Chapter 4
Abby felt her heart go to her throat as she looked at Jethro's gray Chrysler 300.
It looked quite harmless sitting there in the evidence garage. Abby felt threat in it's every elegant line. She stood there trying without success to suppress a shiver. A strong arm suddenly wrapped around her shoulders.
"Do you want someone else to do this Ab's?" Tony's voice was quiet and he squeezed her gently. "Nobody's gonna think less of you if we process it."
"N..No Tony. I gotta do this for him. If there's one clue here that'll take us to him I gotta find it. I'm gonna find it, I will !."
She stepped forward and pulled on her gloves. The rest of the team followed suit. Tim turned the lights at a better angle. Tony pulled his camera up and began taking angle exterior shots. Ziva waited until Tony was done then moved to the front seat. Abby to the rear. Tim moved to the now sprung trunk.
"Ab's there's a package here. Did you know about it?" He held up a bag. "It's from Kendall's Book and Techno Store."
Abby moved around the car and took it from him. "No, I haven't been there in a couple of months." She opened it up and with a gasp she dropped it and went to her knee's sobbing. Bewildered and feeling guilty Tim moved to drop to one knee and hold her.
"Whad'ya do McGee?" Tony growled. Ziva knelt with one hand on her shoulder and with the other picked up the bag. She handed it up to Tony.
"It's a game. It's a game Ab's? Why is it upsetting you?" Tony was puzzled and alarmed.
"Because he bought it for me… for a surprise. It's the next one Tony." She looked up at him. "It's the next one! I've been teaching him computer games and this is the next one in the series. Oh God, we gotta find him. I'm not sleeping until he's back and we can joke about this!"
Abby leaped to her feet then and began going over the car with her magna-lenses on. Everybody else leapt to help her. They spent the next 3 hours going over the car, even elevating it on a lift and scraping the tires.
After and additional 4 hours of going over every scrap of sand and lint Abby put her head down in exhaustion and admitted there was nothing.
A tear ran down her cheek as she staggered to her futon before collapsing in a deep dreamless sleep. In the morning she woke to the sound of computer keys clicking. Looking at the clock she saw it was 0700. She sat up and tried not to yawn as she climbed to her feet. It was McGee and he was running a program so quickly that she could barely follow it.
""Whad'ya doin' Timmy?" She kicked her blanket off her feet and picked up Bert.
"Drink your coffee and go get showered and I'll tell you. Mike had a suggestion and it's starting to pan out."
"Mike? Our Mike?" She took a slurp of the black coffee she and Gibbs preferred.
"Yep. Our Mike." Tim paused for a moment then hit another enter key.
"Whose Mike?" Came the gravelly voice they all knew.
"Mine!" Cried Abby and flung herself into Mike's arms. He hugged her tightly and then kissed her forehead.
"It's OK Baby. We're gonna find 'im. I got me some ideas. McGee here is workin' on 'em right now." Mike moved over to the big screen and pointed. "Here McGee. Right about here."
"Zeroing in. Abby I could use some help. Can you go get ready?"
Abby frowned looking at the map. She tipped her head and moved to the big screen. "That's Belgium."
"Yep. That's where the beautiful but completely deadly Sallah DuFresne-Ste-Germaine is from. She's got houses, I am bein' kind they're fortresses, all over the world. But somehow like a rat she always goes back to her hole. In her case 'Le chateau forte du Shalamonte.' " A picture of a beautiful old fortress with grass and growth on the wall over the river appeared on the screen.
" It's in the Wallonia area of Belgium. It's been located up on top of the mountain cliffs above the village of Shalamonte since the year of our Lord 1096. It's been in the DuFresne-Ste-Germaine family since the 1300's. They bailed the then current owners out of debts going back as far as the Crusades. Like everything else they built on it and perfected it. It's got 3 drawbridges, dungeons, cisterns and an enclosed well shaft that goes 213 feet below into the mountain." Mike rocked back and forth on his boot heels.
"It's gorgeous. So beautiful!" Abby murmured. She stepped closer.
"Well, a spiders web is pretty too. Doesn't stop the spider's bite from killin' ya.
Any closer satellite pictures Probies 'proby?"
"Only very general pictures of the inner yard Mike. You can see where repairs and maintenance have been made to the living areas and although the wall appears to be crumbling it's not, it's reinforced and alarmed. Infra red sensors through out the compound and barriers. Guard dogs. People coming and going by the mountain road, over the drawbridges and into the courtyard to the door. Appears to have guards in each of the towers, at least one on each wall, 2 by and/or inside the front door. The inside of the castle's rooms haven't been detailed since the 1700's. No one has ever been able to enter who hasn't been invited. The people who have, have convenient memory loss. "
McGee was frowning. Tony and Ziva had entered in the mean time and heard most of the conversation/lecture. Mike paced now, an unlit cigarette in his fingers while he continued.
"For whatever reason even the Nazi's left the Ste-Germaine's alone. They profited during the war but not to the level you would expect. The Allies used their resources and contacts too after the war to hunt down Nazi leaders. These people have power. Power over most of the big leaders of the world. And control over all the crime interests they care about. They seem to think some of it is beneath them. Anybody who feels slighted and tries to do something about it ends up disappeared."
"Everyone Mike?" came an unexpected voice from the entryway of the lab.
"Well hello Madam Director. How ya doin'? Been awhile." Mike smiled winningly at her, Jenny didn't smile back.
"Maybe it's time for a cigarette." He said and headed toward the door.
"Nope." Jenny said and gestured him back into the room. "Keep going. I want to know why you feel this family is responsible for Gibbs' kidnapping. I'd also like to know why you are in your pajamas Abby?" She lifted one delicate eyebrow.
"Well I slept here last night Ma'am. I had some late tests to run and it was just easier to stay. I could' a had an accident or something being tired and all."
Abby avoided looking at the Director and hugged Bert who promptly farted. Mikes eyebrows went up! Just then the elevator binged. They all turned to see Fornell coming into the room. He held up a evidence baggie. He went directly to Abby.
"My people turned this in to our lab. I brought it straight over to you Ab's."
He turned and looked at the others. "It's a hair. And it looks intact for DNA."