Tony's instinct was to run into cover. He didn't think his captor had a companion but he knew he was in no fit state to resist capture. Tony made his way along the outside of the cages, occasionally stifling a curse when his bare feet encountered something sharp on the ground. The zoo seemed to be a small one and he soon reached some booths which had once been where people paid to get in. Tony rattled the doors hopefully but they stayed firmly closed. He peered through the windows to see if there was anything worth breaking in for but he could see nothing so he moved on.

His energy was failing fast, his escape from his cage had exhausted him and he was driven by a compulsion to get away. Tony guessed that as no security lights had come on as he moved around that the power had been disconnected and he assumed that the telephone would have been cut off too. Even supposing he could make a call out for help, he realised that he had no idea where he was: he was almost amused for a few moments as he imagined the difficulties of persuading an operator that he was stranded, practically naked, in an abandoned zoo in an unknown location having just escaped from a lion's cage.

Tony looked at the main entrance with its imposing gates and knew that he wouldn't be able to climb over them. He continued his investigation of the perimeter and finally came to a smaller gate which, with some effort, he managed to scale. He dropped down on the other side and found that he was on the edge of some sort of wooded area.

Tony wasn't instinctively an outdoors person although he had been sent on many adventure camps by a less than doting father as a way of getting rid of an awkward son during the vacations. Tony found himself disgruntled at being presented with so many trees; he couldn't help but feel that Gibbs or Tim would be better equipped to deal with them. McGee would have identified the trees and worked out which forest he was in, Tony thought to himself. And Gibbs, well, he would have just glared at them and they would have lined up to point the way out. Lacking those instincts or abilities, Tony chose to walk into the forest: he wanted to find help but the need to avoid capture was stronger for the moment.

After a few hundred yards, Tony was flagging even more and he knew that he would need to rest; he was aware of a pain in his arm where he had caught it as he pushed his way through the hole in the roof. It was nearly completely dark now and although some stargazers would have relished the darkness of the skies, Tony longed for some light. He realised that he would need to stop before he blundered into danger in the night, he started looking around for somewhere to shelter and found that the ground was falling away a little. He went forward cautiously and just managed to prevent himself from walking into a stream. "Not that it would have made me any wetter," he thought morosely. Finding the river, and not falling into it, did, however cheer Tony up: somehow he thought that it would make navigating easier even if he did not have any idea where he would be wanting to navigate to.

He found a tree which had fallen against a rock and this afforded a space into which he could crawl, hoping that he wasn't disturbing any other creature and wondering if rats frequented whichever place he was in. Exhaustion overcame him and he fell asleep hoping that someone other than his captor was looking for him.

It was late the next morning before Tony awoke. As on each day since his abduction he woke up wondering where he was and why he couldn't smell coffee brewing in the kitchen at home. He groaned as he remembered and as he stretched his aching limbs. "Thought a hard bed was supposed to be good for the back," he muttered. He peered out of his shelter and saw that it was still raining. Leaving his small refuge was unappealing but he knew that he had to try and find help: he trusted that his co-workers would be looking for him but he couldn't see how they would find him if he didn't know where he was.

Tony struggled to his feet and decided to stick to the previous night's plan of following the river. He took a drink out of the river, trying not to worry that it might not be safe to drink. "Think you've got other things to worry about, Anthony," he told himself.

Tony walked slowly along the river. He was weak from not having eaten for some days but he no longer felt hungry. He vaguely thought he should eat something but somehow the acorns he saw were unappetising and he retained enough caution not to try out the fungi he saw occasionally. His progress was halting although at least the forest floor was relatively kind to his feet. Tony was conscious mostly of waves of cold followed by waves of heat; he was by turns shivering and sweating and he knew his coughing was getting worse. If anyone had been tracking him, he reckoned they would have found him by now simply by listening to the coughs. He tried to take comfort that following the river meant he wouldn't go around in a circle; unless of course, he was somewhere with an oxbow lake but he was too tired to consider the odds of that.

After a couple of hours, Tony decided he needed to rest again. He was too weary this time to hunt out a shelter but simply leaned against a tree and closed his eyes for a few moments. Two hours later, he opened them again and realised both that night was beginning to fall once more and that it hadn't stopped raining. His stomach decided to give a plaintive grumble but he had to ignore it.

