Chapter Ten: The Perfect Storm
After a chaotic morning of getting everybody up, changed, dressed and fed without any help, Gibbs was looking forward to a break. Allie would be there soon to whisk the kids off to the park, leaving Gibbs at home alone to straighten up the living room, do the dishes and get a load of laundry going. He'd underestimated how much work it was to care for three little ones but the love and joy they brought into his life made it all worth it. He just needed to come up with a schedule to follow that would allow him to accomplish everything.
He was in the middle of the second diaper change of the day when the doorbell rang. Dash took off towards the front door, barking like mad at their visitor and despite how obnoxious all the noise was Gibbs liked the guard dog side of his new pet. A seventy pound black lab with a ferocious bark should deter any troublemakers.
"Dash, leave it," he ordered. He gave the dog a pat on the head for obeying as he opened the door. "Mornin', Allie," he greeted. "Come on in. I was just changing their diapers so they'd be ready for you."
"Good morning," Allie said.
Mason hurried into the entryway when he heard his daddy talking to someone and was delighted to see the lady who'd come over and played with him the previous day. "Hi!"
"Good morning, Mason!" Allie said as she knelt down to his level. "Are you ready to go to the park? We're gonna have lots of fun!"
"Yay!" Mason squealed, dancing around in a circle.
"Me go too," LJ said, digging around in the closet for his tennis shoes.
"Let me get Sadie changed then they'll be ready," Gibbs said. "Sadie, baby, let's take a break from your tea party and get you changed. Allie's here to take you to the park."
"'kay," Sadie answered.
By the time Gibbs was finished changing Sadie's diaper, Allie had both boys' shoes and jackets on. "You have my phone number, right?" Gibbs asked as he got Sadie ready to go.
"Yep," Allie answered. "It's programmed into my phone."
"You know where the park is?"
"One block north, three blocks west. I drove by it on my way here. There's already several kids out playing."
"There's a first aid kit in my trunk. If they need more than Band-Aid, call me."
"I will," Allie said. "We'll be fine. The sun is shining and it's a beautiful day to go to the playground."
"Enjoy it while it lasts," Gibbs said. "It's supposed to rain tomorrow. You guys have fun, behave yourselves and listen to Allie. Allie, I don't mind if you wanna stay longer than the hour we'd planned on but please call me and let me know if you're gonna do that."
"Alright," Allie replied.
Gibbs knelt on the floor and wrapped his arms around his babies. "Give Daddy hugs and kisses."
After they said their goodbyes, Allie got the kids buckled into their car seats and they were off. She sang songs with the kids while she drove to keep them entertained and the kids did all the motions for Itsy Bitsy Spider and Wheels on the Bus and did their best to sing along.
The warm sunshine on their faces and the sight of the other children playing on the playground sparked even more excitement in the Gibbs kids. Allie parked the car and they went as a group to the playground. She pushed Sadie on the toddler swing and watched Mason and LJ run back and forth across the wooden bridge. They all went down the extra wide slide together then Allie helped Mason walk across the balance beam while Sadie and LJ played in the sand. It wasn't long before a few other kids wandered over to meet the newcomers and their caregivers introduced themselves to Allie.
Lisa couldn't believe her luck. Again. For the second time in less than twenty four hours, everything seemed to be lining up perfectly in her favor. She'd stopped at the playground in Gibbs' neighborhood to plot how she was going to get her children back, thinking she'd blend right in with the other families and not only had her children showed up, they'd showed up without Gibbs.
She watched her kids move from the swings to the slide to the bridge to the sandbox, always under the watchful eye of the young woman they'd arrived with. It would be difficult to get them away from her, especially with others around but she was determined. She just needed to get lucky one more time.
As she watched she moved from bench to bench, planning her escape route and inching her way closer and closer to the kids. LJ looked up from the hole he was digging with one of his new friends and smiled when he saw his mommy. Lisa put her finger to her lips, hoping he'd be quiet and LJ just waved at her then went back to what he was doing.
