After returning to NCIS, the three agents went straight to Abby's lab. They also called Ducky and Palmer there, so they could explain what happened to all of them at once. Once everyone was there, Tony, Tim, and Ziva told their friends everything they'd discovered so far. Needless to say, it left them all in horror-filled state.
Abby was crying. "You… You don't know what happened though, right? They might not have even been there."
"Both their cars were there, Abby. Jenny's cellphone was in her office," Ziva said sadly. She understood the desire to try to deny that something awful had happened to their superiors, but they did not have time for denial. They had to face facts in order to save them.
"Plus, there was a massive struggle. Does that really make sense if at least the director wasn't there?" Tony asked.
"This is awful," Ducky said with quite a lot of fear in his voice. It took him a few moments, but he tried to pull himself together. The others needed optimism. He could tell just by looking at Timothy that he was not doing well. He was very pale, and it seemed to be taking a lot of work for him to keep himself together. Ducky made a note to look him over soon, just to be sure this wasn't affecting his health. "Alright, we are sure that they were at Jennifer's, but we do not know if they were injured or how badly. We must try to stay optimistic."
"We will. We'll find them," Tony said firmly. "Ducky, has Gibbs mentioned anything to you about a case he might have been working on with Director Shepard? Maybe something they were doing led to this attack."
"I'm afraid not, Anthony. If Jethro was doing anything to put himself in danger aside from your cases, he didn't confide in me," Ducky said
Tony sighed. He wasn't really surprised by Ducky's response. He was just hoping that if Gibbs and the director were working on something, Gibbs would talk to Ducky. He was usually who Gibbs confided in.
"I should get to work. I have to run the blood samples and do ballistics on the slugs," Abby said in an almost robotic voice.
"Do the blood first, please, Abby. I marked each sample with where I took it. It's really important to keep track. It will help us determine how much… how much blood they may have lost," Tim said shakily.
Abby nodded. "I'll get started right away. I'll check against the NCIS database first for matches. That should get us an answer quicker.
"What do we do now?" Ziva asked.
"We obviously investigate, Ziva," Tony said somewhat shortly. He regretted his tone instantly, but at the moment, he had no patience for what seemed like a dumb question.
Ziva glared at him. "Yes, I know that! But we are not going to be able to do that the way we normally do! We have no director and no team leader. There are things we need to do that will need authorization that we do not have."
"The files. We're going to need to get into their case files, and many of those will require clearance that none of us has," Tim said. This was more complicated than they had realized. There were going to be roadblocks to bust through before they could even start investigating.
"What do we do? What happens in a situation like this?" Abby asked.
No one said anything, but when Tony looked around the room, he saw everyone looking to him as if he should know the answer. "Why are you looking at me like I have any more answers than you?
"Because you're the only one of us who has ever been a team leader," Tim said.
"And as you always remind us, you are the Senior Field Agent," Ziva added.
"I was the team leader for a few months, and this situation never came up in that time. In fact, I don't think a situation like this has ever come up. I have no idea what the protocol is," Tony said.
Everyone was quiet for a several moments. Then, Tim abruptly started walking out of the lab.
"Where are you going, McGee," Tony asked.
"To come up with a solution. We won't find one standing here," Tim said without even stopping or turning around as he left the room. He got onto the elevator and waited for the doors to close. Once they did, he pulled a Gibbs and stopped the elevator. He needed a few moments alone to lose his mind
Tim braced his hand against the wall to the elevator. "Oh God, I can't believe this happening. How can this happen again? No, it's not. It won't be like that again. They're alive, and I can do something this time. I can stop it. I won't lose them."
Tim took a deep breath as he tried to convince himself of his own pep talk. He really just couldn't believe this was happening. Everything had been fine just yesterday. There was no reason to believe this would happen. He'd seen and spoken to Gibbs and Jenny just yesterday, and they were fine. He remembered his last conversation with Jenny.
Flashback
Tim was sitting at his desk at NCIS. It was just after seven as he started looking over an old cold case. Gibbs had warned them that they'd be doing cold cases today, so he got started as soon as he got in.
"Morning, McGee," a voice called.
Tim looked up to see Jenny by the stairs. He always got nervous when he saw her because he always wondered if one day she'd figure him out, but at the same time, he was happy to see her each day. He was used to it now, and he didn't want it to ever change. "Good morning, Director."
