The team entered the warehouse stealthily, guns drawn. With a quick hand motion, Gibbs sent Tony and Ziva one way, taking McGee with him. They searched every nook and cranny, every storage closet and empty crate that cluttered the large empty space, but they could find no trace of the girls, and no sign that they'd even been there. The only piece of evidence was a cell phone. McGee picked it up gingerly and checked the call log, holding it up for the others to see.

"NCIS Boss," he announced. "It's probably a brand new phone and the only call he made was to us."

Gibbs slapped his hat against his palm. "He played us. Now we've wasted time and Jasmine and Gabriella are still out there!" He was more than just angry as they headed back to the car.

"I want this guy McGee," Gibbs said when they got back tot he office. "Find him."

There was no need for the junior agent to reply. It was an order, not a question.

Gibbs paced agitatedly for several moments. "I'm going to see Abby," he growled at last.

Tony's eyes followed his boss to the back elevator before he dropped into his chair. "It had to be little girls?" he asked no one in particular.

Ziva looked down at her hands. "Kelly," she said softly.

"Kelly," Tony repeated with a sigh.

"Do you think one of us should tell Jenny?" Ziva asked.

"Oh, I'm quite sure she already knows. But it's a kidnapping case Ziva. So both of them are going to take it badly. Today," he decided, "it not going to be a good day."

Ziva got up and left without a word. Tony watched her go but chose to leave it alone.

"Please tell me you have something McGee."

McGee shook his head and pushed back his chair, frowning at the computer. "I need to go see Abby." He bolted for the back elevator.

"Oh sure," Tony commented to the empty room, "just leave me here. No really, I'm fine. Thanks for asking." Sarcasm dripped from the words and Tony too wished he had somewhere to go to find some way to help.

He looked at the smiling pictures of the twins on the plasma and picked up the phone.

"Yeah, Special Agent Tony DiNozzo of NCIS here. I need an update on a BOLO. No you will not put me on hold!" he said firmly. "Two little girls are missing. I need to know now!"

NCIS

"Gibbs!" Abby spun around. "I knew you'd be here."

"Got something for me Abs?" he asked, wishing he had a coffee.

Abby looked down. "Umm...yes and no. I've matched all the prints and fibers in the girl's room to them and their parents and stuff that was already there. Nothing foreign." She shrugged. "Whoever he is, he's good. He managed to kidnap too little girls without waking their parents and not leave so much as a piece of lint behind."

Just then McGee burst into the lab. "Abby, were you able to pull anything else off the phone?"

She shook her head. "Negatory. The whole thing was wiped clean. He even erased the SIM card. We've got nothing to help us there."

"What McGee?" Gibbs asked, feeling left out somehow.

"Boss, the call that came in wasn't through the NCIS switchboard. He had the direct number for your cell phone."

"I don't give that number out McGee," Gibbs told him.

Tim nodded. "I know. Abby, I need you to check our servers, see if they've been hacked. Maybe our kidnapper left behind a virtual fingerprint instead."

Abby grinned at her boyfriend. "That's brilliant McGee!"

He shrugged off her praise. "Only if I'm right. Let's go fishing Abbs."

NCIS

"The Director's not in Officer David," Cynthia informed the Israeli.

Ziva thought about that for a moment. "I will wait." She moved to the couch but Cynthia pointed to Jenny's office.

"You can wait for her in there," she said.

Ziva nodded once. "Thank you Cynthia."

The main elevator dinged and Tony was surprised to see Director Shepard come out of it. He sat up quickly.

"Hey Director."

Jenny smiled briefly at him and came into the bullpen, leaving a coffee on her husband's desk.

"How is he Tony?"

The senior field agent hesitated. Caught between his boss and his boss's boss, he caved, as always. Gibbs could headslap him, Jenny could fire him - she won. "Hard to say. You know Gibbs, he doesn't share very well. But he wasn't completely with us at the crime scene this morning."

Jenny closed her eyes for a moment. "Watch him Tony, this one will get to him like nothing else."

Tony nodded. "Yes ma'am."

"Thank you," she said quietly.

"Officer David waiting in your office Director," Cynthia informed her a minute later.

Jenny was surprised. "Alright. Thank you Cynthia."

She walked into her office and closed the door, taking off her coat. Ziva was perched gingerly on one of the chairs and jumped up when she saw Jenny.

"Ziva," Jenny smiled, "this is a surprise. What can I do for you?" It was nice to see her former partner outside of the team once in awhile. They had been friends for years, but casual friends that benefitted from a working relationship. Both wanted to change that, now that NCIS had offered them not just a place to work but people to call family.

Ziva stood quietly for a minute. "I came to see how you are doing Jen," she said after awhile. "This case is very close to your own, is it not?"

Trust Ziva to pick up on that. Jenny nodded slowly. "It is Ziva. But I'm..." she stopped short of saying 'fine', not really caring about pretending so much anymore, "...okay," she said.

"Gibbs is not okay," Ziva observed.

"This one will be very difficult for him Ziva. Twenty-five years has not erased the memories of his daughter and they are likely to intrude with force this time. He won't be able to control them."

"What do you know about her?" Ziva asked, curious to better understand the man who was her boss and more.

Jenny sighed. "Not as much as I'd like to. Jethro is...very careful of her and I don't want to bring him more pain by asking. He goes to see her on her birthday and he's quieter than normal at Christmas. Sometimes I catch him in the basement looking at old photos. But he doesn't talk about her much and I'm afraid this case will put her in his thoughts much more than usual."

