Morgan wasn't thrilled as she stepped into the elevator of the building she'd been called to. This wasn't what she'd expected when she'd caused some trouble on her last assignment but it was her only real choice other than being discharged, and she'd been lucky to get it. That didn't mean she'd be happy about the abrupt position change but given the alternative, it was all she was going to get, and she desperately needed something.
The giant schnauzer at her side nudged her hand, sensing that she was uneasy, and she ran her hand over his head and cropped ears. This new job wouldn't be like the military, not exactly, and as nervous as she was about the team she'd end up with—she preferred solo ops but that wasn't an option here—she was more unsettled by how much it felt like a punishment. That's all she'd been getting recently; punishments. Break McMannis's nose, get an extended suspension. Go rogue on a team op to take care of the terrorist herself, get removed from active duty and put in Quantico to train recruits. Take a sniper shot knowing she could hit it despite orders to hold fire due to changing weather conditions, get removed from special ops. Then, the one time she needed support, she gets dropped like a hot rock, handed a dog, and told that she's on her own and no longer going to be selected for solo missions for the unforeseeable future.
Mental state being in question was a load of horse shit. I had time. I recovered and while I gave the psychiatrists hell, I still went to see them as ordered. Still do. But now they're pulling the same thing they did before. That Colonel was harassing his First Lieutenant and I stepped in to end it, so he used his position to get me removed. She scoffed to herself, adjusting the sleeves on her crisp white button-up so they were rolled up to her elbows. Discharge was my only option because other agencies claimed the same thing about my mental health. I got lucky that someone here has half a brain and saw past that bullshit report.
The elevator dinged and opened its doors, allowing her to step out and cross the hall to head for the stairs leading up to the director's office. She could feel gazes on her but ignored them—they were usually for the dog at her side—hiking up the steps and reaching the secretary who would let her in to see the director.
"First Sergeant Morgan Frost," she informed the woman at the desk. "I have an appointment with Director Shepard."
The woman nodded and waved her through, though she still knocked on the door and waited for permission before entering. She'd met with the Director once before when they were doing the initial interview for the position and now that it was finalized, Morgan was silently waiting for the fallout. New person means a well-working team has a new cog to deal with. People won't be happy and I'm not easy to work with.
"Sergeant Frost, nice to see you again," Jenny Shepard greeted, shaking her hand and sitting back down behind her desk as Morgan stayed standing. "This shouldn't take long since we're just going over a few things. Do you want to sit?"
"No," Morgan replied simply and Shepard nodded, picking up a file and laying it out on her desk.
"Okay, so you had your security clearance done last week which will allow you access to the building, databanks, and the facilities in the building. Your paperwork has been finalized and I have your new badge and registered service weapon here." She reached into a drawer and pulled out a badge and a holstered pistol that Morgan stepped forward to take and put on. "All that leaves is introducing you to your team and seeing if there's anything additional you may need as far as amenities are concerned regarding your—"
"I'm fine," Morgan cut her off, pursing her lips when the Director eyed her. "My psychiatrist transferred over my files to your residential doctor and I have Russell."
The dog leaned up against her leg again, pressing into her thigh and helping her steady her nerves.
"Yes, well, what I meant was if…" She glanced at the dog. "...Sergeant Major Russell required anything to help make the stay more comfortable for you both. It's not often we have a working K9 in our midst and due to your medical condition—"
Morgan's jaw tightened but she held her tongue.
"—we are required to provide what you may need to ensure Russell isn't distracted from his tasks."
"We're fine. I'll bring anything I may need."
"Very well. If anything comes up, let me know. For now, let's go meet your team. I believe they were just called in not too long ago for a case, otherwise, I would have let it go until Monday." She got up from behind her desk again and led the way back out onto the floor. "You may recognize them. They did a case at Quantico last month where you were stationed. I was informed that you worked with them with the deceased model?"
Morgan's frown deepened at the reminder as they got down to the floor and Shepard walked her over to the bullpen. She understood now why she'd felt eyes on her earlier. She'd walked right past Tony and Ziva who had recognized her instantly; though it wasn't hard with Russell.
"Agent DiNozzo, Agent David," Shepard greeted. "Where's Agent Gibbs and McGee?"
"Well—"
"Right here," Gibbs said, having just walked in and frowning when he saw the Director only to spot the woman beside her. "First Sergeant Frost."
Morgan bobbed her head in greeting as Shepard cracked a smile that was a hint too mischievous for Gibbs's liking.
"Excellent, you all know each other. That will make things easier. Welcome the new members of your team, Agent Gibbs. First Sergeant Morgan Frost and Sergeant Major Russell."
Tony's mouth dropped open in shock as Ziva grinned, but Gibbs looked less than thrilled.
"I pick the members of my team," he argued. "Besides, she's army, not navy."
"And interagency cooperation is what we're all about," Shepard pressed. "She transferred over last week. If you read the files I emailed you, you'd know already. She's a part of your team now, Gibbs. Deal with it."
