Chapter 10

Tony pulled up outside Bethesda and hurried inside. He headed upstairs to Sean's room and was glad to find his father-in-law inside when he stuck his head in.

"Tony?"

"Hey, Dad," he said, walking over to hug the older man.

"What's going on? Have you found Brad?" Sean put aside the magazine he'd been reading.

Tony shook his head. "No, we're investigating it as a kidnapping. The others are back at the Yard tracking down leads; Gibbs sent me over here. I have to talk to Brad's CO and some other folks, but I was wondering if you could think back, make a list of anybody you heard Brad mention, anything that might help. Patients, doctors, anybody." He paced in the small room.

"Of course," Sean said. "You don't have any idea why somebody would kidnap Brad?"

Tony shook his head again. "No idea. And we need to figure this out quickly, before the storm rolls in."

Sean nodded. "Brad said yesterday he'd probably be ready to let me go tomorrow, but with the storm, I'd probably be stuck until Monday. He didn't want to let me leave early though, not after the way I wound up here."

"Tim mentioned that. He obviously didn't get his McWorry genes from Mom, or she would have had you in here as soon as you started feeling off." Despite the tension of the day, the idea made him smile. "I've got to go investigate. I'll be back in a while to talk to you and any of Brad's other regular patients who are here."

"We usually meet about 1300 in the sun room on this floor," Sean said. "There are three or four of us in here now, but some of the others come by to spend time with us. I wish Eileen and I lived closer. I'd like to continue visiting with them regularly, especially since I don't think Brad's going to let me go back to teaching after this." He just shrugged when Tony looked at him. "Too many germs, and that's assuming I can pass a fitness eval after this. Might be time for me to finally retire."

Tony didn't want to let what Sean said go unnoticed, but he was painfully aware of the clock ticking. "Dad, don't make any hasty decisions," he said. "Look, I've got to go, but we'll talk later. I'll come by the sun room to meet you guys, but to do that, I have to get through everybody else and find some names for Tim to investigate further." He reached down and hugged Sean, wishing he had more time to talk to him.

After leaving Sean's hospital room, Tony shook his head to get it back in investigative mode, then headed for the administrative wing. Within a few minutes, he was back talking to Rear Admiral Collins.

"Agent DiNozzo," Collins said. "Any luck locating Dr. Pitt?"

Tony shook his head. "Not yet. We've found where he was abducted, and the rest of my team is running down leads. I'm hoping you can help me with some names."

"Anything I can do to help," Collins replied. "What kind of names?"

"Do you know anybody – doctors, nurses, orderlies, anybody who might have a grudge against Brad?" he said.

Collins thought for a minute, then shook his head slowly. "I wish I could say I did," he said. "Not because I wish anybody ill, but because I want to help you find Dr. Pitt. But nobody comes to mind. He was pretty well liked."

"Anybody he was particular friends with?" Tony asked. "He mentioned to me once that he'd dated a couple of other doctors here, but he didn't mention names."

Collins shook his head again. "I wouldn't know who he dated, but it would almost have to be doctors or some of the nurses. He couldn't date enlisted personnel." He thought for a second. "He was on good terms with most people, but I don't know that I could say who he was particular friends with."

Tony thought for a second. "Any other Michigan alumni on staff here?"

Collins frowned. "Maybe. None of the doctors on this ward are, but I couldn't speak to the rest of the staff. There's probably a way to search for that in the computer, since it would be part of their SRBs, but I'm not that computer-savvy."

Tony smiled. "We've got that covered. Excuse me just one second." He hit Tim's cell in his speed dial. "Hey, McGenius. Find any Bethesda personnel that graduated from Michigan." He listened for a second. "No, I'm not going to taunt them about this year's game. Just send the information to my phone."

Collins looked puzzled. "You didn't even explain what you were calling about."

Tony laughed. "No need," he said. "Tim knows exactly why I was asking."

"You graduated from Michigan?"

