"Morning, everyone. Brought some coffee."

"You are hilarious, Ev."

I drop my things at the desk, tossing Tony a new coat since Lee spilled coffee all over his other one.

"Any news about my daughter?" Lee runs up to me first from the opposite desk.

Tony hands me a post-it note with a phone number. "N.S.A. got a hit. They're downloading the footage now." His lips graze my temple. "How was the doctor's appointment?"

"It went well." Like a reflex, I lean into his touch. "Got some blood drawn, though."

"Sorry I couldn't be there. I was a little. . ."

"Caught up. I know."

Both of our glares are directed towards the sole person in charge of putting the entire team in thai situation: Agent Lee.

"D-Does Gibbs know?" She stutters under our stares.

"Know about what?"

The man himself enters the bullpen.

"Do they have something?"

Tony sits down at his desk. "We had something. The pickup man in perfect position before you blew it with the brew."

"He knows my routine. I felt I may have been compromised."

She helplessly turns to our boss.

"Look, I did my part. I made the drop. But I couldn't risk him seeing anything unusual."

"What do you know about him?" Gibbs shows her the surveillance photo he'd taken from their stakeout mission.

"Nothing." Lee shakes her head. "I only see him when he's expecting a drop at the cafe."

"Always the same guy?"

"He hides his face. I try not to stare."

The footage from N.S.A. comes in, located in Hickory Grove, Virginia. Although the man is never seen, the girl he's carrying couldn't be more obvious: Lee's little sister Amanda.

McGee retrieves the coordinates from where Amanda and her captor were last seen, and Gibbs sends me and Tony out to track her.

"Your appointment's coming up in two weeks." I snap pictures of the little girl's shoe and the footprint left behind.

Tony bags and tags the evidence. "The one where I have to use a cup to. . .?"

"It's just to make sure we're both healthy enough to. . .you know, start trying."

The miniscule thought of starting a family with the man I love develops a red tinge to the cheeks and neck.

"Dogs and babies. All we need is a white picket fence house, and we'll have the picture perfect life of our dreams."

"Tony —"

"Other than the fact that our lives are on the line every single day."

We unfortunately find ourselves lost while following the trail. But a quick call to McGee shows we're six miles away from our starting point.

The only thing nearby is an abandoned house.

"Three years ago, we were stuck inside a shipping container."

"I remember having to buy you another bra, yeah."

"There's definitely more to this room than what meets the eye."

Along the wall, I notice a pair of hinges. With guns raised in defense, Tony and I enter the room. . .a child's room.

"So I found our kidnapper."

Tony gestures to the dead body next to the bed.

"Question is: where is she?"

- - - - - - - - - -

"Boys, behave."

"Sorry, Eva."

For the second round of the stakeout, McGee and Tony look out from the car, Gibbs sips a coffee in the outdoor seating area, and I keep my eyes on Lee.

"Lipstick. Off routine. She could be sending a signal."

"Hold, Evaline."

I guard my ground, noticing how Lee purposefully leaves a lipstick imprint on the coffee cup and turns it around.

Soon, the same old routine sets into motion.

With a twist.

"Heads up. The invisible man is back."

The door to the coffee shop swings open, but Lee makes no move to leave.

"Something's wrong, boss. She's not leaving."

From outside, Gibbs converses with someone argumentatively over the phone while Lee folds the paper as usual.

"Tell me where my daughter is."

The metal of a gun glints under the fluorescent lights.

"Tell me where —"

"Put the gun down."

"Give me the paper."

"Drop the paper right now. Let go."

"Give me the paper! You're screwing everything up! Now, what if he's watching? He'll kill her."

"Who, Amanda?"

"My wife."

- - - - - - - - - -

"Do I get one of those?"

Ted Bankston, former N.S.A. analyst and the man Lee's been in contact with for months nods to the ear comm I hold between fingertips.

"No."

Tony shoots down immediately as he fixes his earpiece and helps with mine.

"Agent DiNozzo." One of the specialists calls out to him. "We're ready for audio check."

Tony announces to the others. "Audio check. One, two, three."

"Agents at each exit. Nobody gets made. This guy is gonna be watching. Go."

"Alright, people. Let's move out."

- - - - - - - - - -

"We're live, boss."

Agents from all across the field department of N.C.I.S. sit at the pub, disguised and concealed to the public eye.

Tony gazes fondly at our boss through the monitor. "Look at him. The man's an artist. He's fake stakeout drinking. Watch the Adam's apple move. Yet no actual consumption. We've got a lot to learn, babe."

"Yeah, Tony, he just finished his drink." I nod towards the empty glass sitting on the edge of the pool table.

"What —"

"Looks like he's going about this for real."

"Evaline. F.B.I. safe house. 1815 Longview. Take the agent from the south exit."

"Copy that, boss."

Lee stares up into the camera, and for a moment, a flash of sympathy crosses Tony's face. He grips the headset in one hand.

"Boss, I'll go with Evaline."

"Do it."

- - - - - - - - - -

"The house is clear, Tony."

"Good. Because what the hell is this?"

I follow him into one of the makeshift bedrooms — only it's being used to house a plethora of computers.

"They're computers, Tony."

"God, am I glad that you're here."

We each take either side of the massive equipment, snapping pictures here and there to send to the tech genius on the team: McGee.

"Tony, I need you."

"I'll have to call you back."

Within the padlocked room, Amanda lays in a bed centered in the room. I wave a hand over her face, confirming she's still alive.

"I've got breath sounds." I look up at him.

"Sleeping pills." He shakes an orange container.

Carefully, I peel the covers off of her sleeping body to reveal some sort of mechanism she's been placed on top of.

"She's laying on a pressure plate."

"A bomb?"

"No. It's an electrical circuit. It's hardwired into the grid." My gaze drifts down the winding wired path. "Tony, she's part of the circuit to power the computers."

"Should we cut the power?" He suggests.

"No. It could cause a surge and destroy the computers. And kill her."

"It's a backup plan in case he didn't make it."

As we gather supplies to take over for her weight, the young girl begins to stir. But before we can make the switch, we make the quick decision of her or the computers.

And there's a more than obvious choice.