The drive to Anacostia was quiet. McGee pinged Ian's cell phone, and they were following the signal to his location. Meanwhile, Gibbs was thinking about what he was going to see when they found his nephew. Would Ian be hurt? Was he really kidnapped at all?
If he's screwing around, I'm going to kill him.
"What's on your mind, Boss?"
"That if this kid is screwing with us, he's going to have a lot of explaining to do."
"Ian's no angel, but do you really think he'd fake his own kidnapping?"
"I don't know, McGee, but it's better than thinking about the alternative."
Tim nodded and looked down at the GPS locator on his phone. "He's moving down V street, toward Martin Luther King Ave."
Gibbs took a corner at full speed, and Tim latched onto the door. They were about 10 minutes away from Ian.
"He's moving fast, Boss."
"Fast enough to be in a car?"
"I can't tell."
As they approached the intersection of V street and Martin Luther King Ave, a delivery van came flying around the corner, and sped off in front of them down V street.
"There he is!" Tim exclaimed as Gibbs pressed down on the gas pedal to catch up with the truck. As they hit the intersection, another car made a left in front of them, and Gibbs slammed on the brakes as the car sped off behind Lena's van. Gibbs hit the gas and sped off behind the car.
"I think you should call for backup, Boss," Tim said as he double-checked his seatbelt.
"Don't need it, McGee."
"But-"
"I don't need it."
Tim fell silent as Gibbs started to pass the black Altima in front of them. He swerved in front of it and slammed on his brakes. The driver of the Altima hit his own brakes and came within inches of hitting the Charger. Gibbs and McGee jumped out of the car, guns drawn.
"NCIS! Get out of the car, now!" Gibbs shouted, heading for the driver's side. The door opened, and a young man of Hispanic descent stepped out of the car, hands raised.
"What the hell man? I was just driving home!"
"Before or after you caught up with that van ahead of you?"
"I don't know what the hell you're talking about!"
"You went right through that red light back there at MLK. No one does that, unless they're following someone."
The man's innocent face turned into a sneer.
"I'm not the only one looking for him, Puerco. You can arrest me, but El Malvado will get that little puta."
Gibbs handcuffed him and looked up at Tim.
"Take him back to NCIS. Call DiNozzo on your way and tell him to send backup. I'm going to borrow our friend's car."
"You can't go by yourself, Boss... you'll get yourself killed!"
Gibbs shoved the prisoner into the back of the Charger and slammed the door.
"That's not a request McGee... do it! I'll be fine."
"Okay. You call me if you need me, okay?"
"I will, just go."
Tim nodded and got into the Charger. Gibbs got into the Altima and started it up. After McGee took off in the Charger, he sped off in the direction Ian had gone in the van. He didn't have to go far before he saw it on the side of the road. The driver's door was hanging open.
Gibbs pulled up behind it, and ran over, gun drawn. There was no one in the cab of the truck, so he went around to the back, and carefully pulled it open. He found nothing but flowers in the back of the refrigerated truck.
Gibbs suddenly sensed movement behind him. Before he could turn around, he was struck on the head, and he dropped to the pavement, unconscious.
Tony answered his cell as soon as it rang.
"McGee, what's going on?"
"Gibbs and I found Ian. We caught a suspenct following him, but Ian got away. I'm driving the suspect back to NCIS right now."
"Where the hell is Gibbs?"
"He made me leave him there. He took the suspect's car to find Ian. Tony, you have to send backup right now. I have a feeling this is a lot bigger than just a bunch of kids in a street gang."
"Okay, get that guy back to NCIS. I'm going after Gibbs."
"Will do. Be careful."
"I'm always careful, Probie. Get that guy back here in one piece, okay?"
"Of course."
Tony hung up and shouted across the bullpen.
"McAvoy! Nelson! I need you guys as backup!"
Agent McAvoy rose from his desk.
"What mess have you gotten into now, DiNozzo?"
Tony went over to McAvoy's desk, to avoid shouting across the bullpen for everyone to hear.
"Gibbs has gone rogue. His nephew got involved in something, and he sent McGee back here with a suspect and took off by himself to find his nephew. We need to go back him up. McGee thinks there's something more going on than a couple of street thugs looking for revenge."
McAvoy's hardened expression softened - a little bit.
"Okay. We'll help. Let me go tell Balboa."
"Thanks. Nelson, try to pick up Gibbs' phone with the GPS. I want to get a location before we go out there."
"On it."
Nelson did some quick typing as McAvoy came running back into the bullpen.
"Balboa is on board, and he threatened to bench us if we don't call in regularly."
"Gotcha," Tony said, also wanting to avoid Balboa's wrath.
"I've got him!" Nelson shouted, jumping out of his seat. "He's outside of Anacostia, and he's not moving."
Tony ran back to his desk to grab his badge and weapon.
"Let's go."
"Welcome back, Agent Gibbs."
Gibbs groaned and sat up. He wasn't in the street. He was on the floor in what looked like a warehouse, in some kind of office. There were three men with guns pointed at his head, and a middle-aged man sitting in the office chair, looking down at him.
"Who the hell are you?"
"My name is Benito Gonzalez, but my subordinates like to refer to me as El Malvado."
Gibbs tried to stand, but he felt hands pushing him back to the floor.
"You're not leaving yet, Agent Gibbs. We need to have a chat."
He looked at one of the men and said something in Spanish that Gibbs couldn't pick up. Two men yanked Gibbs to his feet, and shoved him into a chair on the other side of the small desk. He felt his hands being cuffed to the chair.
"Now, Agent Gibbs, you're going to tell me why you took one of my men into custody."
Gibbs remained silent. One of the men that put him in the chair pistol whipped him, leaving a mark on his cheek.
"I'm not playing games. You interrupted one of my men and stopped him from performing his assigned duty."
"What was that? To kill a 16-year-old kid?"
"You mean your nephew?"
Gibbs heard a scuffle, and the office door flew open. Two more men came in with a struggling Ian. The kid had bruises all over, and a nasty black eye forming. Gonzalez signaled to one of the men, and a knife was suddenly pressing into Ian's neck.
"You will tell me what I want to know, Agent Gibbs, or your nephew will die."
Gibbs looked into his nephew's terrified eyes. What in the hell did get himself involved with?
TBC...