Chapter 2 â€" A Waiting Game
Fornell watched his friend wearing a groove in the floor as he paced the cabin of the G5, while they waited for the flight to be cleared for take-off. He'd seen his friend in many stressful situations before, but there was so much tension currently radiating off Gibbs that he wouldn't have been surprised to see him punch a hole in the nearest wall if anyone crossed him.
The G5 had been on its way in to DC from New York when Gibbs first called Fornell and they'd had to wait for the plane to arrive, be readied and the back-up flight team to arrive; delays which were doing nothing to help soothe Gibbs' temper or halt a sense of building frustration. Even if the plane took off shortly, flight time to LA was still just over four hours.
Abby could be dead by the time Gibbs and his team arrived.
Approaching Gibbs almost warily, Fornell told him. "We've clearance for take-off in two hours, Jethro."
"Not soon enough, Tobias." Gibbs ran a hand through his hair and resumed his pacing.
"It's the best they can do. Not even the FBI can clear DC airspace."
"It could be too late by then," Gibbs sounded as anguished as Fornell had ever heard him.
"I know, Jethro, I know."
McGee had arrived a short time ago, the strain of the news of Abby's disappearance written on every line of the young agent's face.
After Callen rang through with an update on the lead they'd found at the lawyers' office, Gibbs had taken the phone off speaker so he could rip the LA agent a new one in private.
"You wanna tell me what happened, Callen?" he began.
Callen sighed, briefly closing his eyes, not surprised by Gibbs' reaction. He'd been waiting for the explosion as soon as they learned Abby was missing. "If you've heard from Vance, then you know as much as we do at the moment, Gibbs."
"Then I'll rephrase that. How the hell did it happen?" The anger in Gibbs' voice plain.
"Look, we never saw it coming. There was nothing in the evidence to suggest Abby was a target."
"Even if that's true, what the hell were you thinking letting her go to that club with only Eric to protect her," he demanded.
"She was off duty, Gibbs, and so was Eric. Do you think I'd have left Abby alone if I believed she was at risk in any way?" Callen hated sounding so defensive but felt moved to defend his team.
"That's no excuse and you know it. You… he made a Probie mistake. Why did he leave her alone?" Gibbs almost growled.
"We didn't know she was in danger," Callen repeated. "Look, I get it, Gibbs, I really do. Do you think by shouting at me you can make me feeling any guiltier than I do already?" Callen took a deep breath, trying to calm down. "We're working on it, Gibbs. We'll get her back."
"I hope you're right Callen, or I'll have your ass and Eric's before I'm done."
Callen listened to the cold anger in Gibbs' voice and couldn't help but agree with him, "Yeah, I know, Gibbs, I know. Now let me get on and do my job. This isn't helping Abby… or you."
Gibbs closed the connection, too angry to continue… but the rational part of his brain knowing that Callen was right. He rested his hand against the wall, back to McGee and Fornell, trying to calm down. Going round in circles over who was to blame wasn't helping, despite his need to vent his anger in any direction.
Finally getting his breathing under control, Gibbs approached McGee, knowing it would also help Tim if had something constructive to do. "Can you set up a line with the LA office? I want to be linked in to what's going on with Callen and Sam in the field. Don't want to hear any news secondhand."
"Sure thing, boss. I'll get right on it," turning to his laptop with a sense of relief to be doing something useful.
Fornell approached. "You'll need my log-in details to access the communications network on the plane, won't you?" He couldn't resist adding, a small smile breaking out, "Or perhaps you won't, McGee?" McGee had the grace to look sheepish at this reference to the times he'd hacked into the FBI's network.
They were all distracted by the arrival of the remaining two team members. Even if the screech of tires hadn't announced Ziva's arrival, the bickering audible long before they walked up the steps of the plane would have clued them in to the presence of Tony and Ziva.
"You should be used to my driving by now, Tony," she sounded exasperated as she nodded a greeting to Fornell, dumping her backpack on the floor.