She walked back to her office before he could argue further and instead, he just frowned at Morgan. He had nothing against the woman, not really. She was quiet, blunt, and obviously a little bit risky but he had a team already and they were working out well. Sure, there were a few hiccups he needed to fix but adding a new member like this would just mess everything up again. That, and her background was unknown. He picked his team for a reason and one of them was that he knew their background and could adjust accordingly. He knew what to expect from them but Morgan was a blank slate that he hadn't pried into yet.
He'd considered it back when they were temporarily working together in Quantico but held back as he always did. No point in digging up the past when they weren't going to be working together anytime soon. Yet, it seemed that had changed, and now he was stuck mid-case with emails and files about a new team member that he was going to have to figure out on top of that. He didn't have time for this and Shepard couldn't have picked worse timing. We don't even have a desk. He closed his eyes and resisted the urge to sigh before speaking up, heading to his own desk.
"What do we got, DiNozzo?"
Tony glanced at Morgan and back to Gibbs, stuttering out a response. "W-We've got a possible abduction, boss. Call came in at 0903 Fairfax area code. Caller said her name was Wilkerson, then the line went dead. Ran a reverse look-up on the number. It came back belonging to a Navy Lieutenant Commander, Amanda Wilkerson," he explained, bringing up a map and portrait on the screen behind Gibbs's desk. "Stationed at the Department of the Navy, Washington, D.C. No one answers from her home phone or cell. She's currently on liberty. Scheduled to be back at work tomorrow morning at 07." He decided the room was a little tense and cracked a small smile as he gestured to Gibbs. "That's a nice suit. You didn't get married again, did you?"
Gibbs ignored the joke. "If you have more, DiNozzo, now would be a good time."
"Yeah. Ah, her cell wasn't GPS-enabled, but the service provider narrowed the call location… um, you know. To the, to the…" He gestured to the map, floundering and glancing briefly at Morgan, who'd yet to move.
"Radius," Gibbs informed him, drawing his attention back.
"Radius. The two-and-one-half-mile radius. Yeah. And they said they'd contact us. If it's used again, we might be able to triangulate and get a fix."
"Where's McGee?"
"I don't know," Tony admitted as Ziva spoke up.
"Sundays are a spiritual day in your country, Gibbs. Perhaps—"
Gibbs ignored her. "Did you get Lieutenant Commander Wilkerson's home address?"
"I did," Tony replied.
"Then, why are you still here?" He asked and Tony got up to leave before Gibbs grabbed a file off his desk and glanced at Ziva. "Are you waiting for an invitation, Officer David?"
"Oh, so you really are getting married?" She questioned, standing as Tony rolled his eyes.
"He means you're with me. Nice, uh…" He stopped beside Morgan who eyed him with that same cold gaze that made his spine tingle in unease. "Nice meeting you again, Sergeant—Agent Frost. Welcome to the team."
Ziva offered her a smile as well as a wave, hurrying out with him as Abby exited the elevator and greeted them. She got maybe a foot away from Morgan before suddenly stopping, eyes fixated on Russell.
"Oh, my God. Sorry, is he working? Could I possibly…"
Morgan sighed lightly but nodded. "Russell, greet," she commanded and the giant schnauzer turned to face Abby as she came over and offered a hand for him to sniff.
Then, she was on her knees smooshing his face between her hands and cooing at him.
"Oh, who's the best hard-working dog in the building, huh? What a good boy you are, Russell. The best boy in the entire—"
"Abby," Gibbs cut her off, stopping her from adoring the dog any further as she cleared her throat and stood up.
"Right. Sorry," she apologized, giving Morgan a smile and bounding over to stand in front of Gibbs's desk; removing the white hard hat on her head. "Reporting for duty as ordered, sir!"
"Wrong hand, Abs," Gibbs corrected her salute that she hastily fixed.
"Sorry, sir."
"The call came in from a woman claiming she was abducted. Abby, I need an acoustical analysis of a tape," he informed her.
"Permission to speak freely, sir."
"You always speak freely, Abs," he replied fondly, typing away on his computer to get the files pulled up on Morgan.
"I know. I just always wanted to say that. So where's my tape?"
"On the way to your lab."
"So am I." She put back on her hat. "If I finish quickly, maybe I can get back to Habitat for Humanity. I'm doing a bunch of wiring for them this weekend."
"We'll see, Abby," Gibbs offered with a fond smile.
"Thank you, sir."
"Don't call me sir."
"Thank you, ma'am," she tried instead, making him shake his head slightly before returning to typing.
He was ignoring the elephant in the room who hadn't moved other than when Abby had come over to greet her dog. Her silence was starting to grate on his nerves. Gibbs knew how people worked and typically, when he was involved, they fidgetted. Eyes flicking around, quivering hands, shifting from foot to foot waiting for instruction or a scolding. More confident ones would just do what they wanted to and would deal with him later but Morgan just stood there; unflinching, unyielding. She didn't ask if she could sit, didn't question what to do, just… waited, and finally, he'd had enough.
"Are you just going to stand there, Agent Frost?" He asked, not turning his gaze from the computer. "You're not in the army anymore. You don't need my permission to take a seat."
Or, well, that's the reason he assumed she remained standing. Old habits were hard to break, especially if one had been in the military for long enough.
