Is this it? Will Gibbs find his surrogate daughter? Will he find out, who is the face behind the shadow man?

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I don't own anything. The characters belong to CBS.

Chapter 15

Gibbs' gaze turned from the countdown to Abby's live video and back to the numbers. The time was almost up – less than 20 hours were left – and his forensic scientist hadn't moved in hours. She needed water or she would not only die of suffocation but of lacking liquids too.

The night started to fall over the city, but he was still missing the call of the shadow man with the last riddle. What took him so long? Did he want to wait until Abby was dead? Was this his cruel plan? Did the guy want him to watch her die?

"Gibbs."

Pride laid his hand on his friend's shoulder gently.

"You have to stop torturing yourself."

"She is out there, Pride, and I can't help her."

"You do everything you can."

"It's not enough."

"She believes in you. She trusts you to save her and to get this bastard. There is no way that we are going to let him win this game."

"Of course not, but I'm running out of ideas. All I can think about is her."

"I would say drink a coffee, but I'm afraid you had already more than enough for today. Besides, it would probably do more damage than good. So, what about a walk outside?"

"No, I wait until he calls and if I have to stay here for the whole night, then this is what I'm going to do."

"Agent Gibbs, King."

The two older agents lifted their heads to Lasalle, who was standing on the stairs.

"It's time for the last round. He's online."

The shadow man was already waiting, but Gibbs decided not to push his luck this time. The bastard wanted him to suffer, and if he would argue again, then he would never see his little girl again. Plain and simple.

"What's next?"

"You're almost at the end, Agent Gibbs. Congratulations."

"The last riddle?"

"It's already on its way. You know the drill. But first, I want to show you something."

Gibbs wanted to cover his ears, but he knew he had to play along. At least, he would hear something about McGee, and not about Abby. He wouldn't survive it to hear his little girl screaming and begging to end this torture.

"What do you want from me? Where are my friends? Where am I?"

There was silence for a moment, then McGee's voice returned.

"Listen, my name is Special Agent Timothy McGee and I work for NCIS. Many people will be looking for me. If you release me now, I will put in a good word for you."

Again, there was silence. Gibbs felt how his hand was tingling. He wanted to use his gun and shoot this guy. But he knew it would be no use. The bastard wasn't here. Gibbs needed to wait and listen to the whole recording or he wouldn't get what he wanted. At the next audio file, McGee's voice sounded weaker as if he was running out of air.

"I don't know why you do this, but please, please, let me out of there. The air is getting thinner, and I really don't wanna die in here. Please, let me out. You don't want to kill me."

"Your little agent was wrong."

"About what?"

"I wanted to kill him. I wanted to kill all your agents. Maybe, I will have some luck with your little girl. Because to me, she isn't looking too well."

The video changed, and now Gibbs was staring at the live video of Abby's prison. She wasn't moving. Hell, he couldn't see, if she was even breathing! Then the screen turned black. The shadow man had disconnected the call.

Sudoku 4

/a/kcCcwSj

This riddle is from "Rätselblock Sudoku Nr. 117", riddle on page 123.

Level of difficulty: difficult

The last riddle had been on Gibbs' desk when he returned to the squad room. The agents didn't waste time. They grabbed their jackets and weapons and went to their cars. Gibbs left the driving to Pride. All he could see was Abby's lifeless body on the screen. What would he do if he wouldn't make it in time? He couldn't kill the kidnapper because he still didn't know who he was or why he did this. Not even the agents he had called, had been able to find him.

"Don't."

Confused the silver fox turned to his friend, who was still concentrating on the street.

"Stop thinking about her death."

"How do you know…?"

"You love this girl, and this bastard shocked all of us with his video. But we won't let him win. We saved the other three and we will save her too. And when this is over, I will help you to find him. I won't leave until we have this psychopath."

"None of us will," Brody explained before she returned to her riddle.

The shadow of a smile tugged at Gibbs' lips. He appreciated the help and the support, but they couldn't wipe away his fears. The truth was he wouldn't survive Abby's death. He promised her to keep her safe and he didn't.

"We have a problem, King."

"What is it, Chris?"

"This bastard gave us two numbers."

"And that's a problem because…"

"We only need one. There is only one number left for the container combination, but we have two. This gives us two different container numbers. We have a '1' and a '2'."

"What?!"

"Maybe, they only have one of these containers at the port," Brody suggested, "Maybe, he wants us to freak out, so, we make mistakes."

"Let's get there, then we decide what our next step is," Gibbs said, but in his mind, he knew he was screwed.

They wouldn't be lucky enough that only one container would be there. No, this bastard did everything on purpose. He planned the whole thing. He wanted to kill Abby.

The CEO of the port, Mr. Jackson, was already waiting for them in his office.

"This will be the last one, right? No more missing agents?"

"First, we have to find her," Kensi replied.

