"It's on fire!"
Barely a second after saying these words, Detective Hardman was on the phone to the Fire Service alerting them to the fire. Gibbs was about to issue another directive when Hardman warned them to come silently and to await instructions before dealing with the fire. Gibbs nodded approval and simply said,
"Warn the others."
When they arrived, Gibbs and the others discovered that the fire seemed to have started in the rear of the building.
"McGee, Bishop go through the front," ordered Gibbs. "Take two of the Raleigh officers with you. Hardman, you're with me. Get two of your officers to come with us. The rest of you, spread out and get ready for anyone running out. And remember, one of our own is in there. Tell the firefighters not to go in without an escort from some of you!"
Having given these instructions, Gibbs and Hardman made their way to the back of the building. There they saw that a stone structure separate from the main house was ablaze and, a few yards away, a body lay on the ground.
Gibbs' heart seemed to miss a beat as he gestured to Hardman to investigate.
"It's not Tony," Hardman said, "He's wearing one of those masks. Brad Pitt, I think. He's out cold."
Gibbs smiled grimly as he remembered that Brad was the one who had punched Tony in the face. He went forward towards the building and tried to see if there was anyone still inside.
"Looks empty to me," he said. He took another step forward as if he was going in but Hardman grabbed his arm,
"Don't be an idiot, Gibbs," he said, "You can't go in there …" Even as he spoke the roof collapsed with a crash.
Gibbs and Hardman gazed at the skeleton of the building and then looked up as two firefighters approached cautiously.
"Anyone in there?" asked the first firefighter.
"Don't know. It looked empty," said Gibbs.
"We'll go in," said the second firefighter. "Looks as if it's running out of steam and we've got the gear."
Gibbs looked as if he wanted to grab the gear for himself but forced himself to watch.
"Boss," said McGee as he emerged from the back of the house, "We found someone. Think it's the one who wore the Colin Firth mask."
Gibbs turned to look at the man who McGee and Bishop were holding on to, "Where's DiNozzo?" he demanded.
Colin looked defiant, "Don't know what you're talking about. You've got no right to be here."
"Save it," said Gibbs briskly, "We've got you on camera assaulting Tony DiNozzo and we know you've been holding him prisoner here."
"We were told it was a joke," Colin tried next.
"Holding someone prisoner and kicking him was a joke?" demanded Hardman, he took a step towards Colin but this time it was Gibbs who restrained him.
"A joke?" Gibbs asked. "You want to try that one again?"
"We were just doing what we were paid for," tried Colin. "It wasn't our idea."
"And that makes it all right?" asked Ellie.
"It was just a job," said Colin sulkily.
"What happened?" asked Gibbs, deciding finding Tony was the most important thing.
"Don't know," began Colin. He looked at Gibbs' face and decided that something more was needed. "Brad went to take food to the guy but he didn't come back. And then we smelled fire. Tom and me, we went to see what had happened and the store place was on fire …"
The firefighters emerged at that moment and said, "Nobody's in there."
The sense of tension relaxed a little and Colin went on, "That's what I was going to say. We couldn't see nobody in there. Tom told me to go back and clear out the gear and get ready to move."
"And where did Tom go? Is that the one who had the Tom Hanks mask on?" asked Gibbs.
"Yeah, it was one of his jokes. Got masks of people who had the same names as us. I'm Colin and he's Brad," he gestured towards the man who was still unconscious on the ground. "And he said he was Tom."
"OK," said Gibbs, "Where did Tom go?"
"Don't know," said Colin, "Out there somewhere. He was real mad. Said he was going to find DiNozzo."
"Are we OK to start damping this down?" asked the lead firefighter, "We want to make sure the fire doesn't spread to the main building."
"Go ahead," said Gibbs. "Bishop, call an ambulance for Brad here. Hardman, get someone to take this clown down to the police station. And then everyone spread out and start looking for DiNozzo."
"I'll go through the house again," said McGee, "Just in case Tony snuck back inside and is hiding there."
"He'd have come out by now, wouldn't he?" asked Bishop.
"If he could," said McGee, "The way this is going, who knows what might happen?"
Gibbs nodded agreement and started organising the search patterns. Some people were sent along the beach while others were sent to the sand dunes to the back of the Pink House.
NCISNCIS
Tony gasped as he ran from the building, somehow he thought he might be due for an appointment with the real (Dr) Brad Pitt as he had been in the smoke filled room longer than was healthy. He decided to make for the sand dunes at the back of the house both because he didn't want to pass in front of the building and because he thought it would be easier to hide among the deep dunes. He tried to still his breathing a little so that he could hear if he was being pursued but his lungs were protesting too much and there was a loud roaring in his ears.
