Gibbs found himself in the furniture storage unit. He ran an appreciative hand over an oak cabinet; he had done good work the previous day but there was still more to do. He was about to return to the house when his cell rang,

"Gibbs."

"Boss. McGee here. We've been driving round and stopping off in local shops and places where students might go. You know, diners and drinking places."

"And?"

"Nothing really. People say they don't really see anyone from the Admiral's place. They used to. Previous courses, the attendees used to come out at night and weekends. To relax and have a good time but this one, not so much."

"What about the Admiral?"

"Again, they used to see him round the place quite a lot but recently they've only seen him drive past. They say he looks a bit vague but they'd heard he was ill so they weren't surprised."

"OK," said Gibbs, "come on back."

"Yes, Boss. Oh, Bishop tried to check in on the Admiral's family."

"Tried?"

"They're about 17 hours ahead of us. Might be too early in the morning there but the phone wasn't working. We've got Abby on it now."

"Good. McGee, d …"

"What, Boss?"

"Hang on, McGee. Someone's just gone into the house. Left a motorbike on its side by the door."

"Probably someone wanting Tony to deliver something," said McGee.

"Probably," said Gibbs with a grin. "OK, come on back."

Gibbs clicked his phone shut and began to walk towards the house. As he did so he saw a large van pull in and three men get out quietly and go to the door. Something about the way they acted made the hairs on the back of Gibbs' neck stand up. Matching their stealth he crept to the kitchen window.

"Boss?" said Tim as he answered his phone, "it's too soon for us to be back. We don't drive like you."

"Tim," said Gibbs softly, "we have a situation here."

"Boss?"

"A van arrived just after the guy on the bike. Three men went into the house, they're armed."

"Boss? You sure they're not just visitors?" said McGee hopefully.

"One of them's holding a gun to Pru's head. And I think the guy on the bike was the Admiral. What do you think?"

"What do you want us to do?"

"Get on to Vance. Tell him to shut the Admiral's place down. We don't want anything happening there. Get on to the Maine State Police. Tell them we have a hostage situation and to have troopers on standby."

"On it, Boss. We'll be there as quick as we can, about ten minutes," said McGee, "er … nobody's hurt are they?"

"No, although Salter doesn't look good. Quickly and quietly, Tim. Park across the entry when you get here and come up the track on foot. I'll put the phone on silent so you can call if you need to."

McGee resisted the urge to check that Gibbs knew how to change the setting on his cell, reflecting that, in an emergency, Gibbs seemed to manage technology.

NCISNCIS

In the house, Tony was trying for outraged innocence.

"What's going on?" he demanded. "You can't just come storming into the house like this!"

"We just did," said the man who seemed to be in charge.

"We haven't got anything worth stealing," said Pru.

"No," agreed the man who was holding the gun to her head, "seems pretty sad in this day and age. Lovely house going to rack and ruin."

"So," said Tony, "you made a mistake. Why don't you just leave and we'll forget this ever happened. You thought you were going to get away with money here but you were wrong."

"OK," said the leader blandly, "we can see we were wrong. We'll be on our way."

"Fine," said Tony tensely, "we won't tell anyone."

"We'll take the Admiral with us," came the reply.

"But he's sick," said Pru, "he needs help."

"We'll get him help. Promise."

The Admiral got up, "I'm sorry Pru. I got confused, I shouldn't have come here. I forgot," he tried to smile as he prepared to leave with the gunmen.

Tony instinctively reached out to pull him back. The leader laughed.

"Yeah, somehow I didn't think you'd let him go! Why don't we all sit down?"

"What's going on?" asked Tony, "what do you want with the Admiral?"

The leader laughed again, "What is this? You playing for time? Hoping that we'll tell you everything that's going on? That we're so full of ourselves that all we want to do is boast? I don't think so."

"They're planning an attack of some sort on the Navy Base," said Salter, "they've been using my training course as a cover. Seems a previous student told them that I could get anyone on to the base without security checks. They saw it as an opening."

