Chapter 5
The phone on Gibbs' desk was ringing when he, Ziva and McGee returned from Abby's lab. Gibbs snatched up the handset and growled into the mouthpiece. "Gibbs!"
His expression altered dramatically as the short one-sided conversation continued. He slammed down the phone and immediately loaded and holstered his six-hour from his desk drawer.
"Ziva, McGee, with me!"
"What's up boss?" McGee asked.
"Someone has abducted Tony from the hospital!"
The hospital was buzzing with doctors, nurses and security personnel when Gibbs and his team arrived.
"McGee, go check the security footage."
"On it boss!"
"Ziva, go interview the nursing staff. Find out the last time anyone checked on Dinozzo."
"Sure."
"Excuse me," Gibbs stopped one of the doctors scuttling along the corridor. "Where can I find Dr Meyers?"
"Down the hall to the right," he answered and continued on his rounds.
Dr Meyers was sitting at a table in the middle of the room with her head in her hands staring deeply into the bottom of her coffee cup when Gibbs entered the doctors' lounge, her long russet hair masking her face.
"Dr Meyers?" enquired Gibbs.
"Erm, yes that's me."
"Special Agent Gibbs, NCIS." The grey haired senior agent identified himself showing his federal badge and ID.
Dr Meyers rose from her chair and offered her hand. Gibbs accepted it with a firm shake.
"Dr Meyers," Gibbs began.
"Please call me Amanda," she interrupted.
"Jethro," he reciprocated. "Amanda, can you tell me what happened the last time you saw Special Agent Dinozzo?"
"I had been in his room to check on his recovery after the surgery to remove the fragments of metal and plastic from his leg. The stitches seemed to have taken well and the pulse in his foot was strong. Anyway, I realised I had left his chart in his room so I went back to collect it; I needed to review his medication. That was when someone struck me from behind." She lightly fingered the egg-sized swelling at the base of her skull and winced.
"Did you see who it was who hit you?"
"No, I'm sorry. But I did see the other man."
"There were two of them?" Gibbs asked.
"Yes. He was white, about 6'2" – 6'3", brown hair, 140-150lbs, mid thirties, oh and he had a tattoo on his right forearm – an anchor, I think. I'm sure it was an anchor."
Gibbs reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a photograph of David Weston. "Is this the man you saw?"
"Yes. That's the man!"
"Thank you Amanda."
"Say Jethro, once you've found your agent, maybe you and I could go for dinner someplace?"
"Yeah, that would be good," Jethro smiled. He definitely liked this woman and it was clear to him that she liked him too.
Gibbs was met by Ziva in the hall. "The nursing staff here have all given the same eyewitness accounts. Two men in red orderly uniforms wheeled Tony down the corridor towards x-ray. They had all assumed it was part of his treatment as he was scheduled to have his leg x-rayed sometime this afternoon," she reported.
"Boss, boss," panted McGee as he raced toward Gibbs and Ziva bumping into medical personnel en route. "I've got the security footage," he waved an encased CD as he approached. "You should see the technology down there. They've got the XC5000 with digital encapture features."
Gibbs halted McGee's en-awed tirade. "What did you find out?"
"Unfortunately, the cameras outside Tony's room weren't in operation; something to do with scheduled maintenance."
"What?!" Gibbs ranted.
"But," McGee continued. "The cameras covering all the entrances and exits did pick up Tony and two men leaving the building."
"Did you identify either of the men with him?"
"One was Weston, the other was Reines. They put Tony into a silver panel van, but I need to get back to my computer to identify the licence."
"And you are still here because…"
"Because, you've got the keys, boss!"
Gibbs tossed the young agent the car keys with a sheepish grin. "C'mon, let's go."
McGee was approximately ten to a dozen paces in front of Gibbs and about the same distance from the NCIS car when he pressed the lock disable button on the key tab. The subsequent explosion lifted the vehicle off its wheels and several feet into the air together with an eruption of flames and choking black smoke. The adjacent cars too, were knocked sideways, their windows sending out a shower of glass fragments like hazardous confetti at a wedding.
McGee, Gibbs and Ziva were all flattened by the blast. Gibbs and Ziva suffered merely superficial wounds, where shards of glass had sliced into their face and hands. McGee, on the other hand, had come off worse. He lay on the floor face down, not moving.
"Are you okay?" Gibbs asked Ziva as he picked himself up off the floor. She checked herself over and responded positively. "McGee!" Gibbs called out as he noticed Tim lying motionless. He ran to his side and instructed Ziva to get some medical assistance. He rolled McGee's limp body over, fearing the worst. Tentatively, he felt for a pulse – he was alive!
Director Sheppard entered the examination room with Ziva as Gibbs was receiving his last plaster strip across his lacerated eyebrow.
