Chapter 9:
„Dingdingding! We have a winner!"
Abby beamed when they entered the lab.
„You mean you actually found something?"
McGee asked surprised and Gibbs slapped him over the head.
„Finger prints on the pan?"
„All wiped away."
Abby answered.
„On the fridge?"
„All Tony's."
„ABBY!"
Gibbs said threatening.
„Ok, of the three million finger prints you brought me was one neither Tony's nor yours nor his maid's. It was on the kitchen table."
Gibbs gave her the Caff-Pow! but Ziva still didn't look convinced.
„As far as I know Tony didn't live like a priest. It still could be the finger print of one of his girlfriends."
„Or boyfriends. Or drinking partners."
McGee continued but Gibbs shut them all up.
„Why do you think there weren't any finger prints except mine, Tony's and the maid's? The maid was there on thursday, today is saturday.Tony hadn't been home since wednesday. Who do you think was there after Maria had cleaned up without Tony being there and leaving only one single fingerprint?"
He looked that annoyed that neither of them dared to say anything.
„So, you've got a match on it?"
„Yup. Michael Sellers, ex-Marine."
„Never heard of him."
Gibbs said.
„Maybe he has a grudge on Tony and the „master" has a grudge on you."
Ziva suggested and at first Gibbs thought about to shoot her but then, it made sense.
„What are you waiting for? Background check!"
15 h 00 min 39 sec...
Chapter 10:
Start near and then get further. Gibbs thought about what Ducky had said but he still didn't knew where to start. To go through a list by exclusion would be the easiest way but not the fastest and time was running away.
He hadn't had anybody else than Tony for eleven months. After Kate's death they hadn't lost much time before jumping into bed together and for Gibbs it always was one and no other, no matter how loose the relationship was.
„Ding!"
He looked at his screen and saw the MSN Messanger blinking.
„Tony is online."
He quickly clicked it on.
„Tony?"
„Gibbs, you have to find me!"
„What do you think we're doing? Sipping cocktails in a beach bar?"
„There's water, Gibbs!"
„I know Tony. Stay calm!"
„You know? How do you know?"
„They mailed it. They told us that they will insert water."
„Did they say how much?"
„Every hour 320 litre, that means in..."
he looked at the countdown. 14h 15 min 29 sec.
„...about 13 hours it will be 1.6 meters high."
„13 hours? So I have about 13 hours to live? Great! Thanx for the news!"
„You won't be in there then! We have a name, you know a Michael Sellers?"
For a moment there was nothing. Gibbs feared Tony could be off again but then an answer came.
„I never heard of him, I think. But Gibbs, it's a woman! She talked to me!"
Gibbs took a deep breath.
„You know the voice?"
„No, but all sounds are strange in here. It could be that I know her."
Gibbs nodded. Ok, the master is a mistress. And the handyman is Michael Sellers. Now they had to find out who the bitch was and where they kept Tony.
Before he could write anything else Tony was off again.
Chapter 11:
13 h 46 min 17 sec...
„Ziva, that's not good enough!"
Gibbs said annoyed. Sellers was a Marine, Petty Officer First Class, thrown out after three written repriments because of violence.
„I want to know everything about him, I even want to know in what diapers he had a shit! And in what diapers his parents had a shit if you can't find something useful!"
He took the phone.
„Abby, anything new?"
„No, bossman, absolutely nothing. Except..."
„Except?"
„I just recieved an email. Wanna come down before I open it?"
Gibbs didn't hear the last sentence since he already was on his way.down.
Chapter 12:
12 h 58 min 37 sec...
„Ok, what have we got...em..."
Abby opened the email. It only contained a link. She clicked on it.
„A wep cam video."
She said reading the file name.
„Go ahead."
Gibbs said. He knew it would be a video of Tony.
And it was. There was the box, a glass cube, and in there was Tony. The water was already nearly at his hips.
„They took him the laptop."
Gibbs said. It was all he could say. The camera wasn't close enough to see Tony's expression but Gibbs could tell the younger man was shivering.
„Get everything you can from that video. Maybe you can find out where that is."
„How should I find something?"
„There's a window."
Gibbs said and pointed at a corner of the screen.
„Maybe you can see something if you zoom. Just try it, Abby."
He said and left the lab. He was tired of this. He was tired of safing Tony. He knew he wouldn't leave that man but this time it would have consequenses, he just couldn't say which just now.
„What was it, boss?"
McGee asked when Gibbs sat behind his desk.
„A video of Tony."
„How is he?"
Gibbs shrugged.
„The water is at his hips. More I can't tell you."
„Gibbs!"
Ziva said. She stood directly in front of his desk.
„What, Ziva."
„We should get down to Abby's lab."
„Ziva I told you. I want you..."
„We really should get down there, right now!"
Ziva insisted. Gibbs eyed her for a moment and she raised her eyebrows to emphasize what she had said.
„Ok, Ziva. And why exactly had we to get down?"
Gibbs asked more than annoyed when everybody was in the lab and the doors where closed.
„I found something very interesting about Michael Sellers. His mother, Irene Sellers got divorced from his father Andrew Sellers when he was three."
„Sooo?"
„His mother married again and had a daughter."
„You're implying that this half sister is the mistress?"
McGee asked.
„Why?"
Gibbs finished McGee's thought.
„His mother married Carl Sheppard, and his half sister is Jennifer Sheppard, our Director!"
McGee and Abby stared unbelievingly at her. But Gibbs‘ mind was running fast. It made sense, suddenly. All what had happened. Director Morrow leaving, Jenny getting the job, Tony being framed for murder by a collegue...
„Jenny wants to get rid of Tony."
12h 00min 05 sec...12 h 00 min 04 sec...12 h 00 min 03 sec...12 h 00 min 02 sec...12 h 00 min 01 sec...12h 00 min 00 sec...
END OF PART 1 TO BE CONTINUED
Author's Chapter Notes:
Now they have a trace but still, where is Tony...
Chapter End Notes:
still the same, but this is the last Act of Part 1, Part 2 will follow.