Jim: I got him! Right here. I'm on my way with him; you'd better be ready.
Slim: Thank you! I knew you'd come through! I'm ready for him! Bring him on; Did you use the Roofie?
Jim: Yeah, how the hell else do you think I got my hands on him? You don't really think he just willingly came with me, do ya?
Slim; Wow; it's finally here! My time for fun and revenge is finally at hand! I'm so excited.
Jim: We'll be there in 20.
Slim: I'll be waiting!

The world had just gone black for Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Just 46 days from the day his Field Agent, Timothy McGee felt targeted and in trouble; the young man's deepest fear had become Gibbs' worst reality. Everyone's worst reality.

The intense anger and fear washing through him; was almost blinding. Reeling from this sucker-punch; Gibbs could barely think. Shaking his head slightly in an attempt to clear his vision and his thinking; he noticed from behind the fog that seemed to have settled over him; that Palmer was already taking care of the two deceased agents. Ziva and Tony were already busy, too; not wasting any time. Tony was dusting for prints; shooting the photos and sketching the scene while Ziva was questioning people and demanding the security tapes.

Damn it! Ducky and Abby - out of town at some stupid conference! What was it he was supposed to be doing? God, he couldn't think. Jenny! Right; gotta call Jenny. Thank God Tim's parents aren't here to have this pain put on them. OH GOD! TIM! It took all of Gibbs conscious control to keep from screaming out his fear and anger for his youngest surrogate son's ordeal. God; the poor kid must be scared out of his mind!

"Jethro."

Wait; he hadn't called her yet; how..." suddenly Jenny's comforting hand was on his arm; her voice in his ear; it helped clear the fog.

"Agent, Gibbs! Director! They're not dead! They've been drugged to slow their heartbeat; and most likely with a paralytic agent on top of it; but they're alive." Jimmy's hope filled voice reached him; spoke to him of the hope the young man had that his team would find Tim. Silently, he watched Jimmy rise to the occasion; digging out his cell phone and calling for the ambulance; all the while Gibbs remained frozen in the gale-force winds of emotions that swarmed him.

Tony; took a second to look to Gibbs for direction; but it seemed to be Gibbs who was the one who needed the direction; Tony's sense of leadership and drive to get to the bottom of this set him motion without a second thought as he dropped what he was doing and ran to help Jimmy as best he could; while they waited for the ambulance. Seeing his boss like this; so shocked and unGibbs like; shook Tony to the core. In all the years he'd worked with the man; the only other time he'd seen him like this was when they'd lost Kate. Even losing Paula and Pacci had shaken Gibbs up; but those times he'd somehow managed to stay pulled together; to channel his emotions into getting the bastards who had been responsible. But, now? Now; Gibbs had the look of someone who had just lost a child; again!

Tony felt tears begin to prick at the back of his throat as he thought of the relationships Tim had been securely bonding in the last two months. Since he'd been staying with him at Gibbs' house; the three of them had gotten much stronger into the father/son/brother relationship and:

yeah; damn it; it's easy to see and understand why Gibbs looks so shattered right about now. Little brother had been through hell several times over in these last few weeks and the whole team had felt for his pain and suffering. None of them wanted anything more to happen to him and all of them would be devastated that more had. So, it's up to big brother/older surrogate son; to step up to the plate and get something done to get little brother back home safe and sound.

Gibbs' felt like a body of lead; he couldn't find the strength to move a muscle; he could barely get his brain to function. Tim! How did this happen; after all this time; when they'd all been so careful? Just when Tim had been starting to rebuild his shattered life; despite what these bastards had taken from him; had cost his soul. No! This wasn't right! This wasn't supposed to happen! Damn it to hell!

"Abby, Ducky." Gibbs worried out loud; giving Tony cause to look at him in concern; once again. It was a good think Jenny was here. She'd be able to keep him grounded since Ducky wasn't here to do it like he usually managed to do.

"They're coming back, Jethro; they've been pulled from their conference." Jenny calmly reassured him. "I'll send Ducky straight to Bethesda to look after Agents Tripp and Kinney as soon as he checks in here. Abby will need to get started right away on whatever evidence you get for her from here." Jenny kept at him; trying to pull him back to the here and now; despite the obvious shock he was in. Jenny couuld never remember seeing him in this state; not even when she first got here as Director; during the aftermath of Agent Kate Todd's death.

Gibbs nodded; still trying to get his brain to engage; but even his body seemed frozen. Taking pity on him; Jenny and Tony after exchanging extremely concerned glances; helped him take the first step toward doing something; checking over the crime scene; the place where Tim McGee had last been seen; as the ambulance arrived with its screaming warning and flashing lights that served to snap Gibbs back into himself.

