Meanwhile, Abby was trying not to freak out. She had no earthly idea what was happening anymore, other than that she was all of a sudden responsible for four very scared, and very confused children.
After being forced into the van that she'd identified less than an hour before on her screen in the lab, the scientist was relieved to find that Tallulah, Lucille, and Natalia were already there, and backed into a corner. For awhile, Abby had been fearing the worst. But they, and Cooper were unhurt. That was what mattered.
They were driven to a warehouse of some kind, but that was as much as Abby could catch—rather than letting them out, the driver left them in the van, locking the doors behind him. He then left, through a door on the far side of the warehouse.
Abby took this time to talk to the kids.
"I'm Abby." she said, pointing to herself. "I'm a friend."
Natalia indicated her own self, and then pointed to Cooper. "I'm Natalia, but who's that?"
Abby hugged the little boy as she introduced him. "This is Cooper. He's three."
"You're his mama?"
"I am not, but I am his friend."
"Then where is his mama?" Natalia pressed. "At the arcade?"
"Yes."
The girl's face fell. "I was there on a field trip, but I had to go to the bathroom, so I went by myself because it was almost an emergency. Was I bad?"
"Not at all." Abby reassured her. "You didn't know that something awful was going to happen, did you?"
"No." Natalia said after a quick moment of thinking things through.
"So then it definitely wasn't your fault, Natalia."
"Are you sure?"
"Quite sure."
Natalia nodded, taking Abby's words in stride, but then her face crumpled. "I just want to be with my parents!"
She began to cry. When Abby beckoned to her, the little girl fled to her side without a second thought.
Tallulah and Lucille remained now. Knowing that they were hard of hearing, Abby went for a soft approach, and simultaneously spoke and signed to them.
"You two are Tallulah, and Lucille, right?" she asked gently.
They both stared in surprise for a moment before Tallulah blurted, "You sign?"
"I do. What do you and your sister prefer?"
"Speaking. But how did you know that we know how to sign?"
Abby answered her, this time without using her hands. "Well, do you know what NCIS is?"
In spite of the situation, Tallulah brightened—her big sister had always told them that anyone from NCIS or CGIS could be trusted. "Yes; I know where it is, too! Is that where you work?"
"It is, and guess what what? My friends are looking for you, for your sister, for Natalia, for Cooper, and for me."
Tallulah spoke in a tone of incredulity. "They are?"
"Yes, and along the way, we found out everyone's names, that you and Lucille sometimes like to use ASL."
"Okay. Miss Abby?"
"Yes?"
"You found us, and that makes me glad… and maybe not too scared. But…"
Tallulah's words trailed off, as she became caught up in her thoughts.
"What is it?" Abby asked gently.
"Since you found us, does that mean we can go now?"
"I wish it was that easy, Tallulah—I'm not even sure where we are. If we stay put, though, I'm sure that my friends will find us before long."
Tallulah considered these words, even if she didn't like the sound of staying still. "Does that mean that they'll bring us back to the people we belong to?"
"Yes, but we have to stay here until then."
"Okay…"
Abby held an arm out to her. "Would you like a hug, too?"
Tallulah held out, but only for a second, before joining them, too.
Lucille remained now, apparently stubborn.
"Miss Abby," she said seriously. "Do you know that me and Lulah live with our big sister, Grace?"
"I did know that, yes."
Lucille spoke haltingly, trying to keep her tears at bay. "Lulah and I call her Gracie, and she's married to Noah. Gracie is even having a baby."
"That's a really big deal." Abby observed.
"The baby might even come today, actually, Miss Abby."
"That's also a big deal."
Lucille was rubbing her eyes now. "But what if Gracie and Noah forget about me and Lulah, since we aren't there?"
Abby's heart lurched in sympathy. "Lucille, they won't. Your sister and Noah love you, Tallulah, and the baby so much."
"Really?"
"Truly." Abby beckoned to her, too. "Please come here."
