 2014. Let's go." Tony then turned to the other detectives and agents. "I want all there is to know about Amanda Stuart and Graham Harrison."
Mac, Tony, Gibbs and Brian left to go to the scene. Upon arriving, they noticed the coroner bending down next to the body.
"Temp on the body indicates she's been dead for seventy-two hours," said the coroner as he rose and looked straight into the eyes of Gibbs.
"Ducky, what are you doing here?" Gibbs asked.
"Jethro, it's good to see you," the Scot replied as he took Gibbs into his arms. "I was here giving a lecture at the university when I was called to the scene by the coroner. He knew my reputation on children. Why are you here?"
"She's one of the children that we were trying to find in a human trafficking ring. Justin's sister was kidnapped outside her school and we're working on the case."
"Tell Justin, he's not alone. You will find her."
"We will," Gibbs assured him.
"Ducky, it's good to see you," Tony said as he hugged Ducky.
"You to, my lad," Ducky replied. "Mr. Kinney, good to see you also."
"You too, Ducky," Brian said. "This is Mac McGill of the Pittsburgh FBI."
"Dr. Mallard," Mac said. "Nice to meet the legend."
"Ducky, anything else on the body?" Gibbs asked.
"Yes, she's given birth recently by the looks of it. Her abdomen looks almost hollow but I will know more when we get her to the coroner's. Do we know anything about her?"
Just then, Tony walked up to Gibbs. "Says here," as Tony worked on a tablet, "that Amanda Stuart was living with her grandmother after her mother committed suicide. Her father, Sergeant Daniel Stuart was in Afghanistan up until two weeks ago when they found his body. Someone shot him in the chest. Grandmother died last summer due to old age. She's been living with an aunt, who was her father's sister. She died in a car accident four months ago. Gibbs, that means if she did give birth, there will be no one to take care of the child."
"I know," Gibbs replied. He looked into Tony's eyes and could read them like a book. "Let's get this case closed and during that time, we'll talk."
"Looks like NCIS has a case now," Gibbs said. "Ducky, you need to get her to DC."
"Let's get this girl back to DC where I can examine her further," Ducky said to the other coroner. "Jethro, it looks like we'll be working together again. I will talk to you when I have finished the autopsy. I will talk to Director Vance about our cases crossing paths when I arrive. Maybe together, we'll all bring those kids home to their parents."
"All right Ducky," Gibbs replied. "I'll wait for you call. In the meantime, we'll work our side of the case. Any evidence we find, we'll send to Abby."
"Now, I must go. I'll talk to you later," Ducky replied.
"Thanks, Ducky," Tony said.
Tony got together with the CSI's and gathered all there was for evidence. He told the lead CSI to send all evidence to NCIS in Washington because it was now a naval case. As Tony was gathering the evidence, he noticed a button on the ground.
Gibbs walked up to Tony as he was looking at something in his hands. When he saw the button, he looked at Tony.
"That same button was found at the school where Molly was taken. Justin found one exactly like it."
"Then these two cases are connected," Tony stated. "This is good. I'll call Abby and let her know."
The four men went back to the office and conferred with the others that they would be working with NCIS in DC. Tony put together a file and called Balboa about the case.
"Balboa, Tony DiNozzo here."
"Hey Tony how's it going?" Balboa asked.
"Great," Tony replied. "Listen, we caught a case of a missing child and I sent an email to you on this case. It is now in your hands. The girl, Amanda Stuart, went missing in 2014. We just found her body. The reason I'm calling is that she was a missing child then. We found out that she is the daughter of Sergeant Daniel Stuart who died two weeks ago in Afghanistan. She was living with her grandmother after her mother committed suicide last summer then went to live with her aunt. Ducky found out she has given birth. She died three days ago. I'm also sending the evidence to Abby so that you guys can work the case."
