A/N: Thank you ALL for your reviews! I am so happy that everyone seems to be enjoying this fic. This one won't be nearly as long as my other stories so you might actually see me finish one! haha ~ Enjoy ~
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Previously on A Deadly Phobia:
"W-what did you jus' s-say?" Tony's eyes grew wide and he realized that thankfully he could see now, well as good as one could see in a dark basement. It was at least better than he could see before which was just the inside of the bag.
"They pushed you down the stairs." he explained.
Look I'm really very sorr- oh, I mean . . . I - hell who am I kidding?" the dentist continued.
"I'm already weak!" he explained as he rationalized why he was still free to use the word 'sorry' to his liking. "I'm sorry Tony but – this is all my fault! You are here because of me!"
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A Deadly Phobia
Scene Nine
Dental Clinic – Just 38 Minutes past when Gibbs and team first arrived. . .
The team had processed the entire scene faster and with more proficiency than any crime scene they could remember. Usually they had time on their side but in this case they weren't so lucky – and neither was Tony.
"Okay – we need to process outside near the back entrance – looks like they came and left through that same door." Gibbs announced, "Let's see if we can find any tire tracks or external video security cameras that might have caught something." Ziva and McGee listened quietly, their moods were somber as they both couldn't help but think of their friend being forcibly taken and possibly injured.
"When we get back to NCIS I want that dental assistant brought in for questioning and every damn patient that had appointments around the same time Tony disappeared."
They grabbed all of the remaining evidence and their kits and headed towards the rear exit where they had determined the kidnappers had made their escape through, they all kept their heads down looking for evidence which included more drops of blood that they missed as they broke into the place since they had no reason to look for a blood trail on their way IN.
"Look – over here." Ziva hollered to Gibbs and McGee. "I think I found something. It looks a lot like small drops of blood." she explained.
Gibbs turned on his small flashlight to lean down and shine it onto the brownish red tiny splatters in the dirt just a few feet past the exit. He dabbed at one spot with his index finger and sniffed it, the lines of tension on his forehead deepened as he detected the faint odor of copper.
"Smells like blood but we need to be sure. McGee test it. If it tests positive grab another sample for Ducky. I want to know if the different samples are from one person or more than one. Hopefully Tony got some licks in of his own." he added.
McGee announced the results of the test almost immediately, confirming what Ziva and Gibbs both suspected.. "Yup – positive for blood. I'll grab a sample."
Ziva and Gibbs left him to the task as they went forward looking for tire tracks. They were quickly rewarded with another big break as this time it was Gibbs who caught sight of barely detectable tracks right before the dirt turned into pavement. The tracks were smeared slightly as if the vehicle had been in a significant hurry when it took off, but hopefully Abby would still have enough to use to run through her programs to identify the make and model of the tires.
Twenty five minutes later the team was back at NCIS headquarters where Ziva and Tim quickly got to work and started calling on their only leads. Meanwhile Gibbs stayed inside the elevator and headed directly to Ducky's lab. His first priority was to find out if the blood did belong to his senior field agent, and to also bring him the newest samples to test as well.
"Hey Duck – got an update on that blood yet? Have you at least determined if it could be Tony's?"
The busy ME would have jumped in surprise at the sudden intrusion if not for the sound of the glass doors that slid open announcing Gibbs arrival before he had spoken. But even so Ducky still found himself a little jumpy nonetheless and he had noticed that he wasn't the only one. It seemed that everyone including Abby and Palmer, had become tense and extremely anxious ever since they first confirmed that Tony was missing.
"Yes Jethro. I'm afraid the results confirmed that all of the samples thus far are indeed A positive . . . Tony's blood type. But dare I say A positive is a very common blood type and -"
"Ducky." Gibbs interrupted. "I know you mean well, but right now it's not about trying to pacify me into hoping that one of the kidnappers just happens to have the same blood type. Right now I have to assume that it is Tony who's been injured otherwise we might not maintain the same urgency and end up putting him at further at risk if his wounds are worse than we think." he stated all of that while somewhat pacing around the area where Ducky was working.
"Yes, yes – well I suppose you are right. What else can I do to assist then?"
Well since there's no dead body for you to gain insight from with one of your one sided conversations, then just come with me to Abby's lab to see if she could use some help. Where's Palmer?"
"Oh, he's already down there. I knew you needed results as soon as possible so I had already taken took the liberty of sending Palmer down to assist."
"Alright Ducky, that's good thinking. How' did Abby take the news?"
"Like a champ. Although I do believe it hasn't quite hit her yet Jethro. I fear she may be putting on a show and acting professional as a bit of a mask over her true feelings. I suggest we all keep an eye on the girl."
"Thanks Duck, I'm afraid she and Tony are a lot alike in that capacity. They are both good at the mask thing. I'll watch her. Now before we get there I would like to ask you to do one more thing." Gibbs asked Ducky as they entered the elevator and pressing the button for the floor below.
"I'd like you to give me a profile of that dentist. I'll have McGee bring you the file he's putting together on the man – you might have to do a little more research on this one since we have a lot of possible witnesses to locate and little time to do it. I just hope someone calls us with some demands soon, either for the dentist or Tony, so we can find out what the hell this is all about." Gibbs finished venting just before the elevator doors opened and they headed towards Abby's lab.
Down in the basement of the old house where Tony is being held . . .
"Wh-what? Whaddaya mean 's all your fault?" Tony questioned the dentist after the man admitted to playing a role in the kidnapping. His head throbbed where he had been hit on the base of his skull and now also from his bumpy ride down the stairwell. His leg pain was now bordering on excruciating. The Novocaine portion of the drugs he was given was finally wearing off so though he was still slurring a little, it wasn't nearly as bad as it had been earlier.
