A/N Thanks so much for the reviews. My husband took ALL the kids for the afternoon leaving me all by myself today. Apparently, they were going to do a little mother's day shopping. An afternoon to myself is one of the best gifts he could give me :) Anyway, of all the things I could have done, I decided to do some more editing and post another chapter.

Special thanks to DS2010, Hippiechic18, Guest, AureaD, the General and Skyrunner...you all made my day by leaving a review. I know it can be a bit hard to stay interested in a story that takes so long to write. Your reviews were what spurred me on to finish another chapter so I hope you enjoy. Things are heading to a climax...

Makayla picked at a hangnail on her thumb not wanting to look up, but she could feel Gibbs' penetrating eyes boring a hole in her back. She didn't want to give him the satisfaction of seeing her squirm so she forced herself to turn and look at him square in the eyes.

"Gave up on the idea of having a witness?"

"Why would I need a witness?"

Makayla swallowed hard. "Good point. Now you can kill me with no witnesses but don't count on Abby helping you. She's on my side this time."

Gibbs smirked, not looking nearly as vexed as he felt before. Makayla wasn't sure if she should be relieved or disconcerted. Gibbs walked around the table and pulled a chair out across from her. Sitting down, he rested his chin in his hands and stared at her.

"What?" she almost whined, not being able to take his intense stare any longer.

"I thought we had an understanding," he said simply.

Makayla sucked her bottom lip into her mouth and bit down on it. Hard.

Gibbs watched her for several seconds before reaching forward and tugging on her lip to release it. He didn't say anything just then but continued to look intently at her making Makayla feel more and more uncomfortable.

"Agent Gibbs," she began in a pained voice. "I was only trying to help…no one is doing anything and the longer Aimee is missing, the worse it gets. I know it…"

Gibbs tapped her mouth softly, his finger lingering on her lips. "Listen to me for a minute…"

Makayla pulled back and shook her head. "NO!"

Gibbs looked taken aback.

The young teen stood to her feet and walked towards the window, refusing to make eye contact with him. Gibbs turned in his chair and watched her quietly, waiting for her to speak. If she wanted to talk, he was willing to give her the floor.

"I didn't run away. I promised you I wouldn't and I didn't. However, I did make it look like I was taking off to deceive you and I should be sorry for that but I'm not, so if you're gonna smack me than you might as well get it over with." Makayla turned to face him, tears of apprehension shimmering in her eyes. She didn't relish another demonstration of his authority.

Gibbs immediately regretted his brusque show of authority. He could tell that Mak was torn up over all that was happening, and he hadn't intended to add to her sorrow. He stood to his feet and walked over to her.

"I'm not gonna smack you, Mak," he said softly, not missing the look of immediate relief that flooded the girl's face. It was more than obvious to him that his earlier demonstration had certainly hit its mark with Makayla. He didn't reckon he'd ever need to repeat it with the girl and for that, he was immensely relieved. He wished he'd been able to affect Aimee in the same way, but he knew things weren't even remotely comparable.

"You're not?"

Gibbs smiled at her kindly. "I'm not," He repeated with a sigh. "I'll admit it crossed my mind when I first came into the room. I wanted to put you and Abby both over my knee. What you two did was reckless and dangerous. You're not NCIS agents, and you can't possibly know how convoluted this whole thing really is. Geez, Mak, you're just a kid, for Pete's sake."

"Abby isn't," she countered with determination and a good deal of sass in her tone.

Gibbs furrowed his brow and gently popped her on the back of the head, brushing her hair into her face. Makayla lifted her chin indignantly and brushed the hair from her face trying to ignore the slight sting coming from the back of her head. Her pride didn't allow him the satisfaction of seeing her rub the spot he'd whacked. "I'm serious, Gibbs."

"You think I'm not?" There was a clear warning lingering in his voice.

Makayla lifted her thumb to her mouth once more and continued nervously chewing on the hangnail, considering if she wanted to continue or not. She knew she was pushing her luck with Gibbs.

