Chapter 2

Rubbing his tired eyes, Tony stopped the car out the front of a small general store in an area of the park that seemed miles from nowhere. He and Ziva had been driving for hours. Their early morning meeting with the local detectives had proven very helpful. Local law enforcement volunteers were split into teams of two and based on latest intel, they all ventured off in several different directions in search of the missing escapee. Detectives Weatherly and Harmon had suggested McGee partner up with their co-worker, Detective Lauren Perrette, a dark haired beauty who knew the area as well as anyone. She had also spotted him earlier and hence had requested she be teamed up with him.

"We're stopping already?" Ziva yawned as she stretched her arms high above her head.

"This is the place." he turned the ignition off and looked over at Ziva, trying to ignore the fact she had managed to sleep the entire time he was driving. She was still half asleep and her hair was somewhat tousled which looked incredibly sexy to Tony. It wasn't the first time he'd had thoughts about Ziva that way, and now was definitely not the time. He had to shake the thought from his mind.

They both stepped out of the car, taking in their surroundings. The air was still and the ground dry from lack of any recent rain. Tall trees and thick scrub were broken only by a walking track off to their left, and the presence of the small, old style general store seemed oddly out of place.

"I don't like it" Tony stated as he walked slowly towards the store.

"Of course you don't, there isn't a Hilton or a hot-tub in sight." Ziva knew how much Tony loved the great outdoors.

The flyscreen door creaked as they entered the store. An older man was sitting amidst the fishing tackle reading a Tom Clancy novel. He removed his glasses and smiled as he stood to greet them. "Ah, come in, come in. How may I help you folks today?" he inquired.

Tony was busy looking at the cold drink selection as Ziva answered. "We are looking for this man" she held up the picture. "You have seen him recently yes?"

The man was no longer smiling. "Unfortunately, yes I have seen him. He is the one who broke my glass counter top when he demanded I give him everything for free," he pointed to the cashier counter, now missing its top. "Are you police? Because they've already taken my statement."

"No, federal agents." Both Tony and Ziva showed him their badges and explained who they were and why they were following up on the robbery. The old man visibly relaxed.

"What did he want exactly?" Tony placed two bottles of cold water on the only counter now available as he spoke.

"Food, basic medical supplies, pretty much everything. He took all he could fit into one of those bags over there" he pointed to some small duffle bags that could also be worn as a day pack, sporting the Adirondack Park logo on the front flap. "He had a gun and he pointed it at me. I have not seen the likes of him before in these parts. Mostly people come here to get away from it all and enjoy nature. I've lived here my entire life and have never witnessed anything like this."

"If you hear of anything that may help us find this person please give us a call," Tony handed him his card, as did Ziva.

The man didn't have time to respond as a commotion outside interrupted them. Tony and Ziva immediately ran out to find two disheveled campers, breathing heavily as they raced up the steps and onto the porch of the store.

"What's going on?" The old man asked as he followed hot on Tony's heels.

"We were robbed. At gunpoint", the woman was trying to catch her breath. "We were coming back to our camp after a dip in the nearby stream and there was this man" she swallowed before continuing, "he was going through our stuff."

The other camper continued, "I tried to stop him but he pushed a rifle into my side and made Lily pack all our supplies into a bag." He held onto his side as he spoke.

"A rifle? Not a hand gun?" Ziva asked curiously.

"Didn't see a hand gun, just the hunting rifle he had pointed at my ribcage."

"Are either of you hurt?" asked Tony.

"No, no – just scared, you know. We didn't expect anything like this to happen while on vacation. Especially here," the young man calmed as he told their story.

Tony and Ziva introduced themselves and explained that any information they could give would be appreciated.

"I'm Greg, this is my fiancé Lily. We're from Manhattan. Next year we're going back to the Catskills, I swear. We love camping, but this is just crazy."

Tony silently thought how anyone who liked camping was crazy. What he'd do to be in a 5 star hotel right about now as opposed to sweating it out in the wilds with a Leavenworth escapee packing a gun and now a hunting rifle. He slapped at his face as a stubborn fly refused to leave him alone.

"Can you take us to your campsite?" Ziva was now sitting next to Lily, offering her some of her water.

"Yeah – we have to go back anyway to pick up the whats left of our stuff. We'd appreciate the company – under the circumstances." Greg reached for the water once Lily was done. He took a long gulp, his hands shaky as he wiped at his mouth.

"We need to make a phone call first, alert the other search teams before we go in. May we use your phone, our cells aren't working this far out," Ziva asked the old man who ran the store.

"Of course, yes you may. This way," he led her into the store as Tony continued to talk with the campers. As they described the events in detail, the bad feeling he had the night before came back. He really did not want to venture into the woods any further than he absolutely had to.

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"How far is your camp exactly?" Tony had already had enough of the great outdoors to last him a lifetime. They had been walking for over an hour. He was sick of swatting at flies and moving branches before they hit him in the head.

"Not much further. Another 2 – 3 km perhaps?" Lily looked over at Greg for confirmation.

Ziva caught Tony's expression and began to laugh. "Come on Tony, it'll be good for you," she actually seemed to be enjoying the hike.

Arriving at the campsite, Tony breathed a sigh of relief. Who in their right mind chooses to spend a vacation like this? He looked around at the basic tent and what appeared to be a small gas stove and shuddered. As soon as they scoured the site, the sooner they would be back in their hotel room at Lake George. He may even go for a swim in the pool when he got back, a nice clean pool, not some lake where who knows what could grab at your ankles in the murkiness. Perhaps he would even get Ziva to join him for a sauna. He smiled at the thought. Would she wear a bathing suit or just a towel he wondered.

"Tony – Tony!" Ziva was calling him, snapping him back to reality. Damn. Reality and a stupid fly buzzing around his head again.

"We need to look around while Greg and Lily pack up their stuff." Ziva grabbed Tony by the arm and led him towards a group of trees on the outskirts of the campsite. She picked at a small piece of torn fabric stuck to the bark of a nearby Balsam Fir. "Its his" she spied it closely.

Tony flinched. He saw something moving in the distance.

"What is it?" Ziva asked softly, sensing his change of mood.

"Shh!" Tony crept slowly away from the campsite, following the direction of the moving target. "You see it?" he whispered to Ziva, who was close behind him.

"No Tony, I do not." She answered. "What are you looking at?"

"Shh! He'll hear us!" Tony put his finger to her lips as he hushed her. Her eyes fixed upon his and he removed his finger. Her lips were soft and enticing. Not now DiNozzo.

Tony quickly averted his attention back to the moving form in the distance. Without notice he took off at a run, dodging branches and tree roots as he headed further into the woods. A gunshot rang out and echoed in the wilderness. Birds flew up from the trees and Tony stopped, out of breath as he came upon his target. He lowered his firing arm. A White-tailed deer scampered off into the nearby foliage.

Ziva stopped short behind him. "That is what you saw?" she asked incredulously.

Tony looked at her and rolled his eyes. "Maybe," he replied, trying to maintain some sense of dignity.

"Maybe," she nodded at him, a smirk curling her pink lips.

Without warning a single gunshot ricocheted off a nearby tree, forcing Tony and Ziva to hit the ground. "What the…" Tony looked up to see the scruffy face of a man, peering at them from within the safety of a group of low bushes. The man laughed as he fired off another shot randomly, peeling the bark from another tree close to them.

"You want me, you gotta catch me first, Feds" he cackled as he took off into the wilderness.

Tony and Ziva had no choice but to follow.

TBC…