Ok, so this was so not supposed to happen, BUT, my internet decided to die on me for like a day and a half, and I had a hard enough time trying to get my homework done (it's online homework), and then all of my other homework popped up and I wanted to get that done, and then I kept trying to write, and sadly, I did not make my deadline. Stupid school. But, chapter 22 is currently with my beta getting all polished and beautiful and chapter 23 is ready and waiting. And I have a surprise for you! Guess who makes an appearance in this chapter! That's right!

21

Kate took a deep breath and held it a moment as she peered through her binoculars. "They've been in there a long time." It must have been at least ten minutes since they saw the SUV drive down the street. As soon as she saw it, she knew it belonged to the ring. She couldn't explain how, at first glance it was just a generic black car, but she had a feeling in her gut that these were her guys.

When she saw them go into the house, she assumed it would be quick. A simple "It's time to go," before ushering Gibbs outside into the waiting vehicle. But then they stepped inside—something that took a few minutes on its own. Gibbs did not want these people in Morrow's home, Kate could tell. Now all they could do was wait. And waiting just made her worry more. She heard everything that was being said through the microphone Gibbs wore on his shirt sleeve, but the longer they waited, the more frantic her heartbeat became.

She took her eyes away from the house and stared at Fornell. He looked just as worried as she felt.

"Gibbs will be fine," was all he said, despite Kate not opening her mouth.

She gave him a look. "Are you trying to convince me or yourself?"

Fornell didn't say anything at first. He grabbed the field glasses from her and watched the house for a few minutes. "Have you noticed anything off about Gibbs?"

"What do you mean? Off how?"

He shrugged. "Anything weird? Do you think he's losing it?"

She shrugged. "He's been an even worse bastard than usual since we found out Tony was taken. He started laughing hysterically at a crime scene. But then, right afterwards, it was like he forgot what was so funny and turned to us, back to normal. Why? What did he do with you?"

Fornell put the binoculars down and sighed heavily. "I tried to talk to him about the op in Abby's lab, and he just walked out. I don't even think he heard me. I've never seen him act like this."

Kate's heart started racing again. "You think he's going to blow this mission." It wasn't a question, and that's what really scared her.

Fornell looked her square in the eye when he asked, "Do you think he can handle it?'

Kate didn't know how to answer that. She just sat there with her mouth hanging open like a fish. She knew he wasn't ok, he was never ok when something happened to Tony. Not when he was kidnapped by that Marine killing waitress, or when he was chained to a serial killer. He never talked about it, refused to admit it, but she always knew. Tony meant more to Gibbs than she could ever hope to.

Could he handle seeing where Tony was taken? Could he handle knowing exactly what he was going through? Could he handle it if Tony was completely broken, or had given up any chance of hope? The very thought of it made her sick, so was Gibbs going to deal with seeing it?

She was saved from having to answer when Fornell said, "They're on the move."

Kate sat up and put her seatbelt on. She said a silent prayer as her companion started the car.

Please let him be ok. Please, let him be alive.

Smilest, with autumn's russet in thy hair,
And summer's fruits upon thy breast embossed

Jethro tried to pay attention to every turn they made and how long each stretch of the trip took, but after a while he lost track. They had been going straight for so long and he had lost count of how many turns they had already made. Then he became completely disorientated, losing which direction they were headed.

As soon as Amalea's thugs put him in the car, they had put a bag over his head. He couldn't see anything and all he could hear was the purr of the engine. No music, no other traffic, maybe the occasional bump from a pot hole, but no sounds that could help him figure out where the hell he was. All of it annoyed him, why did these people have to be so damn paranoid? They could have been caught already if they were a little less careful.

He really hated this bitch.

After what felt like a lifetime had passed, they turned down a dirt road. He could tell by the rocks flying up and hitting the car and the crunch of gravel underneath the tires. He figured they must be close.

Sure enough, after maybe ten minutes, they came to a stop and the engine was shut off. The men gently pulled him out of the vehicle and removed the bag from his head.

The building looked evil. It was bright and open, true, but the dark bricks gave a completely different feel. It was almost like a wave of evil spread through his limbs at the mere sight of this place. He could almost hear the screams of the children who had come through here. Jethro swallowed back the bile that rose in his throat.

