…………………Thursday the 8th of August 2009………………….

Gibbs was worried about what he would tell the team. He knew he would do his job and the team would too but this time he wanted them to do the worst job as possible. Gibbs knew there wasn't anything he could do or say to make them do that but most importantly he knew he couldn't do anything which made them suspect he wanted them to do a poor job. He hated how this case was affecting him and the team. Kate, Tony, McGee and Abby had all come back this Monday from their vacations. Becky had had an early vacation in June while Tom was on his now but coming back on Monday. Andy was saving his for this autumn. As that wasn't enough Abby was only at work this week to teach the person who was going to fill in for her during her maternity leave the ropes around the lab. He wished that it had been this week she would start to stay home to get ready for the delivery and baby. Gibbs hated to spring this kind of news on her and the rest especially since he knew something the rest didn't. Something he couldn't share with the others but wondered if it would help the case if he did. The case was a lot complicated than it first appeared and he didn't even know all the facts but he had the chance to get to know more than any other person had so far. He wanted to know but his source didn't want to tell him everything.

………………………………

"Today we have a new case. It's once again the Ellie Hart case. Two weeks ago the security surrounding her was going to start to be a lot less than usual. They thought the threat had become smaller. Ellie opposed this and she got a two week extension. Last Friday someone tried to kill Ellie and the two agents who guarded her. No one got serious hurt and the three men who attacked them all got killed. Ellie killed one of them and the agents the other two. Ellie had never killed someone before but she had been taught how to use a gun and where they were hidden in the house. Ellie got really worried when it was no proof of forced entry. She accused the CIA of wanting her dead and that the leaks were closer than they actually thought since they could find out where she was. On Saturday she packed her bags, drove off with her car, left her car, took out some money and left the town as fast as possible. No one can find her and the CIA want our help since we know her. We will get all the information they have on the attack. I'm sending Ducky to examine the bodies so NCIS can get a full view of the case. I know there is something we don't know here because I don't think Ellie would take off like that just because someone tried to kill her. We need to find out what else happened! That's why I'm going with Kate to interrogate the agents in Washington tomorrow. We'll leave early in the morning and are expected back in the evening. CIA is working on this too and no one thinks she is in immediate danger since not even the terrorists know where she is right now so we won't be working during the weekend." Gibbs explained to them. He saw how everyone's face expressions changed from happy to worried the more he told them. Now they were just as worried as him.

"I can't believe it." Kate then said.

"How did she act? Has she totally lost it? Is she after us? Maybe she is blaming us after all. Has she killed herself?" McGee wondered. They had to find out in which state she was and what her goal was.

"I don't know. Maybe but probably she is just hiding somewhere. We need to find out where." Gibbs answered. He knew he just lied to them now but it was needed this time.

The plea of help from his source had done something to him. He had known about this for five days and hoped CIA wouldn't ask them for help but today they did. Gibbs knew that after solving this case things wouldn't be better. He wondered why he even bothered. Maybe he didn't love it anymore? Maybe it was time to retire and have a less stressful job the last years before his retirement.

………………….After work in Gibbs' home…………………..

Gibbs came home and expected her to watch TV or something but it was so quiet and no lamp was turned on. He checked the living room, kitchen and the rest of the ground floor. When he didn't find her he went upstairs but there was no trace of her there either. There was only one place left and that was the basement. He went down the stairs to the basement. Gibbs hoped she was there because he feared what would happen if she had run away again.

"So what really happened?" Gibbs asked when he saw her. Ellie sat down in the basement curled up in a corner just staring at the boat. Gibbs knew how lost felt and how much she had lost already. He couldn't help but to feel she had lost something else during the hiding in the witness protection programme. He wanted to know what it was.

"You're late…I said you could call and leave a message if you were going to be late…I hate not knowing and be scared every second. I've had enough of it already." Ellie explained.

"I'm going to call. Maybe you can call me instead since I'm always busy and keep forgetting. Just say another name. No one will know. They don't trace incoming calls if not necessary." Gibbs explained.

