Abby stood frozen for a couple of minutes, hearing again and again the phone call in her head. As an expert audio analyst with over ten years she'd learned a lot: hearing background sounds, analyzing the sounds of shootings, of cars, voices. And that was Tim's voice. A voice she'd heard so much, so many times over those last years, a voice that had said the nicest things to her. And he was asking for help. Not wanting to think why Kevin was involved in all that, she tried to compose herself and quickly wrote his address on a piece of paper.
Just then, with perfect timing arrived Gibbs, knowing that Abby would have something new.
"Gibbs! I heard him, Gibbs! I was calling my boyfriend but there was no one on the other end of the line, well I could hear some kind of struggle and then the phone falling and I called my boyfriend's name, Kevin, but he didn't answer, it was Timmy on the other side! He called me and asked for help!"
"Your boyfriend has McGee?" asked Gibbs, confused.
"I don't know, maybe it was someone else with his phone? But I heard him, boss, I swear it was Tim!"
"I believe you, Abby. Now, can you GPS that phone for me?"
"Sure."
The phone was off, but Abby gave her boss Kevin's address and he left to gather Tony and Ziva and go to the scene. He promised Abby he'd called her as soon as they knew something, and hoped to be able to give her good news.
The ride to the address given was a tense one. Gibbs, Tony and Ziva couldn't wait to arrive, and every minute was a minute too long. They thought they were prepared for everything: a psycho with many weapons, a dark basement…. But they weren't prepared for the astounding normalcy that they found in there. It was an apartment building and Kevin lived on the third floor.
"NCIS!" Gibbs yelled "Open the door!"
And just seconds later, a young long-haired guy appeared on the other side of the door, smiling
"Please, come in."
Ziva and Tony looked at each other, confused. They imagined that the guy would've escaped and left everything behind, or that there would be some sort of gunfire…. A mean looking guy, at least. Could Abby have imagined Tim's voice? What if she was wrong?
The three agents came in the house and saw with dismay that there was nothing out of place and no signs of Tim. They searched all the rooms, and only found some instruments and some expired meds. Nothing even remotely case related.
"Can I ask what this is all about?" Said Kevin, calm and collected.
Gibbs gave the man a hard stare. This guy was enjoying himself immensely, watching them going through the rooms, clueless. Yes, this guy knew what it was all about.
"We are investigating the case of a missing person. We had information that suggested he was here." Ziva said with a look of total disappointment in her eyes.
"Oh… Abby's friend, right? So tragic. I hope you find him soon."
"Where were you this afternoon, Mr. Hamilton?" Asked Tony, trying to figure out if they could do something against this guy.
"I was with my sister Lisa, on a café, why?" Kevin answered innocently.
"And do you have your cell phone with you?"
"I think I lost it. Is something wrong?"
That guy even managed to look concerned. His "I don't know what is this about" was real good. But Gibbs wasn't buying a word of it.
"Why do you have an empty room with no windows in your apartment, Mr. Hamilton?" he asked.
"It's to rehearse. I like having a place with no objects to distract me, even the sun can be distracting." Said Kevin, who was starting to dislike that conversation.
"And why does it reek of bleach?"
"I just cleaned it."
"I thought you were with your sister." Answered Gibbs, trying to destroy that guy's aggressive confidence. "And what happened to your hand, Mr. Hamilton?"
Kevin looked down at the bandages in his hand and remembered the fight. That insolent McGee had tried to escape using his ropes and had shown a remarkable strength. There had been some kicks and punches and that was when he'd dropped the phone. That damn phone. And Abby had to call just then. Luckily, her voice had distracted McGee and Kevin used the moment to finally knock him out. It had been a hell of a fight, but he had won. And now those stupid NCIS would never find him.
"I had a little accident in the kitchen. Is that all? Because I don't see how I could I help any further. The agent you're looking for it's not here, and you have nothing that connects him to me. Your information must be wrong. Now, there are things I need to get back to."
The two men looked at each other for what seemed to be an eternity. There was much more said in that look that in all the previous. Gibbs was saying "I'm onto you" and Kevin said with no words "Catch me if you can".
"Do not leave the city, Mr. Hamilton, we may need to ask you some more questions." Ziva said before they left." She wanted to take that guy form the neck and ask him were the hell he had McGee but she knew that an arrogant guy like that would probably enjoy the attention. Disgusting.
The three agents left the building and headed back to HQ, eager to keep digging and finally be able to catch that guy.
When Tim awoke, the first thing he noticed was the unusual darkness. Where was he? Why wasn't he in his bed? Oh my god, what if he was late for work?
Then, slowly, the memories started to come back to him. The kidnapper, the dark room, the fight and then, Abby's voice. He was sure it was her. It had been the only happy moment in all that hell. But then he passed out and now… With an increasing panic, Tim realized that he was in a very confined space. He couldn't stretch his legs, and with his hands he could touch some sort of metallic ceiling. What was that place? A coffin, a closet?
As the minutes went by, Tim started to breathe with more difficulty, and noticed something hard next to him. A tire. That was when he understood.
He was in the trunk of a car. And there was almost no air.
A/N: Did you like it? Sorry for long the wait and any mistakes there may be! Hope you enjoyed and please let me know what you think! I love to hear from you ^^
You know you want to review!
