A/N – Thanks for all your great reviews. In regards to what shirik asked about the three-sixty, I just meant that he turned around in a full circle a couple of times. I have most of the story done and will try and update every couple of days. I hope you enjoy this chapter.
NCISNCIS
Ziva, McGee and Gibbs gathered in the bullpen, trying to figure out what could've happened to the missing agent. "OK," Gibbs began. "Yesterday morning Tony's car wouldn't start so he took the bus to work. We can assume that he must've been heading towards the bus station on Harrison Street when he disappeared. Ziva, I need you to retrace his steps and be on the lookout for anything that might pertain to Tony's disappearance. McGee, I need you to go down to the lab and help Abby out searching the database for anyone who might have a grudge against Tony."
"On it boss," McGee replied as he and Ziva headed to the elevator.
The only good news, Gibbs thought, was that they hadn't received a call telling them that their missing agent was found dead. At least not yet.
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"Any luck Abs," McGee asked, bearing a large Caf-Pow.
"Not yet, McGee. Most of the people who would have a grudge against Tony are still in jail. How come we're always losing Tony?" Abby asked in an exasperated tone.
"We don't lose Tony," McGee said in a timid voice, wincing, knowing that what Abby said had some truth to it. "He just has a knack for finding trouble."
"Tell me about it," Abby replied. "First he gets drugged and kidnapped and is taken to the sewers by some crazy chick, hell bent on revenge against some marines, then we chain him to some psychotic killer and lose him again," Abby says, taking a large drink from her Caf-Pow. "Then while on and undercover mission, Tony and Ziva are taken hostage by some crazy assassin and he gets the crap beat out of him and shortly after that him and Ziva get locked in a shipping container were Tony gets shot."
"I know Abs, I was there," McGee replied. "But Tony has always managed to come out of these types of situations alive. He's like a cat. He has nine lives."
"Yeah, I know," Abby replied. "But his luck is going to run out one of these days." McGee pulled Abby into a hug. Abby never had a problem showing emotion for people she cared about and she freely cried on McGee's shoulder. After a few minutes of crying, Abby pulled away. She wiped some tears away and said, "This isn't helping us find Tony any faster." With that, she went back to her computer, going through the database, trying to find out anything she could to help her friend. McGee occupied the computer next to Abby, also searching for possible leads regarding Tony's disappearance.
After a few short minutes, Abby excitedly pulled her phone from her lab coat and dialed Gibbs number. "Gibbs, you have to come done here right now. I might have some information on who took Tony," Abby said, jumping up and down on her heels.
NCISNCIS
Ziva was slowly making her way to the bus station, looking all around her for anything that could help Tony. Turning the corner, Ziva saw the state of the neighborhood that she was entering and she didn't like it at all. It was definitely not the most ideal neighborhood to be in by your self.
As much as she wanted to hurry and get out of this neighborhood, she had to take her time, making sure that she didn't miss anything. Out of the corner of her eye, Ziva spotted a gun and a cell phone near some bushes. She knelt down, pulled out a pair of latex gloves and quickly identified them as her partners. Damn Tony. Who did you piss off this time, Ziva thought. She quickly put them in two bags, hoping that Abby might be able to gather some useful information from them.
As Ziva was pulling out her cell phone, ready to call Gibbs with her findings, she spotted a middle aged woman peering out from behind her curtains. Stuffing her cell phone back into her pocket, Ziva went to the door and gave it a couple quick knocks. Ziva had a feeling that this woman might know something in regards to her lost partner, and if she did, Ziva was going to find out. Hmm. I must be having one of those gut feelings that Gibbs always has, Ziva thought to herself, allowing a small smile to show on her face.
When no one opened the door, Ziva called out, "I know you're in there. I saw you, so you might as well come out before I break this door down."
The door opened about halfway, with an African American woman staring at her. "Who are you and what do you want," the woman asked.
"I'm Special Agent Ziva David, NCIS," Ziva said, pulling out her badge.
"Never heard of them," the woman replied.
Ziva wasn't in the mood for this. She rolled her eyes and said, "Look ma'am, my partner went missing yesterday and I'm hoping you might be able to give me some information to help me find him. May I come in?" Ziva asked, trying to remain calm and polite in hopes of having this woman open up to her. How the hell does Tony do this, Ziva wondered. Whenever Ziva and Tony had a situation where they needed a witness to open up to them, it had always been Tony to get them to open up, by using his charm and remaining patient with them. Ziva had a newfound respect for her partner's abilities to remain calm.
The woman gave Ziva a glare and closed the door. Great, Ziva thought. Suddenly she heard the sound of a chain and realized the woman was unlocking her door. Seconds later, the woman cautiously opened her door, looking around at the streets and allowed Ziva to enter.
Ziva entered the tidy apartment. It was small but well taken care of. Ziva looked around at a picture of a tall, handsome African American man with two kids hanging off of him. "That's my late husband," the woman answered, seeing what Ziva was looking at. "And my two kids, Adam and Rebecca. Can we hurry up with this? I don't want my kids coming home to find a complete stranger in the house," the woman said impatiently.
"Oh yeah," Ziva said, returning her gaze to the woman. "I already told you my name. What about you?"
"I'm Tanya Vincent. Can I offer you coffee or tea," the woman suddenly asked.
"No thank you. I'll only be here for a few minutes, after I ask you a couple of questions."
