Hello, guys! I have good news and bad news: good news is that I've had a lot of writing inspiration recently! So I've managed to write a lot more in a shorter amount of time, which is great for you guys! Bad news: I have exams in, like, 2 weeks, so I can't be writing that much anymore. I really need to revise. Luckily, I've got some chapters written in advance so I may be able to post again during my exam period, but even that's debatable. Either way, I've got more writing available for you guys that I'll post up when I can!

Anyways, thank you to DS2010 and Dobby and Padfoot for your reviews! I'm glad you're enjoying the story!

Anyway, the next chapter is ready for you guys! So enjoy!


"Clear."

"Clear."

"All clear here."

The voices popped through the microphones into Andrew's headset as he watched them assess any and all hiding spaces in that warehouse. There were still as many boxes there as there were last time – maybe even more – with ample dark spaces providing the perfect cover for an ambush if Walker had planned one.

Yet, the agents had found nothing. Heck, not even evidence of another individual using the warehouse. There were no scuff marks, no materials… nothing new that was out of the ordinary.

Andrew let out a slow sigh, trying to reign in his frustration. He knew where to go. He knew how to get down to the basement level of the warehouse. He knew which way they were supposed to go. But they were just taking their time doing it and it was frustrating him to no end.

"There's nothing suspicious in here…" came Harrison's voice over the comms. "It's as if this place was never even used…"

"That's definitely the place," Andrew urged. "Trust me."

"Chill, kid. I'm not doubting you."

"It sounds like you are…"

"Andrew, where's the door?" Gibbs cut in before the teen went off on one. Through Tony's camera, Andrew could see the older man looking around for the door he'd been speaking about earlier.

"It's near the door you entered through," Andrew explained, pushing his mic closer to his mouth so that the agents could hear him. "Just by that door is another one. There's no window in it, and I think it used to be chained shut or something. Now there's just a bolt."

As he watched, both cameras turned towards the entrance door, and Andrew could see the other door stood right beside it, no chains but deadbolt in place. "There. That's it. That's the door we were taken through."

"You sure?"

"Yeah," Andrew confirmed, sounding more and more certain of himself as he spoke on. "It should lead to a staircase that leads you down to the basement level. That I definitely remember."

On one of the cameras, he noticed Agent Harrison take on a steely expression. "Then let's go."

"The staircase is kinda dark, though, so watch out for that."

"Thanks for the heads up," Tony quipped as the group began to move towards the door. When they reached it, Gibbs was the first to grip the handle, taking on the duty of pulling the door open whilst the others kept an eye out for any threats from the staircase or unexpectedly from the warehouse floor. Appearing to hug on it a couple of times, the older agent nodded, and Ziva and McGee responded by pointing towards the door with their guns up as Tony and Harrison continued to scout for any possible dangers.

Three…

Two…

One…

The door creaked open, allowing the agents to see into the dark stairwell. Nothing came out at them, and nothing stood out against the dark background. Reaching into his pocket, Gibbs pulled out a flashlight and shone it down into the darkness.

"Nothing's coming up."

Andrew let out a breath he didn't realise he'd been holding. So Walker wasn't going to ambush them in the staircase – it was clear, and ready for them to descend. Brilliant.

Or, at least, it was brilliant until part of the way down, when the camera feed started flickering in and out.

"Uh, guys…?" Andrew's brows furrowed as he tapped at the laptop screen, despite knowing deep down that that would do nothing to help the situation he was in right then. "Guys, can you hear me…?"

There was a pause, before, "Yeah, we can hear you just fine," McGee responded. There was a moment of silence before he asked, "Is something wrong?"

"Yeah, the feed," Andrew responded, still tapping at the screen when he realised he was only receiving static. The video feeds were showing nothing – and that was saying something, considering the agents were descending a dark staircase. "The video feed's gone static. I can't see anything on it."

He could hear the agents stop.

"Nothing?" McGee asked.

"Nothing at all," the teen responded.

Andrew heard a curse hissed through the comms, before Agent Harrison decided to speak up.

"Walker must be using something to jam the video signals," she concluded with a sigh. "We can't get anything out to him."

"But how are our mics and earpieces still working?" Tony asked. "Wouldn't they try to jam everything at once?"

"Maybe they can only intercept one frequency at a time," McGee suggested, though he sounded slightly doubtful of that.

Andrew scowled. Why was Walker only letting them hear, but not letting him see? This was… pretty weird. It didn't make sense for him to do something like that, did it?

Or maybe it did.

"He doesn't want me directing you," Andrew breathed, his eyes wide. "He wants you to go in alone so I can't warn you of a trap or if there's something out of place."

The agents went silent at that realisation. If their only lead, their only map, was destroyed or made unavailable, then there was a definite chance that they'd end up wandering aimlessly through the basement of that compound as they searched for Alex, not having Andrew's guidance as to where to go exactly. For all they knew, the basement could be a maze.

"We have no choice," Gibbs finally spoke up, causing Andrew's heart to plummet. As much as he loved Gibbs for his bravery and sense of justice, and as much as he wanted Alex out of there and safe… this was a sure-fire way of getting someone killed.

