Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
A.N.: As HesMines pointed out, Hollis is a lieutenant Colonel, I just called her Colonel because I was used to how Tuvok was addressed in Star Trek Voyager. Even though he was a Lieutenant Commander, he was usually just addressed as Commander or lieutenant, rather than the full title. I'm sorry if it caused anyone any confusion. (Chakotay's field rank was supposed to be Commander but he wears the rank of Lieutenant Commander… weird.) Rant over. Thank you to Mrs. Elizabeth Gibbs, alix33, HesMines, black widow mistress and MissJayne for reviewing!
Jenny watched as the emails flickered up on the screen, Samuel having hacked the server from the internet café moments ago. She read through each one, excitement bubbling up in her belly and a broad grin breaking out on her face. La Grenouille was the highest bidder. This was it, everything she needed to know was there on the screen, the coordinates which led them to… she mentally triangulated, wishing for a moment that Gibbs was with her, he was like a human map… ah! Quebec, Canada. A border snatch, she chuckled slightly, making Samuel look up at her in confusion.
She ignored the look, she had what she needed to take La Grenouille down and this was her best chance to do so. She just had to get Harrow to that rendezvous… damn. She momentarily felt her shoulders fall as disappointment hit her hard. Harrow was dead, she had nothing. She sighed in frustration, she had been so close and yet she still failed, he still got away… then she remembered that Ducky had volunteered to help her. She turned to her phone and punched in Ducky's extension number, impatiently waiting for him to pick up the phone.
"Doctor Mallard." He said as he picked up the phone.
"Ducky? Is your offer still out there?" she asked, coming straight to the point. Time was of the essence and the rendezvous was a long way away. If he agreed, she would have to do some fast talking with an associate, perhaps Frank; he had a helicopter that they could use.
"Of course my dear, have you found what you needed?" he asked, a little hesitantly.
"Yes Ducky, you were right, he had concluded the action. I'm not making any rash decisions, don't worry. I have it all thought out. Come up to my office, we can go through what we'll need to do." She said with a smirk on her face at the doctor's caution. He always thought things through more than she and Gibbs ever did, probably why they were still alive. She put down the phone after he agreed to come up and then she turned to Samuel and pointed to the door. "Go get Ares and bring it up, along with Taylor and the rest of your team. This is your second chance."
Samuel jumped up from her desk and strode to the door, opening it and barrelling out to get what she had asked for. She smiled and picked up her cell phone, now to call Frank for that ride.
Hollis Mann pulled out another paper from the fax machine, reading through it carefully and then sighing. Team ten had reported their quota of houses to be clean and legitimate. The house owners were friendly and happy to oblige when they asked to see some ID, which usually raised some eyebrows. Who would knock on someone's door to ask for their ID? She had to hear from teams two, five, nine and twenty three yet, everyone else had reported in. she picked up the fax and put it on Tony's desk so he could note down the clear houses, the list they had first given them shrinking rapidly.
Just then her phone began to vibrate, so she pulled it out of her pocket and walked away from the bullpen, coming to a stop in front of the windows for a little privacy. She looked at the caller Id and noted that it was one of her subordinates. One of her teams was calling rather than faxing, strange. She eagerly flicked her phone open and spoke in to it.
"Lieutenant Colonel Mann." She identified herself and waited to see what the call was about.
"Colonel Mann? Its' Cecelia and Jake, team five. We found him." the female voice on the other end was shaking slightly, almost like she was afraid. Hollis was concerned for a moment, but all of her teams were more than capable of taking care of themselves. She pushed the thought from her mind for the moment, they had found him?
"Excellent, team five. Where?" she asked, taking out a pad and pen. She jotted down the address and then tore out the page, putting the pad back.
"House number 45, there were at least seven other men with him, possibly all perverts or neighbours, but I'm not sure. Jake found a van Colonel, I'll put him on."
"Colonel? Jake here, it looked like there was a little blood on the floor of the van, so probably second hand blood, maybe from the girl's mother, and there was a swimming kit in there too, a young boys kit." He said significantly, and Hollis felt her stomach drop. Another child in danger from this sick creep, great.
