Disclaimer: I own nothing. *deep sigh* Is it September yet?
A/N: The title is supposed to read: (24) Hours of Summers, like a certain movie. More on that later.
"Hiya Abby!" Tony called as he walked into Abby's lab. It was a dark stormy morning, meaning Abby's lab looked considerably different under the florescent lights: less friendly, less Abby…he thought.
"TONNNNNYYY!" Abby dashed across the lab. Tony had only a second to brace himself for the bone-crushing vice that was coming. After a few seconds, he gratefully sucked in air as Abby released him. "How are you? It feels like I haven't seen you in FOREVER!"
"First of all, I'm pretty sure you need to ask permission before you indulge in contact behavior like that last display. Do I need to call the DOD lady?" he questioned. Seeing Abby grinning evilly, he continued, "And second, Abby, it's only been a weekend—which, by the way, was awesome! I finally saw Taken with my cousin who was in town and wow!" he reminisced gleefully, "Taken was amazing! One of Liam's finest roles. I don't think my cousin's going to let her daughter out of her sight for—"
"Haven't seen it," Abby remarked dismissively. "I don't mean to be rude but what are you doing here? You may not have cases but I'm swamped. Andrews has me running an analysis of some unknown substance, Kramer's got me re-running DNA because 'it didn't match the suspect's the first time'," she said using air quotes, "and Ducky's got me running some blood and tissue sample. Major Mass Spec hasn't had a break yet! He's going to need one soon because he's running a fever and making strange noises. Poor Major!"
"Gibbs sent me down with this," Tony produced a Caf-Pow! from behind his back, which had avoided damage during Abby's hug, "and to tell you that you did a good job on the last case."
"Why didn't he come himself? Not that I don't love seeing you down here," she backtracked, seeing Tony's slightly hurt expression, "You know that right?"
"He was called into an urgent video conference in MTAC. The Toothpick came down to personally escort Gibbs to ensure he'd be there. He almost had to threaten Gibbs' pension!"
The phone rang. Abby bounced back to her lab table and put the call on speakerphone. "Abby Scuito, forensics extraordinaire and Caf-Pow aficionado, at your service!" she called excitedly.
"Miss Scuito, we have a visitor for you. Lieutenant Dale Summers and his partner Jeff Jerome from Baltimore PD. Say they have evidence for you regarding Special Agent Davis' case…" the NCIS Security Guard reported.
"OH! I wasn't expecting them for another hour. He's okay, Darla. Davis called me yesterday to tell me Summers and Jerome were bringing evidence from a related cold case."
"You have to escort them up," Darla replied.
Abby turned to Tony. "Can you escort him up for me? Puh-lease? I'm really busy." She motioned to her completely filled lab table.
"Don't worry Abby! Tony DiNozzo is on the job. I'll get them for you! Back in a flash!" He dashed out of the lab in true superhero fashion, leaving Abby typing madly at the computer.
"Hmmm. BPD. Summers and Jerome. Don't think I know them," Tony pondered, muttering aloud on the way down to security.
There was something about the two of them that didn't sit right with Tony. The way they walked, held themselves, acted toward NCIS, and acted toward him. He was Anthony DiNozzo, and though he didn't like to brag, he had left quite the legacy at Baltimore PD. Yet, these guys acted as if Tony was the same as the scum they arrested on a daily basis.
"So, you guys work with Officer Friendly at one time?" Tony asked the question to see if he could trick up the men, knowing full well Friendly had retired last year.
"Yea. We closed our last case with him. But, Tony?"
"Ya?" Tony answered halfheartedly, wondering what these guys hoped to accomplish by pretending to be BPD cops.
"I need you to hand over your ID and cell phone."
Tony scoffed. "Why would I do that?" he snickered until he felt a gun being poked into his back. He unconsciously reached for his own before realizing it was in his desk drawer. "You're not serious?" he asked incredulously.
"Yes we are, DiNozzo," the one called Summers said. "Hand me your phone and ID. Slowly."
Tony unclipped his phone and ID, slowly handing them over. Jerome turned off the phone and put both in his backpack while Summers patted down Tony finding his loaded ankle holster, which was emptied and handed over to Jerome as well.
"Interlace your hands behind your head. When we get out, walk quietly into Abby's lab. Do not alert anyone you may see. Jerome will have his gun in easy reach."
The elevator opened onto the forensics' floor. Summers lead, nodding when the coast was clear. Tony took a quick look around and saw no one. Shit. Where were all the agents when you needed them? Normally, you couldn't find privacy anywhere, even in the head.
Jerome gave him a poke in the back with his gun before draping a jacket over his gun to conceal it.