"Take McGee's desk since he decided to be late. I'll have another one brought in later."
She finally moved and pulled out McGee's chair as Russell plodded up and laid at her feet immediately once she sat. He half expected her to just sit there and twiddle her thumbs with how she was acting but watched with slight curiosity as she pulled herself up to McGee's computer, pulled out a note—with her log-in information possibly—and started typing. He had no idea what she was doing and decided a bit of prodding was in order.
"What are you doing?"
She paused, glancing in his direction briefly before continuing to type. "Looking into Lieutenant Commander Wilkerson. If she was abducted, then knowing why could be helpful, one would think."
Taking initiative… interesting, he noted before picking up the phone. "Get a hold of Captain Martino and have him meet me in MTAC in the next ten minutes. Tell him it's urgent. Lieutenant Commander Wilkerson was abducted." He hung up the phone and then turned back to Morgan. "What are you doing here?"
She paused again, eyeing him without answering as he gestured to his computer.
"I have your files and you can bet I'll look into them later but I want to hear it from you. Why did you transfer to NCIS?"
She glanced away, the first sign she'd shown him of being uncomfortable. "Because no other division would take me," she admitted.
Gibbs wasn't sure what that meant but could see her jaw working. Whatever it was, she either didn't want to tell him or was struggling to think of why she shouldn't. Didn't matter. He could check her files later and find out himself. He'd only asked because he felt everyone should have a shot to explain themselves first before he went digging. Unless there's a problem I need to know about.
"Army got tired of you or you got tired of it?" He asked, getting up and gathering some files he would need for his meeting in MTAC.
"They never liked me," she informed him; something he hadn't expected.
From everything he could see, she was a good soldier. She had a good head on her shoulders, had a bit of stubbornness but knew when it was needed and when she should let it go. Sure, she was a bit of a minor rule-breaker given what she'd done at Quantico but it had been for the greater good. The army got to keep its head down in the wake of a dead celebrity on their base and she'd kept the two agencies at peace with one another without bickering over aspects of the case. It was the least amount of paperwork he'd had to do in a while for something so high priority, and he knew it was because she'd stuck her neck out for them.
"Was it the model case?" He questioned, curious if she'd gotten the boot for helping them but she shook her head.
"No. Breaking McMannis's nose and handing over evidence just added some time to my current suspension."
That was interesting too. He hadn't thought she was on suspension while they were there. He thought she was simply stationed there like McMannis was. She'd done her job well enough and fit right in with the others. She hadn't seemed like it was a punishment but then again, there wasn't a lot he could tell about her. She was almost… blank, like an empty person whose sole job was just being in the military and doing what she was told. But her rule-breaking and stubbornness says the opposite. I'm missing something.
"You going to tell me the real reason you're here or keep making me jump through hoops?" He pressed, facing her and frowning slightly.
She was doing good to keep him from prying but she wasn't the first stubborn person he'd dealt with. He knew when people were dodging the question no matter how good they were at it.
Her eyes were cold as always and a small frown tugged at her lips too. "Why ask if you're going to read my files anyway?"
"I want to hear it from you."
Her brows furrowed slightly before she finally gave in and turned back to the computer. "I got into an altercation with a Colonel who was harassing his First Lieutenant. Dislocated his shoulder and fractured his jaw. I was going to be dishonorably discharged but NCIS stepped in and offered me a position. They were willing to defend me and got the charges dropped."
That's… curious. Wonder what the connection is with NCIS. They wouldn't step in normally, especially with another agency's problem. I'll ask the Director about it later. Gibbs closed his eyes for a moment and started to head for MTAC.
"Keep looking into Wilkerson. I'll take you to meet the rest of the team later."
She grunted as he stepped out to figure out what the hell was going on.
Gibbs wasn't gone long and also wasn't thrilled by what he was told. A shipment of nuclear fuel rods that only a handful of people know and one of them has been abducted. Great. He stepped back into the bullpen and didn't spare Morgan a glance as she automatically got to her feet.
"With me, Frost. You figure anything out?" He asked, leading her to the elevator.
Abby had said she might have something.
"Not much," Morgan replied, looking miffed at not having found anything of use. "Good chunk of her files were either above my access or blotted out. Whatever she's involved in—"
"Is highly classified," Gibbs concluded as the elevator dinged and the doors closed. "Most I got from Captain Martino was that she's one of a handful of people who knew a train route that was carrying nuclear fuel rods. Left Ohio and wouldn't tell me where they were headed."
Morgan grunted again and Gibbs noticed Russell nudging her hand that had been clenched by her side, causing her to loosen it and pet the dog instead.
"PTSD?" He asked bluntly.
He figured she liked people being blunt instead of dancing around issues. She didn't even blink as the doors opened into Abby's lab.
"Among other things."
"Gibbs!" Abby smiled before spotting Morgan and Russell as Gibbs waved at them.
"This is First Sergeant Morgan Frost and…" He glanced at the dog. "Russell. They're apparently going to be working with us from now on. This is Abby Sciuto, our Chief Forensic Scientist."
