Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of the NCIS characters.

3:00 A.M.

Snow crunched underneath his boots as Gibbs darted for the shabby cabin planted at the westernmost edge of the clearing. Heartbeats pulsed through his ears, deafening every other step. Upon reaching a pile of logs built beneath the only window, he crouched and inched his way towards the door. Nothing moved inside the shack as he effortlessly picked the lock securing the door in place.

Using his shoulder, Gibbs shoved open the charred door and quickly swept the area with his gun, carefully checking every spot twice. The cabin consisted of only two rooms and after scoping out the adjoining room, he discovered Kelly wasn't in either one. Remembering Abby's findings and his initial pursuit through this cabin, Gibbs walked back into the first room and cast his gaze to the floor. Filthy and ragged, a distressed rug covered most of the moldy floorboards in front of similarly decaying couch. Carefully stepping around the edges, he picked up a corner and pulled it back to reveal a hidden cutout in the floor. With one deep breath, Gibbs swung open the trapdoor.

The staircase leading down into the basement was exactly the same as the day Gibbs had found the ninth victim: rotting. Making sure not to lose his footing, Gibbs planted himself with his gun outstretched, ready to fire. One step at a time, he lowered himself into the damp basement, shining his flashlight in every direction. Halfway down the staircase, he could see moonlight flooding in from the far left. Gibbs slowly continued his descent, letting out the breath he'd been holding when both of his feet finally touched even ground.

Forcing himself to take one last sweep of the basement, Gibbs confirmed that Cole was not waiting behind any obstacles. The sight which pierced his mind next was far worse than any case Gibbs had ever encountered. As if it were a scene from a horror film, Kelly was anchored to a chair by fifty or sixty zip ties running from her wrists to just above her elbows and also down her legs. An iridescent glow from the window well fell upon her back and casted elongated shadows on the cement floor. Her head hung to her chest, defeated. The gashes and bruises Gibbs had seen in the picture seemed like mere scrapes compared to the state she was in now.

Momentarily forgetting all motor function, he stumbled over to the chair where she sat shivering. With trembling fingers, Gibbs carefully pulled a knife from his pocket and began cutting the ties by her left elbow, avoiding a pool of vomit next to the chair. As he worked his way down her arm, he noticed several of her fingers were bent in odd directions and bruised all over. He was almost to the middle of her forearm when her head jerked upwards.

If the silver strip of duct tape had not been covering her mouth, her scream would have echoed for the next mile.

"Kelly! Look at me," he rushed, trying to calm her. "It's really me." It took her a long moment to realize the man before her was truly her father. A fair amount of relief shined through the tears in her clear green eyes.

"Kelly, just save –"

Another muffled yell interrupted his words. She was staring, wide-eyed, over his shoulder.

Following her line of sight, Gibbs ducked just in time as Cole swung a shovel where his head had been just milliseconds before. Cole advanced, forcing Gibbs to the ground and sending his knife flying across the basement. Both men were swinging and ducking punches, trying to find the other's weak spot. They tumbled around Kelly, huffing and grunting. After an extremely lucky head-butt, Cole had managed to free himself from Gibbs's grasp and flee the basement, grabbing a small, black object from the workbench on his way up the staircase. Gibbs pulled out his gun, shooting the steps as Cole climbed them. In fear of losing his target, Gibbs dashed up the stairs without a backwards glance, leaving Kelly all alone.


3:20 A.M.

Panting heavily, Tony, Ziva, and McGee emerged from the forest and peered across the empty clearing. Without a moment's hesitation, they broke into another sprint and quickly closed the gap between themselves and the burnt cabin. Peering into the shack, Tony told McGee to check the perimeter while he and Ziva would search inside. McGee took off, crouched low with his gun and flashlight leading the way. Ziva and Tony took out their own weapons and snuck through the door which had been cracked open. Entering the cabin, the agents split up to search each room.

"Clear."

"Ziva, check this out," Tony said, pointing his gun at the trapdoor.

They crept closer, shining their flashlights down the staircase. Tony slowly started down the steps and Ziva acted as cover, noting every sound and movement in the room. A muffled murmur struck her ear.

"Tony!" she whispered.

Shifting his weight on the steps, he continued his descent and she followed. His flashlight beam struck the straight-back chair and its prisoner.

"Kelly?" Tony called with disbelief.

Ignoring the pain, Kelly whipped her head upwards and watched them rush to her, yelling against the duct tape all the while. Her heart was beating overtime and it was becoming harder and harder to breathe through her nose. Tony knealt in front of her, looking her in the eye. Giving her a quick once-over, he lifted his hand to her cheek and she could feel him pinch one edge of the duct tape between his fingers.

"This is going to hurt," he said remorsefully, watching her expression.

I know, she thought, nodding slightly and shutting her eyes tight.

Fire exploded over her lips and cheeks making her eyes water and spill over. Sucking in a huge breath, she felt her lungs expand with musty air.

"Kelly, everything's going to be –"

"No. It's not," she interrupted, feeling a new definition of raw sting in her throat. She was surprised at the raspiness of her own voice caused from hours of yelling. "Start thinking funny thoughts. Ziva's going to need a distraction."

"Why?"

"There are five blocks of C4 strapped to the bottom of this chair and I have no idea what the timer's at." She took another shuddering breath, trying to remain calm. Ziva instantly knealt on the floor and tilted her head to see the explosives wired to a digital timer.

"It is alright, Kelly. Two minutes and forty-seven seconds."

Remembering the brawl that took place only minutes beforehand, Kelly shook her head.

"Cole's got a remote detonator. It's a dead-man switch."

*****

Hello faithful readers! Thank you so much for your interest in my story - it means more than I can tell. The next couple chapters are intense and action-packed, so hang on tight. They're also organized somewhat oddly, but I'm writing them as I have always seen them in my head and I think you'll understand my methods when they are all posted. For the most part, I'm happy with these few chapters, but I'm also fully aware that many of the actions in this chapter and the next one would be highly unlikely. Gibbs would never let some guy head-butt him, let alone leave Kelly without promise to come back! But, alas, it sets up the direction for the rest of the story. Thanks again, from the bottom of my heart, for reading and reviewing.