Gibbs stormed out of the hotel. He wanted his boat and his bourbon. He wanted to lose himself in something hard and physical. He wanted to drown these feelings…damn he felt like the world's worst person. He should never have sent Tony to get that interview, then he never would have gone to the cell.
Gibbs glanced around, aware that he was on some sort of trail in the woods. The lodge was still visible through the green pine trees, and the sounds of people golfing could be heard further off. Gibbs kept walking.
He kept forgetting that Tony couldn't wander around the way Abby could. Not yet anyway. Not for another year and, what? Five months? It was his fault that Tony had been stopped and yelled at. It was because of him that Tony was put in jail and had to suffer that embarrassment.
He slammed his fist into a tree trunk. The pain flared in his knuckles, drowning the guilt he felt. He did it again. Only when his fists were pleasantly bloodied did he stop and take a deep breath.
Birds chirped. Crickets warbled. The wind rustled the leaves in the trees gently.
Gibbs turned back. He had an apology to make.
Twenty minutes later, Gibbs slid his keycard into the slot above the doorknob to the room he and Tony shared. The little light flashed green and the lock clicked. Gibbs pushed the door open. The curtains were still drawn and the sunlight struggled to peek into the silent room. Gibbs stepped forward quietly and saw Tony still sound asleep. He went to the head and took care of his knuckles. Ducky would have something to say about that, but Gibbs didn't care. He patted a towel over the bruised skin and flipped the light off on his way out. He glanced at his watch. It had been about three hours.
"Tony." Gibbs leaned over and shook the younger man. "DiNozzo, get up."
Tony grunted and stirred, opening his eyes blearily. "Hey…boss…"
"Didn't want you to sleep too long." Gibbs pulled away and slid the curtains open. Tony yawned and sat up, rubbing the spot on his neck where his collar had imprinted his skin. Gibbs sat on his own bed, staring carefully at Tony.
"You okay?"
"Yeah." Tony stretched and got up. "I am, boss."
"Good. I owe you an apology."
"What?" Tony looked up at him dumbly.
"I shouldn't have sent you off to find the surveillance room by yourself. I forgot you didn't have the green tag and I wasn't thinking. I was distracted by what Consuelo said in the interview and I just wanted to get the information from Homer as fast as possible. I'm sorry, Tony. I wasn't thinking about your welfare."
Tony opened his mouth, then closed it. Then he took a deep breath and reached up to scratch his ear.
"I accept, boss. I'm not pissed at you. I think…I'm finally gonna be okay. That little collapse in the bathroom really put things in perspective for me. It was almost like I finally saw everything that I had been dealing with…ever since I became a slave…"
"Good." Gibbs said.
"And I'm sure Ducky would have some huge explanation for what I'm going through and what it means." He said with a laugh.
"He said it's something similar to PTSD."
"Really? Huh. Yeah. I guess. Being a slave is trauma. And now this is post-trauma. Though, I'm still a slave."
"The best I can do," Gibbs said, "is treat you as normal as possible and try to keep you and Abby safe from these bone-headed laws."
Tony nodded quickly. "I appreciate that boss. I don't think I ever said a proper thank-you for rescuing me." Tony looked up at him and grinned. "Thanks for getting me away from Bronislav."
"Your welcome, DiNozzo. Don't go getting all mushy on me, now."
Tony let out a guffaw. "Too late, boss," he said, remembering, with a good dose of embarrassment, crying in the bathroom. "Too damn late."
"You ready to finally do some work?" Gibbs told him what Abby saw on the DVD. They returned to Abby's room, where Tony was immediately clutched into a patented Abby-hug.
"How are you, my boy?" Ducky asked.
"Fine, Ducky. I'll be fine."
Tony watched the video while Gibbs read the computer profiles.
"So there was a third guy we didn't know about until now." Tony said.
"Yep."
"I sure wish we were back at the office." Tony said. "We prolly coulda caught this guy sooner if half the team wasn't a slave."
"You wanna tell that to Ching-Lan?" Gibbs said dryly.
