Disclaimer NCIS is not mine

Run

'The urge to run, the restlessness
The heart of stone I sometimes get
The things I've done for foolish pride
The me that's never satisfied
The face that's in the mirror when I don't like what I see
I guess that's just the cowboy in me'
-Tim McGraw, The Cowboy in me

It came out of the blue.

A week and a half after he had returned stateside.

One minute Gibbs and Marrow were stood in MTAC talking to the SecNav by video call. Both trying to explain to the Secretary why they were causing rifts between agencies in the hunt for one agent, trying to explain why they were acting like bulls in a china shop. Whilst all the time the SecNav believed not one word of what he was being told. The SecNav knew that it didn't matter how many warnings he gave the agent and director, didn't matter what he threatened them with, or did, because they would never stop their search.

One minute SecNav was telling them to start focussing on active cases, and leave her case in reserve, and the next he was telling them to get every resource they could on it. One minute he was watching two devoted men fighting for an agent, not wanting to leave one behind, and the next he was joining the club, telling them to do whatever they had to do.

The reason was, that one minute they were in a typical meeting and the next they were stood there staring at a video of her battered and bruised face, a gun being held against her head, whilst heavily accented English stated their demand to the camera. His face not visible, in fact hers was the only one which was. And from the height difference they assumed she had been pushed to her knees. What was the demand for? Well that Gibbs didn't know; because he had been too busy staring at her scared and fragile form on the screen to actually listen.

Her face was blank, her eyes dull, and he knew from the look she was wearing that any hope that had been held onto was now gone to Jenny. In her mind, she would die there. As much as the look in her eyes scared him, as much as it felt like someone had ripped his heart out, it didn't surprise him. She had not doubt been through every type of torture he could think of, and more that he didn't want to. Yet there she was on that screen, still alive, still breathing – for Gibbs, there was still the chance that he would be able to bring her home. Her eyes were ringed with black bruises, her lip cut and swollen; head covered in dried blood and her hair a tangled mess. What he could see of her clothes were ripped and filthy. Jenny looked thinner, her face looked hallow, cheekbones more prominent and eyes almost more set back.

The Jenny they all saw flash up on the screen was not the one that had left them. This one was just a shell of the person, looking emptily at the screen. He didn't want to know what they had done to her; he just wanted her in his arms so he could hug her and tell her everything would be okay. He wanted to hear her laugh, the one that lit up everywhere. Wanted to hear her argue with Stan or Will again, see her looking attentively at Ducky as he told her a story she had heard a million times before. He wanted them to be able to joke and flirt the way they had before Paris.

But if he was honest with himself, he knew it'd never be like that again. He wanted to go back in time, but that was impossible. If Gibbs got her back, then he would get Jenny Shepard back, whether he got Jen his partner back or not, that was a different matter.

The video stopped on a picture of her face, and Gibbs immediately wanted to punch something, meanwhile Tom Marrow felt like he had been punched in the stomach, just as the SecNav did. Part of Tom wished that she had turned dark, wished she had decided to work for the other side because the life would be leading would have been better than now. Anything would be better than what she had had to deal with and no doubt still was dealing with.

"Jesus Christ." The SecNav cursed, as he ran a hand through his face. Both the Secretary and Marrow shared a concerned look about Gibbs, because the man had clenched fists, but stood there almost paralysed at the sight of her on the screen. Staring at her bruised, battered and beaten face, just as though he was having a conversation with her.

"Get that video sent down to forensics, and give a copy to Agent Decker. Make sure everyone is back on high alert, we find her at any cost." Marrow instructed the technician whose face had drained of colour. The tech nodded and turned to do his job.

"You find her Tom, you find her at any cost. You've every asset in the Navy behind you." The secretary said, looking at his Director. In just two minutes the man had aged by about twenty years, softened like a man does when he looks at his daughter.

"She'll come home." Tom Said, and with that he hung up, but Gibbs said not a word. He just looked at her picture. The director nodded to the technician who took the image down and everyone left. Gibbs ran a hand through his hair and went to sit down on one of the black leather chairs which sat at the back of MTAC. He looked at the blank screen as though he could still see her.

The silver haired agent closed his eyes and took deep breaths, before standing up and kicking the chair he had been sat on whilst saying "Dammit." under his breath. Gibbs raised his eyes and looked up to the sky, but he didn't pray to god, instead he prayed to Shannon, and begged her to help him. All the time Tom Marrow watched him.

