Hello everyone! Yes, after two years I decided to update this fic. It's been bugging me for a while now, and I decided to give in to my muse. Enjoy!
He shivered with cold. He was chained up in a chilly cell, with his hands above his head. He sat on the floor, awaiting Her. That was all he could do now. He had tossed away his one chance for freedom, for someone else. Did he regret it? He had a lot of time to ponder this answer. Was one man worth the misery, the lashes, the loss of freedom? He had to say yes, because the one man was worth so much. He was important to his job, which was to right the wrongs in his corner of the world. He knew that the silver haired man would have tried to rescue him, if he could find him. He knew though that She would hidden him away. He merely existed to serve Her. He probably would never work his way back into Her good graces again, but he would try. He pulled on one of his wrist chains, just to break the silence with a sharp jangle. He carefully rested his mangled back against the cold wall, and waited for Her return.
Gibbs sipped his coffee. What number is this again? Ah, who cares! He studied the papers in front of him. He couldn't concentrate though. He had that dream again last night and it was still haunting him. That dream where he was once again a slave. He had been tied up again and was submitting for lashes when he woke up. It had been the better part of a year since he had been rescued from Phoenix's slave ring. No trace had ever been found again since she and everyone else involved went underground. Gibbs wondered again what had become of Jared. He was forever grateful to the blonde haired slave who had thrown caution to the wind and sacrificed so much for himself and his teammates. *RING!* His phone rang, and Gibbs snatched it up, grateful for the interruption of his memories. He listened a moment, said "Yup" to the caller, and stood. His team jumped up immediately as he ordered, "Gear up. Dead marine in the Park."
Soon the team were assembled together around the dead man. Ducky and Palmer were already on the scene. Dinozzo and McGee quickly got busy snapping photos and Bishop hunted around for clues. Ducky reviewed the case with Gibbs. The dead man was lying under a tree, his chest naked and covered in blood. There was a bullet wound in his head. Ducky pointed to this and said, "This would be the likely cause of death. It seems someone had a vendetta against this man." Gibbs asked, "Has he been stabbed multiple times?" Ducky shook his head, "No, the cuts on his chest do not seem deep enough to be stab wounds. I'll have to clean him up to see what these wounds are. Here, Palmer, help me turn him over." Palmer instantly complied. As they rolled over the corpse, Tony hovered nearby with his camera. Everyone gasped when they realized the back of the dead man was also covered in blood. "Damn…what did they do to him?" McGee asked. Ducky looked at Gibbs with a frown. "I'm not sure…I'll have a better idea once he's on my table." Gibbs had an inkling of what he was seeing, but chose not to comment. Ducky and Palmer prepared the man for transportation while the rest of the team scoured the area for any hints of what had happened.
Bishop remarked, "We did find his wallet tossed in a bush nearby. It looks like our victim is Lance Corporal Riley Randall." Dinozzo chimed in, "And he had ligature marks on his wrists. He was tied up somewhere. Could he have been tied here?" Everyone looked up at the tree. There was an overhanging branch where the LCp had lain. It did seem like the silvery bark of the tree had been damaged on that branch since it had been rubbed a darker colour on a particular spot. Tony managed a few shots of that.
Gibbs swung around at McGee's call, "Found something!" He strode over in time to see Tim pull out a shirt from under a covering rock. It was torn almost to pieces, but it was definitely the LCp's shirt. His name was still on it. It was quickly bagged and labeled for Abby. "No signs of our perpetrator?" Gibbs asked. Everyone shook their heads. Hopefully any clues would be on the clothes of the victim.
They headed back, with Gibbs being more silent than usual. He had a bad feeling about this case. He tried to shake off the vibes, but was unable to do so. Perhaps he just needed another coffee.
Yes, super short to start. Longer chapter next time I promise!
