A/N: Another fic for the NFA Help Haiti auction. This one features Tony and Tim with the requested trauma and torture. In a macabre way, I feel that I hit upon a very nice idea for torture and I wish I had come up with it in the context of a different fic. Ah well. I can always think of something else. It's a oneshot; never fear.
Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS, the NCIS characters, nor any other franchise for that matter. I'm poor. I'm a grad student. I'm not making money off this fic.
Focus
by Enthusiastic Fish
"Give me the address!"
"No!"
Tony grimaced as Tim let out another bloodcurdling scream. He really had thought that Tim would be able to be a bit more stoic. Of course, he didn't know what was being done to him in the next room. ...that is until he heard the audible crack and another scream. Then, there was some purposeful silence and the door to the room was opened. Instantly, Tony could see what they'd done, although he'd had a pretty good idea before.
Tim was no longer wearing a shoe...and his foot was misshapen. His breathing was harsh and ragged as they dragged him in and then chained him to the wall...by his foot, or rather just above it, thereby guaranteeing that he wouldn't try to move.
He looked up at Tony his face white.
"Hey..." he managed, trying to sound nonchalant while tears of pain coursed down his cheeks. "...how's it going in here?"
Tony pulled himself to his knees and crawled over...as far as the chain would let him. It was far enough, for all that Tim lay sprawled on the floor, not moving from where they'd dropped him.
"Broken?" he asked.
"Pulverized," Tim said, trying to laugh. "Sledge hammer."
"You know, if you wouldn't scream so much they probably wouldn't be focusing on you."
Tim managed a laugh that time. "I know."
"Then, why do you keep screaming?"
"P-Passes the time." Then, he shook his head quickly as Tony reached out for the chain. "Don't touch it. Please."
"It's bleeding, McGee."
"I know."
Tony winced. Tim's voice was really shaky, but his sock was blood-soaked now.
"I need to look at it, McGee."
"Why? You a...a doctor now?"
Tim was lying on his back, the only outward sign of the pain he was feeling in his tightly-clenched fists.
"Let me do something, McGee."
"There's nothing...you can do, Tony. We can't tell them what they want to know. ...we can't dictate who gets taken. ...we can't get away."
"Would you rather be sitting up?"
"No. I'd have to move."
Tony had to admit the logic of that. He just hated seeing Tim on the floor like that. He sagged and just waited. Tim didn't try to speak.
x.x.x.x.x.x.x
"Tony?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm going to die."
"No, you're not. People don't die of a broken foot."
Tony sat up. To his surprise, Tim levered himself up.
"I thought of something you can do."
"What's that?"
"Convince me that I'm doing the right thing by not talking."
Tony met Tim's gaze and realized he wasn't kidding. He really was questioning what was the right thing.
"Okay. They want to know where an innocent woman is hiding out because they want to kill her. She came to us. She wanted to do the right thing. Every minute we don't tell them, we're saving her. That's our job. It hurts but it's what we signed on for. Got that?"
The door opened and Tony saw the fear in Tim's eyes.
"Hey, isn't it my turn yet?" Tony asked.
All he got for his trouble was a kick in the gut. Then, they unchained Tim and dragged him out again.
Tony gasped for breath and shouted out before the door closed, "You're doing the right thing, Tim!"
He grimaced when Tim's screams resumed. He wished they'd torture him for a little while. It wasn't fair that Tim was getting all the attention.
"Where is she? Give me the address."
"I'll tell you an address!" Tim shrieked.
"No, McGee!" Tony shouted.
The door opened and one of the henchmen came in and punched Tony in the face. Tony tried to fight him off but then he stopped when he heard Tim's answer.
"1600 Pennsylvania Avenue! It's a lovely place! You should see it sometime! They do tours!"
Tony laughed and managed to block out Tim's renewed screams as he got the henchmen right in the face. Granted, it was with his head and he saw some stars of his own, but he shook them away and grabbed for the gun that fell to the floor. Without thinking, he pulled the trigger and the man dropped like a stone (a big stone). Then, Tony grabbed for the keys and started unlocking his chains. The door burst open again and he started shooting. Two more fell and Tony got his legs free. He stumbled as he took his first steps in more than a day, but it was so quiet in the next room that he was propelled forward without much thought about what he'd find.
He kicked open the door and...stopped. Tim's broken foot was in a vise...but he was sitting up, and strangling their captor. Tony didn't stop to think. He fired once more. The man slipped from Tim's grasp.
"Hey, McGee, you ready to go?"
Tim's arms trembled as they held him up.
"I don't think I can, Tony. You go without me."
"I don't think so. You want Gibbs to kill me for leaving a man behind?"
"You can send someone back for me. I'll just wait," Tim said, tears making dirty tracks on his cheeks.
Tony ran forward and loosen the vise. Tim shrieked and fell back onto the bench.
"I'm not leaving you here," Tony said and picked up the gun laying on the ground beside their dead captor.
"Tony, be logical. They focused on me. You're not really hurt too badly. You can get out. You're less likely to make it if you...have to take me along."
Tony stared. "You did this on purpose, didn't you? You tried to make them focus on you."
"It was the only plan that came to mind."
"You could have discussed it with me!"
"When? When they were standing there deciding which one of us to torture? I'm sure that would have worked. You're better at this kind of thing, the whole...escape thing."
"Doesn't matter. I'm not leaving you here, McGee. I don't care if I have to drag you the whole way. I'm not leaving you in here. Got that?"
Suiting actions to words, Tony grabbed Tim around the waist and hauled him upright, ignoring his shrieks of pain as his broken foot fell to the floor.
"Now, you lean on me. Take the gun and we'll both fire if necessary."
"Just like Somalia," Tim said in a pained whisper.
"Exactly."
They started forward. Tony could feel Tim trembling and it made him ill to know that Tim had tried to have things fall out this way...so that one of them was in a position to escape...at the expense of the other. Tim's broken foot left a trail of blood behind them. It couldn't be helped. They didn't have time.
As quickly as he could, Tony got them up the stairs and out of their prison, an isolated house in western Maryland. Only when they were outside did Tony think about a phone...which they didn't have.
"Okay, McGee, I'm going to set you down here by this tree. I'll go and scrounge a phone. One of them must have one. I'll be back in a jiffy."
"Yeah, okay." Tim almost dropped the gun...almost.
"You back me up, okay, buddy?"
Tim nodded, his eyes drooping closed.
Thwack!
"That means you have to stay awake, McGee!"
"Okay. Awake. Hurry."
Tony saluted and ran inside, keeping an eye out. He had no idea if they'd got them all. Who knew how many were involved in this anyway. There was a cell phone. He checked to see if it worked and then grabbed it and ran back out.
"Got it!" he shouted.
Then, Tim suddenly sat up. "Tony!" He raised the gun and fired twice to the side. Tony whirled around and saw a man drop, the gun in his hand slowly tumbling from his fingers. Then, he looked back at Tim and saw Tim's gun doing the same thing as he slumped back against the tree, energy spent. Tony ran over and caught Tim before he could fall.
"I gotcha, McGee."
"Had your back."
"Thanks."
"Yeah. Thanks."
Tony called quickly telling Gibbs where they were and the urgent need for an ambulance. Then, he sat beside Tim. They were both quiet. It took about thirty tense and painful minutes before the ambulance arrived (Gibbs and Ziva right behind).
"McGee, our ride's here."
"Great. Tony?"
"Yeah?"
"Next time...it's your turn."
Tony smiled and squeezed Tim's shoulder. "Deal."
FINIS!