"Abbs, did you find AFIS?" Gibbs asked.
"I did. And I dusted the necklace."
"And?" Tony said.
"There's good news and bad news and really good news."
"Some things never change…" Ducky murmured.
They had convinced Tony to sit on a chair to eat dinner with them, promising if he got too uncomfortable he could go back to the floor. As a result, he was sitting perched on the edge of the chair in a sort of truce, holding the plate piled with steaming spaghetti and meatballs in his hand.
"Okay, the bad news is that I couldn't get a print. You know," she stabbed some noodles with her fork, "Ching-Lan was actually pretty thorough in all the right places on the USB drive. We have copies of people's prints, photos, bios—did you know that our dead guy, Daljeet, had six toes on one foot?"
"Is that relevant to the case?" Gibbs said.
"No. And you're right—who cares?" She popped half a meatball in her mouth and kept talking.
"So the match was sort of a bust—But! The first good news—not the really good news, just the regular good news—is that AFIS is alive and well, and the second, really good news…Ducky, you want to take it?"
Ducky could tell Gibbs was getting kind of pissed off, so he cut to it. "There was a hair wrapped around the clasp of the necklace, so we ran it for DNA. We think it's Mei-Lien's."
"Why do you think it's her hair?" Tony said through a mouthful of spaghetti and garlic bread. "We got the thing ouf ofabidhnst…" He gulped the food in his mouth and held his full fork up to take another huge bite. Gibbs raised his hand and placed it firmly on Tony's forearm. Tony paused, mouth half-open, and slid his eyes to Gibbs. Gibbs stared at him and Tony gently lowered his hand.
"Sorry, mas—boss. Uh, we got it from a bird's nest—who knows what kind of stuff is crawling in there?"
"Well," Abby said, "It's black. Most Asian people have dark hair. And the fact that it's wrapped around the clasp—which happens on necklaces all the time, leads me to assume—Gibbs, I know how you feel about assuming, but let me finish—that it's hers. But! We need a DNA sample of hers to compare it with." She looked at Gibbs, "because we all know what happens when you assume."
"Unfortunately there is no DNA included on the USB." Ducky added.
"Back to Ching-Lan's." Gibbs muttered.
"She'll probably want a progress report anyway, boss." Tony swallowed slowly and placed his fork on his dish. He stared at the food with a sour look on his face and his stomach gurgled.
"Tony, you okay?" Gibbs asked.
"Uh…" he grimaced and clutched his stomach. "Uh-oh…" Tony leaped out of his chair, nearly sending it to the floor, and ran to the bathroom. They all winced at the gut-clenching sound of puke hitting toilet water.
"I knew he was eating too fast." Gibbs stabbed some more food onto his fork.
"His system's not quite adjusted to good, home cooked food." Ducky put his napkin down and headed for the bathroom. "Anthony…" he leaned over Tony, who was knelt on the floor, clutching the toilet bowl and breathing hard.
"M'okay, Ducky…"
"We should be more careful with what we all eat." Ducky said. "Your stomach certainly can't handle rich sauces and heavy food. Did that pizza the other day make you ill?"
"No...I don't think my tummy could ever say no to pizza."
Ducky smiled. "You should really go lie down."
"I'm fine, Ducky, really."
"Tony, I want you to lie down."
"No, I'm okay—."
"DiNozzo!" Gibbs yelled from the kitchen. "Do as he says."
Ducky sent Tony up to his room and returned to the kitchen. They finished quickly and while Abby and Ducky cleaned up, Gibbs ran up the stairs to change clothes and check on Tony. He changed into a dark blue pair of jeans and a grey button up shirt. Showing up in sweats wasn't really a good idea. Ching-Lan cared about appearances. He grabbed a black belt and started threading it through his pants on the way to Tony's room.
"DiNozzo." He knocked on the doorframe. By the streetlight outside Gibbs was just able to make out Tony's form curled on the bed. Gibbs stepped into the room, pulling his belt into place. The leather hissedas Gibbs pulled it through the pantloops, and when the buckle jingled a second later, Tony was out of bed and darting across the small room.
"Whoa, Tony—!"
"No—please. I'm sorry, I'll get up, master." Tony thumped into his bedside table and landed on his butt in the corner, his hands up defensively.
Gibbs froze, wondering what on earth…he closed his eyes. The belt. The hissing and jingle. Sonnuvabitch.
"Tony." Gibbs walked around the bed, freezing when Tony flinched. "I'm gonna turn the light on, okay?"
