Chapter 8 Searching Kate
It is midnight; Gibbs, Tony and James, help by three uniforms are still searching for Kate around the neighborhood, asking questions. Tony glances at his watch; he realized as the night approached, the more agitated and crazy his boss get. Few hours back Tony heard Gibbs kicking someone's door and slamming his hands on cars when questioning some teenagers.
James who never works with Gibbs, only heard about his character and reputation, stays close to Tony…the man sighs, as he can hear the frustration in Gibbs' voice.
"Boss, I think we should re-group and find another way…He hasn't finish his sentence. ‘What do you suggest Dinozzo?" Gibbs shouts. Tony is used to him, but James jumps slightly.
"Let's go back and look at the GPS map and let see whether Abby has more information boss" Tony continues. For the first time ever, Gibbs is lost and frustrated! When they reached HQ, James is pale, because Gibbs drives as he always drove and worse.
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O'Brien's bullpen is pack with other agents, along with Dr. Mallard, Abby and McGee.
"Gibbs, we got hit on DNA…his name is Robert Smith, 35 years old, last know address is the crime scene" Abby shouted.
O'Brien instructs two of the agents to get more information on the suspect and another agent pulling on cold cases. "Still no signal from Kate's cell, it's off or broken boss" McGee added
O'Brien and Gibbs are looking at the map on the plasma, trying to figure out where the killer might hid her, to plot from previous cold cases for educated guess.
From the corner of Gibbs and O'Brien's eyes, they see the Director descends from the stairs to the bullpen, and stop at the edge of the bullpen.
"Boss… your red witch of Salem is here boss" he whispers to Gibbs, and as Tony realized what comes out from his mouth, he is expecting a slap to his head, but he doesn't get any. Tony is mad; he blames Shepard for her disappearance, for taking her away from his team.
Neither Gibbs nor O'Brien acknowledges her arrival. They are busy, brainstorming at the map in front of them. "There… we hit those warehouses around the scene: O'Brien points around the south area on the plasma…"Roland, get warrants and necessary documents, I don't care how and who" O'Brien continues
"Abby, McGee stay here, keep tracking, let me know if there is changes…think outside the box guys" ," Everyone else, lets go" Gibbs barks
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Killer's POV
"Idiots", you'll never find your friend. I am looking at the agents searching the shady neighborhood. I see the frantic search that her friends made. And I recognize Gibbs as the agents that chased me a few years back, He doesn't look too good, I laugh.
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Kate is hungry, thirsty and cold. It is the cold and wetness that wakes her up. As she tries to move, the searing pain to her head takes over again. She grabs around her belt and waist for her mobile. Why is it off? That's weird. Still lying down on the ground, she opens the flap, and re-enter the battery, praying, hoping to re-boot the battery. Oh God, please, please let it work just for a minute, please.
She can hardly open her eyes; she squints and sees the light from her cell, hit speed dial Gibbs. "Oh, Gibbs, please please, please,please pick up please" and she hears a chilling voice behind her
Gibbs and O'Brien split into two teams. They each lead their own people; physically checking warehouses, trailers and public areas. It is around 4am. It's been more than two hours for desperate search with no results.
Even Ducky is there. Dr. Mallard said that she'll need him when is find and nobody objects the man.
Gibbs mobile rings, he sees Todd on the ID caller, within seconds he snaps his cell on, "KATE" he said "where are you? KATE!!!" he raises his voice. The rest of the agents are looking at him with some hope, Tony is already running to his boss.
Tony's cell rings, he answers still looking at Gibbs. It is McGee rambling, then Abby grabs the phone, "TONY, her cell is on, we are tracking it right now"
"Gibbs they are tracking her signal" excited, Tony calls his boss' name; but Tony's hope crumbles as he sees Gibbs face change, shouting her name. Gibbs hears a man's voice, a sharp groan which he recognized as Kate's and the connection is cut when he shouted at his cell for her name again.
Kate feels the kick on her side twice, then her face, which renders her unconscious. "Fucking bitch is about to ruin me, you are going to pay" Smith hoists her on his shoulder and walks towards his car.
"Abby got her boss" Tony shouts, as he calls for O'Brien for coordinates. When the reached the area in 10 minutes. It is a closed public toilet in the park. The agents swarm the toilets at the same time, kicking the stalls. There is no lighting; the place is cold, slippery and wet. The place is empty.
"Damn it" Gibbs cursed
"Search the surrounding grid, Tony leads the group" As Gibbs and Ducky re-enters the toilets with torch. O'Brien and another 2 agents are setting up lighting from his truck. It was almost dawn when the lighting is set up. They find thrash, clothing, cups, dirty utensils and many more.
Ducky is examining a pool of liquid on the floor. "I think our Caitlyn was here guys" he said, "That must be hers", he collects the sample.
