Chapter Two: World on Fire

It didn't take long for McGee to remember something else important after the van drove off. He ran back to the house, right after grabbing his gear from the trunk of his car, while on his cell, "Tony!"

"McGee? Update?" asked Tony.

"They took Gibbs. I managed to severely damage the van, but they still got away. I'm processing his house right now," he heard a moan from the upstairs and he stopped. "Tony, we have wounded here and, oh my God... Mr. Gibbs! Jack... Jack are you okay?"

The phone cut off and Tony closed it as he looked over to the driver of the car, "Ziva, get us there. They took Gibbs and his Dad was wounded during the home invasion."

She compressed her lips into a fine line, but hit the gas to speed up.

* * * *

McGee ran up the stairs two at a time to drop to his knees. "Jack?" he asked.

Jackson Gibbs rolled over and pushed himself up to a sitting position, "Agent McGee, isn't it?"

With a relieved sigh McGee nodded, "Are you hurt?"

"Only my damn pride," grunted the older man. "Leroy?"

McGee looked down and shook his head, "I don't know... they took him but I managed to shoot out one of their tires, a window and likely crippled the mechanicals in the steering or braking. But they got away."

Jackson punched the floor, "Damn. They hit me from behind. I came to when I heard the shots being fired. I know at least one of them had a shotgun. All Leroy had was that Sig sidearm. He's good but he didn't even stand a chance."

McGee looked him over, "I'm calling an ambulance. You should be checked out by a doctor."

"I don't need no damn doctor, Agent McGee."

"Please, just get yourself checked out. I swear I'll come get you later and you can stay with me until we process... " he'd almost called Gibbs house 'the scene' but edited it at the last second... "the house so we can find who did this and get your son back."

He helped the older man to his feet and guided him down the stairs and then out to his car. By then the local police and ambulances were arriving. He showed the police his ID, "Special Agent Tim McGee, NCIS. The owner of the house is an NCIS agent, the rest of my team will be arriving shortly. However, that older man is a witness and requires being checked out medically. He sustained a blow to the head."

For a moment they looked about to argue, "We heard from witnesses down the block that shots were exchanged."

"Yeah, that would have been me trying to prevent a kidnapping," shot back McGee. "Thanks for your quick response, but this is an NCIS crime scene. Your assistance is appreciated, so long as you know this is being led by us as it falls under our jurisdiction." He softened for a second. "But, anything you have to aid us in getting back our Agent would be appreciated."

At that moment, the unmarked NCIS car drove up and Ziva and Tony got out. They flashed their badges and ducked under the crime scene tape. Ziva saw Jackson being guided to an ambulance and said to McGee, "They attacked Gibbs while his father was here?!"

McGee nodded, while the senior most LEO stood by. After introductions were given, he filled them all in, "Now, shall we process the scene and do what we can to get our boss back?"

The local cop started at this, "Your boss?"

"Yeah, the leader of our team," answered Tony. "Senior Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, this is his home."

"My car is also a crime scene," admitted Tim, looking at the beater he drove for winter to prevent having to drive his Porche.

Tim turned and then went back into the house, kneeling as he took in the mess of the living room and destroyed Christmas tree. Tony and Ziva also walked in, saw the mess and stopped dead in their tracks. "Come on, the sooner we get done the sooner we can find the boss," said Tony quietly.

With that they spread out. Tim took the living room and systematically went through it. From what he could figure out, Gibbs was just coming from the kitchen and through the dining room to likely check to see if McGee had arrived... or grabbing a coffee, judging by the shattered mug of coffee on the floor. McGee looked at the front door, tracing the scene.

* * * *

Shortly before McGee's arrival
Gibbs' house
7:45am (ish)

Gibbs had finished dressing and getting ready for work, and had already taken his gun from the electronic safe. He was, whenever McGee arrived at around eight, ready and taking the rare opportunity to enjoy one more cup of coffee sitting in his chair, watching news, until McGee arrived.

He could hear movement upstairs which told him his father was up and around. His Dad had yet to go back to Stillwater, but, Gibbs didn't mind the company and his father didn't seem to be in a rush to go back.

He blew on the hot coffee to cool it off as he walked through his dining room when the door burst open. With reflexes born of years in the Marines, he dropped his coffee and drew his gun and ducked behind the wall in his living room as they opened fire. One went up the stairs. At that point Gibbs took the risk to duck out and started firing to draw their attention away from his unarmed and elderly father.

It worked, to a point. One man shouted up the stairs, "Down here! Down here!" and he heard running down the stairs before the opened fire again.

"NCIS! Federal Agent!" shouted Gibbs. "Drop your weapons!"

He heard a laugh before they dropped them and pulled out other weapons. "Yeah, we know."

Shit, he swore mentally. Shotguns.

He returned fire, and as the back and forth fire he counted the minutes. He had only so much ammunition at home. The rest was at NCIS. If he survived this, he promised himself that would no longer be the case. Not that it mattered. It wasn't as if he could stop firing, run to his safe, grab it, and start firing without giving up ground.

