Part 3: 419

Day 1: November the 23rd 2007

There was a distinct feeling of pain in the back of Tony's mind, almost as if they hadn't just clubbed him but had actually hit inside his skull. His groan echoed softly as he shifted only to find himself restrained to the floor. His left arm was twisted behind him and tied to his body, the hyper extension of it burned and all he could think of was that he'd felt the same feeling each time he took a bad tackle in football. He blinked a few times, trying to adjust to the lack of light in this room, and trying to figure out exactly what kind of condition he was in. There was only a little glimmer of light when the bulb above him flickered in and out of power, and it was enough to make him realize that he was in one of the worst situations he could have found himself in. He let out a sigh and shifted again.

The room was no bigger than a cell, a thing which he had become accommodated to when Chip framed him for murder, it was damp and there was a thin trickle of water dripping from the boarded up vent on the right wall. The scent of mold and bleach out did any other scents that could have been registered at that moment, but that didn't last long as the metal sliding door scratched into life against the concrete floor. The scent of death flowed into to the room along with three men Tony could have sworn were familiar in some way.

"You speak in here, understand?" The language was a broken mix between Turkish and what Tony could have sworn sounded like German, neither of which made any sense to his cluttered mind but he shifted anyway in order to see what they wanted him to speak into. His eyes landed on a small black tape recorder, he didn't like this idea, he'd seen what that murderer Jigsaw could do with a tape recorder in the Saw series, why on earth would he want to record that sort of thing? Even when they shoved it into his hands he couldn't think of a good reason to record his thoughts in there that is until the grabbed his left arm and pulled it higher towards his neck.

The scream echoed dully in the room, almost lifelessly as he heard his shoulder crack and then pop out of place. His breathing intensified and he couldn't focus on what was around him anymore, everything blurred except that damn tape recorder in his hand. He shifted again, this time so that his arm and back were against the wall. Pain still radiated outwards, but he was resilient yet and wanted to get up and fight them, if it weren't for the whole trapped thing going on.

"What do you want me to say?" The one who had dislocated his shoulder moved forward to grab it and pull until Tony contorted in pain and slid to the floor.

"You speak in here." They didn't have a specific idea for him to record and that made this something other than ransom, something more than a kidnapping. He let out a rapid breath before clicking the recorder on.

"I saw this movie once; I think it was some cop thing, something about a white cop gone crazy after his wife's murder and an older black cop that becomes his partner as he sets out to retire. There is a line that applies to this situation I guess, "I don't make things difficult. That's the way they get, all by themselves." I can agree with that, especially now. I don't know what's going on, I don't even know who or what took me. All I know is that they gave me this tape recorder, and I can only assume it's to say my last words into it, so if that's true why do they look so eager for me to talk? I guess it's time for me to say my goodbyes? I suppose it's time to admit that I have problems, time to let go of all the regrets I may have had but this doesn't feel final this feels like a beginning, like something major is going to happen and I have to be the witness in order to share this story. I can tell you this; they are an interesting bunch these people. Sort of Mr. Joshua-esk but there is some sort of Turkish thing going on, no mix that I think I could have pissed off, but with the years I've had of being able to piss people off you never know. I know that this arm of mine hurts; I know that they want whatever they want and that I have to fight to make sure they don't kill me quickly. This is going to be a long journey home, but I am holding onto the thought that I'll be going home after this. No matter which way I get there, home is the only thing I have to hope for unless I can figure this out for you."

NCIS: Abby's Lab February 20th, 2008

McGee let out a soft sound as he exhaled at the close of Tony's first dialogue, it wasn't very long and the tape had much more on it but even from the beginning hearing that Tony didn't expect to come to a good ending made McGee think about what he most have gone through. There was only a few things they knew for certain, that the body was Tony's, that he had died an incredibly painful death, and that he was in the end the strongest person that could have gone through this on the team. McGee typed in the quote that Tony used and came up with 1987's Lethal Weapon, dug a little deeper and decided he'd pull up the movie from the local rental store so that he could run through the movie and find out what Tony had meant. His hands were still trembling, and the fact that Abby was lurking in the far room staying far away from the many tapes and other devices that they had brought back from the crime scene while McGee worked on them wasn't helping any.

