Chapter 3
Director Vance was Gibbs’ first call. He asked for another team to be sent. None of them could handle the prospect of gathering evidence at that crime scene. The director understood and sent Chris Pacci’s team out. Gibbs nodded to the phone. His call was made and his main concern dealt with. He then realized that Ziva and Tim were nowhere in sight.
Gibbs headed to the edge of the embankment and started to climb down. He did not see his team members yet. But he knew that they would be down there, somewhere near the car. He knew they would be looking, looking for Tony, looking for anything.
The car was still smoldering, making the small valley, in which the car rested, look like a fog bank. His eyes were watering and he had a lot of trouble seeing. He gave the now-smoldering car a wide breath and began to yell for his agents.
“Ziva! McGee! Come on…” Gibbs paused and began to cough violently as the smoke entered his lungs.
Gibbs moved his hand to his mouth and tried to look around to see his agents. Gibbs tried to call out again, but again he was choked by the smoke. He made the decision to climb back up the embankment. When he finally made it back up, he turned and looked back down on the scene. He could make out two forms. And he opened his mouth to call out to them.
But…wait…there were three people down there! He had seen a third form!
But no…it wasn’t possible, his eyes were still watering, that was all. And, at least, here, above it all he could breath. He finally got his team member’s attention.
“But Gibbs…!?” Ziva said, pointing. She had made it up to where he was, Tim not far behind. “He’s down there, Gibbs!” She wiped at her smoke-filled eyes. “He’s down there!”
Gibbs nodded. “Pacci’s team….”
“Pacci is not HIS partner, Gibbs.” Ziva declared, pointing at herself. “I am! I am his partner! I should be down there! Me!” Ziva said, emphasizing the words ‘I’ and ‘me.’”
“We can find him, Boss!” Tim pleaded. “Just let us go! We…we can find him. Tony is not dead.” He stated, unconsciously wiping away tears and smoke. “He’s not dead.”
Gibbs looked at his Tim, unsure who he was trying to convince, Gibbs or himself.
Gibbs looked at the two expectant faces looking back at him. And for the first time, in his life, he supposed, he had no words. He didn’t know what to tell the two people in front of him. He knew he would handle his own grief as he always did, with equally heavy doses, of boat-building and bourbon. But he had nothing for them, and it terrified him.
“We wait for Chris Pacci and his team.” Gibbs replied.
TBC
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