SECONDS
By
Annie
"Gibbs." He barked out the automatic response even though it had been more than three months since he left.
"This is Ziva."
"Ziva?" He struggled up in the bed, flicked on the bedside light and squinted at the clock. "It's 0204, Officer Davide. I resigned, remember. There had better be a damned good explanation for this."
"Gibbs, you have to come back to Washington."
"I repeat, Davide, I resigned. I don't have to do anything anymore." He paused for a moment as he swung his legs out of bed and sat up on the side. "Have you been drinking?" he asked suspiciously. "Did DiNozzo put you up to this? Put him on."
"Gibbs, listen to me. Tony's been kidnapped. He's been gone for five days. We have no leads. Will you come?"
"What?" Gibbs felt as if his heart had rolled in upon itself and clamped down - hard. "What do you mean you have no leads? What was he working? You must have some ideas. Talk to me, Ziva."
"Nothing active. We were working a drug smuggling case but we got them. There's nothing else that could have anything to do with him being missing. Not even any red fish-"
"Herrings, Ziva, red herrings," he corrected automatically.
There was a long silence from the other end of the phone and Gibbs used the time to pull on his clothes one-handed.
"Gibbs, we need you back here. Will you come?"
"I'm already on my way, Ziva. Tell McGee I'll call him with my arrival time-"
"There's a plane waiting for you at the local airfield. A car will meet you when you arrive."
"I'm that easy to predict?" Gibbs asked sardonically as he scrawled a note on the pad next to the bed to leave for Francks.
He could almost hear the shrug in her voice as she replied, "Yes, when it comes to Tony."
He dropped the phone back into the cradle and packed. Then he left the note on the kitchen table and hurried outside. He managed to get the old jalopy started with minimal trouble and was grateful for that small mercy. He tried to call down a few more small mercies on his way to the airfield. It had been a long time since he'd prayed but he could call up a few… for Tony.
~oOo~
The office was quieter than Gibbs had ever known it. More than that, it seemed to be filled with an all-pervading sense of gloom. He glanced quickly over at Tony's desk then just as quickly away again. That desk had been empty for the wrong reasons too many times before. He was determined to make sure it didn't stay that way.
"Boss!"
He turned at the call and saw McGee and Ziva heading down the stairs. "Hi Tim." He stuck out his hand as they reached him and then pulled Tim in for a quick hug, patting his back as he released him, smiling despite his worry at the surprised look on Tim's face. "How ya doin'?"
"I'm okay… well, worried about Tony but otherwise I'm good, Boss."
Gibbs turned and gave Ziva a hug as well, not too surprised to feel her hug him back. "Keeping out of trouble, Davide?"
"Of course. Tony would say no but-" She broke off suddenly, biting down on her lip.
"It's okay," he said quietly. "We'll find him. Tell me what you know." He settled himself on the edge of what used to be his desk, wondering a little that Tony had taken it over. Then again, it had been a long time before he could let anyone use Cait's desk… He shoved that thought to the far reaches of his mind and concentrated on what Ziva was saying.
"We just finished up a case – drugs being smuggled in from Iraq. Tony had two days off. He said he was going to stay home, get some rest, watch movies. He didn't show up for work when he was due back. No calls to anyone, no emails either. McGee and I went to his apartment. He wasn't there. No sign of a struggle, neighbors said they hadn't seen him in a few days and none of them heard or saw anything out of the ordinary," Ziva told him succinctly.
McGee nodded his agreement. "It's like he vanished without a trace," he added quietly.
Gibbs stood up. "Nobody vanishes without a trace, especially not Tony. He would have found some way to leave a clue. All we have to do is work out what it is and where it is. I'm gonna go say hi to Abby and Ducky. You two re-check everything you've already checked."
"We've already checked everything a dozen times-"Ziva began, stopping as Gibbs'hand rose threateningly toward the back of her head. "Yes, we shall check them one dozen and one times then," she finished.
Gibbs nodded and turned to leave.
"Um, Boss, does this mean you're back for good?" McGee asked. "I mean, not that Tony hasn't been doing a great job because he has. It's just that we all sorta hoped-"
"Just till we find Tony," Gibbs said with finality. "I'll talk to the Director after I've seen Ducky and Abs. Have something for me by then. I don't care how unimportant it seems."
"On it, Boss."
Author's Chapter Notes:
It's been 3 months since Gibbs left NCIS. Will Tony's disappearance be enough to bring him back for good?