"Bite your tongue," Tony said. "I'm a Buckeye. Brad and I both played football. He broke my leg in the big game senior year, ended my chances for a pro career. When we realized that while he was treating me for plague, we decided him saving my life made up for that. We've been friends ever since."

Collins nodded. "I see... I think."

Tony thought about explaining Tim, but decided he didn't want to go there without having any idea of how Collins would react. Instead he rose to leave, just as his phone beeped. He looked to see Tim had sent a list of four people.

"Where can I find these people?" he asked, showing Collins the list.

The admiral scanned the names. "Lt. Halterman came on duty at 0600. She's part of our unit and would know most people Pitt deals with on a daily basis."

Tony nodded, recognizing the name. "I met her Saturday when we came by to visit my father-in-law," he said. "She was the floor nurse on duty."

Collins just nodded. "Dr. Morelli is off duty this morning, won't be in until 1500." He checked his watch. "He's an oncologist who works occasionally with Pitt on lung cancer cases, mostly when one of Pitt's patients develops mesothelioma. Lt. O'Brien came on at 0600, so you should find him on duty in the supply office, up on the fifth floor. I don't know how much contact he and Brad would have had."

"And Dr. Rachel Weinstein?"

Collins tapped a few keys on his computer. "Looks like she's on duty in the cardiology unit until 1500," he said. "I'm afraid I don't know her, so I can't tell you anything about her."

"Thanks, Admiral," Tony said, filing the man's comments away. He handed him a card. "We're trying to find Brad before the storm rolls in, so if you think of anything that might be helpful, please let me know."

"I will, Agent DiNozzo. Good luck getting Dr. Pitt back safely. He's an integral part of the team here."

Tony checked his watch as he left the admiral's office. He had 90 minutes until the sailors were scheduled to meet in the sun room. Haltermann and O'Brien would be off duty by the time he finished there, so he needed to start with them. Weinstein didn't get off duty until later, so she could wait. By the time he'd finished with everybody else, Morelli should be on duty. Since Haltermann worked with Brad, he decided to start with her.

"Lt. Haltermann?" he asked.

"Yes, sir?" She frowned. "I've met you before, haven't I?"

Tony nodded. "My father-in-law's been on the ward here all week. You were on duty when we came in this weekend after getting back from a trip outside the country." He pulled out his badge and introduced himself. "I need to talk to you for an investigation."

"About what?" she asked.

"Dr. Pitt has been kidnapped," he said. "NCIS is investigating."

"And you think I had something to do with it?" Her voice was filled with suspicion. "I liked Brad. Everybody did. Not to mention I've been on duty all morning."

Tony raised one eyebrow. "Is there a break room or someplace where we can talk?" he asked. "Rear Admiral Collins knows I was coming to talk to you, so if there's an issue with your supervisor, he or she can speak to him."

"She," Haltermann said. "Capt. Walker-Jones. Let me go clear it with her."

Tony trailed along behind in case the captain tried to give Haltermann a hard time or Haltermann tried to skate out of this, but neither happened. Within a few minutes, they were in the break room. She sank into the chair with a sigh and started to put her feet up, then stopped.

"No, go on," Tony said. "My last girlfriend was a doctor. Put your feet up while you have the chance."

She raised one eyebrow. "Really? I got the impression you and Commander McGee's son..."

Tony forced himself not to snark at her. "We are," he said, his tone even. "This was a few years ago. Now, I just have a few questions for you."

"Why me?" she asked. "Do you think I had something to do with it?"

"Did you?" Tony asked.

"No," she said. "Sure, I was mad at Brad for getting me in trouble for not letting you see Commander McGee, but I wouldn't have kidnapped him."

Tony kept his expression neutral. "Brad? You were calling him Dr. Pitt on Saturday."

