Chapter 11 Lost and found

A/N While writing this, I listened to the song "Lost and found" from Only Seven Left. They're a Dutch piano-rock band, and they're awesome. I recommend listening to the song, so you can judge for yourself.
Btw, does anyone know how I can create a dividing line between the different paragraphs? Now I use a few dots, but sometimes even they disappear. Ugh.

Dear readers,

Thank you for the reviews, as always!
I wanted to post this chapter way earlier. Truth is, I´m sad because I failed an exam, my dad acts like he suddenly lost his mind and my study group is very mean to me. Oh, plus I just fell down the stairs and hurt my ankle. :'( And I feel guilty because I haven't posted a chapter for such a long time. My fingers just start writing and I keep finding myself writing something different than I planned. I'm so sorry, but my life is a little messy right now.
I think it's time to drown myself in a cup of tea, but before that I give you the chapter! (As usual, please remember I'm not English).

Special thanks to TerraRini, who corrected a few mistakes for me (I was like: send? Sent? Oh wait, there is a difference!)
And No, you don´t have to wait any longer, I´m so happy that you like it! :D
Beta: Tino-chan
Spoilers: none
Warning: rated T for mild cussing
Disclaimer: I don't own blah blah blah

Preview:
Exactly 5 minutes later they were in Tony's car, speeding over the highway. Dinozzo had taken precautions and made sure he was the one driving. He was just hoping that they would be there on time.

"Are we there yet?" Tony asked nervously. Ziva, who was sitting in the back, scoffed. The temperature was very high, so not many people were out on the streets. If they were, they were wearing sun hats and eating ice cream. Tony licked his lips at the thought of a delicious, cold ice coupe… But then again, even a pizza would be fine. As long as it was food, he would eat it all. He noticed that McGee, who was sitting next to him in the front seat, hadn't answered his question. The agent was staring at the bright screen of his palmtop. More insisting, he repeated his question. McGee looked up from his computer-thingy, as Dinozzo liked to call it –probably because he couldn't pronounce the name.
"No Tony. We still have ten minutes to go, just like I told you one minute ago!" McGee answered, clearly annoyed. Tony's face lit up.
"HA! If you said that a minute ago, it can't be ten minutes anymore." He gave him a triumphant look.
"Do you always need something to complain about?"
"Depends who it is, McYouWereWrong." The junior agent rolled his eyes and wanted to comment on that, when Ziva interrupted them.
"Wait, that is Gibbs' car, yes?" She pointed a black SUV that was parked on a parking lot just across the street.
"uh, yes, but… he's not supposed to be here…" Confused, McGee checked his palmtop. "We still have a few blocks to go…"
"Or you're just wrong again," Tony mumbled just loud enough so McGee could hear probie wisely ignored it.

The parking lot was deserted –it was almost totally empty except for the SUV. It gave them the chills, but what really made them worry was Gibbs not being anywhere in sight. The car was locked and they discovered that it was empty. Dinozzo spun around, but all he saw where a few cars that slowly passed by and concrete burning in the sun, heat waves coming from it. Now they were out of the car and no longer had an air conditioner to cool them down, the heat hit them with full power. McGee's face was bright red and even Ziva, who grew up in a country with very high temperatures, was slightly wobbling. Tony was sweating like a pig. He unbuttoned his jacket and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"Maybe I should-" He wanted to say "call him", but immediately stopped talking when he heard two loud bangs. Ziva was already running when he finally managed to come out of his frozen state.

Xxx

There was a little blonde girl, sitting on a bed. It was really hot outside so she just rocked back and forth on top of the blankets. The girl was singing a country song, smiling. Next to the bed sat a big man with broad shoulders. He pretended not to take any notion of the little girl, but despite himself he found himself listening to her. He was sick of guarding a little girl like there was any chance she would escape. They were waiting in a hotel room for the parents of the kid to show up and hand over the ransom. He didn't think they had the money so they took every possible precaution and had kept the location of the girl a secret until they verified that the cash was real.
Now, he just waited for a sign so he could release her and be done with it. The guard knew that many kidnappers just killed their hostages as soon as they got the money, but his gang wasn't like that. If they made a deal, they would keep it. What honor would be left to them if they didn't?
The girl suddenly stopped singing and offered him her hand.
"My name is Jadelyn," she stated officially, waiting for him to shake her hand. He didn't.
Nothing good could come when you got involved with hostages. The girl dropped her arm. "What is your name, mister?"
"Bob," he lied, just to be done with the questions. "And now I think you should stop talking." He always felt like he was a dominant man: people always got scared when he raised his voice. But this girl? No. She simply started to sing again, without taking any offence; she didn't even blink.

But what she knew and he didn't, was that there was a ventilation shaft right next to bed. She used to play with it with her best friend by whispering messages. What her kidnappers didn't know was that her mother used to work as a cleaning lady in this particular hotel, before she married her "new" dad. She missed the hotel life a lot. She could play everywhere, sometimes guests would give her sweets and her best friend was here… She hated leaving it all behind.
Jadelyn was only six but she knew her mother was happier now. Her voice faltered for a moment, thinking of her mother's warm, wide smile. How she would react when she would see her again. She closed her eyes, thinking of her mother, but also of her sister. She wanted her mother. She wanted Danai. She wanted-
"Are you okay?" The man sitting next to the bed asked with worry showing in his voice. She opened her eyes again. If she would keep singing the song, maybe he would hear her. The boy she used to play with… Maybe he had heard of her being kidnapped. Maybe he could tell her mother that she was here.
All those maybe's made her even more scared.
So she kept singing the country song and thought of nothing else.