"Shut up, old man," shouted the leader. He swung his gun at Tony's head and he toppled off his chair to the floor.

"What did you do that for?" demanded Salter. "It was me who was speaking."

"We need you," said Tony's attacker, "don't want any bruises on the face that opens so many gates to us. And you're the hero type. Don't care about yourself but you won't want to see anyone suffering because of you."

Pru tried to wriggle out of her captor's grasp, "Let me help him," she pleaded.

The leader nodded, "you know what I'll do," he warned, "don't try anything clever."

Pru nodded and ran over to where Tony was blinking uncertainly on the ground.

"Ouch," he whined, "why did you do that? I wasn't doing anything."

"Are you all right, Tony?" asked Pru.

"Of course I'm not all right," complained Tony, "I've just been hit with a gun. It hurts. I feel sick. I'm fed up with you collecting all these waifs and strays. From now on, we keep ourselves to ourselves."

"OK," soothed Pru, "that's what we'll do. Now, why don't you sit back up at the table? Carefully. I'll get a cloth for your head."

Tony took her hand and tried to get up. "Oh," he moaned, "I feel sick. The room's spinning."

"OK," said Pru, "why don't you just stay down there. I'll get that cloth."

"I'm cold," groused Tony, "I'm shaking."

"That's the shock," cooed Pru, "you'll be all right. I'll get you a blanket, to keep you warm."

"No blankets," said the leader, "no-one's going anywhere."

"I'm not going to try anything," protested Pru, "I just want to look after him."

"He'll be fine."

"The floor's hard," said Tony.

"Suit yourself," said the leader unsympathetically.

"What's the plan, Joe?" asked the gunman who had been holding Pru.

"Joe?" asked Pru, "you don't look like a Joe."

Joe replied, "we're not amateurs. We're not going to use our real names. Today, I am Joe. This is Fred. And we have other 'friends' you haven't met yet."

"Phone back to the estate," ordered Joe, "tell them we've got the old man. We'll bring the plan forward. I doubt if anyone's going to miss these two losers but we won't take the chance." He turned to the Admiral, "you're going to come with us. Don't forget, we've got your family. Don't try anything if you want to see them again."

"There's no answer," said Fred.

"What you mean? No answer?" demanded Joe.

"I've tried all the phones. They're dead."

Joe stared at the Admiral. "Sid!" he called. A third man came into the room. "Cover them," Joe ordered Fred and Sid, pointing at Pru and the Admiral. He then strode over to Tony and hauled him to his feet, "Right, Admiral," he said, "tell us what you did."

"I didn't do anything," said the Admiral.

Joe hit Tony with his gun once more. "Tell me," he ordered, "or the next time I'll put a bullet in his stupid head."

"Stop it," complained Tony, "I haven't done anything! Leave me alone."

"All right," said the Admiral, "I palmed the sleeping pill you gave me at lunchtime. I needed to get away. I found a public phone box and tried to call Christopher. I wanted to check if you were telling the truth about having him. But I couldn't get through. I decided to come here …"

"Why here?" asked Joe, "why not somewhere closer? Or why not come back to the house?"

"I-I-I wasn't feeling good. I thought Pru could help. She has before."

"You didn't call the cops? Or the Navy?"

"He told you he didn't," whined Tony, "leave us alone."

Joe shook Tony in irritation, "shut up," he hissed, "nobody wants to listen to your moaning. Admiral, I'm waiting."

"No," said the Admiral in apparent defeat, "I wasn't thinking clearly. Pru has been kind before so I came here. Pru, I'm sorry."

"Do you think there's something wrong back at the estate?" asked Fred.

"Don't know," said Joe, "we've got the equipment in the van. It won't be as good as if we did the original plan but it will still be worth it. We'll attack now."

"What about these two?" asked Sid, gesturing to Pru and Tony. "The woman might be useful if the old man gets sick. We could put her in the back of the van."

"No," said Joe, "we won't risk it."

"We could tie them up," said Fred, "it's pretty remote here. It'll be a long time before anyone finds them."