Then he heard the most welcome sound from outside, "NCIS! Drop your weapons!"

McGee.

And then he heard shots outside the house as another firefight erupted outside. By now he was sure his neighbours figured something was up and likely called 911. At least, he hoped so. He and McGee would not be able to hold off against odds stacked so much against them. "Fuck this," said one, and he heard a gun hit the floor.

Right before the tell tale sound of a double-click load of a shotgun. And the firing of said shotgun that ripped through the wall a bit too close to his head for his comfort. He ducked out, fired quickly, hearing a grunt as he dropped one, before he heard other double-click loads of combat shotguns. They took aim and Gibbs rolled to the other side of the doorway where he was at least protected by brick. A few seconds later, he looked up to another tactically dressed intruder as the butt of a shotgun compacted with his skull.

It wasn't enought to completely knock him cold, but it was enough to make his head swim as his gun dropped from nerveless fingers. Another plunged a single use needle into his neck. He felt his limbs grow heavy as the drug flooded his system. Two of them lifted him under his arms and half carried, half dragged him out his back door and down his driveway to the waiting van. He saw the impact off the van, and, while his drugged fogged mind didn't make sense of the small explosion of red-pink fluid from the front, he felt a strange satisfaction at McGee's aim.

When they loaded him in the van and it started moving, he felt what was left of consciousness slip away into blackness.

* * * *

At the crime scene that was Gibbs' house, their investigation had filled in those details. It only left one question: Why?

Tony bagged the needle and turned to them. "It's fairly obvious they came with the intention of taking him alive, but were well prepared to kill him if he didn't go quietly."

Ziva nodded, "That suggests a certain degree of vengence."

"How do you figure?" asked McGee.

"Well, they wanted him alive to likely torment," answered Ziva. "Ransom would have suggested a take alive at all costs method, not a take alive if you can, kill if you can't."

McGee saw her logic. "Okay, let's process the other rooms, the outside back and front. Maybe search beyond that. They were obviously watching him for awhile."

Tony looked at him in surprise, "McGee? Not that I'm upset, but I never heard you take charge before."

"Gibbs rule... damn... can't remember what number. Your lead, your case," said McGee. "I was here first, so it's my lead."

"Case?" Tony lifted his eyebrows.

"Yeah, retired marine turned NCIS agent is kidnapped," McGee hated to reach the conclusion. "We handled a few cases similar, so it's now a case. We have to get him back."

Tony nodded in agreement, "Not disagreeing, Tim. But... to call it that kinda bites."

"I know," agreed McGee.

* * * *

Abby was waiting for them in the bullpen when they arrived. She ran to them and hugged them, sniffling as she did so, "Have you heard anything yet?"

They shook their heads as a group. "Abby, the evidence from the scene is in your lab," said McGee. "We need anything you can find to get him back. Focus... what you find is what saves him in the end."

She looked at him in surprise and he said, "We are getting him back, Abs."

Abby looked around at Tony and Ziva in surprise, and Tony said him, "He's taking the lead on this, Abby, you'd better listen to him. His lead, his case."

She leaned over McGee's desk and grasped his hand and whispered, "I have faith in you, Tim... you will find him."

With that she raced back to her lab. McGee concentrated on trying to find a pattern in the attack. "McGee, I'm going on a limb here and taking a look into Gibbs' file to see if I can find anything that will lead us to someone who would want to do this," said Ziva as she pulled it up on her screen.

McGee nodded, "Good idea Ziva."

Tony stopped spinning in his chair and called a number. Both Ziva and McGee looked at him, and McGee asked, "Tony?"

"Mike Franks," answered Tony. "If anyone knows..."

McGee nodded and then got up, "I'm heading to the hospital to pick up Mr. Gibbs. I'll take him to my house."

"That may not be a good idea," said Ziva. "He's a witness, his life could be in danger."

Tim nodded, "Okay, I'll bring him back here for now then."

* * * *

After McGee had left, Director Leon Vance chose that moment to come down the stairs. When he reached the first landing that allowed him an unobstructed view of the bullpen he saw both Tony DiNozzo and Ziva David working furiously at the case they were now on. Vance knew what case it was. The LEO's at the scene had contacted him with the information. As he walked down the steps and into the bullpen, he asked, "Where is Special Agent McGee?"

"Gone to pick up the elder Mr. Gibbs up from the hospital," answered Tony. "He is then bringing him back here. Sir, he's the only witness other than McGee himself."

Vance nodded, "Yeah, I know. What have we got so far?"

