Chapter 3

Thursday evening, Tony stuffed his clothes into his bag, careless of what was crushed or wrinkled in the process. Not only had Gibbs refused to let him join him on the meet tonight, but Morrow had decided, in his infinite wisdom, that Tony should consult with a counselor. She had interviewed him, asked him a lot of ridiculous and unconnected questions, then nixed his involvement in the entire op. He had pled his case till the last possible moment, then, unable to cope with watching McGee suit up to be Gibbs' back up with Kate, he left the office for dinner.

Now he was packing up his gear from Tony Vellucci's hotel room preparatory to going home. He had a feeling that Morrow and Gibbs would frown on his coming alone, but it didn't exactly matter. All the key players were at the meet tonight. Now was the perfect time to clean out his part of the op. Besides, their story was that Vellucci was leaving town tonight, so his stuff had better go, too.

He shouldered the duffel and did a quick sweep of the room. He tended to spread himself around a place a little, and he'd actually stayed here a night or two early in the op for verisimilitude. He checked the bathroom and the closet again, then, satisfied, he headed to the door. When he opened it, he came face to face with Albert Marino, an enormous shiner of Tony's creation gracing his right eye. A second, lighter bruise marked where the handcuff on Tony's wrist had struck. Two of the bully boy bouncers from the club flanked him. The two bouncers were both broad, but one of them was fairly short, not above five eight or so. The other was taller than Tony.

He fumbled for his shoulder holster as Marino and his boys shoved him back into the room. They shut the door behind them.

"What the hell?" he exclaimed, not sure whether he was Tony DiNozzo or Tony Vellucci, but certain that he'd better figure it out soon.

"Does Gibson know you're leaving him?" Marino asked. Vellucci then. He ran his cover identity over in his mind, hoping he was getting the reactions right. The two bully boys converged on Tony and took the gun from his hand, tossing it on the bed. They grabbed his duffel and handed it to Marino, then shoved him face first against the wall to search him a little more thoroughly than he liked. They threw his back up weapon on the bed, too, then just held him against the wall. He was totally freaked out, but he kept it out of his voice and posture as much as possible.

"I'm not," Tony said, remembering the excuse Gibbs and Morrow had come up with to explain Tony's absence if he was missed. "He's got another job for me. Doesn't like to keep me idle."

"Ah, yes, you're his bird dog, right?" Marino asked. Tony sneaked a peek and saw that Marino was dumping his stuff out of the bag onto the bed. "None of his stuff's here. I'm surprised, I'd have expected you to room together."

"He has a room in one of the more expensive hotels," Tony said, knowing it for truth. "I'm here to suit my cover, and we spent the nights together there."

"So that's why you have no lube, no condoms, no nothing?" Marino asked, dropping the duffel on top of Tony's stuff.

"Why would I need them?" Tony asked, his heart rate speeding up faster and faster.

Marino waved at the guys who were holding him and they let him go, though they stayed on either side of him, ready if he tried to get away. Tony turned, putting his back to the wall, deeply alarmed by the situation, but miming comfort so as not to give himself to his enemies through body language. Regardless, there would be no Gibbs and Kate to come to his rescue this evening. Not even McGee, though he'd rather keep the kid out the way, really.

"What if you hooked up with someone?" Marino asked, walking towards Tony and stopping about four feet off, outside Tony's space bubble.

"I don't hook up with people," Tony replied, affecting an air of unconcern.

"You got the phone numbers of three waitresses, and I don't know how many patrons while you were hanging out in the bar," Marino pointed out. "How do you suppose Gibson would like knowing that?"

Tony grinned at him, a reaction that clearly startled Marino. "He loves it. It's a game, and phone numbers are a way of keeping score."

"Then it's a game you clearly play well," Marino said with a sly leer. "You could have gotten my phone number."

"Girls only," Tony said, disturbed by Marino's clear continued interest. "The Boss gets a little jealous."

"Yeah, I noticed that, so I was a little surprised when you didn't show up with him tonight."

Tony kept his face in a mocking smile with an effort. He'd known there was a reason he should be with Gibbs tonight, but he hadn't known how to explain why. "This job was already set up," Tony replied. "You think we were going to change our plans for the likes of you?"

Marino took another step forward. "I think maybe you should have. My boss wants a look at you."

"Well, Gibson doesn't make his plans based on what your boss wants," Tony said. "Back off now if you know what's good for you."

"Are you threatening me, bird dog?" Marino asked, taking another step.

"Gibson wouldn't like this, and I have my instructions."