"I thought about that but I was afraid to ask you. Matilda Miller…If someone by that name calls you then it's me." Ellie explained.

Then Gibbs came closer to her. He turned on the lights and stood right beside her. Ellie looked up.

"What really happened?" Gibbs asked again.

"I don't know…In April one of them who guarded me…John…Well everyone knew about me and my past…He promised to teach me everything I needed to know about a thing. He said that if it wasn't him then no one would do it and that he knew how much I wanted the same life experience as normal people have. He could give me the pleasure I never experienced. The next second we were both in bed. I wanted to do it but a small part of me didn't. It kept going on the weeks he protected me and he said I became better at it. I started to feel worse again in July. I tried to tell him I didn't want to do it anymore. I always felt better when he wasn't on duty. When it was his time guard the house I felt bad and that's how I knew we should stop. Getting orgasms didn't do anything to me. Then he started to talk just like he did in April when he first suggested it and I couldn't say no. The same thing happened again and again. First I said no then he convinced me to say yes and then we did it. The last time we did it I felt so bad that I told him straight after we could never do it again. I really meant it that time and he saw I wasn't kidding. He tried to smooth talk me again but it didn't work. I said no to a second time immediately which he had suggested for old time's sake and then I said it was a no for forever. He got angry and hit me a few times. I smacked him on the cheek and went up from the bed, went away and locked myself in the bathroom. He then left the room and I went back out again and took on my clothes. The next thing I knew three men stood in the living room holding guns. I ran upstairs and found the gun I knew how to shoot. They heard me and one guy ran up the stairs with a gun. I shot him and he tumbled down. That startled the men downstairs and the agents then shot and killed them…That's my story." Ellie told him. It hurt so much to tell Gibbs the truth but it felt good too. She felt vulnerable and like a victim again. She was fed up with feeling like that.

"You can't sit here all the time…The CIA is looking for you and they've asked for NCIS's help to find you too." Gibbs told her. Her story was once again unbelievable he thought but he knew it was the truth. Ellie always said the truth, put others first and hated to hurt people.

"I can't go back. I'm not safe there. For more reasons than one. I'm tired of hiding, being seen as a victim, witness and everything else than me." Ellie told him.

"You need to tell them what really happened. This John guy will get fired and you'll be much more protected." Gibbs tried to explain to her.

"I don't want to be much more protected. Next month I'll turn 28 but according to the CIA I'll be 36 in November. I know I look much older than I am and I've always looked that way but inside I'm not. Don't make me go back there. Please just don't. I know there will be just another lonely CIA agent fed up with being so far away from his family and friends just because of me. I don't want to feel guilty anymore. I'm fed up with it. It's my fault John did what he did. I was weak and wasn't so good at saying no. I wish I hadn't started the affair with John. I was so weak and took advantage of him. I don't understand why I didn't say no in the first place." Ellie said now looking on the floor.

"It's not your fault. It's John's fault. He took advantage of you and your situation. Tomorrow I'm going to Washington to talk with CIA. I'm not going to tell them where you are but I need to find out what they know. I'll be home pretty late but I hope everything I bought yesterday will be enough for you." Gibbs told her. Then he bent down to be at her level.

"Just tell me when I can tell Kate, Tony and Abby that you're alright. I know they care." Gibbs continued.

"They'll be in danger if they know. You're in danger now." Ellie told him.

"Don't worry about me. I can take care of myself. You can also take care of yourself. You're really strong Ellie. You came all the way here without anyone finding out your route and where you are now. That's pretty good for someone who doesn't work as an agent." Gibbs praised her.

"Maybe it is but you don't need to be smart to leave as few trails as possible. It was easy." Ellie told him.

"You're smart. You took your driving license, escaped your protection and came here. I'll call tomorrow if anything new comes up. Now we need to eat and get to sleep. I think the boat wants to be alone for a while." Gibbs said reaching out his hand. Ellie took it and went out.