It was a mansion, eight or nine stories with beautiful architecture that reminded him of a medieval castle. But every window had bars across them and thick heavy drapes covered up the majority of them. The base of the building was lined with thorn bushes. All he thought they were missing was a mote around the damn place.

Much of the sky was still dark as the sun awoke to see a new day. When he checked his watch, he was surprised to see it wasn't even six in the morning. They had driven all night. He assumed they avoided highways and tolls, considering he had a bag on his head the entire trip, so that put them most likely in Delaware. Apparently, Angela Barry wasn't completely useless with her information.

"I hope you enjoyed the trip, Director," came a voice that he recognized immediately.

He didn't see her in the sunlight at first, but when he finally turned to her, his breath hitched. This was Amalea. And she was beautiful.

Her skin was a dark complexion, though from too much sun or genetics, he couldn't be sure. Her hair was cut in a clean bob and her clothes looked like they cost more than his entire wardrobe. He had a hard time believing that this woman was once a slave herself.

Jethro shrugged. "It was a bit long. Didn't really like having the bag over my head."

She smirked. It was a practiced one, meant to knock her opponent off his feet with the sex appeal that oozed off of it. "I apologize for that. It's for protection, you see."

Oh, he understood. If he was ever caught, he wouldn't be able to lead anyone back here.

In his ear, he heard Kate reassure him that his GPS tracker was still functioning. They were only a few miles away and they knew exactly where the mansion was.

"Shall we go inside, Director?' Amalea held out her hand for him to take.

He looked down at it for a second before he turned his eyes back to her. "I'll need to call my people to let them know I won't be there. I wouldn't want them to worry, you understand."

She nodded. "Perfectly." Yeah, if there was anything Amalea understood, it was worry. It never led to good things. She turned her head over his shoulder for a moment before she turned back again. "It's all taken care of. My men sent an e-mail to the office. You have laryngitis." Her smirk widened, showing off a row of perfect teeth. He doubted they were genetic; nobody's teeth were that perfect naturally. "We have you for as long as we need."

He couldn't deny that he didn't like the sound of that. If he—or rather Morrow—was supposed to have laryngitis, then the agency wouldn't be surprised to not hear from him and they'd just assign a Junior Director to take over in his absence. It would take days before anybody even realized he was missing.

Jethro reminded himself that he wasn't alone. Kate and Fornell were waiting just a few miles away. Amalea couldn't touch him without the full force of the FBI and NCIS on her ass within minutes. It may not help him, but it would definitely save the kids. And DiNozzo.

He couldn't stall anymore. If he did, Amalea would definitely get suspicious. As much as it pained him, he finally took her offered hand and gave it a firm shake.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Director."

"Tom," he corrected. He wanted this woman to think he was a friend.

She pulled him forward and linked their arms together, leading them towards the mansion. "Well, Tom, I'm sure you have plenty of questions for me before we begin our tour."

"Amalea's a unique name, how'd your parents come up with that?"

"What the hell kind of question is that?" Fornell squawked in his ear. It took everything in him not to flinch with the sound.

But it got a good result. It was slight, very slight, but she tensed. As quickly as it happened, it disappeared and she was back to her usual self.

"It's a form of Amelia. I think it's Greek or something. I'm not quite sure." She gave him another disarming smile. "Anything about our little operation?"

It sounded stupid, but he wanted to throw her off her game. Especially knowing that she was once a slave here, he wanted to push her buttons. Jethro needed to know how she'd react. He learned one thing. No matter how destroyed she became after being here for so long, it still burned her that her parents gave her up.

"How secure is this place?" They passed through the front doors into an elaborate foyer with marble tiles and pillars embedded with gold.

"Very. We have many security guards and multiple security functions set up around the perimeter."

Jethro couldn't help but notice how good she was. She was answering his questions easily without giving anything away. She only gave him the basic information, no details that could help with the raid. She still didn't trust him.

"Worried about the wrong people getting in?"

She chuckled. "More worried about people getting out." She stopped in front of a large, beautifully crafted spiral staircase. She finally let go of his arm to face him head on. "I'm not going to lie, Tom. There have been times when the children have run away in the past." She shrugged, as if she was talking about the weather. "You know how teenagers are. Some are just incorrigible. Think they can survive on their own."

He pretended to tense. "Is that a problem? You're not worried about them… doing something rash, are you?" Like going to the media, or authorities.