"Not really, boss. Anything in those profiles?"
"Still looking."
Tony got up and moved behind his boss, staring at the screen from over his shoulder.
"Here." Gibbs grunted. He thrust the laptop into Tony's arms. "My eyes are about to fall out of my head."
Tony sank into the desk chair and scrolled through Daljeet's biography. He paused when he came to a photo. It was of Daljeet in a suit, surrounded by several other well-dressed Indian men. They seemed to be at some sort of dinner or banquet. Squinting, Tony zoomed in on the photo and frowned.
"I think this is the same guy." Tony said.
"What?" Gibbs came back around and looked at the picture on the screen. "This guy." Tony said, pointing at one man. "Isn't that the third guy from the tape?"
Gibbs looked at the fuzzy picture. "Might be. Abbs—."
"Already on it." Abby took the computer from Tony and dragged up the facial recognizing software from the depths of the internet. Her fingers tapped over the board for a few moments and she sat back, watching it intently.
"It's thinking." She informed them. Suddenly it beeped. She leaned forward and looked over the images. "That's the same guy alright."
They exchanged looks with each other and Tony smiled.
"I think it's time to call Ching-Lan." Gibbs said.
"Mr. Gibbs." Ching-Lan's voice echoed from the speakers on the laptop. After a quick phone call, she had insisted on setting up a videoconference so they 'could speak properly.' The dragon lady herself was on a couch and Gibbs didn't recognize the background room. One of the many in the White House, no doubt.
"Ching-Lan. Have you been well?"
"Yes. Busy as usual, but well enough. Do you have more information?"
"A question, actually."
Abby leaned across the keys and tapped.
"Do you know who this man is?" The picture of the third person in the video came up and Gibbs watched Ching-Lan scrutinize it.
"Hm…that is Vajra Naravira. He is a member of the Bombay mafia."
Gibbs blinked. "The mafia?"
"Yes. I remember—his second cousin is Rakeesh Naravira. The head of the mafia."
"Ah. Do they have any grudges against you?"
Her eyes narrowed dangerously.
"I'm only asking because Vajra may be linked to your sister."
Ching-Lan looked down at her hands when he mentioned Mei-Lien, and as much as he disliked her, Gibbs felt a pang of sympathy. He knew what it was like to lose family. "I have many enemies, Gibbs." She said quietly. "If these filthy Indian dogs are behind this, I want to know everything."
Yeah, Gibbs thought dryly, and send the entire Indian mob after them if there turned out to be a connection.
"You will be kept safe." She promised. It was like she read his mind. "Do what you need to, Mr. Gibbs."
Gibbs promised he would and they broke the connection.
"Mafia, huh." Tony said. He clattered at the keyboard, bringing up Rakeesh Naravira's file. "Hmm…"
Abby crowded behind him, reading. "Uh-oh." She said.
"What 'uh-oh'?" Gibbs growled.
"'Ol Rakeesh is involved in the slave trade too. Though he trafficks kids." Tony added quietly. "Daljeet probably sold them Mei-Lien for money."
"Oh that poor girl." Ducky said.
"Wait-but what about Lewis?" Abby said, looking horrified at the prospect of a child sold into slavery.
"For all we know, she's dead too." Tony answered.
"But we don't know that." Gibbs said.
"Daljeet and Lewis and Mei-Lien checked in here on Januray sixth." Tony got up and started pacing.
"Daljeet's body was found on the eleventh in Arlington. Consuelo said that Lewis and Daljeet argued about money on the eighth, three days before the body turned up. Now we find a third person in the surveillance video who clearly knew Daljeet—linking him to the mafia—and no one's heard from Lewis or Mei-Lien since."
"Yeah, but "argued about money" sounds pretty vague." Abby countered. "It could have been a room service bill for all we know."
"But with the mafia connection, it strengthens the theory that Daljeet was threatening someone or something. It makes sense that it was Lewis. Lewis wanted to protect Mei-Lien, and Daljeet wanted the money."
They all fell quiet, thinking about Tony's theory.