"No," said Joe, "they can identify us. No point risking it. Sid, take the old man out to the van."

As he said this he shoved Tony back on to his chair but Tony simply charged headfirst back at him knocking him to the floor. At the same time Gibbs ran into the room with his weapon drawn. Fred pointed his gun at Pru so Gibbs shot him in the leg; as Fred fell to the ground his weapon fired into the ceiling. Tony was still struggling with Joe but even as Gibbs made his way towards him, he managed to deliver a final punch and knock him out.

Tony rolled away and lay panting on the ground.

"What about Ed?" asked Pru.

Just as Gibbs ran towards the door, Sid and the Admiral came back in with Tim and Bishop behind them.

"Good thing we hadn't finished decorating," observed Tony as he gazed at the hole in the ceiling.

"Are you all right?" asked Pru, as she ran towards Tony.

"I'm fine," said Tony automatically, "or I will be. I've been hit harder … by Gibbs."

"State police are on their way, Boss," said McGee.

"The Director told the FBI what was going on," said Ellie, "they jammed all electronic signals going into the Admiral's estate so the people inside don't know what's happening. FBI have got a watch on the place."

"What about my family?" asked Salter.

"They're fine, Sir," said Bishop. "The American embassy in Fiji got the Nauru police to check on them. It looks as if someone might have sabotaged their internet and phone which was why we couldn't reach them. Seems they're used to being out of contact so they hadn't even realised."

"Thank God," said the Admiral, slumping back in his chair. "How did you get here so fast, Agent Gibbs?"

"We've been staying here," said Gibbs, "I was in the store room when our 'visitors' arrived."

"I came here because I thought Tony would be the best person to sound the alarm," said the Admiral, "I thought you'd gone away. I tried to tip you off when you came to visit but I didn't think it had worked."

"Why did you make such a fuss about the photo, Sir?" asked McGee.

"I didn't want my captors to think I was letting you take photos of anything in the background," said the Admiral, "they wouldn't have stood for that but I knew there was nothing to see in a picture of the house."

"Apart from your pin being upside down," said Gibbs.

"You spotted that?" said Salter.

"DiNozzo did," said Gibbs with a hint of pride. "But we were already suspicious."

"You were? You mean you weren't just dropping by to see a friend of your father, Agent McGee?"

"No, Sir," said McGee.

"You were very convincing," said the Admiral, "although your reputation goes before you, Agent Gibbs and I thought it was unusually mellow of you to allow your agent time off for a social call."

Gibbs smiled. "Age … DiNozzo called me up earlier in the week. He thought there was something odd going on. Said that your vehicles were allowed on to the base without much checking. That you looked uneasy when you saw him, as if you might have been trying to tell him something."

"You came up here for that?" said the Admiral in some disbelief.

"DiNozzo was a good agent," said Gibbs, "I trusted his instincts."

"Thank God you did, Agent Gibbs," sighed Salter.

"What were they up to?" asked Tony. "And who are they? They have an accent I can't place."

"Don't know," said the Admiral, "they were careful not to let me know too much. Used those fake names. They kept me locked up a lot."

"What do we do now, Boss?" asked Ellie.

"We need an ambulance for these two," said Pru who had been checking on Fred and Joe. "And I think Ed could do with a check-up. As could you, my love," she said, patting Tony on the shoulder.

Before Tony could reply, a State trooper came in. "Lieutenant Flanders, Maine State Police. Who's Agent McGee?" he asked.

"That's me," said Tim, "the situation is under control now. But we need you to keep these three in custody. And two of them need medical treatment as well."

"Hi, Craig," said Tony, "don't let anyone touch the van out front. It may have explosives or something in it."

"You know the State troopers?" said McGee.

"Sure," said Tony.

"You're not a State trooper, are you?" asked McGee in sudden distrust.

"Tony?" chuckled Craig, "he wouldn't have the time!"

"No," said Tony, "I coach their basketball team sometimes."

"Not so much chitchat," ordered Gibbs, "this isn't a ladies' sewing circle."