"Alright, Tony," Balboa replied. "I just received the file. I'll talk to Vance and see where we go from here. We did have that case of Sergeant Stuart. Found out it was his best friend that killed him. Got jealous over a woman. "
"Well, shit. I'll wait for you call. We're working a human trafficking case. Someone kidnapped Justin Taylor's sister today. Kip Thomas picked her up and now he's in the wind. He is working for Graham Harrison out of New York City. But we have nothing on Harrison so far."
"Okay, that will get us closer to Amanda's killer. I'll call Vance now and see where we go from here. I'll let you know if we get a hit somewhere."
"Thanks," Tony replied. "I'll talk to you later." Tony then hung up the phone. "We'll be expecting a call from Vance. Now that Amanda is found, maybe we can use this evidence to find the other children."
While Tony was on the phone, Detective James got onto his computer and got to work on the name Graham Harrison. He called in a couple of favours from New York City and put together a file. What he found out would have made any man angry on what he was doing.
"Captain, I put together a file on Harrison and you are not going to believe what I found."
Tony took the file and began to read. His eyes got big. "Are you sure about this?"
"My sources in New York are positive," James replied.
"What is it Tony?" Brian asked.
"According to what James found out, Harrison has more money than the U.S. It says here that his paternal grandfather, Richard Harrison, handed down the company he works for to him. The company's name is Harrison Industries. They dabble in anything and everything. Graham Harrison has offshore accounts and recently got a contract with the Department of Defence. They are developing a new missile that is small but comes with a punch. He currently has bids up for this separately from the Defence Department. We should let Vance know about this."
"I agree," Gibbs replied. He then got on his phone to Vance.
"What else have you got on Amanda's kidnapping?" Tony asked.
"She went missing on December 15, 2014. It says in her file that she told her aunt she needed to go to the store and purchase Christmas gifts for her friends. She left at 1 P.M. and arrived at the mall. Security tapes showed that she spent two hours in the mall. There was nothing of the girl after 3:15 P.M. No one saw her exiting the building. Security searched the entire mall. Security found one exit with no camera. They figured this was the only place that she would have exited. We looked into her evidence box and there is video of her at the mall along with the evidence."
"Okay," Tony replied. He watched as Gibbs was talking to Vance and held up his finger.
"Hold on Leon," Gibbs said. "What's up Tony?"
"We're going to send the evidence of Amanda Stuart to Abby. She should have this."
"Okay," Gibbs replied. "Leon, we have Amanda's cold case file with us and we'll be sending it to Abby. Also, mention to Abby that we found the same button at Amanda's crime scene that Justin found at his sister's abduction scene. We think the same person did both kidnappings."
Tony repacked the cold case and put red tape around it so they could transport to DC. A copy of the file was included for Leon. It also contained a button found at the crime scene. As he walked out to the front of the doors, he came upon Ducky signing something with the desk Sergeant.
"Ducky, hold on." Tony walked up to him. "You could save me a trip. This is the cold case of Amanda Stuart. Everything is in here from her case. Could you hand this over to Abby when you get to DC?"
"It would be my pleasure," Ducky replied as he took the box. "We have transport on a plane headed to DC."
"Thanks Ducky," Tony said. "I hope we catch the guy doing this. I also included a file for Vance. It has information that deals on a contract for missiles. The maker is Graham Harrison. He has a contract with Department of Defence but he has private bids for other missiles he's creating. Vance needs to see this and send it onto the Department of Defense."
"I certainly agree," Ducky replied. "I will not let this file out of my sight. Now I need to get going and find out what happened to this poor girl. I will send you a copy of the autopsy when Mr. Palmer and I are done with her."
"Thanks Ducky," Tony said. "I'll wait for your report." With that, he walked back to the conference room.
"What did you do with the box, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked. "Send it by Superman?"
"Well, how about a Super Duck?" Tony questioned back. "I saw Ducky out front and asked him to take the box and file with him. Saved us postage."
