Several hours later, Tony and Ziva were back at NCIS. Tony was once again on the phone trying to get ahold of Gibbs and McGee, and once again, he was getting nowhere.
"Tony, they are not going to answer," Ziva said.
Tony slammed the phone down. "I can't just sit here and do nothing, Ziva. There was literally no evidence at Gibbs' house. What the hell are we supposed to do, just sit on our asses?" He wasn't good at this. He wasn't good at sitting by and doing nothing, especially when the people he cared about were in trouble.
"When will Mike Franks be here?" Ziva asked. She figured it couldn't be long. He'd said he was getting the next flight and that had been nearly six hours ago.
"Ask and you shall receive, my dear," A gruff voice said from behind them.
They both turned to see Mike there and they immediately stood up. "Mike, hey. We're glad you're here," Tony said.
"Any word?" Mike asked.
Ziva and Tony both shook their heads.
"Fill me in on everything. I want every single detail from the minute this crap started," Mike said.
Tony quickly briefed Mike. He told him everything from the moment they found out McGee was being followed to when they left last night.
"What did the texts say exactly?" Mike asked as he sat down in Gibbs' chair.
"That McGee and someone else were bait for the, quote, bitches. They were gonna kill McGee in hopes that his wife would come to avenge him," Tony said.
"And you assume that this someone else that was mentioned was Gibbs?" Mike asked.
"Yeah. We found pictures of him in Garcia's house just like the ones found of McGee. What we can't seem to figure out is a connection between the two. I mean, obviously the Reynosa Cartel is a connection for Gibbs, but I have to think that the thing with McGee's family and Gibbs is connected," Tony said.
"But the question is how. Gibbs never met McGee's wife or mother-in-law. They were gone before McGee even met Gibbs," Ziva said.
"Tell me you people have at least started looking for these women. If anyone can tell us the connection, it's them," Mike said.
"Yeah, they're Sharon and Kelsey Gilbert. Kelsey is the one McGee's married to. We're looking for them, but so far we haven't found anything other than from the time McGee told us about. A Kelsey Gilbert did work at a computer company from 2000 to 2002. That's when she took off. There's no trace of her or her mother before or after that. It's like she doesn't exist," Tony said.
"She probably doesn't," Mike said.
"You think they were aliases?" Tony asked.
"Think about it, Probie. These women are being targeted by the Reynosa Cartel, one of the most dangerous groups in Mexico. They can't just go on living their lives as themselves and expect to survive," Mike said.
"Well, this still leaves us nowhere. We don't know where they are and we don't know where Gibbs and McGee are," Tony said.
"What'd you find at Gibbs' place?" Mike asked.
"Nothing. Gibbs' car was in the driveway and his keys were on the table. That was all. There was no struggle or even any sign that anyone besides Gibbs and McGee were there. Hell, there's barely a sign that they were there. We think they cornered McGee while he was alone and knocked him out. Then persuaded Gibbs to go with them by threatening McGee," Tony explained.
"No way in hell," Mike said right away. There was no way these idiots got that kind of upper hand on Gibbs, and if by some chance they did, there's no way he would've left without leaving some kind of evidence behind.
"He would've gone to save McGee," Ziva said.
Mike shook his head. "He would've known that it wouldn't have saved him. Besides, even if he was stupid enough to go, he would've left something behind. He would've found a way."
"Well, then what do you think happened?" Tony asked.
Mike thought for a minute. Honestly, he had no idea what could've happened. He tried to get into the mind of his probie, but he couldn't think of any reason for the man to willingly leave his place without his car and turn his phone off. Still, there had to be an explanation, one that didn't involve him willingly going with drug dealers because that just wasn't possible.
"God, why didn't I just check the GPS after the first time I called?" Tony asked kicking himself. If he'd just done that, they might have found them before the phones were turned off.
"Wait, you got through the first time? Why the hell didn't you tell me that?" Mike asked irritably.
"I didn't think it mattered," Tony said.
Mike got up and went over to Tony. He then promptly wacked him upside the head.
Tony winced. That one had been really hard, harder than any of Gibbs'. He was suddenly very glad he never worked for Mike Franks. He might have brain damage by now.
"Of course it matters, moron! Everything matters. It means he shut the phone off himself," Mike said annoyed.
"Not necessarily. They could've shut it off when they heard it ring," Tony said.
"That makes no sense. That would be stupid and the Reynosa Cartel would not be around today if they were that stupid. They would've gotten rid of those phones the minute they got their hands on Probie and McGee.
"But why would they shut their phones off. I do not think Gibbs would even know how," Ziva said. It was no secret that Gibbs and technology didn't work well with each other. He still went through about five phones a month.
"McGee does though. But you're right, it doesn't make sense that they would shut them off. Unless maybe they're hiding. Maybe they got wind of someone at the house and had to get out on in a hurry," Tony said.
"Gibbs does not hide. He would confront the people after him," Ziva said.
"Unless they were surrounded. Maybe they had to get out quick and felt safer on foot. It makes a lot less noise than to drive. And shutting their phones off keeps them form possibly being tracked by the Cartel. Though why they'd wait all night to do it and why they haven't tried to contact us doesn't make sense," Tony said.
"Nothing makes sense," Ziva said.
"You guys checked Gibbs' place, but did you check McGee's?" Mike asked.
"No. McGee hasn't been back to his place since we found out there was a threat on his life. Gibbs insisted he go home with him until it was over," Tony said.
"Doesn't mean there's not something there that can help us figure out what the hell is going on. If these bastards went to Gibbs', it's likely they went there too," Mike said before he started for the elevator. After realizing the others weren't following him, he turned around to glare at them. "What the hell are you lot waiting for? Get your asses in gear!"
Tony and Ziva immediately scrambled out of their chairs and grabbed their gear.
"Is he our boss now?" Ziva asked quietly.
"It seems so. I miss Gibbs," Tony said as they both followed Mike to the elevator.