Revealed
Gibbs opened his eye and winced at the pain when his right eye refused to open as well. Damn,thatguywasfast, he thought, andstrong. Gibbs looked around as much as his limited vision would allow him. Turning his head, he felt the distinctive burn of a rope around his neck. Now that he thought of it, he could also feel rope binding his wrists and ankles. From somewhere to his left, he heard a bolt being thrown back. Deciding quickly, he closed his eye again and feigned unconsciousness. No sooner had the door opened; he heard heavy footsteps approach him.
"You might as well open your eyes," his captor said. "I know you can't still be out."
Gibbs didn't even flinch, hoping his ruse could buy him another moment.
"If you want to find out about Agent DiNozzo, you'll quit playing."
This got Gibbs's attention. His eye snapped open and he glared at his captor.
"Where is he?" Gibbs asked.
"Right now," the behemoth cocked his head in thought. "He's probably sitting on the back of an ambulance with an ice pack on his head, calling in McGee and David."
"Why didn't you kill us?" Gibbs asked, knowing he was probably pushing his luck.
"I didn't kill him because he wasn't important," the man said as he knelt beside Gibbs. "I didn't kill you, because you are."
"So why kill Granger and Winslow?" Gibbs asked. "They couldn't have been important enough for you to kill them."
"Ah yes," the man said. "Granger was a mistake. A happy one it turns out." Seeing the confused look on his captor's face, he continued. "You see, I chose Granger at random. I knew when I chose him that there was a chance someone from your agency would get involved, but I had no idea the caliber of investigator NCIS would send.
"I was almost concerned when I watched you at the scene. Your intensity and professionalism are traits that could have interrupted my plans. Fortunately, he took an interest in you. He doesn't get along with strangers so easily. Did you know that? At any rate, I noticed how much he respected you from the start, and I knew I had to keep you close. So, I accessed your file and those of you team and Petty Officer Granger to see what I could find."
"Granger's file included the case file too," Gibbs guessed.
"Fortunately yes," the man said as he straightened. "Your agents are very tedious when it comes to filling out their reports. If you live through this, you should give them some recognition for that."
"Don't worry," Gibbs said raising his head. Whatever he intended to say next was cut off as the rope tightened and began choking him.
"Oh, don't do that," his captor said reaching down to work with the ropes. "I've used a series of double constrictor knots. You'll kill yourself long before you can get into a sitting position."
Gibbs took a long thankful breath as he glared harder at the man who held so much power over him.
"Oh yes," the man said again. "I read some of your old case files. Lieutenant Cobb was very clever. I like that in people."
"Just remember, Cobb died in the end," Gibbs spat as his breathing became normal again. "And I'll personally give the Medal of Honor to whoever puts a round in your head."
"Now you see," the man said. "It's talk like that that makes me think we can't be friends."
Gibbs grunted as he lay on the floor. Staring at the ceiling, he began taking account of his situation and looking for a way out of it.
The homing signal on the remote device led the drone straight to Batman. This was one of Lucius's better ideas. He could deploy it on one side of the city while he patrolled the other, essentially giving him a presence all over the city. Tonight however, it was his mode of transportation. As he adjusted his perch, he realized that the drone was exactly built for this task, but it was his only option to get to the city in time.
As he sipped above the tree line, and the city came into sight, Batman mulled over the thing that had been bugging him since the conversation with the madman ended. Out of nowhere, the voice came to him again and he knew where he had heard it before. He reached for cell phone on his belt as the city limits sign passed below him. He made a call to Blackgate Prison. By the time the warden verified his suspicion, the drone was bringing him to the roof of Gotham Arms Motel, where Gibbs and DiNozzo were staying. Batman zipped sown the side of the building and landed next to one of the squad cars that had responded to the scene.
"It's not Azrael," Tony and Batman said simultaneously as the vigilante ran up to the ambulance where the federal agent was being attended to. Commissioner Gordon had been interviewing the agent when Batman arrived.
"Who the hell is it?" Gordon asked the two.
"Bane has escaped Blackgate," Batman informed the commissioner.
"Christ," Gordon said, fishing a cigarette out of his pack.
"Who's Bane?" DiNozzo asked looking from one to the other.
"Serious bad news," Gordon answered.
"He has Gibbs," Batman interjected. "He's using your boss to torment and lure me into a trap."
DiNozzo dropped the icepack and stood up. "What's the game plan?"
"We have less than a half an hour to get him," Batman said. "He wants me to meet him at the docks, but he called from the Seagate Amusement Park area."
"You think he's holding Gibbs at the park?" Gordon asked.
"That's my bet," Batman replied. "DiNozzo, you go with Gordon to get Gibbs. I'll go meet Bane at the Docks."
"My team is on their way," DiNozzo said. "That guy took me out and I didn't even hear him come into the room. You're gonna need help with him."
"If anyone else shows up, he may have a way of killing Gibbs."
"And he may be bringing Gibbs with him," Tony retorted.
"The kid's right," Gordon supplied. "I'll take a team to Seagate, you take him to the dock."
"Great," DiNozzo said. "Now I get to right in that… What the hell kinda car is that anyway?"
"We won't be using it," Batman said. "I had to leave it behind."
"I guess I'm driving then," DiNozzo said heading for his rental car. Batman exchanged looks with Gordon before following Tony to the car.
"I don't think this is going to work," Batman said looking at the cramped cockpit of the Ford Taurus.
Tony unlocked the doors and made to slide into the driver's seat. "You'll be fine. Just duck your head a bit."
The brute was finished making adjustments at the table and was coming back over to him. Gibbs's mind was working overtime, trying to find a way out of this mess. If he could only get to his knife.
"Agent Gibbs," his captor said, leaning down to him again. "I'm going to pick you up. If I were you, I would resist the urge to struggle. I won't loosen the rope for you again."
"Do what you have to do," Gibbs said.
Bane lifted the older man easily and carried him over to the table. Gibbs's eyes quickly scanned the area of the room he could see, looking for options. Unfortunately he saw his best hope of escape in a pile his other stuff in the corner by the door. As Bane lay him on the table, Gibbs realized that he was in some serious trouble.
"Now, I'm hooking your rope to this table," Bane said. "I have an appointment with him. If he shows up, you may have a chance to get out of this mess. If not, I'll be back, and I won't be so concerned about keeping you alive."
"You're forgetting one thing pal," Gibbs said.
"Oh?"
"Even if you kill me, my team won't quit hunting you until you're dead."
"Agent Gibbs," Bane said. "You seriously underestimate me. Now. Just lie still and stop trying to antagonize me. Trust me. You don't want me to hurt you." With that, the monster of a man turned his back on the helpless agent. As he approached the door, he reached up and flipped a switch next to it. Gibbs felt a slight vibration under him as his head slowly began to rise.
"It will take about a half an hour for the table to raise high enough to kill you." He said without turning back to Gibbs. If you struggle against your ropes, you'll just die quicker. Use the time hoping that Batman shows up. That's your only hope for surviving."