"Yeah, I should be, Zee-vah," said Tony, following her into the cabin, "and perhaps it was slightly less terrifying than normal. Wonder why? Maybe it's because there's less traffic around in the middle of the night, or perhaps after a while your body goes from a state of sheer terror to being merely numb… a sort of sense of self preservation kicks in."
McGee knew that their usual arguments were their way of coping with the stressful situation, and he wasn't surprised to find an echo of the same strain on Tony's face that he was sure was all too visible on his. Only Ziva looked calm and collected but he knew that she was merely better at hiding it or channeling her anger and worry into something more practical, saving her energy for when she could take direct action.
Glancing at Gibbs and Tobias talking quietly together further down the cabin, Tony asked, "Probie, there any more news of Abby?"
McGee shook his head, "No, Tony, nothing new on Abby's whereabouts. The LA office do have a new lead though." He explained Callen's latest call.
Ziva asked, "Do we know any more details of how she disappeared last night?"
McGee sighed, elaborating on what little they did know. "Only that she was with Eric at SteamPunk, you remember that club she said she wanted to visit? While they were there, Abby wanted to see the hot rods, you know what she's like with fast cars? She went outside to the parking lot… on her own."
"And Eric let her?" exploded Tony, running a hand through his hair.
Ziva sought to try and calm her partner, "Abby is perfectly capable of taking care of herself, Tony."
Tony couldn't help a sarcastic comeback, even though he knew it was unfair to take his anger out on his teammates. "Well, obviously not in this case, Ziva. Why were the LA team not protecting her?"
"Maybe they did not realize that she was at risk?" Ziva speculated.
McGee nodded, "No, from what I hear, I don't think they did. No one knew she was a target, Tony."
He glanced nervously down the cabin before lowering his voice, not wanting Gibbs to overhear what he was going to say next.
"Besides, Tony, when did Abby ever let anyone tell her what to do? The Boss excepted, of course, and she won't listen to him all the time, you know that. You know how independent and stubborn she is. I doubt Eric could have stopped her if she'd wanted to go outside."
Tony refused to be placated. "Stop making excuses for him, McGee. What man leaves a woman to go out to the darkened parking lot of a club on her own in a place she's never been to before?" He'd always thought of Abby as the younger sister he never had. As far as he was concerned, she was family and he was almost as protective of her as Gibbs was.
Ziva sounded exasperated. "She is not a child, Tony. You and Gibbs," glancing behind her to see if the man in question was within earshot, lowering her voice, "cannot wrap her in cotton wool all the time and prevent her from going out… however much you would both like to protect her from everything."
"I know, Ziva, I know. It's just… it's not a pleasant feeling, knowing she's so far away and we're hours away." Tony slumped into one of the seats. "I'm not used to feeling so helpless, you know."
"Yes, I know, Tony." Ziva squeezed his shoulder in an attempt to offer some comfort, knowing it wasn't going to make much difference.
Time dragged slowly â€" none of them were at their best when they were forced to wait on the sidelines. All they could do was listen to the audio feeds coming in from Callen, Kensi and Sam in the field while they waited to take off. Only Ziva remained calm, leaning against the wall, quietly watching McGee fidget with his laptop and Tony pace. He hated inactivity as much as his boss.
Ziva nodded at Gibbs as he sat by her, seeing the tension in his body in the way he held himself. He was grateful, as always, for her composure in a crisis, her poise helping to settle him, allowing him to focus.
When news came through that a live feed had been discovered showing where Abby was being held, McGee liaised with Eric to bring up the feed being piped through.
The news initially filled Gibbs with relief that at least Abby was still alive. This was quickly followed by a gut churning anger and dread when he saw her. He felt his spine stiffening as he tried to reign in his visible reactions, calling on all his training and self-discipline to hide what he was feeling. He had to be strong for his team. He had to hold them together. They didn't need him to fall apart.
Hearing Tony's exclamation of "Jeez" next to him as he surged to his feet, he saw McGee freeze when Abby's image came on the screen
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