"Here let me help get you over to sit against that wall over there and then I promise I will tell you everything. I – I will need to check that leg though. I don't like the angle it was in when you landed. Doesn't that hurt like a son-of-a-bitch?"
"H-helll yesss it hurts! What the hell do you th-think?" Tony barked, pain causing his mood to become even more cantankerous than before. The dentist shook his head for being so stupid as to even ask the agent that question. It was obvious that his leg was broken.
Lucky for Tony, even though Michael Kincaid wasn't a full fledged doctor - he had been required to take a few medical courses during his studies to become a dentist and obtain his degree, and even though they were still captive and in danger, at least he could help the man in case they did manage to escape or heaven forbid, be found before they were killed. He secretly hoped that by doing all he could to help the agent since it was with his help that the innocent man was forced into this situation in the first place – that maybe the Feds would cut him a deal when they charged him with being a co-conspirator in the kidnapping of a Federal Agent.
'What was I thinking? I deserve to die for all the grief I've caused so many people.'' he thought to himself, suddenly thinking of the two people he had driven away when his addiction to gambling had eventually superseded the love he had for his own family. He was still technically married for the time being, his wife had only recently packed up and took herself and their 9 year old daughter to live with her parents with an ultimatum: 'Stop gambling and get help – or I will have to choice but to file for divorce and full custody of Ellie May' Those were her last words to him before she left. He then thought of his beautiful daughter. They had named her after both his his wife's Mother Ellen and and his own Mom, May. He swore to himself right then that if he could get out of this alive – he would start attending GA (gambler's anonymous) and get his life and his family back together.
A low but horrific groan of pain snapped him back to the present and realizing he was still staring at the agent's leg. Looking at the man's face to see how he was doing he noticed the man's eye's were closed tightly in pain and he could see the shine of the thin layer of sweat on his face even in the almost completely darkened basement. It also looked as though he was about to doze off.
"Look man you need to stay awake. I don't think it's a bad one but I think you have a minor concussion if your uneven pupils are any indication. It's best to err on the side of caution."
Tony forced himself to open his eyes again before replying. "Oh ssure that's easssy for you t' say. Were you the one given drugs to sedate you? . . . No? Ohhh oh tha'ss right - I was!" Tony was angry now. The more he thought about the role this man had played in this whole charade, the more angry he had become. He knew now by the way he felt, that whatever drugs this man had forced on him – they had definitely contained more than just Novocaine and laughing gas. Was this guy really now trying to get him to trust him? For real?
"Okay, okay. I know you are angry and you have every right to be! What I did to help those jerks upstairs today . . . I feel awful about but you don't know -" he paused. "Look I told you I would explain everything and I will. But right now I need you to just let me help you okay? I promise I'll tell you everything then . . .and - I'm sorry about the sedating drugs I had to give you. You don't understand, I had no choice! If I didn't do what they said, they were going to hurt my-. No, I said I'd tell you later and I will . . . now are you going to let me help you?"
Tony was in too much pain to argue with the man, not to mention still too tired. He conceded by nodding his head in agreement which he regretted as soon as he had done it. His head wasn't so happy with the movement either. He closed his eyes again just to rest them for a minute and listened to the dentist's instructions.
"Okay, now I'm afraid I will need to straighten that leg out. It will help with the pain I assure you. Then I can look for something down here that I might be able to use as a splint. Okay? Then I will also to take a look at that hand once we get your leg set."
"M' hand's fine." Tony whispered as if too weak to speak at a higher volume.
"Well, even though it's not bleeding as much and seems to be clotting over – I need to get it wrapped to avoid any more dirt getting into the cut and causing infection. You probably just don't feel it hurting as much because your leg pain has surpassed it."
Then he added, "Want me to find you something to bite down on? This is going to hurt more for a few seconds before it feels better and I don't know about you but, I'm not ready to do anything that might cause those two to come back down here just yet."
"Yeah yeah I hear ya. Sure just make sure whatever you give me – it's semi clean." Tony instructed as he let his head lay slowly back down against the hard floor. He closed his eyes for what seemed like a couple of seconds before he felt his head being lifted up again. He opened his eyes and realized it was just the dentist placing something soft under his head before gently laying it back down. The softness underneath his throbbing skull felt like heaven. He looked back over at the dentist who wasn't wearing his white lab-type coat any longer, now only wearing a basic light blue dress shirt and dark Navy slacks. Noticing the man's fancy leather belt reminded Tony of his own belt that thankfully had not been removed so far.
"Ww-wait – I need ya to do me a fav-." Tony was about ready to tell the man about the knife he had hidden in his belt but then he stopped mid-sentence as his gut warned him that this whole thing of sticking him down here with the dentist could just be some kind of trick. Hell, the man had just finished telling him he played a role in all of this so how could he trust him with a weapon? He decided to wait until he heard the man's explanation before deciding if he would ask for his help in pulling the knife out and cutting off the duct tape that still bound his hands.
"Yes?" Kincaid finally prodded him to continue after Tony had paused for a few seconds too long,"Were you going to ask me for a favor?"
"Uh . . . yeah." Tony had to think of something fast or risk letting the man sense his sudden doubts It's nothing really - I uh, was just gonna ask . . . well, when you straighten out my leg . . . uh well just do it quickly."
"Oh sure, of course." Kincaid promised.
To Be Continued . . .
I know it's a tad shorter than usual but I thought that might be a nice change. I will get another update done this week after I post my "Matter OF Life & Death" update. Pls keep the reviews coming! I Thank you!
