Tony, Ziva, and Abby were all shocked by Mike's statement. "That guy was connected to Gibbs' wife? Are you sure?" Tony asked.
Mike turned and glared at him. "You don't forget anything, no matter how remote, about someone you failed to save." He never spoke about it out loud, but he held a lot of guilt for not being able to save Shannon Gibbs and her daughter. He'd told Shannon they would be safe and they weren't. He'd never really forgiven himself for that.
"So who is he?" Ziva asked.
"She introduced him as a friend of the family about a week before she died. I think she said his name was Nick," Mike said.
"Obviously he was no friend. He must work for the Reynosa Cartel," Ziva said.
"How do you figure? We don't know enough to make that call," Tony said.
"Think about it, Tony. This man turns up while Shannon is preparing to testify against a drug dealer and a week later she is dead. It is clear what happened. He worked for the Cartel and he betrayed her," Ziva said.
"But she introduced him as a family friend. That means that she must have known him before all that business with the Reynosa Cartel started," Abby said.
"Rather than speculate, let's find out who this guy is. No matter what else, he knows where Gibbs and McGee are. We work on finding him," Mike said.
"How though? All we have is a face and a possible name. There are a lot of people in the world with the name Nick. That's if that's his real name," Tony said.
"We should start by checking him against the known members of the Reynosa Cartel. I will do that," Ziva said.
"What about Joanne Fielding, Shannon's mother? If this guy is a friend of the family, she must know about him," Abby reasoned.
Mike nodded. "Let's bring her in and talk to her. We'll also start looking into the time period that he first showed up. This guy didn't just turn up one day,"
"I'll get a couple of agents to bring Joanne in and then I'll get on it," Tony said before walking away to do as he said.
Xxxxxxxxxxx
Tony and Ziva walked into the interrogation room that Joanne Fielding was in.
"It is almost nine-o-clock. Why am I here? Where is Jethro" Joanne asked irritably. She could only assume that her son-in-law was behind this
Ms. Fielding, we need your help," Tony said as he and Ziva sat down. He then took a blown up photo of the guy Mike had recognized from the traffic camera. "Do you know who he is?"
Joanne immediately recognized the man in the photo. He was the same man she'd hired twenty years ago to protect her family and the man she continued to pay to keep them safe. That wasn't something she could or would tell these agents though. "No. Should I know him?"
"If your daughter is to be believed, yes," Ziva said.
Joanne felt her stomach drop when she heard that. Had they somehow found Shannon? What they were saying led her to believe that they had, but how could that be. She paid Nick good money to make sure that they were never found. Until now, it seemed to work. "What?"
"Before she died, your daughter told the NIS agent in charge of her case that this man was a family friend," Tony said.
Joanne felt slight relief after hearing that. She still had a bit of a problem here, but at least the agents didn't know about her daughter and granddaughter. "Perhaps she meant he was a friend of her and Jethro. They were a family all of their own. Where is he anyway? And are you asking these questions? What does it matter now?"
"It matters because Gibbs is missing," Tony said. Normally he wouldn't give information like that out, but he was hoping the woman would be more forthcoming if she knew. Besides, she wasn't considered a suspect.
"H…he's what?" Joanne asked in shock.
"He and another agent disappeared last night. They were last seen in a car with the man in this picture," Ziva said. Okay, so they hadn't seen McGee in the car, but they'd assumed he was with them given the circumstances.
To say that Joanne was surprised would be an understatement. What game was Nick playing? He shouldn't be going near Jethro, or DC for that matter. It was like he was begging for someone to find out about Shannon and Kelly.
Tony could tell that the old woman in front of him knew something. He didn't know how much she knew, but she knew something. "Who is he, Ms. Fielding?"
"I told you, I don't know," Joanne lied once more.
"You know something," Tony said.
"No, I don't," Joanne insisted.
"Like you didn't know anything about the death of your fiancé? Gibbs saved you then. He made it possible for you to walk free after killing a man. Are you really gonna hang him out to dry now?" Tony asked irritably.
"Have you considered that Jethro left on his own? I find it difficult to believe that he would allow himself to be anyone's hostage," Joanne said.
"There is a hit on his head from the Reynosa Cartel, the same way there was on your daughter. This man was last person we know of to see your daughter alive and he's the last person to have seen Gibbs. Now, if he works for the Reynosa Cartel, Gibbs and our other agent are as good as dead if you don't help us! Tell us what you know!" Tony ordered loudly.
Joanne was surprised and horrified to learn that the Reynosa Cartel was after Gibbs. She'd never liked Jethro, not from the moment she met him, but she didn't wish him dead, especially after what he had done for her. She also knew that if those monsters were after Jethro, it was to get to Shannon and Kelly. If they were successfully, her girls would be in severe jeopardy. But they would also be in jeopardy if she told these agents they were alive. "I'm sorry. I can't help you."
Tony glared at the elderly woman. "If we ever see Gibbs again, we'll be sure to tell him what protecting you meant to you." With that, he and Ziva got up and left the room.