Dear all.

thank you so much for your wonderful reviews! They really make my day every time I read them. I'm sorry for have kept you waiting for such a long time, but it seems that mu muse has finally decided to return from an extended vacation :))...I hope you will like this chapter. Feedback is greatly appreciated :)

Read, review&enjoy :))

xoxo LT

Disclaimer: Nope...not mine :)

Fade

"I want to see my team Kort!" Gibbs stated plainly, his voice sharp as a blade. He had been kept hostage in that room for more than twenty-four hours and he still did not have news of Tony's and Ziva's condition. As promised, Kort had sent a person with food and water and Gibbs was even given a large basin to wash. Gibbs had spent most of his hours awake, trying to devise a plan, but his mind was blank and he felt frustration taking over. His thoughts drifted to Jen and McGee. Somehow these two would get them out of here, but he feared that his agents would not be alive when the cavalry would arrive. His biggest concern was Ziva and not Tony. After all Kort had told him from the beginning that he and Tony had never been his target, Ziva had been. Although Tony's condition worried Gibbs, the brutes had managed to beat him up pretty well, he was more concerned about Ziva and the wounds she sustained. Kort had not been gentle with her and her previous injuries had not completely healed.

When the door had opened and Kort had walked him, Gibbs had to use all his restrain not to disfiguration him. Kort had joked, sat down on his bed and told him that everything was going according to plan.

"I told you once Kort. I want to see my team." He repeated, growing increasingly frustrated.

"All in due time Gibbs. Final preparations are being made. In a few hours you shall be reunited with your team." The bald man said, leaving Gibbs' cell.

"McGee, did our auxiliary team pick up any suspects from the scene?" Jen asked, not turning to face him. She had been sitting all the day in MTAC with Fornell and McGee.

"One man director. He's at Bethesda, but unconscious. I'll go later to question him." He replied, looking at his phone, seeing that he had received a text from Allison.

"Director, Alison Meruni is here to speak to us. Should I tell her to come to MTAC?" he asked, phone in hand. The director nodded, finally looking at him. She had to admit that McGee looked like crap. The young agent had not slept or even taken a few minutes to rest since his team had been abducted. He had tried to follow every possible lead, even managed to isolate the area where all three phones had been smashed. The GPS signal had showed that the phones had been active for fifteen more minutes after their capture and that the van was heading north. McGee had driven to the place where the signal had ended and found three phones in an unrecognizable shape. He had than called a special unit to take tire prints, since they were still recognizable. The unused dirt road had left valuable information and he began to investigate. Abby was running the tires casts, hoping to get something out of it. They knew what type of SUV the attackers had arrived in; they just hoped that the Sensei or Kort, in their kookiness had decided to go with all premium tires. The number of cares having this particular set was very limited, and so it would be easier to track down.

Jen was not surprised when McGee had hacked into the CIA database. From there he had managed to somehow get a hold on Kort's financial situation. Over the last four months Kort's accounts have been drained systematically, but after hours of work, McGee had found a sister account, a well protected one. It had taken all of his skill, alongside with Abby's to be able to access Bahrain based account. Once they had hacked into it, McGee noticed that alongside with the money from his initial accounts, Kort was receiving large sums of money every two weeks. Now, McGee was feverishly working to get the identity of Kort's "caretaker".

Alison entered MTAC, her confidence showing and for the first time in hours McGee seemed to have hope. The chase after the "ghost man", Kort's employer, was exhausting him and he had started praying for a miracle. When she walked into that room, it seemed that she was the miracle McGee had expected all along. She greeted him with a nod, and took a stand by position next to director Shepard's chair.

"Permission to speak, director." She began.

"Permission granted. Tell me officer Meruni, what information do you bring?" Jen answered showing Alison the seat next to her. The married officer sat down swiftly and turned her face towards the director.

"Director Shepard my husband is awake and has spoken to me. From what he could remember, he told me that he had been held captive by a man and a woman, and he believes somewhere outside of the city." She explained.

