Chapter 4
Kate woke up again. She breathed heavily and sweated. She still wore only underpants and a bra. Sexistic bastard, she muttered. She looked outside. It had become night and it the dark blue waves were silent. She heard the calm roar of the surf. She sighed. This bastard had his girl and she didn't want to know what he did to her. She needed to get out. She searched the room and found a jeans and a T-Shirt of him. They were too big and too male but she didn't care. She walked over to the window and the door to the balcony. She looked around and directly into the camera.
She smiled and hoped he wouldn't see her. She tried to open door and window but they were both locked. She sighed and kicked the window as fast as she could. She was trained in kicking hard, having grown up with three older brothers and one sister. The windows smashed and thousand of little splitters flew around. It made a horrible noise. She didn't turn around and in bare foot she stepped out trying not to slit her feet up at the broken pieces of glass.
She stood on the balcony and looked down to the beach. About two and a half meters, she jumped down, it was not a real height. She looked around and decided to run around the house. She needed to know if he told the truth about Kelly: That he had her, too and that she was alright. Kate felt anger and fear at the same time and couldn't tell which one overweight. She ran around, jumped over a fence and toward the front door. She knew that Ari must have noticed her escape attempt. She wanted to broke the front window, too, when the door opened.
Ari stood there, her little girl in his hand.
'I bet you wouldn't leave her here' he smiled.
Kate ran towards him and without thinking she just hit him into the face. Something she already wanted to do for over four years. She tore Kelly off his hands and fondled her in her own arms.
The little baby didn't even cry. Kate looked at her. She looked quite okay. She looked up into Ari's smiling face. He tried to stop with his hands his nose from bleeding.
Kate just decided to turn around and run for it, when she looked into the barrel of a gun. There was a second person next to Ari who had just appeared. It was a woman from about nineteen years at most who pointed the gun directly at her head. She was tall, nearly as tall as Ari, she had dark brown hair, dark brown eyes, she seemed to be pretty fit and muscular.
She and Ari were so similar. Kate couldn't believe her eyes. The same expression on their faces. Kate would have never believed that Ari...no, that could never be true. She fondled her own baby's hair. Kelly was so cute and Ari was such a bastard. He could have never produced such a beautiful girl as the one standing right in front of Kate.
Now she knew at least, that Ari was able to handle a child like Kelly and that he would have never done any harm to her. Kate sighed when she walked into the house again. Ari took Kelly without a word and sat down on the couch. Kate sat down opposite to him, staring at him while an Al Qaeda terrorist and by FBI wanted person played with her little child. The woman came back from the kitchen and brought Ari ice and a tissue for his nose. She took over Kelly and played with her. Although Kate was as angry as never before she had to admit that Ari's daughter really had a hand for little children.
'So you think you can escape like that?' Ari smiled.
Kate did not respond. If the woman haven't had Kelly in her arms, she would have done any possible to kill Ari, immediately.
'You know that this will have consequences' he continued.
'You can't keep me here forever. And Kelly neither' she yelled and looked into his stupid, arrogant face. He was the pure evil, a bad-ass. She couldn't imagine that he had helped and seen a woman like his daughter growing up.
'Is that your daughter?' she asked more silent to be for sure.
He nodded.
'My name is Rose' she said quietly and she slightly rocked the child. About thirty seconds, Kelly was sleeping.
Kate was really impressed. 'How old are you?' she asked.
'Seventeen.'
Wow, she would have guessed her far older.
'However' Ari stood up. 'I think as my bedroom didn't please you, I have found a more adequate sleeping room for you. Stand up' he said and grabbed Kate's arm. He brought her to the stairways and led her down into the cellar.
There was only spare light and the walls were not plastered. He opened a door and kicked her onto the bed. It was an old bed and the only furniture in the room.
'I think you will be more comfortable in her' he muttered and closed the door.
Kate heard the lock turning. She sighed and let herself fall onto the bed. She had no idea how to get out of this situation.
Of course, Tony knew that she was missing and he was, of course, searching her.
But how on hell should he find little Caitlin?
McGee joined him at the bar. 'Which number is this?' he asked.
'I think between five or six' Tony muttered staring at his tequila.
'You're kidding.'
'Unfortunately not.'
