Findings

Why was it that whenever a suspect ran into a dark, claustrophobic space it was him on his tail? He switched on his flashlight as he ran down the steps, into the bunker. He focussed the light on his quarry and just prayed that there wouldn't be anything in his path. As he ran random memories raced through his mind. Abby in her lab dance to the death rock music this morning, Gibbs hiding a smile behind his coffee, Tony quoting, as per usual, on the drive to the crime scene, Ziva driving. He feels cobwebs flying into his face, catching in his hair, making him realise that he had lost his hat at the beginning to the pursuit...he would have to retrieve it afterwards. Turning a corner he realises that he has hit a dead end, but more importantly lost the suspect. Damn. He slows down sweeping the torch. White walls, paint flaking off of them, but nowhere in front for a man to hide. He feels the blow before he was time to turn around, and collapses to the ground unconscious. He is unaware as he is dragged to a nearby room. He doesn't hear that door bang shut or the lock clicking. He doesn't even feel the shockwaves and the corridor he had just run down, caves in upon itself.

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Three hours ago they had worked out that he was missing, the Boss' anger quickly turning into worry. He should have contacted them by now, but no matter how many times they rang, his phone was still unreachable. A routine witness interview, mutating into a serious cause for concern. They had met at the street where McGee was suppose to be taking statements and began their search. They split up, Ziva and Tony taking the houses on the left, Gibbs the ones on the right. They slowly began the process of eliminating the houses which the Probie had manage to get to, awakening their angry occupants, to find out if they had seen him. They got the last house and knocked. No reply. They tried again. Still nothing. They noticed Gibbs walking towards them. Silently they split up. On the count 2 doors crashed open to shouts of "NCIS!". A quick search revealed an empty house. Out in the garden however it was a different story. Footsteps. 2 sets, running along the dirt and through a hole in the fence. They tracked them until they found an opening in the ground, a NCIS cap next to it. The prints muddled here, 2 sets lead down the steps, 1 set lead away from them. They looked at each other, nodded and pulled out their flash lights. Finding Tim trumped the possibility of finding a suspect.

Tony and Ziva ran along the corridor, in the wake of their angry and worried boss. They suddenly saw the light ahead stop, and heard a muttered curse. The path to the destination was blocked by a very recent roof collapse. This was not good. McGee was probably behind the mountain of muck, hurt. They needed to get through. They looked at each other and nodded at their silent conversation. Gibbs and Ziva dropped to their knees and cautiously started trying to shift the dirt and concrete fragments. Tony pulled out his phone and ran to the surface. Half an hour later an ambulance and its crew were above waiting as the rescue crew finally got through the collapse. Dirty, tired and worried, the team ran through the gap, whilst the rest of the crew stabilised it. To their left they saw a door.

The entrance was sealed shut, and the room behind it air tight. Their guts were telling them that Tim was in that room but the stupid mangled metal of the lock and the rust of the bolts were preventing them from reaching him. Ziva ran back to the crew and grabbed a hammer it the hopes of braking the remains of the locks. They quickly gave way and the door swung open allowing the team to see their youngest member. Curses echoed round the room as they ran to him.