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The screen popped to life as Gibbs's face appeared.
He looks tired, Tony thought dimly. Someone should refill his coffee.
"Well, well, well, Agent Gibbs. It's quite the situation we find ourselves in. I had originally intended for this," Salir grabbed a fistful of Tony's hair and yanked his head up. "To be you. But after further contemplation, I realized how much more effective my new method would be." Salir peered down at Tony, a sadistic grin on his lips. "After careful consideration, I've decided that watching your agent suffer through torture will damage you much more than torturing you ever would. Am I correct in this conclusion?"
Stony-faced, Gibbs growled, "What do you want?"
"Tut-tut, Agent Gibbs, you really must learn to pay attention…I want nothing from you. Only the satisfaction of knowing you're in pain. To do that, Agent DiNozzo will play an integral role."
"You bastard. I-"
"Now, now, Agent," interrupted Salir. "I wouldn't say anything to upset me. Things could get quite painful for Agent DiNozzo here. Understand?"
Gibbs was silent.
"Good. Shall we begin?"
Tony took a deep breath. Well, at least as deep as he could with the gag shoved in his mouth. He set his eyes in a solid stare, preparing himself for what was about to happen. He hated being in such a helpless position, but the least he could do is stay strong in front of his boss.
The first blow connected with Tony's jaw. He felt a little blood in his mouth, but swallowed it down. The next was a shot to his stomach. Though it stung, it was nothing he couldn't handle. Salir continued this pattern. Face, stomach, face, stomach, face stomach. Tony kept his gaze steady on Salir.
"Such stoic silence, Agent DiNozzo…I'm afraid I don't approve," he said with a sneer. He wrenched Tony up by the shoulder, and a pop reverberated off the walls.
Gibbs flinched as the noise resounded in his ears.
Tony sucked in a quick breath, pinching his eyes closed.
"There we go, Mr. DiNozzo. That is what I like to hear." A sick smile played on his lips. He threw Tony to the floor, delivering a swift kick to his ribs. A loud crack emitted from Tony's abdomen, sending shivers up his spine. How clichéd, Tony thought. He's wearing steel-toed boots.
The beating continued, increasing in intensity. Tony's mind numbed. Of course, that could be due to the constant kicks to his skull. Or perhaps it was the repercussions of being slammed against the wall and floor. That might have something to do with it.
He was still conscious, but felt somehow…disconnected. He could feel the pain as the blows rained down on him, but it was dulled, slower. He was only vaguely aware of his own presence.
His eyes were glassy, staring.
Salir yanked him up by his bad shoulder and Tony couldn't suppress his groan. Examining the shoulder, Salir said, "I guess we should fix that, shouldn't we?"
Tony glared. Hoisting up Tony, who could hardly stand, Salir half carried him to the wall. He placed Tony's shoulder against it, back perpendicular to the cool stone. Immobilizing his arm and torso, Salir jerked Tony toward him, before shoving him against the wall with all his strength. Tony had a moment to process what was about to happen, but all he could do was hold his breath and brace himself for what was to come. His shoulder, as intended, was the first part to make contact. It violently popped back into its socket. Tony fell to his knees, a small whimper escaping him. Any strength that he had left whooshed out of his body as he collapsed to the floor.
. . .
Salir grabbed a towel and began methodically wiping Tony's blood off his hands.
"That was Round 1, Agent Gibbs. There will be more. That was simply to ease us all into it. I'll give you some time to pathetically attempt to locate us, which you will find is impossible. Then, I will connect with you again. Until then, Agent Gibbs." Salir gave a mock salute, and before Gibbs could respond, the screen went blank.
. . .
Gibbs's mind was reeling. This psycho just beat the shit out of Tony…and apparently there's more to come. Gibbs was amazed Tony had managed to stay conscious for so long. Not only despite the pain, but the numerous blows to his head. He definitely had a concussion…it was just a matter of how severe. But that was probably the least of his injuries. Gibbs recalled the sickening crack that emitted from Tony's ribs as Salir slammed his steel-toed boot into them. Shaking off the image, Gibbs picked up his phone and dialed.
"McGee. Ziva. Abby's lab. Now." He swiftly hung up, praying that McGee could put that computer brain of his to work, and the rest of the team could work efficiently so they could find Tony…before Round 2.
. . .
Tony was acutely aware of two things. Pain and embarrassment. His face and clothes were drenched with a mixture of sweat and blood and every breath brought a sharp sting in his whole body. There was the source of his pain. And he already knew why he was embarrassed. I mean, come on. It's bad enough getting my ass kicked by some terrorist scumbag, but to have my boss watching? That's downright humiliating.
He pushed the thought out of his mind and tried to prop himself up. After a few painful minutes, Tony was sitting (though not comfortably) against the wall. He took in his surroundings. He was in the same room as before, though now it had streaks of blood on the floor.
Damn. This looks like a scene from "Hostel". God the sequel to that was terrible. That dumbass kid- Tony's thoughts were interrupted by his captor's heavy footsteps in the doorway
"Hello, Agent DiNozzo! Welcome back. Did you enjoy my little presentation? I think your friend Mr. Gibbs found it rather unnerving. But he was smart. He kept his mouth shut, which made things much less unpleasant for you than it could have been."
"Sure didn't feel it."
"Oh, you just wait. Things will get plenty worse. But alas, patience is a virtue. We mustn't be too premature."
"You're the orchestrator of all this, right?"
"Why yes, thank you for noticing," Salir said with a sneer.
"So is the girl here, too? Are you torturing her as well?"
Salir's eyes twinkled mischievously as he said, "I'm no fool, Mr. DiNozzo. If I tell you now, you'll try to convey the information to your boss. I will only say that no, the girl isn't being tortured. Our resources are being used on you for that."
Tony leered at the man and said, "So how long does this go on for?"
"I haven't quite decided yet. More than likely, I'll kill you before the package is delivered."
"What package? You mean Emily?"
Salir's lips curled into an evil smile. "You catch on quick, Mr. DiNozzo. I have some arrangements to make before we contact Agent Gibbs. I suggest you try to rest. For Round 2, you will most definitely need your strength."
With that, Salir strolled out of the room, leaving Tony behind to ponder his fate.
. . .
"I can't get a trace on the IP address. Salir must have put a block on it," McGee said dejectedly.
"Dammit. Ok, just keep working on it, McGee. Give me whatever you can."
"I'll try, Boss."
"Ziva," Gibbs shouted. "Any luck with DiNozzo's neighbors?"
"The elderly woman next door said Tony hasn't come around since he left for work yesterday. His car is in the garage and security cameras show him coming in around 2300 and packing up around 0200. He got on the elevator and then just…disappeared."
"What do you mean disappeared, Ziva?!"
"I mean he got on the elevator, and that's we're we lose him. He's not on any other footage."
"Pull the feed from when he was here."
Gibbs's eyes narrowed as he watched Tony at his desk, working diligently. Ziva fast-forwarded the video until it showed Tony getting on the elevator. The doors shut, and she paused it. "See? Nothing."
"Back it up to the point right before DiNozzo gets onto the elevator.
Ziva did so. "Stop it! Right there! Back it up again!" Gibbs squinted at the screen and pointed to the corner of the elevator. It was mostly gray, but still visible. He grabbed the remote and put the video in slow motion. His finger followed the dark area in the corner.
Everyone gasped.
They all saw it now. The gray mass shifted. It was a brief movement, fleeting. But it was there.
"There was someone in the elevator…waiting," Gibbs stated. The rest of the team just stared at the tiny Tony DiNozzo on the screen, desperately hoping that wherever he was, he would last long enough for them to find him.