"Well that complicates things." McGee said.

"Why, agent McGee?" she asked.

"We know who one of the men is, but we could not figure out who the Asian was. Now, with the presence of a woman the plot thickens." He explained, looking back at his computer.

"You know the name of one of the individuals?"

"Yes. Director? Permission to speak?" McGee asked looking at Jen, who had been silent since Alison had begun speaking.

"Permission granted agent McGee." She finally sighted.

"His name is Trent Kort. He's a CIA agent we had to deal with in the past." Fornell budged in.

"Then why is he involved in this kidnapping?" she asked confused.

"We do not know. We are in MTAC for this reason. I have requested to speak to the head of the CIA." Jen explained.

"Director, William South with the CIA is on line one." A technician spoke.

"Put him on." She ordered and a few minutes later the MTAC screen revealed the face of a black haired middle aged man. His face looked tiered, yet no one in the room could say that his face was not determined.

"Director South!"

"Director Shepard! What can I assist NCIS with?" he asked, looking at the no standing director of NCIS.

"We require information from your agency."

"What kind of information?"

"It involves one of your agents. Trent Kort." She replied

"What is this all about director Shepard?" he asked his forehead creasing.

"Yesterday, three of my agents were abducted by your agent. We suspect he has gone rough and we need to know if you have been in contact with him recently." She explained

"Kort has not reported with the CIA for six months. His assignment required a deep cover." The director of the CIA explained.

"What kind of mission director?" Jenny asked.

"That's classified." He replied harshly.

"Director South, I do not believe you understand the gravity of the situation NCIS is currently in. Three of my best agents have been kidnapped by one of your agents, working for your agency. Now, I require you immediately tell me what this is all about. I do believe you wish prevent a scandal involving your agency." She said in the same tone.

Silence engulfed the room and after a few seconds of pondering the director of the CIA sighted and spoke.

"I see the FBI is already on this, so I presume it is very grave."

"Indeed it is."

"Six months ago Kort was contacted by one of La Grenouille associates. His cover had not been blown, even though NCIS choose to mingle where it shouldn't have. This associate proposed a deal involving an illegal smuggling of nuclear weapons. Kort infiltrated in his inner circle. We have not heard anything from him in the past six months, since he has gone undercover, but we presume he is alive. Drawings from his accounts indicate that he is alive." He explained looking at the crowed which had gravitated near the screen.

"Do you have the name of this associate?" Fornell asked.

"Negative. We expect Kort to come in contact with us in the next two months. If he does not, I will try to infiltrate another team."

"Director, please send to NCIS all documents you have regarding the whole La Grenouille mission. NCIS will take over." She spoke, her back straight, her face stern.

"That is outrageous director Shepard. This does not involve NCIS, it's none of its business." He yelled, anger clearly over his features.

"It became NCIS damn business the moment your agent took my men hostage. I do not want no for an answer. If my request is not honored, I will contact SecNev and the attorney general. Mark my words director South, I will fry your ass for this." She yelled back, her composer slipping.

"Understood director. You will receive what you need in an hour." He caved, his eyes still blazing.

"And director, I would highly appreciate it if your agency would stop hacking into my data base." He bit back.

"Your lack of cooperation is to blame director." She replied harshly, then killing the fed.

"Ok, now let's recapitulate." Fornell proposed.

"Kort is undercover for the CIA regarding a shipment of illegal nuclear weapons and has not checked in with his superiors for the last six months." Fornell began.

"He is still clearly alive since all his money is being drawn out of his US accounts and sent to an account in Bahrain along with substantial sums of money coming from another unknown individual." McGee concluded.

"And he probably has another accomplice, probably a woman." Jen concluded.

"Wait, McGee. Did you say Bahrain?" Alison asked.

"Yeah. Why?" McGee replied confused.