"You can do this," he told himself, "Just a gentle stroll back to the cabin. And Gibbs will be on the case … I hope."
Tony forced himself to keep running although all he wanted to do was lie down and catch his breath. He wondered how long it would be before the fire was spotted and he found himself with mixed feelings about whether or not he wanted the Pink House to burn down or not. On the one hand, he loved the building but on the other, he felt it had caused him nothing but trouble. "Wonder if it's cursed," he mumbled, "… or perhaps it's just me."
His breathing began to ease a little and he felt more equal to scaling the rise to the newly reinstated road but as his hearing cleared he thought he could hear the sound of sand shifting behind him. "Damn," he said, "Why don't they just give up?" He thought he could hear other noises from the direction of the Pink House and began to hope that people had gone to investigate the fire. "Or perhaps I did the sign language right and they've come to find me," he said to himself. "Abby'll be proud of me."
It was odd, that just as hope began to spring, his body decided it had had enough and his legs failed to cope with the shifting sand and he tumbled into one of the dunes. He lay there gasping for breath once more and decided to rest for a moment or two. Then he heard footsteps approaching and, through the gloom, saw someone standing at the top of the dune.
"Tony?" came a gentle voice, "Are you OK?"
"Who are you?" said Tony warily, "Don't come any nearer."
"I'm from Camp Lejeune," came the reply, "We've been deployed to look for you. Don't worry, I'm here to help."
Tony peered through the darkness and saw the man beginning to walk towards him. A contingent from Camp Lejeune sounded like a Gibbs touch.
"Don't worry," the man repeated, "I'm not going to hurt you."
Tony shifted in the sand.
"It's OK. Everything's going to be OK," said the newcomer again.
"I know," said Tony and, finally managing to get to the gun he had taken off Brad, shot Tom in the shoulder.
Moments later, someone else arrived at the top of the dune, "Need a hand, DiNozzo?" asked Gibbs.
Tony decided to give up for a few moments and allowed his body the respite it needed.
NCISNCIS
"Well, Anthony," said Ducky cheerfully sometime later, "You have been in the wars. No, leave that oxygen mask on a for few minutes longer, your lungs will be glad of it."
Tony smiled behind the mask and thought how good it was to sit on something other than the floor and to be surrounded by unmasked, friendly faces. Gibbs, Hardman, McGee and Ellie were all clustered around Tony's bed in Dr Murray's clinic. Millie had gone to tell Kit and Andi the good news and arrange for Tali to be returned to Milsom Bay the next day.
"Brad, Colin and Tom are all on their way to Raleigh," said Gibbs. He smiled sweetly at Hardman, "I think the Raleigh PD can do the paperwork. Good work with the sign language, DiNozzo. Although it could have been clearer. Bishop would have had us going to the Red House."
"We've got your watch, and your trainers," said McGee.
"The kidnappers tried to send us all over the place," said Ellie.
"And they used your ATV," said McGee.
Tony looked alarmed for the first time.
"It's OK," said Bishop, "They didn't damage it. Although it needs a good clean."
"We found where you wrote down the licence plate on Tali's drawing," said McGee.
"That was good work," said Gibbs. "Although it didn't help."
Tony looked puzzled.
"They stole the plates off Dr Murray's car," said Bishop. "Put them on that green van we found at the house."
"But it was a good try," said McGee consolingly.
"And Dr Murray will be pleased," said Ducky.
Tony looked puzzled again.
"Jethro had the car shipped to Abby in NCIS and she has spent some time in repairing it. She has made a marvellous job of it. Why, I wouldn't be surprised if she hasn't enhanced its value. I believe that, should she ever decide on an alternative career, she could set up as a car mechanic. Indeed, she could probably do any number of things, we all know that she is an expert in so many fields …"
"Duck," interrupted Gibbs, "Can DiNozzo take the mask off now? We want to know how he got out."
Ducky looked a little doubtful but, as he was itching to find out as well, nodded his agreement. "Just for a few minutes, and I insist that he uses the nasal cannula instead."
Tony submitted to this and then grinned as he saw the expectant faces looking at him.
"Like old times," he said, "Having the MCRT hanging on my every word."
"Fair enough" said Gibbs, "And you remember what I used to do when you worked for me?" Gibbs flexed his hand reminiscently.
"Understood," said Tony hastily. "Well, I owe it to you, Boss."
"You do?" said Gibbs.
"Rule 9. Hey, Col, you might want to make a note of that."
Hardman looked suitably bewildered. "What?"
McGee, Bishop and Gibbs all took their knives out from hidden places, "Never go anywhere without a knife," they said in unison.
"How did rule 9 help you?" asked McGee.