When a little girl at the other end of the park let out an ear piercing scream and everyone turned to look in her direction, Lisa hurried over, grabbed LJ and took off. She really wanted all three kids but she knew the chances of that happening and her escaping were slim to none. Since LJ was the closest to her, she decided to just take him and come back for the others later.
Allie turned around moments later and panicked when she realized LJ wasn't sitting in the sand anymore. She called his name and looked around the playground frantically. When she didn't see him, she grew more and more desperate. A couple of the other parents and caregivers helped her search and the mother of the child LJ was playing with questioned her son who said something about a lady and pointed in the direction LJ had been taken.
Allie wrapped her arms around Mason and Sadie and held them tight, doing her best to calm her breathing as she tried to figure out what to do next. One of the other moms knelt next to her and rested a hand on her back.
"You need to call their dad right now, sweetheart," the woman said. "I'll call 911."
"I can't believe this is happening."
Gibbs had just finished straightening up the first floor of the house when his cell phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID but didn't recognize the number.
"Gibbs."
"Hello, this is Officer Pete Burnham with DC Metro."
"Uh-oh," Gibbs muttered. He didn't have a good feeling about this call.
"Uh-oh is right," Burnham said. "Lisa Keenan escaped sometime between last night and this morning. She was transferred to Washington General after a brawl at the jail and somehow managed to slip by the security guard that was watching her room."
"Any idea how long she's been missing?" Gibbs asked.
"No, we're not sure," Burnham answered. "The nurse gave her some pain meds at 7:30 last night and nobody checked in on her until this morning when the docs were doing their morning rounds. We just finished a sweep of the hospital and confirmed she's not here. We've got BOLOs out and the Captain's working on getting her picture on the news. We just wanted to let you know in case she tries to get a hold of you."
"Thanks," Gibbs said, his mind racing.
Officer Burnham promised to keep Gibbs informed then they hung up. As soon as he got off the phone with DC Metro, his cell phone rang again. A quick glance at the caller ID told him it was Allie calling.
"Hi, Allie."
"Agent Gibbs."
The words came out pained and strangled and Gibbs knew immediately that something was wrong. "What happened?" he asked.
"LJ's gone."
"Gone?!" Gibbs grabbed his coat and car keys and raced out the door.
"I don't know what happened," Allie said. "I turned my back for a couple seconds and he disappeared. I've looked everywhere."
"Where are the other two?"
"They're right here, playing next to me."
"I'm on my way," Gibbs said. "Hang up the phone and call 911. Don't let Mason and Sadie out of your sight."
"Okay."
If it hadn't been for the phone call he'd just received from Officer Burnham, Gibbs would've guessed LJ had just wandered off after a squirrel or to explore the small wooded area near the park but with Lisa on the loose he wasn't taking any chances. That and his gut told him it was more than a curious twenty three month old little boy. He scanned the neighborhood as he hurried to the park and ended up arriving the same time as the police. He made a beeline for Mason and Sadie who were playing under the watchful eye of Allie.
"Tell me what happened," he said, trying to keep the panic out of his voice. He didn't want to scare Mason or Sadie.
"Are you the one who called about the missing kid?" one of the officers asked.
Allie nodded, not knowing who to answer first.
"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to step back," the officer said, waving Gibbs off.
"I'm their father and an NCIS agent," Gibbs explained. There was no way in hell he was going to stand back and watch.
"Alright," the officer said before turning back to Allie. "What happened?"
Leon Vance pulled out the fat sub he'd packed himself for lunch and muted the TV. He could only handle but so much ZNN. He liked a little peace during his lunch break. He raised his sandwich to his mouth and was getting ready to take a bite when his intercom beeped.
"There's a call for you on line one, Director."
"I'm on my lunch break, Pamela," Vance replied.
"I think you're going to want to take this," his secretary replied. "It's about Agent Gibbs."