"I should call the office and get them to look into other missing children in the state," Mac stated. "This will give us something to start with in finding others."
Tony started with the board and put up the pictures of the children that the FBI and Pittsburgh Police held. Each picture had a date at the bottom of when they went missing. There were twenty-nine children up on the board.
Gibbs and Brian stood beside Tony and looked at the children. They couldn't believe how this could happen.
Just then, the phone rang in the conference room. Tony picked it up.
"Captain DiNozzo here." Tony listened for a few minutes. "Hold the scene until we get there. No one is to touch anything." Tony then hung up.
"What's up?" Gibbs asked.
"A farmer phoned the station letting us know that he found the small body of what looked like a child while he was plowing his field."
"Let's go," Mac replied.
When the four of them got to the scene, there were other cops coordinating the scene with yellow tape. The coroner was looking over the body. It looked like it was decomposing because there was still skin on the bones and the body still possessed clothes.
"What can you tell us, Dr. Smyth?" Tony asked the coroner.
"Well, Captain, I would guess her age to be between eight and ten. The clothing looks like a uniform that I have seen on Girl Scouts but can't be sure. It's a female from the looks of the size of the pelvis. I'll know what happened to her when I get the body back to autopsy."
"Do we have a Girl Scout gone missing?" Gibbs asked.
Tony got on the tablet and brought up the case files he loaded that morning. "Yes, a girl by the name of Barbara McKinley went missing on August 29/2013. She was nine years old. Barbara went on a trip with the Girl Scouts to Hillman State Park for the weekend. There were twelve girls in this troop with four chaperones. Each chaperone was responsible for four girls. At bed check, the chaperones made sure each girl was present. The next morning, Jessica Waters went to get her troop up for breakfast. She entered the tent and found three girls. Barbara was missing and the other girls never heard anything."
"Well, after the Doc here gets done identifying her, I will get James and Mac to inform her parents. Let's go check out the cold case on this one," Gibbs said.
As Brian was about to turn around, something on the ground caught his eye. Pulling out evidence gloves and putting them on, he stooped, took a picture with his phone and picked up what looked like a button.
"Hey," Brian began to say, "I found another one of those buttons." He then placed it in an evidence bag he pulled out of his pocket. Brian found it easier to put some bags in is pockets in case he found evidence at crime scenes.
"This means that the same man killed Barbara and the others," Tony stated.
"And it means we have one killer on our hands," Gibbs continued. "I need to make a call.
Before Gibbs could pull out his phone, he got a call. He looked at the caller id and noticed it was Justin.
"Hey how's it going?" Gibbs asked. After a few minutes of talking, he hung up.
"Justin remembers the button," Gibbs said. "He said it came off a shirt that he remembered Kip Thomas wearing the night he dropped the charges on your sexual harassment case, Brian. Now all we have to do is find that missing shirt."
"I'll call James and find out where Kip is living after he moved from New York," Tony stated.
Tony got on the phone and called James. He pulled out his pen and pad, writing down an address. "Thanks, James." Tony looked at Brian.
"What is it Tony?" Brian asked.
"He's been living just down the street from the loft," Tony replied.
"Then let's go," Brian said.
The four of them pilled into the car and went off Liberty Avenue to a building that was at the other end of the street. It was only a two-storey building.
They decided to break up in case Kip made a run for it. Brian, who now wore a tazer in the shape of a gun, went with Mac around back while Tony and Gibbs took up the front.
Tony buzzed the superintendent of the building.
"Captain DiNozzo of the Pittsburgh Police Department."
"Come in," came the reply.
Both entered the building and saw a man standing in the hallway.
"What can I do for you?"
"We would like to know if there is a Kip Thomas living here." Tony asked as he showed his badge. Gibbs produced his badge.
"Yes he does. He just came home not a few minutes ago."
"We need to talk to him about a crime," Tony said.
"He's in room 212. Up the stairs and on the right."