"Took me a while," admitted Tony. "And then I remembered …"
"DiNozzo!" groused Gibbs, "Get on with it!"
"After the show and tell … when Brad and Colin got violent, I decided it was time to get out. And I wasn't sure how long I'd be able to fight off the effects of whatever they were putting in my food …"
"They were drugging you?" asked Ducky.
"Yes."
"And you forgot to mention this?" said Ducky severely, "You know that you have to be careful about drugs, Anthony. Anything which might suppress your breathing is to be deprecated."
"I know, Ducky. But it's not exactly as if I had any choice about it. And I tried not to eat too much of the food but it was hard to hide it."
"Nevertheless …" began Ducky.
"And you shoved that mask on my face …" said Tony plaintively.
"I would not say that I shoved it on your face," said Ducky, "I positioned it carefully and professionally."
"I apologise," said Tony, "But however it got there made it difficult for me to tell you anything."
"That is true," said Ducky graciously, "And I am sure that, if circumstances had been different, you would have lost no time in telling me that you had been drugged against your will." He stared at Tony who gazed back innocently and tried to give the impression that he would have been eager to share the details with Ducky. "And now that you have told me," continued Ducky, "I will make sure to take some blood and urine samples to assess any damage which may have been done." Tony's innocent look faltered slightly at this news.
"If you two have finished," said Gibbs, "Maybe DiNozzo can carry on with the story."
"Of course," said Ducky, "Pray continue, Anthony."
"Well, I sat there and tried to work out how to get out," said Tony, "But there wasn't a whole lot available. Some plastic dishes, a bucket of … well, you can imagine … and a pile of newspapers. Guess I was lucky that one of them was the weekend edition with all the supplements."
"Go on," said Gibbs.
"And I had a pen but I couldn't work out to pick the lock with that. And then I remembered I had my belt on."
"And?" asked Hardman.
For answer, Tony's hands dropped to his waist and he slid the knife out of his buckle.
"You wear that all the time?" asked Hardman.
"Most of the time," said Tony, "It's habit."
Gibbs nodded approvingly.
"So, all the time you've been showing me how to be CAFALO you've had a secret knife?" said Hardman.
Tony shrugged, "Sure."
"Get on with it," said Gibbs, "Now I remember why my hair went grey. It was waiting for you to finish a report."
"To be fair, Boss," said Tony, "It's more silver than grey." He encountered Gibbs' glare, "And a good look it is on you, Boss. You should be grateful to me. Or not. So, I got my knife out and I remembered …"
"Tony …" said McGee pleadingly, "Just tell us."
"All right, McHasty," said Tony, "I remembered that when I went to buy it, the guy offered me a deal. He said a knife was useful but, for an extra $25 he'd give me a buckle which would be a fire steel I could use with the knife. I said yes but I forgot about it. I mean, it's not like I'm McWoodsman here, wanting to set fires in the wilderness."
"You used your knife to set the fire?" said Ellie.
"Yep," said Tony. "Maybe you need to change the rules, Boss. Rule 9a, never go anywhere without a fire steel."
"Or a lighter," said Gibbs drily.
"True. But I think a lighter would have been taken off me," said Tony.
"So you set your cell on fire?" asked Hardman.
"Well," said Tony judiciously, "I didn't mean to set it on fire exactly. I figured that Brad or Colin would be coming soon to give me something to eat. Or Tom would be along for one of his creepy conversations. So I tried to set the door on fire. Reckoned I'd either be able to get out through the door if it burned down or I'd be able to rush whoever came first."
"And what happened?" asked Ducky.
"Brad came later than I'd expected," admitted Tony. "By that time the room was full of smoke. And getting hot but the door was still holding firm even though I was banging at it."
"Is that how you burned yourself?" asked Ducky, pointing to the marks on Tony's hands and feet.
"Yeah. If the door had opened outwards I could have kicked it down. And if I'd had my shoes. But it didn't and I didn't, so I had to wait," said Tony ruefully. "But it worked in the end. When Brad finally showed up, he opened the door and all this smoke rushed out. And so did I. Knocked him out and took his gun."
"And then you ran?" said Ellie.
"Call me a wuss, but I decided I didn't want to hang around. And I wasn't feeling too good either."
"But you managed to recognise Tom's voice," said Gibbs.
"Took a while," said Tony, "By the time he caught up with me I was beginning to feel dopey. And he'd taken the mask off so I didn't recognise his face but there was something about his voice … and so I decided to shoot first and ask questions after."
"You have had a most adventurous time, Anthony," said Ducky. "Now, put this oxygen mask back on. The rest of the story will have to wait."
AN: nearly there. Just one more chapter I think to tie things up. And hey, no cliff hanger!