"Stay close to the house and tell me when anyone leaves, backup will be with you shortly." She hung up and strode over to Gibbs' desk, slamming the piece of paper on the desk in front of Gibbs and Fornell. The two men looked up in surprise and irritation; their headaches could have done without the loud bang. "One of my teams found him. They didn't see Emily; just a full house of perverts and the swimming kit of a young boy, so there might be another child in there. This is the address, how do you want to play this?" she asked, not wanting to point out that she had the larger force when it wasn't really her case, particularly not when the little girl's father was standing right in front of her.
"We need transport and a medical team. I'll ask Ducky, go get transport sorted out." Gibbs ordered, walking towards the elevator. He pushed the button and waited for the doors to open, striding in without a second thought. Ducky walked out nodding to him as he passed, causing Gibbs to do a double take and hold the doors so he could get back off the elevator.
"Hello Jethro." he said, heading off towards the Director's office. Gibbs walked after him.
"Duck, need to talk to you right now." Gibbs said, stopping Ducky's progress towards the stairs. Ducky sighed and looked at his watch before facing him.
"I seem to be in demand Jethro, the Director wishes to see me now, too." he said, a note of reproach in his voice when he saw the way Gibbs grin widened. Getting him before Jenny when she had asked for him first would be the icing on the cake for Jethro at any other moment, but right now he was focussed on finding Emily.
"My request is much more urgent than hers, we found the guy that took Emily." Gibbs said, the urgency he spoke of tingeing his voice. Ducky's brows drew together in confusion.
"Emily?" he asked, not at all aware of the case that they were working. Gibbs nodded and then clarified.
"Emily Fornell, she was kidnapped and Diane was killed." He said, gesturing over to Tobias, who was speaking with Hollis and Tony.
"Oh Jethro, that's awful! You say you found the man that took her? Is she with him?" he asked cautiously, wondering what he wasn't being told.
"We don't know, but it looks like he took a young boy." Ducky raised an eyebrow, confused.
"He's a pervert, child molester, favours boys. He took Emily because Fornell was the lead on the FBI case that was working to bring him in. We need you with us when we take this guy down Duck." He said, hoping Ducky would be all for it.
"Jethro… I have committed myself to another operation tonight, I-" he began, but Gibbs cut him off.
"What other operation? No one else has a-" Gibbs cut off angrily, his mind clearing to the way Jenny had been acting, to what Agent Taylor had said. Something about Ares. He pointed up to Jenny's office. "One of her operations? Is anyone going to die or be wounded in that operation?" he asked. Ducky raised his eyebrows at his irritation.
"Hopefully not Jethro." he said carefully, thinking about what he had volunteered to do. He might be in danger himself, but no one else should be.
"Then you are vital to my operation than hers!" Gibbs shouted, turning to run up the stairs, nearly knocking Samuel over as he lugged a large white case up the stairs. Ducky followed him, not happy about Gibbs' outburst, but concerned about Emily. Jenny had been very upset when Harrow had died, she would not welcome Gibbs trying to take him from her plans, particularly not since he had volunteered to help her.
"Jethro, wait!" he called after him, but Gibbs was already storming through Jenny's door.
Jenny hung up her phone, the call with Frank a success. He would lend her the helicopter and they were square, which was fine by her. She had so many favours that she could call in at any time it was difficult remembering them all. She put her phone on her desk and looked over the time and place of the exchange one more time. Agent Taylor would be up in her office soon, and they could get on with executing this mission. She looked at the time, wondering where Ducky was when she heard raised voices from outside her office. She stood and rounded the table, intent upon finding out what was going on.
"Jethro, wait!" a voice said, which she recognised as Ducky and she closed her eyes briefly in irritation. What now? Gibbs stormed through her door, making her very glad she had stopped in front of her desk, or she would have been hit by it. He walked straight up to her and glared.
