Chapter 6

"I've got to take that back with me," Tim said, gesturing to the flash drive.

Lex smiled. "This is way too hot for me. Murders? Kidnapping? We'll get this stuff ourselves where we only have to worry about the CIA. Much safer in the long run."

Tim chuckled.

"Hey, Mac. It was nice having you back," Jart said. "I forgot how you straight-laced guys work. It's not bad."

"I'd like to come back...maybe after this case is over."

"Drop us a line," Lex said, leaning in close...making Tim blush. She chuckled. "We don't like to waste the good ones."

Tim cleared his throat and reached out for the flash drive.

"You didn't copy it, did you?"

"I might have," Lex admitted. "But I don't want to keep it. It's getting erased as soon as I sit down."

"Promise?" Tim asked.

"Don't be so nervous, Mac. I don't want to put myself in the line of fire. You can be sure of that. I value my own skin too much."

"Okay, okay."

"You just get back to doing your job. Is your visit sanctioned?"

"Not officially...but unofficially it is."

"I think I like your boss," Black said with a grin. "Knowing when to look the other way is a trait not everyone has."

Tim just smiled and let himself out. He was glad they had something, but he could only hope that this would lead to finding Hollis before she was hurt...or worse.

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

"Are you going to let me run this?" Vance asked as they waited for someone from the CIA to get on the screen.

"No," Jethro said.

"I thought not," Vance said. "Keep in mind that we will need to work with these people again in the future."

Jethro didn't respond. He didn't care whether or not they were willing to talk about what was on the flash drive. He just wanted them to help him find out who these people were who had taken his wife. Nothing else mattered.

"They're ready, Director," the tech said.

"Put them up," Vance said and gestured.

"Ah, and what is it that NCIS wants with the CIA today?"

Jethro almost grimaced. Of all the people in the CIA...

"Hello, Kort."

"Gibbs," Kort said eloquently. "What can I not do for you?"

"You can tell me who was running an operation in Rota and screwed up, leading to the murder of Lance Corporal Bass and the kidnapping of my wife. If you say that it's classified and try to stonewall me, you'll regret it."

Vance stirred slightly but said nothing.

Kort's expression was serious.

"Give me a moment."

That was all he said, and the screen went back to the colored bars.

"Well?" Vance asked the tech.

"I've got a message that we should stand by."

"For how long?" Jethro growled.

"I don't know, Agent Gibbs. That's all I was told."

"Send a message that if we don't hear back in five minutes, I'm taking off Gibbs' leash," Vance said.

Jethro raised an eyebrow.

"It doesn't matter whether or not I have any control over you, Gibbs. What matters is that they think I do and that I'm ready to relinquish it."

Two minutes later, the tech signaled that they were back.

"Put him on," Vance said.

"You have the flash drive in your possession?" Kort asked.

"Yes."

"And would I be correct in assuming that we can't get it back until we help you?"

"That would be a fair assumption," Jethro said. "I don't care what's on it, and I don't care what you do with it. I care about my wife and about solving a murder. You tell me what I need to know and you can have it back."

"How did you know it was ours?"

Jethro smiled. He had no intention of bringing Tim into this, nor his friends, by extension.

"I have my sources and you just confirmed it. So tell me that you can help."

"I can help," Kort said. "We have a fair idea of who might have your wife and a perimeter within which you might be able to find her."

"And?"

Kort looked out of the shot and then nodded.

"And you have the aid of the CIA to the extent you want it."

"All right. When will you be here?"

"I didn't know you enjoyed my company so much, Agent Gibbs."

"I don't," Jethro said. "I have a very limited window to find my wife. I'm not in the mood to play games, Kort. Don't mess with me."

"Understood. I'll be there."

"Good." Jethro turned around and walked out of MTAC. He was not in the mood to sit around and he had no intention to do so.

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

Hollis hated her position. It was much too exposed and she didn't like the looks she was still getting.

"So...do I get a bathroom break?" she asked. "Or do you want to deal with the smell if I wet my pants?"

"You need to go to the bathroom?"

"Yes."

"Fine."

He walked over, uncuffed her wrists and then cuffed her hands together and led her to a small bathroom.