"Thanks Ducky!" Tony heard Abby call as they entered the lab. She turned as she heard people enter the lab silently. "Hey Tony!" she called, not receiving a response. Abby's eyes widened as she quickly assessed the situation, noting Tony's unusual silence and the stances of the two men flanking him. Tony saw her quickly and almost imperceptibly reach for the silent alarm as she understood what was happening. He barely nodded, acknowledging her move.
"No Miss Scuito. I wouldn't do that," Jerome threw away his coat dramatically to reveal the gun as Summers unholstered his as well.
Abby quickly threw up her hands as Jerome thrust the gun harder into Tony's back prodding him forward into Abby's computer table.
"You know," Tony remarked flippantly, "you could ask me to walk instead of poking me. It's easier and less painful."
Summers held Tony and Abby at gunpoint while Jerome closed all the blinds in the lab. Tony watched as Jerome pulled a small pair of bolt cutters out of his backpack, using them to cut the security camera's power and feed. Tony was really curious how Jerome had gotten those through security… Afterward, Jerome began to systematically turn off Abby's equipment.
"What the hell are you doing?" Abby screeched. "Those are valuable, multimillion dollar pieces of equipment! You can't just turn them off!"
"Relax!" Summers called. "Jerome works in a lab very similar to yours. I can assure you he knows what he's doing. Meanwhile, could you please engage lockdown procedures and secure the lab?"
Abby looked to Tony who nodded. She reluctantly pulled the small remote from a drawer and hit a button, dropping the solid metal wall over the door to her lab. The windows were covered as well.
"Why don't you let Abby go?" Tony remarked as a frowning Abby handed the remote to Summers who stuffed it in a pocket. "You don't need her."
It never hurts to ask…he thought, sizing up the enemy. Summers was smaller than Jerome, about Tony's height, but in very good shape. Jerome might have been juicing, for his muscles rivaled Corporal Damon Werth's, and—well, that'd ended with a broken nose for himself and a dislocated shoulder for McGee. Jerome'd be tough to beat in a one-on-one. Tony decided to wait to make a move until Jerome was out of the picture. Tony could probably take Summers; he had beaten a Mossad assassin after all—even though said Mossad assassin was very, very hammered.
"I promise to be a rather good hostage," Tony tried again to have Abby released. "I promise to sit quietly without my usually witty banter and obediently obey the bulk of your sane and realistic orders." He paused for dramatic effect before continuing. "I will not, however, disclose the secret to KFC's fried wings which I accidentally learned during a case in Baltimore. And let me tell you," he turned to Abby, "you don't want to know—"
"Enough!" Summers cried. "She stays! She is every bit as crucial to the plan as you are, Mr. DiNozzo, though if you keep speaking, we'll have to resort to Plan B, which unfortunately, continues without you…You could not want to put Miss Scuito in that position would you?"
Tony sat back, temporarily silenced, running through possible escape plans in his head. None of them were currently plausible, and the ones he was thinking of were not guaranteeing that he or Abby would walk out of there alive.
Jerome finished powering down Abby's equipment, except for the bank of computers. He held the gun on Tony and Abby while Summers searched Abby. A look of surprise was on Summers' features when he found an ankle sheath. Tony's face mirrored Summers' when he saw Summers pull out a short, but still very deadly, knife.
Abby caught Tony's shocked look. "Ziva taught me after that guy impersonating a Federal Marshall tried to kidnap me, and Timmy's deranged fan tried to kill me," she shrugged.
Summers handed Jerome the knife and finished his search, his hands lingering a bit too long for Tony's liking. He made a small move to step forward, but Abby sent him a quick "cool it" stare.
Summers pulled a roll of duct tape out of his backpack and tossed it to Tony. "Take this duct tape and bind Miss Scuito's hands behind her. Tightly." Held at gunpoint, Tony had no choice but to catch the roll of tape. As he stood up, he saw Jerome working avidly at Abby's computers. He was accessing bank records, along with some other McGeeky stuff Tony didn't understand.
"I'm sorry Abby," he whispered in her ear as he taped her wrists as gently as possible.
"It's okay Tony," she said quietly, turning slightly toward him, her eyes full of fear.
"Enough chit-chat," Summers called angrily. "Come here DiNozzo," he motioned. Tony had no choice but to obey since Jerome had stopped working and had trained his gun on Abby. "Turn around." Tony did so, continually making eye contact with Abby and sending her reassuring glances. Summers taped Tony's wrists behind his back to tightly that he began to quickly loose circulation in his fingers. "There," Summers remarked satisfied.
"Now, Miss Scuito, I need you to call your director. Do not alert the receptionist in any manner or your friend will suffer the consequences."
