Note: I apologize for the lengthy delay; I suffered a serious injury some months ago and am slowly recovering.

Warning: our heroines and hero find themselves in a precarious situation. The imagery may be a bit rough for some readers, so please skip ahead to the Washington-based section at the end for a summary.

Chapter 10

Jane Rizzoli-Isles woke with a splitting headache and a dull pain in her side.

The room was pitch-dark and the bed was as hard as concrete.

Seconds later, she realized she was on concrete, and her arms were over her head, and she was handcuffed.

Jane tried to break her handcuffs with no success; she was weak, hungry, thirsty and cold. And she heard breathing.

As she strained to see who else was...there...with her, she heard a door open, and was blinded. After several moments, she heard an unfamiliar voice.

"Welcome," the baritone voice of a male boomed within the room, as Jane tried to avert her gaze from the intense light aimed at her eyes. "You are here at my pleasure and kindness."

Whhhmmmmmmmmmmmm - Jane tried to speak, then gave up when realizing her mouth was duct-taped shut.

"You will not be in these conditions forever," he said, as Jane averted her eyes towards the ground, noting her legs had been tied with a rope. "You will be fed, given water, cleansed-"

Maura!

"-clothed, in accordance with the Geneva Convention."

Maura! Where's Maura - Geneva?

"I have chosen to keep you alive, you and your friends," he continued. "You may be most valuable to me that way."

Alive - Maura! This guy's got Maura! She's - she has to be alive too!

"Although after taking my beloved from me, I deserve a little bit of revenge, no?"

Revenge...?

"So I shall have it, through your suffering," he added. "Unfortunately, I cannot maintain this for much longer."

Jane saw the door close, and herself left in the darkness. Her gut told her she'd live through this nightmare.

She hoped her gut was right.

Maura! She had to stay alive, for Maura...and for whomever else the bastard had taken.

Washington, D.C.

Navy Yard

NCIS Headquarters, Multiple Threat Assessment Center

NCIS Director Jenny Shepard watched the video for the 19th time. All of the agency's specialists were pouring through every frame, every moment of sound, for any piece of useful information.

And so far, no one had anything useful to give her.

She nodded to the tech, who restarted the video. Then she looked to the right of the screen, to the images of Assistant Director Leon Vance and Hetty Lange.

Shepard had seen the images of Caitlin Todd, Jane Rizzoli-Isles, Maura Rizzoli-Isles and Leroy Jethro Gibbs, all bound and gagged, and Gibbs and Jane bruised.

"How soon can you have a team ready, Leon?"

"All six can be ready asap, Director-"

"Four," Shepard interjected. "Detective Deeks is in no way ready for this type of operation. Not to mention, we have no idea where the hell they're being held."

"I would suggest, Director, to read through Dr. Getz's report before settling on the number of operatives. She is stronger and more resilient than you perhaps are giving her credit for."

"I'll read his assessment but my mind's made up on Julie, and the others won't be alone," Shepard said. "Have an update for me in four hours."

Shepard gave the 'cut' sign to the tech, and the video once again took up the entire theater-sized screen. "Restart the video," Shepard said to the tech, while walking back to the theater-styled seats in the back to watch the video for a 20th time.