"Gibbs isn't even here and he's still interrupting me," Vance grumbled to himself as he snatched the phone up. He listened in horror as someone from Alexandria PD updated him on what was unfolding at the park. "What do you need from me?" he asked when the officer had finished.
"With an escaped con on the loose, we'll be calling in the FBI for the missing person case but your agent might need some support."
"Is that a nice way of asking me to send someone over to control him?" Vance asked. He could only imagine the hell Gibbs was raising.
"He's not doing too bad considering the circumstances but I'm guessing he's barely holding it together."
"I'll get someone there as quickly as I can, Detective."
"Appreciate it."
Vance pushed his sub back, stood, grabbed his jacket and headed out of his office. After instructing Pamela to have his driver bring the car around and to hold all calls and cancel his afternoon appointments, he headed down to the bullpen. He looked down from the stairs and saw Gibbs' team playing cards. When he got closer, he realized they were in the middle of a game of blackjack.
"I'm not interrupting, am I?" he asked.
"Nope!" Tony answered. "Just a friendly card game. Worst out of three has to take our case reports up to your office. Of course, since you're down here, technically we could just give them to you."
"Grab your gear, DiNozzo," Vance said, "you're with me. McGee, David, prepare for a visit from the FBI. Have Miss Sciuto do the same. LJ's been kidnapped." He headed for the elevator, leaving all three agents with their eyes wide and their mouths hanging open. He knew they had questions but he didn't have any more information to give them.
The park was a zoo by the time Vance's SUV pulled up with Tony following right behind in the Charger. People were being questioned, cameras and all cell phones with cameras confiscated, the area searched and right in the middle of it all Gibbs appeared to be having a heated conversation with Fornell.
"Looks like we got here just in time," Vance said as he and Tony made their way over to the men.
"Director," Fornell said, obviously surprised to see him and Tony.
"Agent Fornell," Vance greeted.
""Leon, we have to take this case," Gibbs said firmly. He'd been trying to intimidate Fornell into handing the case over but was so far unsuccessful.
"You know I can't take this case from the FBI and you can't be the lead agent on the case," Vance replied.
"This is my son!"
"But," Vance continued, "I can put you and DiNozzo on protection detail." He knew that would give them an opportunity to keep tabs on the case and do a little investigating of their own.
Gibbs didn't like it but he knew it was the best Vance could offer him so he gave a silent nod of acceptance.
"Agent Fornell, I have Agents McGee and David and Miss Sciuto on standby to assist in any way they can," Vance said.
"I think I might take you up on that. Thank you, Director." Fornell could've gotten by without the help but he knew it'd give Gibbs a way to get information and he knew he'd be getting top notch help and maybe, if he was lucky, it would keep Gibbs out of his hair so he could work the case.
"Good," Vance said. "That's settled. Next, we're assuming this was Lisa and she obviously knows where you live, Gibbs. Would you like me to set you up in a safe house? I can send you out to Stone Canyon. You can hole up there for as long as necessary and still keep track of everything that's happening."
"No," Gibbs said. "I'm not leaving home. The kids need stability, they need normalcy. We're staying."
Gibbs' stubbornness came as no surprise to Vance but he wasn't going to push. He turned to DiNozzo and addressed him. "Go home, pack a bag. You're staying at Gibbs' house until this is resolved." He knew Gibbs would need help getting through this and he knew Tony would know how to help him. At that point, it was all he could do to help the team leader.
Lisa looked in the rear view mirror of the car she'd stolen after escaping and panicked when she saw the flashing red and blue lights chasing her down the interstate but to her surprise they stopped before they reached her. She alternated between watching the road and her mirrors and realized the police were setting up a road block, most definitely in search of her and LJ. She'd known her window of opportunity would be small so she'd hurried and apparently made it just in time. She breathed a sigh of relief and let it turn into a smile. She was home free with her prize in the backseat of the car.