"I need the number."

"We have two."

"Two numbers? So, we need two teams?"

"No," Callen said "The kidnapper made it clear that we can only open one container. If we are wrong, then he detonates the bomb. We have one try."

Brody handed Mr. Jackson the numbers '4231' and '4232', and he started to type them into his computer. When they heard him sigh heavily, they knew that their hopes were gone.

"They are both here and they stand on opposite sides of this port. If you can only open one of them, then now is the time to choose which one."

Everyone turned to Gibbs, who was staring at the computer screen. The two containers were marked and blinked red in a simultaneous rhythm. Which one would lead him to Abby? Which one would give him his girl back?

"Gibbs," Pride interrupted his thoughts "Just listen to your gut. It will tell you, where we can find Abby."

His gut. He hadn't listened to his gut very much for the last couple of days. Now, he tried to activate his famous tool, but it seemed to be broken. His gut was telling him that none of those containers was the one he searched. And if this would be the case, it meant that he would never find Abby. His little girl was dead.

"Gibbs, tell us which number," Callen said, "We can't waste any more time thinking. We have to do something."

"What is your gut telling you, brother?"

"It tells me… that we are wrong. Both numbers are wrong."

Silence filled the room, while the confused agents looked at each other. Pride was the first one, who tried to reason with his friend.

"Gibbs, this is the frustration talking. I don't believe this bastard is so cruel to give you TWO wrong numbers. He told the truth about all other containers. Why should he lie about the last one?"

"Because he wants me to suffer. He doesn't want me to find Abby. Abby shall die, because this will destroy me, and he knows it."

"Alright, let's try a different strategy. We know he has cameras INSIDE the containers. But maybe, he can't see what we are doing outside. So, let's split up into two teams and each one takes one container. This is the only way to find Abby in those metal boxes."

"She is not there."

Gibbs didn't want to discuss his bad feeling with Pride. Instead, he left the control room. The hunt was over.

Pride followed Gibbs outside, who was leaning against the handrail.

"I know this case is hard for you. But you're almost at the end. We are that close to finding Abby. And you want to give up? You don't do such a stupid thing. You fight for her."

"And I would keep fighting, but this is useless. You asked me to listen to my gut. You know that it never failed me. Well, I'm telling you, my little girl isn't in those containers. She is lying in another one, we don't know about, and maybe, one day he will give her back to me. Just to show me that I couldn't save her. That she is dead, because of me."

"Alright, let's pretend those numbers are both fakes. What other options do we have?"

"Options? Find the bastard, get the real number, then kill him."

"I'm in. How do we do that?"

"We don't. Because not even those technical geeks from LA had been able to find him. This bastard is smart and he knows it. We won't find him until he wants us to."

Pride sighed tiredly. He couldn't believe that they were stuck. They did everything the kidnapper wanted, but they couldn't save the fragile little Abby? This girl was innocent. She didn't deserve to die in a stupid metal box.

Suddenly, Gibbs' cell phone rang. The caller ID showed that it was McGee. The silver fox was tempted to press the `decline´ button. He couldn't tell his agent that Abby was lost forever. Pride saw Gibbs' hesitation, so, he took the little device from him and answered the call.

"Agent McGee, this is Pride."

"Where is Gibbs?"

"He is… thinking."

"We found him!"

"That's amazing. And who exactly did you find?"

"I'm at the Navy Yard. I worked with Nell and Eric and..."

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but shouldn't you be in the hospital?"

"Not when my friend is missing. But that's not the point. We found the connection to the kidnapper."

"You mean you know his name and where he lives?"

"Way better, we know where he is right now. We were able to trace the videos to his laptop, which he carries with him apparently. At this moment, he is at work."

"Tell me it is close."

"You won't believe it. He works at the port. The coordinates are on Callen's phone."

"You've got to be kidding me."

"Catch him and kick his ass for me."

"Let me guess, McGee is back at the Navy Yard," Gibbs sighed when Pride hung up.

Instead of an answer, the team leader of New Orleans grabbed Gibbs' hand and pulled him with him back inside of the building. If they even had the tiniest chance to find Abby, this was it. They wouldn't get another one.

"The technique freaks found the kidnapper. He works on the port. If we are lucky, we can beat Abby's location out of him."

The teams arrived at a second control center on the Westside of the port. This one was built for only one person, and according to Mr. Jackson, he couldn't even describe the guy. All he knew was that he was never late for work, didn't talk too much and his work was good. He never had a reason to doubt the guy or to yell at him.

Callen and Sam stormed in with their guns drawn.

"NCIS! Put your hands up!"

"I want to see your hands!"

"I don't want to repeat myself! Do it!"

Gibbs and Pride followed them, while the rest secured the ground. Sam cuffed the worker, then he pulled the helmet down. Gibbs' eyes widened in shock.

