Thanks to everyone for the lovely reviews so far. I know things are angsty at the moment - it'll get a bit worse but then it'll start getting better, I hope!! Hope you keep enjoying it :)
*****
The body was found by a neighbour who noticed the door to the apartment was slightly ajar. She screamed until her husband joined her in the apartment and sobbed hysterically as he called the cops.
Gibbs and his team were called in an hour later, when Abby was identified as being an employee of NCIS.
"Woah." Tony DiNozzo stopped a few steps into the bedroom, the camera in his hands lowered at the sight of the bound and naked man in Abby's bed.
"Bedroom games gone wrong," a Metro cop said, barely looking up from his notepad. "Looks like your girl got a little too enthusiastic and ran off."
Gibbs took in the scene wordlessly, noting the lone wine glass on the bedside table and the newer streaks of mascara and eyeliner on Abby's pillow.
"There was a used condom in the trash," the cop continued, glancing up when Tony and McGee started taking pictures and Ducky approached the body. "Looks pretty straight forward to me."
"It is not." It was Ziva David who answered, giving the cop a glare Gibbs could be proud of. "Abby would not run if this had been an accident."
The cop shrugged. "So it wasn't an accident and she murdered the guy."
"We'll take it from here." Gibbs struggled to keep his voice neutral, his eyes dark as he moved closer to the body. The cop shrugged and walked out of the bedroom, leaving the NCIS team alone to do their jobs.
"There are signs of scratching on his arms," Ducky pointed out in a low voice. "Whoever he is, she fought with him."
Gibbs nodded, a troubled look on his face. "I need you to test the condom they found," he told Ducky quietly. He knew his team would be listening but he couldn't bring himself to care. "The DNA inside it, to be specific."
"You think it was planted at the scene?" Ducky asked, looking up from his study of the body to meet Gibbs' solemn gaze.
"No." Gibbs fought the urge to close his eyes as a memory returned unbidden to the forefront of his mind. "But the semen won't match our victim here. It'll rule out the assumption this guy and Abby had sex."
Ducky frowned as Gibbs moved away to study the contents of Abby's closet and drawers, no doubt to try and see if any items of clothing were missing. "How can you be so sure, Jethro?"
"Just run it, Duck," Gibbs responded, squaring his shoulders as he started towards the living room of the apartment. "You'll understand when you get the results."
Ducky exchanged a glance with the other members of Gibbs' team as their boss disappeared, shaking his head as he returned his attention to the body and begun to untie the silk scarves keeping the dead man bound to the headboard.
His eyes narrowed as he slowly unwound the strip of satin from around the man's neck, fingers gently probing the bruised skin.
"Is there a problem, Doctor Mallard?" His assistant, Jimmy Palmer, joined him at the bed side, staring at the corpse as he tried to see what had made the Medical Examiner frown.
"There may be, Mr. Palmer." Ducky handed him the satin belt without taking his eyes off the body. "There may well be."
Tony, Ziva and McGee looked at one another but didn't comment. They worked in usual silence as they processed the scene, each of them trying to find something that would prove Abby's innocence and perhaps let them know where she'd gone.
*****
Ducky stood over the body in the morgue, frowning at the results on the paper in his hand as the doors slid open and Gibbs, followed by his team, strode in.
"Ah, Jethro." Ducky tried to catch Gibbs' eye but the Special Agent wouldn't look at him. "The DNA we scraped from under his nails does indeed match Abigail's and the wounds I've identified on his arms are consistent with our theory that Abby was not a willing participant in what happened." He looked down at the file and willed his friend to look at him, sighing when Gibbs refused to do so. "You were right about the semen inside the condom found in her apartment, too, but you knew that already, didn't you?"
Gibbs still said nothing.
"It doesn't match the dead guy?" It was Tony who asked, wandering over to try and read the report over Ducky's shoulder. "But you managed to match it to someone...?"
"Indeed I did." Ducky closed the file so Tony couldn't read the results for himself. "However, I'm not sure if it is relevant..."
"It's mine," Gibbs cut him off, eyes still fixed on the corpse on the autopsy table. "The DNA is a match for me."
Tony and McGee stared at him, jaws agape. Ducky looked at him sympathetically and Ziva didn't appear surprised in the slightest.
"How did he die, Ducky?" Gibbs looked up then, blue eyes locking with Ducky's. "She didn't kill him, did she?"
"No, she didn't." Pleased he could at least reassure them of that, Ducky set the file down and motioned to the bruising around the dead man's neck. "The extent of the bruising suggests he was incapacitated by the strangulation but there isn't enough bruising or injury to the tissue to cause a fatality. This, however, would." Ducky drew Gibbs attention to a small, almost invisible to the naked eye pin-point above the man's heart, using a magnifying glass so the Special Agent could see it. "Do you see it?"
Gibbs frowned and narrowed his eyes. "He was injected with something...?"
"Not exactly." Ducky shook his head. "The tox screens were negative for all known drugs and chemical substances, however I believe I know what killed him." He paused for a moment, almost as if for dramatic effect. "Air."
"Air?"
"An empty syringe to be exact. An air bubble in the heart can be fatal, no matter how small. This poor chap didn't stand a chance." Ducky studied Gibbs' reaction. "Whoever he was, I don't think it's likely that he entered Abigail's apartment alone."
"So there was someone else there, someone who has Abby." McGee frowned and glanced at his boss. "Who would do that? What would they want with her?"