"Agent Gibbs," she said after a few moments, her voice a little more hesitant. "I wouldn't have tried anything on my own. I went to Abby for help cuz I knew she wouldn't let me do anything stupid…"

"What you did was stupid!" he scolded, his face becoming stern once more.

"No, it wasn't," she insisted, deciding to just be frank, no matter the consequence. "Tony told me you can't do anything because it's an order and if you break it then it's really serious, and I can understand that I guess. Well, not really but I can try. And, I'm just a kid and Abby, well, she's not a kid, I guess, but you can all just blame everything on me because they can't put a kid in jail, or at least I don't think they can, can they?" Makayla hesitated a moment not really asking the question to Gibbs but more thinking out loud to herself. "Anyway, Riley isn't officially a Marine right now because I think he's in some kind of trouble or something, so he's like a free agent but he's trained so he knows what to do. Riley can do stuff you can't and he won't get into trouble, or at least I don't think he will because technically he doesn't have a boss at the moment, and he's already in trouble so maybe that would be double jeopardy or something. I think. Only I'm not entirely sure if what he's doing is what he did before so maybe that's not the right term." Makayla's brow was furrowed in bewilderment.

Gibbs bit back a smirk as he listened to her ramble on. Makayla had a habit of rambling when she was nervous much like Abby. It was endearing in a way.

"Anyway, Tony said there are a lot of people involved in this and that's why NCIS can't do anything. Abby gave Riley a lot of important Intel, Agent Gibbs. It seems to me that you must know enough to do something but you haven't done anything so maybe Riley can help. He promised me he would try."

"Mak, you can't put all your faith in Riley. He's not much older than you are…"

"I know but he told me he almost completed the Crucible, Agent Gibbs, and if he can survive that, he can do anything; and besides, I trust him."

Gibbs frowned. "You don't even know him. How can you say you trust him?"

Tears filled her green eyes. "There's something in his eyes, Agent Gibbs. It's in your eyes too. I just knew when I met you that you were a kindred spirit, and I feel that way about Riley too. Only, I'm not a big fan of you smacking me," she said earnestly, wincing a little at his glare. "Just saying," she muttered softly with a shrug.

Gibbs sighed. "Duly noted," he commented. He chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "Do you even know what double jeopardy means?"

Makayla's eyes sparkled through her tears. "Have you forgotten who my father is, Agent Gibbs?"

Gibbs hadn't. Mike Wallace was a brilliant attorney. Makayla probably knew more about the law than he did in some cases. Gibbs stared at her debating if he wanted to hug her or throttle her. She was a highly intelligent kid, and he felt drawn to her in a way he couldn't put his finger on. A kindred spirit was a good term. He'd thought of it himself. And Riley, well, it was true about that young Marine as well. Gibbs felt the same draw to Riley as he did Mak which was probably why he let the young man stay in the conference room in the first place rather than in the brig. It had been highly unconventional but Gibbs hadn't given it a second thought. It turned out that Makayla had just labelled for him what he felt. She was a pretty intuitive kid.

"I know you said it's not my fault that Aimee ran away, Agent Gibbs, but in a way it is…" Mak's voice cut into his inner musing and he opened his mouth to protest but Makayla rushed on cutting him off before any words could leave his lips.

"I'm not feeling sorry for myself, okay? I'm just trying to rectify a wrong. That's all."

Gibbs blinked a few times but remained quiet and thoughtful before speaking. "None of this is anyone's fault, Mackie. I understand what you're saying, but right now I need you to listen up and take good notes because I'm not gonna repeat myself."

Mak took a deep breath and gulped expecting the worst.

Gibbs pointed a finger at her sternly, switching gears for a moment. "Here's a news flash for you, kiddo. You are a kid, not an NCIS agent…"

Makayla frowned and scowled at him, an argument building momentum on her lips.