McGee looked into Tony's face. He was red as a tomato, his white eyes looked as if they were bleeding, the rings under his eyes were blue and McGee could actually see how hot he felt because of the alcohol.
'You are drunk' he decided. There was not much to decide. It was a simple fact.
'There is no way to find Kate.'
'There is. Gibbs is still talking with the people of the city. Somebody must have seen her.'
'No. There is no way to rescue her. Ari killed her.'
'No. He would not.'
'Wake up, probie!' Tony screamed. McGee looked into his face. Tears ran down Tony's cheek. He felt pity for his colleague. McGee could not imagine what Tony felt. Having lost everything.
'No, he won't kill her' McGee muttered and settled down at the bar.
He ordered a cocktail.
He didn't want to believe this.
He just didn't.
It was day time and it was quite bright. But he didn't wear sunglasses. He walked on through the empty city. He looked around but there was nobody in sight. Nobody on the streets, nobody in the shops, nobody in the houses. It was awkward, the whole city seemed abandoned. Tony was the only person on the whole Island. At least he thought that. To be honest, he just saw someone moving at the end of the street. Tony began to run, first slower, then faster. The shadow ran away, too and Tony hunted him to the upper part of the Island, up to the mountains.
It was fascinating how fast he could run but he didn't even notice. He was running up the big mountain when he got nearer to the person. He identified him as Ari Haswari, clothed in his typical black motor cycle suit. Ari turned around and looked at him. Tony didn't stop running but somehow, he didn't get any closer to Ari. He just stayed where he was, about twenty meters away from his arch-enemy. Ari began to smile. Then it turned over into a laughter, an evil laughter. He laughed louder and louder. Tony ran faster and faster but just didn't move.
Suddenly the earth opened and he fell into the gap. He fell down looking up and Ari's face appeared above the gap. Tony fell deeper and deeper. He turned himself to watch where he was falling into. He saw something yellow coming nearer and becoming bigger until he finally fell into the earth core.
Tony woke up drenched in sweat. He looked around. He was in a room he did not know, in a bed he did not know with a woman he did not know. She turned around.
'Why are you awake?' the unknown girl moaned. 'Nightmare' Tony breathed deeply. 'Did we...did we...?' he didn't want to ask. He was afraid of the answer. The woman shook his head.
'No, you were too well-oiled. I only took your younger boyfriend along.'
'Boyfriend?' Tony asked and looked over to the floor. McGee was still sleeping. 'He's not my boyfriend!' Tony said disgusted.
'Not? Oh, I thought you were' the girl moaned and lay down again. Only a few seconds later she was sleeping. She was drunk as well.
Tony stood up from the bed. He had a terrible headache. He remembered nothing from the last night. He stumbled over and woke up McGee ad together and both drunk they tried to find their clothes and get dressed. They walked out of the house and tried to figure out where they were. Sun rise they finally managed to find their hotel – and a very angry Gibbs who directly put them both into bed again.
Gibbs sighed. They would never be able to rescue Caitlin like that.
Kate opened her eyes and sat up. She couldn't imagine how she had been able to sleep in this room. She had no idea how late it was and how long she had slept. There was no light and she couldn't see anything.
She didn't want to move, she was too scared. She lay back again in the bed. There was nothing to do but to wait. Ari and his psychopathic daughter had her child Kelly and Ton had no idea where she was. Slowly, silent tears began to run down her cheeks.
She sobbed calmly until she finally began to cry and to scream.
'Boss, I found out something' McGee said and looked up from his laptop.
'Show me' the boss ordered.
'I controlled the recent flights to Hawai'i and I found a certain Rose Haswari.'
'This asshole has a daughter?' Gibbs asked when he looked at the image of her passport.
McGee nodded. 'I watched the surveillance camera records of the airport. She is taking the taxi number 4022.'
Gibbs nodded and only two hours later they stood in the street where Ari's house was. Fortunately, every taxi had a chip which showed where the taxi had been. Tony, McGee and Gibbs held their guns in their hands and moved forward. Gibbs gave silent orders and Tony walked around the house to safe through the back door. He waited for the signal and kicked open the door. He moved into the kitchen and saw Gibbs and McGee. They all went through every room. Tony kicked open another door and entered the sleeping room.
