Not that much more to go now! That doesn't mean I still won't beg for more reviews :) Hope you like this chapter (Got to draw out the tension for as long as possible)

"You'll be here when I return?" He asked.

"I'll be fast asleep," Tony yawned. "But I'll be here," he reassured.

Gibbs tore his eyes away from the empty bedroom and towards his team. They looked at him for answers that Gibbs wasn't sure he had.

"If they didn't drive up to the cabin, how did they get here?" Warren asked.

Gibbs looked at the newest member of the team. "They came from the forest."

"A surprise attack from behind," Ziva surmised and Gibbs nodded in agreement.

"How big are the woods, Doc?" Gibbs asked.

Todd looked up at Gibbs wearily and gave a slight shrug, "I don't know." He shook his head, "A hundred acres? Maybe more."

Gibbs sighed, "We can't cover all the ground."

"How far do you think they could have gotten?" McGee questioned.

"It can't be that far," Ziva spoke before Gibbs could open his mouth and supply his own answer. "They must be carrying Tony, and he's a lot heavier than he'd admit to."

"And if he's conscious, he won't exactly be making it easy for them," McGee smirked.

"Okay, McGee call an ambulance," Gibbs ordered. "Tony will need one when we find him," he added silently."Make that two. The Doc'll need to be checked out too." McGee nodded and pulled out his cell phone.

"I'll be fine," Todd argued.

Ziva pulled the handkerchief away from the wound. "You're still bleeding," she told him.

"No arguments," Gibbs told the doctor. He looked at each member of his team, one of them had to stay behind and wait for the ambulances with Todd. "McGee," he finally said as McGee hung up the phone, "Stay here."

McGee's eyes widened, "But Boss…"

"I need someone to wait for the ambulances. Get some back up here too. Anyone you can, dogs, get a helicopter up here if you have to," McGee nodded dumbly. "And keep the director appraised of the situation," he added.

"I got it, Boss," McGee obeyed reluctantly. He wanted to be out there in the words looking for Tony.

"You guys with me," Gibbs motioned for Ziva and Warren to follow him out the front door. They followed him out the door into the early afternoon sunlight and around the perimeter of the cabin until they reached the indentations in the mud where Delgardo and his goons had stood. They watched as Gibbs crouched by the footprints.

"What's he doing?" Warren leant over and whispered to Ziva.

"The man is an ex-sniper," Ziva answered, "He can track better than a hound."

"What kind of hound?" Warren asked with genuine interest.

Ziva looked at the man in surprise, "What?"

"Well," he shrugged, "There are like thirty-nine hound breeds."

"How would you know something like that!" She exclaimed.

"I'm a bit of a dog lover," Warren admitted, "I have a German Sheppard at home called…"

"You really think this is the time for this," Gibbs interrupted angrily, rising to his feet and glaring at Warren.

"No Boss," Warren answered quickly.

Gibbs tore his eyes away and pointed to the foot prints. "He tried to walk," Gibbs began. "Or they made him walk," he added pointing to the four sets of prints. He took a couple of strides and pointed down. "Then four become three, two of which sink deeper into the ground."

"As if carrying something?" Ziva asked.

"Tony," Gibbs answered, "This way." He nodded towards the dense forest. He didn't wait for Ziva and Warren before pulling his gun from his belt and making his way into the woods. Ziva and Warren did the same and quickly followed.

They silently made their way between the tall trees and over fallen branches. Almost ten minutes later, Gibbs held a fist up. Ziva and Warren halted behind him and waited patiently for the reason for the sudden stop. They watched as Gibbs took a small step forward and lifted a hand to the nearest tree branch.

"What is it?" Warren whispered.

Gibbs showed them a twig handing off the branch. "They came this way," he explained, his voice so low the pair had trouble hearing him.

Another twenty minutes later and Gibbs stopped again. "Where now?" Ziva asked. The forest divided into two thin stony paths.

