Chapter 8
"This is the place," Ziva said, pointing to an old building.
"Looks empty."
"Yes, but perhaps it is not. That is why we are here checking it."
"Yeah. I know."
Tony stopped the car and they both got out. On guard, but feeling like this was not the right place. They nodded silently to each other and took opposite entrances.
Tony found a place that looked like it had been occupied recently, but not by more than one person...and not by a person familiar with hygiene.
Ziva met up with him in the middle of the building and shook her head.
"I have seen only one person and he is most definitely not part of it," she said.
Tony smiled.
"Okay. Next place on the list then?"
They headed out.
"I do not like that Gibbs is with Kort. I do not trust him," Ziva said.
"I don't, either...but at least there's one other person there. McGee's hardly a rookie."
"Yes...but I wish I was there."
Tony smiled. "Me, too."
They got in the car and drove to the next address.
x.x.x.x.x.x.x
It was a house. Tim wasn't sure why, but he was surprised by the fact that it was a house.
"Here?" he asked.
"Second floor," Kort said shortly.
Tim flushed. Kort had a way of sounding utterly dismissive. Not just dismissive but more that his very question was so obvious that everyone should know better and since he didn't, he was an idiot. How he managed to convey all that without actually saying it was beyond Tim's ken, but it was irritating. Still, he kept his mouth shut. Getting mad at Kort wouldn't help them find Hollis. So he bit his tongue and looked to Jethro for what to do.
"Kort...around back. McGee, with me."
Tim nodded with relief. As they crept toward the house, Tim couldn't help wondering why Jethro had him along...instead of just him and Kort...or either Tony or Ziva. Still, he focused on following Gibbs as he climbed the stairs.
He really hoped that Hollis was here...and alive. He didn't know what he'd do if she was dead.
x.x.x.x.x.x.x
Hollis was lying on the bed, hoping for a continuation of her solitude...unless Jethro was going to break it.
Suddenly, there was a commotion and there were people shouting. Hollis opened her eyes and tensed. Something was definitely about to change, and she desperately hoped it was for the better.
"Get her, Manny!"
She tensed even more as the door burst open. Manny ran inside, shutting the door behind him and then hurried to the bed, gun in hand.
"Just try it," he said. "Try anything and I'll kill you. Got nothing to lose."
Hollis said nothing. She just looked at him as he released her from the bed and then cuffed her once more. He put his arm around her neck and the gun to her head just as the door burst open again.
Hollis almost smiled when she saw that it was Jethro.
"Let her go," he said.
"I'm not letting her go until I get away! No way, fed. Come any closer and I kill her!"
Jethro's expression was hard, but Hollis knew how to read him by now and she could detect a bit of fear in his eyes. If she could see that much, then he must be terrified. She knew she couldn't just sit there passively and let Gibbs stew.
"Let her go. There's no negotiation. Your partner is in custody. You've lost," Jethro said. "Let her go."
"Let me go or I kill her! No negotiation!"
Manny's arm was tight around her throat, but Hollis noticed that he'd been too panicked to really pay attention to what condition her hands were in. She was cuffed...but with her hands in front. Hollis made eye contact with Jethro and winked slightly.
"I'll kill her! I will!"
Manny shook her a little bit. That was her cue. Hollis tensed and then rammed her elbow into Manny's gut as hard as she could. He staggered slightly but didn't let her go as she'd hoped. She thrust her head back and caught him in the chin. She needed to get away from him because Jethro couldn't get a clean shot if he had a hold of her...and he wouldn't take anything less than a clean shot.
"I'll kill you!" he shouted at her.
"No, you won't." That was a voice she didn't have time to identify.
Suddenly, there was a shot. Manny staggered forward and then collapsed...unfortunately, falling right on top of Hollis. She tried to get out from underneath him, hating the feel of being pinned down. Then, he was rolled off her and she was pulled to her feet and into Jethro's arms before she had time to think.