Walker knew that basement like the back of his hand. The agents didn't.

Andrew could only purse his lips, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. Then he realised something.

He wasn't completely useless. He was in Gibbs' car.

And Gibbs kept a spare gun in the glovebox.

"Good luck," he told the agents. "I'll be listening, but I guess I can't help much. Sorry."

"You did your best, Andrew. Don't worry about it."

As if I've done my best, Andrew thought to himself as he eyed the glove compartment by the passenger seat. A look of determination overcame his features as he began to move about in the car.

They were going to save Alex. And he sure as hell was going to make sure he helped.


Alex braced his hand against the wall as he breathed, lessening the weight on his bad leg, with a chair leg gripped in his free hand.

It had taken him slightly longer than he'd hoped, but he'd managed to unscrew one of the chair legs from the seat itself. The design itself was such that the legs themselves had screws in them, which meant that they only needed to be screwed into the seat of the chair. A simple, efficient design.

And now it was a useful design.

Gripping the chair leg tightly, Alex braced himself against the wall before slamming the sharp end of the leg against the crack, like a pick. He scowled when nothing happened, and tried again… and again… and again. Getting frustrated when he didn't see much, if any, progress, the teen began to slam harder against the crack, digging the screw in and hoping to create a bigger opening.

He almost cried with relief when he heard a chunk of the brick free itself from the wall and fall into the water below. Some progress was being made – it wasn't huge, but it was better than nothing.

This little progress was the push he needed.

Going at it again, Alex continued to hack at the wall as the crack slowly grew in size. All the while, he could feel the water level slowly rising at his feet – he'd long since removed his ruined shoes and socks and was moving around carefully on bare feet, hoping nothing could injure him any more than he already was. Shifting his feet to avoid the small chunks and grit as they fell into the water, he kept at it, switching hands partway through when he felt a cramp coming on.

He wasn't surprised when he suddenly heard a sharp clink, and looked down to see the screw of the chair leg had broken off. He sighed.

Guess I have to go for another chair leg, then.

He slowly shuffled towards what remained of the chair, getting to his knees to begin unscrewing another leg to use. And in the back of his mind, all he could hope was that someone, anyone, would be coming to save him soon.


Navigating a dark staircase was not fun – something that Tony managed to conclude not even two steps into their journey down into the basement of the warehouse. It was easy to trip, you didn't know how far you were falling, and nine times out of ten a dark staircase meant old, concrete stairs that would definitely hurt and possibly break a bone.

Still, he resisted the urge to make any comments as they headed down, guided by Gibbs' torch. As much as he wanted to lighten the situation, this didn't feel like a situation that was meant to be lightened. The situation felt too dark, too serious to make a joke about. Plus, Alex's situation weighed too heavily on his mind. What if they were too late when they got there? What if Alex was damaged beyond repair? What if Alex was no longer there, and this whole rescue mission was for nothing?

He was startled out of his thoughts when he felt a presence beside him.

"We will find him," Ziva murmured lowly, and Tony knew that if he could see her right then, she'd have a determined look on her face.

"You're sure about that?" he responded just as quietly.

"I am certain of it."

"What makes you so sure?" Harrison asked from where she was moving behind Gibbs. Whilst Gibbs headed up the group, followed by Harrison, Ziva and Tony had been left to bring up the rear, with McGee in the middle.

Tony narrowed his eyes at that, even though he knew Harrison wouldn't be able to see his annoyed expression. "What makes you so doubtful?" he countered.

"I am sure because it would make no sense for there to be any reason to get rid of him now," Ziva answered stiffly. "Why would Andrew run free, only for Alex to be killed? Alex would not have given up the information in the time it has taken to retrieve Andrew and return here. And it would be too much hassle to find a new place to move Alex, considering we already have tabs on their vehicle and this place as well. Alex is still here, and we will find him."

Everyone was quiet as they continued to move down the stairwell, taking in what Ziva had pointed out.

Even Tony had to admit, she made a good point. It would be stupid of them to move Alex now, when Andrew was found so close by and they had eyes on the warehouse. Their only hope was to get as much information out of Alex as they could here – and the likelihood of them getting what they needed from Alex if they hadn't managed to obtain it yet was pretty low.

Tony's more positive train of thought drew to a close as dim lighting lit up the bottom of the staircase, and the group reached a solid door that was slightly ajar – the source of the light.

Gibbs switched off his torch as he approached the door, placing his hand on it to gently test its strength. His gun immediately came up when the door easily slid open, revealing the poorly lit basement corridor beyond. The five agents stood still for a few moments, waiting as the door continued to creak open. It was when the door stopped moving that they began to move through, Gibbs going first and scanning the area for possible threats. The four younger agents followed him through one by one, until they were all stood in the corridor in a huddle.

The poorly lit corridor was long, lined on both sides by doors, but it didn't take a genius to realise that this wasn't the entire basement of the warehouse. This may have been the closest area to the stairs, but Tony could see that there was a bend in the corridor up ahead.

"The three of you, begin searching here," Gibbs ordered, pocketing his torch before looking over at Tony, McGee and Ziva. "Harrison and I will head further in. Alert us on the comms if you find anything."