Gibbs glanced back at Ziva. "Stay here," he told them. His eyes narrowed and looked down each path. He went left first, moving carefully and quietly, looking for any clues. He crouched down and moved stones, picked up leaves and twigs. He sighed and turned back. He passed Warren and Ziva and then up the second path. It didn't take him long to find what he needed. "This way," he told them. They joined him as he knelt by a rotting log.

"Are you sure?" Warren asked.

Gibbs pointed. "Blood," he said bluntly before standing up and carrying on down the path.

"Let's hope we don't find any more," Ziva said.

"Unfortunately, I'm not sure it'll be the last," Warren replied.

"Why do you say that?"

"If we don't find Tony soon, he won't be leaving these woods alive," Gibbs supplied.

A faint noise in the woods had the trio's guns snapped up instantly. "What was that?" Ziva breathed.

"More to the point, where did it come from?" Warren added,

Gibbs began to run. "This way," he called back as he sped down the path. Ziva and Warren headed after him, breathing heavily as they raced to catch up with Gibbs. Another noise had Gibbs stopping and changing direction, leaping over another rotting log and disappearing into the dense bushes that filled the gaps between trees. Ziva and Warren barely managed to keep him in sight as they followed. They pushed through a particularly thick bush and leapt out into a small clearing. They looked up and stopped as two guns pointed at them, Gibbs stood ahead facing the guns, his own gun pointed back.

Tony could barely keep his eyes opened as the two men carried him. He'd struggled at first, tried to escape but his energy had left him. He cursed the drugs that still coursed through his system even though his IV had been ripped from his hand a while ago.

It had all happened so quickly. One minute he was happily dozing away, the next thing he knew, three men had barged into the room with guns. He was pulled from the bad and practically thrown out of the window onto the ground. They'd followed him and pulled him to his feet.

He knew the minute he saw Delgardo's face that he wasn't going to last long and after every minute past he wondered why he was still alive.

He let them pull him into a small clearing and let them push him roughly against a tree, not caring how much pain it caused him. The pain pills he'd swallowed earlier that morning had worn off over half an hour before and every movement pulled at the stitched up bullet wounds. Tony suspected the stitches had torn, though he was too weak to find out.

He gritted his teeth as they pulled his arms back. If his stitches hadn't been pulled during the journey, they certainly had now. Rope appeared from somewhere, they wound it around him and tied him to the tree. Tony's head fell forward, no energy to hold it up.

A hand gripped a handful of his hair and ripped his head up. Toy's eyes met Delgardo's. "Hello Anthony DiNozzo," he said in his thick Italian accent. Tony didn't question how he knew his real name. If he could find him in a cabin in the middle of nowhere, then he could easily find out his name.

"Just…," Tony mumbled.

"I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that."

"Just…get it over with."

"Get it over with?" Delgardo asked. "Why would I want to do that when I can play with you first?" Delgardo let go of his head, pulled back his fist and punched Tony. His fist connected with Tony's nose. A second punch opened a cut above Tony's eye and blood began to dribble down the side of Tony's face.

"That the…best you…got?" Tony breathed heavily.

"Oh, we're only just getting started" Delgardo replied, pulling a sharp knife from his coat pocket.

Gibbs stepped out into the clearing. His gun instantly up and aiming at three men. They all pulled out their own guns. The two unidentifiable goons' guns pointed towards Gibbs, whilst Delgardo thrust the large knife in his hand to Tony's neck, holding it tight against Tony's skin.

Gibbs heard the other members of his team arrive behind him but he didn't dare take his eyes away from the guns pointing at him.

Tony was being held up by the ropes binding him to the tree, his head had fallen forward limply. Two blood stains on his t-shirt told Gibbs that the gun shot wounds had re-opened and if they didn't get Tony to a hospital as soon as possible then he would bleed to death.

"Don't even think about it!" Delgardo shouted, pushing the knife further into Tony's skin. Gibbs could see blood already coating the knife and wondered what damage had already been done by Delgardo. Were they too late?

"Tony?" Gibbs called. Tony tried to lift his head but failed miserably but it was enough for Gibbs. "Let. Him. Go," Gibbs enunciated slowly.

Delgardo tilted his head to one side. "No," he answered simply.