"Are you all right, Holly?" he whispered. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Jethro," she whispered back. "I'm fine now. Just fine."
"He's dead."
That was a familiar voice. Reluctantly, Hollis turned around in Jethro's arms.
"Kort," she said in surprise.
He smiled.
"You're looking a bit worse for the wear, Colonel."
"I'm not a colonel anymore," she said. "The CIA is involved?"
"Only unofficially. We'll be taking Hajnal with us...and the flash drive, Gibbs."
She felt Jethro nod. That was a surprise. She hadn't expected him to give in so easily.
"I've done my part," Kort said. "Abadilla is dead and Hajnal is in custody."
"Can you take off these cuffs, please?" Hollis asked.
Jethro nodded again. He was incredibly gentle as he removed the handcuffs. Hollis hugged him tightly for a moment and then pulled herself together.
"Where's the other one...Hajnal?" she asked.
"McGee has him. He's calling Tony and Ziva. They should be here soon."
"Good." Hollis looked at Manny and knew that there could have been a much worse ending to this story. She suppressed a shudder and took a deep breath. "They had a lot of important connections they were worried about. I heard them talking. Whatever is on that flash drive is important," she said to Kort.
Kort nodded and started to walk out of the room.
"Kort," Jethro said suddenly.
He turned back.
"What, Agent Gibbs?"
"Thank you. ...and McGee has your flash drive."
Kort smiled a little and nodded without any overt reply. He just walked out of the room, leaving Jethro and Hollis alone for a moment. Hollis looked at Manny again.
"I don't want to stay in here, Jethro," she said. "Can we leave?"
"Of course."
He kept an arm around her and led her into a different part of the house.
"Where are we?"
"Anacostia."
"Oh."
Hollis didn't want to freak out. She'd been calm all through this and she wasn't going to weaken now. She was happy to have Jethro holding her, though.
"Hollis...are you all right?"
Hollis looked at Tim and nodded with a bit of a forced smile.
"Nothing that a night's sleep won't cure."
He nodded.
"Kort took Hajnal and I gave him the flash drive, Boss," Tim said.
"Good."
There were footsteps running up and then into the room. Hollis felt herself tense up a little and Jethro's arm tighten around her.
"Boss, Kort was taking some guy with him," Tony said.
"Hajnal. Abadilla's dead. CIA's out of it now," Jethro said.
"Gibbs, what about our case?"
"Abadilla was involved in the murder. We have his body, and we'll be able to tell Bass' family what he did," Jethro said. "That will be enough."
Ziva nodded.
"We will clean up here and wait for Ducky," she said. "You could go back to NCIS. We will be able to ride with Ducky."
"I'll need to make my statement," Hollis said. "I'd rather do that tonight...or this morning...or whatever."
Jethro nodded. "All right. Let's go."
He didn't let her go until she got into the car. The ride to NCIS was silent. Hollis didn't know if she wanted silence or sound. She just sat and tried to relax. At one point, she took a deep breath and let it out in a whoosh. Before she knew it, Jethro had reached out and taken her hand.
"I love you, Holly."
Hollis squeezed his hand.
"I love you, too, Jethro."
"Dad's at NCIS."
"Why?"
"I called him."
"Oh."
He had been really worried, then.
When they arrived at NCIS, they walked in together. At the bullpen, she looked toward Jethro's desk and saw Jack there. He looked up and the worry on his face vanished. He got up and walked to them as quickly as he could. He hugged them both tightly.
"I'm so glad you're all right, Hollis," he said.
"I am, too," she said with a shaky smile. "Jethro...can I get my statement over with now?"
"Yeah. Let's go."
They walked into a conference room to get that done.
x.x.x.x.x.x.x
"That was a nasty black eye she had," Tony said.
"Yeah," Tim answered.
"But at least she was on her feet," Ziva said.
"Yeah."