Tony got up and brought it up on the plasma, "Well, sir, at approximately 7:45 four armed intruders in full riot gear forced their entry into Agent Gibbs home. From what we can tell, there was a fire fight. At some point, they upgraded to higher powered weapons that, once Abby finishes her analysis, we'll be able to tell what exactly. After another exchange, which, Gibbs held up quite well without being hit, they again upgraded to the very effective short ranged combat shotgun. At that point, Gibbs executed a combat roll to the opposite side, to give himself at least a brick wall instead of drywall as cover," Tony took a breath. "It's at this point, that the fire fight ends. From what we could find of footprints all over the main floor, one of the intruders found a path around an behind Agent Gibbs, and likely struck him with the gun because there is no evidence of scatter shot from that side of the wall, or a fire fight in the dining room. All shots fired were fired into the living room, from Agent Gibbs. However, the blood we found suggests a struggle. We found a single use needle on site which suggests that after being subdued, they sedated Agent Gibbs, another method of pacifying to ease their kidnapping of Agent Gibbs. Three of the four intruders exited with Agent Gibbs out the back door and to the waiting van. Agent Gibbs managed to drop one in his living room, and Agent McGee dropped the second in the driveway when they made their escape. Both are expected to live and are under guard. We have a BOLO on the extremely damaged and crippled grey mid to late model Dodge or Chrysler mini-van, as well as plenty of physical evidence. But that is where we stand for now."

Vance nodded, "Nice job, Agent DiNozzo."

"Sir, Special Agent McGee is leading this case," DiNozzo was many things, but he was not going to take the spotlight from McGee. "Agent David and I are support. McGee was there first, he's got the best lead on this."

Vance blinked in surprise. "Agent McGee is? Impressive," admitted Vance. "I'll be expecting regular updates. If you need anything in resources, just let me know. I'm not about to lose another man."

"Understood sir," said Tony as Vance left the bullpen.

Tony took a breath and let his back relax, and then he turned to ZIva, "I sure hope the kid pulls the rabbit from his hat, because it would suck to lose the Boss with Vance's eyes on him."

* * * *

McGee drove back to NCIS with Jackson Gibbs. It was silent in the silver Porche. Finally Jackson broke that silence by saying, "I know you'll do everything to get him back."

"I hope I don't fail him... or you..." admitted McGee. "What do you remember of the attack?"

"Not much," admitted Jackson. "I remember the door being forced open and then some guy in black with a hand gun came up the stairs and pointed it at me. That's when I heard shots being fired downstairs. Someone yelled, "Down here! Down here!" and the guy pistol whipped me before running downstairs. I was trying to get up when I heard the fire fight. Leroy... he put up a fight but eventually when I heard it stop I knew he'd lost. When I heard the first shotgun I knew it was a matter of time. All he had was that Sig against multiple shotguns. Not fantastic odds. Did you find anything that suggested... that he... was he hit?"

"No," answered McGee truthfully. "All evidence is pointing to the fact that it wasn't a home invasion but a kidnapping. They wanted him alive, and they got him."

Jackson fell back into silence thinking on that, "Tim... can I tell you something off the record?"

"Yeah," said Tim. "I suppose."

"It has to stay off the record. I mean it. You cannot tell anyone at NCIS, or anyone else, but I think it could mean something to the case," Jackson took a breath. "If anyone asks, call it a hunch."

Tim pulled over and looked at Jackson, "Why?"

"Because if you do, then you'll be arresting my Leroy for murder, however justified he was, after finding him," answered Jackson.

"Are you telling me Gibbs killed someone... not as part of a fire fight or at war, but murdered...?" Tim's mind churned as his stomach did little nervous flips.

"If you don't want to hear anymore, I won't blame you," said Jackson. "And if you do tell anyone I'll deny saying anything."

"Okay, I swear. It won't leave the car," said Tim.

"Well, you know about Shannon and Kelly?"

McGee nodded, "Yeah, Mrs. Gibbs saw a drug deal go bad, and a sniper killed the agent while he was driving Shannon and Kelly into protective custody. The crash killed them."

"Well, after Leroy came back from Storm, he had a chat with that Franks fellow. Somehow, he got the file on the case and went after the bastard that killed his family. He caught up to him in Mexico," Jackson took a breath. "Let's just say that it was poetic justice with how it was done."

"He sniped him," concluded McGee. "Gibbs took revenge on the man who killed his family, in the manner that they had been taken away. He was suspected of it, but no one was able to prove it. I don't think anyone wanted to, to tell the truth. And now you're telling me that the rumour is true. What would that have to do with the case?"

"I'm sure I heard the one who hit me speaking Spanish, at least, he was swearing in it."

Shit. From bad to worse. "Okay, I have no way to explain that lead other than the truth... but, I will try to explain it off as a hunch because you heard Spanish. I think I am going to have a talk with Mike Franks too."

As he pulled back into traffic, McGee said, "Just so you know, I have no intention of losing your son. Whether to these kidnappers... or to prison."

"Thank you, Tim," Jackson touched his arm. "That means alot to me. I lost too many members of my family to lose one more."

McGee sighed and thought, What another fine mess this is...