A/N: This story takes place in season eight, so Mike Franks is still alive.

Tony was on the phone trying to get ahold of Gibbs for like the fifth time to no avail. The phone only rang the first time. After that, it went straight to voicemail, which was not a good sign. It most likely meant someone shut it off, and he doubted that person was Gibbs. First of all, Gibbs probably wouldn't know how to shut it off, and even if he did, he wouldn't.

Tony slammed the phone down when it went to voicemail once again. "Damn it!"

"Still nothing," Ziva said as she held the phone to her ear. While Tony was calling Gibbs, she was calling McGee.

"No, you?" Tony asked.

Ziva shook her head and hung up the phone. "It just went to voicemail again."

"This is bad. This is really bad," Tony said. Their boss and their partner were both missing and there was a hit on one if not both of them. Tony doubted it could get much worse.

"Perhaps their batteries died or they are in an area that doesn't have service," Ziva said. She knew she was clasping at straws, but she had to try. The alternative was not something she wanted to think about.

"Both of them? Both their cells died? How likely is that? Not to mention, how likely is it that it would happen the day after we learn that they are both being followed and there is a price on McGee's head and probably Gibbs' too. Rule thirty-nine, Ziva," Tony said.

Ziva sighed. She knew he was right. Their team members were in a lot of trouble and they needed their help. "Maybe we should go over to Gibbs'."

Tony nodded. "Yeah, let's…"

Tony was cut off by the sound of Gibbs' desk phone ringing. He stood up and immediately went over to answer it. He barely got the chance to put the receiver to his ear before the person on the other end started ranting.

"What in the hell is going on over there, Probie? I've been calling your cell for the past hour! Where have you been? And what the hell are you lot up to. I just…"

"Mike?" Tony interrupted. It had been a few months since anyone had heard from Mike Franks, but anyone who knew him would recognize his voice the minute he started talking.

"I….I don't know," Tony said.

"What the hell do you mean you don't know?!" Mike yelled into the phone.

"Exactly that. We're having the same problem reaching him as you are," Tony said.

Meanwhile, Ziva made her way over to Tony with a confused look on her face. She'd gathered that Tony was speaking with Mike Franks, but that was all she knew.

"Oh, hell! What in God's name are you people into?! Abby called me and asked me to look into some SOB that spent a lot of time up my way," Mike told Tony.

"Juan Garcia," Tony said.

"Yeah, him. You mind telling me what the hell you people are doing mixing up with the Reynosa Cartel again?" Mike asked irritably.

"What?!" Tony asked in shock.

"As in the bastards responsible for the loss of my trigger finger. Your boy was working for them. Now what's going on?" Mike asked.

Tony collapsed into Gibbs chair. "I don't know. All I know is that Juan Garcia has been targeting Gibbs and McGee. We had no idea that he…"

"McGee? What the hell does the Cartel want with your probie?" Mike asked.

"It's his wife and mother-in-law. Somehow they must be involved with them," Tony said. He couldn't figure out what the Reynosa Cartel could have against McGee's wife and her mother though, nor could he figure out what any of it had to do with Gibbs. He'd almost think that the interest with Gibbs was separate since he had history with the Cartel, but that would make this whole thing with Gibbs and McGee a coincidence and that brought up rule thirty-nine again.

"Back that train up, DiNozzo. Since when is McGee married?" Mike asked.

"Apparently since before we met him. We just found out yesterday. Believe me, we were all shocked. Apparently the Mrs. took off nine years ago without a word. We think she did it to protect him now. Anyway, these guys have been following him for a while now and they recently put a hit out on him. They were following Gibbs as well," Tony explained.

"And Where's McGee now?"

"He's missing too. He went home with Gibbs last night. Neither of them has been seen since and both their cells are either off or dead," Tony said.

"Perfect, just perfect!" Mike yelled.

"We were about to head out to Gibbs' place now. I can call you when we know something else," Tony said. He assumed Mike would want to be kept in the loop with what was going on.

"Don't bother. I'm grabbing the next flight out. You can tell me about anything you find in person."

Tony then heard the phone go dead and then he hung up.

"What is going on?" Ziva wanted to know.

"This just got worse," Tony said.

"Worse than McGee and Gibbs being missing and having a price on their heads?" Ziva asked skeptically. She found it difficult to believe it could get worse than that.

Tony nodded glumly. "Yeah, much worse. The price on their heads? It was put there by the Reynosa Cartel."

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tony and Ziva pulled up to Gibbs' house an hour later. The first thing he noticed was that Gibbs' car was parked in the driveway.

"Maybe they are still here," Ziva said.

"Yeah, and maybe the sky will turn green and the earth will become flat. If they were here, they would've answered their phones when we called," Tony said. As much as he wished he could believe Gibbs and McGee were in the house safe, he knew better. So did Ziva. She was just trying to cling to a strand of hope. He couldn't really blame her for that.

"I suppose we should go inside," Ziva said.

"Yeah," Tony said before stopping the car and getting out. He took out his gun and led the way into the house. He then motioned for Ziva to check the upstairs while secured the main floor and the basement.

Ziva nodded and headed up the stairs.

Tony immediately checked the living room and found it to be empty. He did the same with the kitchen and dining room before heading downstairs to the basement. Again, he found it empty. Then he went back upstairs to do a more thorough search. He wanted to see if anything was out of place.

Tony checked the living room first. He immediately noticed a set of keys on the table belonging to Gibbs. They were his car keys. It wasn't all that unexpected since Gibbs had left his car.

Ziva came back down at that moment. "No one is upstairs."

"Nothing down here either. There's no sign that anyone was here that didn't belong," Tony said.

"Maybe we should be comforted by that fact. If Gibbs and McGee had been taken, there would be some sort of struggle. Gibbs would never back down without a fight," Ziva said.

"I'm still not all that comforted. Gibbs' car and car keys are here. He wouldn't just leave without them," Tony said. It just didn't make sense. Ziva was right that there should be more evidence of a struggle if Gibbs and McGee had been forcibly taken, but they wouldn't just take off on foot somewhere and turn their phones off. Suddenly a thought hit Tony, but it wasn't a very comforting one. "Maybe it was a surprise attack. Maybe they got one of them while they were alone and forced the other to go willingly out of fear for the other's safety.

"It would have to be McGee," Ziva said. There was no way anyone had just gotten the drop on Gibbs like that.

Tony nodded in agreement. "Say they were lying in wait. Gibbs goes upstairs or to the basement when they get home and McGee gets cornered. Maybe he's knocked out from behind. Gibbs comes into the room to find McGee unconscious and probably with a gun to his head. It's the only way he would go willingly."

"To protect McGee," Ziva said.

"We should get our gear from the car. This is a crime scene. We need to go over the place with a fine tooth comb. Hopefully they left something behind," Tony said.

"I will get it," Ziva said before turning and walking out the front door.