Guess what! I got my computer back! And he's completely fixed! My hinge is fixed, the viruses are, I didn't lose a single file. And I got everything solved for only a fraction of the cost of what Geek Squad charged me for half the work. I be very excited.

And just so you guys know, I wanted to get this chapter up last night, but the website decided it didn't want to work last night, so I had to wait until today. Again, sorry, and especially sorry that I couldn't get it up faster, but I had to write a paper that's due today. But hey! I did my work on time for once! That never happens. I'll shut up now.

Twenty-One

Tony still couldn't believe it. Graham was headed back to Baltimore. All this time, he didn't have a single clue where to start looking when he should have been looking close to home.

He mentally cursed his superior. If Carnec wasn't being such a pain in the ass they could have found Jamie by now. At the very least they could have realized he was still in the city.

The drive was relatively quiet, save for the sound of the engine. Gibbs looked about as pissed as Tony felt. Not that Tony was really surprised by that. Gibbs always looked pissed off about something. The younger man was just grateful the anger wasn't directed at him for a change.

Tony kept his eyes glued to the GPS as Gibbs broke every speed limit in the book. The younger man wasn't sure how fast the car was going, only that they were getting closer and closer to Graham every minute. Tony suppressed any crack about Gibbs joining NASCAR for self-preservation.

"You know I think it's safe to slow down, Gibbs. You keep going like this and we're gonna pass Graham soon."

Gibbs grunted but nevertheless slowed down. To seventy.

"I never wanna hear another person complain about my driving again," Tony said through gritted teeth.

Gibbs smirked.

Tony glared. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

He shrugged. "One of the perks of my job."

Tony grumbled under his breath. He checked the GPS again to find that Graham entered Baltimore. "I'm calling Dennis."

"Wait," Gibbs snapped. He looked down at the GPS for a while.

The car in front of them stepped on his brakes.

Tony grabbed the 'oh-shit' bar and pushed himself back in the seat as far as he could. "Gibbs, Gibbs, Gibbs!" He shut his eyes and prayed to God that he survived the collision.

At the last second, he felt the car swerve into the next lane with an ear shattering honk. When he opened his eyes, he was still alive. There was no light at the end of the tunnel. No cherubs singing for him to enter Heaven, and no monster trying to drag him into Hell.

He finally released the air he didn't realize he was holding. "Watch the damn road!"

Gibbs groaned. He was visibly shaking and his knuckles were completely white. "Make," he ground out through clenched teeth, "the call."

Tony looked down at the GPS again. Graham was still moving. But if Tony was correct, he was moving through a residential area. "What is he doing?" he asked as he hit the first speed dial.

Gibbs breathed again. "Heading towards Jamie."

"You think he's in a house?"

"Would anyone have thought to look in a foreclosed house?"

"No, but why would he keep a kidnapped victim in such a crowded area? Don't most serial killers prefer quiet places off the beaten path?"

"Dahmer didn't."

Tony couldn't deny that. He let a heavy sigh be his response. He held his phone to his ear and waited for Denny to pick up.

.

Dennis had to admit that Stan was really good at this. He pitied Darklin like a pro until he had her babbling everything. Graham made one mistake when he killed Julia Chike.

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned kept playing over and over in his head.

After another few minutes, Dennis' cell phone rang. "Morgan," he said into the receiver.

"Graham's heading back to Baltimore," Tony practically shouted at him.

"What?" Dennis asked when he was able to bring the phone back to his ear.

"Jamie Taylor's still in Baltimore. Time to saddle up."

Dennis strode out of the observation room and made his way towards Stan in the interrogation room. "Where's Graham headed?" Dennis' first thought was for an abandoned warehouse or something.

"Looks like a Residential area."

That was a surprise.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm looking at him right now on the GPS."

Stan popped his head around the door. Dennis pointed to the phone glued to his ear.

"Tell me where he is right now."

Tony relayed the neighborhood. Dennis nodded. "We'll be there soon." He hung up.

"We got something?"

Dennis nodded. "I think so." He told Stan everything of his short conversation with Tony as they started walking for the elevator.

"You think Jamie is really in a house?"

Dennis shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe." He slammed his palm into the elevator down button.

The doors opened and the two men stepped inside.

They moved down in awkward silence. Now that the case was solved there was nothing for them to talk about.

That was a lie, there was something.

Dennis flicked the emergency stop switch. The lights dimmed and they came to a halt.

Stan whirled on him. "What are you doing?"

"I'm tired of fighting." He looked away. "I like you and I don't wanna break up."

Stan was quiet for a while. "This can wait—"

"No, it's can't," Dennis cut him off. "I know this whole thing started because of my unrequited love for my partner, and your unrequited love for you boss. But it means more to me than some pathetic rebound fling."

