"Where's McGee?" Abby demanded.
Tony's head shot up from his desk where it has been resting. Another marathon night of 'classic' French films had taken its toll.
"What, who?"
"McGee," Ziva prompted.
"Who?"
"McGee," Abby repeated forcefully. "He promised to tweak my new firewall, the connection is really crappy. Gibbs!" Her attention veered abruptly to track Gibbs from the elevator to his desk. "What did you do with McGee? He promised to help me this morning."
Gibbs raised a questioning eyebrow at Tony who replied with a shrug. Gibbs frowned and opened his mouth to speak.
"And yes: I tried his cell and yes: I tried his home and yes: I rang his sister," Abby interjected without pausing for breath.
Gibbs shut his mouth again and resumed frowning.
"I'll trace his cell," Abby announced bouncing to McGee's desk.
Gibbs followed her mouthing the question 'how many caf-pow?' in Tony's direction. Tony shrugged in a manner indicative of fear of the unknown.
Abby already had the trace on the plasma screen by the time Gibbs reached her side.
"That's strange," she breathed quietly, "It's in the middle of nowhere."
"Put out a BOLO on his.."
"No need boss," Tony cut in, "his car has already been reported abandoned outside a retirement village. Pretty bashed up too, by the look of it."
"Oh..oh…oh," Abby's hand shot straight in the air. Gibbs nodded for her to proceed. She smiled smugly and pronounced: "Something's happened to his grandmother and he hasn't had time to call."
"And what, his grandmother threw his cell out the window because he did all the rally driving?" Tony queried.
"And he didn't tell any of this to his sister?" Gibbs pointed out.
Abby pouted in disappointment. "Ok, probably not."
Gibbs swung into action. "Ziva: the phone, Tony: the car. I'll take the retirement village. Move it."
The three agents ran for the elevator leaving Abby starkly alone in the middle of the squad room calling tearfully: "Can I do anything? Gibbs? Anyone?"
A single tear meandered down her cheek, before she pulled herself together and headed for the lab.
Abby did not have to wait long for her minions to return showering her with forensic gifts: McGee's cell phone and the Sat Nav from his car. Treasures in hand, she skipped through the lab with her little entourage in tow murmuring seductively to the electronic equipment: "Comm'on guys, tell momma where her baby is."
"OK," she announced to the awaiting throng minutes later, "his Sat Nav was on a route to home from this community hall here." She pointed to a dot on the plasma screen map. "Now the Sat Nav can show us his actual route, as well as the planned route. She hit another button on the screen and a mass of lines criss-crossed the screen."
"Thanks that's really useful, Abs." Ahh, Gibbs sarcasm.
The three agents rose as one to leave.
"And…." they froze as if competing in the world musical statues final, "if I run it with the time stamp on."
They settled again.
She hit the keyboard and a new map appeared on the plasma. The three agents watched as the signal left the community center and stopped a short time later.
"And that," exclaimed Abby triumphantly, "is where the cell phone was found."
"What happened then?" asked Gibbs squinting at the screen. "That's not where the car was found."
"This." Abby hit the play button. The signal stayed perfectly still as the time stamp clicked over. And kept staying. And stayed some more.
"Can we move this along a bit before he dies of old age?"
"Oh sorry."
Abby hit the keyboard again and the timestamp fast forwarded.
"Whoa! Look at that thing go!"
They watched in amazement as the signal scooted around the screen coming to rest an hour later outside the retirement village.
"One of the residents called it in this morning," Gibbs confirmed. "No one heard anything: they sleep with their hearing aids out."
"So what's with the community hall?" asked Tony.
"Aha!" cried Abby. "While you guys were out Special Agenting, I was checking out McGee's date book. McGee was doing a writer's thingy thingamabob there last night."
"Any contact number?"
"Yeah, but no one's answering"
"Good work, Abbs," Gibbs muttered heading for the door with Tony and Ziva on his tail, "we'll be at that hall."
From the outside, the community hall looked like any one of the million or so abandoned warehouses they had explored over the years. With a few notable exceptions: the cars parked outside.
Gibbs flicked out his cell, "Abbs, get me a licence check on some plates…"
The three agents circled the small wooden structure. It was suspiciously empty. There was no noise, no signs of life but a test of the front door revealed it to be unlocked. Gibbs nodded and the three agents entered silently, stalking around the vacant hall.
It was Ziva who noticed it first: a small wooden trap door in the middle of the stage. There was light seeping through the edges and a strong smell of something she couldn't quite place. It reminded her of the word 'old'.