Backlash: Chapter 1: Thinking Back

11/6/10

Still here. I think I might be able to go for a walk through the town tomorrow and see where I am. Based on the time the sun sets, I'm fairly certain I'm somewhere along the Atlantic Coast. I just don't know where. It's getting colder outside, so I'd guess I'm somewhere north of Washington D.C. Damien keeps coming down to see me, probably trying to make nice for kidnapping me and knocking out Josh. I miss him. Not much else to do but write and watch the same movies over and over again. If there's a post office in town, I'll get the address and send a letter, most likely to NCIS because everyone's probably there trying to find me, especially Josh. Well, it's getting late, so I think I'll hit the sack. Night.

…...

It was raining in Washington D.C. The weather outside reflected the moods of the team of three working to try and find Tiffany after she was captured a few days ago. Jake, Nate, and Josh were the only ones in today. Cole had to go to a security conference in France and Amy had fell on her way to work and broke her arm. She'd be out for at least 3 weeks. Following an idea brought up late last night, they were trying to find common links between Tiffany and her captor, Damien. They were in San Francisco about seven years ago, so they're trying there first.

"This is getting us nowhere," Jake said, exasperated. They'd been at it for over an hour and found no common ties between Damien, Tiffany, and San Francisco. Yet.

"Wait, I think I've found something," Nate said. "According to her file, she used to work at the NCIS office there. You think anybody she used to work with is still there?"

"Maybe, maybe not. But it's the only lead we've found so far, so we may as well follow up on it," Josh said.

"I'm going up to MTAC," Nate told them. "You guys wanna come?"

"Sure," Jake responded.

"Am I allowed to?" Josh asked. "Isn't that for special agents and directors and other employees at NCIS only?"

"Yes, but I think that, considering the circumstances, they won't mind," Nate told him.

As they were walking up to MTAC, Caitlin, the forensic scientist at NCIS, came running and caught up with them. "Where you guys going?" she asked.

"MTAC, you wanna come?" Nate told/asked her.

"Sure, might as well."

Nate used the retina scanner at the door to unlock it, and the group of four entered MTAC.

"What can I do for you guys?" the man working in MTAC asked.

"We need to talk to the San Francisco office about a case," Nate told them. "Could you call them and ask if they'd talk to us?"

"What case?" he probed.

"The case of the kidnapping of the director of a federal agency, that case," Nate replied.

"Just give me a minute to call them," he told them. When his attention went to his phone, they talked amongst themselves.

"You think they'll say they'll talk with us?" Josh asked.

"I don't see a reason why they wouldn't," Jake told him.

"Besides, it's concerns the kidnapping of the director. They'll definitely talk with us," Nate added.

"Now work?" the question was asked so suddenly, they jumped.

"Does now work for what?" Jake asked.

"Does now work to talk to San Francisco?" the response was another question.

"Definitely," they said simultaneously.

"Okay. They're coming on in two," the man told them. "Headsets are over here on the table."

Caitlin, Nate, Josh, and Jake each grabbed a headset and took a seat, waiting.

With a quick flash, the screen changed from the bars that occupied the screen when they weren't in use was replaced with an almost mirror image of the room they were in now.

"Hi, all. Special Agent in Charge Jason Scott reporting," the man, Jason, introduced himself. "Now why did Washington need to speak with us today?" His voice wasn't sarcastic; he obviously didn't know why this video conference was set up.

"It concerns the kidnapping of the Director," Nate started. "Have any of your employees worked there for about the last seven years?"

"Let me see... Yeah, Kate has. Would you like to speak with her?"

"If it's possible," Jake answered.

A moment later, a woman appeared on-screen.

"Special Agent Kate Scott," she introduced herself. "What would you like to know about Tiffany?"

"What did she do there?" Nate asked.

"Well, she wasn't here long. She worked here maybe 4 months before she got transferred to Washington. She mainly did desk work, but she'd occasionally go out and do field work."

"Did her boyfriend, Damien, ever come in to pick her up? Josh asked.

"Yeah, a few times. Don't know why she stuck with him, though."

"Why do you say that?"

"He was quite annoying, actually. Singing all the time. It drove me crazy, but I guess she liked it."

"Did you notice anything about him? Anything uncommon for San Francisco?

"Not really. Wait, now that you mention it, he had an accent at first, but lost it fairly quickly."

"What kind of accent?" Josh probed.

"New York, I think. He'd sometimes mention something about the Atlantic, so I'd guess that he either lived on the coast or worked near it."

A lead. A real lead. "Thanks, Kate. We'll be in touch if we need anything."

"One last question: Are you related to James Scott?"

"Yeah, I was," she answered.

"We're all sorry for your loss."

"Thanks. Well, hope you find Tiffany soon. We'd been great friends. Still occasionally write to each other."

"Don't worry, we'll find her," Jake said. They cut off.

"Well, that was educational," Nate said.

"It was, we learned something about where she may be," Josh said.

"Explain, please?" Jake asked.

Josh went to start, but was beat to it by Caitlin. "It obvious. Most people will, at one point in time, go back to where they were born. He had a New York accent, so he lived in NY. Also, he talked about the Atlantic a little bit, so he'd probably be somewhere on the Atlantic coastline of NY,"

"Now that'd be a little too obvious," Jake pointed out.

"Let's go check it out, just to be sure," Josh said.

"Maybe."

"Come on, what other lead do we have?" Josh asked, desperation creeping into his voice.

"Let's see if we can find another lead," Nate said. "If we come up empty, we can go to New York, okay?"

"Okay," Josh replied, although it was clear he wasn't in total agreement.

"Let's all go home, it's late," Nate told them.

"Alright," they said. They left MTAC, with Caitlin heading down to the parking garage to head home and Nate, Josh, and Jake went back to the squad room to close up and shut down for the night. When that was done, they left.