Entering work the next day Tony feels like he hasn't slept at all, and he knows he must look as bad as he feels because Gibbs g

Entering work the next day Tony feels like he hasn't slept at all, and he knows he must look as bad as he feels because Gibbs glares at him pointedly. He doesn't even have the energy to try and apologise, but gets down to running the records he had not finished the previous night. In truth, his mind is nowhere near the case, and he is torn between concern for the distracted brunette across the room and the diminutive blonde he left wrapped in blankets in his lounge.

When McGee finally arrives (and Tony is amused to see him get the head-slap as he shuffles out of the elevator, still pulling his jacket on), they all begin to move as Gibbs tosses orders out which have them scurrying.

" McGee, Ziva, run down phone records, emails, anything that could give us a motive for attacking this guy. DiNozzo, you're with me."

Collecting up his things and shouldering his backpack, Tony ducks into the elevator, having time just to catch Ziva's jealous expression before the doors slide shut. She hates desk work. " Where we headed Boss?" he asks, zipping up his jacket and looking over at the older man who is currently checking his watch.

" Norfolk, DiNozzo. I want you following up the interview with Ryan's secretary, finding out who was in the building that night. Who might have seen something."

The drive in the blue Charger is frenetic, but used to Gibbs' usual style of driving, Tony simply keeps his mouth shut and a firm hold of the door handle. The three hour drive to Norfolk takes and hour and forty-five minutes, and as he pushes the door open Tony doesn't think he could be any more grateful to be no longer moving. He wonders if he should have gotten used to near-death road experiences, between Gibbs and Ziva, but pushes the thought back as they enter the base.

Once inside, he follows Gibbs' lead as they get directed to Commander Ryan's office, where he had been found the previous morning. They are met in the hallway by an officious if nervous looking chubby brunette, her hair cut in a bob and thick-rimmed spectacles on her ruddy face. She holds out her hand for the two men to shake.

" Ag-agent Gibbs?" she stammers slightly, and is met by a curt nod from the man in question. " I'm Jayne Dawson, Commander Ryan's secretary? I was – I was told you wanted to, uh, to meet with me?"

" You were the one who found the Commander?" Gibbs asks, cutting straight to it, flipping his notebook open, a pencil at the ready.

Her nod is enthusiastic and slightly manic, her head bobbing up and down. " Yes Sir. Yes I did. I uh, I found him by the door to his office, in here." Holding her hand out in the direction of the small room, she teeters unsteadily in sky-high patent red heels. Tony can't help but stare, as they seem unfathomably incongruous to the rest of her dour appearance.

He stops thinking about her shoes, however, as soon as she pushes open the door. There is still a large stain on the floor that Tony recognises as drying blood – it is no longer red, but a bracken brownish, and the scent of copper still lingers in the air. There has obviously been a struggle, because items have tumbled off of the bookshelves, and the sturdy mahogany desk has been sent into disarray. " I've kept the door shut since the paramedics left," Jayne explainsed, smoothing her hand over her sleek dark hair. " I thought you'd want to see it, uh, as it was to uh, maintain the evidence."

The terminology almost makes Tony smile, as he straightaway recognises her as someone who watches too much 'Law and Order' and fancies herself a detective. He would bet she's a fan of Thom E Gemcity even. But her instincts are good, so he can't mock her too hardily, even in his head.

The scene is met by an approving nod by Gibbs, who points a finger at Tony and then into the room, indicating it is his role to process the scene and collect any evidence that remains there.

" Has there been any news about Commander Ryan?" Jayne's concern is obvious in her wide dark eyes, and she wrings her hands distractedly.

Pausing, Gibbs finishes writing a note before he replies. " His condition's stable."

Picking up his camera, Tony begins documenting the scene, from the smashed glass of Ryan's family photo, to the crooked diploma hanging half off the wall. Though he knows the large stain on the carpet belongs to Ryan, he catches sight of a smaller patch on the rim of the bookcase, and swabs that as well, just in case. It could be a sample of the attacker, and he knows Abby will be able to match it if need be. As he continues processing, Gibbs begins to question Jayne Dawson, following up using Ziva's original notes. Tony recognises the handwriting from across the room.

" Can you walk me through what happened that night?"