No matter how much Dennis spoke, Stan didn't look convinced. Dennis sighed heavily. "I'm over him," he said. And for the first time ever, he meant it. "He's still my partner," he silently added for now, "but that's all. You mean more to me than him."

Stan still didn't say anything. Dennis' heart pounded deafeningly in his chest. After another moment, Stan stepped forward and flicked the emergency switch, bringing the elevator to life again. "We'll talk about this later. When we find Jamie."

Dennis nodded. It was better than nothing.

.

Tony stared down at the GPS again. Graham's car was stopped, the blue light from the tracker not moving an inch. When he looked up, he clearly saw the vehicle parked a few feet away. This was where Jamie was. He just wasn't expecting it.

There were at an indoor skating rink. The rink was inside of a park, meaning the only kind of hockey games being played here were little league. It made sense, sort of, but it was still unexpected.

"Why would he risk it?" Gibbs asked, clearly as dumbfounded by this whole turn of events as Tony was.

"Rink is closed during spring," answered Tony as he opened his door and climbed out. He stared up at the building while simultaneously pulling out his cell phone. "You think Jamie's really in there?"

Gibbs shrugged. "Only one way to find out."

Tony rolled his eyes. He waited for three rings before Denny picked up. "Morgan."

"Hey, how far are you?"

"Still on the highway. We're stuck in rush hour."

Damn, Tony had been afraid of that.

"How long are you going to be?"

"I don't know. Probably an hour. Minimum."

Tony nodded, too frustrated to talk. Even though Dennis couldn't actually see the gesture. He hung up without another word.

When he turned back towards Gibbs, he repeated the bad news.

Gibbs cursed under his breath. He looked like he was going to start shooting things in a minute.

"So, what are we going to do?" Tony asked. He didn't want to wait. It was against his instincts to wait. Every ounce of common sense told him that just by standing out here right now was a bad idea. The longer they waited, the better the chance that Jamie was being killed.

They wanted to make Graham panicked enough to drive out here. And it worked. The downside was that to Graham and Huntington, Jamie was now a liability. By killing him they felt that they'd be able to get away with their crime. After another moment, Gibbs turned and looked him square in the eye. "You afraid to die, Tony?"

The cop didn't like that question one bit. But still, he sighed heavily and said, "If I was, I wouldn't have become a cop."

He almost missed Gibbs' smile when he turned around and started walking for the front door.

Tony followed, pulling his gun off his hip as he did. He kept low to the ground, as did Gibbs in front of him. He checked the area for security cameras. There were none.

He stopped behind Gibbs at the side of the bank of glass doors. His adrenaline was already pumping, keeping his fear at bay.

Last time, he was at the mercy of his captors. They called all the shots. Not this time. This time, Tony and Gibbs were the ones in charge. This was their game.

He just had to remember that.

Gibbs gave his OK and the two headed into the foyer. From what Tony could see, the main lobby was empty as well.

He could also tell how big this damn place was. Trying to find Jamie here was going to take forever with just two people.

"DiNozzo, you check the locker rooms and arena," Gibbs whispered.

Tony nodded. Quickly and quietly he went off towards the back of the main floor. Gibbs went down a hallway to the left. Tony assumed offices were down that way.

He kept his ears open, listening for any sound of people. So far he heard nothing.

First, he checked the girl's locker room. Fortunately it wasn't too big. If he was forced to check the rooms at Ohio State he'd be there all day. Those things were freaking huge.

Just as quietly, he went down every aisle looking for anyone. But the place was completely empty.

After that he headed to the men's room. As soon as he pushed the door ajar, he heard voices.

"What do you mean you weren't in Dale City?" That was Graham's voice. "Somebody saw you there!"

"Emmett, I haven't left Baltimore in a month." Tony didn't recognize the second man. He figured it was Huntington. "You came all the way out here for nothing."

"But Detective DiNozzo said…" he stopped. No doubt he realized he'd been set up. "Son of a—"

Tony cut him off by throwing the door open, gun raised at the ready. "Baltimore PD!"

A bullet slammed into the wall next to him.

He dove behind a row of lockers as more bullets rained down on him. He swore under his breath. This was definitely not how he imagined his first shoot out.

He popped his head and arm around the lockers long enough to pop off a couple of shots. He heard a man grunt and fall to the ground. He breathed a small sigh of relief before he dove for cover again.

The bullets stopped coming. Which was good, things tend to echo in a locker room. Like the footsteps running in the opposite direction.

He jumped into the pathway. Down a few paces was one Marine, laying on his back. His gun was a few feet away from his body.

Tony moved towards him. Always keeping his gun trained on the man on the ground, Huntington, he scooped down and grabbed the gun.

Huntington was still breathing, but his breaths were shallow and uneven. Damn, Tony had hoped he killed the prick.

"Where's Graham?" He demanded.

Huntington just laughed, blood dripping out of his mouth.

"I will shoot you, now tell me where he is."

