Thanks to my wonderful beta Kristen! And to everyone who's reviewed/been reading so far. It's starting to come to an end now...

Chapter 10: Into the Fire

Gibbs stood in the tiny bathroom, trying to work out where Jasper had gotten to.

He had shown his agents out of the door a few minutes ago, after they had seen for themselves that Jenny was not present. He honestly had no idea where she was, and was relying on Lily having found her. Which, considering how alike they were, had almost certainly occurred.

He had fought back the urge to tell Ziva what was going on. Part of him was tempted to ask her to help him hunt the sisters down, while another part reminded him that he didn't have a clue as to where they might be. He didn't fancy searching every bar and club in Kardamena, and definitely didn't want to end up facing two women, who, by now, were probably extremely drunk.

Even if they were in trouble, he was sure that a CIA agent and a director of an armed federal agency, who had been an excellent agent herself back in the day, were capable of getting themselves out of it. Especially as they had worked together before and were pretty much unstoppable.

Yes, Lily and Jenny were fine, wherever they were. Or, if not fine, drunk.

He had a sudden terrifying image of the pair of them showing up at his door, so drunk they could hardly stand, and squashed it. He had never seen Lily drunk, but he knew Jenny tended to lose her inhibitions and presumed it would be the same for her sister. The last thing he needed was an angry Lily with fewer inhibitions than usual. He wasn't sure he'd survive.

He glanced around the bathroom again. Jasper was not behind the shower curtain, which was pulled back anyway. But there was nowhere else to hide…

His eyes caught the little window above the sink. It was far too big for an adult. But a small boy? One who felt his life might be in danger?

Gibbs reached up and pushed the window open. It didn't make a sound. Realizing that there was no way he could see out of it, but knowing there was a small roof the other side, he decided to call out.

"Jasper?" he hissed. "They've gone."

A scrabbling sound came from outside. Then, a whispered reply. "Prove it."

"Come back in and you can see for yourself."

There was a moment of silence. "Say something that proves it's clear."

Gibbs understood what the boy was asking for. If it was not a trap, he was supposed to give a coded phrase. He tried to think of something that he would not say under duress, something the boy would know.

The scrabbling came again. This time, Jasper was trying to move away from the window.

"Steak au poivre." He called the first phrase that came into his head.

To his surprise, the scrabbling came closer and Jasper stuck his head back through the window.

"Wasn't expecting that," Gibbs muttered under his breath.

Jasper swung the rucksack through the window before climbing back through. "What's going on?" he asked.

"I'm not sure," Gibbs told him.

Jenny struggled frantically against the pipe. She knew she couldn't pick the handcuffs without some sort of pin, and the pipe wasn't the strongest in the room.

Her sense of urgency was heightened when she had realized that the boat really was sinking. Fast. And if she couldn't get out, she was going with it.

Her main hope was for Lily to come back. Deep down, she wished that her sister would just get out, keep herself safe and not worry about her. However, judging from the fact that something had exploded and was causing the boat to sink, she had a funny feeling that Lily was behind it.

Distraction techniques were some of Lily's favorites. Any sort of mind game and she would leap at it. She had a habit of doing things that no one expected, which was great in a CIA agent. And she kept things close to her chest. Jenny had tried her sister's techniques, but to less spectacular ends.

Her heart skipped a beat as the door crashed open. Lily stood momentarily in the frame; a handgun fitted with a silencer in her left hand, her right hand clutching something.

She rushed across the room with surprising speed. "Everything okay?" she asked.

"I've been better. What on earth did you do?"

"I'll explain later." Lily opened her hand to reveal the key to Jenny's handcuffs. "We need to get out of here, fast."

Twenty seconds later, Jenny was rubbing her wrists. "You took your time," she complained.

"Had to get out of a locked room, figure out a way to get us out of here, hide for a short while, get hold of a gun and a silencer, and take out half the crew who tried to prevent me from getting here. How long would it have taken you?"

Jenny ignored the barb and raced out of the room, stopping short when she saw a dead body just outside the room. "You shot half the crew?" she inquired.

"I shot some of them." Lily's voice was calm as she approached, stepping over the body and heading towards the cargo hold. "This way."