"Thanks."
Both men pulled their weapons and made their way up the stairs. Meanwhile, Mac and Brian made their way up the fire escape to the second floor.
Tony and Gibbs came across room 212 and took up position on either side of the door. Tony knocked.
"Superintendent."
When the door opened up, Tony and Gibbs forced themselves into the apartment.
"Hands up!" Tony exclaimed as he pointed his gun at a man. "Pittsburgh Police." The first thing Tony noticed was that the shirt Kip wore had the same buttons on it that were at the crime scenes.
"What's the meaning of this?" the man asked as he raised his hands.
"Are you Kip Thomas?" Tony asked.
"Yeah," Kip replied.
"You're under arrest for kidnapping," Tony stated. "You have the right to remain silent." Tony continued with the Miranda rights as he cuffed him.
"I'll call it in," Gibbs said as he pulled out his phone.
Within minutes, police arrived on the scene as Brian and Mac came into the apartment.
When Kip saw Brian, he started to laugh. "I knew it wasn't going to be long before we met again, Kinney. Why are you here?"
"To see your sorry ass put in jail for what you did to those kids," Brian snarled. "What gave you the right to take those kids away from their parents?" Brian got right into his spaced.
"Brian," Tony said and placed himself between them. "Not now." Tony looked right at him with conviction in his eyes.
Brian looked right into Tony's eyes and nodded. He then walked away.
"Gibbs, let's look around," Tony said. He then turned to the police. "He's under arrest for kidnapping. Book him." He then turned to Gibbs. "It's the same shirt."
The four of them, with gloves on, began to search the apartment. The police took Kip down to the precinct where they would question him later.
Tony searched in the closet and found a false back behind some suits. He noticed that the suits were of Zenga, Armani and Dolce. After he took off the panel, he gasped. Inside was a small bag of buttons: the same buttons that were at the last two crime scenes. Tony knew he had the kidnapper. It also contained what looked like trophies: hair samples, earrings, watches, and a few toys.
Brian searched the desk and came up with information on a laptop that contained emails to Graham Harrison. He also found bank records with large amounts of money deposited into an offshore account.
Gibbs came up with a safe behind a picture and got one of the officers to crack it open. Inside was a file on Graham Harrison with dealings of selling kids and a list of names. He would have to check to see what this list was about.
Mac searched the kitchen and came up with stacks of money stored in a fish and chips box in the freezer of the fridge. He figured there was at least $20,000. Inside was also a passport and false identification. Mac knew this was escape money.
All four returned to the living room with their evidence.
"Well, I think we have the kidnapper and the seller," Gibbs replied as he saw the evidence in the other person's hands.
"Let's go put this man away and inform Balboa," Tony replied. He watched as the CSI came through the door. "I want this place gone through with a fine tooth comb. I also want the shirt he's wearing sent to Abby Scuito in DC to examine it. She's to look to see if any buttons were replaced on the shirt."
The four men bagged their evidence and handed it over to the CSI's except the files Gibbs found in the safe and the laptop. Brian took the laptop with him. Brian held a secret that no one knew about: he knew how to get into a computer with encryptions. While Brian searched the computer, he found a few files he couldn't get into but with his history of Kip, he knew it would be easy. Besides, Brian knew all about Kip when he worked at Ryder. Somehow, this was going to be a walk in the park for Brian.
When they got back into the station, Tony went to the Chief's office. When the P.A. saw him coming, he opened the door to the office.
"Captain, what's up?" Carl asked as he heard the door open.
"We have the kidnapper," Tony replied. "His name is Kip Thomas and he has a history with Brian. It will be only a matter of time before they arrest Graham Harrison for Human Trafficking. There were files at Kip's apartment that points in that direction. I also found out that Graham Harrison has bids out for missiles besides the ones he has for sale with the Department of Defense. I sent a file to Director Leon Vance of NCIS with that information."