Ziva asked a question the others wouldn't dare to. "Should you take him off the case?"

The thought had already crossed Jenny's mind, but she shook her head. "I can't Ziva. Jethro wasn't there when Kelly died, he couldn't protect her. These two little girls...finding them is his way of trying to save Kelly. I can't take that away from him."

"But you are worried for him," Ziva said knowingly.

"I am," Jenny agreed. "But I also know he has to do this."

"Should we warn Abby?"

"Abby knows. She and Gibbs are close. And she'll handle this like she does every crisis..."

"With a hug," they finished together and smiled.

"I want him home safe Ziva." Jenny warned. "Don't let him do anything stupid."

As if any of them had any control over what Gibbs did! But Ziva knew it was the concerned wife talking, not the Director of NCIS.

"We will watch him Jenny," she promised and turned to go.

"Ziva?" Jenny called her name and she turned. "Thank you for asking."

Ziva smiled. "We are family, yes?"

Jenny's smile grew. "Yes, we are."

And they were finally starting to act more like it.

NCIS

Tony was still alone in the bullpen when Ziva came down.

"Where is everyone?" she asked.

"I don't know," Tony frowned. "McGeek jumped up and declared a need to go see Abby and Gibbs never came back from there, so I can only assume they're all in the lab and we're left out."

"Then let's go in," Ziva suggested and Tony was glad for the excuse to move.

Down in Abby's lab, she and McGee were feverishly scanning the NCIS servers looking for a break in. Gibbs was alternating between glaring at the computer as if that would make it spit out the information faster, and pacing back and forth in front of the plasma screen.

"Gibbs," Abby chided, "my babies do not respond to your Truth By Intimidation tactics. Just be patient."

"Two little girls Abby," was Gibbs' only reply.

"I know Gibbs," Abby said softly, all teasing gone out of her tone. She kept her eyes locked on the computer screen and suddenly her fingers stilled. "McGee," she nudged him, "is that what I think it is?"

McGee checked the numbers and code. "Abby, you found it. Way to go! Boss," he looked up to meet the hard blue eyes, "Abby found something. The personnel account was hacked and your file was targeted."

"Did he kidnap those girls just to get my attention?" Gibbs demanded, not at all liking the implications. But nobody had any answers.

His phone rang and Gibbs looked at McGee.

"On it Boss."

He answered. "Yeah, Gibbs."

"You're getting warmer Agent Gibbs, but I wonder if you will find them in time."

"What kind of sick game are you playing?" Gibbs asked harshly.

"Temper, temper," the calm voice continued. "Anger is not going to help you find the girls."

"And what will?" Gibbs said in a dangerously low voice.

"Oh alright, I'll give you a hint. Go to the girl's favourite place. Maybe you will find something there. But don't dawdle. The clock is ticking."

He hung up and Gibbs stared murderously at the phone for a moment.

"We got him Boss," McGee announced. "The playground on Elm St."

"Tony, Ziva," Gibbs ordered, "bring me back something."

"On it Boss," Tony said as they headed for the stairs. It was quicker than waiting for the elevator and minutes were becoming much more important.

"McGee, with me," Gibbs said. "I want to see what turned up in the Shorey's background check. This dirtbag said he never met the Lieutenant, but odds are he passed him every day in the hallway or on the way to work or when he was walking to lunch. He knows more than he's telling us and we need to know what it is."

When Gibbs saw the coffee on his desk, a SWAK from Jenny's lipstick on the side, he thanked her silently. Taking a long draw of the hot drink, he sat back in his chair, waiting for something that would let him nail this guy.

NCIS

It was close to three pm when Tony and Ziva pulled up in front of the deserted park. In half an hour excited children recently released from school would flood this place with noise and laughter. But for now it was just them. Splitting up, they did a quick perimeter search and then snapped on gloves and moved to the interior, checking each structure thoroughly. Ziva was the one to find it, over by the swing set.

"Tony," she called.

He pulled an evidence bag out of his backpack when he saw what she held between two fingers. "Great, another cell phone," he griped. "Can't this guy get more creative?"

Ziva ignored him. "This one came with a message," she returned grimly, "a text."

"'Try the children's library,'" Tony read. "'They like Dr. Seuss best.'"

Ziva frowned. "Who is this doctor and why are we looking for him in a library for children?"

Tony's eyes widened. "You're kidding me, right? Dr. Seuss? Only one of the most famous kids authors ever? His books have been made into movies." He started to list them off, hoping she'd hear something familiar. "That Cat in the Hat? Horton Hears a Who? How the Grinch Stole Christmas?"

Ziva looked at him blankly. "We did not have much time for stories."

"Gosh," Tony complained, "did you even have a childhood?"

She crossed her arms and glared daggers at him. "I do not think so."

Tony suddenly realized what he'd said and who he'd said it to. "Oh, Ziva... I didn't mean..."

She waved her hand. "Forget it. Where is this children's library?"

"Down the street and around the corner, "Tony pointed.

Ziva clenched her teeth and emitted a sound something like a growl. "He is sending us on a wild duck chase!" she complained as they started walking.

"Goose, Ziva. A wild goose chase. And maybe he is, but this is our only lead right now."

She glanced at him sideways. "Walk faster," she grumbled.