The air lock door whooshed open and Gibbs entered right as McGee was starting the next part of the tape.

"They've left me with this tape recorder; I guess they want me to make some sort of record Boss. I don't really understand it; they beat me into recording this stuff and then leave me with it? Right, well before they get back I guess I need to let you guys know what kind of condition I'm in…" McGee silenced the tape as he stared at Gibbs.

"Boss?"

"I got something for you to look at McGee, the LEO's that found the warehouse passed along this box of recorded 911 tapes. I want them analyzed, the voice is Tony's but it's not as weak as the last recording. It's stronger, as if they recorded his pleas for help before they killed him and used them in order to make us think that he was still alive."

"Alright Boss, I'll get right on it." McGee scurried over to grab the recordings and then moved back to click on the tape once more.

"…My left arm is severely dislocated; they've strapped it to my back so they can control me easier. I think they know some of my history because it was an injury I had a lot in college. I think I might have a concussion, my head is ringing a bit still and something doesn't feel right. I don't even remember how they got me here. I remember going out to the car, and wanting some more pizza but I don't remember anything else. I'm sorry Boss, I should have figured…"

McGee's hand trembled when Gibbs' finger pressed the pause button, the rock hard face that they had come to expect with Gibbs these last few months sent a shiver down McGee's spine. He hadn't expected Gibbs to move, or to even stop the tape. He didn't know what he had expected but it wasn't that, he let out a shaky breath before looking up to Gibbs, "B-B-Boss? Is everything alright?"

"No McGee, nothing is alright. Two agents are dead and all we have to account for one of their deaths is to listen to his voice over a series of 80 days recounting all the pain and suffering he endured. Nothing is alright, it will never be alright."

"I know Boss, it's just…he's got to have something here that can help us. Something that can help us figure out what happened to him, who took him and why. Something, Tony never did anything without a purpose, even his most childish antics had something to do with something. I refuse to believe he died without a purpose. These tapes are just the only thing he could do to help us figure it all out."

"And what about Ziva, McGee? What about her? What did her death prove?"

"Boss, I can't answer that, she died…"

Day 6: November 28th 2007

"Gibbs, this tape came in the mail. It's addressed to 'the teammates of DiNozzo.'" McGee handed over the envelope to Gibbs only to have it shoved back.

"Open it McGee!" Gibbs had become increasingly rougher over the last six days, he'd become meaner and nastier and expected results immediately. But, the team understood it, they had no leads since they found Tony's car. Nothing to indicate what could have happened after the initial abduction and that was frightening especially since it was Tony. McGee moved over to his computer, messing around with it for a moment before the tape began to play over his speakers.

"Boss, I'm recording this tape in a great deal of pain. My captors are forcing me to say these things, and wish me to allow you that much knowledge. I am relatively fine, they are not kind but they are not on the verge of POW cruel. They will not tell me what they want from me, but they wanted you to know that I am in relatively good health and that you will be hearing from me periodically. GAH!"

The tape went silent other than the harsh breathing of Tony and a few lifeless flesh against flesh sounds; there was the sound of a guttural cry before sound once more resurfaced on the tape. His tone was somber and he sounded defeated already, but there was an inkling of pain in his vocals. His voice cracked and he couldn't stay within his normal range.

"They say that they…don't want to kill me…but they are…willing to…Boss…I don't know…what's going on here…" The tape ended and Gibbs' fist slammed into the top of his desk as he pushed his chair backwards.

"We need to find him now! Get the letter and tape down to Abby, get her to do whatever she needs to do to find out where it came from. Tell me as soon as you know!" His voice was a harsh yell and his face turned almost as red as the tie that McGee was wearing at the time.

Day 7: November 29th 2007 14:09 Abby's Lab

"Gibbs, I enhanced the tape and muted the voices enough for you to hear what's going on in the background. If you listen carefully, there are two distinct voices directing Tony what to say." Abby clicked play and the first sounds heard came from some sort of whistle.

"Is that a train?"

"Yes, I've already gotten the list of all trains that ran through the city in the last seven days. Until I have more things to narrow them down I have over 174 different locations that you could check, and those don't include the areas that overlap multiple days." The tape continued and there were some movement sounds, like feet shuffling before some sort of German dialect sounded softly, almost like a whisper from the background.

