Hello everyone. I know. I know. It has been –forever- since we have updated this story. And we apologize. It took us awhile to figure out where we were going to go with this chapter and then we had to rewrite it when the original copy of it had been deleted by accident. But here finally is the next chapter. Thank you for waiting in there with us and we hope you enjoy the chapter.
Tim had kind of a bad feeling as he drove away from the school that day. Something just wasn't right; maybe he was starting to pick up the gut from Gibbs. He parked in his usual spot and made his way up through the elevator. He made his way to his desk, but nobody seemed to be around. He hadn't gotten much sleep the night before, so the man sat in his chair and put his head on his arms on his desk. It wasn't like he had never slept here before.
Kevin Henderson was just informed that Kayleigh McGee was not at school but he had seen her outside earlier. He had checked outside on the play ground before he went into his office to call her father. He figured that maybe he had forgotten that she had an appointment and came to pick her up or something. He looked up the number and dialled the number waiting for Agent McGee to pick up he just wanted to be sure that is what had happened.
Tim jumped a bit when his phone rang. Had Gibbs' telekinetic powers told him that someone was slacking off? He sure hoped not, the man had very understood with all of this. He picked up his phone quickly "Agent McGee" He answered and fired up his computer, trying to act like he had been doing something all along.
"Agent McGee, this is Kevin Henderson. I was calling to check in on Kayleigh since she didn't show up in class today. Is she sick today?" He asked the man as he leaned back in his chair a little.
Tim's heart skipped a beat when he heard the all too familiar principal on the other end of the phone. What had she done this time? But when the man announced she hadn't shown up for class the Agent couldn't believe it. Sure Kayleigh wasn't the best kid he could ask for sometimes, but skipping class? He didn't believe it. "I dropped her off myself about a half an hour ago actually." Tim answered quietly. He had to get there, and fast. "I will be right there" He told the other man and hung up, knowing he could get more details in person. This wasn't happening. The agent put his head in his hands gently with a sigh.
At that mention the Principal knew that something wasn't right. Sure Kayleigh could be a bit of a handful at times but in the couple years that she had been going to that school only once did she not come to school and that is when she had been sick so he knew that this meant that the girl had been taken from the school by someone that her father didn't know. "Okay. I will see if maybe she is hiding somewhere in the school." He said so that the man would not worry too much and that he wouldn't get into an accident on the way to the school.
Tim gathered himself together enough to get out of his seat. Sure things looked bad, but for all he knew it was like the principal said. The school was a pretty big place to play hide and seek though. The agent made his way over to the elevator and pushed the down button, wishing a bit that he didn't have to go through this alone. Even Tony would be good company right about now.
Ziva had just come into the building and had gotten on the elevator when it got up to the bullpen she was about to walk out when Tim was about to get on she took one look at him and knew something was not right. "Tim? Where are you going?" She asked him tilting her head a little.
Tim watched the elevator open to reveal Ziva. Sure he sucked at lying, but how could you tell your girlfriend that you lost track of your own daughter. "J-J-Just out for coffee. Did you need a refill on your tea?" He asked softly, feeling about ready to cry. He knew he couldn't keep up this lie for long though. He got in and pressed the ground floor before slumping against the wall of the elevator. "I dropped Kayleigh off at school this morning, but she never showed up for class. It's not like her to skip Ziva, she seems to like school. What do I do?" Tim asked shakily.
Ziva looked at him and listened to the bullshit about getting coffee she was about to call him on it when he walked into the elevator and told her where he really was going. Her eyes widened when he said that Kayleigh wasn't at school after he had dropped her off. "Maybe she did not want to go to class maybe she misses her mother. She is probably just hiding somewhere in the school." She told him. She wondered if that could be true but she had a bad feeling that there was something else going on. "You have to relax Tim. Until you know for sure she is not at the school you cannot panic." She told him as the elevator ended on the ground floor. She took his hand and pulled him gently towards her car. "I am going to go with you and I will drive." She said. She was not going to let him drive when he was as shaky as he was.