"Come on, Anthony," he told himself, "Remember you're a Buckeye. Don't let this beat you."

He struggled to his feet and continued walking, or rather staggering, along the river's edge. He tried to keep awake by remembering the plots of wilderness movies he had watched although he couldn't help but think he'd feel pretty stupid if he found out he was in Rock Creek Park all the time.

"No," he told himself, "No abandoned zoos there. Or I don't think so. Some petty officer would have found himself in trouble there by now if there was."

Ten minutes after he had begun walking again, Tony stopped as he spotted something through the trees. He rubbed his eyes for a moment in case he was hallucinating but soon knew he wasn't. A beat up Chevrolet pick-up truck was parked fifty yards away on one of the tracks which Tony had been hoping to hit.

Momentarily reinvigorated, Tony hurried forward. The truck was empty and the doors were locked. Tony banged on the door in frustration and rested his forehead against the window. He wasn't sure why this seemed so devastating but he felt a wave of despair at not being to get inside. The wind picked at his bare arms and legs and he suppressed a groan. He walked down to the back of the truck and decided that some shelter was better than none. He hoisted himself up and lifted up a corner of the tarpaulin which was stretched across the cargo area. He burrowed his way through until he could lie down in the dry and relative warm. Tony wasn't sure what else was being stored in the truck but at that moment he didn't care. He closed his eyes and let sleep take him once more.

In fact, it was only a few minutes later that the driver returned. He didn't check the rear of his truck and drove gently off down the track unaware that he had a passenger on board.

NCISNCIS

The MCRT and Fornell picked listlessly at their food in the motel they had booked in to. They ate accompanied by the sound of the rain drumming on the window and of Tim still tapping on his laptop.

"Local police are still looking," said Kate.

"East's doctor thinks he may wake up tomorrow," said Fornell.

"And I'm checking to see where he might have been," said Tim looking up from his keyboard as he joined in the efforts to look on the bright side.

"Any luck?" Gibbs asked Tim.

Tim sighed and shook his head. "No, Boss. From East's wallet and pockets, it looks as if he used cash mostly. I've looked at the receipts again. He was at the drive through in Parenville more than once. Someone might have remembered him."

"Didn't you say he has an uncle near there?" asked Fornell.

"That's right," said Kate, "So someone might have recognised him, known him from before."

"What about the uncle?" said Gibbs.

"He's in the hospital," said McGee, "Has been for weeks, waiting to move to another facility."

"East could be holed up in his uncle's house," suggested Fornell.

McGee shook his head. "Police already checked. And it's not a house, it's a trailer: that's why he can't move back. No one else is living there and the neighbours don't recall any visitors."

"If he didn't stay with his uncle," said Gibbs, "He must have been living somewhere these last days. We sure he doesn't own any property?"

"Sure," said McGee.

"So, a hotel or somewhere," said Gibbs. "Or he's got a place to hide out in."

"Or he slept in the van," said Kate. "But there's no sign of that. And no sign of Tony sleeping in the van either."

"Abby will have the preliminary forensic reports tomorrow," said Gibbs. "And the van's going to be taken to the Navy Yard after the PA Police Department have done their first sweep. If there's anything to find, Abby will find it. Come on, let's call it a night. We can't do anything more now. We'll start checking every garage, shop and motel between Parenville and Laystoke tomorrow."

NCISNCIS

Kate and Gibbs began at Parenville the next morning while Fornell and McGee started at Laystoke with the intention of meeting somewhere in the middle. Fornell and Gibbs had checked the van's mileage since it had been hired and it didn't look as if East had driven much more than a hundred miles in addition to the drive from DC.

The staff at the Parenville Mighty Meat Diner remembered East calling in for breakfast the previous day and for a burger the day before that.

"Eat in or takeaway?" asked Gibbs.

"Eat in," said the waitress. "Both times."

"Did he buy anything to take out?" asked Kate.

"Not that I remember," replied the waitress.

"Did you know him?" asked Gibbs.

"No. But I'm new here. Don't know many folks. He didn't seem to talk to no-one," came the reply.

"Mind if we ask around?" asked Gibbs.

"Suit yourself," she shrugged. "Can I get you anything?"

Gibbs shook his head. He had already smelled the coffee.

The Mighty Meat Diner wasn't very busy but Kate suspected that it rarely was. It wasn't only the coffee that smelled unenticing.

