Chapter 8
Gibbs arrives at the hospital. He immediately runs to the room where Brian Phillips is. Brian is lying on the bed watching TV. Gibbs enters the room.
"We need to talk." Gibbs stated.
"How did I know you'd come by today. I definitely admire the fact that you don't give up Agent Gibbs." Brian said. "I'm trying to remember what happened, but nothing is…"
"When I spoke with the man who found you…" Gibbs interrupted. "You were unresponsive…"
"You already told me all of this Agent Gibbs."
"You didn't ask him for help, for yourself. You asked for help, for your friend. It wasn't looking at your hands, at the fingers that aren't yours, that made you ask for help. It was looking at the dog tags." Gibbs grabs Brian's hand. He places the dog tags for Lieutenant Edward Collins in Brian's hand. "Your friend needs help and you know it. Whatever happened in the last seven years was very traumatic, I get that. But the memories are just buried and all that's needed is for something to trigger them to resurface."
Brian opens his hand and looks at the dog tags.
"For the sake of your friend… Try to remember." Gibbs said.
With Brian's free hand, he also grabs his friend's photograph from the table. He now looks at the photograph and the dog tags at the same time. He takes a deep breath.
"Your sister told me how you two have been friends since kindergarten. You two did everything together." Gibbs stated. "Remember all the good times the two of you had."
A smile comes to Brian's face as he remembers the fun he and Edward have had throughout their entire friendship. He stares at the dog tags and suddenly, the heart monitor registers a rapid heartbeat. He also begins breathing heavily and shaking as a rush of memories, about the last seven years, begins to flood his mind.
"Where were you held?" Gibbs asked. "Where can I find your friend?"
"Edward…" Brian cried as tears start falling from his eyes. "How could I forget? I'm sorry my friend."
"What do you remember?"
"I remember…" Brian tries to say but paused to take a deep breath.
"Take your time."
"I remember me and Edward being chained to the wall."
"Where?"
"It was…" Brian takes another deep breath. "It looked like an old metal bunker of some sort. There are no windows. I guess it was underground." He said. He tries to think of more information. "There's a large room where all of us are chained to the walls."
"What do you mean all of us?!"
"There are others."
"How many?"
"About 25 or so… Though I'm not exactly sure cuz I was out of it most of the time."
"You were drugged?"
"Yes." Brian lifts his head to look at Gibbs.
"Don't look at me, look at the dog tags."
Brian looks back at the dog tags.
"What else do you remember?" Gibbs asked.
"He gave us newspapers to read. I remember seeing an article about him in the paper. I tore it out and kept it. But the person chained next to me tried to steal it and it ripped." Brian said. "Most of the time, we lived in our own filth." He cried.
"What else?"
"The new people would scream and scream. Me and Edward stopped screaming for help a long time ago. We kept telling the newbie's there's no point in screaming cuz nobody would hear them. We didn't have any hope until my cuffs just somehow popped loose after a bashed em against the wall a couple times."
"Can you remember where all of this happened? Where the bunker is?"
"There was a small room with surgical equipment in it." Brian cried. "These scars on my body… When he wanted to have fun, he would drag any of us into that room and just cut us." His eyes are watery. "Other times he would perform surgeries on us. He removed one of my kidneys. He also removed my fingers and switched em with Edward's." He cried. "These fingers aren't mine!"
"Where is the bunker located?"
"That man ruined my life!"
"The road where you were found, how did you get onto that road?"
"I started out in the woods. The woods are thick. The entrance is covered, like camouflage, so it looks like the wilderness of the woods. I was able to get out cuz the lock doesn't work. I guess that's why we were always chained. Umm…" Brian tries hard to remember. "I walked straight until I came to a dirt road which I turned right unto. I walked on the dirt road for quite some time."
"Does that dirt road connect to the road you were found on?"
"Yes it does." Brian nods. "I turned right to get onto it. Then I kept walking."
"Do you remember anything significant about the dirt road?"
"It was straight. No curves."
Gibbs pulls out his cell-phone in order to make a phone-call.
"DiNozzo…" Tony said as he answers his phone.
"Brian was found on Old Ox Road, just north of street, Freeport Place… Further north, is there a dirt road on the left side of Old Ox Road?" Gibbs asked to confirm the location.
"Yes there is. Me and Ziva checked it out."
"Gather the team, rent some metal detectors and meet me at the beginning of the dirt road."
"Ziva shot the squirrel…" Tony realizes Gibbs already hung up on him. "…Close to that dirt road." He finished his sentence.
Gibbs turns back to Brian, who is now just sitting there crying.
"I need the dog tags, Brian." Gibbs said.
Gibbs takes hold of the dog tags and slowly pulls them out of Brian's hand. Brian's face falls into his hands. Gibbs runs out of the room in order to leave the hospital.