Eyes fixated on the blood, Jayne Dawson nods her head. " We've been transferring a lot of old files onto our new computerised system. Most of the days have been spent archiving old paperwork and moving files from storage. Commander Ryan had been leading the team, pulling some really long hours so the new system can go live next week. Charlie - uh, I mean Commander Ryan," she corrects with a slight stammer – " he was working late that night to finish off L through R files. The system had crashed that morning so we were running behind. He sent me home about seven1900, said he'd only be another hour. I argued, but he insisted, so I went. I was back in the office by eight 0800a.m, and that's when…that's when I found him."

Tony knows Gibbs has been noting this carefully, following his own rule about never assuming. Just because Jayne Dawson had phoned in the crime, and has seemed nothing but helpful, Tony knows from experience that this didn't mean she couldn't be lying. Catching sight of a scrap of torn material in the pool of blood, Tony pulls out a pair of tweezers and picks it up. Soaked as it is, it is impossible to tell what colour it had originally been, but he bags it for transfer to Abby's lab.

" And was anyone else working late that night?" Gibbs' follow-up question is an obvious one, and so Tony only half-listens, not particularly concerned with the answer. His attention is diverted instead by the strand of long, blonde hair that he spies caught in the dark weave carpet.

Jayne Dawson has not seen Tony lift this piece of evidence, however, because she has moved behind her desk in the outer office to stare at her computer screen. " I'm not sure. We all have to swipe in and out of the building," she explains, " so there should be a log of who was still in the department." Sinking into the desk chair, which groans under her girth, she taps into the computer, pulling up a series of menus. Squinting at the screen, she eventually speaks again. " Parsons and McCaffrey left at six1800. Then I swiped out at uh, 1910 ten after seven. The only two people left in the building were Commander Ryan and…Mona. She's new. She was helping with the archiving."

" Where would we find Mona?"

Tapping again at the computer, Jayne Dawson goes from squinting to looking rather concerned. Clearing her throat, she looks up at Gibbs with a slightly panicked expression. " She isn't here Sir," she admits, and her tone is drenched in apology, as though she is afraid that she could be in trouble for being the bearer of bad tidings.

" Isn't here?" Gibbs' tone is laced with frustration, and he too squints at the computer as the curvaceous woman taps at it almost desperately.

" She – she never signed in today Sir. I'm sorry. I – I don't know what to say."

Packing up his things, Tony too wanders over to the desk where the woman is searching through her on-screen files. " We need to put out a BOLO Boss?" he asks, his voice quite low as he picks up a pen and begins twirling it around his fingers.

Cocking his head, Gibbs looks like he can't quite decide his response. " Could be another victim," he replies in a similar low tone, and then picking his voice up, asks Jayne Dawson, " Has anyone tried getting in touch with her?"

Jayne nods her head, flicking her gaze between the computer and the two men. " This morning Sir, when she didn't arrive. Apparently there's been no response. They were waiting 'til the end of the day to report her UA." Pausing, she swallows hard, the motion causing her throat to ripple and her shoulders to heave. " Do you think she was attacked too Sir?"

He doesn't dignify the question with a reply, but just throws out another order. " Bring up her file," he directs. " If she is missing we need to know where to start looking."

Paling, Jayne Dawson clicks on the computer and begins typing in the name. " Mona's only been here a couple months. She's a lovely girl; I can't imagine why anyone would want to hurt her. If she's missing…" she trails off, and a name and picture pop up on the screen in front of her.

As Gibbs stares, Tony feels his entire body seize up. Mona.

" Boss."

" DiNozzo, get a copy of this file and get it to McGee, we need him tracing the Midshipman as soon as possible."

" Boss."

" Get on the phone with Ducky, see how the Commander is doing and talk to Ziva - find out whether anyone matching the Midshipman's description has been admitted to hospitals around the area."

" BOSS!"

Gibbs's orders are finally broken into, and he stops talking with an irate expression. " What IS it DiNozzo?" he asks, his voice bursting with frustration.

Standing frozen, Tony can't tear his eyes away from the pale, non-descript blonde that is gazing up at him from the screen, an almost sardonic smile on her angular face. He recognises the sense of teasing tenacity in the pale-eyed expression. His hands clench in fists by his sides. " She isn't missing Boss."

" What?"

" Mona. Midshipman Adler. She isn't missing. Boss, she's asleep on my couch."