Gibbs pulls out a mobile from one of the toilet bowl, bagging it, it's hers, and he recognized it. O'Brien is collecting other evidences and taking pictures.
"Dinozzo" Gibbs talks to his cell, "Nothing boss" Tony replies. "Search again Dinozzo, it's almost 24hours Dinozzo, you know what it means!" Gibbs barks…"Yes boss" and Tony continues his search.
"Gibbs, we should go back and regroup" O'Brien said.
"No, we have to keep looking for her. God damn it! It's almost 24 hours" as Gibbs stalks to his truck.
"Gibbs…" O'Brien tries again…"No O'Brien, no discussion" Gibbs replies. "Jethro…listen to him, please Jethro, O'Brien's is right" Ducky pleads.
"We have to re group and starts on a fresh search by the new evidence. You know it is the best thing to do Jethro…" Ducky is worried.
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Kate feels her head bumps against a hard cold surface, her feet and hands are not bound, but she can't lift a finger, the drugs, she thought. She tries opening her eyes but the sudden light and headache blind her. Strong smells of rot and pungent smells are assaulting her nostril. She has lost track of time since she was kidnapped. She falls unconscious a couple of time from the pain and exhaustion.
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It is noon when Gibbs and Tony arrive at the HQ, They refuse to stop the search, while sending Ducky and other agents to process the evidence, and they are not surprise to find McGee arrives to help them look for Kate.
They all realized that it has pass the 24 hours mark, and as time pass, the chance of Kate to be found alive is lessen. There is no ransom or other clue. Tony remembers how Kate loyally stuck by his side when he was infected by plaque; when Kate was willing to sacrifice herself rather than Tony being killed by the blond bimbo that was Ari's.
Kate loves her boys, no doubt they fight a lot, but not a doubt in Tony's mind that she is loyal to them, loves them as family.
"We are not giving up on you Kate, hang on girl" Tony whispers to himself. He feels his face hot and his eyes are teary, he looks up pretending to think while actually he is trying to hold back his tears. His sparring partner, his partner in crime is missing, kidnapped by a psychotic killer.
McGee is very quiet, his face is red and sweats are raining down his face, he looks beaten down, tired and frustrated.
Gibbs in the midst of his anger and frustration, glimpse at his agents, not a word of complaint from their mouth, they look like hell, they've been on duties for more than 35 hours now, by his side, looking for their family member, they love Kate as much as Kate loves them and very protective towards them. The senior agent feels very proud of his team. "We did good job guys, as always, she knows that we are looking for her" he praises them before calling them to go back to HQ.
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It is 2pm by the time they reach HQ. They look like hell; Abby is waiting for them with food, drinks and of course, coffee. They take a quick shower, change, eat, drink and rest their feet.
O'Brien and his agents arrive at their bullpen, briefing them on his plan to search for Kate, starting from the last scene onwards with some uniforms, within minutes they are out the building. Gibbs is grateful O'Brien is recharging and re planning their next move.
Suddenly, the phone on Kate's desk rings. Tony, McGee just stare at the ringing phone, they look like about to cry, not knowing what to do. Gibbs answers the phone.
GUESS WHO?
It is secret service, looking for Special Agent Todd to confirm her appointment, "She is missing, cancel the bloody appointment" Gibbs hang up.
"We are missing something…" Gibbs said to himself. He is sitting in her chair, while Tony pulls his chair and sitting in front of her table. McGee comes back with 4 coffees in his hand. McGee wants to slaps his own head when he realizes that he bought Kate's coffee too, "Sorry boss, force of habit, I always gets her…sorry boss" McGee stops talking.
Gibbs, sitting down on her chair, can practically smell her fragrance; especially he has been intimate with her. Closing his eyes, resting his tired head on his hands. He is pissed, just things are better and clearer between them, and he lost her. "No way on hell I am gonna lose her" he thought to himself.
He starts sorting through the pictures and files on her tables. Tony helps, looking at pictures from the crime scene, the apartment.
"Dinozzo, let's go back to the first crime scene, let's starts from the beginning" as he stands up. "Good idea boss, while O'Brien is searching, we can concentrate on something else" as Tony gets ready to go.
Dr. Mallard is pacing towards them with his medical supply, talking non-stop; they can see that he is disturbed. "There is nothing else I can do here, the secretion on the floor belongs to her, no food content, just acid reflux, considering it's been more than 30 hours, actually it's almost 48 hours" he goes on talking, not realizing the three pair of eyes glaring at him. "So, I decided to join you guys, I'm sure she'll be all dehydrated, drugged and weak…"Ducky stops talking, he thought, if looks could kills, he'll be dead.
"Let's go…and find our Caitlyn back" Ducky changes his topic.
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Kate opens her eyes slowly, unable to move much. She can slightly move her fingers, she flexes them, and it takes lots of energy even to move her fingers.