Tony didn't answer, and Gibbs flipped the bedside lamp on. In the glow Gibbs could see his former agent huddled in the corner, waiting for his master to deal with him. Gibbs crouched down, his heart aching.
"Tony." He said quietly. "Look at me."
Slowly Tony's arms went down. Frightened hazel eyes met his for a moment before focusing on the floor.
"You okay?" Gibbs asked.
Tony nodded.
"Was it the belt?"
Another nod.
"C'mon, talk to me."
"Remembered…" Tony said. "Morgan, my second master…she'd hit me with this strap she had. I heard the noise and I just…"
"It's okay, Tony." Gibbs said. "We'll help. This is normal."
"No it's not." Tony snarled. "None of this should be normal. I'm a huge mess—jumping at everything—stupid nightmares keeping me up—afraid to sit on a damn chair…" He took a breath and stared moodily at the floor.
Gibbs didn't say anything, but he reached out a hand and rested it on Tony's knee. Tony winced, but slowly relaxed under Gibbs' touch. That was a safe touch. Not Morgan's or anyone's belt lashing down on him. This was a touch his gut told him would never hurt him. Now if he could only believe it.
"Thanks, boss." He said after a moment.
"We gotta go to Ching-Lan's." Gibbs said, hiding a smile. "We need to ask about the DNA. Do you feel up for going?"
"Yeah." Tony rubbed his head and sighed. Gibbs stood up and held a hand out to the younger man, hoisting him to his feet.
"Your stomach feeling better?" Gibbs asked.
"Yeah, actually. Ducky was right. Too much food too fast and not enough healthy stuff."
Gibbs grunted. "We're going to get some good food for you tomorrow."
"I'll warn the art shop owners." Tony smiled wryly. Gibbs smirked and left him to change clothes. Tony slipped into something a bit more presentable.
"Idiot." Tony muttered when he was alone and putting on a black button down shirt. "It was just Gibbs and just a belt." Tony frowned, feeling disgusted with the pathetic way he was acting. The sound of a belt had just sent him running across the room in a terror. Hell knows what other crazy shit he would do. What other minor, innocuous thing would send him running for the hills? He slid a pair of dark jeans on and went down to the foyer.
Ducky had his hat on and was buttoning a sweater over his shirt. Abby was sitting on the floor sliding her calf-length boots up her legs and lacing them tightly. A black studded collar was around her throat. Gibbs grabbed the leashes from the pegboard and they all piled into the car.
"Are we just gonna drive on up to the house?" Abby asked. "I mean, there's security and stuff."
"Oh, I know she'll see us." Gibbs said.
"I brought the necklace, just in case." Abby said.
"Good thinking."
Gibbs pulled up to the White House gate and stuck his head out the window. He honked. Silence.
"Hey!" He yelled.
A voice crackled through an intercom above the gate. The voice spoke in Chinese and sounded angry.
"It's Gibbs. Ching-Lan's expecting us." There was a beat of dead air from the intercom and then the gate slid open. Gibbs maneuvered past the checkpoints as each guard waved him on without a second glance.
"Wow, it's like we're celebrities or something." Abby said. She clipped her leash to her collar. Tony took a deep breath, looking at the strip of leather, and did the same. A familiar sense of fear and dread filled his stomach as soon as the lightweight leash pulled at his throat. He reached up to feel where the clip slid over the little D-ring. His mind was going into slave-mode again, instinctively preparing him for getting yanked around and uncomfortably tugged on like he was some badly trained dog. But Gibbs wouldn't do that, right? He looked at Abby. She smiled at him and squeezed his hand. Tony hoped he wouldn't throw up again.
Gibbs parked the car right by the front door and startled when a slave opened it for him.
"Mr. Gibbs." He bowed and shut the door behind Gibbs. Ducky got similar treatment. Abby and Tony were ignored. Gibbs took their leashes loosely in his hand and they were escorted into the house. The foyer had its usual spiced incense-y smell. A chandelier brightened the area, revealing gorgeous flowers and furniture that hadn't been visible before in the gloom.
"This way please." The slave led them through an adjacent room and into a parlor that was much cozier than the hollow, cold conference room. It was well lit by several dragon-shaped floor lamps. Soft music played and the walls were covered in some sort of expensive looking silk fabric. A thick table of dark wood with heavy, carved legs was in the center of the room. There were three squashy blue chairs—two on one side, and one on the other. Hooks for hanging leashes poked out from under the seats. Gibbs noticed that the carpet was thick and lush. Tony and Abby wouldn't be too uncomfortable kneeling.
Tony whistled appreciatively at the opulence.
