Gone

Chapter 7

A/n Finally, Chapter 7 is finished and up. I apologize that it took so long to get it up. Life and writers block kept me from taking the time to work through it. I plan on getting the other chapters up in a timelier manner. I also wanted to thank Crokettsgirl who was so wonderful in helping me with some ideas for the chapter and making it a lot better. Thanks so much and please read and review as always!!

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Abby's Lab

Abby was busy working in her lab. Well actually she was trying to keep herself busy by working in her lab trying to get through a backlog of evidence. She hadn't been able to touch it since Tony had gone missing. It had been over two hours since she had called Gibbs with the GPS coordinates off of Tony's phone and he still hadn't called. In a state of panic, she ran down to Autopsy. She was hoping that Gibbs may have tried to contact Ducky. Being in a state of panic, Abby ran all the way down to autopsy. By the time she got there, she was absolutely hysterical.

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Autopsy

Ducky and Palmer were enjoying some down time that allowed (them time) to catch up on paperwork that had been neglected lately. They heard the heavy footsteps coming from Abby's three inch heels before they heard her frantic voice. She burst into autopsy with tears in her eyes. Ducky immediately caught her before she tripped over a chair and quickly eased her into it.

"You must be worried about Anthony." Ducky said soothingly "Now young lady, I need you to calm down and catch your breath. I can't allow you to hyperventilate or anything like that."

"But Ducky" Abby stammered between sobs "It's like been over two hours since they went to get Tony. But Gibbs hasn't called yet. It's bad, very bad. I just know it, Ducky." Abby started to get back up, but only fell back into the chair, pulled her knees to her chest and allowed her chin to rest on them. She continued to sob, uncontrollably, her tears spilled down her face that left a trail of black. Ducky nodded at Palmer. Jimmy knew Doctor Mallard well enough to know what he wanted him to do. Palmer took hold of Abby's chair and carefully pulled it beside theirs.

"Abigail" Ducky called her name and hoped he got through to her. He watched as her eyes peeked up at the ME. "Dear girl, you need to calm down, this fretting will get you no where. You need to soldier up so that you can do the work required of you." He watched as Abby nodded that she understood. Ducky handed her some tissues and gently rubbed her back while she calmed down.

When Ducky was sure Abby had calmed down, he continued to speak. "Now my dear that is much better. I promise I'll call you if I hear from Jethro. Mr. Palmer will you please escort Abigail back to her lab. I believe it would be better if you stayed with her until we hear anything from Jethro. Can you do that for me please?" Ducky asked his young assistant.

"Yes Doctor Mallard." Palmer stammered as he helped Abby up from her chair in order to escort her back to the lab. He carefully put his arm around her should and maneuvered her into the elevator and then to her lab.

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Abby's Lab

By the time they got to her lab Jimmy had assured her that he won't leave. She had been quiet throughout the trip. She had listened to the young ME. She knew if someone stayed her that she'd be alright. Once in her lab with Jimmy and her babies she was back to herself.

Abby needed to keep her mind busy, so she started back to work on the neglected evidence. She had worked for about twenty minutes when she heard McGee's voice behind her. Abby turned around and stood next to Palmer so they could hear what McGee had to tell them.

"Jimmy" McGee started, "I need you to go and get Ducky right away. Gibbs wants to talk to all of us, right now." Abby exchanged a worried look with McGee. He met her eyes with reassurance that kept her calm.

"I'll go and get Doctor Mallard right now." Palmer agreed. He knew that McGee would stay next to the monitor to wait for them and keep Abby calm. He felt he needed to mention this, if only to reassure himself, "McGee, could you please keep an eye on Abby?"

"Of course I will, Jimmy. Abby and I will be fine. Now can you hurry up and get Ducky?" McGee stayed where he could keep an eye on the forensic scientist while he asked once again for Palmer to get Ducky.

Palmer hopped out of his chair. He looked over at an unhappy Abby, but he knew she was in the best hands. He left the lab and returned with the ME several minutes later. They all knew how much Abby worried about the team. Any time something happened each agent knew they would get a huge hug followed by worried rambling from her. They all stood by the young upset woman in support. They all knew how much she loved Tony and knew their support would help her do what she needed in order to do her job and (bring) him home.)

As if on cue Gibbs and Ziva's faces appeared on Abby's computer screen. Gibbs quickly composed himself before speaking. "We found the place where the GPS location showed DiNozzo was at. But when we got there all that we found was his cell phone lying on the ground. We searched every inch of the building that we could get into but we couldn't find him" Gibbs explained to his team.

"Jethro" the elderly medical examiner stated "This is not very good, is it?"

