"Unless he just suddenly had a total mental breakdown, we are going with the obvious; the bombing. We are looking as deep as we can get into his personal life to see if there was someone important to him who died or was seriously injured."

"It was my car…" Leon still struggled with the concept that his car had the bomb in it. And in many ways, he still blamed himself for the explosion. If he blamed himself, then why shouldn't every employee at NCIS blame his as well?

Vignette Nine: "Hello, Goodbye"- Part Seven

"So what is his endgame, an eye for an eye? In which case, my wife is already dead. Have we received any ransom calls?" Fornell shook his head no.

"And if your wife still has her cell phone, it is not turned on. Efforts to locate her by the GPS signal on her phone have been negative."

"So we have no idea where he could possibly be, or where he could have taken my wife?"

"We had agents stay at the first Safe House, in case he showed up there. So far there has been no sign of him."

"So we know who, probably why, but aren't any closer to getting this taken care of." Vance summed up the situation as it currently stood.

"Agent Gibbs and his team are working around the clock to find out everything they can about this Agent, including who may have been the victim who instigated this attack."

"We can use your help, Vance; but only in the background, not at NCIS. You are still too close to this, so you will not be calling any shots."

"But I welcome your expertise and can use you in a consultant capacity, especially regarding your wife."

Fornell hesitated only slightly. "Do you think she will try to escape or do anything that could further jeopardize her safety?"

Vance smiled grimly. "I guess it depends on where she is, and whether or not she is free to move around or tied up or locked up somewhere."

"Jackie is a fighter and if Agent Patrick threatened our children in any way, she can be a Mama Bear."

Fornell allowed himself a small smile. "Well, that could work to our advantage, but it could also work against her."

"I hope, for her sake, she thinks before she acts, if she does decide to do something on her own."

Maryland Shock Trauma

Tony was gone for almost an hour before he returned to Ziva's room. She looked at his face, trying to read his mood.

He sat down in his chair and took her hand. "How bad was it?" Ziva whispered, wincing.

"Don't talk. Oh, he went off. 'Rule No. Twelve;' blah, blah, blah. I told him I was not listening to that crap and there wasn't anything he could say to change my mind."

"I told him if he didn't like us being together, he would have to split the team." Ziva's eyes got huge at that and begged the question.

Tony shook his head and kissed her hand. "He said he hadn't decided yet, but I don't think he will."

"He then gave me some updates, which I am not going to share with you, because there is nothing you can do about it and I want you to rest and heal."

Ziva looked frustrated, but knew Tony was right. There was absolutely nothing she could do right now.

But he could. She pointed at him, and croaked out. "You go…" Tony smiled, knowing she was telling him to get back to work, but he shook his head.

"You are my assignment, which I would have insisted on anyway. I am, as Gibbs put it, a 'biased agent', and he can't have me working this case."

Ziva looked confused. "Biased?" She mouthed the word.

Tony rubbed his face, noticing for the first time the days' plus growth of beard. "I am not overly concerned at the moment regarding the welfare of Mrs. Vance or Director Vance for that matter."

"I certainly don't want anything to happen to their kids, but let's just say I'm not highly motivated to doing everything I can to save Mrs. Vance's life."

Ziva' eyes watered, understanding what Tony was saying and why he was saying it. Tony's eyes also started to water. "She could have killed you, Ziva. She killed our child."

"I don't care whether it was intentional or if she was coerced, which is what they are saying now."

"She didn't have to shoot you, or at least she didn't have to shoot you twice."

Ziva gripped Tony's hand hard. He leaned his head down so he was next to her.

"I wish you didn't have all these gadgets and gizmos. There's nothing more I want to do right now than hold you in my arms."

He lifted her oxygen mask and gently kissed her lips, then put it back down. "You are stuck with me, David, whether you like it or not."

Ziva smiled at that, sounding more like the Tony she fell in love with.

Fauquier County, Virginia

Jackie Vance watched her captor, trying to understand his ramblings. He was clearly not in his right mind.

She knew if she said the wrong thing, it could put him over the edge. But she couldn't just sit there, helpless.

Leon would expect her to fight. Besides, as far as she was concerned, her life was over anyway.

"Uh, excuse me, Agent Patrick? I really need to use the ladies room. I don't know if there is a bathroom here, but please, I really need to…"

Agent Patrick turned toward her, his gun in his hand. "Go to the bathroom? Go to the bathroom! Cindy is dead and you want to go to the bathroom?"

He pointed his gun at her, shaking. "Oh, I am so sorry, Agent Patrick. I didn't hear the news about Cindy. What happened?"

Eric Patrick began pacing. "Your husband is what happened! If he hadn't wanted that stupid report, she wouldn't have been up there! She would have been just fine, just like the rest of her office."

Jackie figured out quickly that Cindy had been killed in the bomb explosion in May, and she assumed by the way Agent Patrick was acting that she had been his girlfriend or a relative.

"You must have loved her very much."