"I take it this is important? I have a meeting in here with Agent Taylor's team in a few minutes." She said evenly, trying not to let her temper feed off of his, knowing where that could lead when he was so close to her. She swallowed and raised her chin almost defiantly; waiting for him to talk to her, or more likely, shout at her.
"I need Ducky." He said and she smiled, her mind turning it another way, helping her to fight off the chemistry that had sparked up between them. Her body almost felt like it was humming a tune that she knew so well, a tune they both knew so well.
"He's not a redhead." She said, with as straight a face as she could manage. Gibbs' eyebrows drew together in confusion for a moment before he realised what she meant. He rolled his eyes and grunted in annoyance.
"You know damn well what I mean." He growled at her, and she fought not to take another step forward and take advantage of how dark his blue eyes were becoming. She needed to distance herself. She looked away and turned around, moving behind her desk, putting them both more at ease, allowing the anger to take over the attraction.
"Actually I don't. You've told me that you need him, not why." she replied smartly and he moved closer to her desk, leaning over the top of it. He had a much higher chance of winning if he could crowd her, but she was determined not to let him.
"We've located the guy that took Emily. We need Ducky with us when we go get her." he said, his voice dropping to a more reasonable level, but not losing any of the steel. She felt her stomach drop. There was no way he was taking Ducky. She needed him more. This was her chance to take down La Grenouille and she wouldn't give it up without a fight.
"I need him too. There are other medical professionals, Gibbs, and Ducky's speciality is corpses and psychology. I doubt you need him as much as I do unless you think Emily is dead or psychotic." She said evenly, unwilling to part with the only person she knew of that could sway this mission for her when Gibbs could have Army medics or even civilian paramedics help him.
"I need this to stay in NCIS jurisdiction. Involving anyone else with the rescue could give them more sway over the investigation then is necessary, and give us more opportunity to be found out by the FBI. I need Ducky." He said, almost like he could read her thoughts. She wasn't going to relent though.
"Take Palmer." She replied, and Gibbs slammed his palms down on the desk angrily.
"Damn it, Jen! Emily could be hurt or worse! Ducky is the best to help her in this case because of the damage that has already been done to her! She was taken past her mother's corpse; just try and imagine what it would be like for a little girl to see her parents' dead body!" he shouted at her and Jenny's mind and body froze. She didn't have to imagine. She knew. She shivered slightly, feeling cold despite the comfortable temperature in the room. She knew what it was like to see that, she had been at the hospital when her mother had breathed her last, and she had found her father's body with his brains blown out. Those images she would carry with her for the rest of her life. She knew. He didn't.
She realised he had carried on talking and she tried to tune back in. "…CID people that located the guy think he could have a young boy in there with him too." she blanched, but managed to keep her face straight. She needed to catch her father's murderer, she needed Ducky, but Emily was the one that was suffering right now. Could she really condone catching La Grenouille when the price was the lives of possibly two children? She looked past Gibbs, towards the door of her office where Ducky was vacillating on whether he should enter and add his own opinion, but there was no need. It was written all over his face. He wanted to help the girl, but he didn't want to let Jenny down. She had to make this decision.
"Alright, take Ducky with you." she said, and Gibbs nodded, smiled and walked to the door. "Jethro." she called and he stopped and turned around. "I called in a favour for air transportation, you can use it. It might help you get there before he tries to bail." Gibbs nodded gratefully and walked out leaving Ducky with Jenny. Agent Taylor and his team entered, carrying Ares, and she waved them away. "The case is closed. Write it up. Leave Ares in evidence, I'll contact someone to take it away." The team looked at each other and then dispersed.
"There is no one else that could do this?" Ducky asked her quietly, and she shook her head.
"No one, but the children need you Ducky. I'd get going if I were you; you know how Jethro feels about dawdling, especially when you could be charging after him headlong into danger." She said, a small smile on her face. Ducky nodded and left, closing the door behind him. The moment it shut, her smile disappeared. It hurt her to fail, especially now when she was so close. She needed to find him; she needed to kill him, before it was too late.