It was three minutes to midnight when his phone rang. He had contemplated switching the damned thing off: he was not in the mood for anyone wishing him a 'Happy New Year', not while his SFA was still missing.
Vance had promised to snoop around the other agencies, but after Gibbs had waltzed into his office a third time demanding an update, the director had ordered Gibbs and his team to go home.
''It's New Years Eve,'' Vance had begun to explain. ''I will tell you as soon as I have a lead, but right now most people are off duty.''
Before he'd gone, Gibbs had paid Abby a visit. He frowned when he'd found her in a darkened lab with no music playing whatsoever. Her hair had not been done up in her usual pigtails, and even her makeup was 'light', for Abby's doing anyway. She was clasping onto Bert, her head resting on top of him as she sat in her chair.
''Abs?'' He carefully prodded when she didn't seem to notice him at first. Her green eyes shot up to meet his icy blue ones, and his heart twisted painfully as he saw the tears she was struggling to hold back.
''Sorry,'' She sniffed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. ''Did you need something?''
''This about DiNozzo?'' He asked instead, leaning against her desk. A farting noise filled the air when she squeezed the toy hippo tighter.
''He always takes me out New Years Eve…'' She admitted sadly. Gibbs sighed, placing a hand on her shoulder and gently squeezing it.
''Then go out.'' He suggested kindly, the ghost of a smile on his face. ''You can tell him all about it when we find him.''
She contemplated his words for a moment, but Gibbs saw the sparkle in her eyes flicker with hope and determination once more.
''You're right!'' She perked, putting Bert on her desk before hopping out of her chair. ''If Tony can't make it, I'll just have to have fun for the both of us!''
She planted a soft kiss on Gibbs' cheek before skipping towards the exit of the lab.
''Hey Abs!'' Gibbs called after her, and she immediately spun around to face him. ''Take someone with you.''
''You got it, boss man!'' The Goth beamed, twirling around once more and disappearing from his sight. Gibbs shook his head and snorted.
''You've got a lot to make up for when we find you, Tony.'' He muttered to himself.
After getting home, Gibbs had finished the leftover pasta he'd made a few days ago and had grabbed a beer before retreating into his basement. Out of habit, he ran over the files on Tony's disappearance and scribbled down the possibility of another agency 'borrowing' his SFA.
If it was true, and another federal agency was behind Tony's disappearance, he almost pitied the person who would have to face his team's wrath. Almost.
He'd been contemplating a new woodwork project to keep him busy when his phone had gone off. He'd left it for the first few rings, but as the pesky thing refused to remain silent, Gibbs flipped it open to see who would bother him at this time.
''Gibbs! Gibbs! Gibbs!'' Abby's tone instantly put him on high alert. She usually sounded rushed, partly due to her constant caffeine intake, but something in her voice had changed. It wasn't just rushed; it was panicked.
''Abs, what's-''
''It's Tony!'' Abby interrupted frantically. Gibbs' gut was swirling uncomfortably. ''He's in danger!''
''Abby, slow down, what-''
Once again, Gibbs was interrupted, only this time by a sound he recognised far too well. Over the phone, he heard the screams and chaos that followed the gunshot. Was that Palmer he could hear shouting at people to ''run this way''?
''Abby what's going on?!'' By this time he was running up the stairs and out the door, his phone lodged between his ear and his shoulder as he holstered his gun. ''Where are you?''
''A club called Heist!'' Abby quickly relayed the address to Gibbs, who was already pulling out of his driveway and racing through the street. ''Gibbs, hurry!''
''I'm on my way, stay safe!'' Gibbs barked desperately, his heart racing.
He had no idea what was happening. All he knew was that Abby was somewhere where gunshots were being fired, and somehow DiNozzo was involved.
He had made it through the streets in DC in record time. He swallowed past the lump forming in his throat as he reached the club: instead of fireworks, flashes of blue and red sirens coloured the streets. Police officers were working to tape off the scene while a SWAT team still stood scattered around the club.
A silver sedan parked right outside the club was coated in bullet holes: Gibbs could see a weapon prodded in the boot of the car, and right by the entrance two bodies had been covered with white sheets.
People were coming out of the club, tear stained and shaking in fear. Gibbs flashed his badge at a nearby officer as he ran past him, eyes darting over the crowds.
