Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
A.N.: I wanted this one to be quite fast paced, I think it may be too fast paced but, oh well. I tried. Thank you to Mrs. Elizabeth Gibbs, YourFavoriteLabPartnerEver, alix33, KSBP, black widow mistress, MissJayne, acting101 and HesMines for reviewing!
Gibbs led the way out of the NCIS building, his team, Hollis and Fornell all following, eager to get this case wrapped up, and in Fornell's case; to hold his little girl in his arms and know she was safe. They all piled into the Helicopter that Jenny had allowed them to use, Ducky bringing up the rear with a bag full of medical equipment. Gibbs took the bag from him and helped him up in to the helicopter, made sure everyone was secure and then told the pilot to take off. It was an hour's drive to the neighbourhood Emily may be being held in, but with a helicopter it should only take ten minutes, tops.
Tony, Ziva and McGee took the time to check over their weapons and information, so no mistakes could be made when they went in for the guy and Emily. This case had been such a stressful one that they really wanted to go home and sleep for a few days, but none of them were willing to actually do it, they couldn't even think about abandoning the search for the girl, but now with any luck, the case would be over. They could go out, get take away and lounge around at home, lazing to their hearts content until they were in work again.
That was the plan running through most of their minds anyway; Gibbs wanted to work on his boat, to take his mind off of the hollow look in Jenny's eyes when she had agreed to Ducky going with him instead of helping her. Or had that look appeared before the agreement? He had tried to take notice, but he had been intently trying to sway her resolve in his favour, he hadn't noticed when the fire had left her eyes and the vacant look had appeared, just that it was there. Why? What had he said that could affect her like that? She had looked almost like she was suffering from depression, which was very odd for Jen; she was usually so confident, energetic and content.
He sighed and looked over at Hollis, catching her eye. She gave him a tight, polite smile and then averted her eyes, almost like she was trying to ignore him. Gibbs raised his eyebrows slightly in surprise, what had he done to her? He couldn't remember offending her while she had been at NCIS, had Jenny said something to her? He felt the stirrings of anger in his belly, how dare she interfere with his relationships like that? He pulled out his phone and… stopped. Jenny hadn't been alone with Hollis at all today, she couldn't have said something to her, unless women had a secret language to communicate, which he believed they did at times. Four wives and countless girlfriends and he still couldn't understand women.
The helicopter rose off of the ground and the noise from the blades overhead drowned out most of what everyone was saying, so when Hollis had to relay to team five that they were on their way, she had to shout down the phone and plug her ears to hear the replies. It also made thinking very difficult, so everyone just pictured what they needed to do once the ride was over and concentrated on it, waiting for the short ride to be over.
Cecelia and Jake watched the pervert's house; the lights were still on downstairs but all movement seemed to have stopped. Occasionally someone would walk past the window, the light casting a shadow onto the curtains, but the crowd had apparently dispersed, but no one had left. Cecelia was nervous about letting the suspects slip out the back, but she didn't want to split up with Jake. He took the decision out of her hands though.
"I'm going to check out the back door, there's too little going on. Something must be up." he whispered to her, pulling a torch out of his glove compartment and his gun from his belt.
"It's probably nothing, Jake." Cecelia said, trying to convince herself more than him. Jake shook his head and gestured to the house.
"That's as maybe, but I'd rather know that they aren't destroying a couple of kids in there while we try to catch a glimpse of them, you know?" he opened his car door and slipped out.
"Be careful." She whispered to him before he closed the door, and he smiled at her.
"Always." He said back, then carefully closed the door and slinked into the shadows. Cecelia watched him move around the back of the house, and then he disappeared from view. She had a very bad feeling about this, having Jake away from her made her feel very insecure and vulnerable. A knock on her window startled her from her reverie and she smiled.
"It's not locked, Jake." She said, looking over to the person opening the door. It wasn't Jake.
The helicopter landed in a field just a few streets away from the housing estate they wanted, but there was no point in getting a car or two, it would be faster to run around, and quieter too. Gibbs helped Ducky off of the helicopter and then they all moved as fast as they could towards the house.
"Team five aren't responding, Gibbs. Something must be wrong." Hollis said, putting her phone in her pocket after the fifth failed call to Cecelia. They were not supposed to be out of contact for any reason, but she wasn't answering. She didn't want to contemplate what that means.
"Maybe your team is lax." He said, turning a significant look in Fornell's direction. She took the hint and conceded.
"Maybe." They all ran towards the house, coming up on it from the back, just in case team five just didn't have a signal. They could cover both sides without compromising each other. Gibbs used his skills to sneak up the garden path, dodging every twig that the trees had dropped, almost like they were in league with the pervert and were trying to give him an early warning system. Something shiny caught his eye, and he dropped into a crouch, getting behind cover and staying absolutely still for a moment. When it didn't move, he moved closer and saw the lens of a flashlight. He bent down and reached out for it, but his hand froze when he noticed someone else was currently holding it. There was a young man laying face down in the grass, his throat had been cut, and his blood was staining the grass. There wasn't much point in looking for a pulse, but he did it anyway, and jumped when he found one. He reached in to his pocket and pulled out his phone, calling Hollis.
"Holl? Found one of your guys. His throat has been cut, but he has a pulse. I need help getting him out undetected."
