a/n - Getting close to the end, the final section should probably be divided into two parts, so two chapters after this one. I've got several chapters of my next story done, and it's going to be another wild one, as will be the one after that, which is being roughed out right now. Thank you all for your wonderful reviews and comments.
"Gibbs..."
"I see it."
The other Jeep was laying on its roof about twenty feet from the roadway. Once they turned off the road, their headlights illuminated a figure trying to pry one of the doors open. Gibbs pulled as close as he could; Tony and Ziva scrambling out before he had it fully stopped.
"Fornell, man, you okay?"
"Do I look okay, DiNozzo?" Fornell was holding his right arm stiffly against his body and the right side of his face was bruised and bloodied. "The Director's still unconscious."
Gibbs joined them, dropping to his knees to help Ziva with Vance. "What the hell happened?" Fornell staggered against Tony as he rubbed his eyes, trying to remember.
"We followed Mink's signal from his phone and..." He straightened up as the memories fell into place. "It was Kehoe. He had the kid in a fireman's carry and he opened fire on us when we arrived. McGee, he's got McGee." Even knowing deep down that Kehoe was long gone with the young man, Fornell spun around, looking frantically for any clue. What he saw was a body laying only a few feet from a battered old car. Pointing, Fornell called out. "Found Mink."
Vance was coming around, but Gibbs was going to need help getting him free of the wreckage. "Ziva, check on Mink, DiNozzo, give me a hand."
The two team members changed places and Ziva was followed by Fornell to where Mink lay. He was on his side, eyes still open, a knife buried to the hilt in his chest.
Fornell tugged the book out of his hand. "Damn fool, what was he thinking?"
"He was not thinking, that is the problem." Ziva bent closer to examine the body with a flashlight. "The knife penetrated the diaphragm, paralyzing it. He probably suffocated to death before he bled out."
Back at the overturned Jeep, Vance shook off the offered help as soon as he was pulled free. "We were so close, Gibbs, so close. Where would he take him?"
"He wouldn't have to take him anywhere." Tony looked around at the abandoned complex. "They could be anywhere in there and it would take us hours to search it all. By then..."
"I'm not letting that happen, DiNozzo. I am not losing Tim to that animal." Gibbs paced, his gut churning as he thought through everything they knew about Kehoe.
Vance watched him, knowing that infamous gut was the best shot Tim had. "Where would Kehoe go to..." He stumbled over the words, not willing to vocalize what McGee would be facing.
"Finish what he started?" Tony stared at Gibbs when the man suddenly froze.
"That's it, Kehoe wants to finish what he started." Nodding to himself, Gibbs started back towards the remaining Jeep.
"Boss?"
"He's going back to finish what he started. He's taking McGee back to that damn bunker. Are you coming or not?" Gibbs turned to Vance as Tony and Ziva scrambled to get back to the Jeep with him. "We'll call for an ambulance for you and Fornell."
"Hell, no, I'm going with you."
Fornell had the same idea as he was only a few steps behind Ziva. One handed, he needed a boost to climb into the Jeep, but Tony didn't take the time to comment. Instead, he grabbed the first aid kit before taking the middle of the back seat between the two injured men. Ziva was in the front passenger seat with the map already out before Gibbs had the Jeep fired back up.
"Gibbs, if we stay on the roads, it will take us almost an hour to get to Kehoe's home." Tony looked up in alarm at her words as he bandaged the cut on Vance's forehead.
"We don't know how much of a head start he has on us, Boss."
Ignoring the road, Gibbs started across the desert. "That's why we have the Jeep, DiNozzo."
---NCIS---
Wedged against the floorboard of the old truck, Tim felt every bump and jar as they bounced along. He wasn't able to see out any window, but the rough ride told him they weren't on any road. Rather than watch Kehoe, Tim kept his head down and let the man think he was still unconscious. His legs tingled as the feeling returned, but he still felt weak. He wouldn't last long in a struggle, certainly not out in the middle of nowhere, so he waited for the right moment.
"We're home, baby boy." The sing-song tone of Kehoe's voice told him he'd run out of time as the truck stopped. His hair was grabbed and his head forced back, giving him no choice but to look Kehoe in the eye. His hair was released and the stained fingers wrapped around his throat in a move to render a victim unconscious. Gibbs had shown the move to he and Tony once, but Tim was still amazed at how quickly he could feel himself going under. His last thought was that those arthritic hands were a lot stronger than they looked.
---NCIS---
Tony couldn't stand the silence and had to start asking questions. "The chloroform should have worn off by now, right? I mean, McGee will be able to fight him."
Ziva looked at Fornell before she spoke. They had both seen the glass and metal object left behind in the car Mink had used. "The chloroform, yes, but there was a syringe on the floor of Mink's car."
"What, you're sure?" Tony faltered for a moment as he placed a splint on Fornell's arm.
"The car door had been left open, it was on the floorboard of the back seat."
Gibbs didn't say anything, but their speed increased again as they flew through the night.
---NCIS---
If McGee had been conscious, he would have felt the pain from being dropped down the trapdoor into the bunker, but by the time he was awake, he'd been manhandled onto his previously assigned bunk, his rope tied to the top of the frame.
Kehoe was straddling him, watching as awareness returned to his victim and leaned close to lick the side of his face. He laughed as Tim struggled, too confident in his control to notice that Tim used the struggle to pull his body closer to where the rope was tied, giving him more slack.
As the vile mouth moved down to bite at his jaw and then his throat, Tim struggled weakly, biding his time as Kehoe became more excited by his cries. He waited as the hands roughly explored his body. It wasn't until Kehoe pulled back to undo his belt that Tim made his move. Using the distance to his advantage, Tim managed to whip the rope around Kehoe's neck before the man realized what he was doing.
Kehoe roared as he grabbed at the rope, but Tim kicked out and rolled them both off the cot, tightening the rope around his throat. Kehoe fought like a man possessed, unable to pull the rope away from his neck, he slammed Tim repeatedly against the wall.
Tim determinedly hung on with every scrap of his strength. He was tight against Kehoe's back, the rope that was his weapon was also his prison as it kept them tangled together. The first time Kehoe reared back and crushed Tim between himself and the wall, Tim let out a cry. The second time he did it, Tim didn't have enough oxygen left in his lungs to make a sound. The third time, his vision started to fade out. It was like riding one of those mechanical bulls he'd seen in a few western bars. He just hoped he could hang on long enough, because this was turning into much more than an eight second ride.