"What are your instructions, bird dog?" Marino asked, clearly laughing at him as he took a final step that put him less than a foot away from Tony. "Hmmm?" the man asked mockingly.

Tony lashed out with a fist to Marino's jaw, and the fight that followed was embarrassingly short and most definitely not sweet. Tony wound up bent over the desk, his face pressed into the blotter. Handcuffs came out and he felt fear wind through his gut as he felt them close around his wrists. He couldn't see them, but he'd lay odds they were those pretty engraved ones. Someone, probably one of the bouncers, grabbed him by the upper arms, turned him around and forced him to his knees.

Marino walked forward and stroked his fingers through Tony's hair. Tony made to jerk away, but Marino's fingers grabbed, and he found himself forced to look up at the other man. Was this going where it had almost gone on Tuesday? Tony glared up at Marino defiantly so as to avoid shaking in his shoes.

"You are going to meet my boss tonight," Marino said in a matter-of-fact tone. Tony was breathing hard from the effort he'd expended, and Marino grinned evilly down at him. He bent and cupped Tony's chin in his hand. "Don't worry, Gibson will be there. I'm sure he'll be thrilled to see you."

Gibbs was going to have an apoplexy. The shorter of the bouncers left first, and Tony remained on his knees, only glad that Marino had walked away instead of trying to demand more than Tony was willing to give. After about five minutes, the taller bouncer pulled him to his feet and undid the cuffs. He then put his arm around Tony's shoulders and pressed a gun into Tony's ribs just at heart height. The combined volume of their winter coats neatly hid the weapon from casual view, but Tony knew that the thick layers of winter-weight fabric wouldn't stop a bullet.

The three of them went to the elevator, but it was past eleven on a Thursday night. The halls weren't exactly teeming with people. Even if he'd had the inclination, he wouldn't have had the opportunity to ask for help. The elevator let out in the parking lot, and the short guy had already pulled up right outside. Tony let himself be hustled into the car and wound up with Marino on one side and the bouncer on the other. The bouncer grabbed his arms and, turning him, forced his wrists together behind him. Marino cuffed him again.

"Is that really necessary?" Tony demanded.

"Maybe not, but it's sure fun," Marino said. He then added another thrilling touch. He placed a blindfold over Tony's eyes and Tony felt him buckle it tightly in back. He then stuffed a wad of cloth into Tony's mouth followed by a cylinder of rubber that was placed crossways, like a bit. It, too, buckled behind Tony's head. Once Tony was blindfolded and gagged, Marino dropped his hand to fondle Tony's groin. Tony jerked sideways, trying ineffectually to get away, and Marino laughed. "It's too bad I have my instructions, too," he said regretfully, removing his hand.

When the car finally stopped, Tony had a suspicion that he knew where they were. He heard the car doors open, and the tall bouncer guided him out of the car. The way the sounds of their feet and the car doors opening and closing echoed told him that they were in some kind of parking garage. The club had external parking, so he began to worry.

They took him to stand between the two bouncers, one on each arm. The slight difference in the feel of the floor beneath his feet made him wonder, and then he heard elevator doors close. The club was all on one level, so there was no need for an elevator. Where the hell was he? Had Sullivan moved the meeting or was he going to get to meet Sullivan afterwards? No, Marino had said Gibbs would be there. Tony swallowed. And Marino had no reason to lie, did he?

Nobody knew where he was. Abby might be surprised that he wasn't hanging around the lab so he could listen in on the surveillance, and he would undoubtedly have gone there after he'd grabbed his stuff and cooled off a little.

His cell phone rang, and Tony knew a moment of fear. He didn't have Tony Vellucci's cell phone, he had Tony DiNozzo's phone. Or rather Marino had it. He shifted and Tony knew he was digging the phone out of a pocket. "Who is Abby?" he asked, but Tony couldn't answer him. Marino turned off the ringer without answering.

The elevator only went up one floor, and Tony wondered if the club had a basement. It might have a loading area, which could explain an underground garage and an elevator. They took him down some hallways and into a room where they sat him in a chair with his arms behind the back. Someone did something to the cuffs that hooked him in firmly so that he couldn't get out of the chair. Hands unbuckled the gag and removed the wad of cloth.

"Hey, what's going on here?" he demanded, but no one spoke. The chair didn't move as Tony struggled, so either it was heavy or it was bolted down. "Let me go, you sons of bitches!" he yelled, but, again, there was no response. Then he heard the door open, there were footsteps going out, and then the door closed after. He couldn't tell if he was in light or darkness. All he knew was that he was in trouble, and that Gibbs was in trouble by extension. And Gibbs probably didn't even know it yet.


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