"This is a lot nicer than that other room." Abby said. The slave escort disappeared, and then came back bearing a platter of sweet-smelling food.
"Bow-ties!" Abby breathed. The platter was set down and the slave went back through the door. Tony looked at the dish curiously. There were three types of food: crumbly yellow cookies, some kind of sugary, crispy bite sized things shaped like bow-ties, and glazed sliced pears.
"Dessert." Ducky mused as he sat. Gibbs sat down in the other chair, suspicious. Ching-Lan had never pulled out all the stops to impress him before.
"She must really care about her sister." Ducky said. Abby knelt down on Gibbs' left side, while Tony slowly knelt between Gibbs and Ducky.
"Boss?" Tony peeked up at him. "What if she takes me back?"
"She won't." Gibbs said firmly. "Don't worry."
Tony tugged the clip of the leash away from his neck and adjusted his collar. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Gibbs drop his arm and slip the leather loop onto a hook in the chair. The leash coiled on the carpet, giving Tony plenty of room to move if he wanted. Tony sighed, glad for the slack—yet another reason Gibbs was a way, way better owner than the others had been. Gibbs reached forward and took a napkin. He put a few bow-ties on it and handed it to Abby.
"Thanks, Gibbs."
"You want something, Tony?"
"No, better not. Ching-Lan would probably kill me if I barfed on her carpet."
Gibbs sat quietly while Ducky helped himself to a pear. There was a rustle on the other side of the door, and then Ching-Lan hurried in. She looked a little frazzled, as if several things had just happened at once.
"Dr. Mallard, Mr. Gibbs. You have news on my sister?" She sat down across from them, totally ignoring Tony and Abby.
"Ah, sort of." He felt Abby slip the necklace in the bag into his hand. He passed it to Ducky.
"We found a hair." Ducky began.
Ching-Lan leaned across the table and stared at the little necklace. Her eyes widened and she cried out something in Chinese. "This is my sister's!" She said.
"We recognized it from the photo." Ducky assured her.
"Where did you find it?" She took the bag reverently and examined the little gold chain.
"Arlington." Gibbs said.
"Arlington…" she repeated. "Where that filthy dog's body was dumped?"
"Daljeet? Yes." Ducky answered. "The hair is on the clasp of the necklace." Ching-Lan looked closer, humming in her throat at the hair. "We're not sure if it's hers, and we were hoping that you might have something else of Mei-Lien's." Ching-Lan tore her eyes away from the necklace and nodded.
"Yes, yes. You need something else with her DNA to compare to?"
"Precisely." Ducky said.
She nodded and snapped her fingers a few times. A different slave came in from the other doorway. They exchanged a brief dialogue in Chinese and the slave bowed before leaving and returning moments later with a small white hairbrush.
"Ah, perfect." Ducky took the brush and looked at the hairs. "Do you mind if we…?"
"Take it." Ching-Lan said, watching Ducky slide it into the bag. "Find my sister, Gibbs." Ching-Lan said quietly, her voice hard as steel. "If you don't, I may reconsider letting you keep your DiNozzo."
Tony stared up at her, horrified.
"Abby too, for that matter."
Abby made a strangled sound.
"They're mine, Ching-Lan." Gibbs growled. "I bought Abby two years ago and the paperwork has already gone through on Tony."
"Paperwork can get misplaced." Ching-Lan told him. "Find her, Gibbs." The desperation in her voice melted the edge off his anger. "She is all I have left."
"We will find her, Ching-Lan. I promise you that. Remember, we did this for a living once."
Ching-Lan wiped her nose with a flowery handkerchief. "You'd better find her." She snapped. "Do you need anything else?"
"No." Gibbs said. He unhooked the leashes from the chair and stood, waiting until Tony and Abby got up before walking. Ching-Lan and Ducky talked some more about Chinese food as she escorted them personally to the door and said goodbye.
"Gibbs." Tony said once they were in the car. "You don't really think she'd take us back?"
"She won't lay a hand on either of you." Gibbs said. He turned around and stared at both of them. "Got that?"
They both nodded and Gibbs started driving.
"So what's the next step, Gibbs?" Abby said as they drove back home.
"Tony?" Gibbs glanced in the rearview mirror. "What's our next step?"
"We go to the ski resort where Lewis, Dajeet and Mei-Lien were last seen." Tony said.
"Abbs-," Gibbs said, "did it say on the USB where the ski place was?"
"It did." Abby said. "Bryce Resort in Bayse, Virginia."
"That's our next stop." Gibbs confirmed. "We'll go the day after tomorrow."