Chapter 8
The ride up Route 395 could have been beautiful if they were out for a scenic tour. There were snow covered mountain peaks to one side and patches of arid lands to the other but no one noticed much of it. Everyone's mind was on Crandall and getting Alex back in one piece. There were no other thoughts except the ones in Bishop's head and she knew better than to express them.
Ellie worried about Gibbs. This loner, almost cavalier, attitude might get him killed. Tony had told her about Gibb's wild streak. This behavior of his hadn't arisen in a long time and it had her concerned for his safety and Alex's.
Back at the house Nick enjoyed watching Gibb's mind work like a fine honed puzzle. He, too, had concerns about Gibb's behavior but trusted his boss to get the job done. Crandall had a lot to pay for and Nick wanted an end to it. He wanted Crandall in custody or dead.
Just over the line into Lee Vining, Jethro had Ellie pull the car over to the side of the road.
Nick and Jeff pulled in behind them.
Jethro got out of the car taking the map with him and spread it on the hood of Alex's car. "This is where I intend to draw him to. I need you to be there to help me take him down or to pick up the pieces." Gibbs examined the map a moment longer. "Take the next road after our cut off and climb up to here. Don't forget your rifle." He looked at all of his team and nodded. He handed the map to Jeff. "Just be there."
Jeff patted him on the shoulder and smiled. "I've got a plan and I'll share it with Nick on our way out. Just give us about fifteen minutes before you go in."
Gibbs nodded.
They all got back into their respective vehicles.
Ellie let Nick and Jeff leave first and then she and Gibbs sat in silence for about fifteen minutes. Those fifteen minutes did absolutely nothing to ease Ellie's tensions. She felt them like a vice on the back of her neck.
What Gibbs had not said to the team was that he would be leaving his Sig Sauer with Ellie. He knew she'd object so he didn't intend to tell her. He took it out of his holster and slid it down beside the seat on the door side while she watched the road ahead.
The narrow road Ellie and Jethro took, climbed back and forth up the side of the hill. They found the turnoff right where Crandall said it would be.
Gibbs had Ellie stop and pull over. "Give me ten minutes and then go in."
Ellie knew Gibbs had thought this through but still a bit of panic set in. "Where will you be?"
Gibbs gave her his smirky smile. "I'll be there. Okay?" With those words he climbed out of the car and melted into the trees.
"No it's not okay." She said it to an empty space. To Ellie's mind it was not okay but she'd already had her moment to veto this plan and it hadn't gone anywhere. She nodded to the place where Gibbs had once stood. She looked at her watch and began the countdown.
Ten minutes later she put the car in gear and moved toward her destination and soon came to the rustic, no ancient, cabin that Crandall had said would be there. Apparently no one had lived here for years and she saw why Crandall had found this place alluring. There would be no one within miles to witness his hunt for Gibbs.
Crandall came out of the door leading Alex by the hand. She looked terrified and a little angry. "Where's Gibbs? I thought that he understood that it was him for Alex. Where is he?" Crandall seemed a wee bit agitated with not seeing his quarry.
His consternation made Ellie apprehensive.
"I'm here!" Jethro stood on the bluff right behind the cabin. "Let Agent Bishop take her home and you can come hunt me." Jethro let out a laugh as if the idea of being hunted was amusing. "I'm ready. Let her go." He looked down at Crandall and the smile disappeared. "That was your deal, wasn't it?"
Alex turned to look up at him, tears began streaming down her beautiful face.
He saw the anguish in her eyes and shook his head at her.
She understood what he was saying to her and she didn't care for it at all. "No Jay, don't do this." Tears continued to flow.
Gibbs gazed down at her and his heart broke a little but instead he tried to give her hope by smiling at her. He then turned his gaze to Bishop. "Agent Bishop, take Miss Cross home. I'll be there soon, I promise."
His promise relaxed Bishop but not Alex. All she saw was the Gibbs of old; the one who always put his life last. He always took chances even if it would cost his life. She didn't like this. She'd just spent a few creepy hours with Crandall and knew what he would be capable of. She had the bruises to show for it.
Ellie escorted Alex to the car and put her in the passenger's seat.
Alex's eyes never left Gibbs.
He still hadn't moved.
Crandall still tried to figure out Gibb's game plan and confusion still reigned.
Gibbs intended to use that confusion to his advantage however short lived it was.
When Ellie turned the car around and drove out Gibbs made a quick getaway into the hills. He ran past outcropping of rocks and small bushes. There were some small patches of ice that he ran carefully over so that he didn't fall and get hurt. It would be a short 'game' if that happened. He also knew that as he climbed higher there'd be more. He didn't need to hurt himself this early in the chase. He laughed inwardly at that thought.
He ran up hill towards the crest of the hill and then down the other side. As he ran he was careful to not leave footprints. He didn't want to make this too easy for Crandall. Gibbs knew that Crandall could have taught him a thing or two about tracking after all their talks while he was captured. Jethro knew that Crandall had many victims before this chase and he refused to think of himself as one of his victim. No… the victim was on the other end of this hunt.
In the car Ellie was trying to ease Alex's nerves. As she turned onto the rustic road that led down to 395 Alex let her arm relax and slip down next to the door. When she brought it back up Gibbs Sig Sauer was in her hand. "Oh my god, he didn't take his weapon. Why would he do that?" Her tears resumed.
Ellie shook her head and gave a small chuckle. "Of course he didn't." While it made her angry and a little upset, she'd expected him to do something crazy like this.
Alex's anxiety level went up a notch. This was the old Gibbs and that frightened her. "Why would he do that?"
Ellie kept driving towards town. Her part of the mission was to get Alex out of the way so that Gibbs, Nick and Jeff could take Crandall down. She also needed to keep Alex calm. So she did something crazy. She turned into Lee Vining and looked for a deli or sandwich shop. She found one and pulled in. "Could I interest you in a sandwich and a cup of tea?"
Alex looked to Ellie with a bit of askance. "Are you out of your mind?" Then she realized what Bishop was doing and she smiled across the car at her friend. "What are we waiting for?"
Both got out of the car and walked into the restaurant and sat down. Neither of them stopped thinking about Jethro and the crazy chase through the hills.
Gibbs kept running through rocks and scrub trying to keep from falling and from being seen. He hadn't expected it to be so wide open but he could see trees and low brush up ahead. That would give him some time to catch his breath and rest his knees. They'd stared to hurt a while back. He'd come about a mile and a half, a lot of it uphill and was looking for the high point that he'd seen on the topographical map of Jeff's.
The ground here was rocky and there was no cover so he got down on his belly and crawled the rest of the way to the trees and rocks up that he'd seen. The trees, by shading, kept the ground under them cold and in return the ground was covered with ice and snow probably from the last snow storm. He broke off a clean piece ice off and sucked on it. It was arid land and he needed to keep hydrated.
Suddenly there was a large snap behind him. Was it Crandall or an animal? There were bears and large cats in this part of the country. He wedged himself between two rocks that were covered by brush. He'd spend the next few minutes resting both his knees and the rest of his body but most importantly to see who or what came up that trail. He also pulled his knife from his pocket and opened it, just in case.