"No tricks."

"I just need to pee," Hollis said, all the while taking in her surroundings...and it felt good just to be up and moving around.

He didn't let her close the door, but Hollis had dealt with men watching her naked before and if he wanted to stare at her 55-year-old body, that was his business. Better him than Manny. She was worried about what might happen if Manny was her guard in this situation.

She sat down and quickly did her business, washed her hands and then walked out.

"Very good. Back to the bed."

Hollis said nothing and walked decorously back to her place of restraint...until he uncuffed her hands. She wasn't sure this would be successful, but she was happy to try it, and if she failed, she could take the punishment that would no doubt be the result.

The man uncuffed her hands and Hollis reacted in a second, calling on years of training and self-defense courses. She brought her fist up under his jaw and connected solidly. Then, she spun around, elbowed him in the stomach, stepped on his instep and grabbed his arm as he brought up his gun. They fought over the weapon for a few seconds and then Hollis won. She couldn't get hold of it, but she made him drop it.

Then...

"Let him go or I blow you away."

Hollis knew that was it. Manny had heard the struggle. It had been a gamble, and she had lost. She stopped fighting and stepped back. The man backhanded her across the face and knocked her back onto the bed. She definitely felt that and he cuffed her roughly to the headboard.

"So...Mrs. Gibbs," he said, breathing heavily. "Was that worth it?"

"Yes."

"Who are you?"

He clearly knew she had training. She forced a smile onto her aching face.

"Retired Lieutenant Colonel Hollis Mann, turned Army CID, turned NCIS...turned wife. I'm not used to being restrained by scum like yourself."

"Get used to it. Try another stunt like that and I'll let Manny at you."

Hollis glared at him and didn't let the fear she felt at that threat show on her face.

"A girl's gotta try."

"Try that again and you'll regret it."

Then, the man walked over and had a low-voiced conversation with Manny. Hollis knew that she'd ticked the guy off, but she also knew that they were likely going to kill her whether Gibbs did what they said or not. ...and he wouldn't, but he would try to do both. She'd done her best to give him help, but now, she didn't have much of an option beyond to wait. Her attempt to escape had only given her some momentary satisfaction. Punishment or not, dangerous or not, she didn't care. She'd been in control for a little while and that was important.

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

Jethro stood up as soon as Tim came into the bullpen.

"McGee?"

"I've got the copy."

"Good. Erase it and get the original from Abby. Keep it with you until it's time to hand it over. I don't want that disappearing into CIA hands before we're done here."

"Yes, Boss."

"CIA?" Tony said. "They're coming here?"

"Kort."

"Oh, joy."

"Why is he coming?" Ziva asked.

"They know who it might be. Abby is going to show him whatever photos she's managed to get and he's going to tell us who."

"How can you be sure he will do that?"

Jethro smiled. "He wants that flash drive. He's not getting it until I'm satisfied."

Tony and Ziva both nodded and Tim scampered off to Abby's lab to fulfill Jethro's orders.

It only took another ten minutes before the elevator doors opened to reveal their favorite CIA agent. Tim's hand went spasmodically to his pocket and then back to his keyboard. Jethro stood up.

"Kort. With me."

"Of course, Agent Gibbs."

Kort still had that same oily tone and he looked around with a slight expression of disdain. Jethro didn't care how he acted. He cared about what he was going to do. They disappeared onto the elevator going down to Abby's lab. Tony looked at Ziva and Tim.

"Okay. So...how much help is Kort actually going to give? And is Gibbs really going to let him go without knowing what Bass was killed for?"

"He says so," Ziva said. "What about your...friends, McGee?"

Tim cleared his throat.

"They're not doing anything with it. I took the copy."

"And you think that's the only one?"

"No, but they've decided it's too risky to keep hold of it while people are getting killed over it. They have a healthy sense of self-preservation."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I know them."

There was a brief silence.

"Do you think they'll really exchange for Hollis?" Tim asked.

"No," Tony and Ziva said simultaneously.

"That's why Gibbs has to find her. He wouldn't trust them anyway, but these guys aren't going to let her get away when she could probably identify them."