"Jimmy; as soon as Ducky gets briefed at the hospital I need you to come back here and help us." Gibbs finally spoke more quietly than any of them had ever heard from him before; his brain finally kicked into gear; "We're gonna need all the help we can get scouring these video tapes; with the fire drills involved three buildings; it's gonna be damn difficult to pinpoint exactly what happened; but then again; it's what these bastards were countin on."

"Of course, Agent Gibbs; I'll do anything you need me to." Jimmy was a mess of emotions; thrilled beyond measure that the two agents assigned to be Tim's bodyguards hadn't been killed; pissed and scared that Tim had been taken; like he'd feared he would be; and anxious to get involved in helping; but knowing he had to take care of the two injured men first. Right now; he seriously missed Ducky's comforting voice of reason who always seemed to be able to reach out to Agent Gibbs when no one else could. He always knew just what Jimmy needed, too; especially in stressful upsetting situations like this.

Abby and Ducky drove back to the Navy yard a bundle of nerves; their hearts in their throats, Even Ducky's ordinarily calm demeanor was pushed to its limits; with what little he'd been given for information. His worst fears were making it profoundly difficult to concentrate on driving as well as continue to try to keep Abigail calm.

Tears had blurred Abby's vision; her own imagination creating a horrible scenerio in her mind. Tim's worst nightmare had come true; or worse! "Oh, My God, DUCKY! It's TIM; I just know it! I feel it! Oh, Ducky!" She broke down in hysterical tears and as the sobs shook her shoulders; Ducky could only pray she was wrong; but let her get it out; he knew she'd be better able to handle whatever the situation was this way.

As soon as they reached the parking garage on the yard; Ducky and Abby looked over the scene; both feeling their hearts stop; it was true; it didn't take but a second to see the evidence markers labled. Tim; Kinney; Tripp. Oh, My; were they gone, too? Ducky worried. Quickly going inside to the squad room; they walked into the scene of every one of Team Gibbs; except the missing one; almost bowed over with the weight of their grief that their teammate had been successfully snatched from their protection.

"Jethro. Director. We got here as quickly as we could." Ducky quietly greeted them. "What happened?"

"The damn fire alarm happened!" Gibbs exploded; finally letting his some of his anger out. "In all three of these buildings at the same time! Tell me that wasn't planned!"

Abby; who had been about to launch herself at Gibbs; froze at the beginning of his outburst of fury. Seeing the pain and anger in his eyes; like almost never before; hearing the emotion beneath his words; she gave him the space to let it out; he so desperately needed. This time; her need for solace and encouragement could wait for a minute.

"Something's not right." Tony said quietly. So quietly, Gibbs immediately stopped himself from saying or yelling anything else and waited for Tony to explain where he was going with this. "Tim was too careful lately; way too careful; has been since this mess started! There's no way he fell for this fire alarm crap! Something else happened; I just know it!" Deciding that only one of them needed to be venting at a time; Tony firmly held his anger and fear in check; not failing to see Abby on the verge of her own outburst.

"Yeah, Tony." Gibbs admitted with a slight wash of relief flowing through him at the reminder. "Yeah, you're right; Tim wouldn't have gone outside like that; he's too smart for that! Since this whole mess started; he's never left this building or any building he's been in without either Tony or me at his side; as well as Tripp and Kinney." Gibbs stated as he looked around at each of them in turn. Abby took the opportunity to finally step up to him and hug him with every ounce of fear she was feeling; only relaxing her grip when he squeezed her back in his own attempt to offer her solace.

Abby was scared to the silent point. Everyone knew when Abby was quiet was when she was most frightened. This time she had lept clear over the screaming and denial stages. Noticing this; as each of them seemed to do in tandem; just served to kick everyone's own fear for Tim up several notches. Ziva even appeared scared more than angry. Taking the time to notice how each of them was handling this; was Gibbs' only salvation at the moment. Focusing on the team instead of his own inner self. It was rare; but right now it was the only thing keeping him from bolting to his basement and venting in private; although even that wouldn't get Tim back.

Jenny looked shocked at that revelation. "You're serious? Even with Tripp and Kinney at his side?" her incredulous tone annoyed Gibbs.

"You forget that little conversation in your office the night those two went home on their own bad judgement?" Gibbs asked her with more than a sliver of his anger; he had plenty enough to share. "Poor kid never felt completely safe; unless he was here; inside this building; since this whole damn thing started!" Suddenly remembering what needed done; he turned to the M.E.

"Damn; Ducky; Tripp and Kinney are at Bethesda; I need you to go get us an update on them; watch out for them. Call Tony as soon as they're awake so he can get their statements. Something happened here; and we need to know what the hell it was! Send Palmer back if you can spare him; We need all the hands on this we can get."

