"I found her!" McGee exclaimed. "I mean, I think I did."
"Where, McGee?" Gibbs asked. This was the first lead they had in weeks. Jessica perked up and turned to McGee.
"I found a spending pattern and…"
"McBabble, we don't have that kind of time to know how you found her," Tony said. "She might be dying and need our help. Where is she?"
"Abandoned building downtown." He gave the address to Gibbs. The team grabbed their gear. Jessica started to follow but Gibbs stopped her.
"Gibbs, please let me go. I let her down weeks ago. I want to help her now."
"Are you armed?" Jessica nodded. "Just watch yourself." They rushed to the elevator.
The team pulled up to the building and jumped out. They strapped on their vests and checked their guns.
"Ziva, Jessica, take the back. DiNozzo, McGee, take the top floor." After the orders, they split up and proceeded to carefully check the building.
"We will find her," Ziva reassured Jessica. She nodded and continued to look around. She kept herself focused, wanting to help find her.
Gibbs headed down the basement. He came across a locked door at the end of the hallway. He stepped back and kicked down the door. He holstered his gun as he entered the room. He immediately saw a pool of blood and rushed toward Sarah. He found a weak pulse and was slightly relieved. But he was horrified when he turned her over. The cut had slowed down bleeding, but it was a horrible mess. Fortunately, the blade did not hit her eye, he saw, but it was still a nasty cut. He was able to analyze some of her other injuries. He was alarmed at the multiple colorful bruises and infected cuts. He saw marks on her wrists and ankles from the shackles. Her clothes were almost ripped to shreds. He could not even imagine what she had gone through.
Ziva and Jessica found him.
"Bruno is gone," Ziva reported. Jessica saw Sarah and went pale.
"Is she dead?" she asked quietly.
"She's hanging on. Call for an ambulance now!" Ziva was already on the phone with dispatch.
Sarah began to wake up. Gibbs noticed and made sure she didn't sit up.
"Don't get up. It may bleed again. It looks bad." She glanced between Gibbs and Ziva. Her eyes fell on Jessica. Jessica grabbed her hand and stared at the cut.
"I'm so sorry, Sarah. I could have prevented this." Sarah squeezed her hand very lightly, but no words came out of her mouth. Her eyes lost their sparkle; she was almost lifeless. Her grip was weak, as if she had no strength. Jessica looked at Gibbs in alarm. He was just as concerned.
The paramedics followed Tony and McGee into the basement. They stepped aside to let them through to Sarah.
"Oh my god. What happened to her, Boss?" Tony asked.
"She won't talk," Jessica said. "Of all the cases we have worked, I have never seen her like this."
"She looks like a mess," McGee said quietly. They watched as the paramedics loaded her onto a stretcher. They had wrapped her in a blanket to keep her warm. There were temporary bandages to cover many of the cuts and wounds that speckled her frail body.
Gibbs approached the team. "Tony, you are in charge. I am riding with Sarah to the hospital."
Jessica tore her gaze from Sarah. "What about me?"
"Stay with them," he said gently. "Let the medical professionals do their work. They will make sure you go see her later." He followed the paramedics upstairs and sat in the ambulance beside Sarah. Tony put a reassuring arm around Jessica.
"She will be ok." He looked over at McGee and Ziva. They could tell he wasn't so sure.
"Come on," Ziva said. "Sooner we get this done, the sooner we can go see Sarah."
"Yeah." Jessica shrugged Tony's arm off and started to walk around the room. The team watched her with concern. They could see the guilt Jessica felt. She felt responsible for leaving Sarah and letting her experience it alone.
They noted the chains on the walls. Blood was pooled in various spots on the floor. A flimsy, soiled mattress was in the corner with chains to the side. A rusty battery sat opposite in the room with long wires attached to them. Dirt was kicked up and imprints were left in the dust. Dirty plates with crumbs of stale bread were piled in the corner. They noticed the room had no light from the outside. Only a small hanging lamp in the center of the room barely illuminated the place. Looking around, they all realized that no one may ever really know what really happened.
As soon as they got to the hospital, the medical team surrounded Sarah. Gibbs was forced to wait in the lobby until they had any news. He tried to go through the doors that led to the ER, but the nurses were persistent, not allowing him to follow. Abby had called numerous times, but with each call, he had no news to give her.
Ducky walked into the lobby and found Gibbs immediately. He sat down in the empty seat beside him.
"How is she?"
"No news."
"Which is good. She will pull through." Gibbs turned to him.
"Duck, you didn't see her. It was like all the life had been sucked out of her. She was breathing, but she wasn't present."
"She must have gone through a lot, some of which we may never hear. But we need to show her that we are here for her."
The lobby started to rise in volume as more people filled the small room. They stopped their conversation and waited for any news. All they could hope for was the news they got would be good.