"Maybe." Abby said.
"Boss? What do you think?" Tony adjusted his collar and crossed his arms, looking intently his master.
"My gut says something doesn't fit." Gibbs said finally. He went over to the hotel phone on the desk and punched the button for the concierge. He tersely asked for the manager. Tony and Abby exchanged frowns.
"Is Maria Consuelo working today? Gibbs asked. "She is? We need to speak to her—good." Gibbs hung up and moved for the door, grabbing Tony's leash from the table. "Come on, DiNozzo."
Tony hurried after.
"We'll keep looking at the files!" Abby called. "See if we can find anything about where Rakeesh may have sent her."
"Good idea, Abbs." Gibbs replied, slamming the door behind them.
Gibbs knocked on the manager's office door. There was no response. Gibbs glanced up and down the hall, letting out an annoyed breath.
"What's up, boss?" Tony said.
"Something doesn't fit." Gibbs muttered. The door was pulled open a moment later.
"Mr. Gibbs—." He frowned when he saw Tony. "You took care of your slave, then?"
"Yes. He was punished severely." Gibbs deadpanned. Tony nodded in agreement. "I need to talk to Maria Consuelo."
"I've already radioed her, she's on her way. I trust this won't take long?"
"Shouldn't." Gibbs said.
The man nodded. "I'll give you some privacy then." He ducked out of the office just as Consuelo came into view. She paused when she saw Gibbs and Tony. A flash of worry spiked in her brown eyes.
"Tony." Gibbs snipped. Tony rattled off some things in Spanish, assuring her that wasn't in trouble—just the opposite in fact, and she calmed down. They all sat at the conference table and Tony paused.
"Uh, boss, what do you want me to say?"
"Ask if she remembers anything else about Daljeet and Lewis." He said impatiently. "Ask about Vajra Naravira."
Tony rattled off some sentences and Gibbs sat back, watching the exchange. Tony said something, then she nodded, then he paused and repeated it. She nodded again. They talked for a little while longer and Tony sat back.
"She says Lewis and Mei-Lien were still here after Daljeet 'checked out.'" Tony said.
"They didn't all leave the hotel together?" Gibbs said bluntly.
"Nope. Lewis and Mei-Lien were still here after the eleventh, when Daljeet's body was found. Then they booked out."
"Did Vajra leave with them?"
Tony repeated the question.
She shook her head and replied.
"She doesn't know when he checked out. She doesn't remember very much about Vajra."
"Does she know if he was involved in the argument about the money?"
Tony asked her, and she shook her head.
"It had to have been Lewis." Gibbs hissed. "She wanted to ransom Mei-Lien to Rakeesh Naravira for his trafficking. By using the Indian mafia, Lewis was able to make it seem like Daljeet was behind it all. No one would suspect the nanny of selling her charge." Gibbs slammed his palm on the table, making Consuelo jump.
Gibbs stood up and paced, stalking back and forth across the room like a panther.
"Okay." He said finally. "We're done here for now."
Tony thanked Consuelo graciously and escorted her from the room. He let out a small yelp when the leash tugged his throat as Gibbs strode down the hallway.
"Keep up!" He called. Tony rolled his eyes at the pleased urgency in his boss's voice. Gibbs was like a kid in a candy store…or a grown ex-marine in a boat store. It had been ages since they had a case and since Gibbs and the whole team could sniff out a bad guy like they used to. Back when NCIS actually existed. Tony felt a pang of sadness as they turned into the main lobby. He may never get to be an official federal agent again or sit at a desk, but this was really the next best thing.
They came back into the semi-crowded lobby. Gibbs stopped suddenly and Tony almost careened into him. "Whoa, boss—."
Gibbs caught his arm to balance him.
"Why are we…?" Tony gulped at the sight at the front desk. It was Justine Bergman. She was checking out. Three muscle-bound male slaves each held a piece of her luggage silently as she berated the desk clerk.