"Perhaps we should come back later?" she suggested a few minutes later. "You know, at the time on the receipts. Might meet someone who was here at the same time as East."

Gibbs nodded. He had spoken to the only other customers but none of them had been in the previous day. Like Kate, he thought that the diner didn't get many returning customers. As they returned to the car, Kate voiced another worry,

"Do you think East got any food for Tony?" she asked. "We haven't found any grocery receipts. And he only bought food for himself at the diner."

Gibbs shrugged and replied with grim humour, "Not sure Tony would want to eat anything from there anyway."

NCISNCIS

"Well?" demanded Gibbs when they met up with Fornell and McGee some hours later.

"Didn't stop at any gas stations," said McGee.

"But he did have a coffee at a roadside shack place," said Fornell. "Owner says he didn't stay long because someone he knew came along. Eddie Clintock turned up and East took off."

"Who's Eddie Clintock?" asked Kate.

"He's a neighbour of East's uncle," said Tim. "Knew him from when he lived around here as a kid."

"What he say about him?" asked Gibbs.

"Not much," said Fornell. "Said the kid wasn't the brightest he'd ever seen. One of those who ended up taking the easy way out and his family didn't care much. Liked animals; that was the best he could think of say of him. Said he was surprised to see him up here, hasn't seen around for years."

"There's an animal feed store ten miles from here," said Kate who had been looking at the map. "I think it's been abandoned."

"Bit thin, Kate," said Gibbs.

"I know," said Kate, "But it looks as if it's got storage sheds. Could be a place to hide someone. East might know about it. Perhaps from when he worked with the veterinarian?"

"We'll try it," said Gibbs.

"Jethro," said Fornell, "We don't know if East had any help - if he was working alone and left DiNozzo locked up somewhere … well, you know - we need to find him."

"Come on," said Gibbs. "And keep thinking everyone."

The animal feed storage depot had indeed been abandoned some time ago but it was soon clear that nobody had been near the place for years.

"Sorry, Gibbs," said Kate as she realised it was a dead-end.

"Don't apologise," ordered Gibbs, "It was an idea. And at least we know Tony's not here."

"Tim," said Fornell, "Are there any other animal related places around here? Todd might have been on to something with that connection."

"I'll look," said Tim hoping he could get an internet connection in their current remote location.

Gibbs' phone rang at that moment. He saw the call was from Abby so put it on speaker for everyone to hear.

"Hey, Gibbs!" she said, "Have you found him yet?" As she met with silence she hurried on, "Sorry. Silly question. You'd have told me if you had. You would, wouldn't you? I mean, we're all waiting here. Working, of course but waiting all the same. I don't think you people out in the field know what it's like to left behind waiting for a call. I don't mean it's boring, 'cos it isn't and I guess we have the advantage of not being out in the cold and wet … or being shot at … but it's not a picnic. Just so you know. Where was I?"

"Don't know, Abs," said Gibbs, "You hadn't got anywhere yet."

"You should have stopped me," protested Abby.

"Yeah. Don't think anyone's worked out how to do that yet," said Gibbs drily.

"Gibbs," said Abby, "Do you think I talk too much? You should tell me. I do try not to talk too much but I get excited. And I often have lots to tell people …"

"Abby," interrupted Fornell.

"Yes?" asked Abby.

"Have you got lots to tell people today?"

"Oh! Well, it depends on how you define lots," she said earnestly. "Do you mean lots as in a high volume or lots as in high quality? Some people like a huge amount of information but some people just want to know the really important stuff."

"Abby!" said Gibbs firmly.

"Yes, Gibbs?" she asked.

"What you got?"

For a moment her listeners thought that Abby might continue her discussion about the amount of information but she seemed to pick up on their impatience.

"The Pennsylvania Police Department gave me their forensic findings," she said. "And I've been running some analysis of my own. The van is still pretty clean which is good in a way."

"Why?" asked Kate.

"The rental firm valeted it before renting it," Abby explained, "So that means that most of the dirt will belong to East. Unless it's dirt that made its way into some obscure place. You know, like when you drop a cookie behind a seat and it can stay there for days or weeks until it becomes mummified."

"You found a mummified cookie?" asked Tim.

"Oh no!" said Abby, "That was just an example. I was just saying that unless the rental company did a really thorough clean or the van was new (which it wasn't) … well, not all the dirt since the rental would necessarily belong to East. I could run DNA on it but that would take a long time but if I did find something I could check to see if East had dropped it."