Tim watched Ziva's face and knew she wasn't about to believe him. He barely believed himself. When he told her the truth she said the same thing the principal did about her hiding around the school. They didn't know until they checked did they? He nodded and squeezed her hand when she took his and lead him out of the building. Normally he would protest to her driving, but they were in a hurry so he just nodded and got in the other side. "Thanks for being here for me" He said softly.
Ziva nodded and smiles softly. "Of course Tim, I am always here for you." She told him as she got into the car and started it up. She drove towards the school hoping that she was right and that Kayleigh was hiding somewhere. When they got to the school she parked and got out of the car and waited for Tim to lead the way to the office.
Tim got out of the car and joined Ziva, taking her hand gently. Elementary schools could be like a maze, and he had never fully been shown around this one, but he could find the office just fine. He pushed the door to the lobby open and took a seat, just in case the principal was in with someone else at the moment. His child might not be the only one lost.
When they got to the office Ziva let Tim sit. She told the woman who was sitting at the desk up front who they were.
When the Principal was informed that Tim McGee was there he went out into the lobby. "Agent McGee. You can come in now." He said as his attention went to the young woman.
Ziva spoke. "My name is Agent David. I am one of Tim's coworkers." She told him.
He nodded and told her that she could join them as well.
Ziva looked at Tim and waited for him to get up and follow the Principal.
Tim kind of zoned out going through the different possibilities. It could have been that Ziva and the principal were right about her hiding somewhere because she missed her mother. It could also, though, have been that she was kidnapped and he would never see her again. He came back to reality when the principal invited Ziva in with them. He was thankful for that. He didn't think he could do this alone. He followed the other man and took a seat in one of the chairs across from his desk.
Ziva sat down in the other seat next to Tim as the Principal sat down in his seat.
"Agent McGee, after I called you I had a couple staff members help me search the entire school and I'm sorry to have to say that we could not locate her. After searching I pulled up the camera that we have set on the play ground and on the parking lot. It looked like there is a man who is speaking to her but we cannot see his face and then the parking lot shows her getting into his car. We have notified the police and they are on route. Don't worry Agent McGee we are going to find her."
As the man spoke Ziva's heart started beating faster she took Tim's hand and squeezed it as she knew this was not something that he was going to be happy to hear and she wanted him to know that she was here for him. "Tim. You put a tracking device on her shoe after she ran away when you first got her yes?" She asked him looking at him. "We could find her though that?" She asked him.
Tim looked hopefully up at the man on the other side of the desk. He didn't want to take teachers away from their other duties around the school. But his heart sank when he heard they had no luck and of the fact they reviewed the tapes, showing her getting into a stranger's car. Hadn't she been taught better than that? He felt partially responsible for not being there to teach it to her himself. "Thank you for trying." He said to the principal before turning to Ziva again. She was right though, he had just been so preoccupied he had forgotten. "I knew there was a reason I liked you" He said to the girl beside him.
The principal nodded when he was thanked for trying. He had only wished he could have done more to keep this from happening in the first place.
Ziva smiled a little when he told her he knew that there was a reason he liked her. "We do not necessarily need the police involvement. She is the daughter of a NCIS agent I do believe that makes it NCIS jurisdiction. Yes?" She asked Tim wanting to make sure that she was corrected before the police showed up. She knew Tim would feel better if Gibbs was on the case because she knew Gibbs would not rest till she was found.
Tim nodded a bit when Ziva reminded him this would be NCIS jurisdiction because it was the child of a NCIS agent. The local Leo's weren't bad, don't get him wrong, but he would like to have more involvement himself if it was a NCIS case. "Thank you for all your help, but I think we can take it from here" Tim said to the principal as he got up and waited for Ziva to join him.
Ziva got up but before she left she turned to the Principal. "Do you think we could get a copy of those videos you have from today? Maybe we can idea the man who took her." She asked the Principal.
"I'm sorry but I can't give it to you without a warrant." He told her.
"Do you really think we will have a problem getting one? Do you really want to take the chance of the school board getting sued for not keeping a better eye on the people who run their school?" She asked in a low voice.
The Principal raised his eyebrow before opening his top drawer and handing her the tapes.
Ziva took the tapes and thanked them as she took Tim's hand and made her way out of the office.