"I know you."

Gibbs: "Sorry to have missed the budget meeting yesterday, Sir. But you know how the Colonel gets when he's sick."

Watson: "How's he doing, Gunny?"

Gibbs: "Better, Sir. Thank you. He wanted me to check with you. See if you needed any extra help down here."

Watson: "Tell him I appreciate it, but we've got things covered."

Gibbs: "Roger that, Sir."

Watson: "I screwed up. I screwed it all up."

Gibbs: "It's only been 40 minutes, Captain. He will contact you soon. Until then, you have to stay strong. It's our best chance of getting your family back."

Watson: "Don't know how we could ever thank you, Agent Gibbs."

Watson's wife: "We owe you so much."

Gibbs: "You thank Special Agent Watson here. We couldn't have done it without her. Thanks."

Gibbs: "Captain Watson?"

Watson: "Agent Gibbs. This is not what you think."

Gibbs: "You're right. It wasn't."

Kate: "You did this to your own family?"

Watson: "No, nobody was supposed to get hurt."

Tony: "Is that tight enough for you, Captain?"

Watson: "I cannot believe this is happening! The perfect plan. Even Grayson didn't know who hired him. How the hell did you figure this out?"

Kate: "Next time, you might want to send your note to the FBI."

Watson: "Look, you've got to understand. I needed the money because…"

Gibbs: "Don't you dare tell me that there's a reason for you throwing away what you had."

"Hello, Agent Gibbs," Mr. Watson answered smiling, "I told you, you would remember."

"You are the asshole, who threw away his life because he got too greedy. You had an adorable daughter and a beautiful wife, but you threw it away for money."

"I did it FOR them! But you will never understand this! You didn't want to back then and you will not now either."

"Where is the woman?"

"I gave you two numbers, didn't I? What else do you need?"

Gibbs wanted to whip off this arrogant smile on Watson's face, but he needed answers. He needed a location!

"I want the right one! I want the container, which holds my forensic scientist captured!"

The smile grew bigger. This guy wouldn't say anything. He felt great pleasure in Gibbs' pain. The ex-marine locked his gun, then he punched the face in front of him. He would have tried it a second time, but Pride was there to stop him.

"Gibbs! He needs to be able to talk to tell us the location!"

"She is dead, Agent Gibbs! Haven't you noticed?! She didn't move in hours! Ms. Sciuto died hours ago, knowing that you wouldn't come to save her! I took your little girl, just like you took mine!"

"Your daughter is still alive!"

"But I'm dead to her! She doesn't want to speak to me anymore! She doesn't play for me anymore! All because of you!"

Pride pulled his friend out of the control center, while Callen and Sam took over the interrogation.

"Where is she, asshole?"

"Good luck, finding her!"

Gibbs sat down on the stairs and hid his face in his hands. He couldn't believe it. He didn't want to believe it.

"I promised to keep her safe."

"Don't lose hope, Gibbs. We have the word of a psychopath that she is dead. I don't believe it until I see her dead body."

"I was already right about the container."

"That's true, but I don't accept her death until it's confirmed by a person I trust. We found the kidnapper. We have his laptop and all his notes. It should be possible to find her."

"Agent Gibbs."

Sam left the control center with a piece of paper in his hands.

"We found this on his desk. Those are four container numbers. We opened the first three already, but the fourth one isn't a match to the two numbers he gave us, although, it also comes from Germany. This one says '2018'. It's a long shot, but maybe, Abby is inside of it."

Pride reached for the paper, but Gibbs was faster. While he looked at the last number, he tried to listen to his gut. Could this be the right one? Was this container the prison of his little girl?

"I say we try it," Pride said, "Call Mr. Jackson. We need the location, immediately."

They needed fifteen minutes until they arrived at their destination. Brody and Lasalle had used the laptop to turn off the bombs. This way, they wouldn't have any problems to open the container doors. Nervous Gibbs stood in front of the big metal box and this time, he knew that this was the right one. Abby was inside of it.

`Hang on, Abs. I'm coming.´

Callen arrived with the bolt clipper to crush the lock. Sam and Deeks opened the doors carefully. Although the agents from New Orleans said they had disabled the bombs, the other agents were still careful. Who knew what this bastard installed additionally?

But the former marine couldn't wait any longer. As soon as the gap was big enough to let him pass, he moved inside.

"Abby!"

The forensic scientist lied on the ground, just like he remembered from the video. Carefully, Gibbs pulled her into his arms and pushed her hair out of her face.

"Abby, Abs, wake up."

His fingers found her throat and started to search for her pulse. But no matter how hard he pressed his fingers against her skin, he couldn't find it.

"Gibbs."

Pride appeared beside him and stroked softly the cheek of the young woman.

"I'm sorry. She is dead."

Solution of Sudoku 4

/a/GlfJpsn