He kept his eyes fixed on the fading dull ones before him. Huntington kept coughing, leaving a trail of blood down his chin. After a few more seconds, Huntington's breath came rapidly until it finally stopped. Never once did he say a word.

Tony groaned. He pulled his eyes off the man and headed in the direction he heard Graham go earlier. At the back of the room was another door. Tony assumed it led to the rink.

He slammed through the door and almost fell on his backside. The door led to the rink alright. Right onto the ice.

He gripped the wall and slowly made his way through, gun always extended. He scanned the room trying to find Graham, but the place looked empty.

He cursed himself for spending too much time with Huntington. If he just kept moving then he would have been able to follow Graham and he wouldn't be in this predicament. Of course, if he did follow Graham without confirming the kill, then, knowing his luck, Huntington would have lived long enough to follow after him and shoot him dead.

Tony pulled himself along, trying to find a place to get off the ice. He found a doorway and he slowly made his way over.

But as soon as he was about to put his foot through, Graham popped up and punched him in the face.

The blow, his already aching body, and the ice sent him to the ground. His gun flew out of his hand and slid halfway across the ice.

When he looked up, Graham was leaning across the guardrail, smiling. "You should really learn to stay on your toes." He positioned his gun at Tony's head.

Panic hit the cop. He knew he didn't have enough time to pull the gun he took from Huntington. So he did the only thing he knew he could do.

He kicked off the wall and slid across the ice.

Graham kept shooting, but somehow he missed. All the while, Tony dug through his pocket trying to grab the second weapon. By the time he pulled it out and pointed it at the Marine, his head hit the opposite wall. It was too late.

One final shot rang out. Tony waited to feel the pain. He had been shot before, it didn't feel very pleasant. Actually it hurt like hell. But the pain never came. Graham must have missed.

He was about to shoot when he saw Graham slump over the rail and onto the ice. A pool of blood slowly seeping out around his shoulders.

Tony knew even without checking that Graham was dead. When Tony looked up, he saw Gibbs standing there, his gun still smoking.

The two locked eyes for a moment. Gibbs dropped his weapon and called out to him. "What are ya doin' DiNozzo. Job ain't done yet."

The younger man nodded, his body shaking slightly. They still needed to find Jamie.

Tony slowly got to his feet. "Did I ever tell you that you have great timing? I mean, really, it's freaking fantastic." He jumped over the rail, grateful to be on stone floors again. Can't slip on stone floors.

Gibbs met him halfway around the rink and together the two made it back out into the lobby. "Offices were clear," said Gibbs.

"Women's locker room is too."

"What about the men's?"

Tony shrugged. "Huntington's in there, but I don't know about Jamie. I left to go take care of Graham."

"You left Huntington alone in there?" Gibbs practically growled.

"What was I gonna do? Sit there and wait for him to start stinking?"

Gibbs stared at him confused for a second. "He's dead?"

"Last I checked."

The agent nodded. If Tony didn't know better, he'd say that Gibbs was telling him 'good job.' But Tony knew better.

Gibbs led them back to the men's locker room, just to make sure it really was clear. When all they found was Huntington's dead body, they left. They didn't know where else to look.

"The place is clear," Tony groaned. This was bad. Worse than bad. Jamie wasn't here and both their kidnappers were dead.

Gibbs looked around, probably trying to find a solution. "Places like this usually have a basement."

Tony nodded before understanding dawned on him. "For storage."

One quick look between them and they were moving again. It was the same as before, they understood each other, moved with each other. Tony may not always know what Gibbs was thinking, but he knew how to move with him. Sometimes, he felt that he worked better with Gibbs than with Denny. Not that he would ever say it aloud.

They looked everywhere for the basement access. Turned out it was sitting behind the Zamboni. Go figure.

When they made their way downstairs they almost groaned. The basement was huge, and cluttered.

Tony scanned around the room, but he couldn't see anything farther away than ten feet. Boxes and broken equipment blocked the rest of his view.

"Jamie!" Gibbs called. "Jamie Taylor!"

"Jamie it's Detective DiNozzo!"

"Detective!" They heard from somewhere off in the distance.

The two took off in the direction of his voice. They followed a string of "Help's" and "Please's." Every shout made Tony run faster.

He came to a halt when he saw Jamie and Angela Samson sitting twenty feet in front of him with their hands and feet bound. Samson had a gag in her mouth, but Jamie must have pulled his off. It currently sat around his neck.

Even from the distance Tony could see their fear and relief.

Tony took a moment take a deep breath. They found him. After all the pain and all the work, they finally found him. He was going to be fine.

He barely took one step before the bomb exploded. Right underneath Jamie's chair.

So, there is only one chapter after this. I thought about making two, but then the chapters would just be too short, so I decided instead to just have one longish chapter instead of two insanely short chapters. Can you believe it? The story's almost done! And I mean, come on, was anybody expecting that ending?

Bob