"Certainly, Jethro. I'll call you as soon as I know something." Ducky answered. For once in his career; Ducky seemed reluctant to go do his job; like he was afraid he'd miss hearing any update on the search for Tim. When he hadn't moved after a couple of seconds; Gibbs took pity on him.

"Ducky; go on; I'll call you if we hear anything." Gibbs quietly promised; knowing exactly where the M.E's heart was at; at the moment; and more than understanding it.

Ducky silently nodded as he slowly began his steps toward the elevator. As he walked; he heard the Director speak. Stopping in his tracks; he turned to listen.

"Jethro; I've got six teams that have dropped their current cases and have actively taken up the search for him. Your team can do the investigative part here; stay by the phone;." Jenny told him.

Gibbs glared at her; "I already knew that or we wouldn't be standing here right now! You don't really expect us to not look for him? As soon as we get a lead; we'll be out there looking for him. He's one of us!" Gibbs didn't even wait for her answer; he whipped out his phone and hit a speed dial #. "Hey!. I need your help Yours and your whole damn agency's!" Gibbs said into the phone; leaving a room full of shocked people behind as he took his call out of the squad room in search of fresh coffee.

Tony managed a slight grin at the clearly puzzled expressions Gibbs left in his wake. Taking pity on them; he clarified Gibbs' call. "Fornell."

"Oh. well, that makes sense." Jenny said as she sat at Tim's desk; deep enough in thought that she missed the pained expression on both Tony and Ziva's faces and even Abby's and Ducky's; as they watched her take up that space; the one that shouldn't be empty. As Abby headed back to her lab; her feet scuffed the floor with every step she took and her shoulders once again began shaking in sorrow and fear for her Timmy. Looking pointedly at the Director; both Tony and Ziva hurried after Abby. They needed each other right now; at least for a few minutes; a chance to let go before they buckled down; and they knew Gibbs would understand.

Taking a deep sigh of utter sorrow for his NCIS family; Ducky straighted his shoulders and turned back to the elevator and continued on his way to the hospital.

Ten short minutes later Gibbs returned to the squad room and stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of Jen at Tim's desk. Glaring at her with a potent mixture of anger and pain; she quickly got to her feet; finally realizing what she had done; and hoped the others would forgive her. It may seem insignificant in the overall picture; but Jenny knew they were all very emotionally raw and scared out of their minds and this was just an unnecessary knife twist; she hadn't meant it to be.

"Sorry, Jethro." she offered genuinely.

Silently he nodded his acceptance of her sentiment as he sat down at his desk and looked around his empty squad room. Empty? Where are Tony and Ziva? As he picked up his phone to track them; Jenny put her hand over the phone.

"No. Jethro; give them some time. They're helping each other get to where they can focus on finding him; but they have to get past grieving for losing him first." Jenny tried to reason.

"Jen, we don't have time. Case first; emotions later. We've lost enough time as it is." Gibbs bit out angrily; mostly angry at his own uselessness back in the garage. He desperately wanted to handle this without taking it out on any of the others. They were hurting too. "Get them back up here, please." he quietly requested as he retreated to his conference room to think.

Jenny watched him walk out of the squad room thoughtfully. The rarity in which he used that word; struck a chord in her. Yeah. this was gonna be damn hard to get through if he; team leader; was already this shaken up. But, then again; who wouldn't understand what he was going through. As she sat there thinking; getting ready to call Tony and Ziva back to their desks; Gibbs desk phone rang.

"Special Agent Gibbs' desk." she answered as she picked it up.

"Probie?" a deep male voice asked.

Jenny felt her heart stop. She only knew of one person who went by that name around here; and his being missing made this call painful.

"Which agent are you looking for, please?" was the best comeback she could come up with in a flash.

"Gibbs." was the curt answer she recieved.

"He's away from his desk right now, can I take a message?"

"Just tell him I called; give him this number." the caller recited the number; thanked her and ended the call.

Writing the message down; just as she recieved it; she made sure to include the name the caller had used; hoping it wouldn't stab Jethro in the heart; like it had her. She knew it had significance to the caller; who hadn't given his name. Sighing in frustration; she called Tony.

When the team reassembled in the squad room a short ten minutes later; Jenny silently handed Gibbs the phone message she'd written down for him before turning back to Tony and Ziva;

"Whatta we got?"

"Damn it!" Gibbs exlaimed in anger; as his eyes stayed glued to his computer screen.

"Boss?" Tony asked in concern.