"You are injured not. Healthy. Say here you healthy."

The accent was thick and broken, Gibbs thought that this person knew only enough English to get the job done and that's why they hired him. There was some more movement and then Tony's scream echoed loudly across the speakers. Abby jumped and curled against Gibbs' chest, his arms slid over her but he listened intently to the new voice that sounded more Turkish, maybe Armenian that was now talking to Tony.

"Speak what we say, or die now coward. You going to tell them that you pissed yourself? Or are you going to tell them what they need to hear. Make a decision."

Tony's gasp echoed across the speakers and Abby pulled tighter to Gibbs. He let out a breath and kissed the top of her head gently.

"Easy Abs, we're going to get him back."

"But how Gibbs? He sounds bad, he sounds hurt. I don't want him to suffer Gibbs, he doesn't deserve to suffer." Abby's head shook and she pulled away from him. "I was able to trace the letter back to the central distributing postal office; the bad thing is it processes over a million letters a day. There's no chance of getting further than that Gibbs. I'm sorry."

"Don't be; keep working on figuring out where he is Abs. We need to find him, we have to."

The door whooshed open once more, this time Agent David entered with a box full of what looked like notebooks. "Gibbs, these just arrived in the mail. They are notebooks that belong to Tony and a few other things that were missing from his apartment."

"They've been in his apartment?"

"It would appear so, Abby." Ziva had been quite the last few days, going about her work in her normal manner but staying as far away from Tony's desk as possible. It was hurting everyone, this whole thing, but Ziva seemed to be in far more pain than the others, or at least she showed more.

"David, you and I are going back to his apartment to see what we can find. Abby go through these and see what you can figure out. See if there is some connection to them and tell me when you're done."

December 1st 16:52 Tony's Apartment

The clerk at the desk was rather snippy about allowing Gibbs and Ziva to enter Tony's apartment, even after they said there was a federal investigation going on. If Ziva hadn't felt that Gibbs would kill the man and walk on she would have let him deal with it, instead as he talked with the clerk she was able to snatch the key from the desk in front of him. (Where he placed it upon their initial questioning.) Tony lived in a fourth floor suite, located at the rear of the hall and completely isolated from the other suites due to a laundry room and a small gallery that the condo allowed to stay put even after they had problems with teenage vandals years before.

Ziva moved down the hall casually, her hand rested on her gun but she hadn't unclipped it yet and she had no need to at the moment. Everything seemed calm and they were too far away from the door to get worried. Gibbs moved before her and signaled for her to draw her gun as the rounded the corner in breaching mode. They were prepared, they had to be, and something was happening that no one really understood. It was just before Gibbs got to the door that his phone went off, Abby was calling him to tell him she'd found something, but it was a distraction none the less. Gibbs took his eyes off the door long enough for it to swing open and someone to move to clip his forehead with the barrel of their gun. Gibbs collapsed like a ton of bricks before Ziva opened fire on the man that had attacked her boss.

Ziva hit him in his right shoulder, wounded the man turned to start running down the hall, running towards her he made sure to give Gibbs a good kick in the back. His body flopped over and Ziva moved to shoot the man coming towards her. Something metal landed in her lower back and she let out a strangled yelp before her air was cut off. An arm wrapped around her neck and a knife plunged into her back to pierce her left lung. Air escaped into her chest cavity and she found she couldn't breathe nor scream out, the person who held her throat lowered her to the ground and rolled her over. His eyes locked onto her's long enough so that she could have remembered his face if she survived this. The other man had now joined him and Ziva felt panicked for the first time in years. The one who had stabbed her crouched down so that his face was next to her's.

"Pity you had to betray your own. You know, I'm going to give you the knowledge that all of this is your fault before I kill you. You get to die with the guilt that you've killed your partner. You never should have gone against your family Ziva David, because family always has a way of coming back to haunt you."

When the clerk realized what had happened he called the local police to pursue the man and woman, he assumed had already broken into the apartment and raided it. When the cops got there he led them to the fourth floor. When they arrived Ziva was already gone, her blood had seeped into the carpet and she was cold. Gibbs was still unconscious, he was rushed to the hospital she was slowly taken to the morgue.