"No it isn't" Abby shouted in despair, "Gibbs, you were supposed to find him."

"I know Abby" Gibbs told her. He felt he'd disappointed his favorite forensic scientist. That only made him even more determined to find his missing agent. He was worried, but wouldn't let it show as he often did, "I am having one of the FBI techs send the prints we got off of the cell to you right now. I need you to calm down so you can help me out here. I need you to run the prints through AFIS and any other data base so we can catch the bastards who took DiNozzo."

"What can I do Jethro?" Ducky asked.

"I need you to stay here and talk to Vance as soon as we're done. And Abby, call me as soon as you get any hits. Okay? I have to go before we lose the connection. We'll let you know when we get anything new." Gibbs knew everyone including him was worried about Tony's safety. So he made sure when he passed on his orders they weren't as terse as usual.

The connection broke off and left the four people to stare a moment at the blank screen, digesting what they were told. Abby jumped when she heard the beep that sounded the arrival of the prints. She wiped her eyes with determination that she would help find Tony. "I gotta get to work. Tony needs me." She shooed the men away and after a rousing oratory to her babies, got back to work.

Abby had been working for about an hour under Palmer's watchful eye. She had not only made it through the backlog of work but also managed to start running the prints from Tony's cell phone through AFIS and other agencies. She was thankful that Jimmy was willing to sit with her, it helped to calm her down enough to focus on finding Tony. With a deep sigh, she clicked the remote and cranked her music up. The music always helped her focus, especially since she needed to find her closest friend. She reached to take a large gulp of her Caf Pow and noticed it was empty. She tossed the cup into the garbage with a loud thump and then turned around to look at the younger man behind her.

"I need a Caf Pow, now" Abby demanded "My babies and I have a lot to do. So go now and get me one before I have to come after you!" Abby started to chase after Jimmy like Tony used to do. She laughed when he nearly fell off his chair as he tried to rush out the door. An hour later she realized that she wasn't going to get a hit on the international database of felons. She remembered that the agents who were supposedly watching Tony's backs were FBI. With a loud whoop that nearly caused Palmer to spill the Caf Pow on the ground, she slapped herself. She'd had it all wrong from the start. She'd have to narrow the search from the FBI. She'd had it running, but had paid more attention to AFIS.

"Jimmy" Abby said after taking a gulp of her Caf Pow "I've been going about this all wrong. The men that were watching Tony in Iraq were FBI Agents. Gibbs mentioned that one of them knew and served with Captain Reynolds."

"What you should be doing" Palmer said before seeing the glare in the young Goth's eyes "I should shut up." He answered the nod of her head.

"No" Abby exclaimed as the idea flashed in her head, "I think I know what you're thinking. I should have been checking the FBI and Military databases more closely. "To do that I'm going to also include retired military personnel."

"Well, I guess that was exactly what I was thinking, Abby." Palmer said with a smile.

"You do know Jimmy" Abby smiled "You can go now. I'm fine and I don't need someone watching me."

"I can't" Jimmy stammered "Doctor Mallard gave me a direct order to stay here with you until further notice. And in case you haven't noticed, I have a gigantic stack of paperwork he left for me to do."

Abby snorted as she punched him in the arm. Secretly she was grateful that he was going to stay. After an hour of checking through all of the military databases and federal ones more closely she finally found a match off one of the prints. She was shocked and angry to find out that it was one of the men who were supposed to protect Tony. Abby slammed her mouse back down on the table and started to pace the length of the room. Jimmy had just lifted his head back up and noticed the look of complete anger in her eyes. He jumped up to go and comfort her but she quickly brushed him away with her hand.

"Abby" Jimmy said "What's wrong? Did you get a match off of the prints? Let me go and get Doctor Mallard, okay?"

"No" Abby snapped "I am just angry right now. I know that one of the prints belong to Agent Carlson. He was Tony's friend and he betrayed him. Jimmy, pay attention, he is one of Tony's captors."

"Are you sure Abby?" Palmer asked "I mean he could have borrowed his cell phone and that's why his prints are on it."

"No Jimmy" Abby shouted "McGee told me that they suspected that Agent Carlson was a buddy of Captain Reynolds when he was a marine. Agent Jensen and Gibbs both suspect that Agent Carlson is on Reynolds' payroll. I really think we need to call Gibbs right now." Abby was about to stand up and give Palmer a hug when she noticed someone standing in the doorway. Palmer about fell off his chair and Abby almost dropped her Caf Pow. Both realized the person in the doorway was Director Vance.