Abby grinned, bounding over but stopping in front of Morgan to glance down at Russell and back to the woman who eyed her hesitantly. "I'm going to hug you."
Morgan blinked at the admission. "O-Okay."
Abby beamed and wrapped her arms around Morgan before pulling back. "Welcome to the team!" She then crouched down to smile at Russell. "Keep up the great work Russell."
She offered the dog a salute before Gibbs lightly sighed.
"You said you had something, Abs?"
"Right!" She bolted back up to her feet and bounded over to a computer. "I was going through the tape and found this."
She played the short snippet of Wilkerson calling out and the noise in the background before abruptly pausing it.
"Did you hear that?"
"Hear what?" Gibbs questioned, dodging her swinging ponytails when she whipped around.
"Gibbs, I thought your hearing was better than your eyesight. How wrong was I? Okay, I'll just back up, slow it down, fiddle with the hertz a bit and we will interpret this as we go."
"That would be a good idea."
"Okay, so just after she says her name…" Abby played it again. "Name that tune, Gibbs."
"That's a tire skid," he replied, stepping over to the map as Abby nodded and kept going; Morgan silently frowning at the tape she was playing.
"Yes! So the car braked. Next up is the thunk. Manual trunk release. Now the second that happens, the ambient noise changes. Mostly the engine sound."
"So she's in a car trunk," Morgan concluded.
"Yes, again. Now, for the big finish. Exactly three point four seconds later the trunk is slammed shut. But the engine sound stays the same until the phone shuts off."
"They grabbed the cell phone, left her in the trunk," Gibbs noted, heading back over to Abby.
"I'm afraid so, Gibbs."
"If they left her there, Abs, how much time does she have?"
"Well, there's a lot of factors that play there. It depends on the age of the car, how airtight the trunk is, how much CO2 she releases in her panic—"
"Abby," Gibbs silenced her rant.
"Twelve hours she might be safe, then she'll slip into a coma. After seventeen, she'd definitely run out of oxygen," she said solemnly.
Gibbs wasn't thrilled about the new time limit but held back his frustration as he hurried to the elevator with Morgan on his tail.
"Dammit," he cursed once in there and Morgan said nothing.
Her brows were still furrowed in thought and once they stepped out of the elevator, a secretary stepped forward.
"Agent Gibbs, Captain Martino is waiting for you in MTAC."
Gibbs nodded and stepped in, greeting the man as the people inside got to work doing what they could to try and locate their missing lieutenant.
"We stopped the nuclear supply train in Pennsylvania, in a rural area. It's heavily armored and defended by a platoon of Fast Company Marines. The fuel rods themselves are in a containment capsule capable of withstanding small arms fire," Martino explained. "However, if someone did manage to detonate those fuel rods, they would irradiate a ten-mile radius."
"Who knows the route other than the lieutenant?" Morgan asked, before catching the slightly annoyed expression on Gibbs's face at her interruption.
She was definitely used to doing things on her own and despite clenching her jaw, she begrudgingly took a step back and let Gibbs take the lead again.
"Answer her," he said as Martino nodded.
"The personnel onboard escorting, the two Cobras flying air escort, and my staff."
"And Lieutenant Commander Wilkerson's involvement?"
"She helped plan both the primary and alternate routes."
"What the hell was she doing on liberty, Captain?"
"She was never involved in the operational phase and she specifically requested today off."
"Why?"
"I didn't ask. Are you suggesting that she's somehow involved in this? She's one of my finest officers."
Gibbs didn't bother to reply to that, though he noticed Morgan stepping away and leaving MTAC. I'm going to have to speak with her about running off to do her own things.
"What's next on your checklist or do you want me to guess?" He questioned Martino calmly.
"We head back to the processing plant and reschedule our delivery. You think they're going to try to hit us on the way back?"
"I think we ought to find your missing officer before we move that train again," he said, removing his headset and stepping out. "Frost!"
The woman stood from McGee's desk and he rolled his eyes.
"Sit down, Frost."
She hesitated but sat back down and he spotted Russell dropping his head onto her thigh for her to pet. She was uneasy again but he didn't really care.
"If you step out again to try and do something on your own, I'm going to handcuff you to that chair and prohibit you from fieldwork for the next week. Is that understood?"
"Yes, sir," she answered, though he could tell she wasn't exactly thrilled.
"Don't call me sir. Now, what caught your attention?"
She glanced back at the computer briefly. "Her request for liberty."
Gibbs's eyes narrowed. "You think this has nothing to do with the train?"
"I… don't know," she admitted. "I assumed looking into it couldn't hurt."
Either she constantly needs to be busy with something or she is just that in-depth, Gibbs mentally noted. Or both. I need to see how her past work was. His phone rang and he answered it as he turned away from Morgan, who eyed him uneasily, uncertain whether or not she was in trouble.
"Gibbs… I'll be right there." He pointed at Morgan when she started to stand. "Stay. Check into what she was doing."
Morgan frowned, phone pressed to her ear. "A mall?"
"That's right," Abby replied. "8:30 a.m. Braddock Mall."
"I'll contact security about the footage for the parking structure and the mall. Do you want it or—"
"Up to you. We'll keep working on the laptop."