"Gibbs-"He began, trying to reassure his agent.

"It's my fault, if I'd have been there - for god's sake!" The agent swore.

"We'll get her Jethro, somehow we will get her." Gibbs just walked out then, leaving Tom Marrow to deal with his own emotions. Something that he too found himself struggling to do.

Down in autopsy, on Ducky's computer which Decker had been using, they all gathered around to watch the video and even five minutes after it had finished there was silence. Not one of them knew what to say, because what could they say. Every hope of her being safe and well had just being crushed in a video. Will was sat staring at the computer screen in much the same manner that Gibbs had stared at the screen in MTAC. Stan had turned away, his face covered with a look of utter disgust at the men who had taken her.

Meanwhile Ducky stood there shaking his head and trying not to let his angry side show. Not much made him angry, not when he did the job he did. But seeing what those men had done to her – that made him angry. "God help her." He whispered, but then he managed to control himself. He realised that standing around was not going to make anything better. So as Gibbs was seemingly absent. Ducky stepped into his shoes.

"William, print that video off screen by screen, let's see what we can find. Stan, look into his demand, let's see what he is wanting." Both agents looked at him, wondering if he had seen what they had. Wondering how the old doctor had managed to recover so quickly and easily. But Ducky just looked at them and said:"Sitting here in shock will not find her now will it." And with that, the two agents clicked on to what he meant and went about their tasks. Both silently thankful that the god doctor was there to help them. Because these last couple of months they had made a long list of things they needed to thank him for. This was just another one to add on.

So Ducky watched as Decker sat there tapping away at the cream coloured plastic computer, whilst Stan was on the phone and walking out of the cold metal room and up to the Directors office to see what could be done. Whilst all the time the old doctor silently stood there and took a moment to himself. He wanted to get Jethro and head slap the man in the same fashion the infamous agent did to everyone else. Gibbs may well be her partner, Jethro may well be his friend, but Leroy Jethro Gibbs needed to stop wallowing in his own guilt because it was time to take control of his team.

But Gibbs was still nowhere to be seen.

"I've got the screens." Will said as he stood up and walked over to one of the empty metal tables. The agent then laid the whole video out in rows and looked at it. The Ducky grabbed a chair and a glass and set about examining the photos. Will looked at him before mimicking his actions. Will knew what he was looking for just as well as Ducky did, they were looking for something that would tell them who had her, or where she was. They were looking for anything and everything.

It was nearing four hours later when Gibbs actually decided to show his face in autopsy. Stan had discovered that whilst the SecNav said they had the whole of the Navy behind them, they didn't have enough of it to provide them with what they wanted. So, Stan was currently trying to find some other way to get it together – or at least make it look like they had it so that they could get Jenny and run. But that was a hard task. Meanwhile Will and Ducky were halfway through the video and had started a list of just small things they had noticed, all of which might add up to be something that could find her.

When Gibbs walked into autopsy he saw them all working away. Up in the bull pen it was much the same scene, but they had chosen to stay down there. Simply for the reason that this was where their whiteboard was, this was where they had discovered everything to date. And this was the place where they would not be disturbed.

He stood there watching Ducky and Will converse of the findings so far, watching Stan on the phone grovelling to someone about needing something to help them get her. Standing there he felt like he had well and truly betrayed them all; let them all down by just breaking down. They all loved her as a friend, all wanted her back just as much as he did, and yet they had still managed to keep a lid on their emotions. Running a hand through his hair he said: "What d'we got?" But he received no immediate answer, as they all looked up and nodded towards the board.

He knew that it would take a long time for them to forgive him for just leaving them when they needed someone to take the lead. "Agent Burley is attempting to find what they want. Whilst myself and Agent Decker are going over the video."

The silver haired agent just nodded, and looked around feeling as though he was being given the cold shoulder. So he sat down beside Will, and put on his glasses before helping, because it was the only thing that he could do. He had to help to find her in one way or another.

It was early the following morning, when everyone had fallen asleep though that they actually got somewhere. Stan had woken up from a nightmare to find everyone asleep, so not wanting to disturb them, he had taken the list of things the video had told them and headed up to the break room where he knew there would be coffee.

So, as the rain pattered down on the glass window, leaving little round bubbles of water stuck to the pain, he had his hands wrapped around a plain white mug as his eyes scanned over the white paper of the list. Each point had been written down by hand, so the sheet featured various handwritings, and towards the bottom even Gibbs' appeared.