"Don't," warned Gibbs seeing the rebellion welling up inside her. "Like it or not, yes, you are still a child and you need to stay out of this. That means no more brilliant ideas to interfere or thinking that you know better than me because you don't. For all you know, you sent Riley on a suicide mission."

Her eyes widened and tears cascaded down her cheeks.

"Furthermore, your aunt is waiting to talk with you in her office. I have no idea what she is going to say or do but you will be respectful. If I catch wind that you gave her a hard time, you and I will most certainly be having a much different conversation, part of which will find you staring face down at this carpet. Am I making myself clear?"

Makayla looked at the carpet for a moment understanding completely what he meant and there was no way in hell she was going to do anything to warrant that. She had no want to be up close and personal with Gibbs' hand or the carpet. Nothing her aunt could say or do would ever be terrible enough to risk that.

"Crystal," she mumbled, allowing the tears to flow freely, hoping they might soften Gibbs a little. She was a girl after all; she knew the power of tears when it came to father type people or maybe it was men in general. She hadn't been around long enough to know for sure just yet but she sure wished tears worked as well on her mother and her aunt.

He wagged his finger at her sternly. "I'm not joking around here. What you and Abby did was serious, kiddo."

"I know."

"I don't think you do."

Mak suddenly felt like she wanted to clarify something. "Umm… does that threat apply just to Aunt Jenny?"

Gibbs hit her with a hard look. "What do you think?"

Makayla suddenly found her shoes extremely interesting as more tears escaped. "I plead the fifth," she mumbled.

Gibbs frowned deeper remaining rooted in his tough outward demeanour, wanting Makayla to realise he was extremely serious. He was tired of being undermined. It was bad enough when Abby went behind his back. At least he knew she had some kind of method to her madness. Makayla often just worked off teenage hormones and that was never good.

Mak fidgeted under the scrutiny, feeling a mixture of uneasiness and concern for Riley's wellbeing after hearing the whole story on why NCIS was stalled. A strangled sob escaped her lips as she put a hand to her mouth. "I'm so sorry if I put Riley in danger, Agent Gibbs."

His heart softening just then, Gibbs dropped his tough guy routine and pulled the trembling girl in for a hug. Makayla melted into the embrace and allowed herself to relax against him soaking up the security she felt in his arms. Gibbs puffed out his cheeks silently, not wanting Mak to feel his tension. He was past the point of concerned and not knowing what Riley had in mind, if anything, wasn't helping. He hoped that Abby's bug would give them some kind of clue as to what the young Marine had in mind. And he prayed the kid wouldn't get himself killed in the process. He couldn't live with that on his conscience.

"But you can't make me be sorry for sending him because I'm not," she muttered into his chest.

Gibbs bit back a chuckle but didn't reply. Mak had managed to bring him some levity and sunshine in an otherwise dark time and he was going to bask in it for a while.

xXx—NCIS—xXx

"What are you going to do with her?"

"I thought you wanted the chip out?"

"How the hell did you escape?"

Questions flew at Brody from every corner of the room. Brody sat rather cheerfully on a sofa in the middle of a nicely decorated room located in the centre of the building. From the outside, the structure looked like a rundown warehouse ready for demolition but inside it was very elaborately decorated. Around the room stood a handful of confused and angry looking faces, one of them being Rick Almeida and another Dr. Russ Mitchell. Russ' expression was one of utter bewilderment as he stood motionless still dressed in his green scrubs.

In the centre of the room on the carpet still unconscious laid the small form of Aimee Percy. All eyes seemed to be on Brody but Rick couldn't help but stare at Aimee as well. The small child was so vulnerable and everyone in the room was there on account of her.

"I do want the chip but I need some time, Mitchell," Brody answered quietly. "She is my kid after all and I don't even know her."

"Fantastic," muttered someone else, "You pick now to get a friggin conscience?"

Brody didn't look at who made the remark. He was familiar with every man in the room. He knew who had said it.