Morgan grunted and hung up, looking up what she needed to contact the mall as Gibbs walked in and settled himself behind his desk. One of the things he liked about Morgan was how she knew to just keep working silently and not bother him. She was self-sufficient and well-used to working on her own. A double-edged sword as he already saw but she was new and it would take time to adjust from what she was used to. He glanced at her as she eyed her screen with furrowed brows, lost in thought and her own work. She settled in quick, he noted, realizing as well how quickly he was settling with her being around. Certainly a big difference between her and DiNozzo. Calm versus chaotic.
Still, he felt as though he was only seeing one side of her. There was a lot he was missing and she would need to open up to the team if this was going to work. Gibbs knew he could always talk to the Director and have her switched to another team if needed but it was only their first day of working and she already had shown she was useful. His only big concern now was how she would be in the field. She can't be running off on her own there and if she does, that may just be the deal breaker. He brushed the thought aside for now as his phone rang.
"Gibbs."
It was McGee. "Boss, it looks like she used an I.D.E.A. algorithm to generate a short key for some of the files. I've got the software working now. As for the rest, I am condensing like extensions into their root subsets."
"In English, McGee," he requested, being no real use with the tech stuff.
"I am working on opening the locked files and establishing protocol," McGee tried before Abby spoke up.
"Gibbs, what he's trying to say is that there's a crap load of stuff. The sheer volume of material is daunting, even for a guy in a turtleneck."
"But I'm working as fast as I can."
"Work faster, McGee. If she's still in the car trunk, we have about eight hours to find her until she runs out of air."
"That's not strictly accurate, Jethro," Ducky said after he'd stepped off the elevator and headed over as Gibbs hung up. "I was on the ninth with a shot at a ten-dollar Nassau when Abby called. She wanted to make certain her survival figures were accurate." He spotted Morgan then, who bobbed her head in greeting. "Oh, First Sergeant Frost. To what do we owe the pleasure?"
"She's a new addition," Gibbs answered for her, trying to keep him on track. "How far off were they, Duck?"
"Well, they were spot on, but something she said bothered me. She arrived at her figures based on a young woman in good health. Well, given the dire circumstances, I thought it best to verify that that was, in fact, the case. Lieutenant Commander Wilkerson was treated for acute bronchitis by an intern at the base two days ago. With her lungs in that condition, well, they would not be operating as efficiently as normal."
"That would shorten our time limit," Morgan said, understanding as Ducky nodded solemnly.
"By several hours."
"Frost," Gibbs said and she nodded.
"I'll dig deeper, call her friends, her command, anyone I can find."
Hours passed with her doing just that with only a break or two when she needed to take Russell out. Again, Gibbs felt a bit impressed. While he would prefer it if she didn't have to take the extra breaks, she wasn't taking her time about it or doing anything for herself in the process. She got up, informed him she was taking Russell out—which he told her she didn't need to do so long as she was quick about it—and came back a few minutes later. No coffee run, no quick trip to the snack machine, just out and right back in. Such a thing also raised quiet alarm bells for him. It was possible she would work and work without taking the short amount of time to check on herself so he would keep an eye on it.
Morgan hung up the phone and spoke up. "Her background is mostly empty, si—"
Gibbs glanced at her and she clenched her jaw for a moment.
"Boss," she settled on, given the others called him the same. "I spoke with her entire command and they believe she's clean. No social life. She goes to work then goes home on her computer."
"Basically a McGee," Tony quipped.
"McGee is not responsible for the movement of nuclear fuel rods across the country," Gibbs scolded him as Ziva agreed.
"And McGee didn't make a personal video about money and transport to a safe house."
"What's with that video anyway?" Tony questioned. "It doesn't make any more sense than that phone call for help."
"They both accomplished one thing," Ziva pointed out, changing the screen nearby from the map to the satellite image of a stopped train. "The train is no longer mobile."
"The Navy can't risk moving it until they find out what happened to her," Gibbs agreed, turning to them. "Navy."
"Yeah," Tony nodded as he snapped at him to get him moving again.
"As in us!"
Tony and Ziva went back to their desks as McGee hurried in, pausing when he saw Morgan at his desk.
"Oh, um…"
"What, McGee?" Gibbs interjected as Morgan stood and moved out of his seat so he could get access to his computer.
"Thanks," he muttered to her before clearing his throat and looking at Gibbs. "I think I have something here."
"Show me."
"I'm not a hundred percent sure if it's anything, but I did find something that could possibly help us."
"Show me," Gibbs urged, struggling to rein in his temper with the seconds ticking away on the Lieutenant's life.
"Wilkerson's email log shows that she sent fourteen messages from the same location last night. It wasn't her home ISP."
"I can't read that."
"It's encrypted."
"Then, un-crypt it."
"Well, Abby and I are working on it."
"Why am I sitting here looking at you?" He questioned, seeing as he was just given information that hadn't been worked out yet.
"Well, I thought that it might be helpful to know that Lieutenant Commander Wilkerson sent all these emails from a store called P.B.J. at the Braddock Mall in Fairfax."