Until a few knocks were heard. The guard flew up and hesitantly walked to the door.
"Who's there?" No answer. He raised his voice. "Who's there?"
"It's me, you " A rough voice yelled. Hastily, the guard opened the door. Startled, the girl crept back so her back was resting against the yellow wallpaper. She knew this man. He was the one that had been driving the dirty truck that brought her here. It was a tall, tanned man with a short, black beard and dangerous eyes. He pointed an accusing finger at her, what made her cringe even more.
"You idiot! I told you to keep the child SILENT! You could hear her singing in half of the building! If you can't keep her under control, there's only one thing we can do." Slowly, he moved his hand to the black gun that was strapped to his waist. Jadelyn made a soft sound, looking around wildly. There was no escape. She made herself as small as possible, waiting for the last sound she would ever hear.
"HALT! FEDERAL AGENTS! DROP YOUR WEAPON! NOW!" Her eyes flew open to reveal a couple of men, dressed in black with the letters FBI printed on their backs. They all were holding guns and pointing them at the tanned man with the beard and her guard, who slowly were raising their hands. The gun fell to the floor with a soft thud. By the shock, it went off with a loud bang. The girl jumped, and one of the FBI agents immediately responded by shooting back. Slowly, the man with the beard fell backwards. Jadelyn could only watch with wild eyes, in shock. A man with grey hair blocked the view of the shot man by kneeling beside her. A lot of wrinkles appeared when he gave her a soothing smile.
"Hey sweetie, you alright? My name is agent Fornell," the man added when she didn't react. "Listen well. Your mother is waiting outside. I'll bring you to her, okay?" He patted her head when she nodded and scooped her up in one movement. She didn't fully realize it yet, but when she felt the soft, warm hands holding her, she finally started to sob.
"I want my mommy!" she cried, clasping the agent's suit between her small fists. Agent Fornell smiled the way he always did when they managed to save the victim and carried the little girl outside, where her mother was waiting with tears running down her face. As Fornell watched the reunion, he was still lost in thoughts. They had captured the men that were involved with the kidnapping, but he was afraid they hadn't gotten to the top boss yet.

The worst part had yet to begin.

Xxx

The gunshots had come from a small house, only a few yards away. Out of nowhere, a group of FBI agents appeared and stormed inside, leaving the three agents of team Gibbs speechless.

They watched many agents go in and go out again and soon they saw Fornell, carrying a little girl and handing her over to a crying married couple, and a too familiar grey-haired when was running towards him.
"You got him, Fornell? Did your men HAVE to kill the only source of information I happened to find?" Gibb's voice was soft but nonetheless very threatening. Fornell raised his hands in a helpless gesture.
"Not our fault, Gibbs, the guy did what he had to. I would've done the same if a bullet was flying past my freakin' ear." Gibbs just breathed out very deep. He closed his eyes for a second, opened them again.
"Right. At least we have the other guy." He gave Fornell an almost-unnoticed shoulder pat and turned away. That's when his eye fell on his team. His eyes narrowed. With big steps he marched towards them. Ziva, who was a few meters closer to him then Tony and Tim, backed away quickly, taking shelter behind Dinozzo –not a coincidence.
"What is this?" Gibbs yelled before he even reached them yet. Silence. "Do I need to repeat myself?"
"No, boss," Dinozzo said at the same time as McGee said: "I'm sorry boss." The grey haired agent raised one eyebrow expectantly.
"So?"
McGee mumbled something incomprehensible.
"We thought you… went to meet the… informant… without back-up, boss," the senior agent said in his place, smiling apologetically. His smile left as soon as it had come when Gibbs glared at him.
"Why the hell," he said calmly with the accent on 'why'. "Would I do something as stupid as that?" They all looked at each other, searching for some comfort and the answer: who the hell came up with this stupid idea?
"We didn't know Fornell was with you, Gibbs," Ziva said quickly. "We just wanted to offer you our help."
"What do you want me to say? That I'm touched? Well, wake up! You're my team and I want you to OBEY me!" The three agents looked at him in fright. McGee was biting his lip almost to the point of drawing blood, Tony was dead-serious for once, standing slightly before Ziva, as to protect her from their boss' anger.
"Listen," Gibbs continued. "I don't care how you all worry about me like I'm your sugar daddy and you need to protect me! If I say you STAY at HQ you STAY at HQ. Am I clear?" They didn't know how fast they should nod. "Good."
He stormed away, back to the place where a FBI agent just forced a cuffed man to step into a police car.
"Well," Tony said, trying to sound cheerful. "That went well." The younger agent raised one eyebrow and Ziva kicked against his leg. "Ouch! What'd you do that for?"

Gibbs clenched his teeth when he walked to meet the captive. There was a reason he didn´t want to involve them.
Now that Abby was involved, he felt like he was hanging by a thread. And the longer they couldn't find her, the more dangerous it became. The danger of her not coming back anymore. As the hours passed, the thread was slowly unraveling…
And when it fully did, he wanted to make sure he was the only one falling.

A/N Yup this was different! I know, no Abby today. Next chapter, she´ll be back, I promise. Let me know what you think! BTW I'll have a surprise for you all next chapter!