…………….A few hours later…………

Gibbs stood and worked on his boat. He tried to come up with a plan but his mind had been blank for hours. Working with the boat hadn't helped either. He stopped and decided to go to bed. Tomorrow he was headed to Washington.

Ellie lay in bed thinking about the recent events. She remembered how she stood outside of NCIS on Sunday morning hoping that there was a case they were working on during the weekend. It was around 7 AM and very quiet. She had stood there for an hour and given up hope. She thought she would go somewhere else because she hadn't the nerve to stay and wait for them today or tomorrow. Slowly she started to walk. She didn't hear the car which came behind her. The car almost hit her and stopped abruptly. A man got out and Ellie turned around to see who it was. It was Gibbs.

"Ellie…You're alive…I heard what happened…" Gibbs said shocked.

"I wanted to talk to you but…I didn't think you worked this hour." Ellie replied.

"I was home when I got a call about what happened to you yesterday so I went to NCIS last night to see what I could do." Gibbs explained.

"Are the others here?"

"No. They're home. I haven't told them what happened to you. It's been a long year for everyone." Gibbs further explained.

"Can I go home with you?" Ellie asked. She had no way to go.

"Jump in." Gibbs told her.

Then Ellie closed her eyes and hoped she would fall asleep.

…………………….The next day in Washington…………………..

"So can we talk to the agents who were there when everything happened?" Gibbs asked the person he had an appointment with.

"They are here. You can talk to them for a moment. Agent Craig is here too. The others who were assigned to protect her are working at the moment. We had a rotating schedule for the agents so there were many who had been in the house. Some could be there for a month at a time others only two weeks at a time or one. There is a lot to do but we got many leads and are at least closing in on the terrorist network. We'll make some arrest really soon." The agent said. He was someone with a lot authority Kate and Gibbs noticed. The size of his office was the first indicator and the way he talked the other.

"Can I talk to you alone after we've talked to the agents?" Gibbs asked.

"Yes. Just come back up here. I'll be here all day." The man answered. Then he accompanied them to where the two agents were.

………………………….

"Hi. I'm John Thomas." One agent presented himself.

"I'm Greg Ketter. We protected her when she disappeared." He explained.

Gibbs just stared at John. He was tall and pretty big especially if you compared to Ellie. He just hated him. How could he do that to an innocent person?

"We need to talk to you about Ellie. Did she say something on where she would go?" Kate asked.

"Nothing. She was quiet most of the time. Spent a lot of time in her bedroom. She had TV, computer and bathroom there so she didn't leave her room much. Ellie also listened and danced to music a lot." Greg stated.

"Didn't you check on her often?" Gibbs asked.

"A few times per day. She didn't like when we checked on her." John answered.

Gibbs wondered what he would say if John knew he knew.

"She liked John more for some reason so she wanted him to check on her most often. Sometimes we played games all three. Time went really slow there so we had to do things to make time go faster." Greg explained.

"So when Ellie was up in her room where you together all the time just as when the terrorists tried to kill you?" Gibbs asked.

"We were often in our rooms or in the living room. We didn't want to be around each other all the time because we would get bored then." John replied.

Gibbs knew that he had thought long and hard on what to say so no one would find out what he did. Gibbs wondered if agent Ketter knew what had happened.

"Have you worked together in the house before?" Kate asked.

"I've worked with many agents. Only with agent Thomas for the last two weeks." Agent Ketter answered.

Then they asked more questions but nothing new came out. CIA focused more about finding out who the leaks were and crushing the terrorists so it had been clearer that they wanted NCIS to find her. It seemed that they didn't care and he wondered if agent Thomas had influenced them to think like that.

Agent Craig seemed genuinely worried. It seemed like it hurt him when he heard what agent Ketter and Thomas said. Gibbs felt that he cared but he was married and that is why he had to do everything to show he didn't care. Gibbs felt sorry for agent Craig. He had probably been the only person Ellie had become a bit close to. Then Gibbs left Kate alone because he had to talk to the boss at CIA again. He had thought of something and it would work as long as the boss wasn't one of the leaks.