Agent Patrick stopped and looked at Mrs. Vance. To her surprise, he sat on the floor in front of her. "We were talking about getting married; we were going to have kids…"

Jackie thought quickly, trying to keep him in a contemplative mood rather than one of anger. "Tell me about her." She asked quietly.

Eric Patrick's face lit up. "Oh, she was the most beautiful girl I had even seen. Beautiful face, deep blue eyes."

"And smart; she was so smart! Well, she wouldn't be working in finance if she wasn't."

"I'll bet everyone liked her." Jackie encouraged.

Patrick nodded emphatically. "Oh, yeah. She was so popular with all of her co-workers. Everyone didn't just like her; they loved her."

Jackie leaned forward as far as she could and looked deeply into Eric Patrick's eyes. "I am so sorry for your loss. Do you have something to write with?"

"I would like to write down her name, so we can make a donation in her honor and memory. And of'course in your honor as well."

Agent Patrick stood up and slapped at his coat. "I have a pen, but no paper." Jackie smiled sympathetically.

"I think I have some paper in my purse. If you will let me have it, I can write it down real quick."

Agent Patrick looked confused for a moment. "Are you trying to trick me?"

Jackie Vance looked surprised. "Oh no, absolutely not. I've lost people I've loved as well. I know how it hurts. I really just want to write down her name so we can make that donation."

"Well, I guess that would be ok." Eric Patrick looked around, and located her purse and handed it to her.

Jackie could tell that this Agent Patrick was not in his right mind. The death of his girlfriend had sent him over the edge.

Agent Patrick thought about how things had gone so wrong. Somehow, he had managed to go through the motions of daily life.

No one was the wiser of the strange ramblings in his head; of the words that kept telling him he needed to avenge her death.

He knew he was smarter than most of the other agents, especially that DiNozzo character.

He once tried to engage him in a conversation and he looked right through him.

Rich boy; thought he was so superior to everyone else. He wished he had been the one to come back into the house, and not Agent David.

Until he met Cindy, he had been attracted to her, but she was dating some guy from the CIA or something. But he still liked her.

If things hadn't worked out with him and Cindy, he would have pursued Ziva again, since she broke it off with that other guy.

Jackie watched him closely, almost seeing the wheels turning in his head. From what conversation they had, she could see that he could be easily distracted.

She just hoped she could keep it up. She truly did feel terrible that he lost his girlfriend, and was honest to him about her concern and sympathy.

She hoped she could get him on her side. There was no way she was going to let this young, disturbed Agent anywhere near her children, no matter how bad she felt about his loss.

"Uh…" Jackie lifted her hands, showing them tied at the wrist. "Oh, yeah." Patrick said. "Are you right handed or left handed?"

"Right handed." Jackie said, smiling at him brightly.

"Ok, well, I know you can't run anywhere." He untied her right arm. Jackie shook it out to get the blood flowing again.

Again smiling, she thanked him profusely for his kindness and gratefully took her purse, making a big deal about rummaging around one handed looking for something to write on.

"I know I keep a pad of paper in here, just for things like this!" Keeping her eye on the Agent, she felt for her cell phone and quickly turned it on and turned the volume off. She then realized the gun was still in her purse.

Watching Patrick carefully, she slipped the gun from her purse and slipped it under her pants waist band.

"Here we go!" She said brightly, holding up a sticky note pad. "Never leave home without them!"

She held out her hand. Patrick looked confused. "Your pen?"

"Oh, yeah. Sorry." He handed it over to her.

"Ok…" Jackie began. "Her named was Cindy…"

"Cynthia, Cynthia Collier. She worked in the Finance Department."

"Great. Cynthia Collier, Finance. Do you know if she had a favorite charity?"

Agent Patrick looked stumped at that. "Well, we were going to have kids, so maybe something to do with military families and children."

"I think that is an absolutely wonderful idea. I am sure she would be very proud of you for thinking of it."

Agent Patrick stood tall at that and puffed out his chest.

Jackie wracked her mind to keep his pride inflated. "Maybe we can even look into starting a Foundation in her name, to help those who have also suffered loss."

Agent Patrick looked excited and sat down again in front of her. "You know, I thought of something like that, too! 'The Cynthia Collier Foundation for Victims of Acts of Terrorism.' That's sounds pretty good, doesn't it?"

"I think it sounds like a wonderful name, and I would be honored to serve on the Board of Directors. Of'course, you would have a big hand in the running of this foundation." Jackie kept writing for a while.

She let him sit and think about that for a while. "Uh, can I borrow some of your sticky notes? I have some ideas I want to right down before I forget them."

Jackie Vance handed her captor her pad of sticky notes and returned his pen. "Of'course, I think that is very smart of you. Don't want to leave out any great ideas!"

He smiled proudly, put his gun down on the floor in front of him, and bent over and began writing furiously.

NCIS

Gibbs was on his way down to see Abby when his cell rang. "Dammit." He cursed quietly to himself. He went behind the stairs that led up to the Director's office.

"Director, I apologize for not getting back to you sooner regarding Ziva's condition. As you can imagine, we have been working non-stop."

"And yet you still have not found Mrs. Vance." It was not a statement, it was an insult.