"Do as he says Abby," Tony said reassuringly, not wanting any harm to come to his favorite forensic scientist; his words masked the small nod he sent her way. Her eyes quickly widened, signaling Tony that she understood.
"What's the extension?" Jerome asked, punching it in as Abby recited it, then putting it on speakerphone.
"Hi, Eloise. No, just listen. Please tell Director Vance I need to speak to him immediately. No, no. I'll hold. Yes. Thank you." Jerome hit the "hold" button, effectively cutting off the receptionist's sharp reply that Vance could not be disturbed.
Tony proudly noted how Abby had used the distress word so discreetly. Hopefully, receptionist Cynthia was up to snuff on the new code words. Most importantly, Tony was especially glad Abby was being so calm and collected—he wasn't sure what he'd do with a nervous wreck (it greatly limited all escape possibilities). It didn't really matter what harm came to him-he'd heal. Hell, he'd survived the plague. Nothing they could do to him would top that…at least he hoped not. As long as Gibbs' was warned somehow and Abby was safe, he'd be okay with anything they threw at him.
"Jerome will take it from here," Summers said to Abby. "You and DiNozzo go sit by your mass spectrometer." Tony and Abby did as asked, sitting backs to the Major, facing Abby's computers. They sat in silence for a minute, watching Summers pace and Jerome type madly. Tony began trying to loosen his bonds but was met with little success. Plan Two: He decided to keep Summers talking while they waited for Vance.
"Sooooo…Summers…while we're waiting for the big guy upstairs, let's clear the air. You're not with Baltimore P.D., I'd have bet my DVD collection on it the moment I saw you. So let's cut the crap. Who are you, where you're from, and maybe why you're here, for those playing along at home?" Tony announced in a game show host's voice.
"Always the smart ass, aren't we, DiNozzo? But, very good. What gave us away?"
Behind Summers, Tony saw the light on Abby's web cam switch from red to green. Computer expert he was not, but he was pretty sure green was a good thing, and if a web cam was anything like his DVD player, green meant 'on'.
"Well, Summers, there's a list. First, Friendly retired last year—I attended his retirement banquet. Two, you are Jerome and not cops. I used to work for Baltimore and there's no way they'd let scum like you on the force.
"So, what are you? Ex-Delta Force? Green Beret? The IMF? S.H.I.E.L.D.? Manticore? Oh God! Please don't tell me you're with Treadstone!" Tony exclaimed in a mocking tone.
Summers started angrily toward Tony, but was stopped by Vance's booming voice over the speakerphone. "This is Director Vance of NCIS. I demand to speak to one of my agents to ensure their condition."
"How does he know?" Summers cried to Jerome.
Summers turned to face Abby, anger raging in his eyes, while Jerome began typing madly on the keyboard. "You!" he pulled Abby into a standing position. "You've double crossed me! What have you done? How did he know an agent was down here?" Summers grabbed Abby tightly by the shoulders and began shaking her violently.
"Well, what did you want me to do? Send you flowers?" Abby retorted.
As Summers raised his hand to hit Abby, Jerome turned to look at the other computers for the source of the leak. This was Tony's opening. He was not about to let Summers continue to hurt Abby.
Tony threw himself at Summers, knocking both of them into Abby's computer table. Summers involuntarily let go of his gun as his head slammed into the working web cam. Tony threw himself into Summers again as he saw Abby going for the gun, which had slid just out of Summers' reach. Jerome, who must have looked up at the crash, snagged the gun away from Abby at the last moment.
Summers flailed wildly under Tony, throwing Tony backward into Abby's refrigerator, shattering its glass door. Once he could see clearly again, Tony pulled his knees up to his chest, sliding his bound hands under and around him. He stood up with his bound hands in front of him, his movement causing glass shards to fly everywhere.
Tony was ready to charge Summers again, but stopped when he heard the sound of a gun being cocked. He looked up to see Jerome holding a gun to Abby's temple, his other hand firmly rested on Summer's gun next to the keyboards. Getting Abby shot was not on today's agenda.
"Ah! Ah! Ah! That was not very nice, Mr. DiNozzo." Summers reached behind his head, his fingers coming away bloody. "Now, you will pay."
What say you? Bonus points if you know what TV show(s) I was referencing in Tony's Treadstone speech or the movie I borrowed the title from (Gibbs-slap if you can't figure that one out)! :)
A/N: Yeah, I know. Eloise as a code word? Whatever. But seriously, are you going to have time to work in "Can you bring me some 'Mexican' food?" (like in Numb3rs) into a simple phone conversation? Yeah, I didn't think so either.