I promise that i'll get to Tony in the next chapter, just had to get this out of the way first! lol
Gibbs hunched over a large blueprint of the hospital, retrieved by McGee from the dusty storage room. Areas had already been marked off with a red cross and others still lay blank. Gibbs had set up a command centre in the art room where he had found the bloodied photo. People bustled around him on telephones and radios, communicating anyway they could. Gibbs himself had a headset on, listening to any chatter between McGee and Ziva.
"Ward eight is clear," he heard and he instantly crossed off ward five. Gibbs was getting anxious. There wasn't much left of the hospital to search and so far there had been no sign of him. He couldn't understand how Tony had gone missing in a hospital always busy with people, crammed with security cameras and enclosed in a seven foot high fence. Abby had already sifted through the security footage with no luck.
"Ward nine is clear." Gibbs cursed under his breath. There was only one more ward to search and Gibbs' gut was telling him Tony wasn't hidden away there. He waited those few minutes until he heard ward seven was clear before speaking.
"Search them all again," he shouted down the line.
"But, Boss," McGee replied, "we've searched every room top to bottom."
"Search them again, McGee! And this time keep a look out for Kevin Wickson, he's missing also."
"You're guessing wherever Kevin is, Tony won't be far behind?" McGee asked.
"You tell me, McGee," Gibbs replied before ripping off the headset and throwing it down on the table. He leant hard against the table and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath and counted to ten. His peace was disrupted by the shrill of his cell phone. He let out a sigh and dug into his pocket for the annoying article.
"Gibbs," he barked
"It's Shepard," Jenny spoke softly. "How's it going?"
"How's it going?" Gibbs asked incredulously. "My lead agent is missing, we found his blood on some evidence, which means he's injured, and the man that killed Lucy West is also conveniently AWOL"
"It was just a question, Jethro."
"Well I don't have time for questions."
"Do you have time to talk to Mary West?" Gibbs frowned but stayed silent. "She's sitting outside my office wondering what the heck is going on." Gibbs cursed again. In all the chaos he had forgotten about Mary West. He had promised that he would stay in contact with her.
"What have you told her?"
"Not much, but then you haven't told me much."
"I've been busy, Jenn."
"Look Jethro, I know you've got other things on your mind, but don't forget why you're at that hospital in the first place." Jenn didn't give Gibbs time to reply. Gibbs snapped the phone shut and threw it on the table with everything else. He heard footsteps behind him.
"What is it, McGee?" McGee raised his eyebrows, wondering how Gibbs knew it was him. "Well?" Gibbs turned around slowly, making McGee even more nervous than he already was.
"I uh, well the thing is, we've searched everywhere, and he's not here, Boss." Gibbs growled, the last of his patience dissipating. He slammed his palm into the nearest bookshelf with all his strength. McGee jumped, too shocked to notice Gibbs furrowed eyebrows and silent questioning. Gibbs slammed his fist in the bookshelf again. He felt the bookshelf, searching it for the answers to his questions.
"What is it?" Ziva's voice asked from behind McGee. McGee hadn't even heard her come in. He would never learn how Ziva and Gibbs could sneak up on people like that.
"There's something behind this bookshelf, it's hollow." Gibbs crouched down, ignoring the click of his bones as they protested. He felt the bottom of the shelf, his fingers travelling along smooth wood. His fingers soon came into contact with something wet. He lifted his fingers up and studied them.
"What's that?"
Gibbs turned to his team. "It's blood."
"Tony's?" McGee asked, fear evident on his face.
"Don't worry, McGee. The amount of blood we've found isn't a lethal amount to lose."
"But it could be from a head injury and head injuries are bad; Tony could have a really bad concussion and it could be so bad that he falls asleep and never wakes up." Gibbs could see the young agent begin to panic. Gibbs stood up and walked over to the probie. He put a hand on each shoulder and looked McGee straight in the eyes.
"We will find him, McGee. My gut says he's still alive; I bet he's probably wondering what's taking us so long, so what do you say about helping me find out what's behind that bookshelf?" McGee nodded. "Good."
Gibbs pulled a knife from his pocket. He walked back to the bookshelf and inserted the knife at the edge. A thin slot appeared. McGee joined Gibbs, helping him to pull the bookshelf away from the wall. Once it was out of the way the trio peered into the darkness. They could just about make out a set of stairs that descended into pitch black. Exposed brick walls looked older than most of the hospital, the stench of damp and rust could be smelt wafting up the stairs and in the distance the steady rhythm of a pipe dripping could be heard.
"Find some torches," Gibbs ordered. "We're going down there."