"Got it." she hung up and he heard two of his team begin to advance on his position. He gently pressed on the young man's throat in an attempt to stem the bleeding without suffocating him, then he rolled him over. Tony and McGee appeared by his side and the two young Agents carried him away quickly. Tobias stepped up behind Gibbs, while Hollis went to look for Cecelia.
"We go in now. My daughter is in great danger. If they did this to him" he said pointing at the retreating figures of Tony, McGee and one of Hollis' team five "then who knows what he's done to Emily." Gibbs nodded. There was no reason to plod around waiting; they needed to get in now. Tobias' phone vibrated and he pulled it out, accepting the call impatiently. "Fornell."
"I found Cecelia, she's been shot. She needs urgent medical attention." Hollis said over the phone and Tobias grimaced. She obviously thought he was still waiting with Ducky.
"Ok, I'll send Ziva to you." he said and watched as Gibbs signalled to Ziva to find Hollis, and Fornell gratefully thanked him.
"Forget it, let's find your daughter." He whispered, and they both moved up to the back door. Breaking in was the easy part. The door opened after a few seconds of manipulation by Gibbs' lock picks and they crept into the house, guns drawn. The house was completely dark, the windows had been covered, just like in the last few houses, and Fornell suddenly found it difficult to breathe. Surely he couldn't be having a panic attack? Not now, he was so close! But what if he found Emily like he had found those little boys; naked, violated and dead, their glassy eyes staring at the door, burning the image in to the memories of everyone who would see it.
"Gibbs… I-" he said, his gun arm was shaking and he was now worried about firing prematurely. He was a risk. The realisation that his Agency had been right to suspend him hit him like a ton of bricks. He was a hazard to anyone who made any sudden moves, since in this state he would more than likely shoot first and think later. Gibbs put a hand on Tobias' shoulder, and leaned in to whisper I his ear.
"Your little girl is here somewhere. Do you want to be the first good thing she sees, or would you rather sit outside?" he asked, somewhat nastily, but the words did the job they were intended to do. He was not going to sit outside when his little girl needed him. Tobias moved along the corridor and walked to where he knew the man would be keeping his daughter, and any other children he had here. He flung the door open and then froze.
"Agent Fornell, glad you could join us, even if you aren't on my investigation anymore." The pervert said. He had Emily and a young boy in front of him, using them as shields so he couldn't shoot them. A camera lay discarded on a mattress behind him and Tobias' stomach dropped. He had been preparing to leave. If they had been any later they would have been too late. He looked at his daughter, her cheeks were tear stained, her eyes red and raw, and her lip was bleeding and swollen, but it was the look in her eyes that scared him. She looked vacant, empty, like she wasn't really there. The bastard had hurt her, but she had gotten off lightly compared to the boy who was on the bed.
His eyes rolled in his head and the atrocities he had suffered were causing him serious pain, but he was alive. He was naked except for the sheet that covered him and his skin sported many bruises and abrasions, but not half as many as the other boys had had. He must have only just started.
"Let the children go." He said, training his gun on the smug pervert, hoping for a clear shot, but not being able to shoot towards his little girl. Where the hell was Gibbs? He dared not turn and look for him because that would tip the perv off that he was surrounded, and he wanted him to think he was alone. The perv reached down and pulled a knife out of the covers of the bed, holding it to Emily's throat. The cold metal nicked her skin and she whimpered as a trickle of blood made its way down her neck. The perv moved the knife towards the neck line of her night gown and began to slash it open, his head moving further around from behind her to watch its progress. He pulled a gun out and trained it on Fornell, effectively stopping any movement from the agonised father.
"You know, I've been wanting to try out your daughter fo-" his words cut off abruptly as Gibbs took the shot that had presented itself and his bullet tore through the perv's eye. The back of his head seemed to explode out wards, a spray of blood coated the wall and his fingers convulsed, pulling the trigger and squeezing the knife, until they both dropped from his hands, and his body fell back wards on the bed. Emily fell to her knees and hugged herself, covering herself where he had cut her nightgown and crying. Tobias rushed forwards as quickly as he could and enveloped her in a bear hug, kissing her forehead and stroking her back, muttering soothing words. He picked her up and carried her out of the house, leaving Gibbs to help the young boy and secure the dead man.
Gibbs called in Ducky and together they managed to wrap the boy up in a blanket and they carried him outside to wait for the ambulances that Hollis had called for. Fornell was protesting about something and Gibbs looked at Ducky in askance.
"He was shot in the leg Jethro, but he is full of adrenalin so he thinks he doesn't need medical attention." Ducky said, smiling at the behaviour that was so reminiscent of Gibbs himself. Gibbs shook his head and walked over to Fornell, watching as he hugged his daughter like she was about to disappear any second. He could understand that feeling. They had rescued Emily, but now they had to get Fornell to the hospital and that left Emily with nowhere to live. Who would take her in? He would, but he doubted social services would like that, and Emily herself might be scared to be around men for a while. He pondered the question all night, as the paramedics took everyone to the hospital.
By morning, he had an answer, an obvious one, but a risky one. Jen had been drinking lately, she had never been a mother and her job was very demanding, would she be ok with a kid in her house?