Tony watched as McGee bypassed the first two access points to the maze of passages underneath the mountain, only giving them a cursory glance. As much as it was killing him, DiNozzo had promised himself not to distract Tim with unnecessary questions. The first two gates seemed secure when they had been shaken and something on his face as he studied the images on his phone told Tony that he knew where he was leading the older man. At the third gate, he nodded and began pointing out the evidence to DiNozzo. The lock had recently been picked and was, in fact, closed but not latched. Fresh scrapes showed that someone had traveled through the narrow entryway recently.

Tim scrolled through the images Abby had sent to his phone one last time before slipping it into his pocket. If there had been time, he would have had his partner study the maps also. The maps were GPS based and there was a very good chance that he would lose them once the signal became lost inside the mountain. He pulled his Sig as he eased the gate open. Next to him DiNozzo unholstered his sidearm and stepped close.

Neither man said a word as they stepped into the damp tunnel. McGee took the lead, his flashlight and Sig at the ready. He kept his back to the left side of the tunnel, while DiNozzo mirrored him on the right side, only a few steps behind. Just a few yards past the gate Tim spotted a drop of blood on the ground. He knelt down and touched it before turning back to show DiNozzo. Silently he mouthed 'tell Gibbs' as he stood up.

Tony's expression turned grim as he saw the red stain on Tim's finger. Any doubt that the younger man was overreacting was eliminated by the fresh bloodstain. 'Stay here' he silently returned as he backed towards the entrance to capture a better signal. As soon as Gibbs answered the phone, he gave the basics of where they were and what they had found. "Third gate north of the van, found a blood drop just inside the gate." Without waiting for a response he closed his phone and moved back into position. Tim barely gave him a look before resuming his stealthy movement deep into the heart of the mountain. It took less than twenty minutes before they could hear the cries of frightened children echoing through the caverns.

Tim bit his lip as he moved in the direction of the voices. As much as he wanted to reassure the boys that they would soon be safe he knew that their attacker was more than likely also hiding within earshot. He tightened his grip on his weapon as he increased his speed.

Behind the younger man, Tony also struggled not to call out to the twins. They had followed the blood drops and occasional scuffs on the stones, making no effort to hide their own tracks. With any luck, their trail would be easy for Gibbs and the searchers to quickly track.

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Gibbs tossed the phone down on the seat as he stomped down on the accelerator. Hopefully, the rest of the searchers would catch up with them at the scene, but right now he needed to get there fast. For not the first time he wished that Ziva was with him. Even with his driving, he was a good fifteen minutes behind DiNozzo and McGee – Ziva could cut that down to eight and a half.

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Ziva may not have been behind the wheel, but she was still speeding as other agents scrambled to get out of her way. The crutches cut a wide swath as she rushed back to the bullpen with the requested file tucked under her arm. Once she was able to toss the file on her desk she let the crutches fall and landed in her chair. After years in Mossad, very few things shocked Ziva David, but her third reading of the file summary took her breath away as much as the first. After forcing herself to calm down, she dialed down to the lab. "Abby, it is Ziva. Have you heard from them since you sent Timothy the maps?" The music almost drowned out the young Goth before it was turned down.

"No, nothing. Why, have you? Is there something you're not telling me?"

"I have the file he requested. I believe you need to come up here and read it before they return."

"Why, what's in it?"

"Just come up, Abby, please."

"Is it bad?"

"Abby, please."

"It is, isn't it?"

"It is."