"I've spent 6 months in solitary confinement, gentlemen. I couldn't so much as take a piss without someone watching me. Forgive me if I want to have some say in how this damned thing goes down!" Brody stood to his feet and walked across the room to where a minibar stood. He poured himself a drink and downed it, refilling his glass again and drinking that too. He gritted his teeth as the alcohol burned his throat going down. "Get the hell out of here! All of you, NOW! Leave me alone with my kid. I'll let you know when I'm ready."

The room quickly emptied until Brody was alone with Almeida and Mitchell. Brody turned and looked at them tersely.

"That includes you two clowns," he muttered, pouring another drink.

"Just tell me how you escaped," prompted Almeida.

"You know, Almeida, I'm not the bad guy you think I am." Brody turned and glared at the dark haired man who was looking at him with spite. "I never knew she was my kid in the beginning."

"Doesn't change the fact that you do now," he muttered scathingly.

"I had a lot of time to think when I was incarcerated."

Almeida scoffed. "I'll bet."

Brody's eyes darkened. "I'd shut my mouth if I were you. I could ruin your ass with one phone call." Brody sipped his drink this time but stared at Aimee as he did.

Almeida didn't flinch. He knew it was true but he'd lost his reasons for caring now. His eyes fell on Aimee again as she stirred. Brody's eyes moved immediately to Mitchell's.

"How long do we get til the kid wakes?"

Mitchell shrugged. "I dunno; not sure how much Almeida got into her. She's a feisty little thing when she's awake. A fighter like her ole man."

Brody smiled.

"He's referring to Agent Jethro Gibbs, you idiot, not you," muttered Almeida, suddenly not caring a wit if he insulted the man in front of him.

Brody took a few steps towards Almeida in an attempt to intimidate him but it didn't work. Almeida stood his ground. Aimee stirred some more and her eyelids fluttered.

"Better brace yourself, Brody. That little girl is a spitfire, and she will wake up like a trapped, wounded animal."

Brody's eyes seemed to flood with uncertainty, having never been around children much in his life. He had a passion for rescuing people from human trafficking but children were not his thing.

"Why didn't you let me take out the chip?" demanded Mitchell suddenly. "I was prepped to do it and it could have been done by now."

"You said there was a high probability that the operation would kill her. I wanted a chance to get to know her, even if only briefly."

Almeida scoffed. "Don't you think it's too little too late?"

"Shut up, Almeida. I said I had a lot of time to think and I meant it. Like it or not, Aimee is my kid. She deserves to know her real father."

"What the hell for? So she knows it was her father who sentenced her to death?"

Brody angrily pitched his glass across the room. It hit the wall and the brown liquid splattered across the wall and dripped onto the floor.

"I never put that gawddamned chip in her head! I had nothing to do with that."

"No, you didn't, that's true, but you drove Percy to it. You and Stratton both."

Brody pinched his nose. He couldn't deny it, but in his defence, he hadn't known Aimee was his kid at the time, and he never thought Jonathan Percy would be crazy enough to do something so heinous to his own kid.

Russ Mitchell looked at the clock on the wall and made to leave. "Look, I need to get back to the hospital; I have surgery. Call me when you're ready, Brody, but you need to remember something. That chip is a ticking time bomb in that kid's head. It needs to come out or she will die for sure. Taking it out gives her a slim chance but it's better than none at all." With those final words, Dr. Mitchell left the room, leaving Almeida and Brody alone.

xXx—NCIS—xXx

The beeping on the screen made Abby stop in her tracks and zoom the picture in further.

"Do you see that, McGee?" she asked, narrowing her eyes. Abby had surpassed tired 5 Caf-Pows ago, so she wasn't sure she trusted her own eyes any longer.

"I see it, Abby."

"What's he doing?"

"I have no idea. Where did you put the bug anyway? You sure he still has it?"

Abby smacked McGee on the back of his head.

"Abby!" he yelled in indignation.