Jenny seemed to hesitate for a second before walking to Tim's desk, which made him a little nervous. "You know, almost every day when I come in, you're already here. I appreciate your dedication, but don't you think you should sleep a little more. I know from experience that the job can make that difficult at times, especially with Gibbs as a superior officer."
Tim chuckled a bit. "Thanks, Director, but I'm fine. I'm a light sleeper." His smile faded at his last comment. His issues with sleep had never been his choice.
"Okay. I'd just hate for something to happen because you didn't take care of yourself," Jenny said.
"Oh, I'd never let lack of sleep get to the point where it affected a case," Tim promised
"That's not what I meant. It's your well-being I was referring to. I know you'd never let anything interfere with a case. You're a great agent. I don't think I've ever said that to you, and I should've," Jenny said.
"Thank you, Director, but it's no big deal," Tim said smiling.
"Yes, it is. I've commented on your colleagues skills, as any good supervisor would. I don't talk much with you, other than a daily 'good morning'. You should know that that's because you remind me of someone that I miss very much," she said.
Flashback
Tim had felt guilty the rest of the day after that conversation, and he did again now. He'd thought about telling her after he finished talking to her, but he nixed the idea as soon as it came into his brain, just as he did every other time he considered it. Why didn't he just tell her. Well, he knew why. He was protecting her, both from how screwed up he was and from the possibility of her getting hurt because of him.
Tim laughed bitterly at that last thought. That had worked out just wonderfully. He hadn't told her, and she had still gotten hurt. He should've realized that there was always something that could hurt the people he cared about, especially considering their line of work. Now, he might never get the chance to tell her the truth. That realization hit Tim hard. He realized that he did not want Jenny to die not knowing who he was and how much she mattered to him. Unfortunately, that realization just might have come too late.
Tim sighed and pushed those thoughts away. He had to try to think positive, and he had to try to come up with a solution to the current problem. Finding a way to investigate what happened to Jenny and Gibbs when there was no one to run NCIS. After some thinking, there was only one person he could think of that might know the answer.
Tim started the elevator up again and hit the button for the floor for Jenny's office. The elevator stop a few seconds later, and he got off. He went right to the director's office and approached Cynthia's desk.
"Agent McGee, did you find the director. Do you know anything?" Cynthia asked concerned.
Tim was about to tell her everything, but he thought better of it. Higher ups might not want this information getting out. It probably wouldn't be good if all of NCIS, not to mention the general public, found out that the director was attacked in her home and now missing, and one the team leaders was also attacked and missing. "Um, we haven't found her yet. Listen, I was wondering if you knew what the protocol was for a situation like this. Has the director mentioned what's supposed to happen when an emergency like this happens?"
Cynthia could tell that Agent McGee wouldn't tell her more. She'd been the director's assistant long enough to know not to push any further. It wouldn't get her anywhere. "I don't think there's a protocol for the director completely disappearing. When she takes a day off or has to leave town, she has a number two."
"Gibbs," Tim said. It wasn't a question. Gibbs had been left in charge before when the director was away.
Cynthia nodded. "I assume he's still missing as well. Uh, from what I understand, when a director steps down or takes d…dies, the deputy director takes over."
"Do you have a number for him?" Tim asked.
Cynthia nodded. She reached into her desk and removed a business card and a set of keys. "Use Director Shepard's office. I'm assuming since you won't tell me what's going on, you don't want any information reaching anyone else either. Her office will be private."
Tim took the offered items. "I'm sorry Cynthia. If I get permission to tell you what's going on, I will."
"Thank you. You should call now. I believe I heard the director say that Deputy Director Vance will be going overseas for NCIS business," Cynthia told him. She wasn't sure she was supposed to tell him that, but under the circumstances, he needed the information.
Tim nodded before going to Jenny's office and unlocking it. He walked inside and closed the door. He went over to the desk and sat down before picking up the phone and dialing the number on the business card.
The phone rang three time before a voice answered. "Vance."
Tim breathed a sigh of relief when the man answered. At least one thing worked out today. "Deputy Director Vance, I'm Special Agent Timothy McGee. I'm calling from Headquarters. We have a problem that needs your attention."
"Agent McGee, why am I hearing from you and not Director Shepard."
"That's the problem I'm calling you about, Sir," Tim said as he prepared to tell the deputy director everything.
