Race Against Time
Rating: FR15
Pairing: Slight Gabby; Established McGiva
Summary: The ladies are missing and now the boys have only 72 hours to find them.
Note: Written for calalily06, NFA Secret Santa 2011
Additional Note: Jen, you gave me little to go on but I hope you enjoy what came to mind. MERRY CHRISTMAS, SWEETIE!

Rina Davies, Christie Washington and Bethany Hightower had many things in common. All three rose through the ranks rapidly, all three were Marines and now all three were dead. It hadn't taken long for Gibbs and the team to find the connection that linked the three girls. Even the most poorly trained Metro cop could have seen it. At least, they should have; though it didn't matter, the girls were NCIS jurisdiction. Metro had no problem handing the cases over and wandering back to the public criminals.

McGee and Tony stood with their arms crossed as they watched the interview taking place in the adjacent room. Ziva sat with a tear-stained woman in her early 50's. The table was clear except for a bottled water and photos of the three post-mortem photos of the victims.

"Mrs. Hightower, you are quite certain that your daughter did not know these other two ladies?" Ziva asked for a second time.

"She never mentioned her work. Beth didn't like to talk about her job when she came home; she just wanted to spend time with us."

"Had your daughter mentioned any threats made to her recently?" Ziva piled the photos up and replaced them inside the folder under her hands.

"No. I never met a soul who didn't like Beth." The woman whimpered. "She was voted Most Popular in High School; everyone loved her."

"What about a boyfriend?"

"Her job was her life. She wanted to see the world before she settled down. That's why she joined the Marines." She sniffed lightly, a small smile embracing her lips. "Her father called her a traitor; he was Air Force."

"Sounds like serving your country runs in the family." Ziva smiled.

"Yes, well Charlie- He got into some trouble in his youth."

"Juvenile record of Grand Theft Auto and Possession." Ziva read from the folder in front of her.

"Charlie is a good boy. It was just peer pressure. My husband was always so strict-"

"Where was your son last night, Mrs. Hightower?" Ziva was looking down and didn't see the look of utter shock etched on the elderly woman's face.

"You can't possibly think that Charlie would kill his sister."

"I am merely trying to take in account the locations of those who were closest to your daughter. You said she has no boyfriend-"

"What is it with you people? Beth had no boyfriend so you look to her family next?"

"It is standard procedure, Mrs. Hightower."

The woman got to her feet and slung her purse over her forearm. "Charlie adored his sister, looked up to her even. I told you that I don't know of anyone who would hurt Bethany. You have my number. Let me know when you find the animal that hurt my baby."

It was then that the woman looked at Ziva with distaste and left the room. Ziva got to her feet, collected the folder and followed the woman out of the door. Outside, she threw the half-empty water bottle in the can of a passing janitor. Tony and McGee met her as they exited Observation.

"That went well." Tony said.

"She is a passionate woman."

"Guys, she lost her only daughter and we're no closer to solving this case than the other two."

The trio walked back toward the squad room, each trying to think of just one connection that linked their three dead Marines. Two weeks, three victims and no connections was leaving a bad taste in their mouths. It didn't help that Gibbs and Vance were growing more and more irritated with the lack of advancement in the case.

"Back to the basics," Tony said as the three made for their respective desks. "McGee, Davies."

McGee pulled up the notes he'd made on their first victim. "Rina Davies, 30. Never married but does have a twelve-year-old daughter. She was assigned to a Recruiting Office in Georgetown. Her roommate denies any romantic relationship and that Davies was looking forward to a two week leave to go home and see her daughter. She would have flown out last night."

"Bethany Hightower," Ziva reported. "27, single. Mother reports nothing out of the ordinary; called her parents every night until Tuesday. Her roommate reported her missing to their CO Wednesday morning after she failed to show up to their apartment and to work. She was a marksmanship instructor. No documentation of misconduct or complaints of harassment."

"And last but not least, Christie Washington, also 27." Tony began as he read his own notes. "Youngest child with five older brothers. Fiancé, Nathan Sharpe, deployed- strong alibi there. Highly skilled in hand-to-hand combat fighting, she was an instructor."

"What do these three ladies have in common, then?" Gibbs asked as he joined the crew.