"I don't know you are, Sir," said Craig, "but if you'd met the Trenchard Ladies' Sewing Guild you wouldn't want to suggest they're flighty gossips. Finest bunch of women I know, they're the real power in this community, I don't mind telling you."

Gibbs decided to ignore this byplay. "Bishop, McGee: we'll head up to the Admiral's place. See what's going on there. Lieutenant, can I leave these suspects with you? Take the Admiral to hospital like Pru said."

"And Tony," said Pru.

"I'm fine," said Tony, "I'm not concussed. Believe me, I'd know."

"You sounded as if you were in agony," observed Salter as he allowed himself to be led away.

"That was the idea," said Tony, "hoped it would get our 'friends' to lower their guard. And, Gibbs, good timing. It was like old times."

Gibbs simply nodded briefly before heading out. Pru saw Tony looking a little wistful as he watched the MCRT go.

"Do you miss it?" she asked.

"What? Being held at gunpoint and hit over the head with a gun?" he joked. "Sometimes," he admitted more seriously, "but what I've got here more than makes up for it. Come on, we've got some tidying up to do."

NCISNCIS

Some hours later, as darkness fell, Tony and Pru were half-heartedly watching TV when there was a tap at the kitchen door and Ellie came in.

"Hi," said Pru, "we've eaten but there's some meatloaf keeping warm."

"Oh," said Ellie, "that's kind but I haven't come back to eat."

"Where are Gibbs and McGee?" asked Tony.

"Gibbs sent me back," said Bishop, "to pack up."

"You've finished already?" said Tony in surprise.

"No. We're going to be based in Portsmouth for a few days," said Ellie, "there's a lot to do looking into security there and making sure nothing's already gone wrong. And we've got work to do at the Admiral's place. Gibbs thinks it'll be more efficient to stay on the base."

"Of course," said Tony colourlessly.

"It was nice to meet you, Ellie," said Pru, sensing something was wrong, "is there anything we can do to help?"

"No," said Ellie, "you've been really kind. McGee says for you to send the bill to NCIS."

"Bill?" said Tony.

"You know. The account for the bed and breakfast. For the meals. We don't want you to be out of pocket."

"Oh," said Pru, "oh, but we wouldn't charge you. You're …"

"Tell McAccountant that we'll do that," said Tony interrupting Pru.

"Great," said Ellie doubtfully. "I'd better be going. Gibbs is …"

"In Captain Ahab mode," suggested Tony.

Ellie frowned and then her face cleared, "Hey, that's a great way of describing it. You've got a good handle on Gibbs, haven't you?"

"Not now, once – perhaps," said Tony. "And you're right, you'd better be going."

"Thank you," said Ellie, "for everything. It was great to meet you. To put a face to the legend!" She hugged Pru and Tony, "perhaps we'll see you before we go back to DC?"

"Yeah, sure," said Tony.

After Ellie left, Pru poured two glasses of wine and put one in front of Tony.

"Do you think we'll ever find out what it was all about?" she asked.

Tony touched her glass with his in a toast, "Doubt it, this has got classified written all over it. And Gibbs isn't really into sharing."

Pru took a sip of her wine and then said a little hesitantly, "Can I ask you something?"

Tony smiled, "of course. You don't need to ask, you know that."

"Why did you call Gibbs?"

"I was right," said Tony a little defensively, "there was something wrong."

"I know that. I wasn't saying you were wrong. No, I meant why you contacted Agent Gibbs directly. You could have contacted security at Portsmouth or called someone else at NCIS. You didn't have to call Gibbs."

Tony raised his glass in another toast, "Brains as well as beauty. I knew there was a reason I love you. I thought it was time. NCIS, Gibbs, was a big part of my life for a few years and I walked out of it and it hurt. It took a long time to come to terms with what happened. I haven't heard from Gibbs in years. I guess I thought that this could be a way to talk to him at last. Finally to heal some wounds." Pru took his hand in sympathy. "Doesn't look as if that's going to happen," he added bitterly. "Still, on the bright side we can send them a bill!"

AN: just one more chapter to come, I think.