Chapter 7
The team had worked through the night sifting through any clue no matter how far fetched if it would only lead them to the kidnapped team mate.
Abby had rushed in still in her pajamas with only a jacket thrown over her and wearing her bunny slippers to test samples of the chloroformed cloth and anything else that they could find. Gibbs found her hours later exhaustedly sleeping on her futon while waiting results.
Nothing peeped at him so he tiptoed out and let her sleep knowing when her "babies" found something they would let her know.
"Kate?"
"Yes, Gibbs."
"I have a gut feeling that Lucy knows where they are holding Tony. She may have her daddy believing her innocent act but she more vindicated than that. Tony turned her down repeatedly; she's going to want to watch his comeuppance personally. If you watch her she may just lead us to him," explained Gibbs as Kate gathered her gear and headed out.
"I'll call as soon as she moves," promised Kate.
It was during a background check on Sam and Dave Johnston around ten that morning that McGee discovered something important and jumped from his desk calling, "Boss, the uncles have a small cabin in the foothills of Warrior Mountain in Maryland; maybe that's where they are keeping Tony?"
"Grab your gear; we are checking it out. Call Ducky we may need him if they have hurt DiNozzo."
It was then that Gibbs' cell rang…it was Kate. "She's on the move Gibbs; she just filled up her car and is heading out of town."
"Keep on her Kate we will follow you," ordered Gibbs before turning to McGee. Get a fix on Kate's phone and give me directions on how to catch up with her as we drive."
"On it boss," cried Tim as he grabbed his laptop and followed his boss to the NCIS truck.
Soon they were behind Kate following their only lead in a race to find Tony before anything bad could happen to him.
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"Well in the hell is he," cussed Steve?
"I would have bet that he didn't have enough time to get very far," added Sam.
"Then he must still be around here hiding some where," replied Dave angrily.
The three men have been searching for Tony for about an hour passing by his hiding place several times not even giving it a glance. It just didn't look big enough to hide a grown man so they had passed it by.
Dave was so tired and angry at not being able to continue his abuse on the agent that he blurted out angrily, "If I get my hands on him again he will regret this escape before we had a chance to finish out correction."
"Okay, are you ready to search again," began Dave as he heard a car drive up and cautious the others, tiptoed around to see who it was.
"Lucy…what are you doing here," he cried with annoyance.
"You grabbed that agent, didn't you?" she asked instead of replying to his question, before running into the cabin and finding nothing. "Where is he?"
Dave motioned for her to follow him out back…"Look who's here, "he said as a form of introduction as Lucy came into view.
"What are you doing here, Lucy?" Sam asked.
"Steve told me what you were planning," admitted Lucy.
"Lucy you were supposed to keep that to yourself," yelled Steve. "You didn't tell your father, did you?"
The brothers looked at each other before turning on Steve. "You weren't supposed to tell her at all."
Steve only shrugged his shoulders which angered Dave.
"If you don't watch it I'll be using my strap on you next, Steve and we can see who can take it better you or that agent," threatened Dave.
That threat caused a glimmer of fear to race through Steve's face before he said nervously, "Y-You wouldn't really do that, would you D-Dave?"
"No, he wouldn't do that, would you Uncle Dave," cried Lucy.
Dave gave Lucy and then Steve one more look before agreeing, "Nah…but we need to find that boy before he gets away."
"I can help, Uncle Dave?"
"How?"
"I can find him for you?"
"Lucy, we have been at this for an hour; how can you find him when we can't?"
"By calling out to him. Has he been beaten any today?" she asked.
"Yep, we strapped him early this morning; kept it up until he lost consciousness. Why do you want to know?"
"I bet he's feverish then. I know that Steve Mathews was when you finally freed him."
"So?"
"Well I bet in his state he won't be able to distinguish my voice as not being that of his partner. I bet that when he hears a female voice calling out to him that he will react. All you three have to do is watch the countryside for something out of place," explained Lucy proudly.
Dave thought about it for a moment and said, "That just might work…okay Lucy give it a try."
"Only if you will grant me a few things first," she said smugly.
"Like what?"
"I want to pick out how he will be punished, who will be doing the punishing and where it will happen," she said as she gave them her terms.
"Okay…do you thing and if we catch him because of it we will agree to your terms," promised Dave with Sam and Steve nodding their agreement.
Lucy walked forward past the picnic table and into the woods before stopping and calling out, "TONY! TONY! WHERE ARE YOU?"
The gang looked around but didn't see anything so Lucy moved on and called out again only this time she put a bit of desperation into her voice.
This time her voice and the desperation penetrated Tony's feverish dream as he came out of unconsciousness to listen again.
"TONY! Come on partner…answer me! Gibbs needs you!"
"Dad? Kate?' murmured Tony as he moved toward the entrance of his shelter, in his desperation to get to his Dad. Unfortunately, Sam was watching and saw not only the movement but Tony himself.
"Dave," he hissed alerting his brother to the hiding place, "there he is. He's been hiding there all along."
Dave nodded as he strode closer and yanked Tony out.
"NO!" yelled Tony as he recognized the danger and began to struggled but was not strong enough in his weakness to do anything to free himself.
Dave paid him no mind as he was hustled back to the cabin stopping only when they reached the picnic table. "Okay Lucy, I made you a promise. You found him now you get to chose how we punish him…and who has the honor to do it."
Tony turned around to face his abusers and looked at Lucy in shock, "You helped them…why?"
Lucy moved closer until she could whisper into his ear, "I told you that if you didn't pay me more attention that you would suffer something worse than my Daddy's belt, "before replying to her Uncle's question.
"I want you to give him an old-fashioned over the knee spanking, Uncle Dave; the way that Daddy says that his papa spanked him."
Lucy what did you tell him?" asked Steve suspiciously.
"I told him that this was payback for his attempt to kiss me earlier," lied Lucy.
"NO! Please…," begged Tony to the amusement of all.
Dave roared, "HE TRIED TO KISS YOU??!!!," before smacking him hard on his bottom. Tony struggled to break free knowing that it would only get worse.
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"Oh no you don't boy," said Dave as he grabbed the agent before he could even try to get away, "my father was a master spanker and we got it from him on a regular basis…now you're going to experience something similar.
"Sam, get him ready while I get into position," he ordered as he sat on the picnic table to await his time with the agent.
"He is ready…ready to leave," shouted a voice from behind them.
"What the hell…" began Dave as he turned around to find NCIS agents with weapons drawn and pointed in their direction.
"DiNozzo…can you walk?" asked Gibbs concerned.
"Yeah," muttered Tony as he staggered towards his father and friends.
"What took you so long…he was ready to barbecue my butt…again," he added as he staggered by Gibbs, who grabbed him when he collapsed. He could feel the heat coming off of him and yelled, DUCKY!!" and when the ME hurried out to them he added.
"Ducky, he's burning up…I can feel it through his clothes those bastards beat him too much!"
"Jethro, can you take him inside where I can give him something to take away his pain," cried Ducky, so between the two of them they were able to get Tony into the cabin and one of the back room where Ducky could examine him in privacy.