McGee was the first to nod. "Yes, boss." The other two gave their own nods as Agent Harrison pursed her lips, taking in a deep breath through her nose.

Gibbs sent a glance at Agent Harrison. "Let's go."


Andrew took a deep breath as he knelt by the car, before popping his head up to peer over it.

It had been pretty easy to hook up a mic and an earpiece to the frequency they were using – McGee had left a whole box of that stuff in the trunk of the car, and he'd made the mistake of letting Andrew watch as he set up everything for everyone. So now Andrew could listen to and speak to the agents without being stuck in the car.

Getting his hands on a gun, on the other hand, had proven a bit more difficult. Gibbs' spare had been hidden right underneath everything else, at the back of the glovebox, and the gun didn't have any ammunition in it. So Andrew had had to look for the spare magazines in the trunk and ensure they were the correct bullet size before loading them into the gun to use. Just before he shut the trunk, he pulled out a holster, attaching it to his pants and holstering the gun.

After this, Andrew was faced with the dilemma of making sure everything in the car was safe. Even though this was an industrial area, he could easily tell that anyone in this area walking around those parts was going to be pretty dodgy. So he had to make sure that the car was locked up and everything put away. If Gibbs found out he got out of the car but left a whole of government equipment free for anyone to take, he would be dead before he could start begging for forgiveness.

Checking his back pocket, Andrew made sure the car keys were in there before looking back over at the warehouse. As the others had said, it appeared pretty empty. There were no guards walking about, and Andrew hadn't seen anyone enter the warehouse since the agents had gone in either.

Eyes scanning the grounds, he was rethinking his decision to follow the agents and head in there when he heard a large vehicle approaching. He frowned.

Did many companies use warehouses in this area?

Looking in the direction of the sound, he was startled when he realised a large black van was headed towards the warehouse – unmarked with no number plate.

Suspicious? Definitely.

Andrew watched the vehicle as it pulled up in front of the warehouse, and the back opened, allowing about a dozen or so men to emerge.

About a dozen or so men dressed in the same way the security guards had earlier.

That's when he realised that these were the security guards from earlier. Amongst the small crowd, Andrew could see the three men they'd knocked out earlier – one with a cut surrounded by a bruise on his forehead, and two with almost buckle-shaped bruises on their temples. The teen smirked. It was nice to know that he and Alex had caused some damage in their attempted escape. Well, Alex's attempted escape – his actual escape.

Making up his mind, Andrew waited behind the car until all of the guards, including the driver, had left the vehicle and made their way into the compound before making his move. He tiptoed out from behind the car, making his way over to where the van stood and pressing himself against it. He waited for a few moments to see if anyone would be walking by, before shuffling slowly towards the back of the van and peeking around the edge.

The guards seemed to be filing straight towards the warehouse building. Not moving around in the yard, observing the area for threats or standing guard as they usually did, but heading straight into the warehouse. One by one.

That set off serious alarm bells in Andrew's head.

Why were they going straight inside…?

Unless Walker already knew they were there, and he was sending in the guards to take the agents out.

Andrew rushed to speak into his mic, his eyes wide with worry. "Gibbs! Gibbs, can you hear me?"

There was a crackle, before the older man finally responded. "Andrew? What's wrong?"

"It's the guards," the teen rushed, leaning heavily on the van. "The guards, they're here! At the compound!"

There was a pause on the other line, but when a response came it was Tony who replied.

"Andrew, there's no one down here but us and hopefully Alex."

"They won't be down there yet! They just arrived!"

"How do you know they're even here, Andrew?" came McGee's voice through the earpiece. "You're meant to be sat in the car."

"I can see them!" the teen insisted, almost growling at the agents' apparent lack of urgency. "You've got to trust me on this! They just entered the warehouse! They're either descending the stairs or staking out the warehouse waiting for you!"

There seemed to be a pause as all the agents took this in, and it was in this moment that Andrew decided to make his move. Popping his head around the back of the van again, he realised all the guards had disappeared into the warehouse, and rounded the vehicle. Within moments, he'd passed through the gate and was sprinting through the open yard towards the warehouse. Inwardly, he hoped to God that no one spotted him as he ran, because he was at a great disadvantage if someone did see him. Skidding to a stop, he put his hands out to brace himself against the wall of the building, wincing as his hands slapped against the harsh wall before he twisted and allowed his back to take on the rest of his momentum. Breathing heavily, he attempted to calm down enough to register what was going on, and that was when he realised that he was being spoken to through the earpiece.

"…ndrew! Andrew! Make sure you stay in the car! Stay in the car!"

The teen rolled his eyes at Gibbs' instructions, before tiptoeing over to the door to the warehouse.

"Why do I get the feeling he's already out of the car…?" Tony muttered over the comms.

"Because he is you, and you would do the same stupid thing," Ziva responded without hesitation.

Andrew smirked as he braced his hand against the door handle, getting prepared to enter the warehouse. "You've got that right," he muttered quietly, before pushing open the door and getting ready to find Alex and get the heck out of there.


Hope you guys enjoyed!