Almost an hour later, Gibbs meets up with Tony, Ziva, Ducky, Abby, Jamie and Michael Williams at the beginning of the dirt road. Local LEOs are also there to assist in the search. After parking his car, Gibbs walks over to the team.
"We possibly have 25 missing people out in these woods…" Gibbs points to the woods. "…Left to die in an underground bunker. At this point, they don't have much strength due to being malnourished and dehydrated. We need to find them fast." Gibbs hands out a bunch of maps to everybody. "To narrow down the search, I highlighted a perimeter. Search every inch of land inside the perimeter. The bunker entrance is camouflaged, so use the metal detectors." He said. "If you locate a large area of metal, you immediately call for assistance so we can find the entrance more quickly." He added. "Are we clear?"
"Yes Sir." All the local LEOs shouted.
Each of the local LEOS grabs a metal detector then goes to their squad cars in order to drive down the dirt road to get to a good starting location. As the local LEOs prepare, Gibbs walks over to his team.
"Who is this?" Gibbs asked.
"This is Michael Williams. He's…" Ducky begins to say.
"Why did you bring the suspect's brother?!"
"We were picking him up at the time Tony called us to come here." Ziva stated.
"You should've pulled over, let him out, then come here!"
"With all due respect Agent Gibbs…" Michael butted in. "I haven't spoken to my brother in years. I go to visit our mother in the nursing home every single weekend. Robert only goes to visit her two times a year. And she still thinks he's the perfect son and I'm the screw-up." He added. "Since childhood, I knew my brother would do something horrible, someday, but mother never believed me. It was only a matter of time before it happened. He was always a sick fucker!" He continued. "I'm a medical examiner. I only work with the dead. But if I can help keep a person from ending up on my table, then I'm sure as hell gonna do whatever I can to make sure that doesn't happen. Especially, if it's cuz of my sick-fuck brother."
"You can help." Gibbs said because he saw the sincerity and concern in his eyes. "Let's go."
Gibbs and the team, including Michael Williams, all get into their cars and make their way up the dirt road. They park the cars close to the good starting point. They all get out of the cars. They all grab metal detectors, their maps and pair-up into teams. There are two teams of two and one team of three. Each team heads out into the woods.
With the help of local LEOs, the search for the underground bunker is now operational. Gibbs and Tony, paired together, are walking off in a northern section inside the perimeter. Abby and Jamie, paired together, are walking off in a southern section inside the perimeter. Ziva, Ducky and Michael, paired together, are walking off into the middle section inside the perimeter.
Gibbs and Tony are thoroughly sweeping their area.
"I never properly thanked you for the wedding present." Tony stated. "I absolutely loved it."
"I know how much you love Puerto Rico, Tony." Gibbs stated. "So I'm glad you enjoyed it."
"I know you heard what I said earlier, but you didn't say anything about it." Tony said. "You know… When I see you, the whole… Not knowing whether to call you; Boss, Gibbs or Dad, thing."
"Boss or Gibbs is fine." Gibbs paused for a couple seconds. "While working."
"So when we're not working, I can call…"
"Don't push it DiNozzo." Gibbs continues walking.
"Wait…" Tony paused as he thinks to himself. "I'm confused."
"Of course you are DiNozzo."
"You never ruled out me calling you Dad. But then, when I ask you about when we're not working, you say, don't push it…"
"And that's what I meant."
"But that doesn't make sense and it still doesn't address what we're talking about."
"It's not what we're talking about… It's what you're talking about."
"You're messing with me, aren't you Dad."
Gibbs smacks Tony on the back of the head.
"Right… We're working." Tony grins.
"And I said, don't push it." Gibbs stated.
Gibbs smirks as he continues walking and Tony is just all confused.
"Maybe we can change the subject to you acting like a lion cuz that was rather interesting and quite disturbing at the same time." Tony said.
"I was merely showing them how a real lion acts. It was for educational purposes." Gibbs stated.
"Rule #7; Always be specific when you lie… Isn't gonna help you on this one, Gibbs."
"Maybe the new rule, rule #51 will."
"What's the new rule?"
"Rule #51; If an employee won't drop a subject, his testicles are subject to rule #9."
"Rule #9 is; Never go anywhere without a knife." Tony sees the expression on Gibbs' face. "Oh…" He realized what Gibbs was getting at. "Consider it dropped."
Meanwhile, somewhere in the middle area of the perimeter where Ziva, Ducky and Michael are searching, Ziva's metal detector begins beeping wildly. Ziva gets on the radio.
"I found it!" Ziva exclaimed. "I repeat… I found it! Need immediate assistance in finding the entrance."
Gibbs, Tony, Abby, Jamie and all local LEOs, head in Ziva's direction to assist in finding the underground bunker entrance.