"OK, but how does you partner disappearing relate to me," she asked.
"Well it doesn't, but I just noticed you looking out your window when I was searching for information about my partners' whereabouts. Did you see this man walking through this part of town yesterday, sometime between four thirty and five o'clock," Ziva asked, holding a picture of Tony for the woman to see.
"He looks familiar. I think I might've seen him," the women said, her voice faltering under Ziva's intense glare.
"Might've," Ziva said, quickly getting annoyed with the woman.
"Yes, yes, I definitely saw him," the woman said, finally relenting.
"What was he doing," Ziva asked, happy that she was finally getting some answers.
"Well, he was hurrying down the sidewalk, probably wanting to get out of the rain. I saw a man following him, gun in hand. The man quickly caught up to your partner and I saw him holding a gun to his head. He was whispering something to your partner." Tanya stopped for a second and looked up at Ziva.
"Well," Ziva said, unable to mask her irritation.
"The man hit your partner over the head with his gun. Then a black van pulled up and the man and two other's dragged his body into the van."
Ziva was beyond angry. "And why the hell didn't you report this to the cops," Ziva burst out.
"Well, around here we try and keep to ourselves. We try not to get caught up in other people's business. That's how you get yourself killed around here."
Ziva sighed, putting her head in her hands, counting to ten, trying to calm herself down. "OK. Thank you for your help," Ziva said, heading for the door.
"I won't get in any trouble, will I? I mean for withholding information and stuff," Tanya said.
Ziva didn't reply but just headed out the door. Well, at least I've got some answers, Ziva thought to herself.
NCISNCIS
Tony let out a groan. "Why do I feel like shit," Tony wondered. It all came rushing back to him. The kidnapping, Mike Landers and the beating. Tony realized he was no longer lying on the floor. He opened his eyes and saw that he was sitting on a chair, his hands tied behind his back and his feet tied to the legs of the chair. Tony tried to assess his injuries. His ribs were definitely bruised and a couple may even be broken, Tony thought. One eye was swollen almost completely shut, and his shirt was torn, revealing many bruises across his chest.
The door at the top of the stairs squeaked open and Tony feigned sleep, hoping that Mike would leave him alone. Tony realized Mike wasn't alone as he heard another pair of feet and voices.
"I want you to keep an eye on him and if he gives you any trouble, feel free to do what you think you need to do," Mike told the guy. Tony opened his good eye a little to get a look at the man Mike was talking to. He was a tall guy and well built. Even when Tony was up to par, he doubted he could overtake this guy. He seemed to be all muscles.
"Right," the big man replied. "I'll keep him in line." By the looks of it, the guy would only be too happy to give me a good beating, Tony thought.
Mike went back upstairs, leaving Tony alone with the large man. The man noticed Tony staring at him and said, "I see you've finally woken up." Getting mere inches away from Tony's face, he said, "Give me any troubles, pretty boy, and you'll deeply regret it." To make sure Tony got the message, he backhanded Tony in the face, causing the agent's bottom lip to split open. This elicited a groan from Tony and caused the other man to laugh. Tony remained quiet, fearing the repercussions.
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"His names Mike Landers. Tony and Mike used to be partners back in Baltimore. From the reports, it appears that Mike had some shady deals and an investigation began. It appears that Tony was the one who outed Mike. After that, Mike and his wife got a divorce, taking their two kids with her. Mike of course lost his job and he was sent to prison to serve a five to ten year sentence. He was released three weeks ago," Abby stated proudly to Gibbs, McGee and Ducky, who had returned to work early, from what was supposed to be a two week vacation once he heard about Anthony.
"Good job Abby," Gibbs replied.
Gibbs cell rang and he answered it with a curt, "Gibbs."
"OK. What? Why the hell didn't she report it? Dammit. Ok, we'll meet you up there in five." McGee, Ducky and Abby listened to the one way conversation.
"Did Ziva find anything in regards to Anthony," Ducky asked, seeing the anger in his old friends face.
"Yeah. She found Tony's gun and cell phone about a block away from the bus station. Apparently, a lady that Ziva talked to saw a man knock Tony out and put him in back of a black van and drive off."
"What? Why didn't she report it yesterday?" McGee asked.
"She was afraid of the repercussions," Gibbs simply replied. "Come on, Ziva's waiting for us upstairs."
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Everyone was gathered in the bullpen as Ziva told them what she had found out and gave Abby the gun and phone so she could check for fingerprints.
"Where exactly did you find the gun and phone again," Abby asked, examining the new evidence.
"In the bushes, right outside some weird thrift store called 'The CatWalk.'
Abby grinned, causing her team some confusion. "What is it Abs," Gibbs asked, showing a little irritation in his voice.
"Because of the high crime rate in that part of the city, most stores around the area have security camera's inside and outside the stores. I'm betting that the CatWalk has one since it's one of the nicer stores in the area."
"Good work Abby. McGee, I need you to go to this CatWalk place and get the footage. Ziva, I want a full background check done on this Landers guy. Abby, see if you can pull any prints off the weapon or his phone. I doubt it, but we have to make sure we cover everything."
"On it Boss." Ziva, McGee and Abby went to do their respective tasks as leaving Gibbs and Ducky alone in the bullpen.
"He's going to be fine, Jethro. You'll find him in time," Ducky reassured his friend.
"I hope so Ducky," Gibbs replied.