''Gibbs!'' Relief flushed over him when he saw Abby running towards him. He enveloped her in a tight embrace, his hand running through her hair soothingly.
''What happened, Abs?'' He asked once she calmed down a little. She pulled out of the hug, and for a moment she seemed uncertain where to begin.
''I invited Palmer to come to this club with me,'' She finally started, and Gibbs couldn't help the slight smile that tugged at his lips. He just could not imagine anyone more awkward in a club than Jimmy- except maybe McGee.
''Hey!'' Abby berated. She placed her hands on her hips, seemingly catching on to his train of thought. ''Jimmy has been great through all of this! He's still helping coordinate the paramedics.''
Glancing in the direction Abby gestured at, Gibbs could indeed see the young man briefing the paramedics whilst apparently assessing a young man's leg.
''How many dead?'' Gibbs hated having to ask this, but he needed to know the severity of the situation.
''Two.''
That came as a surprise. With the amount of people here, as well as the amount of bullet holes that he could see in the cars and walls, Gibbs had expected a larger number.
''Two?'' Gibbs repeated, still unsure if he'd heard it right. Abby nodded.
''Tony shot the first one,'' She explained, gesturing at the two covered up bodies. ''As far as I heard an agent shot the second one, I was too busy helping people take cover when-''
''Hold up!'' Gibbs stopped her from rambling on. ''DiNozzo's here? Where is he?''
''That's the thing, Gibbs,'' Abby answered, looking at him worriedly. ''Palmer and I were in the queue when these guys walked past with weapons-''
''Why did no one stop them?'' Gibbs asked, baffled that these men, whoever they were, had been able to casually walk up to a club with weapons drawn.
''The club has a bank heist theme,'' Abby responded, gesturing at the name above the venue. ''There was meant to be a special event on tonight, you know, since it's New Years, so everyone thought it was going to be an act.''
Gibbs felt sick at the thought of that. Pushing his anger aside, he urged Abby to continue explaining what had happened.
''I noticed that Palmer wasn't really paying attention to what I was saying, so I tried to see what caught his eye.'' She continued.
''Tony.'' Gibbs caught on.
''He was with the attackers. There were four of them, Tony included.'' Abby revealed hesitantly. ''Gibbs, he looked at right at us. I noticed the weapons and I obviously knew something was hinky, but he nodded at us and just kept walking.''
''He was asking for help.'' Gibbs again tried to fill in the gaps. Abby nodded.
''That's when I called you. Jimmy started telling people around us that they'd better leave, but they didn't listen until Tony shot one of the guys he'd come with! We guided people away from the gunfire, so I'm not sure what happened next.''
Gibbs took a moment to digest the information. If Tony had indeed been drawn into some sort of undercover operation, then he must have blown his cover by shooting a teammate. Then again, it was clear that Tony was not here, nor was the fourth assailant.
''Agent Gibbs!'' Palmer jogged towards them; having finished with the young man he'd been assessing.
''Palmer, you alright?'' Gibbs asked, waiting patiently for the young man to catch his breath.
''I'm fine, but Tony was shot.'' Gibbs' heart sank, memories of DiNozzo rapidly losing blood in the harbour flashing through his mind.
''I just spoke to the bouncer who stopped them from going inside.'' Jimmy announced. ''He told me that the bullet that killed the woman also hit Tony in the shoulder.''
''Where is this guy?'' Gibbs growled, needing to hear from this witness directly. Palmer pointed in the direction of a bulky man sat on the pavement, a blanket wrapped around his shoulders.
Gibbs started walking towards the man, but paused suddenly and turned to look at Palmer.
''Thank you, you did good.'' It was a rare compliment, but it was well deserved.
''Sir?'' Gibbs began when he reached the security guard. The man looked exhausted, but he gave Gibbs a polite nod when he saw the badge. ''I'm with NCIS. Could you please tell me what happened?''
''I already told the other agents.'' The man stammered, seemingly not too pleased to go over the experience once more.
''I'd just like to ask you about the man who got shot in the shoulder.''
At that, the man seemed to perk up a little.
''Dude saved my life.'' He ran a hand over his face, and Gibbs waited patiently for the man to elaborate.
''I told them 'no fake guns allowed' when they walked up, we had a couple of kids try the same thing once or twice so I didn't think anything of it.'' The bouncer shuddered at the memory. ''That's when one of them aimed his gun at me, but before I knew what was happening this other guy shot him in the head.''