"We went to the same school," she said. "We don't have a lot in common, but I was in the marching band when I was there, so I go to all of the alumni parties during football season unless I'm on duty. We usually bring our instruments and perform the fight songs. There are about two dozen of us. We're pretty noticeable, and Brad recognized me at one of them, and we got to talking. He doesn't live that far from me, so I've been over a few times when he's invited a group to watch the game." She paused. "It's a school spirit thing. I'm not sure I could explain it so you could understand."

Tony laughed. "Oh, I understand. When I first met Brad, he mentioned he was a Michigan grad. After I gave him grief for breaking my leg in the big game senior year, we had a good time giving each other a hard time. We get together on football Saturdays to watch sometimes if both teams aren't on at the same time. Tim's not that into football, so it's nice to watch with somebody who gets it."

"You're a Buckeye?" she said.

"Red and gray to the bone," he said. "So tell me about the trouble he got you in Saturday."

"You were there," she said. "Brad was trying to get me to bend the rules, and I wouldn't. To be compassionate, we usually look the other way on partners of patients' families since they're not military, but the head nurse who was on duty that day is a stickler, and I didn't want to get in trouble. Brad talked to Capt. Walker-Jones on Monday, and she sat me down. I didn't get a formal reprimand in my file because I was following the official DOD ruling. But since we don't usually enforce it, she said I should have let you in and let her and Brad deal with the fallout if the head nurse found out. Her lecture was almost worse than a reprimand would have been."

Tony nodded. "I know that feeling. You haven't been reamed out until you've met my boss. Former Gunny." He tried to redirect the conversation. "Do you know anybody who has a problem with or maybe a grudge against Brad?"

She shook her head. "He's pretty well-liked around here. He was dating a doctor earlier this year and it didn't end well, but she got reassigned to the USS Enterprise last month."

"I remember him mentioning the breakup," he replied. "He said he's dated a couple of the doctors where things didn't end well. You don't know who the others might be, do you?"

She thought for a second. "There's another UM grad in cardiology that I think he dated for a while. They don't get along, but it seems like he didn't want to be around her, not vice versa."

Tony asked a few more questions, but Haltermann didn't have anything else to add. He excused himself and called Tim to pass along the information.

"I'll background both of them and see what I can find."

"Thanks, McSearchEngine," Tony said. "Any progress on your end?"

"Abby got some brainstorm a few minutes ago and went back to her lab to investigate, but she hasn't called, so either it didn't pan out or she's still searching."

"I'll keep you posted. If you get anything, call me."

Tony spent a useless 20 minutes interviewing O'Brien, then headed to Sean's room. He was there, dressed in a Naval Academy sweatshirt and sweatpants, wearing the slippers Sarah had given him for Christmas.

"Good timing, Tony," he said. "I was just about to head to the sun room. Any leads?"

"A couple," he replied. "Tim's running them down."

"I've racked my brain, and I'm not sure I have anything. There are a couple of sailors who don't think his treatment is working as well as they would like, but they wouldn't be any better off without this from everything I've heard." Sean shrugged. "Is that a motive to kidnap your doctor?"

"I wouldn't think so," Tony said. "But let's go find out."

Tony was glad he had so much undercover experience when they entered the sun room to find Steve there. He wondered if the petty officer had said anything to Sean about their conversation Saturday night, but when Steve greeted him, he thought not.

"You joining us today, Tony?" Steve said. "Guys, this is Tony, the NCIS agent Brad's treating."

"I'd like to, Steve," he said. "I'm afraid this is business, though. Brad was kidnapped this morning, and we're investigating."

"Dr. Pitt? Kidnapped?"

Tony turned to the sailor sitting by the window. Tattoos ran up and down both arms, but his arms had lost a lot of bulk since the ink had been applied decades earlier. He still had a full head of hair, but his cheeks were sunken and a nasal cannula ran to a portable oxygen tank. "We believe so," he replied. "You are?"