"Director Shepard, I have a contact in Bahrain. He is the supervisor of a unit that deals with terrorist threats and nuclear activity in the region. His intelligence unit also tracks the movement of large sums of money. If I give him Kort's bank details he could find out where the money is coming from and if it the money comes from any suspect that is involved in illegal nuclear weapon shipments." She said.

"Do it Alison. We need all the help we can get. I will ask an agent to bring all the CIA files to Abby's lab"

"I'll get my men in the FBI to see if they can track down Kort's movements in the last six months. We used to have him under observation during the whole La Granouille fiasco." Fornell added.

"McGee, go to the hospital and talk to our suspect." Jen instructed, exiting MTAC.

"McGee, I'll go with you. I presume I can help you with the questioning." Alison added with a wicked glare.

"Hello Gibbs. It is time." Kort spoke after closing the door to Gibbs's cell.

Gibbs stood up from his bunk and moved towards Kort.

"Turn around. I have to handcuff you." He trailed away

"So many precautions Kort. You afraid I might escape?" Gibbs smirked.

"You can never be too careful. I know you Gibbs." He replied, cuffing Gibbs tightly.

Both men walked out of the room, where two bodyguards were waiting to escort them. They walked through tight, brightly lit and dirty corridors. At the end of one of the corridors both Kort and Gibbs stopped and an armed guard opened a door.

"Watch your step Gibbs. Don't want you to injure yourself." Kort spoke, pulling Gibbs roughly.

"So who is this boss of yours Kort?" Gibbs asked.

"No worries. You will meet her soon." He replied mysteriously.

The first thing that Gibbs saw was the large oculus in the room, projecting a beam of light on two chairs. One of them was empty, but the other one was occupied by an unconscious Tony. They walked in silence and Gibbs tried to survey the area. Yet the lack of light did not allowing him to see too much. He could see the concrete floor, in places bloody and with small pools of what he supposed to be oil. Further away he noticed a large chain, strapped to two large rings embedded in the floor.

His gaze then shifted to Tony's form. He could not see his face, but his slumped shoulder told him that the agent wasn't too well. Once they had arrived at the chair, Kort slammed Gibbs into it and the two armed guards began to fasten him to the chair. He could see that Tony had been bound as well, but Ziva was nowhere to be spotted.

Suddenly two more guars appeared carrying a large bucket. The dumped water over Tony making him regain consciousness.

"What the…?" he asked and looked around.

"Tony, are you alright?" Gibbs asked

"Boss…they have Ziva." Tony began, panic clearly visible in his tense features.

"I know Tony."

"No, boss. You don't understand…"he began but was quickly cut off.

"Now, that the family reunion is over we can get started." Kort spoke, sarcasm dripping from every word.

"Kort, I swear to God, I'll…" Tony yelled.

"You'll do what DiNozzo. I do not believe you are in the position to make threats. Now be quiet." He commented moving away from them.

"Calm down Tony. Anger will not get you anywhere." Gibbs advised, only receiving a deathly glare from Tony.

"Boss, you don't know what they did to her. I saw her, boss and she's not well." He whispered leaning closer to his boss.

"They will get us out of here Tony and Ziva's Mossad; she's strong." He tried to reassure the distressed agent.

Tony's next line was cut short by a sudden flash of light. Two industrial spot lights had been turned on, somewhere at the back of the room, only to reveal a chained Ziva hanging from the ceiling. She was bloody, her face swollen and her hair dirty. Tony gasped and struggled to get free from his chair.

"Ziva!" he yelled…"Wake up!"

Yet the chained woman did not move.

"Kort, I will kill you for this." Gibbs yelled. Ziva's pale features made his blood run cold and his anger to spike. Although she did not seem to be badly hurt she was fading in front of their eyes.

Suddenly a figure appeared in front of them, dressed in leather trousers, spotting high heels and a dark tank top. Her features were beautiful, her dark hair reaching her shoulders, her lips red and full, while her blue eyes were blazing. She was walking towards Ziva, holding a 9 mm gun.

With shock and fear in his voice Tony spoke:

"Jeanne"