"Where we headed?"
Pat smiled slightly. "Bout time you stopped staring out the window."
"Just answer the question kid."
"I would, except I'm not so sure myself."
"You're kidding me right?" Gibbs stared into his eyes. "You're not kidding me."
Pat shook his head. "Just figured I'd go wherever the road took me…just didn't think it would take me to you."
Gibbs threw his hands up. "Yeah? Well I didn't plan on losing my memory today. Sometimes things don't work out as planned."
Just as he finished the phrase his mind flashed back to what looked like an ambush. He remembered giving out an order to two people, before he came back into the present.
"Flashback?" Pat questioned as he set the cruise control.
"What makes you say that?"
"That's what always happens in the movies…you know…dude loses his memory, then something happens or someone says something…and he starts to remember stuff little by little…it's textbook suspense thriller…don't you watch movies?"
Gibbs shook his head. "I get the feeling I don't get out much."
Pat smiled. "I could've told you that."
It was then Gibbs instinctively slapped the back of the boy's head.
"Ow!"
Tony rubbed the back of his head slowly after giving himself a much needed head slap. He kicked himself for not closing down the traffic sooner. By now Gibbs could be anywhere. But somehow believing he was alive, and anywhere; was better than him being dead and knowing where. He just hoped that eventually, the two would mix.
"Get his photo to all local LEO's, State Police, US Marshals, the works…."
The group of Agents nodded at his request. "I want all hospitals notified within a 200 mile radius. If he was injured and picked up, the driver may have taken him to an ER…"
Tony had given more orders in the last day than he'd given his whole life. He only hoped they would be more effective than the previous ones had been.
"Tony!"
He lifted up his radio. "Yeah Abs…"
"I think I got something…"
"You think…?" Tony snapped.
"Easy there Tibbs…just come take a look okay?"
Tony didn't respond and only entered his vehicle quickly.
"What was that for?" Pat rubbed the back of his head and looked at the shocked expression on his new friends face.
Gibbs stared at his hand as his mind flashed back to doing that same thing to three people, one of them more often than the others. "It's what I do when…"
"When what?" Pat was still confused, but got the vibe that Gibbs was remembering something.
Gibbs shook his head. "I don't know…but you obviously remind me of someone I used to do it to a lot…"
"Great." Pat sighed. "You probably abused your son or something…"
Gibbs turned towards the window. "If I did, he had sister and a brother…"
Pat watched his face sadden. "What's wrong?"
He continued to stare out the window and sighed. "Something tells me something bad happened to one of them…"
"And you know this how?"
Gibbs shrugged. "My gut kid, my gut."
"What do ya got Abs?" Tony stepped up behind her slowly.
"Gosh Tony, you scared me!" she punched him lightly in the chest before turning back to her screen. "We weren't able to detect anything underground in any of the areas…except some really sweet animals, which Jay think might be coyotes, but I told him that's nearly impossible and…"
"Abby…"
"Right sorry…" she hit a few keys and pointed to the screen. "About thirty miles up the pass you were just near, there's a toll…I was able to pull up the videos…if you give me a time frame, I can get us the license plates from every car that could've come through this way…"
Tony sighed. "That'd be at least a hundred cars …"
"Better than no cars at all Tibbs…"
"Why are you calling me that?" Tony asked her and looked over at Jay who was smiling at the exchange.
"Cuz, it makes me feel like part of Gibbs is still here…and it's you."
A few moments passed before a small smile fell across Tony's face. "I'm gonna find him Abs."
"I know you will Tibbs, cuz you always get your man…even if it is a good guy this time." She smiled back at him and sighed. "Now you wanna give me a time frame or not…?"
"I'm not good with numbers Abs, ask McGeek…" Tony then lavished himself with another head slap. "Sorry Abs, that' the second time I've slipped up like that…I didn't mean to…"
"It's okay." She took in a breath. "I miss him too."
"Then what's your gut telling you about me?" Pat took a hold of the steering wheel and sighed.
Gibbs shrugged once more. "A kid that didn't get what every kid should from his family…and decided running was better than facing whatever that was."
"Makes me sound like a coward."
"Not necessarily…just means you're not ready. But one day you will be."
"How can you possibly know that?"
He smiled. "Kid, I may not know who I am, but I am sure of one thing….everyone faces their fears eventually. It's how life works."
"What fears have you had to face?"
Gibbs mind took him back once more. "Don't go daddy…" He saw a young girl and a beautiful woman, him in a military uniform and saying goodbyes…
"Sorry, forgot you forgot everything there for a second…" Pat snapped his mind back into the present.
He tried to hold onto the thoughts but just as quickly as they came, they were gone. He took to staring out the window some more.
"Don't apologize kid, it's a sign of weakness."
"Sir…I mean Tony…got a second?"
Tony had just got done meeting with his team and was feeling a bit restless, but complied none the less.
"Make it quick Jay…I'm tired as all hell."
"I realized that, and I wanted to let you know I set up two cots for you and Miss Scuito in our break room…it's nothing fancy but I thought you might be staying with us for a while."
"That's real nice kid…thanks." He stepped past him and felt Jay's hand brush his shoulder.
"You're gonna find him Tony."
"What makes you so sure kid?"
Jay smiled. "I may be a rookie, but I know a good cop when I see one…"
Tony wanted to smile but didn't have the energy. "I learned from the best, and who knows, maybe one day, you will too…" he finally managed to smile and finished. "Probie…"
Gibbs peered into his side mirror then back into the rear view. "Hey Pat, that pick up has been tailing us for about forty miles now…"
"He's probably just headed the same place we are."
Gibbs shook his head. "He could've passed us about ten times…he gets close then backs off…"
"Umm, okay, so he's a bad driver who is headed the same place we are?"
He pointed. "Pull over at the next rest stop and see if he follows."
Pat nodded. "Okay, but this is kinda weird…"
He pulled into the next rest stop and sure enough, the pick up followed
"How weird is it now kid?" Gibbs asked as he motioned for Pat not to stare. "What exactly are you running from?"
"Not really a what so much as a whom…"
"Your old man?"
Pat nodded. "Yeah, he just got outta prison…so I bailed out before he could show me how much he disapproved of my life…if you catch my drift."
Gibbs gut churned as he watched the two men get out of the truck a few parking spots down. "Your Dad wouldn't happen to have a limp would he?"
"Yeah…why?"