"Wilkerson could suffocate at any time and you couldn't tell me this with a phone call, McGee?" He shouted, moving back to his desk and Tony and Ziva scattered back to theirs.
"Well, I could. I should have," he admitted sheepishly, getting up and leaving again as Gibbs spoke up.
"DiNozzo, Ziva, go check out the mall. Find out what she was doing."
"It's a non-profit," Morgan suddenly spoke up, getting their attention as Gibbs frowned.
"Excuse me?"
"P.B.J.," she explained, having started typing the second McGee gave up the computer. "Stands for Perverts Brought to Justice. They've worked with NCIS before. They help law enforcement track down pedophiles."
Gibbs nodded and turned back to the other two, who'd stopped moving when she spoke. "Well, go on. We don't have time for you two to stand around."
"Right, on it, boss."
"Assuming Abby is correct, the vehicle harboring Lieutenant Commander Wilkerson left the mall via Ox Road," Ziva informed the team in the bullpen after Abby had found more information on the recordings; bringing up the map of the route on screen. "The car traveled southbound passing three gas stations, a Wall-Mart, and this Lexus dealership. Two point six miles later they passed by this bank just before crossing the Dungy Street railroad tracks."
"How many times you pass go? Collect your two hundred dollars?" Tony quipped, spotting Ziva's confused expression. "You know, Monopoly, the board game? It's American."
"Ox Road eventually comes to an end at the luxury living community of Terra Trace Estates. The Fairfax police are now focusing their search on this central area. They estimate between eight to nine hours for a thorough search."
"Lieutenant Commander Wilkerson doesn't have that long," Gibbs reminded them as Tony got up.
"Which is why I tracked down the only available surveillance video on or near Ox Road. Hit the little right button," he told Ziva and the footage came up on screen. "This is the internal security camera at the Northern Virginia Savings and Trust ATM. It sits about three hundred yards north of the train tracks at Ox Road. Now we know the car passed over the tracks at 0904. The speed limit is thirty-five miles per hour. So we've got to assume our abductor didn't want to attract attention by speeding, right? Our car should be passing this camera around—"
"0904-30," Morgan said as Ziva sped up to that point. "Give or take a minute or two."
"Math whizz, huh?" Tony commented before spotting the woman on screen. "I'm switching banks."
Ziva shot him a look as Morgan rolled her eyes. "You really think she's hot?"
"She's a perfect ten with great—"
Gibbs smacked both of them upside the back of the head, making Tony complain.
"I saw that. Why did you give her the soft touch?" He said as Gibbs just stared. "Thank you, boss."
"Is that the best shot you can get, Ziva?"
"There's a few times just after she blocks our view with her incredible… figure," she said sarcastically, backing the footage up to show the backend of a car.
"That's a 1989 Mercedes Five Sixty SEL, boss."
"I can't see the plate," Ziva said as Tony gestured to the clicker in her hand.
"Well, use your little clicker and zoom in. That first number is either an eight or a six."
"It's an eight," Gibbs specified.
"With all due respect, sir—"
"863 Romeo Charlie Tango," Morgan rattled off, having gotten up to look at it closer before Gibbs tore off a page in his notebook, handing it to him and heading for his desk.
"Nine cars reported stolen from Northern Virginia this morning."
"One is a Benz 56 SEL," Tony realized as Gibbs pulled his coat off his chair and grabbed his weapon.
Morgan was also doing the same and both were speeding for the elevator as Tony and Ziva hurried after them. The group was quick to head to the address of the stolen vehicle and question the owner in case he had any leads. They weren't getting much from the man and Gibbs soon answered a phone call as the car owner waved at the fish Ziva was looking at.
"Line fish, Trigger, and clowns. I breed them."
"Should get a bigger tank then," Morgan noted, glancing back at him. "And separate the different species if you want any luck. Triggers are aggressive."
He opened his mouth, surprised before Gibbs started for the door, hanging up on his call.
"Someone's using Wilkerson's cell phone. McGee's getting a fix."
"What about my car?" The owner asked as Tony waved him off.
"We'll call you."
They piled into the car again and Gibbs sped off while following the directions he was being given.
"Fish?" Tony questioned, glancing back at Morgan. "I took you as more of a…" He glanced down at Russell who was lying on the floor. "Dog person."
Morgan shot him a drab look. "Freshwater mostly. Only did saltwater for a few years. More maintenance than I wanted."
"Huh."
Gibbs pulled the car to a stop and they got out, drawing their weapons as he hung up on McGee again and spoke to them. "The signal's coming from a hundred yards of here. It's still active."
They hurried through the trees—Russell sticking close to Morgan's side—before they heard voices. Gibbs had them spread out a bit and surround them before giving the signal to move in; calling out as he did.
"Freeze! NCIS!"
The two guys held up their hands.
"Don't shoot," one said, holding a beer in his hand as his friend hesitated.
"It's not our beer?"
"Yeah, uh, we found it."
"Who's on the phone?" Ziva demanded, taking the phone.
"My girlfriend?"
"Hi. Oh my god, don't touch me there! He's going to have to call you back. Bye!" She chirped to the woman on the other end before hanging it up. "You're busted."