They ran through the passageway in silence. The boat was now starting to tip over; Jenny wondered exactly what her sister had done. After coming across more corpses, they finally reached the cargo hold, and Jenny froze.

There was a large hole the other side of the room. It had breached the hull and water was pouring through it. She briefly speculated how long the boat would stay on the surface for, and realized with a jolt that they didn't have long.

Lily grabbed Jenny's arm and pointed to a door in one of the walls. "It leads to the main deck," she shouted over the horrendous noise of the water. "I can almost guarantee a few guards. I'll go first, you follow. Dive into the water and swim for it."

"I'm not swimming," she protested, but Lily was already pushing her towards the door.

"I'll cover you. And I promise to follow. Keep swimming away from the dock."

Jenny groaned but acquiesced. Lily kicked the door open and fired a few rounds while Jenny jumped. Pushing off from the hull, she began to swim.

After what felt like days, but was probably a couple of hours, Jenny began to tread water. Lily completed a few more strokes before joining her. Together, they looked back towards the island.

Kos Town was still slightly visible, if only by the sheer number of blue lights indicating emergency vehicles. The boat had probably sunk ages ago, but the explosion had been big and loud enough to attract some serious attention.

The water was not freezing, but the sisters were dressed for a warm sunny day and were starting to feel the cold. Their swimming had been keeping them warm.

"New plan?" Jenny asked.

"Keep going."

"What?!"

"We must have swum two miles. Bodrum is only another mile away."

"You knew? You knew when you came up with this crazy plan that it involved us swimming all the way to Bodrum?"

"No, my original plan involved us getting back to the hotel to pick up my son. Then, it changed to getting us off that boat and towards Turkey. I was hoping to steal a motorboat, if you must know. Now, we might as well keep swimming."

Jenny glared at her.

"I have to meet my informant tomorrow. And I know a few people who can put us up for what's left of the night."

"Why did I agree to come on this trip anyway?"

"You wanted answers. You were right; your Petty Officer was murdered. I heard two of the gunmen talking about it."

"Please tell me you kept them alive?"

"They were in my way," Lily shrugged. "If I'd kept them alive, I would have had to leave you behind."

Jenny froze as another thought occurred to her. "There aren't sharks in these waters, are there?"

Lily laughed. "I hope not."

Ziva ate her breakfast in silence, ignoring the bickering between her teammates. She had stayed awake all night, waiting for Jenny to return. Nothing. Tony and McGee didn't seem as bothered as she was, mainly because they thought they had seen Jenny yesterday afternoon.

But they had seen Lily instead. So where was Jenny? And why hadn't she made it back?

She glanced up when Gibbs entered the room, followed by a little boy. It took her a second to place him…

"Jasper?" Tony called, shocked.

Gibbs walked over to the table and poured himself a mug of coffee. "Found him wandering outside," he told them.

Ziva saw through the lie, but the others didn't. "What are you doing here?" she asked the child.

"I'm on vacation," he smiled.

"With whom?"

"My mom."

"Where is your mom?"

"I don't know."

Gibbs interrupted. "He seems to have got lost. I've talked to the manager and he's staying with us for the moment."

McGee went back to devouring his toast. Tony continued to stare at the boy, still trying to place him. Her partner had been under the impression that he had seen Jasper somewhere before, but had never figured out where. Personally, she thought it was all in his mind.

Ziva looked at Gibbs again. Underneath his cool demeanor, he appeared concerned. Jenny definitely hadn't shown up then. And he had no clue as to where she was.

"What are we doing today, boss?" Tony queried.

"Jasper, what do you want to do?" Gibbs deftly turned the question around.

The boy looked solemnly at him. "I want to go to Bodrum."

"But that's in Turkey," Tony complained.

"We could get the bus," McGee pointed out. "And hire a boat in Kos Town. It's only three miles across the sea and Gibbs can sail."

"Do you not get seasick, McGee?" Ziva checked.

He paled at the thought. "Oh yeah."

"Boss, do we have to go?" Tony whined.

"If Jasper wants to go to Bodrum, we're going to Bodrum," came the reply.