Amalea actually laughed. "Don't worry, Tom. That's my job." She patted his arm reassuringly. "Besides, we've taken necessary steps to ensure that nobody does anything that can hurt us. You have my word on that." She grabbed his arm again.

This time he pulled away. "I'm sure. Amalea, I'm the Director of a federal agency, I do know what kind of operation you're running. You don't need to sugarcoat things for me. In fact, I'd prefer it if you didn't." He stared her straight in the eye with the most warming and kind look he could muster for this woman.

"Careful Gibbs," Fornell said into his earwig. "You don't wanna tip this broad off."

But Amalea just eyed him curiously for a moment. "Has anyone ever said you are very blunt, Tom?"

He actually smirked. "Many times."

The two of them shared a chuckle as Amalea again grabbed him and led him up the stairs. "It's an admirable trait. Well, we have a man on staff, a fixer, if you will. He ensures that the general public never catches wind of our little operation."

Jethro nodded. "A hit man."

"If the occasion calls for it. We also have a retrieval team to locate runaways and bring them back. But to be honest, in many situations, we don't bother. Our recruits are very young, and unfortunately, they don't all turn into swans."

He nodded. They only wanted pretty people. Made sense, considering they took DiNozzo when he was already in his early thirties.

He took a break from questions to look around the place. Their footsteps echoed off the hard floors. The wood work was a dark cherry, a strong contrast with the white of the marble. The light fixtures were old fashioned, almost like gas lights on the walls. They gave off a faint glow, but not enough to completely illuminate the hallway. It was all beautiful, and expensive. But the beauty just added to the intense disgust he was feeling. Something so beautiful shouldn't be used for something so cruel.

Amalea continued with the tour, showing him just about everything a guest would want to see in this place. He made sure to catch every security camera or guard with his glasses camera for the others. They would need all of this when they came back in five days. After about an hour, they finally started to get to the more interesting parts of the compound.

"And here is our school. Most of our clients don't just want bodies, they can get that anywhere after all. No, our Dependents are all well educated in more than just the art of love."

The school was really nothing more than a few levels in the east wing. The rooms were transformed into miniature classrooms. In one room they were teaching history, another Literature, and a third language. In every one of those rooms were kids, small children as young as four with terrified eyes, all silently pleading with him to help them. It broke his heart. More than once, under the guise of fixing his frames, he wiped a tear from his eyes. He hated that he couldn't help them. That he couldn't rescue them right now. He was forced to turn his back on all of them.

"And this is our sexual education room," said Amalea, pulling him out of his pain and moving him in front of another room. This one was much larger and filled with teenagers. Some were thirteen, others looked like they were almost legal. They were all paired off with each other and practicing their 'techniques' on each other. "We teach our students all the skills we can so as to serve our clients to the best of our abilities; the best ways to perform oral sex; every pressure point on the body that elicits a sexual response; how to find your personal spot. We don't leave anything up to chance."

Once again, Jethro saw the kids plead with him, but only the younger ones. The older students had been here long enough to know that he wasn't here to help them. They had lost hope.

He couldn't have been more grateful when Amalea finally pulled him away from the east wing. In his ear, he could hear Kate choking up a few silent sobs.

"Do you ever put any of the younger students up for auction?" Petty Officer Whitmore had said it wasn't done, but he needed to make sure.

"Generally, no. We typically don't like to sell our Dependents until they are eighteen. They usually aren't ready for that kind of relationship just yet." Amalea stopped them again. "Director, while we personally have no opinions on your personal preferences, if you want a child that you can have your way with, then I would prefer not to have your business. That kind of service can be found anywhere. We offer much more than that, including a guarantee that no matter how tired, or how old you get, our Dependents will always be able to service you. We are not cheap. That is why we don't sell services that will only last for a few short years. We offer a lifetime of enjoyment and ecstasy."

Damn the woman knew how to make a speech. Jethro shook his head. "I'm not interested in children. I was just curious about how you operate."

She scrutinized him again. Eventually, she must have realized he was telling the truth—which he was, she just didn't know all of the details—she nodded and continued on with the tour.

"Well, Tom. I believe that concludes our tour," she finally said after another three hours. It wasn't even noon yet. "But as I said over the phone, this tour also comes with a free trial. So, if you will follow me, I'll get you set up in one of our suites."