"Come on." Gibbs instructed. He gave Tony a quick grin before schooling his face into a pissed-off mask. He walked briskly up behind the woman. Tony followed at as much of a distance as his leash would allow. He didn't want to get too close. Gibbs tapped the woman's shoulder harder than was necessary.
"What!—Oh, it's you and your law-breaking slave." She snarled. "Reconsidering my offer or what?" She looked over Gibbs' shoulder to get an eyeful of Tony. Gibbs reached out and caught her arm, forcing her to look into his eyes. "Hey!" She yelled. "Get off me—" Gibbs squeezed, shutting her up, and pulled her away from the desk.
"This woman," he announced in a good loud voice, "broke the law." He glanced around, pleased that everyone in the room was now looking at them. Justine tried to break away from his grip, but Gibbs simply tightened it. "She tried to steal my collared slave." Murmurs of disapproval rippled around the room. Gibbs continued. "A slave I told her I had no interest in selling—a man who is working to find a little girl who's life may be in danger."
Tony smiled as the murmurings increased. Go boss, go!
"A man who was hand-picked by his laoban to aid the search for this little girl."
That's stretching it a bit boss, but still! Way to go! Tony crossed his arms, giving Justine a smug smile. She tried to wrench out of Gibbs' grip again and he growled at her. She stopped moving.
"I suggest," Gibbs said, glancing around the room, "that if you care at all about your slaves, you won't have anything to do with Justine Bergman."
Finally Gibbs let her go. She gave him an acidic glare as people in the lobby broke into applause. Tony noted that her slave boys had made no move to get Gibbs away from her. Gibbs turned away from the crowd. He stepped into Justine's space, pinning her against the counter, and began speaking in a dangerously low voice.
"I don't know who you are. I don't know where you came from. But if you and I ever cross paths again and if you ever give one of my people a hard time…I will make your life hell. You'll wish you had never seen Tony."
"Who?" She muttered, looking like she wanted to cry.
"My friend whom you tried to hurt." Gibbs said. "Understand?"
The look in her eyes told him they would never have trouble with her again. That was good enough for Gibbs. The corners of Gibbs' mouth quirked as she angrily turned around to continue hollering at the desk clerk, even though by now her argument was totally deflated. As he began walking back towards the elevator, Tony caught the eye of the slave who'd held his arms behind his back at the pool just hours ago. His nose was a little bruised. They exchanged a silent nod of acknowledgement, all bad feelings aside, and Tony hurried after his boss before the leash could tug.
"Boss." He said, awestruck and deliriously happy, "that was—"
"Don't mention it, DiNozzo."
"Abbs." Gibbs knocked hard and the door was thrown open instantly. "Look at Lewis' file. Background and history." Abby ran to the computer and typed a moment. They all crowded around the screen as Lewis' photo and file popped up.
"Okay." Abby said, reading. "Lewis came to the resort in January, blah, blah, blah…born and raised in the Midwest. She has family in what was formerly known as Chicago. Blue-collar family. Father was a truck driver for the stockyards, mother worked part-time at the old Marshall Field's—which as we know was one of the earliest chain stores to be destroyed by China who have and always will hate gluttonous American wealth—."
"Abbs." Gibbs said patiently.
"Um, nothing to really link her with the Indian mafia, Gibbs."
"Dig around in her past—look for any connection to that kidnapping. I know she did it, we just have to prove it now. Tony, help her. Ducky and I are getting coffee."
Abby opened her mouth to inform Gibbs that Tony wasn't much of a help for computer issues, but the slamming of the door as the two men left cut her off.
"You get any better at computer hacking since the invasion?" She asked.
"Nope." Tony sighed. "Haven't used a computer very much since I became a slave."
"Then stay out of my way." Abby said, fingers flying over the keyboard.
Abby sat at the desk for the next couple hours or so, hacking and knocking on firewalls. Gibbs and Ducky had come back with coffee for all of them, and room service was keeping the pots topped up.
"Abbs," Tony groaned impatiently. He was sprawled on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. "Anything yet?"