Tim was staring at Abadilla's body. He couldn't help thinking how close it had come to Hollis being killed. He had heard Abadilla shouting, and Hajnal had intimated that Abadilla would have loved nothing more than to hurt Hollis.
"Hey, Tim...what's up?"
"Just...can't help thinking about how bad it could have been. I don't know what I would have done if she'd been killed," he said. "What do you say to something like that?"
"Well, you didn't have to. So don't worry about it," Tony said.
"Yeah."
"...but I wouldn't have known what to say, either," he added.
"I am glad this man is dead. I am only sorry that Bass had to pay the price for what these men were trying to hide."
Tim nodded.
"But I am glad that Hollis is not injured."
"Yeah."
They continued to work in silence and when Ducky arrived, he, too, was rather muted. This had been close. Jethro had already gone through the death of a spouse before. Even though it hadn't happened this time, the possibility was very much on their minds.
x.x.x.x.x.x.x
After giving her statement, Hollis wanted nothing more than to go home. Go home and sleep. That was all, but she knew that Jethro couldn't leave right away. So she parked herself at his desk. Jack was sitting by her with a gently-comforting arm around her. He wasn't speaking. Jethro was coordinating everything that still needed to be done with the case. She watched him, not feeling like talking a whole lot.
Abby came up and got some samples from her clothes. They were covering all their bases, just in case. Hollis didn't protest, didn't try to fend Abby off when she hugged her tightly. She was tired. She just wanted to forget the almost-hungry expression on Manny's face every time he had looked at her, the feeling of him coming at her. All of that. She wanted it gone from her mind, although she knew enough to realize that it would take time.
Finally, at about six in the morning, Jethro walked over to her.
"Let's go home. Dad, you ready?"
"You want me there?"
"Yeah, I do. I've called Jason."
"Jason's coming?" Hollis asked.
"Yeah, but he's on the plane. I left a message, letting him know we found you."
"Okay."
They got up together and walked out of NCIS. Jack drove his own car. When they got home, Hollis suddenly felt very dirty.
"Jethro...I really need a shower."
He nodded.
"You want to eat anything or just sleep?"
"Sleep."
"Okay."
Hollis ran up the stairs and into the bathroom. With almost indecent haste, she pulled off the clothes she'd been wearing and dropped them on the floor. She hadn't grabbed a change of clothing, but that didn't particularly matter to her right now. She just wanted to get clean...to wash those people off her.
She got into the shower and let the water cascade over her. First, she carefully shampooed her hair and then washed her body.
...and then, she leaned against the wall of the shower and finally let herself start to cry. It was a reaction to the tension, to the stress and anxiety. That was all. She wasn't a crier. She just needed to release that tension and then the tears would stop. She kept telling herself that.
She didn't hear the door to the bathroom open. She didn't turn when the water went off.
"Holly."
Jethro wrapped a towel around her and pulled her out of the shower and into his arms. Hollis let him hold her. She didn't try to be strong or stoic any longer. She couldn't. She just let her husband comfort her after a horrible experience.
He had already changed into sweats.
Hollis let him dry her off and then dress her in pajamas. It didn't matter that it was nearly seven a.m. Both of them were exhausted. They needed sleep.
They walked to the bed and lay down.
"They had me cuffed to the bed the whole time," Hollis said softly.
"Do you want to–?"
"I want you to hold me, Jethro. Just hold me so that I know you're there and that I'm safe. ...so that when I wake up again, I won't be afraid that I'm back there. I'll know I'm with you."
"You're with me. You're safe, Holly."
Hollis curled up against him and felt the warmth of his arms around her. She could feel his heart beating.
"The way he looked at me...he would have...if he had... If they'd had more time, I don't know if I could have held him off again."
Jethro's arms tightened around her.
"I've got you."
"I know."
Hollis closed her eyes and finally relaxed enough to sleep.
...knowing that Jethro was right there with her.
"I'm here, Holly," he whispered in her ear.
He always knew the right words to say.
Hollis fell asleep.