His heart started racing. This was it. He was finally going to see DiNozzo again. In his ear, he heard a collective gasp from his back-up, indicating they were just as nervous about this as he was.

But then a thought came to him. Amalea knew they worked together, what were the chances she would bring DiNozzo to him? If she did, what kind of reaction was she expecting to get out of him? DiNozzo didn't know about the plan, how was he supposed to be able to play along?

The room that Amalea brought him to was definitely not a suite. It was just a room with an adjoining bathroom. The walls were paneled in the same cherry wood as the rest of the compound. The bed was small, only a twin size raised off the ground, a cherry nightstand stood next it. The floor wasn't carpeted, but covered in a floral area rug. Jethro was actually surprised to see such a bland room here.

He turned to Amalea and quirked an eyebrow in question.

Her smirk came back. "You're here for sex, not to admire my interior decorating."

That was a good point, as much as he hated to admit it. The people who came into this room had more important things to focus on than wallpaper and paintings. The bareness of the room ensured that people focused solely on the slave that was brought before them. It was a business tactic.

He sat down on the bed and was surprised at how plush it felt. It didn't look like it would be so soft.

"Now I need to ask, do you prefer men or women?"

He heard Kate shout, "Men!" in his ear.

He would have rolled his eyes if Amalea wasn't staring directly at him.

"Men."

Amalea nodded. "Any preference?'

"I want a man, not a boy."

"That's it?" Kate asked indignantly. "That's the best you can come up with? How are you supposed to get Tony with that?"

But Amalea nodded with a bright smile on her face. "I know exactly what you mean. If you'll excuse me, this will only take a few minutes." She left.

Jethro finally let out the breath he didn't even know he was holding. He dropped his head in his hands and mumbled under his breath, "I do know what I'm doing, Kate." At least he hoped he did.

Only five minutes passed before the door opened and Amalea returned. With her were four men. Jethro clamped his mouth shut to stop the gasp threatening to escape. One of the men was DiNozzo.

He could see the redness on the younger man's chest, indicating he was recently waxed. There were bags under his eyes, probably because he most likely hadn't slept since he got here. But otherwise, he was flawless. And so, so beautiful. But his eyes held a different story. There was so much pain, despair and hate hidden in those irises. But there was also a shimmer of hope.

All four of the men before him were beautiful, even if his eyes kept going back to the man on the farthest right. He finally noticed that they were naked except for a leather loincloth. Even their feet were bare.

Jethro turned to Amalea. "Does free trial mean orgy?"

She chuckled. "It's your choice. Pick any one you want." She made sure to emphasize one.

"Make it look good, Gibbs," Kate whispered. "You can't just pick Tony."

He already knew that. Why did she insist on second guessing him? She had only been an agent for less than two years. She was good, but he had been doing this for a while.

Jethro stood up and approached the men. He decided to start with the man farthest from DiNozzo. He didn't want to seem too eager.

The man was stunning with sandy blonde hair and blue eyes. His lips were full and smooth as the rest of his skin.

Jethro told the man to smile. When he did, he saw two rows of perfectly neat, bright white teeth. Too perfect. Definitely caps. He turned back to Amalea. "How old?"

"Twenty-nine. He's the youngest one here."

Jethro scoffed. "I can tell." He was beautiful, in a pretty-boy way. He was a baby face. "I said I wanted a man, that didn't mean a man who looked like he's twelve."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the man's eyes lower in shame. It broke his heart. He was ashamed because some dirty old man didn't want to get into his pants.

He moved on to the next man. "This one is thirty-five," Amalea threw in before he could ask. He certainly aged well. There were a few lines around his mouth and eyes. His body was taut from years of body building.

He gave a quick shake of his head before moving onto the third man. His heart was racing. He barely even noticed this man because he was so focused on the next one. DiNozzo kept his eyes trained ahead of him, he wouldn't look at him, but he was tense. He was waiting for Jethro to move onto him.

Finally, he moved away from the third man and stood in front of his agent. For the first time since he showed up, DiNozzo looked him square in the eye.

Jethro smirked. "I'll take this one."

Amalea smiled. "Excellent choice."

He nodded in agreement. "Nice to see you again, Agent DiNozzo."

DiNozzo visibly swallowed a lump in his throat. "Director."

Next chapter, there will be smut. Fair warning ahead of time. But hey! Tony! He's back! And alive! Anyone excited?

Bob