For once, Kate said nothing about his driving, as Gibbs flung the vehicle through the busy Kosovan streets. She didn't even flinch as they took one corner on two wheels, tyres screeching in protest. Gibbs shot her a quick look, noting the tense set of her jaw and the determined look in her eyes and nodded to himself. Kate and Tony might fight like cats and dogs, and she might tease McGee mercilessly, but God help anyone who hurt them. His own feelings on the matter were equally as clear cut. The only person who had the right to kill DiNozzo was him. The same for Kate and McGee.
They were heading for Paul Howard's house on the French military base. Gibbs only hoped they weren't too late. From what Kate had discovered in Howard's file, and Abby's computer skills, it was beyond doubt that Howard was their man. Gibbs only hoped Tony and McGee had known that when they went in.
He was going to kill DiNozzo, he fumed silently. First he wandered off into the night, and ended up following one of the most dangerous men in Kosovo, and now he walked merrily into the house of a CIA traitor, taking McGee with him. Death might be too kind, Gibbs thought murderously, before a treacherous voice at the back of his mind added that, so far, it had Tony who had provided most of the breaks in this case.
The French guards laconically waved them through, where they were met by the base commander, Colonel Pierre Vache. Colonel Vache did not look amused and Gibbs fought a groan as he realised things were about to get political, and that could be wasting vital seconds if Tony or McGee was hurt.
"So, Agent Gibbs, I have heard that I have a traitor in my midst," he snapped, eyes hard and demanding. Kate nervously checked her watch – it had been half an hour since they discovered Howard was the mole, but who knew how long since Tony and McGee had disappeared.
"Colonel, I'm sorry about this, but I need to find my agents," Gibbs snapped back. "You can take this matter up with the US government, but if you don't move out of my way, right now, I will have no choice left but to kill you."
Vache gave him a long, penetrating glance that made Gibbs feel mildly uncomfortable before he nodded shortly. "My men will escort you. This mess is not of your making Agent Gibbs, it would be wrong to blame you."
Gibbs allowed one of his rare smiles to bloom for a second, before he and Kate got back in their car to head towards Howard's house, accompanied by six soldiers, all armed, with their fury clear on their faces. Gibbs could understand how they felt – Howard fooled them all, and the USA had paid him to – but he was grateful for the French Colonel's attitude. It would have been easy, and legal, for him to delay and not help them.
"I thought we might be in trouble for a moment," Kate said softly, looking around at the soldiers.
"So did I," Gibbs replied grimly, as they circled Howard's bungalow, both drawing their weapons. The French soldiers had the place surrounded, and on Gibbs' nod, they all went in together.
There was no one there. To Kate's extreme frustration, the place was empty. Sweeping from room to room, she and Gibbs covered the ground floor of the house, ending up in the kitchen, where both NCIS agents froze in horror. Blood had pooled by one of the cabinets, creating a small, red moon on the floor.
Acting entirely on instinct, Gibbs snapped on a pair of latex gloves before he went any further. "How can you be so professional?" Kate cried out. "That could be Tony's blood! Or McGee's!"
"And that's why we need to process the scene," Gibbs retorted. A wave of shame suffused Kate's features. "Kate, we have only this house to tell us where they are."
"I know," she said slowly. "But we don't have any equipment with us."
"Then we'll just have to improvise."
Kate stepped carefully into the kitchen, and indicated the cell phone on the table. "That's Tony's phone. He'd never leave it behind willingly. Too many girls' numbers," she finished with a grimace.
"Blood trail leads towards the back door," Gibbs said, eyes glued to the floor as he followed it. "It looks like someone was hurt, but they weren't dragged, they walked by themselves."
Kate followed his line of sight. "Yeah, but look at the trail. It's not uniform, suggesting that whoever was hurt was limping slightly. Leg wound?"
Gibbs nodded, walking out of the door, still following the blood trail. "Good thinking. The trail leads out to the driveway, where it stops. They got in a car?"
Colonel Vache was watching the progress with an interested gleam in his eye. "Sergeant Rocher's car is still here," he said, before his mouth twisted, as though he had just bitten into a lemon. "I mean Paul Howard."
"And our hire car is here. They got into next door's car?" Gibbs thought aloud. "What was it?"
Vache looked at one of his soldiers who replied, "A Toyota Landcruiser, in red."
Vache rattled something off in French, too fast for Gibbs to follow completely, although he did catch something about the gate. "I asked them to check with the guards, to see if that vehicle left our base today."
"Thanks Colonel," Gibbs sighed. Which of his agents was hurt? It seemed fairly obvious that one of them was, otherwise Howard would be in custody by now. However dangerous the spy was, Gibbs was certain DiNozzo and McGee could easily take him if Howard had been injured. Plus there was the issue of transport. He ground his teeth together angrily. One of his people was hurt, and he had nothing to go on to help them out. Someone was going to pay for this.
"Whose blood do you think it is?" Kate asked quietly.
Gibbs looked at her pale face for a second before he answered. Kate was taking this just as badly as he was, he reminded himself. They were her team mates too. So, falsely jovial, he said, "DiNozzo probably managed to cut himself while he was distracted by a pretty girl." When the ex-Secret Service agent simply looked at him, Gibbs had to remind himself, yet again, that she was far tougher than she looked. Dropping the act, he said, "It probably was DiNozzo. McGee wouldn't have done anything stupid, whereas reckless is practically DiNozzo's middle name. Besides, Howard's more likely to view Tony as more of a threat than McGee."
Kate only nodded. When the soldier returned, with the news that a red Toyota Landcruiser had left the base an hour and a half ago, Gibbs balled his hands into fists and tried to resist the urge to hit someone. Luckily for the surrounding soldiers, his cell rang before he could act on that instinct.
He stared at the screen for a second. "It's McGee," he said softly.
"Well, aren't you going to answer it?" Kate said, reaching for the phone herself.
Gibbs shot her a warning look, and her hand dropped. "Gibbs."
"Agent Gibbs, I'm sure you can guess who this is." The voice on the end of the line smooth, and his accent sounded Mid-Western, which would fit with Howard's profile, Gibbs knew.
"Howard," he ground out. Kate's eyes opened wide and she began dialling her own phone. Gibbs heard her tell Abby to get a trace on where McGee's phone was, and smiled to himself. Howard would find this tougher than he thought. "What do you want?"
"To let you know how your agents are, of course."
There was a moment of silence, before McGee's voice came on the line. "Boss?"
"McGee, where the hell are you, and who got hurt?"
"Um, I don't know where we are, somewhere in the mountains I think, and Tony's been shot. He's bleeding pretty badly," McGee said, his voice trembling.
"We're on our way," Gibbs swore to the younger man. "Tell DiNozzo to hang in there, and that if he dies, I'll kill him."
"So now you know my position, Agent Gibbs," Howard's voice came back on the line. "I imagine you know what I've done. All I ask for is for you to turn a blind eye while I get out of this cursed country, and your agents will be fine. If you don't, well, Agent DiNozzo has plenty of other limbs I can shoot."
"Listen to me, you little…" Gibbs was interrupted before he could go any further by Howard's laughter.
"Threaten all you like Agent Gibbs. You have two hours, and then I expect to hear a decision." With that he hung up.
Gibbs turned expectantly to Kate, who shook her head. "Abby said she narrowed it down to the mountains, but he was gone before we got a precise location."
"Damn." That news broke the last of Gibbs' restraints on his temper, and he punched the side of the house hard. "We're going to get them back, Kate, and Paul Howard is going to pay for this." Looking into his hard blue eyes, Kate didn't doubt him for a second.