Stan looked out of the window on the city, there was something about the rain that had always relaxed Jenny, and now as he sat there looking for her he felt it relax him as well. Taking a deep breath he looked at the paper again, and began to reread the list hoping that something would jump out. "Dusty, deserted, warm, muggy …"

Then, he thought of something and checked again, the weapons. The weapons were the same brand and calibre as the ones that were stolen a few months ago, and Stan would bet money that they were from the same batch. He picked up a couple of screenshots he had grabbed of the video, and as he looked he noticed what was written on the list, the sand coloured walls, the way the men were dressed, and a small tattoo. A tattoo he was sure was meant to be hidden, one many many people knew too well.

Jenny had been taken by a terrorist cell, and Stan would put good money on it that after recent events she was near Cairo.

The agent practically ran down to autopsy, not bothered by the looks of confusion on the faces of many people. He was powered by the adrenaline which was running through his system as he thought about the chance of getting Jenny back. The lift would take too much time, so he jumped down the stairs and ran through the automatic doors into autopsy, bashing into one of the metal tables as he did so, the sound of his curses in pain awoke everyone.

"I know where she is, well at least I think I do, no, I mean-"He fumbled but the glare from Gibbs told him to get to the point. "She's in Cairo."

"Explain." Said the Director from behind of Agent Burley. The man had been himself in the search of coffee when he saw the younger man running down to autopsy. Something had told him that something big was about to happen – a gut feeling – so he'd made his way down to where he knew his best agents were hiding out. And as he stood there now, he knew he had been right.

Once Stan had caught his breath he went about talking the other men through what he had found, and the more he said, the more he made sense. Gibbs looked at his agent, and for once he smiled at him. Stan may well be a joker, but when the time came for it, he was a damn good agent. "Good work." The boss said, and Stan smiled.

Marrow was sat in deep thought on one of the autopsy tables. Trying to figure out how they would get her back. "WEecan't go in." And everyone looked at him, each one outraged. "It's too dangerous, and we'll tread on too many toes."

"Tom, we have to get her!" Gibbs demanded, knowing that his agents had done what was required of them and now it was his time to do the same thing as well. Fighting for what he knew was right was where Gibbs came into his own.

"I know Jethro, but Cairo is a mine field we can't-"

"So what do you plan to do, leave her?"

"No." Said Marrow, looking at the agents and medical examiner in front of him. "No, I've got a better idea, one that might just work. But first I need to call in a favour."

Jenny opened her eyes to the sound of voices outside; she pushed herself up into a sitting position, heavily leaning against the wall. A stinging in her arm made her see that the cut from her last session was still not scabbing over, and the blood had seeped through her make shift bandage. Her feet were bare and scraped and scratched to pieces. But they didn't hurt anymore, not because the cuts had healed but because compared to the other aches and pains in her body they were nothing.

Every time she breathed it felt like someone was stabbing her. The lack of food and drink made her nauseous and caused a constant mind numbing migraine to reside it's self across her forehead. The read head leant her sore head against the wall, and tried to ignore the feeling of dirt that constantly covered her body. Her ears attempted to tune into the conversation outside, but it was in a language that she did not understand. Yet after however long of listening to them talk, she could tell that it was a different dialect to that spoken by most of the men here. And if her ears weren't betraying her, then she was pretty sure that one of the voices was that of a woman.

Jenny could feel herself losing consciousness when the door opened. There stood a woman. She had been right. The persons figure was covered in baggy clothes to disguise her gender and her head was covered by a scarf, but the eyes were feminine. The woman ran over and crouched down. "You have to trust me okay?" And for some reason – possibly because she had nothing left to lose – Jenny found herself nodding back. "Okay, you need to walk, and then run for me. We've got about three minutes to get out of here before the whole place goes mad. Can you do it?"

"I'll try." Jenny said, and the woman nodded, before pulling the red head up. Jenny had a couple of seconds to find her feat for the first time in months before the mysterious woman was pulling her out of the room. And as soon as they were out, the woman said; "And this is where we run."

On legs which were solely bone, on feet which were scraped to pieces, with a rib which was severely damages, nauseous, and pretty much only semi conscious she ran as fast as she could. And she kept running, until she collapsed to the floor and her consciousness left her.

She awoke many hours later to dazzling white lights, and in another small square room guarded by men with guns.

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