Rescued, Finally!
Ziva was concentrating hard at the task at hand. Removing handcuffs, which she was fully capable of, was easier than removing the heavily knotted ropes that encircled her wrists.
"Ziva?" Maddie whispered questioningly through the darkness. Ziva heard the fear in her voice, which made her work all the harder to untie the ropes that bound her.
"It's okay, Maddie, I'm here," Ziva whispered in a soothing voice. It was the voice she used to put Todd to sleep, singing him Hebrew lullabies.
"Ziva, he'll really kill us, I know he will," Maddie whispered, sounding terrified. At hearing Maddie's words, Ziva's old instincts kicked in.
"Maddie," Ziva snapped. "Pull yourself together. We willsurvive, not if, we will. Gibbs will find u, and if he doesn't I will figure out some way to get us out. I wasn't trained to be an assassin for nothing." This sobered Maddie up, and she quickly quieted. Ziva continued to work at the knots furiously, racing against the countdown of their lives.
Back at Headquarters, Tony and McGee had Franks in custody. Tony called Gibbs to see what he wanted him to do.
"Boss, we have Franks," Tony said into his phone.
"Good, Jen and I are on the way back, we found letters from Avonworth's father and we're hoping that they will tell us something. Go ahead and start the interrogation, we can't afford to waste time," Gibbs said.
"On it, Boss," Tony said and snapped his phone shut. He turned toward McGee. "I'm going to start the interrogation. Watch closely and call me if you notice anything." McGee nodded and turned towards the observation glass. Seconds later, Tony walked in and slammed the door shut.
"You again," Franks gasped.
"Yeah, except I lied the last time we saw each other. I'm very much alive," Tony answered, throwing the case file on the table and sitting down.
"Tell me Franks, have you had any contact with James Avonworth recently?" Tony asked, narrowing his eyes and looking at Franks.
"No, not since the last time I was brought in," Franks answered, fidgeting in his seat.
"Really? Want to explain to me why you're so antsy?" Tony asked.
"You idiots have had me been holding me for over a half an hour. Nature's calling, if you know what I mean," Franks said, his eyes staying firmly on Tony's. Tony stood up and rapped his knuckles on the observation window.
"Agent McGee, please escort Mr. Franks to the little boy's room. Make sure he goes," Tony said. A few seconds later McGee opened the door and escorted Franks out. While they were gone, Tony took the time to sit and put his head in his hands, holding back all the emotions he'd been holding onto all day.
"She's a pretty good Agent," a voice said all of the sudden, and Tony looked up, startled. What he saw was Kate's image.
"You're dead," Tony said stupidly.
"Yes," Kate said, "but not to you. You hold me close in your heart. I may just be a figment of your imagination, but I'm here to help."
"Help, what do you mean, help?" Tony asked.
"Tony, you shouldn't worry. Ziva's a strong woman, she'll be fine," Kate said.
"Kate, it's different, I have a responsibility to Todd, I mean, what if something happens, and we don't get there in time? How do I explain to a little boy why he doesn't have a mother?" Tony said, his voice finally cracking under the pressure.
"Tony, I'm you're guardian angel, and I promise that Ziva will be okay," Kate said as she started to fade.
"We miss you, Kate," Tony whispered.
"I'm always there is you need me," Kate said, disappearing completely. Tony sat back in his chair, trying to decide if what he had seen was real. Then Kate's words hit him. She said Ziva would be okay, he had said nothing about Maddie.
"This isn't good," Abby said setting the last letter down on the table. "They've been planning this for years."
"Then why didn't Avonworth do this when Tony was dating Jeanne?" Jenny asked. "Why wait until Tony got together with Ziva?"
"Because he must have figured out that Tony and Ziva had a string bond and waited until the best time to exploit it," Abby said. "One of these letters mentions that Avonworth could use his old house, the one he grew up in, as a potential hideout if needed."
"Where, Abs," Gibbs said walking in a setting a Caf-Pow in front of Abby.
"Baltimore, Gibbs, where else?' Abby said, taking a long draught from the Caf-Pow container.
"Address, Abs?" Gibbs asked.
"Oh, sorry," Abby said, turning to type something on the computer. "1222 32nd Street," Abby said, turning away from the computer, but Gibbs and the Director were already gone.
Ziva had finally managed to undo the rope tying her hands and was not furiously trying to loosen the rope that tied her feet to the chair. Maddie was sitting in her chair silently. Ziva didn't know what was wrong with her, she hadn't spoken for several hours and Ziva wondered if she had gone into shock from fear. Finally, Ziva managed to loosen the ropes enough that she could pull her feet out fast if needed. Just then the door opened and Avonworth came down the steps. Ziva managed to get her hands behind her before Avonworth noticed.
"Are we having fun yet?" Avonworth asked with a smirk on his face. Ziva immediately noticed that Avonworth was slightly drunk.
"No," Ziva said.
"Good," Avonworth said, and then raised his hand and struck Ziva across the face, hard. Lights danced before Ziva's eyes and she struggled to keep her hands behind her back. Avonworth struck her again and again. Finally he finished and turned to Maddie. This time, instead of slapping her, Avonworth pulled out a gun. Maddie didn't even look up.
"My dear daughter, how could you turn against me?" Avonworth said, circling Maddie's chair slowly. Ziva didn't move, afraid that one small movement would alert Avonworth that she was untied. "You know, I thought you'd be like your mother, but you turned out to be a sad disappointment." Avonworth raised his gun, ready to pull the trigger, and Ziva was ready to spring out of her chair when they were interrupted.
"Freeze," Gibbs yelled, running down the stairs, followed by Jenny, Tony and McGee, all with their guns out. Avonworth turned his head and smiled.
"I don't think so," he said, and then, there was a bang.
A/N: Cliffy, wonder who got shot??? Well, I'm going to say this, I would like to see at least 10 reviews before I tell you who got shot. Deal? Good, now go review!