Tony's mind immediately answered with the two obvious choices: they're women and dead. Thankfully his filter kicked in just in time to keep the words from exiting his mouth. Instead, "We haven't figured that out yet, Boss."

"Well, DiNozzo, they are all in fields of advancement. Why don't you start looking for common complaints." Gibbs said looking to his team with a look of pure innocence.

The three paused for a moment and at once all began to rattle off answers of acknowledgement as they began to type away at their computers. Gibbs sat with a smile on his face; even after all these years he could still elicit frantic searches for information they should have already looked into.

By five o'clock the three members of the MCRT had compiled a lists of various sizes of potential persons-of-interest. Without any immediate leads, Gibbs excused them for the day and left the room with another folder tucked under his arm. There wasn't any physical connections between the three girls and no similarities; it made profiling rather difficult.

"Good night," Ziva said and left the bullpen in a hurry.

"Hot date, Zeeva?" Tony drawled.

"No, I simply want to leave before Gibbs changes his mind."

Tony instantly started to collect his things as well. Before he could get far, his desk phone rang. It looked as if Sinatra had died all over again by the expression on the Senior Field Agent's face. He picked it up to hear the voice of one of his buddies.

"Oh, hey man." Tony said. "No, actually I was just- Yeah, I know the place." He paused again as McGee's cell rang. "OK, I'll meet you there in twenty."

The smile on McGee's face halted Tony's procession out of the building some more. His team mate was speaking low into the mouth piece and had his back turned to Tony while he packed away his things for the night.

"I thought you didn't like that place?" Tony's attention peaked at the tone of McGee's conversation.

"Ok, if you want to try it again. No, I'm on my way out now. Do you want me to pick you up?"

"Who are you picking up, Probie?"

McGee waved off his nosy friend as he continued his conversation. "Alright, I should be there soon. Yes, you can get a steak. Ok, I love you too, Squeaker."

McGee turned, slinging his backpack over his shoulder, with a smile on his face which grew at the shocked expression on Tony's face. His own plans faded from his mind as he tried to grasp the reality that McGee was seeing someone- and that he hadn't known about it.

"What?" McGee said, the smile still on his face.

"Love?" It was all Tony could say as the information still filtered through his brain. "Did you say love?"

McGee's smile remained firmly planted on his face. Love meant that he'd been seeing this person for some time and that it was serious. He'd seen some of the women that his younger friend had dated and, while none had been on the unattractive side, he couldn't think of a time that McGee had actually admitted being in love with them; not even Abby.

"Yes, Tony, love. As in, a complex emotion with good and, sometimes, bad experiences but all-in-all an enjoyable emotion." McGee said.

"I know what it means," Tony cried. "I just didn't know that you were seeing anyone. Or that it was in the 'love' range."

McGee shrugged his shoulders and made his way past Tony, who joined his stride, and toward the elevator. Tony knew that he, as well as Ziva, didn't really talk about their private life at work. Bits and pieces here or there but never anything informative unless necessary, like his little sister's existence.

"Well Tony, what can I say? Life is good." McGee smiled again as the two men entered the elevator.

The doors opened as they reached the parking garage level. McGee and Tony were instantly hit with a feeling that something was off. In front of them, and about twenty yards from the elevator's door, Abby's vehicle still sat in its space. The two boys looked at each other in confusion. Abby had said her goodbye's to the team in passing almost ten minutes ago. Tony and McGee walked toward it together and called out Abby's name to no avail.

"Wait," McGee said as he turned toward the left. "Ziva left didn't she?"

Tony turned to look in the direction that McGee was already walking. He noticed something sitting on the hood of Ziva's car. The two men got to the parking space and picked up what had claimed their attention: Ziva's gun and the NCIS issued identifications of Ziva and Abby.

"Something isn't right," McGee said again as he turned Ziva's badge over in his hands.

Tony meanwhile had pulled out his phone and dialed Ziva's cell number. His alarm peaked slightly when it immediately went to voicemail. He breathed a sigh of relief when Abby's cell phone rang. Four rings later, the line picked up.

"Abby?" Tony asked. "Abby, are you there?"

"I'm sorry," A deep, masculine voice sounded. "Abby and Agent David can't come to the phone."

The phone went dead in Tony's hands. He quickly dialed the number again but Abby's voicemail picked up. Tony hung up the phone and turned to his younger partner.

"We need to find Gibbs. Now."