Prevaricate

Agent Fornell caught up with Agent Balboa right as he was explaining the plan to raid the shop that McGee and Gibbs had gone to visit. “If you wait, I can get a couple of FBI teams together to go with you.” Fornell interjected.

Agent Balboa nodded. “Plan to meet a block away in four hours?”

Fornell agreed. “That will be enough time.”

Sometimes Fornell loved his job. Being able to order people to come with him and have them immediately follow without asking questions, often made his day. Balboa had told his NCIS team that they were going for stealth and Fornell agreed one hundred percent.

They didn't just want to get Gibbs and McGee back, though, that was the main goal. They also wanted to get their captors, so that could interrogate them and figure out what was going on and how they were related to DiNozzo's disappearance.

After he’d led two of the teams under him to a conference room, Fornell explained the purpose and what they were looking to do. Dismissing them to get the equipment they needed, Fornell ordered them to meet in two hours. He wanted to beat NCIS to the meeting point instead of the other way around.

He had a suspicion that NCIS wouldn't wait for the FBI if NCIS got there first. He wouldn't blame them either. If it was his people, he wouldn't wait either.

Agent Balboa and Agent Fornell had decided to take the lead and headed in together through the back entrance with their teams and let the other two teams come in through the front of the shop. The shop only had two entrances, so they had to make the best of it. They didn’t have time to try and take down the walls. Fornell had decided to take the lead while Agent Balboa held back providing back up, but not obviously visible like Agent Fornell.

Fornell was getting testier and testier as they made their way further in with no resistance. It was never good when you didn’t meet any enemies like you’d expect. That generally meant they were expecting you and something worse was about to happen.

Still, he was doing his best to keep calm so as to not antagonize his team because of this unexpected scenario. He needed them at their best, not unnaturally spooked, so that they would be ready for whatever was about to happen.

At first, Fornell thought that McGee and Gibbs had been taken somewhere else as the shop seemed completely empty. It was only by chance that one of the NCIS agents stumbled upon a false wall that led to another room. In the room, they finally found Gibbs and McGee, but still no sign of their captors.

McGee looked the worst for wear. He’d clearly taken the brunt of the torture. Though, fortunately, his injuries didn’t look to be life threatening. Just exceedingly painful. They were clearly still softening him up or waiting for something.

Fornell couldn’t help feeling that something was off about this whole situation. Still, he rushed to release Gibbs from his bonds while Balboa released McGee.

“What happened, Gibbs?” Fornell pressed.

“We entered the shop as part of the investigation and were immediately attacked. I tried to hold them off, but was no match for the number of attackers. They then tied our arms and hung us from the hooks. They immediately went for McGee despite my attempts to anger them into focusing on me and spent the rest of the time torturing him. Then you guys arrived.” Gibbs reported as succinctly as possible.

Fornell eyed him with suspicion. “Then, where are your captors? What aren’t you telling me, Gibbs?”

Gibbs prevaricated, not wanting to explain that the captors had vanished into thin air. He was certain that no one would believe him, anyway. “They left shortly before you arrived.” Gibbs offered instead.