The guys were wheels up out of Andrews and on their way to Montreal by 2:30 AM. Tim and Tony were asleep, it seemed, before the plane even took off. Gibbs couldn't blame them. They'd been working without a break for close to 24 hours. They needed the rest and the two hour flight would give them that.

He knew Callie had been devastated that she'd been left behind. Gibbs wasn't completely sure why he had made that call. Part of him knew that Callie really wasn't a 100 percent. She needed an opportunity to rest and get better but, deep down, he knew she wouldn't do what was needed. A part of him wanted the separation between her and McGee. Gibbs had been taken aback by the Agent's attack on Harris. He had wanted to stop Tim but knew he needed a chance to vent. Callie could take it. He knew that about her. And, if Gibbs were truly honest with himself, he would admit that McGee had put a voice to thoughts he himself had. Callie should have protected Abby better but Gibbs knew, realistically, the Field Agent had done everything she humanly could. The fact that Abby was alive gave credence to that.

The main reason, he argued with himself, that he had left Callie behind was that she would continue to work Abby's abduction. Hopefully, this trip to Montreal would get them their favorite Goth back but Gibbs wasn't counting on it. Callie was one of the best he'd ever known at getting intel, developing strategy and formulating plans. Harris was his ace in the hole. That, coupled with the fact that she felt guilty enough about losing Abby, would mean she wouldn't rest until she knew exactly where the lab tech was.

Gibbs didn't remember falling asleep. He jumped when his senior field agent touched his shoulder, "We're here, Boss."

Scrubbing his face with his hands, Gibbs stood and stretched. It was still dark outside as they deplaned.

A tall man in uniform approached the group, "Agent Gibbs?" he asked.

Gibbs flashed his badge, "That's me."

"I'm Captain Normand Lalonde of Surete du Quebec. I'm here to assist you."

Tony asked, "Surety do what? Where are the Mounties?"

The Captain smiled, "Loosely translated, it means Quebec Security. In this province, we are the equivalent of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police."

"Very well, Captain. How do you want to handle this?"

"I am comfortable with your taking the lead, to a point, Agent Gibbs. If it was one of my people, I wouldn't like the locals telling me how to run my investigation. If your lab tech's at the site, it'll be all yours. If she's not, we'll take the lead and give you 100% access."

Gibbs shook his head, "That's more than fair, Captain. You have my thanks."

"Don't mention it. You may have to return the favor someday." He turned and motioned behind him. "We have an official car for your use. It'll be daylight in another fifteen minutes. If you'll just follow that van?" And he pointed to a plain, white panel van, parked next to the dark sedan.

Through the open side door, Gibbs could see about another 7 or 8 officers talking and drinking coffee. He turned back to Captain Lalonde, "How long's our drive?"

"About another hour to hour and a half. We'll go with sirens until we reach Baie-Comeau and then we'll go quiet the rest of the way to the cabin."

"Let's move." And Gibbs led his agents to the vehicle. Tony took the wheel and they were off to, hopefully, rescue Abby.

During this investigation, time had not proven to be their ally. It was still the case. They had reached the cabin outside Baie-Comeau around 7 am. By 8, they knew Abby and Voslova had been there but were already gone again.

True to his word, Captain Lalonde had allowed the American agents to take the point. With Tony at the back and Tim and Gibbs at the front, the Canadians had circled the perimeter and followed the lead of NCIS. Entering the cabin, they found two more of Voslova's men dead. They had been executed in the same manner as the ones back in the warehouse in D.C. The one piece of good news they had was this: Tim had found one of Abby's spike bracelets stuck in a table. It had been hidden in such a way that it wasn't obvious on the first glance. McGee had recognized it instantly. At least they knew they were on the right track.

Captain Lalonde joined the older agent, "My medical examiner estimates they've been dead around two hours, probably just about the time you landed in Montreal."

Gibbs nodded, "Captain, if you'll send your information to my agency, I would appreciate it. Also, I believe you'll find the ballistics from those men will match what we found at our crime scene."

"Very well. We'll send our results to your lab for comparison. You'll have my reports as soon as possible, Agent Gibbs. I'm sorry we weren't able to get here quicker."

Gibbs thanked the officer and joined his two agents.

"How does he know, Boss? How is he able to stay ahead of us like this?" McGee asked in frustration.

Tony answered for Gibbs, "Tim, he's got a huge lead on us time wise. But, we're obviously getting closer."

"Yeah, but where now? Where's he taken her?" McGee continued.

Again, Tony answered for Gibbs, "With a little luck, Callie will that have information for us."

McGee rounded on his partner and spat, "Callie? It was your precious Callie that got Abby in this mess in the first place. If she'd done her job right, we wouldn't be here."

Gibbs slapped McGee in the back of the head, "That's enough, McGee. You're seriously underestimating Abby. She's alive and leaving us bread crumbs. Whatever bargain she made for Callie's life has insured her own as well. Abby's smart. If she senses she's in danger, she will come up with someway to protect herself. In the mean time, we'll figure out where this asshole's taken her. Callie's the best person for that job."

"But, Boss…"

Gibbs cut McGee off by stepping into his personal space, "McGee! If Abby hadn't done what she did we would have already found her. It would have been four bodies in that warehouse, all dead. Do you understand?"

Tim blinked as the realization dawned. By saving Callie, Abby had preserved herself. "Yes, Boss. It won't happen again."

Gibbs nodded, "Go give Captain Lalonde all the contact information."

"On it, Boss," McGee responded and hurried off.

Tony had been standing to the side listening to the exchange. Gibbs finally turned on him, "Get Callie on the phone."

"Uh, Boss?"

"What?"

"I've already tried three times. Once when we landed in Montreal and twice since we've been here." DiNozzo explained.

"Call the office."

"I did. Ducky hasn't seen her since around two this morning. She's definitely got her new phone because Palmer gave that to her."

Gibbs took a frustrated breath, "Her apartment?"

"Yeah. And mine, too. I've tried email, instant messaging, everything. She's not responding."

"So help me, when I get these two back to NCIS, I'm putting prisoner tracking devices on both of them. I've had it."

Tony wanted to smile but he knew better.

"Okay," Gibbs continued, "Get McGee. I've got us a couple of rooms in Montreal. We'll catch a few hours rest and, by that time, Special Agent Harris better have checked in or she'll be looking for a new job."

Tony nodded and went to fetch McGee. Gibbs pulled out his own cell and quickly dialed Callie's number. Just like Tony, it went straight to voice mail. She better have a damn good explanation was Gibbs thought as he slammed the phone shut and went to join the other two agents for the drive back.