The two teens were put into the back of the car as Tony dropped the cell into an evidence bag and explained things to Gibbs.
"Definitely Lieutenant Commander Wilkerson's cell phone, boss. Five calls made in the last hour. Two to an adult chat line and three to a teenage girl in Manassas."
"Coordinate with the locals. I want the park searched."
"Sheriff's department is en route," he informed as Ziva came over next.
"They say they bought their phones from another boy."
"This boy have a name?"
"I'm sure he does. They, however, claim not to know it."
"They also claim this isn't their beer," Tony pointed out.
"They don't think I know they're lying?" She said, complaining and stepping back as Gibbs dumped the beer into the dirt at their feet. "Thank you, because I do! They're only children."
"Actually, they're teenagers."
"Whatever. The little one is about to cry. You have to draw the line somewhere, Gibbs. I mean, these boys are not potential suicide bombers. And I don't interrogate children."
"No, you don't, Ziva. You talk to them," Gibbs replied, looking around before calling out. "Frost!"
The woman emerged from the trees with Russell at her side bounding away a little in his excitement and rushing back; dancing around her legs.
"Anything?"
She shook her head. "Wasn't much to go on. Their tracks muddled anyone else's, one of them spilled a beer so the alcohol scent ruined any potential trail on the ground near where they found the phone, and the actual phone got us nowhere. The suspect came and dumped it without the Lieutenant. Can't track her if she was never here."
Gibbs clicked his tongue in annoyance, nodding to the car. "Let's go."
It was a tight fit with the added teens but they managed and were soon back at the NCIS headquarters waiting for another lead. Martino's only concern seemed to be his train so they were quick to leave him in MTAC and try dealing with the teens. Tony and Ziva were left with them and Gibbs waved Morgan to follow him into the elevator as they headed down to the lab. They exited the elevator to see Abby pushing McGee away from the computer and Gibbs lightly chided her.
"How many times have I told you, he's not a toy?"
"Hi, Gibbs. He's getting a little stressed out."
"So am I. Tell me you two have found Captain Pervert."
"Fleet Captain Pervert. And we keep losing his computer's connection in Spain," McGee informed him.
"Unlose it."
"It doesn't work that way."
"It's true, Gibbs. The servers are down in Madrid and we can't pick up his trace without them."
"Can you locate him based on what we already know?" Morgan spoke up, drawing their attention. "He's in Virginia. Braddock Mall, stolen car from Fairfax County, ditched the phone at that location you sent us to."
"Why didn't you think of that?" Abby questioned McGee, who looked back at her in surprise.
"Me? What about you?"
"Can you find him or not?" Gibbs complained.
"If we know he's in Fairfax…"
"Then, we can match his computer's profile against ISP node service in the area."
"Maybe an hour, Gibbs."
"Good, you have—"
"Twenty minutes, I know," Abby cut Gibbs off and passed him her drink.
"We know."
"I was going to say ten," he replied, passing the drink to Morgan who eyed it before handing it back to Abby.
They found the address quickly, matching the homeowner whom they'd interrogated about his stolen car. Gibbs and Ziva breached the front door and Morgan followed behind them as Tony came through the back, announcing his presence when they were meeting up. Once Gibbs gave his clear and Tony his, Morgan let Russell go with a quiet "search" command.
"Looks like this guy left in a hurry," Tony noted as Russell searched any other nooks and crannies for anything hidden.
"You think, DiNozzo?"
"And he won't be coming back," Ziva said as she took a sniff of the fishtank full of dead fish. "Bleach."
"He poisoned his fish?" Tony questioned as everyone put on gloves and Russell returned to Morgan's side, having found nothing.
"Because he couldn't take them with him," Gibbs explained as Ziva nodded.
"These fish were his prize possessions. If he can't have them, no one can. Fits the profile of a malignant narcissist."
"Spread out," Gibbs ordered.
"What are we looking for, Gibbs?"
"Anything that will tell us where this freak went. Frost—"
Morgan nodded, picking up a piece of laundry and holding it up for Russell. "Already on it."
The sun was setting now and by the time the team got back into the car, they knew they were nearly out of time… and out of leads. Russell had hit a dead-end at the curb in front of the house. Lafferty—the pedophile on the run—had called a cab or hitched a ride. There wasn't anything in the house either and they could only hope that McGee found out something from the kid who'd sold the cell phone to the two teens.
"The BOLO's out on Lafferty, boss," Tony informed Gibbs as he drove, while Morgan stared at the window with a frown on her face; idly petting Russell who'd plopped his head in her lap.
"And his passport's expired," Ziva added. "He can't leave the country."
Gibbs's phone went off then and he answered.
"Yeah, Gibbs."
"Boss, I just spoke with Geckler. He said he found the phone at around noon today," McGee informed him.
"Where, McGee?"
"The, uh… Braddock Mall parking garage. Lafferty must have driven her back there."
Gibbs hung up and sped up the car as Tony and Ziva braced themselves. Morgan simply turned to glance at him through the rearview mirror.
"Where are we going now, boss?" Tony asked.
"The mall."