Surprising even herself, Abby found herself holding all four of her charges, trying to give them equal amounts of extra hugs and kind words.
Natalia spoke again after a few more moments. "I'm so scared! What if they take us to a new place?"
This thought had crossed Abby's mind, too, but she but on the bravest face that she could. She was the only kind adult in the immediate area at the moment, so the kids were extra dependent on her for affection and security.
"If that does happen, my dear Natalia," Abby decided. "I'll stick with all of you, and keep you safe. That's a promise."
Natalia believed these words, as did Tallulah, Lucille, and Cooper. They were all as pacified as could be for the time being.
The newfound quietness just prompted Abby's thoughts to drift.
Where was the calvary already, and what the hell was happening?
Back at HQ, Gibbs, Abigail, Hollis, Tony, and McGee had finally made some headway, but they just weren't sure what to do with it.
"I guess it's time for a campfire." Tony said as they gathered around the plasma screen. "Who's going to take the lead on this one?"
Before she could roll her eyes as she always did when Tony suggested this tactic, Ziva's desk phone rang, so she crossed the room to answer it. In her stead, Abigail spoke up.
"What is 'campfire' NCIS-talk for?" she asked.
Hollis answered, recalling an old memory. "Basically, it's taking a brief step back when we have all the pieces, but don't know how to connect them. Tony coined the phrase a long time ago."
"I s—what?"
All eyes, including Hollis', had fallen to Abigail.
Tony tossed the plasma remote to her. "Thanks to your probies beaming and faxing their research over here, you were the one to figure out Mathers' connection to CGIS."
"Okay, fine."
With surprising ease, Abigail navigated the plasma screen with the remote, despite not having used anything like it since her last visit to NCIS. As she spoke, each person's name and service record photo appeared on the monitor.
"So at the moment, we know that Grace Morgan works here, in the mail room, and that her husband has the same job, across the yard at CGIS. Cain Ludlow and his wife, Emily Turner, aren't on my team, because they're data analysts, but their desks are physically close to where I sit." Abigail pressed a button on the remote again, and they were looking at their perpetrator's information. "We also know why Peter Mathers doesn't work well with Hollis, but the research that my people sent over showed why he went after the Ludlows and the Morgans, as well."
She brought up digital copies of different forms, but they appeared so fast that Hollis wasn't sure what she was looking at. What she was sure of, however, was that she was taken aback to see a grim expression on the redhead's face. Gibbs was, too.
"And what's that look for, Borin?" he asked.
"According to all of these, at one point while still with the army, Mathers took a… 'day trip,' for lack of a better word, during a summer program with about two dozen other new recruits. They spent the whole day at the CGIS building."
"When was this?"
In addition to having her digital display, Abigail had physical copies of her notes. She scanned the top summary page, looking for the answer.
"It was the June of his first year."
She then looked to Hollis, expectant.
"Don't look at me like that!" Hollis protested. "I'm not Mathers' mother, nor was I his foremost CO."
"Ah, but even by that admission," McGee pointed out. "You still knew him well enough to punish him for insubordination. I also heard that you said so already during your interview in the conference room."
Hollis promptly shot him one of her old trademark withering stares, but before things could go any further, Ziva returned from taking her phone call.
"That was a doctor, from DC General, on behalf of Grace Morgan." she reported. "Grace was just admitted because she was in active labor this whole entire time, but did not realize it. Her daughter will more than likely be born today."
Abigail wrinkled the bridge of her nose, ever so slightly. "The birth of a baby is definitely something to look forward to, and something to be happy about, but until then, this makes both my agency and this one extra responsible for Tallulah and Lucille."
"Indeed, we are." Ziva said in agreement and then tapped an ear before gesturing to Hollis. "I heard everything said over here while I was on the phone. I believe the floor was yours, yes?"
"Yes." Hollis redirected their attention back to the screen. "All of these forms here show that Mathers interacted with both of the Ludlows, and Noah Morgan, for different shadowing workshops."