"That's great. Now we can put this one to rest."
"I'm caught between a rock and a hard place on this one."
"What do you mean?"
"One of the murders deals with a child named Amanda Stuart. She has no family left and recently she has given birth to a child. The child has no place to go but into custody with Family Services."
"You find me that child and we'll see what I can do," Carl replied.
"Thanks Chief," Tony said and left the office.
Tony arrived back at the station and walked up to Brian.
"What have you found?"
"I found where the children are kept," Brian said as he wrote down the address. He then turned to the computer. "He's got a list of what children went into the building and where they have gone to. Also it contains on who is there now." He looked to Tony. "Molly's there."
Tony went into the bullpen where the other detectives were and a peel of a whistle echoed. "Listen up people! I need you all to hear this. We have found the kidnapped children. They are in a warehouse down by the docks. I want all of you down there to rescue the children and I want that placed cleaned out. Let's go!"
Tony handed the address to James.
"I want you in charge down there. Leave no stone unturned. Take the CSI's and get them down there as well. Bring Molly to me and we'll take her home. Also if you find a baby bring her or him to me."
"Yes, Captain," James replied as he got his gun out of his desk. He then turned to his partner. "Come on Mac. Let's get these children home."
"How would you like to sit in on an interrogation?" Tony asked Brian.
"I would love to," Brian replied as he handed some files to him. "I got a file together with the warehouse."
"Good," Tony said then turned to Gibbs and Mac. "Want to listen in?"
Both nodded as Tony got his files together. It was unusual for a Captain to interrogate suspects but Tony was great at doing this since he was at NCIS. They entered interrogation and sat on the opposite side of Kip.
"Here to ask me questions?" Kip asked Brian.
"Nope," Brian replied. "I'm going to let the professionals do that."
"Now," Tony began to say, "Where are the children?"
"I don't know what you are talking about."
"Oh I think you do. Brian here got on your laptop and found some interesting things."
"That laptop is private!" Kip shouted.
"Not when you have been booked on kidnapping charges. Everything in the apartment is now evidence. Now, where are the children?"
"I'm not going to say anything until my lawyer is present." Kip knew when to keep his mouth shut.
Tony looked to Brian and nodded.
"Then let me tell you," Brian began. "I found some interesting things on your laptop. Like money in an offshore account for starters. We also found money in your freezer and a passport. Looks like you were ready to run. Another thing I found was emails to Graham Harrison." He watched as Kip's eyebrows rose. "We found the warehouse. The police are rescuing the children, as we speak. We also found files in a safe on Graham Harrison, which makes for an interesting read. What's more, we also found a bag of buttons."
"Which one were you, Hansel or Gretel?" Tony asked. "Because no body would be that dumb to leave breadcrumbs at crime scenes unless they were planning on being caught."
Brian chuckled at the reference. "Only you Tony."
"All right, all right," Kip stated. "I did it. I kidnapped those children. When Brian here wouldn't give me what I wanted years ago, I went searching for revenge. I came upon Harrison who offered me more money than I could use. I started out working with his firm in New York as a security guard. He somehow found out about the sexual harassment suit. Then in a few months, I was working as his right hand man here in Pittsburgh. He then told me about what he was doing and how much money I would be making. I never thought of what the jobs were, only about the money."
"Who's your boss here?" Tony asked.
"Gardner Vance," Kip replied. He knew the jig was up. He's wasn't going to be taking the fall for everyone.
"You have got to be kidding me!" Brian exclaimed. He turned to Tony. "He bought out Ryder then changed it to Vanguard. That's his company."
"Then let's go pick up his sorry ass," Tony stated. "Thanks, Kip."
They both rose and exited the room. Tony looked to his right.
"I'll get the warrant," Mac said. "This is our case now, if you don't mind."
"No I don't," Tony replied. "But Brian and I will be with you when you arrest him. I have to make a call to Director Vance in DC about solving the murder of Amanda Stuart. We also have evidence on Graham Harrison."