"What if we can't find her in time?" Tim asked. "Even if Kort is ready to help, that doesn't guarantee that we'll know where to find them."

"Don't talk like that while the boss up here," Tony said. "That'll earn you a headslap for sure...or worse."

"I won't. I just don't want to be responsible for getting his wife killed."

That made them all fall silent. Someone had already killed Jethro's first wife. They didn't want to be there to see it happen again.

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

"What have you got, Abbs?" Jethro asked.

Abby turned around and saw Kort.

"What is he doing here?" she said, glaring.

"Helping," Kort said with a pleasant smile.

"Did you get any pictures from the intersection?" Jethro asked.

"Yeah, but they're not very clear."

"Bring them up."

"Okay."

Abby turned back to her computer and brought up a couple of grainy photos.

"Here they are. Like I said, not very clear. I've cleaned them up as much as I can, but the image quality is too low and they'll just pixelate if I zoom in any more."

"Kort?"

Kort walked forward and peered at the images.

"Can you zoom out again, please?"

"What for?" Abby asked.

"So I can see the sharper image. I have better eyes than Gibbs does."

Abby bristled but Jethro just gestured. He didn't care what insults were hurled his way. He wanted results. Abby did as asked and brought up a sharper but smaller image. Kort ignored her and leaned in to examine the two men.

"Do you have another photo from a different angle?"

Abby looked at Jethro.

"Do I have to do what he says?"

"We don't have time for this, Abby," Jethro said.

"Fine."

Abby nudged Kort out of the way and brought up another photo. She cropped it and sharpened it as much as she could.

"There. Does that help?"

"Yes. Very much so."

"Who are they?" Jethro asked.

"Bad news, Gibbs. They prefer to kill over negotiate. If you don't find your wife before this supposed exchange, she's dead."

"Who are they?"

"Arms dealers. They steal weapons and sell them on the black market in areas in the places that might just need to get them secretly. Our agent had been investigating their network and got a lot of information before they started tracking him down."

"Did he survive?"

"Yes."

"Lance Corporal Bass died for that information."

"We didn't kill him, Agent Gibbs."

"But your people got him involved."

"Do you want to accuse the CIA of something or find your wife, Gibbs?" Kort asked. "I can do either one. It's your choice."

Jethro grimaced and gestured for Kort to continue.

"If they're here in DC, then, I may be able to give you a hint of where they'll be. I would put out a BOLO right now, though. You never know when that thing might actually work. I'll need to talk to some of my colleagues."

"How long?"

"Give me an hour."

"Fine."

"I don't suppose I could get that flash drive?"

"Not until I've got my wife back."

"Figured. I'll be back."

"You'd better be."

"I will and you'll get real photos of them as soon as I get back."

Jethro walked with Kort to the main entrance.

"I know you may not believe me, Gibbs, but I do hope that you find your wife alive...and not even just so that I can get our data."

Jethro just nodded. Kort walked off, supposedly to go back to the CIA. After he'd vanished from his view, Jethro found that he couldn't go back inside. He knew that Tony, Ziva and Tim would be staring at him and worrying and wanting to say something. He knew that Abby would be wanting to hug him and make it all better. None of that was going to help. He just wanted Hollis back...and none of that was going to bring her back.

He walked over to the park and sat down on a bench. The problem was that he didn't know what to do about his situation right now. When he let himself think about it, his stomach tied up in knots and he had the horrific image of standing powerless as another woman he loved died.

"Jethro?"

Jethro looked up.

"Hey, Duck."

"I thought you might be out here."

"I don't know what to do, Ducky," Jethro said. "I don't know what else I can do. For once, I'm just...lost."

"You are doing your best to find Hollis. You've even allowed yourself to work with a man you despise."

"It won't be good enough if she's dead, Ducky."

Ducky didn't say anything to that. He just sat beside Jethro and put his hand on Jethro's shoulder. Jethro let him and was content to sit in silence for a few minutes. Then, he took a deep breath.

"Thanks, Ducky," he said.

"My pleasure."

Jethro got to his feet and walked back into NCIS, ready to get back to work.