"Like to see where he wanted to go after the army training?" McGee guessed.
"Bingo."
Gibbs chimed in, "Let me guess—they all gave him low marks?"
Hollis nodded, with Abigail providing the elaboration. "There were also a few well-chosen remarks, the most notable of which said he wasn't applying himself at all, and was better suited for life at Fort Bragg… or combat."
"Then Mathers grew so upset by these remarks that he decided to take matters into his own hands, revenge style?"
"Correct."
"But what? He was waylaid for three whole years, because of combat and an injury?"
"That's two for two, Gibbs. At this point, I'm not even sure if he's in it for a ransom... or if that is Mathers' plan, and just hasn't reached that stage."
Gibbs was feeling frustrated, and close to losing his temper. Somehow, though, he kept things in check. "We have all the clues now, don't we? The next thing is figuring out who the hell his accomplices are, and where they could all possibly be!"
Tony made to answer him, but they were all cut off by Ziva's desk phone again. He and the others watched as in record timing, Ziva took the call, jotted some information on a sticky note, double-check that information, thank the caller, hang up, and return to them.
"That was an anonymous caller visa vie the tip line. He called to say that he spotted a van matching the description of the one I put on the BOLO."
"Ziva," Tony said warily. "That van was stark white."
"True, but there is also a gigantic scratch along the side, as though from a collision. The rear door also has a dent, close to the bumper."
"All true." Abigail confirmed. "I saw those things on the footage in Abby's lab. Ziva, did your source at least give you an approximate location of where the van was reported seen?"
Ziva nodded and glanced at the scrap of paper in her left hand. "That would on the 2700 block of a street called Boatwright. That is by the docks?"
"Yes, but the area has been abandoned since Y2K." Gibbs gathered his things up, and Ziva, Tony, McGee, and Abigail followed suit. "I'll ride with Borin, and the rest of you can follow."
They all agreed to this, and immediately fell into place behind Gibbs, or else beside him.
"Hey, is it me," Tony said suddenly as they all boarded the elevator. "Or does this all feel a little bit too easy?"
"Not everything has to be complicated all the time. Sometimes the answer actually does come easily." Abigail replied. "That's the second Rule Of Borin."
"And it's the only solid lead we have, DiNozzo!" Gibbs gave him a swat on the back of the head. "These are extra special circumstances, and you should never ever look a gift horse in the mouth!"
The elevator doors closed after that.
Realizing she was alone in the MCRT bullpen, Hollis exhaled heavily and headed towards the main staircase.
"Don't mind me." she muttered to herself. "I'll just go deliver a progress report to the director."
At the warehouse, things had devolved quickly. Melee was the word.
Abby and the kids were still shut in the van, but currently taking refuge behind the furthest seat. They were all more terrified than ever: not even ten minutes prior, there had been a shootout between Mathers and his men.
The event itself was brief, and for a light millisecond, Abby dared to believe that they'd all shot each other. But those thoughts were dashed because they heard a distinct set of footsteps headed towards the van.
Abby had only just made the kids promise to be quiet, when the back door was unlocked and pulled open. They all screamed.
"Who the hell are you?" Abby demanded.
They were looking at Peter Mathers. He was young yet, but looked like he'd seen better days. The sinister look on his face alone made Abby's very skin crawl.
"It doesn't matter what my name is. I just need all five of you to stay in here for a little bit longer."
"But—"
SLAM!
He closed and locked the door again before Abby could finish her sentence.
Almost immediately, Cooper burst into embarrassed tears, telling Abby that he'd had an accident. His tears were all it took for Tallulah, Lucille, and Natalia to cry, too—not that anyone in their proper minds could blame them for being scared, stressed, and extremely overtired.
As for Abby, she continued her best to be brave.
And she'd been in peril plenty of times over the years while at NCIS, but this occasion was the first time that her thoughts of being rescued weren't centered on Gibbs being the rescuer.
No… today, she was thinking of someone else.
"Oh, Abigail. Where are you?"