"Miss. Scuito" Vance asked "I came by to find out if there were any leads on where Agent DiNozzo is.) And why haven't I heard from Agent Gibbs yet? I want a full report. I did hear what you had said."

"Director Vance." Abby said with surprise. "I do have a lead" Abby stammered "But I was going to call Gibbs and let him know."

"Why don't you give me that report? Then we can tell Agent Gibbs together." He asked patiently. This wasn't really a question or suggestion; it was more of an order. Vance hated being kept out of the loop. Now he would find out everything and speak to agent Gibbs.

"Well" she stammered again "Tony, I mean Agent DiNozzo wasn't where the GPS on his phone said he was supposed to be. Gibbs told me they searched through the parts of the building that were unlocked but he wasn't anywhere." Abby had taken a quick glance to make sure Palmer hadn't had a panic attack at the sight of Vance, like she almost did. He had left his seat, probably to go and get Ducky.

"So they searched the whole place?" he asked again "Was there any sign of blood or fingerprints other than what was found on the cell phone."

"There weren't any" Abby answered back "They double and triple checked according to Gibbs. But I did get a hit off of one of the fingerprints."

"Who do the prints belong to?" Vance interrupted.

"They belong to Agent Carlson" Abby said cautiously as she glanced behind her to see if Jimmy was back "Tony told me early on in his assignment that he and Carlson had become close friends. Now his prints show up on Tony's phone. It can only mean one thing……"

"That he is one of Agent DiNozzo's captors. Agent DiNozzo is in a lot of trouble. I need you to contact Agent Gibbs immediately." Vance speculated and then took charge. He never liked how Gibbs challenged him in the game of who was in charge. Though Vance knew of what happened to DiNozzo, he wasn't happy that Gibbs had more control over the situation. Being the Director, Gibbs was supposed to keep him abreast of the situation and not just order his people without the director being fully involved. He put this aside in order to get back to the case. He wondered if their pissing match would ever stop, if Gibbs would ever fully trust him.

Abby gave her acknowledgement as she saw Palmer quietly come back in with Ducky. Abby quickly turned back to her computer and switched on the connection to where Gibbs, Ziva and McGee were at. After a couple of minutes Abby saw McGee working feverishly at one of the computers. Clearly no one had noticed the active connection from the other end. "McGee." Abby said softly to try to get the man's attention without scaring him.

Abby noticed that he had just realized the connection was up. He smiled at Abby before he stepped away from the camera. A couple of minutes later he was back with Gibbs and Ziva.

"Gibbs" Abby announced "It's so good to see you guys. It's been so lonely down here. I have to even go and get my own Caf Pows……"

Gibbs glared at Abby so she would stop rambling. "What do you have for me Abbs?"

"Gibbs, you know I was just saying hi" Abby smirked, "But I did get a hit off of one of the prints. I just filled Director Vance in about the case. I also told him who the fingerprints belong to."

"Jethro" Vance said "Miss Scuito just informed me that they belonged to FBI Agent Carlson. And I understand that he and Agent DiNozzo had been working together very closely. Is that correct?" Vance stood scrutinizing his agent as he waited for his answer.

Gibbs started to pace in front of the camera. "Yes. According to Agent Jensen the two had worked very closely together throughout this whole operation. We suspect that Agent Carlson and Captain Reynolds both served together before Carlson joined the FBI. Now we believe that he is on Reynolds' payroll. We've been trying to follow up on any possible connections between the two. Agent Jensen has been checking with his contacts to find anyone who can confirm anything related to both of them."

"Ah Jethro." Ducky suddenly jumped in, "If you could send me everything that you have on Agent Carlson. I will try to put together a profile on him."

"Thanks Duck, that'll help." Gibbs answered.

"Jethro" Vance spoke up, "Keep me apprised of what else you find out. Now, you said that you checked all of the open parts of the building?" The director reiterated.

"We did" Gibbs answered the Director and then turned to Abby. He knew that Vance wouldn't leave until the connection was disconnected so he wouldn't miss anything else in the case. "And thanks Abbs for all of the work you've done. And don't worry. I promise that we'll find him. Duck, I'll have McGee fax everything we have on Carlson over to you."

Abby smiled as she watched the connection cut off. She felt better when Gibbs had promised to find Tony. Gibbs never went back on a promise. But she still had work to do. She turned to Palmer to get her another Caf Pow and then realized he had put one down on the table. She turned and smiled at him as a thank you while she began to work on what needed to be done.

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Iraq

Gibbs watched as the connection faded. He didn't want to say anything, but he was sure he knew where Tony was. The others started to speak when his steel glare put an end to their questions. How could he have missed where Tony was? He chastised himself for not realizing this earlier.