"And they have a problem with my driving?" Ziva muttered under her breath as Morgan spoke up.
"That doesn't make sense. Why would Lafferty drive her back to the mall? He wouldn't have known we checked there earlier today and we saw him after and he didn't have his car around."
"Could have lied about it getting stolen. Hid it somewhere," Gibbs suggested, though his mind was caught on what she said as well.
Something wasn't adding up.
They pulled up to the mall and were quick to find the car.
"The trunk!" Gibbs ordered and Ziva picked the lock quickly, pulling it open and revealing the unconscious woman inside. "Tony!"
"Ambulance is already on the way," he said, having called ahead of time as Gibbs checked her pulse.
"She's alive," he said, relaxing slightly and looking back at the team as the ambulance drove in and paramedics climbed out to help.
"What now?" Tony asked as they put her on a gurney and Gibbs shot him a cold look.
"Now, we wait. They'll have to come back for the car, so who's getting in the trunk?"
Looks were exchanged between Tony and Ziva and Morgan opened her mouth before Gibbs shot her a glare.
"Not you. We'll need your dog if he runs."
She closed her mouth and nodded before Ziva sighed.
"I'll do it."
"Good. You two will switch off if it takes too long. Let's get in position."
Ziva was shut in the trunk and Gibbs, Tony, and Morgan took up their positions as close as they could be where they wouldn't get spotted. Then, after waiting for a while, movement. A figure in a ski mask made for the car and as soon as he popped the trunk lid; everyone moved. Ziva had a gun in his face as she sat up in the trunk and Russell came speeding out from behind the concrete barrier barking and keeping the man near the car.
"NCIS! Get down on your knees!" Gibbs shouted as they raised their hands and Morgan came up behind Russell; holding onto the back of his service vest to give the culprit some comfort in knowing the dog wouldn't lunge at him as he knelt.
"Put your hands on your head!" Tony ordered as well and the figure did so, complaining when Gibbs jerked his arms back to handcuff him.
"Let me know if I'm hurting you," he snapped at the man's complaints.
"Ah, it hurts! It hurts!"
"Good."
Ziva picked up the weapon the man had dropped, pointing it at the ground but the weight was wrong. A quick pull of the trigger revealed why.
"Squeegee gun?"
Gibbs pulled off the mask to reveal a familiar face.
"I was only trying to teach her a lesson."
"Ross Logan, boss," Tony informed Gibbs as Ziva frowned and they hauled him to his feet.
"The man who runs Perverts Brought to Justice."
"Look, I knew she was going to confront Fleet Captain, so I followed her in case anything happened!"
"You kidnapped her and locked her in the trunk of a car!" Morgan snapped, angry herself at how this man thought putting a woman in a coma was an apt punishment for anything.
"To scare her! That's all! I came back. I was letting her out! Ow! Look, we have rules for a reason. Breaking them could get her killed!"
"She's on her way to Bethesda in a coma, Logan," Tony informed him as Gibbs kicked the button for the elevator and shoved him up against it.
The doors opened and he shoved the man in as the others followed, noticing that Russell was fidgeting and nudging Morgan more insistently than before. Her face was settled into a hard frown and for once, she was ignoring the dog's alerts. When the door opened he nodded to Tony.
"You and Ziva take him. I need a minute."
"Sure thing, boss," Tony said, glancing between him and Morgan for only a moment before shoving Ross out of the elevator.
Gibbs stepped out and Morgan did as well but neither went very far before Gibbs spoke up. "You good, Frost?"
"I'm fine," she said shortly and Gibbs nodded toward Russell.
"Your dog says you're not."
Morgan glanced down and for a moment, her gaze softened. She let out a soft sigh and uncurled her fists to run her hands over the dog's head and face; kneeling down and letting him lean into her. The dog rested his head on her shoulder as she reached around and ran her hands over his sides and back. Gibbs gave her a moment to let her ground herself before checking in with her again.
"Want to try that answer again?" He offered, giving her another chance to speak up. "I need to know if this is going to be a common occurrence on the field if you're going to be on my team."
"It won't be," she said, a bit sharper than she intended which made Russell step forward to press into her further.
"Then, talk to me, Frost," Gibbs pressed. "First day or not, if you don't talk to me I can't help you."
She glanced up at him, silent before turning away and getting back to her feet. "I've just… been there before," she muttered. "In the Lieutenant's position. Knowing it was just some jackass trying to scare her—"
She cut herself short, hands clenching again and jaw going tight before Gibbs pat her on the shoulder; lightly knocking her out of it.
"We're all angry, Frost, but we got him."
She closed her eyes and let out a long breath, nodding as he started for the car again. She followed after and Gibbs went for the driver's seat, climbing in and turning to Tony in the passenger's side.
"Backseat."
"What?"
"Now," Gibbs ordered and Tony nodded, confused but got out and switched as he gave Morgan a glance.
She looked at Gibbs as well, not yet getting in until he looked at her and raised a brow.
"Well?"
She waved Russell in first and got in as well, turning to look out the window and catching sight of Ross in the backseat beside Tony.
"Thanks," she muttered to Gibbs, realizing what he'd done for her.