"So, who have you pissed off this time, Special Agent Gibbs?" smirked the director.
"Oh the usual, my ex-wives, international terrorists and a psycho-bomber who's trying to kill me…" Gibbs grinned. "How's McGee?"
"Dr Meyers is with him now in cubical three," Ziva responded.
Gibbs hopped down off the examination bed, picked up his jacket and strode into cubical three.
McGee was having a penlight flashed in his eyes by Dr Meyers when Gibbs entered the room.
"McGee, you okay?"
"Yeah boss," he replied.
"No," countered Dr Meyers. "He has a concussion and I'd like to keep him in for observation. Fortunately, it appears that Agent McGee raised his arm to cover his face from the blast; otherwise he'd be in the morgue rather than our A & E! Do you have special training at NCIS in how to get yourselves killed?" Meyers asked sarcastically.
"Nope, they're like that before they get to us!" Gibbs countered with a wicked smile. "McGee, you still got that CD?" McGee rummaged around in his pockets and pulled out the disk still safely encased in its cover. "Great, I'll get it to Abby and she can go over it."
"It's okay boss. I'm not going to just lie around here whilst Tony is out there somewhere…" McGee's voice trailing away as he realised what he was about to say.
Gibbs looked at Amanda and smiled. "Now that's how we train our people!"
"Just one thing before you leave," Dr Meyers intoned seriously. "Agent Dinozzo needs to take care. If his stitches rip open he could bleed to death."
"How long?" Gibbs looked concerned.
"Hard to say…an hour, maybe two."
The video footage clearly showed Dinozzo being wheeled from the hospital by two men. Although compliant, it was obvious to those watching the replay that Tony was taken against his will. Abby zoned in on a section of the frame, the muzzle of a handgun was just about identifiable nuzzled into Dinozzo's ribs by Reines.
"Can you get the licence?" Gibbs requested.
McGee hammered away at several keys on Abby's computer. Slowly, the image zoomed in and re-pixilated until the van's registration was visible – KPZ 510.
"Vehicle is registered to a 'Kane and Abel Trading Company'. They own a warehouse on Henderson – unit 51." McGee informed them.
"How's the arm?" Gibbs asked.
"Good enough to go with you," he answered.
The director was waiting for them in Gibbs' chair when they returned to their office. "If you carry on like this Jethro," she began "we are not going to have any vehicles left! Here are the keys to your new car." Director Sheppard handed over the keys reluctantly. "Promise me you will look after this one…"
"Cross my heart," Gibbs crossed over his heart with his right forefinger to emphasise 'his word'.
The parking garage echoed to their footsteps as the three agents made their way to their latest vehicle. What they saw made Ziva chuckle and McGee snigger. Gibbs turned on his heel and marched straight back up to the director's office. He didn't wait for Cynthia to announce him, he just barged in.
"I suppose you think that was funny, Jen? I can't go chasing criminals and terrorists in – in that monstrosity!"
Director Sheppard tried to mask the fact that she was enjoying Jethro's discomfort at the situation, but failed miserably. "Oh, I'm sorry Jethro, but it's the only vehicle we have left that hasn't already been assigned or blown up; and it is only temporary…"
As a disgruntled Gibbs was about to leave her office her tone changed to one of sincerity. "Jethro, bring Tony back safely."
"Don't worry Jen, I'm not going to lose another agent," he vowed.
Back in the parking garage all three agents climbed into the VW Beetle. The engine took a moment before it caught; sending blue oil-filled clouds billowing from its' tail pipes and a resonating racket like a chain-smoking bullfrog arrested their ears. Rubber streaked the basement floor as the tyres squealed trying to keep traction with the asphalt.
The warehouse stood quiet and dark; all the exits locked shut. "McGee, check round the back." Gibbs instructed.
With weapons drawn, the NCIS agents readied themselves for a violent confrontation. Gibbs counted down silently from three; on what would have been zero, he kicked venomously at the door just below the handle. The wooden frame splintered against the full force of Gibbs' muscular onslaught allowing them unconditional entry.
"Clear!" called Ziva as she rounded from the office on the right. Gibbs continued on through the building with Ziva on his six. McGee approached from his right poised ready to meet any unknown threat with deadly force.
The centre of the warehouse held the prize they were looking for – a silver panel van, licence KPZ 510.
"This is the van boss," McGee whispered. All three agents closed in on the van; Gibbs and McGee taking the cab whilst Ziva concentrated her efforts on the rear.
"Freeze – NCIS!" Gibbs instructed loudly. The cab was empty. The rear of the van was vacant too.
"I think you are going to want to see this…" Ziva called to Gibbs. The interior of the van contained a large pool of blood…