Gibbs nodded encouragingly for the man to continue his story.
''This dude then turned to me and mouthed something at me.'' The man frowned.
''What did he say?'' Gibbs prodded.
''Play along.'' The guard answered, still seemingly confused. ''I didn't know what to do, so I just stood there, and this dude, he fake searches me and reveals his own gun as if it was mine.''
Gibbs processed that for a moment. Why would Tony try to plant a gun on the security guard? Unless…
''Why did he shoot his teammate?'' Gibbs asked, hoping that he was indeed catching on to Tony's improvisations.
''He said the other guy was a fed.''
Tony had been trying to protect his cover. Gibbs knew that DiNozzo would never willingly have gotten this close to hurting civilians, so he'd risked his own life by shooting his teammate. In order to keep his cover intact, he had then blamed the other man for being an agent. Gibbs wasn't entirely certain that that would have worked, but it was the only way he could make sense of the information he'd been given.
''He was showing them the gun when another gunshot came out of nowhere,'' Gibbs was drawn back to the man's report. ''It went through the woman's head and hit the guy in the shoulder.''
''So it wasn't one of them who took the second shot?'' Gibbs asked, and the man solemnly confirmed.
''The blond guy got distracted by the shot, so he didn't see his partner nodding at me to run away. I bolted the door as soon as I got in, so I can't tell you what happened next.''
''Thank you for your time.'' Gibbs nodded at the man and quickly turned on his heel, his blood boiling.
There's no way any officer could have responded to the shooting that quickly, so there must have been an agent already there knowing what was going to happen.
So why did they wait for Tony to shoot first? Why had they risked his SFA's life, along with hundreds of civilians? If they'd known about the attack, they would have been able to intercept it before they'd reached the club: The fact that they hadn't, fuelled Gibbs with rage.
''Excuse me!'' Gibbs turned to see a tall man with short, dark hair storming up to him. The man's jaw was taut, his eyes flaring hostilely.
''What do you think you're doing at my crime scene?''
The older man eyed the stranger carefully. He was wearing an expensive looking suit, and the man's posture demanded authority. Definitely not a police officer, he thought.
''Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs,'' Gibbs held out his credentials for the man to inspect. If his gut was right, which it usually was, he needed to try and find out how much this man knew.
''And what exactly is NCIS doing here?'' The man questioned, seemingly reluctant to reveal his own identity.
''Two of our own were queuing up for the club at the time of the shooting.'' Gibbs decided not to reveal Tony's involvement in this yet, not until he had all the puzzle pieces. The fact that Abby and Palmer had been there seemed to surprise the man, though he did very well in hiding it. ''They called me over as soon as it happened.''
''As much as I appreciate your need to look after your own men,'' The stranger sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. ''This is not your jurisdiction; it's ours. You can't just walk around here and interview our witnesses.''
''Only trying to help.'' Gibbs shrugged before deciding to take a more direct approach. ''And who are you?''
The man seemed to ponder his options for a moment before reaching into his suit jacket and pulling out his credentials.
''Special Agent Benjamin Hopkins, FBI.'' He put his credentials back in his pocket and straightened his jacket.
''I thought this was just a shooting?'' Gibbs asked innocently, demanding an explanation as to why the FBI would be at the scene.
''We have reasons to believe that at least one of the victims is involved in a larger operation, not that it's any of your business.'' Hopkins growled, quickly losing his patience.
There was a long silence between the two men, each one trying to read the other. Gibbs didn't trust a word that came out of Hopkin's mouth, but the agent in him told him he needed proof before he could try and get the truth out of him.
''I'll leave you to it.'' Gibbs grumbled after a while, turning his back on the agent and walking towards Abby and Jimmy, who had been watching them from a distance.
He gently took Abby by her arm and guided her towards his car, Palmer following closely behind them. Both looked at Gibbs expectantly, longing to know what had just transpired. Instead, Gibbs pulled out his phone.
''Boss?'' McGee sounded alert: he knew Gibbs wouldn't just call him to wish him a happy New Year.
''I need you to do something.'' Gibbs began, skipping any pleasantries.
Tony had been there: Abby and Palmer had seen him alive, and he needed their help. They would not let him slip away again.