Chapter 4

Hollis got up and went running the next morning. She wasn't going to be able to go with Jethro right away. They'd ordered some supplies and were expecting them to be delivered today. Since Jethro had to be at work and Hollis was just tagging along for the ride, she would be staying home until the items were delivered. Then, she'd head back to NCIS to help out.

On her way back, she saw a couple of men standing on the sidewalk, a map in their hands, pointing in various directions. She slowed her pace.

"Are you lost?" she asked with a smile.

"Yeah. We were going to get an early start on our touring around DC. We were going to walk to Union Station."

Hollis laughed. "Well, you're on the wrong side of DC for that. It's north of here."

"I told you," one of the men said with irritation. "We started at the Mall."

"I was going to go that way, but I got turned around."

"Well, there's a bus that will take you to Union Station just down the street here. If you want to walk, it'll take you longer."

"Thanks. We just won't listen to his directions anymore."

Hollis chuckled and continued on her way. When she got inside, Jethro was already sitting at the table, coffee in hand, scanning through the crime-scene photos. It was one of those cases that would consume him until he figured it out.

"Going in early?" she asked as she sat down at the table.

"You smell," Jethro said absently. "Yes, I am."

"I just got done running. Of course, I do. ...but I did my good deed for the day; so it balances out."

"What good deed?" Jethro asked.

"Two guys were trying to walk to Union Station and got turned around on the DC streets."

"Good for you."

Hollis laughed. Jethro was listening to her, as she'd discovered, but he was preoccupied.

"You don't have to hang around for my sake," she said.

"What are you going to do to distract yourself while you're waiting?" he asked.

"I think I'll call Jason. I haven't talked with him for a while, and he's starting to clamor for another Mann family reunion. We haven't all got together since the wedding."

"What are you going to say to him?"

"That we'll think about it...after our first anniversary."

Jethro looked up and smiled. "That's the paper anniversary, you know."

"As long as you don't give me divorce papers..." Hollis said.

"No chance."

"Good. Now, you can get going. I'll be lazy this morning while I wait for the delivery guy to show up...between the hours of ten and two. I thought it was only cable guys who could get away with that."

Jethro gathered up the photos and drained the last of his coffee. "They all get away with it...if they can."

Hollis smiled.

"I'll see you later," she said. "What are you doing?"

"We're interviewing Bass' family. Not likely that they'll have anything to tell us, but they need the chance."

Hollis nodded sympathetically. It was always hard to have the family of a victim come in. They were shocked, grieving. Hard to face sometimes. Still, it had to be done and Jethro had done it many times.

"Good luck."

"I should say that to you," Jethro said.

"Yes, you should," Hollis said.

She shooed him out of the house and then went upstairs to shower.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Jethro's morning was spent interviewing Bass' family, working on the evidence already gathered and trying to figure out where to go from there.

At around noon, they got together to recap.

"McGee?" Jethro asked.

"Nothing yet. I'll let you know."

"Okay. His mother and sisters couldn't tell us anything beyond that he had said that he'd be a little late getting back because he had to stop in DC. He didn't know how long it would take him. That's all they know. He didn't say why."

"Abby is still working through the evidence, but we're not finding any fingerprints belonging to someone besides Bass," Tony said. "Someone tried to get in, but they didn't succeed and they were wearing gloves."

"McGee...any way to speed things up?"

"I can try, Boss..." Tim said. "But I don't know if it'll work."

"Go."

Tim nodded and headed out.

"Gibbs, Abby rushed through processing the gifts Lance Corporal Bass had bought for his family. May we give them to them?" Ziva asked. "We cannot see any reason to keep them."

Jethro considered. He knew that Tony and Ziva both wanted to make sure that Bass' family received his last gifts to them, and he understood that desire...and there was really nothing stopping them. Abby would have been thorough.

"Okay. Do it."

Ziva looked at Tony and they both got up to do it. Jethro was momentarily alone. He started thinking about which direction to go next.

...and then his phone rang.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

"...so the one year. That's quite an achievement, Holly," Jason said. "Are you going to do something to celebrate?"

"Probably something," Hollis said. "Don't know what yet."

"The boat?"

"He'll have to tell me how the boats get out of the basement sometime."

Jason chuckled. "He's a magician. That's enough of an answer, right?"

"Not a chance."

"You sound really happy, Holly."

"I am, Jason. Retiring has been working out better this time around."

"That's because you're not really retired."

"Yes, I am!"

"You're consulting with NCIS whenever you want to. Army CID loves having you give presentations. You consult with those people in LA a lot. That's not retired."

"Yes, it is. I'm not doing any of those things regularly. Just on occasion. Right now, I'm sitting around, waiting for FedEx."

"Sounds like fun."

"I wouldn't want it every day, but I don't mind it. Jason, I like what I'm doing with my life right now."

"Good. You deserve that, Holly. Really. So...you know what my next question is going to be."

Hollis laughed. "I'm going to hold you off. Nothing is going to happen until after our anniversary."

"I'll keep that in mind, but I have some ideas."

There was a knock on the door.

"Oh, wait, Jason. I think this might be FedEx."

"Don't miss your delivery," Jason said.

Hollis set the phone down and ran for the front door. She opened it and had just a moment of confusion before she clued in to what was going on.

...but that moment was all the two men needed. The men she had helpfully given directions to out on the sidewalk were standing there, and in her moment of confusion, they forced her back into the house. One of the men grabbed her from the front while the other moved around behind and covered her mouth with a rag. Hollis struggled against them and tried not to breathe in the fumes, but as she fought to free herself from the restraining arms, she had to inhale...and as she did, she felt the fuzziness that ether did so well. It was hard to continue fighting. She didn't know why these men were attacking her, but it wasn't something she was going to bother worrying about. They were trying to attack her. They were the enemy...but she couldn't fight them off, not with her brain getting too fuzzy for thinking and not when it was two on one.