"Not really. It's weird. It's like after staying at the resort, Lewis just dropped off the face of the earth. The last record Ching-Lan has of her is when she came here with little sister and Daljeet"
Tony looked up. "Little sister?"
"In Chinese, mei-mei means little sister. Mei-Lien, mei-mei…I don't know."
She heard him mumble something that sounded a lot like "Chinatown."
"Tony, no Jack Nicholson impressions."
"Abby." Gibbs said suddenly. "You got something."
"What?" Abby frowned at her screen. "No I don't—."
At that moment, the computer beeped frantically.
"You haven't lost it!" Abby cried. "And it's been five years! Amazing!"
"What?" Gibbs looked at her like she was nuts.
"Your dark magic. Every time I have something, you just," she waved her hands in the air, "know. It's like telepathy or something, Gibbs."
"So you have something?" Gibbs sipped his coffee, looking very unconcerned about his dark magic.
"I think so. Look." Abby twisted the laptop around so the others could see. "Annabelle Lewis is a tough girl to find. I looked up her old addresses, phone records. I tried to get a credit card history but the firewalls have gotten really, really good. Anyway, I did find that Ms. Lewis' relatively blue-collar life isn't so blue anymore."
She clicked and several pictures of fancy cars and big houses appeared on the screen.
"See this mansion?"
Abby pointed at the screen.
"It's hers. She lives part-time in Lake Forest—it's an expensive 'burb north of Chi-town. She also owns a condo in this,"
Abby flicked the mouse and a black skyscraper overlooking Lake Michigan appeared.
"And this little number in Puerto Rico."
A bungalow surrounded by palm trees and sand popped up.
"Along with these cars. Lewis came into a lot of cash recently. And funny, Mei-Lien is nowhere to be found. But this, this, you're gonna love." Abby pulled the computer away from her audience and clattered over the keys. She flipped the laptop around again when the photo of a woman and several handsome Indian men appeared.
"That's Lewis." Abby said. "Plus a boob-job and I don't know how much in make-up. And that," she pointed at the man closest to her,
"Vajra Naravira." Gibbs growled.
"And what looks like most of his family." Ducky noticed.
"Find this guy, and we find Mei-Lien." Tony murmured. He slid his eyes to Gibbs. "We going after this guy, boss?"
Gibbs stared at the picture for a long while, then pulled away.
"Let's give Ching-Lan another call."
Gibbs didn't bother with the cell this time. He had Abby dial her through the computer, and the video was up and running in a matter of minutes. Ching-Lan looked harried. Her ever-immaculate black hair was hanging down her face in stringy strands and her red nail polish was chipped. Dark bags hung under her tear stained eyes.
"Mr. Gibbs." She said in a thick voice. "News?"
"It was Lewis." Gibbs growled. Ching-Lan looked surprised for a moment, then her eyes darkened into an anger that made Tony and Abby gulp.
"You're sure?" She hissed. Abby leaned over the keys and brought up the photo of Lewis with Naravira.
Ching-Lan stared at the photo, breathing hard. Suddenly she shoved the computer away and yelled something in Chinese that sounded very unpleasant for Lewis' future. Several concerned slaves ran into the room, but Ching-Lan shoved them away.
"Thank you, Mr. Gibbs." She said into the camera. "And you, Doctor. And," she sighed, "Abby and Tony. I will take it from here."
"Wait! Are we staying with Gibbs?" Tony leaned into the camera. Abby bit her lip anxiously.
Ching-Lan paused. "As long as he will have you." She mumbled.
"You're welcome, Ching-Lan." Gibbs said sincerely, putting a hand on Tony's shoulder, pulling him back. The Chinese woman nodded and killed the connection.
"Tony! Yay!" Abby leaped into his arms and he spun her around. "You're staying with us totally legitly permanent forever now!"
"I do hope the little girl is alright." Ducky said.
"Hopefully she's better than Lewis is going to be." Tony said with an awkward laugh.
"Gibbs, what's Ching-Lan going to do to Lewis?" Abby asked.
"I don't want to know." Gibbs took another swig from his coffee. "Let's get the hell out of here."