Chapter 9: Saving Maddie
Ziva waited a moment outside the door then knocked quietly, not really wanting to interrupt their conversation, but needing to know as soon as possible if Harm recognized either of the men responsible. When she heard a muffled reply, she opened the door and walked to the table introducing herself to the woman before getting to the matter at hand. "Hi, I'm Officer David, Ziva. You must be Mac. I am sorry to interrupt, but Harm I need you to look at these pictures and tell me if you recognize the men." With that she set the two pictures on the table and watched his face for a reaction.
Harm studied the faces of the two men. One looked vaguely familiar, but he couldn't recall why. Finally he sighed. "The one on the left resembles someone I've met, but I can't place either man" he sighed resignedly.
"OK, do the names Derik O'Conner or James Peterson mean anything to you?"
"Last month I was the prosecutor for a case against a Jim O'Conner. Come to think of it, this man does resemble Jimmie. Are these the men who took my little girl?"
"I am afraid so. But this is good news. Now we know who took Maddie and why. We are already tracking them down, trying to find her. It was good to meet you Mac. I should really get back to work now." Ziva gave the couple a last reassuring smile before leaving the room to update her team and find Maddie.
When Ziva returned to the squad room, she quickly started to update the team. "Harm says that about a month ago he prosecuted a man, Jimmie O'Conner. He thinks that he may be related to Derik O'Conner."
"McGee, find the connection between the O'Conners and get me the case report for Jimmie" Gibbs barked as he started towards the elevator to for yet another coffee.
As the elevator doors closed, the phone on Tony's desk rang. "DiNozzo. … Great, where was that? … And is it still there? … No, just tell them to keep an eye on it and we'll be there soon." Tony lobbed a paper ball at McGee's head as he hung up the phone. "Gear up and gas the car Probie. I'll call Gibbs."
"What's going on Tony? We get a hit on the BOLO?"
"No, I just thought that we should drive around aimlessly and hope to find them McSlow." However, after receiving a glare from Ziva, he decided to drop the sarcasm for the moment. "Yeah, local LEO found the van in the warehouse district. They're gonna sit on it till we get there."
As he tossed keys to McGee, he grabbed his cell and hit speed dial one.
"Yeah, Gibbs."
"We got a hit on the BOLO in the warehouse district Boss."
"Well, what are you waiting for DiNozzo? We should probably get going, don't you think?"
Before Tony even had a chance to reply, the elevator doors opened to reveal Gibbs holding a fresh coffee and hanging up his phone. Tony and Ziva quickly grabbed their gear and ran for the elevator.
When the team pulled up outside the warehouse, they put on their vests and ear-wigs while scoping the place out. "DiNozzo, David you take the back. McGee, you're with me." And with that little instruction, they were off to their designated areas to raid the warehouse.
"All clear back here Boss. No sign of them." Tony said as he carefully peered through the windows on the back side of the run down building.
"Alright, everyone be careful. We don't know for sure how many of them are in there. On three. … One, two, three" Gibbs instructed.
They threw open the doors and entered the building with their weapons drawn and ready. Slowly and methodically, they began clearing the building. About the middle of the room, Ziva spotted the two men just beyond a pile of crates. She signaled for Tony to take cover then informed the other pair. "I see O'Conner and Peterson in the middle of the large room. We're in position. I don't see the girl though."
"McGee and I are approaching. Follow my lead" was the hushed response. Half a minute later Gibbs and McGee stepped into view. "NCIS! Put your hands above your heads."
O'Conner and Peterson shared a fleeting glance before pulling their guns and backing away from the two armed agents. Tony and Ziva stepped out and made their presence known as the kidnappers got closer. O'Conner whipped around quickly and took aim at Ziva.
Suddenly a shot rang out, followed by five more in quick succession. Time seemed to slow to a crawl. What seemed like hours later the echo of the volley was still ringing in Tony's ears as everything seemed to suddenly slam back into normal time. When he looked around, McGee was cuffing Peterson and Ziva had already cuffed O'Conner and was in the process of alternating between threatening his life and daring him to move. When he took stock, he noticed that O'Conner had been shot in the right shoulder by Ziva causing him to reflexively pull the trigger but miss his mark. Peterson had been shot in the left knee and tight shoulder as well. None of the team had managed to sustain any injury.
"DiNozzo, stop standing around and take David to look for Maddie before she kills this guy." Gibbs ordered.
With the not so subtle prompting of his boss, Tony grabbed Ziva by the elbow and hauled her off of her prisoner. "Come on Sweetcheeks. You heard the boss. You can't hurt the bad man, but you can help me save the girl" he said with his 1000 watt smile.
She gave him a disdainful look before yanking her arm away. "I really don't appreciate the patronizing tone Tony" she said trying in vain to keep the disapproving look on her face and the small smirk off. Looking around the poorly lit building, she noticed a metal door. "Bongo! I believe that we will find Maddie over there" Ziva announced pointing to the door.
"I think you mean 'bingo' Zee-vah" Tony corrected automatically as they walked over to the door. He cautiously opened the door, not quite sure what to expect on the other side, neither of the men were talking.
Ziva took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the gloom of the small, windowless room. In the corner sat Maddie. "Hey Maddie, my name is Ziva. I am with NCIS. We're here to take you home" she quietly announced as she walked into the room. When she made it to the girl's side, she found her unconscious. "Tony, a little help here please."
"Sure thing Sweetcheeks" he said as he walked to her side and picked the unconscious girl up gently in his arms. He carried her back to the main room where paramedics were already patching up the two murderer/kidnappers. When they saw him, they came to meet him with a stretcher.
"She seems ok, just a little dehydrated and it looks like she took a pretty nasty blow to the back of the head. There are no signs that she sustained any other injuries or was injected with anything though. I'm just gonna start an IV" the paramedic said after examining Maddie. The whole team let out a collective sigh of relief.
