Tony was sitting at his desk on the phone. He was making about the fifth call he had to Kate. Once again, it went straight to voicemail. "Damn it, Kate, rule three exists for a reason! We have a missing kid. I know you get that. I know you know this kid somehow. You're the only link we have to him right now. You need to come back so you can help us find him!" he yelled into the phone before hanging up.
"Give me something, DiNozzo," Gibbs said as he walked past him.
Tony cringed, knowing that his boss was not going to be happy with what he had to tell him, since what had to tell him was nothing. "I'm trying to get ahold of Kate. She's the only one whom we know knows this kid."
"How about finding his parents, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked irritably.
"I'm trying, but I have nothing to go on. McGee is a common last name. I found four in the area and none of them check out with this boy. The school isn't telling us anything and there's no other leads. I started looking other possible attacks on the off chance that there was a pattern, but nothing," Tony said. He hadn't really expected to find anything anyway. This boy was clearly a target. the bastard had been ready to let the other two go. Paul Jones was only attacked because he bravely defended his friend.
"It's almost five. Someone has to be worried about this boy," Gibbs said.
"I've already checked with local LEOs. No one has reported him missing. No one's reported the incident in the park either. I thought for a second he might have went home and told his parents, but if he did, they didn't report it," Tony said.
Gibbs shook his head. "No, my gut tells me this kid is still in the wind."
"If what I heard at the Rogers' is right, that makes sense. If he's abused, he's not gonna go tell his folks that he skipped school," Tony said.
"Not a leap we're gonna make based off hearsay," Gibbs said. He wasn't willing to take a stranger's word that a child was abused. That was a very serious accusation. He wasn't willing to condemn a couple on the word of someone who met the child once. If Tim McGee was abused though, he'd make damn sure he didn't go home.
"I don't get why Kate took off. She should just tell us what's going on. She could help us find him," Tony said in frustration.
Gibbs was at a loss for that too. Kate's actions didn't make any sense. If she knew this boy, she should tell them that, along with what she knew. That would make sense. She obviously wasn't thinking clearly. She wasn't behaving like an agent. She was acting more like…
"Boss?" Tony asked. He'd noticed that Gibbs seemed to be trying to figure out why Kate had done it and then he looked like he might have an explanation.
"Be back," Gibbs said before walking up the stairs and to the director's office. He bypassed Morrow's secretary and walked into his office. "Need to see Kate's personnel file."
"What for?" Morrow asked.
"Hunch," was all Gibbs said.
Normally, Morrow would want a better reason for pulling out an agent's file, but this was Gibbs. If he needed to see Agent Todd's file, he had a good reason. So he got up and retrieved her file from the file cabinet. He then walked over to Gibbs and handed it over.
Gibbs opened the file and started looking. He didn't have far to look. It was on the first page. He found he was right. It made sense why Kate took off now. It would've been smarter for her to tell them and let them help, but she wasn't thinking clearly. No one in her situation could think clearly.
"Everything alright, Jethro?" Morrow asked.
Gibbs didn't answer. He just left the room, file in hand and walked back downstairs.
Tony was getting off the phone when his boss came back. "I just tried her again, Boss."
"You can stop calling, DiNozzo. She's not gonna answer," Gibbs said before placing the open file in front of Tony.
Tony glanced at it and then looked up at Gibbs in shock. "This can't be true."
"It is. Makes sense with how she reacted," Gibbs said.
"But why wouldn't she tell us?" Tony asked feeling hurt. He and Kate were partners and he thought they were friends too. Friends didn't hide things like this.
"Some people prefer their private lives to remain that way. Her reasons don't matter right now. We have to find her and the kid," Gibbs said.
Tony nodded. "I'll check her apartment," Tony said before standing up and heading for the elevator.
Xxxxxxxxxxx
Tony made his way to Tony's apartment. He hoped to find her there or something to help him find Tim. He was about to knock when he noticed the look. It was jimmied. Someone had picked the look.
Tony immediately took out his gun before opening the door and slowly making his way inside. As soon as he walked inside, he was greeted with a gun in his own face. He relaxed when he saw who it was. "Kate."
Kate lowered her gun. "What are you doing here, Tony?"
"Where have you been, Kate?" Tony countered.
"Everywhere," Kate said before putting her gun away. "I've been to every park around and looked in very place he might go to hide. I can't find him. I was hoping he'd call me, but he hasn't."
"Why did you take off? You should've stayed with us and let us help," Tony said.
"Yes, you told me that less civilly in your message," Kate said irritably.
Tony cringed. He regretted that message now. Now he knew what she was going through and he felt bad for adding to her problems.
"I haven't exactly been thinking clearly," Kate said. It was an understatement. She'd been panicked since she left the hospital and that only continued as the hours passed.
"I know. It's going to be okay, Kate. We'll find him. We'll find your son."