"We'll see you in a few days, Bishop," said Gibbs as he dropped his youngest agent off at Dulles Airport. "Have a good time with your family."
"Thank you, Gibbs. I'm really glad you said yes to me going home for a while."
Gibbs smiled. "You are my agent, but you are also a friend. And I would never stop anyone from spending time with their family. Have a good flight."
Bishop waved goodbye and then headed into the airport. She was right on time for her flight.
Gibbs arrived home after dropping Bishop off at the airport. He headed down to his basement, intending on working on his latest project, a dollhouse for Tali when Tony finally returned to DC, but his gut wouldn't stop setting off alarm bells. He felt like something just wasn't right, even though he had absolutely no idea what that something was. He knew that McGee and Delilah were at home, and that Quinn was probably drinking in a bar somewhere. He knew Nick was at NCIS, having decided to stay late and catch up on his paperwork. Abby was bowling with her nun friends. So, what was the problem?
Ignoring his gut for the first time in forever, Gibbs set up his tools and went to work on the dollhouse. The only member of his team that he couldn't currently account for was Bishop, but he knew she was probably in the air, half an hour into her four hour flight home.
Bishop was happy when she finally landed in Oklahoma. Tulsa International Airport was hectic with people running around, trying to make their international flights or their connecting flights even though it was almost eleven pm. But the hustle and bustle of the airport was normal, and Bishop easily made her way out of the building and to the cab rank outside.
"Excuse me, are you free?" she asked the first cab driver.
"Sorry, ma'am. I'm booked. The next cab is free, I think," the driver said to Bishop.
With a smile, Bishop nodded and thanked the man. Then she moved off, finding the next cab to be empty of any passengers.
"Where to, madam?" the driver asked.
"Home. Sorry, 10 Mockingbird Lane, Claremore."
The driver nodded, amazed that Bishop hadn't even noticed who he was. "Very well." He indicated, then pulled out of his spot, heading towards Claremont, and the lovely barn he had picked out.
Bishop had fallen asleep by the time the cab pulled up to the barn. She hadn't noticed that the driver had gone right past her street, or that the drive had taken longer than the half hour it normally took.
"Madam," whispered the driver as he carefully picked her up and took her inside the abandoned farm's barn house.
Bishop didn't stir. She was exhausted after a long day and a long flight. The cab driver smiled as he put Bishop down onto the makeshift bed he had set up. He covered her with blankets, then sat down in a chair to watch her. He did not intend to hurt her, not at all. He loved her. But he also didn't want her to think he was insane, either. He had planned to make it look like they had both been kidnapped, and that he had been there longer than her so he could help her. Of course, she wasn't stupid. Even if she fell for it, she would quickly learn the truth. She would be mad with him, but after a few days, she would realise that she loved him too, and then she wouldn't be angry anymore.
Bishop woke up feeling refreshed, but uncomfortable. Truthfully, she couldn't remember getting home, but she figured that her dad would have probably just carried her up to her bed and left her to sleep. So when she opened her eyes, shock and fear hit her like a ton of bricks. She certainly wasn't home, not that you could call her current setting a home. It was a barn, complete with stalls and equipment that looked like it hadn't been used in a very long time. The smell coming from the opposite end of the building was disgusting, a mix of animal feces and something she couldn't quite put her finger on. The smell made her feel sick, and she had to fight back the nausea she was feeling.
Bishop got up and looked around. The barn door was slightly ajar, so she walked over and peeked through the crack. She couldn't see anything other than a broken down building in the near distance, which made her feel somewhat discouraged. It would be hard to escape from here if she had been kidnapped. With a sigh, she returned to the bed she had been asleep on and thought. She needed to find an escape...
"You're awake!"
Bishop jumped. She turned to the voice and gasped, shock clouding her features.
"Jake?" she asked in surprise. "What are you doing here?"
"I've been here for the last two days, I think. I woke up in here."
"Why haven't you left yet?"
"I tried to." He held up his wrist. "I got caught, and some guy tied me to the stall just there like an animal." It was a lie, in fact, Jake had been down the other end, tying the rope to a piece of leather around his wrist as a precaution, in case Bishop asked the question she had just asked.
"Come here, let me untie you." Bishop yanked on the leather around Jake's wrist, but it wouldn't come loose.
"I've tried that, Ellie. It's useless."
"If that won't come off, then the rope will." Bishop worked on the knot for a few minutes. "See?" She smiled as the rope came free and dropped to the ground. "Now, where are we?"