……………On their way home in the car…………..

"You seemed pretty angry there…What happened?"

"I don't trust agent Thomas." Gibbs answered.

"Why?"

"I know what he did to Ellie."

"How do you know that?"

"I have a source. I'll tell you when I can tell you. I have a plan. Call Abby and tell her that she has to visit us on Monday. She only has to be there for two hours or so." Gibbs ordered Kate.

"Why?" Kate wondered.

"A CIA agent will help us and the agent will come on Monday and stay at NCIS as long as needed." Gibbs answered.

"Is it agent Craig?" Kate wondered. She has noticed they had talked a lot but maybe it was because maybe agent Craig knew her the best and would know where she would hide.

"No. I don't know who it will be. We need to help the agent to find a place to stay and other things. We need to be prepared that he or she might want to go undercover so I thought it would be good if Abby could stop by on Monday and help her assistant." Gibbs lied. He knew who was coming. He had even lied to the CIA boss a bit but it was just so he could get what he wanted which hopefully was also what Ellie wanted. He had to explain to her what he had in plan. Gibbs would also have to explain on Monday to his team what he had planned.

"I know he has a wife and kids but I hope he can come. He knows her the best." Kate stated.

"If we find her I don't think she should meet him. She is fragile and it will only mess her up. I think she would probably feel that CIA agents have messed up her life enough. Agent Craig knows he has to be professional." Gibbs further explained. He had talked to agent Craig before they left Washington.

"Do you know more than I know?" Kate wondered.

"I don't know. I want to be sure but I have some hunches. We'll see on Monday. The CIA will give us some more info then." Gibbs lied again.

……………..At CIA in Washington……………

"Either you confess or it'll get much worse for you." Adam Craig told his colleague John Thomas. His boss and Gibbs had told him what really happened in the house and he was in charge of interrogating agent Thomas. He knew Ellie would never testify against him so if he confessed it would all get easier. A trial would probably be impossible but he could get fired or reassigned to desk duty for the rest of his life. Now he just wished John Thomas would suffer just like Ellie did. Agent Craig wondered if Ellie was still alive. All he knew was that she had contacted Gibbs on Monday but what had she done after that. Had she killed herself?

He wanted to apologize to her. Adam wondered why he hadn't noticed what had been going on the weeks he had worked with John. How could he be so blind?

He also wondered why he felt so strongly for Ellie. Adam had felt this way for months. He then looked at his ring and thought about what it stood for. Then he decided to let go of Ellie and do just as Gibbs told him to do.

Adam watched agent John Thomas.

"She wanted to do it every time. I didn't force her." Agent Thomas defended himself.

Agent Craig knew he would have hit him if their boss wasn't there.

"You used her for your personal needs. Took advantage of a fragile woman. Maybe it isn't rape but it's really close to rape. You hit her and there is no excuse in the world for that. She trusted CIA with her life and you violated it. I can't blame her for running away. One thing I do know is that you're suspended." Agent Craig said.

"You're not my boss." He said angry.

"He's just following my instructions." Their boss then said.

"She's lying if she said I raped her. When I find her I'm going to make her tell the truth if that's the last thing I do. She's going to pay. Big time." Agent Thomas said.

"Was that a death threat?" their boss asked.

"Don't twist my words!" agent Thomas quickly replied. He knew it wouldn't be so hard to make her death look like a suicide.

……………..Another place in Washington………………

"Even hiring hit men didn't work…She's going to hide for the rest of her life if she hasn't already taken her life. We have other things to do but if we by chance find out where she is maybe we can decide what our next move will be. She doesn't know much so why are we wasting time on her?" one terrorist asked.

"Revenge…Right now I'm sick and tired of seeking revenge but we'll see how I feel when she turns up. It's better taking care of our infiltrators than killing her at the moment." The other answered.

………………………………………………………………………………………….

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. You can give feedback if you want.