Then she sees what she has been afraid of, a skinny man in a complete very dirty and old sailor's uniform, she sees blood stain and foul smells from the clothes.
"You ruin my plan, you bitch" he said to her with dead eyes.
"I saw your friends looking for you, imagine…finding your soulless dead corpse" he laughs to himself
"I love her, that's why I have to kill her, she is leaving me with my child" he cries in anger.
"You bloody son of a bitch, heartless shit, you rot in hell!!!" she said to him, not much energy left in her, she'll be damn if she didn't tell him what she thinks of him
Despite her rather small frame, Caitlyn Todd is a courageous person, her brothers told her so, her master chief acknowledge that. Her FBI boss took her because of her courage, loyalty and wit.
Caitlyn Todd is never afraid of death, never, she tells herself…
Her parents had warn her many times about her job in secret service, being a bullet shield, they rather have her married and happy. While her parents nag, her brothers would secretly hug and kissed her and they told her that they are damn proud of her and she should follow her dream and gut.
Until today, she is not afraid of dying, but she has one regret in her life. She regrets that she is a coward with herself, lying to herself. She hasn't told Gibbs how much she loves him, despite his "un-sunny" disposition, despite of his age. Caitlyn Todd has one regret.
"Why?" she asks the killer
"She is a slut, all women are" He screams in anger. "She tried running from me, but if I can't have her, no one can"
"You don't love her you stupid son of a bitch! You are just selfish and crazy" perhaps is realizing that she'll die soon anyway, that's why she just said what she feels. She remembers how Gibbs told her that he is too old for her and she would be happy with somebody younger with better career, that's love! Love requires sacrifices, not taking but giving away.
"Bloody bitch and you… why are you chasing me? Don't you understand my pain?" he grazes a knife from the tip of her neck, slowly dragging it to her womb.
"It's my job… you've killed over 13 people, you psycho" she looks at him in the eyes with so much hatred. Kate starts to notice her familiar surrounding, it's the apartment, oh dear God. She is lying in the bathtub.
"You kill your own flesh and blood, you heartless piece of shit" she hates him like a disease, "My boys will hunt you down to your early grave, I promise you that".
She receives few sharp blows to her face, and tastes her blood from her lips. Kate tries to move but she receives another blow, "Brave little thing aren't you?"
He snatches her shirt and pulls her up, out of the tub and drags her unceremoniously towards the bedroom, Kate knocks some things around her, not giving up.
He dumps her on the foul bed, ties her hands with the curtain ropes even though she can't move much.
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It's the first time Ducky got a taste of Gibb's excellent driving skills. Gibbs, Tony and Ducky sat at the front while McGee at his usual place, at the back.
By the time NCIS truck makes a screeching stop, Ducky is holding on to Tony's arm while his other hand is holding his specs. "Oh dear, oh dear…" as Ducky steps out of the truck.
"You all right Ducky?" Tony is still holding him. "I always thought that you and Caitlyn exaggerate" He replies.
Gibbs goes up the stairs with knife ready to cut through the tape, while Tony is helping Ducky to stands on his feet steadily, McGee is getting out their equipment from the truck.
Suddenly they heard a laud crashing noise. Ducky is shoves back into his seat while Tony and McGee with guns at the ready, sprint upstairs to the apartment.
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"Your friends were desperately searching for you" Smith said as he sits at the edge of the bed.
‘They can't wait to weigh your liver and rotten heart" Kate is reminded of Ducky.
Instead she feels a strike to her face from him, "Shut up you stupid bitch, "I'll hold your liver before they hold mine" He hisses
He drags his rusty knife along her jaw lines; Kate decides to shut up as she sees his maniacal eyes. She tries to move but couldn't and she feels her tears from her eyes, she is tired, hungry and in pain then she throws up on her side.
Smith starts laughing; he sits across her thigh, Kate winches at his sight. "Such a pretty little girl, wouldn't want to waste" as he cuts her front buttons off by one exposing her bras and stomach.
"You disgust me you son of a bitch" hissing at him hopelessly, her hands are bound, she can't move them anyway. Where are her guys? She starts wondering.
"Fierce little thing aren't you? But why the tears?, he roughly grabs her breasts and tries kissing her lips, Kate screams in pain and disgust, she spits at him. He wipes his face and presses the tip of his knife on her chest, it pricks her skin, Kate doesn't feel anything, just fear and anger. She feels no pain, just a warm liquid trickling down her side and tears on her face.
Oh God, This is how I'm going to die she thought of the victims on Ducky's cold table. Kate sees the psycho unbuckles his belt and pants, and then he unbuttons her pants exposing her underwear. She hears herself scream and cries in desperation, she rather die, she thought, Ducky's table is not looking too bad now, after all she'll be with friends…she screams in anguish.
-TBC-nova2006-edited
Author's Chapter Notes:
Kate is kidnapped