"Fine by me," Mac replied and left. "I'll call a friend of mine at the New York office and have Harrison arrested. Get me the evidence so they can get a warrant."
Tony handed over a file to Mac. "It's all in there."
"Thanks," Mac replied as he took the file and left.
"I'll call Vance," Gibbs said.
"Thanks, Gibbs," Tony replied. He knew Gibbs would be better talking to Vance.
The three of them walked back into the squad room and saw two children. Tony knew it would be a while before Mac would be back with the warrant.
Molly ran up to Brian and cried on his shoulder.
Brian put his arms around her and held her tight. He was glad to see her safe. Brian knew of someone else who would like to see her.
"How about we go to the ranch and see your Mom and Justin?" He then turned to Tony. "We'll get her statement later."
"Before you go." Tony grabbed a large evidence bag. "When you get her clothes."
Molly only nodded as Brian led her to his car.
Tony walked up to the car seat. Inside was a tiny child, maybe two months old. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned his head looking into Jethro's eyes.
"Captain," the voice came from behind him.
"Chief, how did it go?" Tony asked.
"It went fine," Carl stated. "The child is now your's. You have a little paper work to do after the social worker gets here. Then you will go to the hospital and get her checked out. Until then, she will stay here."
"Detective James can take care of her until I get back," Tony said. "He's at least got a young son at home so he knows how to take care of her. She can stay in the conference room until they are finished with their reports. I have someone else to arrest."
"Who's that?" Carl asked.
"Gardner Vance," Tony replied. "He was Brian's former boss before Brian became an investigator."
"I remember him," Carl said. "He fired Brian when the Stockwell fiasco went down."
"Mac's gone to pick up a warrant and Brian is gone home to take Molly to her mother," Tony said. "He's coming back here so that he and I can go arrest Vance for operating a human trafficking ring from Pittsburgh."
"I'm glad this is done," Carl stated. "How many children did you find at the warehouse?"
"We found fourteen," Detective Mac replied. "Some were in terrible condition but others looked good. Doctors are checking them out at the hospital. I have sent out detectives to inform the parents of their kids. We left six uniforms there to take statements on what happened to them. One girl's seven months pregnant. She identified the man as being Kip Thomas."
"Gibbs, I should have told you," Tony said with a smile on his face. "So much was going on that it slipped my mind."
"Tony, it's okay," Gibbs said. He, too, had a smile on his face. "Sometimes love works in mysterious ways when we least expect it. I'm glad she's ours. This is the best early Christmas present ever." He looked around the room before he took Tony's hand, giving it a slight squeeze.
Tony squeezed back.
"It's going to be a while before Mac gets here with the warrant, so how about we go and get some things to tide us over until we get home." Gibbs had a happy smile on his face. "I have everything we need at the house for the baby. You remember the furniture I wouldn't part with from the attic?"
"Yeah," Tony replied. Then a happy look came across his face. "You mean we can use Kelly's things?"
"Yeah," Gibbs replied. "It's about time it got used again. I made them before Kelly was born so they should never fall apart."
"I'll give MJ a call and ask her to get them ready. Where are they?" Tony inquired.
"They're in storage in the garage," Gibbs answered. "Keith knows where they are."
Tony made the call.
Brian got into his car and watched Molly. Before he started the car, he turned to Molly.
"How are you really?"
"I'm fine, Brian," Molly replied with tears going down her face. "They didn't have time to do anything to me. This man told me to lie down on the bed and not move."
"His name is Kip Thomas. I had dealings with him when I worked for Ryder. He told us everything. Now how about you dry our eyes and I will take you to see Justin and your Mom?"
"Thanks, Brian," Molly said as she dried her face off. She settled back in her seat knowing it would be a while before they got to the ranch.