"Director David, is there a reason for your call, other than to tell us how inept we are at doing our jobs?"

"I have spoken to Leon. You have removed him from office." Eli spat.

"I assure you I have done no such thing, although I do believe it is none of your business. Leon chose to step aside as he is too close to the situation and needs to be with his children."

"Hmmph! That is what he said to me." Eli grumbled.

"And you don't believe him? Well, that's your problem. Unless you have any interest in the condition of your daughter, I am too busy to continue this call, and I will not discuss this case with you."

Eli chuckled. "Eli was right to have you step in as Interim Director. You say nothing, just as the others."

Gibbs sighed. "You have five seconds to ask about Ziva, otherwise I am hanging up. Five, four, three, two…"

"Agent Gibbs, you are too overwrought concerning my relationship with my daughter. However, despite your belief otherwise, I am worried about her and how she is doing. Please, tell me she is well."

Gibbs leaned back against the wall. "She came through the surgery without any major complications; the biggest problem was the gunshot wound to the chest which caused her lung to collapse. She was very lucky, and should be fine, eventually."

"Is she still in Intensive Care?" Eli was listening, but it also sounded like to Gibbs that he was doing other things at the same time, like reading reports or something.

Still, Gibbs was surprised he asked that. "Well, it has only been one day since she was shot. I would imagine she will be there for several days, but I really don't know."

"I saw her earlier this morning. She is awake and alert and breathing on her own, although they do have her on oxygen."

"And Agent DiNozzo; he has not left her side?"

"Only to speak to me. He is at the hospital now."

"Very well. I am pleased that she is doing so well. Is she allowed to receive phone calls in this ICU?"

Gibbs was stumped by that question. "I'm not really sure. I don't remember seeing a phone for her. There is a phone in the room but it is on wall, pretty far from her bed."

"So if I wished to call and speak to my daughter…"

"You would need to call Agent DiNozzo. Excuse me, Director. One of my Agents has just come up and needs to give me an update. When I see Ziva, I will tell her you called."

"Thank you Agent Gibbs. Shalom."

Gibbs just hung up the phone. "What do you have McGee?"

McGee looked excited. "Boss, I've spent the afternoon speaking to Agent Patrick's Boss and the Finance department."

Gibbs looked confused. "The Finance Department?"

"Apparently, Agent Patrick had a thing for one of the people in that department." He looked at his paper. "A Cynthia Collier."

"Unfortunately, she didn't have a thing for him. According to her friends in Finance, it was beginning to border of stalking, but then the bombing happened."

"She was killed up here. She had just brought a financial report to Vance and was heading down when the explosion occurred."

"I didn't know her, but I remember a woman who was standing right in front of the window when it blew."

"No one else in Finance was injured." Tim looked at Gibbs.

"So this is more likely about Vance having her come upstairs to give him the report than the bomb was in his car. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been up here, and she would still be alive."

"And he must be totally delusional- he was nothing to this woman. It was all on his side." McGee looked worried. Angry was bad enough, but angry and maybe crazy?

"Good work, McGee. Do we know if Vance asked for her by name, or if she just happened to be the lucky one to bring up the report?"

McGee frowned. "I don't know for sure about that. I can talk to Finance again."

"But from everything I'm hearing they were not in a relationship. She totally rebuffed him, and was trying to get away from him."

Gibbs looked grim. "Just another thing to blame Vance about; ruining any chances for another try with her. How did no one pick up on his behavior all these months?"

McGee looked worried. "A lot of people were in shock, Boss. Even if they never got together, it would have been strange for him not to have been affected in some way by her death."

"Ok, let me call Fornell. At least now we really know why."

As he grabbed his phone, it rang. "Tobias, I was just getting ready to call you. We know what Agent Patrick's motivation was."

"Never mind that, Jethro. Jackie Vance managed to turn her cell phone on. We got a GPS fix on the location. Well, her phone's location anyway."

"Where? We can send a team…"

"Already on it, Jethro. This guy is going to be surrounded. Hopefully, this will turn out to be a legitimate lead. I have read Vance in, but he is consulting only, not participating."

Fornell tried to sound hopeful, but realistic at the same time. Gibbs understood.

"Ok, we'll wait, ready to move if you need us." Gibbs answered, not much else to be said.

Frankly, he was pissed his team was being excluded, but the reality of it all was that he and McGee constituted their particular "Team" at the moment. He accepted their limitations, and did as told. He looked at McGee.

"Mrs. Vance was somehow able to turn her cell phone on, so they are tracking her signal, hoping she will be there wherever it leads them to."

McGee nodded. "We've been told to sit on the sideline?"

Gibbs didn't say anything. "Talk to Finance again. At least we can find out if Vance asked for her by name."

"On it, Boss." McGee took off again.

Gibbs looked at his phone again and flipped it open. He needed to call Vance and update him on what had transpired. But first he needed to call Tony and warn him he may get a call from Eli David.

Thanks as always for the great reviews. Still not comfortable doing the procedural stuff so hopefully it is at least coming off as somewhat believable.