Warning – if you don't like cliff hangers you might want to wait until a couple more chapters are up before starting to read ...
This is a Milsom Bay story but I don't think it will matter if you haven't read the other stories as I'll explain the background as we go along - and there's not much Milsom Bay in the first chapter ...
Tony DiNozzo sang quietly to himself as he set out the chairs in the Milsom Bay Community Hall. He wouldn't say that everything was wonderful in his life at the moment, but he would manage – he usually did. He turned around at the sound of the door opening and nodded a greeting as he saw his former boss Leroy Jethro Gibbs striding towards him in his customary purposeful way.
"DiNozzo," came the greeting along with an outstretched hand.
Tony instinctively put out his own hand and it was only as Gibbs, with practised technique, slapped handcuffs on him and pinioned his hands behind his back that Tony remembered that Gibbs had hardly ever shaken him by the hand.
"What the hell!" he demanded in outrage, "What the hell are you doing, Gibbs?"
Gibbs didn't answer but pushed him towards one of the sturdy chairs Tony had been setting out. Tony struggled as Gibbs sat him down and drew out a length of rope from a pocket.
"Stop it!" ordered Gibbs.
It had been a number of years since Tony had worked for Gibbs but that tone of voice was one which he usually still instinctively obeyed – but not this time and he continued to push back and shout at Gibbs. Gibbs frowned at him and then lifted his arm and delivered a stunning blow to Tony's head.
When Tony next became aware of what was going on it was to find himself securely anchored to the chair. The cuffs had been removed but his arms had been threaded through the supports at the back and tied firmly at the wrists and each ankle was tied to a chair leg.
Gibbs stood back and surveyed his handiwork. Tony felt like one of Gibbs' woodworking projects but continued to struggle and protest,
"Gibbs! Let me go! Have you gone mad or something?"
"Shut up," ordered Gibbs apparently unmoved by the protests.
Tony continued his rant although he was beginning to run out of new things to say. He stopped talking when he saw Gibbs draw a large handkerchief from his pocket and begin to shape it into a gag,
"Open up," he ordered.
Tony kept his mouth firmly closed, recognising that Gibbs wanted to put the gag between his teeth. Gibbs sighed and moved forward to squeeze Tony's nostrils closed. Tony glared at Gibbs and prepared to wait him out. He should, of course, have known that he couldn't wait Gibbs out, the man's patience was legendary but, at that moment, Tony was just playing for time in the hope that someone would wander in and stop this madness.
After a couple of minutes, Tony was forced to open his mouth to take a breath and, quick as lightning, Gibbs had put a pencil between his teeth to prevent him closing it again. And then, before Tony could spit the pencil out, the cloth was bound tightly through his mouth and the pencil was removed.
"This way you can mouth breathe if you need to," said Gibbs in explanation.
Tony simply glared at him without any hint of being grateful for this consideration. Gibbs stood back once more, ignoring the mumbles that Tony was managing to get past the gag. Tony stilled as he decided it would be best to look compliant so Gibbs would, hopefully, leave allowing Tony to put a nascent plan into operation.
Gibbs looked at his handiwork and nodded thoughtfully before drawing out some more rope. He stooped and tied Tony's knees to the chair legs. He then went to the back of the chair, lifted and bent Tony's arms a little before tying his elbows to its back. Tony found that he couldn't move a muscle in any of his limbs. His plan began to look more difficult.
Gibbs stood back once more and then glanced towards the window. He nodded again in a way that Tony was began to distrust and then dragged the chair and Tony out of sight of the window. It turned out that he still had rope to spare and he used one length to secure Tony around the upper chest to the chair.
Tony gazed back at Gibbs impassively, deciding that disdain might be a better tactic. Something like an amused smile quirked Gibbs' lips and then he walked to a wall cabinet and tested something on its door. With yet another worrying nod, he looped a piece of rope through a metal handle on the cabinet and then tied the other end to the back of the chair.
Tony growled furiously.
"Figured you might be planning to walk the chair to the door," said Gibbs blandly, "Don't think you'll be doing that now."
Tony reverted to disdain: manoeuvring the chair to the door had indeed been his plan although it would already have been difficult given that he was roped so securely.
"You'll be OK, Tony," said Gibbs. He looked at his watch, "'Nother four hours and the meeting begins. Someone will be along in a few hours."