"Chief Petty Officer Evan Wilhelm," he said, pausing to cough. "Been seeing Pitt for years now, though it hasn't done me much good. Still tied to this stupid can." He tugged on the clear tubing that led to the tank. "Told me last week I might not go home this time, might have to find a nursing home or something."

Tony starred Wilhelm's name in his notebook as he continued to interview the men.

-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-

Tim got off the phone with Tony and started backgrounding the two women.

"What can I do to help, McGee?" Ziva asked.

He gave her the names Tony had passed along. "I'm running their cell and other electronic records to see if I can place either one at the scene. Can you find out everything about them?"

She nodded. "We will find him. Gibbs said so."

Tim nodded, but didn't say anything. Turning back to his computer, he continued tracking the names Tony had provided. When his partner sent over Wilhelm's name, he added that to the list and passed the name to Ziva.

"What ya got, McGee?" Gibbs said, walking in with coffee for all three of them.

"Nothing, Boss." Tim shoved his keyboard away. "Tony found three names that looked promising, but I can't find any evidence that they were anywhere near the spot Brad was grabbed."

"Could they have hired somebody?"

Tim shook his head. "No evidence of it in their financial records. I can't find anything to indicate they paid somebody, and Haltermann and Weinstein don't seem to have a grudge serious enough for a family member or friend to go after Brad on their behalf. Wilhelm is a different story. He blames Brad for his health, thinks Brad hasn't helped him as much as some of the other sailors in the study."

"So maybe he has family who believe him." Gibbs nodded. "Keep digging, McGee."

Tim nodded and started tracking Wilhelm's family to see if he could find a connection. He hadn't gotten very far when Gibbs called him.

"Abby's got something," he said. "David, McGee, with me."

They walked into the lab to find Abby sitting in front of her computer, arms wrapped around her.

"Abby, what ya got?"

"Gibbs, this is not good. Not good." She turned, and Tim could see tears welling up in her eyes.

"Abs?" he said.

Abby pointed to the plasma, and Tim followed Gibbs and Ziva over.

"I know Brad's NIH study has been getting a lot of discussion in alternative medicine circles, because it incorporates traditional medical approaches and the more holistic breath therapy," she said. "So I started wondering if the kidnapping could be related. I've been searching FDA and other records to see who might benefit from a delay in Brad's report or from the study getting canceled."

"Bottom line, Abs," Gibbs said.

She pulled up a form on the screen. "The FDA is set to decide whether or not to approve a new COPD treatment. The hearing starts Monday. NIH has entered the preliminary paperwork from Brad's study to argue that there are other treatments that would accomplish the same ends with lower risks to patients." She sniffled, and Tim turned to look at her. "Abby?"

"The drug is produced by Lowell Pharmaceuticals." She squeezed her eyes shut.

"Dammit!" Gibbs slammed his hand down on the tabletop. "That bitch is dead. How can she still be wreaking havoc?"

"Wait," Ziva said. "I do not understand."

"The CEO of Lowell Pharmaceuticals is the one who sent Tony the plague," Tim said. "But she's dead, Boss."

"This can't be a coincidence, Bossman," Abby said.

"But if Tony was the target last time, why kidnap Brad?" Ziva asked. "It does not make sense."

"Tony wasn't the target," Tim said. "She was after NCIS. If Tony hadn't grabbed the letter from my hand, I would have opened it."

"But you said she is dead, McGee," Ziva replied.

"Well somebody snatched Brad, and none of the other leads have panned out," Gibbs said. "McGee, you and Abby see what you can dig up — however you have to dig — to figure out who at Lowell is working on this project and why they might be after Brad. David, with me. Let's go talk to Lowell's successor."

"Boss, what about Tony?" Tim said.

"Get him back here as soon as he's done interviewing the last person on his list. He can help you two run down leads." Gibbs started to walk out, then turned back. "Brad may be running out of time, McGee. I doubt this dirtbag put him up at a nice hotel with food, water, and heat. You call the minute you find anything."

"On it, Boss," he said.