"And did you find anything like that?" asked Fornell.

"No," said Abby.

"Then why did you tell us about the mummified cookie," asked Kate.

"I thought you'd be interested," said Abby.

"Abby," said Gibbs, "Did you find anything? Anything of interest?"

"Animal poo," said Abby with uncharacteristic brevity.

"Animal poo?" said Fornell.

"I think it is," said Abby.

"Can't you tell?" asked Gibbs.

"It doesn't smell. It's very dry," said Abby. "I thought it was just ordinary dirt but Major Mass Spec kicked out that it's organic matter of some sort. I'm working on what it is but it's old."

"Where was it in the van?" asked Kate.

"On the gas pedal. I think it was probably got there from his shoe," said Abby.

"We're on the edge of the forest here," said Fornell, "East could have stepped in any sort of animal scat."

"But this is dry scat; very very dry scat," said Abby earnestly. "That would be unusual outdoors. Especially with all this rain."

"Can you find out what type it is?" asked Tim.

"Of course," said Abby. "Do you doubt me?"

"No, Abs, of course not," said Tim hastily.

"Call us when you know," ordered Gibbs before snapping his phone shut.

"Animal places might be a good idea," said Fornell. "What you got, McGee?"

As four heads bent over the map, Gibbs' phone rang again.

"Got it," said Abby.

"What?" asked Gibbs.

"Major Mass Spec did his work. He always comes up trumps. It's a smorgasbord of scat, Gibbs. Actually smorgasbord's probably not the right word because you can't eat scat. Well, some creatures probably do but they wouldn't have a smorgasbord because that's not what animals have. Although some pet owners do go to weird lengths to please their pets so perhaps they would give them some sort of buffet. But I don't think it would be good for them because animals sometimes overeat. It's a survival instinct, I think. You know, eat when there's food available because you never know when it's going to be there again. So, if you give your domestic pets too much food, they'll just eat it. But then, some animals are real picky so perhaps they wouldn't. What do you think, Gibbs?"

"I think I'm waiting for you to tell me what sort of scat Major Mass Spec came up with," said Gibbs managing to stay patient.

"Elephant, leopard and lion," replied Abby, "And white tailed deer but I don't think that means much. They live in the Allegheny Forest. I mean white tailed deer. Not elephants, leopards and lions."

"Thanks, Abs," said Gibbs as he ended the call.

"A zoo?" asked Fornell.

"Here it is," said McGee excitedly as he looked up from his laptop a few minutes later, "Miller's Zoo. It opened in 1995 and closed ten years later. It couldn't compete with Pittsburgh Zoo. It was relatively small and there were some concerns about animal welfare and visitor safety. The owner couldn't afford to make the required changes and had to close. There were plans to flatten the buildings and make it into housing but they keep running into problems with getting permission. And Boss, Harry East is listed as working there for a few months before it closed."

"That's it," said Gibbs. "He knew the place was abandoned. What better place to lock someone up than an animal cage? Where is this place?"

"The edge of the forest," called McGee as he, and the others, ran to their vehicles.

Afterwards, Tim thought that directing Gibbs on the narrow roads to the abandoned zoo was one of the most dangerous things he had ever done. It was only by concentrating on the road and not the other vehicles that he survived with any of his sanity intact.

"Down there!" McGee shouted, "Take a right here."

On reflection, Tim realised he should have amended the direction to "Take a right once that pick-up truck has pulled out."

In the end it didn't matter. Gibbs didn't wait but, apart from some furious sounding of the horn by the other driver, everyone emerged unscathed and it wasn't long before they all pulled up in front of Millers Zoo.

Cutters from the trunk of the sedan made short work of the lock on the main gate and the MCRT and Fornell were soon spreading out to search the zoo. They went cautiously although they were sure that East had been working alone. They had been hunting for ten minutes without result when Gibbs got tired of stealth and took to shouting out Tony's name. Shortly after that, however, he heard Kate calling out,

"Over here!"

The three men hurried to join her. "Look," she said pointing to the lion's cage. "I think he was here. There's a hole in the roof."

"And blood," said Fornell grimly as he spotted spots of red on the torn mesh.

"Dammit," said Gibbs. "He's gone."