He looked once more at Tony and, for a moment, Tony almost expected him to say sorry but the moment passed, and Gibbs simply walked away, closing the door quietly behind him.
Left behind, Tony was prey to conflicting emotions: he was outraged at the position he found himself in but also completely bewildered at what Gibbs had done. A tiny part of him thought that perhaps he should regard it as some sort of backhanded compliment that Gibbs had felt it necessary to have tied him up so thoroughly and inventively but Tony thought this probably showed that he was all too accustomed to making lemonade out of lemons in his dealings with Gibbs.
Tony tried clenching and relaxing his muscles in the hope that this might begin to loosen his bonds but he had no expectation that would work: this was, after all, Gibbs' handiwork. He looked around the room trying to think of something which could help him escape, always assuming he could somehow make his way to this magical device.
A few minutes had passed when Tony heard the door open. A wave of relief flooded through him; Gibbs' madness must have passed or perhaps some Milsom Bay resident had decided to get an early seat for the upcoming meeting.
"Hah!" came a surprised voice, "Leroy did a better job than I thought!"
Tony couldn't slump because he was tied so tightly but his heart sank at these words. The man standing in front of him wore a balaclava to hide his face, but Tony recognised the voice as belonging to Barry Dinkerly who now leant over Tony and checked the ropes,
"Huh! Don't think you're getting out of there in a hurry!"
Tony mumbled something that was probably not a compliment.
"Don't think we want you making a noise, though," said Dinkerly in an amused voice. He pulled a roll of duct tape out of his pocket and then said,
"I need something to cut it with, don't I?"
Tony scowled back at him, fairly sure that he carried some sort of very efficient knife on his person.
"Now, where could I find one? Ah, I know." He reached out a gloved hand to Tony's belt and pulled at the buckle until it revealed his hidden knife. He pulled it out and waved it in front of Tony's eyes, "Now, that's not very nice, is it? Could be dangerous. I think I should confiscate it, don't you?" He laughed unpleasantly before using the knife to cut a length of tape.
Dinkerly pressed the tape firmly over Tony's mouth leaving the gag in place. "Must make sure I make a good job of it," he whispered as he almost lovingly ran his fingers over the tape to make sure it had stuck and was completely smooth with no air bubbles. Then he nodded in a way reminiscent of Gibbs' earlier gestures and cut another length, "Just to make sure," he said softly into Tony's ear before placing the additional layer of duct tape as slowly and thoroughly as before.
Dinkerly stepped back for a moment and then, like Gibbs before him, reached out a hand and squeezed Tony's nostrils closed, "Want to make sure, don't I?" he chuckled.
Unprepared and stressed, Tony soon began to choke. Dinkerly released his nose and patted him on the cheek, "Yeah, I think that's worked."
Tony resumed scowling at his tormentor.
"Don't worry, I'll be gone soon. Nearly done. But I don't think you need to know about the next bit."
Tony's eyes widened in alarm although he was trying not to betray any fear. Dinkerly moved to the back of the chair and wrapped an arm around Tony's neck,
"Been a while since I did this," he murmured conversationally, "Hope I remember how to do it."
Tony swallowed anxiously as he remembered the Marine technique of snapping someone's neck. He felt Dinkerly exerting pressure until everything went dark and he and lost consciousness. Dinkerly continued the pressure for a few more seconds to make absolutely sure that Tony was out cold.
Dinkerly took out a small tool kit and a bundle of newspapers from his duffel bag and moved across the room to an electric heater. He opened up the heater and pulled at some wires. He spotted a pile of cushions in a corner and took the heater over there. He carried the newspapers over and drenched them with water from a bottle in his bag. He looked around and found the fuse box and rummaged in it for a few seconds. He then went back to the heater and switched it on, he watched for a few moments until he saw sparks flying and alighting on the heap of cushions and newspaper. It wasn't long before a wisp of smoke began to arise.
Dinkerly went back to Tony and looked down at him before apparently coming to a decision,
"I think you should be awake for this!" He slapped Tony across the face and then flung the remains of the water at him. As Tony began to stir, he leaned forward, "Leroy sends his love!" he hissed in Tony's ear.
Tony heard the door slam shut behind his most recent attacker and shook his head to clear it. How, he wondered, had he got into this latest mess?