'Clear' he said and examined it. It looked as if someone recently took away clothes in a hurry. 'Holy shit' he cursed. 'I think they both fled' he shouted and walked back to Gibbs and McGee who both stood in the living room searching for something useful. 'He must have known that we came' Gibbs muttered. That moment they heard a scream. Tony looked at the other two agents. It sounded like a woman, down in the cellar. They searched for the stairways and walked downstairs.
Gibbs took the keys from the wall and opened the only locked door.
'Kate!' Tony shouted and ran into the room. Small, little Caitlin sat there on the bed, only wearing a bra and underpants. McGee raised an eyebrow. Well, he decided not to say anything. Tony ran to his wife and hugged her deeply.
Gibbs sighed when he saw the couple kissing.
'What's about Ari? Where's Kelly?' Kate asked suddenly. Tony sat down next to her.
'No' she whispered.
'He's gone. Nobody was upstairs' he explained.
'No' Caitlin whispered and more tears ran down over the already dried ones.
Her face was covered by tears and she screamed and shouted and cursed everybody she knew.
Twenty-eight days later Tony sat on his chair at his desk in the office. He stared at the computer and was lost in his thoughts.
'How's Kate?' McGee asked. Kate was in hospital.
'I don't know' Tony answered without looking up when McGee sat down at his desk. She had had a breakdown yesterday and mentally couldn't do anything anymore.
'And how are you?' McGee asked. Tony hesitated. The question didn't reach his mind. He shrugged. He had no answer how he should feel. Only a month ago, everything had been okay. Only a month ago, everything had been perfect.
Too perfect, nothing was perfect in life.
'I'm going to get a coffee' he said and stood up. He needed to leave work behind him, he wanted to escape from the daily routine and just run off. Run somewhere where nobody knew him and where he knew nobody. Ten minutes later he found himself in one of the worst quarters of Washington, out there in the suburbs of the industrial quarters. It was about eight pm already and it was dark.
He hoped nobody would miss him, nobody should notice that he ran off, people wouldn't start to worry that fast. Just a routine cocktail at the bar, maybe he didn't make it home and landed in a strip bar, yes, this was Tony DiNozzo, that girl-loving Sexistic idiot, not the caring and responsible husband and father.
Well, a father without a child, he must really be a good father. Tony sat down. He didn't care where he sat, he sat down under the bridge. He ignored the homeless on the other side of the bridge, Tony felt like him, homeless. He had nowhere to go, too.
Tony didn't know how long he has been sitting there staring onto the street but suddenly a black car stopped right in front of him. He didn't even dare to look up until someone stepped out and kneed down next to him.
'What do you want?' he muttered not even looking.
'I think you're missing something' a female voice said.
Tony looked up. The woman sat down next to him. She was carrying his little baby in her arms.
'Kelly' he whispered.
He looked at the woman. He knew her from the photos.
'Rose?' he asked confused.
She gave him the baby. She looked healthy and okay. 'Kelly is alright. How's her mother?' Rose asked.
'Kate's...at wits end. She...is completely off mind' Tony stammered.
He couldn't believe it. 'Why...?' he wanted to ask and hugged his little child.
Rose sighed. 'You know, I always understood my father and why he did what he did. Which doesn't mean that I support him. I hid him when we were back in Israel but he's gone abroad for a new mission and I...know how difficult it is to lose someone...loved' she whispered and tried to smile.
'Thank...thank you so much' Tony cried and tears of joy left his eyes. 'How can I thank you...Won't you get problems?'
She laughed shortly. 'Aunt Ziva and granddaddy Eli already tried to beat out the current position of Ari. I don't give up that easily and I don't fear Ari. He can't be worse than Eli' she said and stood up again.
'I am sure you will make a better family' she said and drove away in her car.
Tony looked at little Kelly in his arms. Tears dropped on her cheek. She laughed and her little hands tried to grab Tony's nose.
He started to laugh, louder and louder. Now, he could finally be happy again. He stood up and with Kelly in his arms he walked the way to the hospital.
He walked through the green park and smelled the flavour of the flowers.
He could finally see all the colours of the roses again.
There is no reason why a cruel terrorist like Dr. Ari Haswari shouldn't have a nice daughter who decides to give Tony and Caitlin their daughter back. Well, she mentions that she knows what such a loss in the family means. And just to mention it: There's a reason why this story is called 'Roses'.
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