Brian was furious inside knowing that his little sister was hurting. He knew she didn't deserve this one bit. As he drove, he thought of the happy faces on two people who meant the most in his life. It was good to see another case closed and some old cold cases solved. Now all they needed was to find some of the other children that went missing. The file he saw in Kip's laptop would give him the clues that they were missing.
Upon arriving at the ranch, Brian nudged Molly's shoulder a little to wake her up. Brian turned to the door of the house and saw Justin and Jennifer standing in the doorway.
Jennifer had her hands up to her mouth, relieved to see her baby home. She watched as Brian and Molly got out of the car. Molly ran into her arms. It was great to have her home.
"Brian, how…?" Justin started to say when Brian kissed him.
"Let's get Molly cleaned up and while the women are doing that, I will tell you what has been going on. How's the mare doing?"
"She had her colt a few hours ago," Justin replied. "Mom and son are doing well."
"Jennifer," Brian began to say, "When you take her clothes off, open up this bag and have her place them inside. Don't touch them. Then hand the bag to me."
"Okay Brian," Jennifer replied.
Jennifer took Molly to the room that Justin gave her. A few minutes later, Jennifer came out with a paper bag. Brian was ready with the sealing tape and placed his initials on the edge of the tape and bag.
Justin went into the library with Brian. Brian placed the bag on the desk and took Justin into his arms. Brian told him the whole story. When Brian got to the part on Gardner Vance, Justin couldn't believe it.
"You mean to say that he was selling kids while he was running Vanguard?"
"Yeah, I couldn't believe it myself. In an hour, I have to get back so that Mac from the FBI, Tony and I go to arrest him. I want to see the look on his face when he sees my face."
"I'm just glad to have her back."
"Will you be okay until I get back?" Brian asked.
"Yeah," Justin replied. "I have a job to do. After you left, Tony got custody of a two-month-old baby. Jethro said he has a crib in storage that needs to be set up along with some other things. While I do that, MJ is going into town to get supplies for a baby's room. It's a girl. There's a small nursery beside Tony and Jethro's room."
"Wow! They have a kid!" Brian was smiling from ear to ear. "Wait until they have two p.m. feedings." Brian began to laugh. "This is going to be great."
"Will you all be home by dinner?" Justin asked.
"We should be," Brian said. "After we arrest Vance, there's paper work that needs to be done but knowing Gibbs, he will want that little girl home and safe."
"Okay. I'll tell MJ to put something on and we'll all eat later."
"Great, now I should get going," Brian said as he kissed Justin. "I have a dirt bag to arrest. God, I'm sounding like Jethro."
"Make sure the cuffs are good and tight."
"No worries there," Brian replied. "You take care of our family."
"I will."
While Brian was at the ranch, Gibbs and Tony got the reports back from the cops that questioned the children found at the warehouse.
Tony found out that the baby girl was two months old. She was born prematurely on August 29, 2015. The one boy, Scott Perkins, said the baby was healthy and each of the kids that were in the warehouse took care of the baby. Scott overheard one day that the baby was destined for a couple in Maryland until the baby was in better shape to travel.
As Brian walked back into the precinct, he saw Mac from the FBI.
"Did you get it?" Brian asked.
"Yeah," Mac replied as he took out a piece of paper from the inside pocket. "We have the right to search his business as well as his home. I've send out agents to his home. Being that you know Gardner Vance, could you do me a favor?"
"Shoot."
"I know about your skills and I would like for you to search his computers on anything that deals with this human trafficking ring." Mac toned his voice almost down to a whisper. "We put out a reward for this one and I would like for you to have it."
"Thanks, Mac but I can't accept it. How about you donate the cheque to Child Find of America. They help kids return home and in difficult situations. Besides, they could use it."
"I think that's a great idea. I will make out the check to Child Find and you can present it to them. This way you get exposure to helping some children getting home."
"I can do that, Mac. Thanks."
The two men walked into the squad room where there was a baby crying.
TBC…