After a little while, she couldn't get her body to continue fighting and the fog encroached on her brain until finally, she sagged in their arms. She wasn't quite unconscious but getting there.

"Come on. Quick. Out to the car before anyone sees."

"Don't forget her phone."

Hollis had one more thought before she fell unconscious.

I'm being kidnapped. Why?

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Gradually, the fog dissipated and Hollis woke up. She felt distinctly ill, but mastered the feeling. It was too important to figure out where she was and what was going on. Without opening her eyes, Hollis took the time to ascertain as much as she could about her surroundings.

I'm on a bed.

That was the first thought. She was definitely lying down and it was definitely on a softer surface. At first, she thought it could just be a mattress on a floor, but then, she noticed that her hands were restrained above and behind her head. So either a mattress on a floor beside some kind of grating or a bed with a headboard.

Keeping herself quiet, she listened for anyone around her. At first, it seemed like she was alone, but then she heard the quiet tread of someone walking.

Her mind was getting clearer all the time and it was only her determination not to fall apart that was keeping her calm. She didn't know why these men had taken her, but there was a reason and she wouldn't be able to get away if she started freaking out. It had been years since she had been on active duty in the Army, but she drew on her experiences and training here. No need to let them in on who and what she was if they didn't already know.

Name, rank and serial number, she thought wryly to herself.

Finally, she deemed it time to open her eyes. It was a nondescript room she was in. Just the bed, white walls...and one of her captors. He had a look in his eye that she didn't like.

Then, her other captor came into the room, phone in hand.

"Hello, Agent Gibbs. You have something of mine. ...and now, I have something of yours."

Hollis almost groaned. She was a bargaining chip. That was more than a little annoying...and frightening if she was honest with herself...but who cared about being honest? She'd rather just be annoyed.

The man laughed.

"What you have of mine is very small but of great value to me. What I have of yours...well, she's probably of value to you."

He stalked over to the bed and thrust the phone at her.

"Talk."

Hollis looked at him with an expression of defiance and said nothing. The man slapped her across the face.

"Talk!"

Better to be seen as capitulating, Hollis decided, and nodded with an expression of weakness. He held the phone to her mouth.

"Hi, Jethro," Hollis said with determined calm. "Let me tell you that if you use this as an excuse for a divorce, I swear that I'll kill you."

"Holly."

She was happy to hear his voice but she could hear the concern.

"I missed the FedEx shipment."

The man pulled the phone away. All she'd been able to hear was Jethro saying her name.

"There. Proof that she's alive and that we have her. There is no negotiating here. Give me what I want or I kill your wife. I want the flash drive you got from that stupid Marine. I'll give you some time to think about it." He hung up and looked at Hollis. "How much does your husband love you?"

Hollis forced herself to laugh. "I'm his fifth wife. What do you think?"

The man did not laugh. "I think that you'd better hope he loves you. Your life literally depends on it."

"You've made a big mistake," Hollis said softly. "You've made it personal. Jethro doesn't take personal attacks very well. When he catches you, you're dead."

The man walked over and got very close to her.

"You'll be dead long before that happens," he whispered in her ear.

Hollis kept herself from cringing. She just looked at him. He walked out of the room, leaving her alone with the other man and his disturbing looks. He worried her a lot more than the man who seemed to be in charge.

You will not give in to what they want. They want you afraid, Hollis. They want to have control. You will not give them that. You can let them think they have the upper hand, and physically, right now, they do...but if you keep your head clear, you can do what needs to be done. No one is perfect.

The pep talk didn't do much for her. As she lay there, she began to think about what she could say if she was given another chance to talk to Jethro. Something that would clue him in to who these men were...the little she knew.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Jethro looked at the phone and then at Tony and Ziva who were standing, waiting for instructions...and at Abby who had been trying to trace the phone.

"The call was too short," he said.

"Yeah, Gibbs," Abby said carefully. "I couldn't get a fix on where they are."

"She was home when she was taken," Jethro said, trying to keep himself as calm as Hollis had sounded.

"How can you be sure?" Ziva asked.

"Because she was waiting for FedEx. She said she missed it. She was home waiting."

His phone rang again and he gestured to Abby. She got ready as he picked up.

"Agent Gibbs," he said.

"Jethro, something's happened to Holly."

"Jason?" he asked.

"Yeah. It's me."

Jethro sighed and gestured for Abby to stop.

"I was talking to Holly and she put down the phone when there was someone at the door. She didn't come back, but I heard a whole lot of noise on her end...and then, nothing. Something's happened."

"Someone kidnapped her," Jethro said grimly. "They just called. She's being held as exchange for something we found in our most recent case."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to find her."

"I'm coming as soon as I can, and don't bother trying to stop me."

"Wouldn't dream of it. I need to get to work finding her."

"I won't keep you then, Jethro. Find my sister."

"She's my wife," Jethro said and hung up.

He looked at the others.

"We're going to my house. See if they left any evidence behind. She was talking to her brother when they came. We know she was there."

"Do you want Ziva and I to go by ourselves?" Tony asked awkwardly.

"No," Jethro snapped. "Let's go."

"On your six, Boss."

"Good. Abby, call McGee and tell him to find out what's on that flash drive. I want to know what they want."

"Okay, Gibbs. We'll do it. We'll find her."

Jethro just nodded. He wasn't going to get emotional right now...and not at all if he could help it. He was going to find his wife and no one was going to stop him.

And the people who had taken her were going to regret their decision. He would make sure of that.