"This damn email crap, DiNozzo! Always somebody sending something stupid! Now; apparently, this link has to upload; since I didn't know it was trash before I opened it!" Gibbs was seriously disgusted.

"Uh, Boss; this isn't trash." Tony's voice was changing; and Gibbs didn't like the tension he was feeling from the young man.

"Tony?"

"Yeah, Uh, Boss; this is important; really important." Tony said as he clicked on the start arrow of the video that had popped up on Gibbs' screen.

"NCIS!" the garbled voice rang out in a sickeningly "oh happy day" tone. The clothed person wore a black choir robe type garment and their entire head was covered with; weirdly enough; a paper bag! Yeah; this was gonna be easy; figuring out who this was. NOT!

"Oh, no! Jenny exclaimed; now getting that terrible vibe in the pit of her stomach.

"YES, NCIS; We have something that belongs to you. And despite what you may thinkl; we plan to keep him! But, don't worry; we do plan on sharing our fun with you; so; you'll get to visit with him. You just can't have him back. Watch your email; make certain you open the gifts we send you or our little toy will get mistreated; messed up; broken; even. After all; what good's a present if you can't share it; hmm? I'll be very nice; I'll give you advance notice. You can expect your first present in your email boxes in oh, about two hours. Enjoy!"

So, Agent Gibbs; I hope this goes to show that you can't just screw with other people's lives and get away with it!" The same robed' bag covered head person again; sitting in a chair calmly.

The distorted voice; when it came through the video feed; startled them all; before instantly sending waves of anger through them.

Your boy here; unfortunately; may learn his lesson right along with you, Jethro; but he won't live to use it once he does learn it. Both of you messed with the wrong people; apparently more than once; since both my friend and my partner's friend hate the two of you too!

The link to the video feed had been delivered to them; as promised; just 2 hours later; 4 hours after Tim had been taken. Their missing teammate was tied to a pole in the center of a room; a room no bigger than Director Shepard's office. His arms had been stretched to their limits; over his head; and tied tightly at the wrists and elbows; with his hands laid flat against the wide pole. The ropes holding him were very thick; like straight out of an old pirates movie. One rope was apparently tied around his waist. Scantily clothed in just his boxer shorts; he was visibly shaking; obviously freezing.

"Gibbs, what did you do that involved Timmy?" Abby asked in an agonized cry.

"I dunno, Abbs; but I'll find out. Look through Tim's 'Project.'. Abby; get someone from Cybercrimes to help if you have to. If Jimmy's good at it; get him to help you." Gibbs instructed; knowing the answer was in there somewhere.

"Gibbs; Timmy already put it all on flashdrives remember? He kept it cleaned out." Abby reminded him; not reminding him of exactly why Tim had insisted on doing that.

Jenny looked at him in puzzlement. No one had told her about that

Gibbs just nodded at her; refusing to go there; with anyone.

"Did he ever talk about encrypting any of it? Gibbs asked.

"Not much; and anything he did; he would have sent me the codes to crack them. I just need to go through his flash drives and it would save time if we all looked through them. There's like 6 here. As soon as you pull up the file list though; print it out- label it to match the flash drive label and we're set." Abby explained.

"Great; pass them out; get it done; let's find out what we can. Ziva' how's it comin with the security footage?" Gibbs asked.

"Actually, Gibbs; I don't...." Ziva attempted to explain.

"I have them, Jethro; and the techs in MTAC are scouring through them as thoroughly as you would; they'll let me know when the get Tim's movements pieced together." Jenny answered him from next to him.

Thirty minutes later; they all regrouped up in the squad room; ready to go over the video tapes pieced together and dig into Tim's computer files. Even though the team had been absolutely swamped with cases in the last three weeks; Tim had still been meticulous in keeping his computer cleaned up; moving everything off the hard drive; every single night. Unfortunately his obsession was now a Godsend. Apparently Tim had uncovered who he considered the most possible suspects and the names at the top of the list had some jaws dropping in shock. Thankfully; in true McGee style; beside each name he had listed the reason he suspected them. Strangely enough; the list was extremely short.

Before they could progress on that any further; another email was received with it's typical arrival alert; and everyone froze; until Gibbs walked over to his computer and opened the email.

Suddenly swearing as he bolted from the Squad room; Gibbs now had the look of a pissed off person hell bent on tracking whoever this was to the ends of the earth. Looking at his email; Tony swore; these bastards were playing with Gibbs now.

Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs: We know you have a personal email account you use at home. We suggest you go home; where you can open your next present in private; after all the card for it has been personally hand delivered right to your door!

Tony bolted; looking equally as pissed; determined not to let Gibbs have to go through this alone. If he was lucky; he'd catch him before he got off the navy yard.