True to the trooper's words, they had been back on the main road for only a few seconds when their phones picked up a signal and Gibbs' phone instantly began to ring. He didn't have time to say anything before Abby started shrieking at him.
Gibbs, Gibbs, Gibbs, I've got a location on McGee's phone.
She sent the coordinates to their GPS and they had to groan. The signal from McGee's phone was coming from southern Pennsylvania. Even with Ziva driving, it was a good two hours away.
-NCIS-
By nightfall Kort and McGee were on their third train. "Do you have any idea where we are?"
The CIA agent thought about it for a moment as they passed the small water bottle back and forth. "The first train was headed south, but I think we've been mostly west since then."
"How long do we ride? We need a plan" Tim looked out, still trying to find any landmarks he recognized.
Kort stretched out in the one corner that was out of view of the open doors and was slightly padded with some abandoned cardboard. "Since we're in the middle of nowhere and making good time, I suggest we get some rest while we can, figure it out when it's light." He patted the space next to him. "Come on, it's going to get cold."
-NCIS-
"Agent Gibbs, look." Hicks pointed through the trees as they slowly drove down the dirt road, coming closer to the location Abby claimed held McGee's missing phone.
Squinting in the fading light, Gibbs could just make out the back end of a caboose. "Good call. Everybody, stay alert." Gibbs parked the car and they carefully moved closer, not knowing what to expect.
Ziva and Hicks stood watch while Gibbs and DiNozzo climbed the short ladder to the caboose. Two crewmen were found dead in their bunks, each with a shot to the heart, the third had apparently been surprised coming out of the small bathroom. DiNozzo shook his head as he looked around. "Damn, what did they get themselves into, Boss?"
"I don't know." Gibbs also looked troubled as he looked around the small space. "This was done by pros, not the petty criminals we thought we were after."
"The CIA wasn't straight with us?"
"Ya think, DiNozzo?"
Silently, the four of them continued to search the train, finding the rest of the bodies when they reached the front. Ziva looked at the bodies before looking at the surrounding area. "Probably a sniper up on that ridge."
"Umm, Boss, found the phones." DiNozzo's strained voice drew them to the fifth box car in the train where he was standing over McGee's phone, Kort's cell phone less than a dozen feet away. "Does this mean they've been taken hostage?"
"Until we recover bodies, we assume they're still alive. Start printing this train; I want to know who we're really up against. Hicks, start talking. What haven't we been told?"
Hicks looked around, not making eye contact with any of them. "I don't know, Agent Gibbs. I'm just as much in the dark as you are."
Gibbs didn't look convinced. "If I find out otherwise..." Frustrated, he stormed off to call in reinforcements.
-NCIS-
It was pitch black when Kort woke, carefully studying his situation to determine what had disturbed his sleep. It was a few moments, but he felt a shiver from the other man. Kicking himself, he remembered that McGee had left his overcoat in the car in order to move easier with the laptop case. With a sigh, he pulled off his own overcoat and draped it over both of them, scooting closer as he did.
-NCIS-
At daybreak Gibbs was grateful to see the chopper that Vance sent for them. It wasn't that he was too tired to drive back, rather he didn't want the extra delay in getting the evidence back to Abby. She was waiting for them in her lab, machines at the ready.
"Okay, everybody just stay out of my way while I figure out..." She bit back a sob. "I'm going to find out who took our Timmy so you guys can go get him back. Now, get out of here and let me work." Gibbs kissed her on the cheek before going upstairs to report to Vance.
-NCIS-
Confused, Tim didn't move when he first woke. He was warm, surprisingly so, considering the circumstances. He'd fallen asleep on a cold, hard surface, the old cardboard a weak insulation against the metal box car floor. The movement and vibration told him he was still on the train, but whatever was under his cheek was soft – and breathing. Now wide awake, he jerked upward, only to have a hand on the back of his head stop him.
"Kort?"
"Yeah, kid, take it easy."
In the dim light, McGee could just make out his surroundings. They were still in the box car, but he was pressed against Kort, with the other man's topcoat draped over the both of them. The hand pressed against his head again. "We're nowhere near civilization and still moving, so we might as well rest." Once McGee settled back down, Kort closed his eyes and willed his body to ignore the soft puffs of air as McGee breathed against him.
-NCIS-
Once all the fingerprints were scanned in and running through the database, Abby turned her attention to McGee's phone. She carefully took the electronic device out of the evidence bag. Only Tim's and Kort's fingerprints had been found on it and she wasn't sure how she felt about that. On one hand, it meant that some animal hadn't taken the phone off her friend's dead body, but on the other hand, she couldn't imagine him giving up his phone willingly.
Refusing to give into the fear, she activated the touchscreen and punched in the code to unlock the phone. The familiar picture of the team stared back at her and she smiled before scrolling down to find his call log. Her smile faded as her fingers sped up, looking for anything.