Influence

Disclaimer: I don´t own any characters or anything

Summary: Kate is dating and starts to change. When she takes a drastic step, the rest of the team starts to wonder. A series of murder turns up and they find themselves in the middle of a nightmare…

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5- Time is running out

Tony grinned when his younger co-worker bolted into the bullpen, red face and breathing hard. "Wow, what did Abbs do?" He asked and leaned back on his chair. "Oh, boss. I just called up the mother of Moore -she said that her daughter had been dating a man shortly before she disappeared. His name was..."

"Richard Cuttling." Tim cut into his colleague´s sentence without letting him finish. He finally got some more air in and felt his pulse slowing down again.

Dinozzo turned around. "Wow...now I know how Abby feels sometimes. Probie, that´s scary, you know that? I always thought Gibbs was the only one who..." He started, but couldn´t finish this either.

"Dinozzo, check with those other families -I want to know if that´s just a coincidence here. Anything else, McGee?" Gibbs asked and threw his cup into the trashcan. He knew that he had to go out to get fresh coffee soon, but somehow he had a feeling that there was more to this information.

While Tony was on the phone, McGee put his head into his hands for a second to sort his thoughts. It was almost7:30 pm by now and he wanted to be sure that he gave his boss the correct information. "Abby is plotting the locations for you -she will need about another hour as she has to convert them into...anyway, you´ll have it soon. The other thing is, I finally remembered where I have seen Cuttling before." McGee said and noted that the only reaction to this was another raised eyebrow.

"So?" Gibbs inquired as he searched his drawer for something eatable, only coming across a half rotten tuna sandwich and a pack of oreos. Both landed in the trashcan. "McGee, today!"

"Yes, sure...uhm...see, I took Abby to that restaurant downtown and we met Kate out there with her boyfriend. Who is no other than Richard Cuttling." It was finally out and he watched how Gibbs buried his face in his hands with a low moan.

"Boss, I checked with three other familes -all say that their daughters were dating someone named Rick shortly before they died." Tony called at the same second, wondering why his boss looked like he was suffering from a major headache. "Boss? Are you okay?" He asked, sounding at least a bit concerned now. This was not a Gibbs-like reaction to news like this.

Instead of saying anything, he picked up his phone. "Abbs, I need that map ASAP! No, I actually don´t care, just get it up here." He barked and threw the phone onto his desk. A quick glance at his watch confirmed that time was really ticking now. He had to be sure before doing anything. He still hoped that his fears wouldn´t be confirmed, but with all the luck he had had all day long, they would probably be more accurate than he liked. "I´m getting some coffee." He said and strode out of the bullpen again.

It was around 10:10 pm when Abby finally emerged from the elevator, finding herself face to face with a rather angry Gibbs. "What happened? You said an hour -not two hours and a half." He snapped and watched how she let her head down. "Sorry, Abbs...it´s just kinda late. What did you find?" He asked then, putting his hand on her arm to show her that he wasn´t mad at her.

Abby sighed and handed him a printout. "My computer crashed twice, so I had to start all over, anyway...this is a map of the area. You´ll notice that all were found in a radius of about 5 miles of Ocean View. If you triangulate all locations, you get a plot right here." She put her finger onto a green patch and met puzzled faces. "I checked with the actual city map. There´s an abandoned cemetery there. It´s called Chisenhall cemetery, abandoned since 1984. There have been reports of illegal parties and other strange things. If you give me another hour, I´ll get you those reports." She told him and wondered why he balled his hands into fists.

"How far is it from here?" He asked as he walked to his desk and put his gun into the holster, making sure that he had enough ammo in it. "Abby, today."

"Uhm...I´d say about 55 minutes, okay, 45 if you are driving. Anything else?" She asked and noted that he started to put his protection gear on. "Wow...who are you going out for? Anyone we know?"

"Dinozzo, McGee, what are you waiting for? Gear up." He commanded and grabbed the map from Abby. "Thanks, Abbs. Stay here in case we need you." He said and walked towards the garage so fast that both agents had to run to keep up with him. They didn´t ask when he jumped into the MCRT truck and buckled up. McGee took Kate´s place in the front and made sure that his seatbelt was fastened.

42 minutes and at least 500 curses from both agents later, Gibbs shut the headlights off and pulled onto a small dirtroad that lead away from the main road. A grey stonewall appeared to their left out of thin air as did about 15 cars parked in front of it. They passed a large iron gate and parked a bit further up to make sure that nobody noticed their truck. It was large enough without parking right out front. "What are we doing here, boss?" Dinozzo asked as he drew his gun out of the holster.

"Pray that I´m wrong, but I think Cuttling is responsible for those murders -and that he´s about to commit another one tonight." Gibbs replied in a low voice which sounded almost like a growl. "If he puts as much as a scratch on her, I kill him." He added under his breath and luckily, none of the other two men heard it.

The cemetery was completely dark and McGee stumbled over something on the ground twice. He pulled himself up again, muttering curses under his breath as they continued to approach a spot where a faint light shone into the darkness. A soft humming could be heard. Gibbs felt his muscles tensing as they approached and checked his watch for the last time. It read 11:07 pm.

The light came from a small clearing hidden between a group of large trees. They were dense enough to provide cover for them, but still apart enough to slip through without causing much sound. As they reached the group of tree that was closest to the clearing, a strange scene unfolded in front of them. 20 people dressed in large white robes stood in a circle, shutting the inside completely off from their view, but there were at least two more people in the middle of the circle. Candles had been put everywhere, giving off an eerie light.

"Brothers and sisters, the last hour of the moon has come again and the spirits are close tonight. They have come to request the price for their services. Tonight we shall bring them another sacrifice as we command our young sister into their care. Let us offer a last prayer to the spirits as we accompany her on her journey to divine purity." A voice called in a strange, almost singing tone. The same moment, everyone in the circle dropped to the ground, stretching out flat, face pressed against the ground, arms stretched out in front of them.

Gibbs heard Tony take a sharp breath and saw the reason a second later. In the middle of the circle was a stone plate and in the center of it were three people. Two men in red robes kneeling over a woman dressed in a thin white dress. She seemed unconscious and even in the dim light, Gibbs noted the bruises on her face. He caught a glimpse of something shiny one of the men held in his hand and recognized a knife. Without thinking about it, he jumped out of his cover. "NCIS, nobody moves." He yelled and pointed his gun at the two men dressed in red.