"Wake up call, McGee. Unless he's walking around with no pants on, that bug is still on him. There is no way he could have found it."

The two of them continued to watch the monitors in front of them for several minutes longer.

"It can't be right. We've already searched every single warehouse in that vicinity. There is no way Aimee is there," muttered Tim, not noticing the growing look of satisfaction on Abby's face.

Abby's hands were trembling from the overabundance of caffeine as she leaned over McGee's shoulder. She narrowed her eyes and licked her lips, her heart dancing a little jig in her chest.

"Got anything, Abbs?" said a loud voice from behind her.

Abby screamed in McGee's ear making him flinch, startled by Gibbs' sudden appearance. She straightened up and scowled at Gibbs, punching him in the arm.

"Don't sneak up on me like that, Gibbs!" she scolded.

Gibbs frowned at her.

Abby quickly gained her composure and looked remorseful. "Sorry, but you scared me. Never sneak up on a Goth who's had more Caf-Pow than she weighs."

It was then that Abby realised that Gibbs was carrying another Caf-Pow in his hands. She made a sorrowful face when he proceeded to drop the cup in the nearby garbage. She could have used another one despite her agitation.

McGee wiggled a finger in his ear; it was still ringing from Abby's sharp screech.

"Boss, we've narrowed down Riley's location to the Westport warehouses."

Gibbs lifted a brow. "We've already searched there. Why would he go there? Those were the original coordinates that he gave us."

McGee shrugged. "I dunno, maybe he wanted to check things out for himself."

It was then that Gibbs noticed that Abby looked a little too pleased with herself.

"Abby, is there something you're not telling me?" Gibbs walked up to Abby, invading her personal bubble without so much as a second thought. Abby took a few steps back and chewed on the side of her lip.

"Abby?" His voice held a clear threat to it.

Abby fidgeted and her gaze dropped to the floor. "Okay, so maybe I might have done some hacking…" she began, not looking up at the man who was like a father to her. Abby was well aware of how Gibbs felt about her hacking and going around firewalls. She's already broken enough rules and was still on probation because of it.

Gibbs crossed his arms, clearly losing patience with her stalling.

Abby gulped. "Okay, so hear me out on this, Gibbs," she began, taking a few more steps back for her own peace of mind. "I did some digging around and Riley is very astute when it comes to numbers, much like Sister Margarete when we play poker…"

"You play poker with nuns?" asked McGee, not being able to stop himself from blurting that out.

"Nuns are people too, Timmy," informed Abby.

"Where do you play? Surely you don't go to a casino…"

Abby looked genuinely shocked. "Of course not, McGee. That would be a sin."

"And nuns playing poker isn't?"

Gibbs took this moment to walk up behind McGee and smack the back of his head. Abby jumped a little, startled and Tim winced.

"Sorry, Boss," the younger man said quietly, rubbing the back of his head. He inwardly reprimanded himself for not staying professional around Gibbs. It just felt like Abby always seemed to say something that threw him for a loop.

"I inputted those coordinates earlier which led you to the warehouses but then I decided that I'd do a little digging. The government owns those warehouses and has spent an exorbitant amount of money on them in the past 10 years."

Gibbs frowned. "That doesn't make any sense. We searched that whole area and found nothing but empty storage space. The place is completely run down. In fact, the workers that we spoke to said the place hadn't even been used in over six months."

Abby moved closer to the monitors continuing to speak. "Well, after some digging…"

"You mean hacking…" clarified Gibbs, letting her know that he was not fooled by her wording.

Abby fidgeted. "You can get mad at me later, Gibbs, but listen," Abby scolded Gibbs in a way that only she could get away with. "Those warehouses have an underground level."

"That's impossible. We would have found it."

Almost as if on cue, the flashing beacon on the screen went from above ground to underground. Abby pointed at the screen.

"I told Riley about it, and he insisted that's where he'd heard that Aimee was going to be located."

Abby turned to look at Gibbs only to see his back to her as he rushed from the room.