Chapter 13

I went back to Jethro's house with him and each agent would spend an evening with us. I began to feel like a prisoner and I didn't like it. Jethro headed out to sleep on the couch again but I asked him to stay with me. He said OK as long as I didn't mind. I wanted him with me. I felt safer. I didn't really think someone would break into his house after all he does have a reputation for not putting up with that stuff.

We went to bed that night and he held me for a while but we both were in the mood to cuddle. I felt needy and he felt protective. We might have gone too far. As I rolled over part of me was ecstatic and the other part was worried about what our real emotions might be. I was falling for him. How could I not? He is handsome, protective and strong in all ways and I needed that and there was the crux of my problem. I didn't want to "need" him. I wanted to love him for him. I guess I will have to see where this leads us.

Chapter 14

We started planning for the "engagement party for Tony and Ziva." Tony bought an engagement ring for her to wear and we all chose party attire for the evening. Jethro ordered food and champagne to be delivered to the beach house. He "invited" Dr. Mallard, Jimmy and Breena and Director Vance and several other agents to act like guests. He also invited Jim Corcoran and his wife. He was going all out for this farce. I just hoped it worked.

The day of the party approached and I took a few days off from work. I needed to get my head wrapped around this and make sure I didn't mess up. Ziva, Abby and I went to the house to make sure everything was set up. The caterers came in right after we did and so did the champagne delivery. Tom Wesford showed up and wanted to know what was going on. Ziva kept a very close eye on him. After he left she called Gibbs. He and Tony were on their way and would be here in twenty minutes. We put every light in the house on and all of the outdoor ones as well. We wanted a party atmosphere going on. Mother Nature helped out as well. It was a crystal clear night with that big full moon. What a lovely evening for a party: it was even warm enough to use the balcony.

Eight o'clock came and our guests began to arrive. The house began jumping with excitement. We served dinner and then the toast to the happy couple. They acted exactly like what they were supposed to be. I guess I was wondering why we were putting on this charade but we did it anyway. The house got stuffy and I stepped out on the balcony to cool off and get a breath of fresh air. I think that I had imbibed a little too much champagne. While out there I heard a sound and before I knew it I was being grabbed from behind and taken down the stairs. I was hit over the head and I didn't remember anything from there.

Jethro walked through the house and realized he hadn't seen Natalie in a while. She'd been there for the toast and for the gifts but where was she now? He checked the bedroom and the bathrooms. She wasn't there. He asked Tim and Tim said that Natalie had stepped out on the balcony about fifteen minutes ago but he hadn't seen her since. Jethro felt panic building and found Tony. He gave him the eye signal that something was not right. He made an announcement that Natalie was missing. Her last known location was the balcony. Tony and Tim went out to look. They found signs of a scuffle in the sand at the bottom of the stairs and then there was only one set of footprints to follow. They set off down the beach in search. When they got to the parking lot there was no one there.

Chapter 15

Jim Corcoran had called in a missing person's bolo as soon as Gibbs had said she was missing.

Gibbs and the team went back to the house and changed their clothes and set to work to find Natalie. Search lights were set up to see the footprints more quickly and to take shoe prints. There were also scuffle marks to show which way the suspect had taken her. Time was a commodity they didn't have too much of. Men like this don't grab these women to chat with them. They do whatever it is they do and then kill them. Hopefully they would be in time. Vance wanted to take over the investigation and have Gibbs sit it out. He felt that Gibbs was too close to the situation. Gibbs felt that he had to be part of it after all he'd talked her into it.

Gibbs while not technically part of the investigation kept looking for clues. He was informed by Tony and McGee with everything they found. Vance was also keeping him in the loop as a technical advisor. He knew Natalie and what she might be capable of withstanding. He also thought that Gibbs knew the perpetrator.

Chapter 16

When I awoke I was blindfolded and my hands were tied in front of me. I was cold but he had been kind enough to place a blanket over me. I heard someone else breathing next to me. It was a labored breathing. When I moved I heard a breath catch as if someone was surprised. "Who else is here?"

Several weak voices answered.

"Are you all blindfolded?"

"No, it is fairly dark in here. There is one light with a low wattage bulb in it."

Natalie had been listening to the voices and tried to figure out how many women were there. "How many of you are there?"

A weaker voice spoke. "Five. I have been here the longest."

Natalie realized these were all the women who'd been taken over the last few months. "Why are we here and what does he want with us?"

A stronger voice answered with a bit of sarcasm. "We are his collection, like baseball cards or something. Every time one of our pictures gets posted on the television or in the newspaper he puts it up on the wall over there. Having us isn't enough he needs his fifteen minutes of fame as well."

Natalie wanted to give these women something to hold onto. Gibbs would find them. "That may be coming to an end. My boyfriend is in law enforcement. He'll find us."

The door opened as I said that and laugh responded to Natalie. "I wouldn't count on Special Agent Gibbs. He just got sidelined; seems he's too close to a victim."

I turned my body to face the voice. It sounded so familiar but I couldn't place it. The other women got very quiet and I wondered why. My curiosity got the best of me so I asked a question of our captor. "Why are you doing this?" And for my curiosity I got slapped. I was afraid but I wasn't going to show it. I heard the door close and it got real quiet. "Who is he?" I got no reply. Was he still here? I didn't understand what was going on. I remembered that my hands were tied in front of me. I tried to reach up and remove the blindfold. I learned that even though my hands are tied in front of me they are also connected to the rung of the chair I was seated on. I couldn't reach my face so I tried bending over to my hands. I accomplished moving it a little.

The windows of the basement where we were being kept are small and barred. We wouldn't get out that way even if we got free. I began looking at the women in the room with me. There were two blonds and three brunettes. I was the token red-head. I was tied up differently than the others. I couldn't see any similarities in the women, except traveling alone. I hadn't been caught traveling; I was taken. I only came to Chesapeake Bay with Jethro. Why was I so different?

Chapter 17

Tony came back into the house and pulled Jethro aside. "There was a brief struggle. Natalie fought him. She's a fighter Jethro. He must have hit her and knocked her out. There was an impression of a body in the sand. From there, one set of footprints lead to the parking lot. There was a car parked there and they left. Abby and McGee have made casts of the tires and are checking data bases for treads and makes of cars that have those tires. Ziva and I are trying to track the vehicle that left the lot. Not having much success there." Tony said. Ziva stood there looking at Gibbs with sympathy for what he was feeling. Tim walked in and announced that he and Abby had found the make and model of the vehicle. It was a Toyota, Rav4. Unfortunately there are seventy-five of them in the Chesapeake Bay community area. Abby was looking for common vectors in the search.

Abby had found the information that they needed. "Gibbs! Gibbs! Gibbs!"

Gibbs picked his head up from his hands. "What ya got Abs?"

Abby just about bounced with her discovery. "The car is registered to Tom Wesford. His address is in Tony and Tim's phones."

Gibbs looked worried and tired. He waved for Tony and Tim to go. "Tony and Tim, go get him."

Abby grinned. "We've got him."