Tony's brow furrowed thoughtfully. "We should check Mawher is still behind bars," he suggested.
"And go through all of our cases where Abby's work has resulted in an arrest," Ziva added with a grimace.
"That would be... almost all of them," Tony pointed out.
Ziva nodded curtly. "I know."
The doors slid open again and they turned to look at the newcomer, all expecting Jimmy, all surprised when it Agent Fornell walked in instead.
"I can identify your victim," Fornell said in lieu of a hello. His eyes strayed from the body on the table to Gibbs' tense form. "And I think I know who has Abby."
*****
Gibbs was surprised to find Kelly sitting at his desk when they got up to the bullpen, even more so when Fornell insisted on her being part of the briefing. The group retired to the conference room, all reluctant to sit despite Director Leon Vance insisting they did so.
"What does the FBI have to do with Abby disappearing?" Gibbs fought his anger and his fear and somehow managed to keep his voice calm. He glanced at his daughter and found her watching him through red-rimmed eyes. "What does it have to do with Kelly?"
Fornell hesitated, sharing a look with Director Vance before continuing. "The man you have down in the morgue is Liam Collins. He's a known employee of the Daniels family."
"The Daniels...?" Gibbs glanced at Kelly again for confirmation, getting it in the form of her pale skin and trembling bottom lip. He reached out to take her hand in his. "The people after Kelly. Why would they want Abby?"
"We had a mole at the FBI, one who was taken care of this morning. The mole was among a select group of people who knew what part Abby played in making it possible for Kelly to come back to you." Fornell paused, watching Gibbs and Kelly closely. "I thought she might have told you, especially considering your relationship...?"
Gibbs' eyes narrowed. "How...?"
"We've been keeping a close eye on your house since Kelly came back, just to make sure everything was okay." Fornell shrugged unapologetically. "I approached Abby as someone I knew you'd trust. She helped create a paper-trail for them to chase as far as Annie Richmond is concerned and she also created the identity Kelly currently has as Melissa Gibbs. No one but myself and Abby are aware that Melissa Gibbs didn't exist two months ago and if the Daniels family had come to that conclusion themselves, they would've gone straight after Kelly instead of targeting Abby."
"Are you sure they have her?" Ziva asked, her brown eyes dark with concern. "Perhaps there is someone else..."
Fornell motioned to the television screen at the end of the conference room table. "The FBI received this message from them. I'm afraid there is no doubt."
He nodded at Director Vance, who pressed a button the remote he held and the screen flickered to life.
Abby's image appeared on it, a blindfold covering her eyes. One strap of her negligee was broken. Dried blood marred her flesh, which was too pale in places, already showing signs of bruising in others. Her bottom lip was split and bloody, trembling as she tried to hold herself still.
A man appeared behind her, his smile cruel, his eyes hard. Kelly gasped and clung harder to her father's hand.
"Tell us what we want to know, Ms. Sciuto, and we will let you live." The man held a knife with a jagged blade at her throat, drawing it across her skin just hard enough to cause droplets of striking red blood to appear. Abby remained still, her lips pressed together in a thin white line. "It would be such a shame to die for someone you don't even know."
Another shallow incision was made to the skin of her throat, parallel to the first mark. Abby still said nothing.
"Agent Fornell," the man addressed the video screen, a hand clenching roughly in Abby's hair as he jerked her head back, baring her throat even more as she was unable to bite back a cry of pain at the action. "You have until noon tomorrow to give us the information you need or Ms. Sciuto dies. We will be in touch."
The screen went black and Director Vance stopped the tape. Silence filled the room for a few moments.
"Do you know where they are?" Ziva asked, breaking the silence as she got to her feet restlessly.
"We are following leads," Fornell answered evasively. "The FBI and NCIS will be working together on this, I assure you. My main concern at the moment is Kelly's safety." He looked to Gibbs once more. "I'd like to assign a protective detail to you both, just in case..."
"In case Abby tells them?" Gibbs arched an eyebrow, his tone deceptively calm. "She won't."
Fornell nodded. "I don't doubt her loyalty to you, Gibbs, but it's possible they'll try to use you to get her to talk."
"NCIS will provide the security detail," Gibbs responded calmly. "There'll be a member of my team with Kelly at all times."
Director Vance belatedly nodded his agreement, knowing the decision wasn't his to make.
"DiNozzo, McGee. Go see what leads the FBI have and follow them up from our end. David, you're with Kelly." Gibbs remained seated as Director Vance left, followed by Fornell, Tony and Tim. He turned to his daughter and opened his arms to her, catching her as she launched herself at him and sobbed on his shoulder. "You'll be okay, Kel. We won't let anything happen to you."
"It's my fault," Kelly sobbed, clinging to him desperately as she buried her face against him. "It's my fault they've got Abby. If she hadn't helped, they wouldn't have gone after her. If I hadn't called you and made you come home, you'd have been with her and wouldn't have let them take her. It's all my fault, Dad. It's all my fault."
Gibbs couldn't comfort her and tell her it wasn't, Ziva noticed. She lowered her gaze as Gibbs stared straight ahead, his eyes blank. She wondered what would happen if the Daniels family kept their promise and the next body they found belonged to Abby. Would Gibbs be able to forgive his daughter? Would he be able to forgive himself after losing another woman he loved?
Ziva bit her lip and told herself firmly that they wouldn't have to find out. Fate surely wasn't so cruel as to give him back his daughter only to take the woman he loved in exchange?
*****