Chapter Twenty-Nine

"Clear" Marked the safety of another corner and before they knew it they were nearly halfway through their inspection.

"Hey" Morgan's voice was like an explosion after what had been nearly dead silence. "In here, look at this."

Within seconds half a dozen men were in the room with him.
"Somebody was definitely kept here a while." Tony stated as he took in the view. Mainly he noticed two bins: Though water had been provided in the one it wasn't exactly what he'd consider drinkable and the other, well his nose told him what that had been for.

"It wasn't this guy" Gibbs announced as he nudged a dead man with his boot. He'd say he'd been dead an hour and a half or two at most; the blood wasn't even dry.

"Look at the marks on his neck." Morgan pointed out. "Whoever did this hesitated." His words were certain as he examined the rest of the body. His injuries seemed to be random if not all over the place, clearly there'd been a struggle.

"Well they sure didn't hesitate when they stole his boots." And judging by the look of the guy his boots weren't the only thing that was missing.

"Seeing as his neck was broken though the strangling doesn't exactly make sense." A brave voice announced.

"What're ya' suggesting Scott?" Gibbs' tone was close to demanding.

"That there was more than one person here when this man died." Like when he spoke to his commanding officer: he reached his point quickly. "It looks like he was ambushed; probably from behind the door, but the first guy couldn't get the job done so the second one stepped in and finished it."

"Two captives attack the guard, one slightly stronger than the other. Sound like anyone we know?" Tony's sarcasm was clear. His hope slowly renewing as evidence gave light.

"Move out" Gibbs' order had the room empty in two seconds time. The hall quickly being proceeded down as the full group, including those that had been standing guard, rejoined.

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"Ziva" It was safe to say his voice still held traces of panic and hysteria. "Ziva are you with me?" He hadn't heard anything from the backseat in sometime and it was starting to unnerve him. "I kind of need a direction." Up until now away had been more than good enough but it was probably time to start heading somewhere; especially since their gas supply wasn't exactly unlimited. "Ziva" A glance in the rearview mirror had worry wrestling with better judgment. The former eventually winning out as he pulled over.

Within seconds his door was open and he was out of it, pulling the back one open and climbing back inside. "Ziva" She was tucked into herself and not even the hand he placed on her arm seemed to be changing that. "I know it hurts..." At the moment he'd say hurt was defining itself a dozen different ways on his body. "But you can't think about it, not now. Right now what we need to focus on is getting somewere safe." Even as he said it he glanced around to make sure they were still alone. "Can you do that for me?" He was beginning to wonder if she was even conscious. That was until she lifted her head.

"I..." She couldn't stop her mind from racing as she took in the bruising of his face, the blood... the blood that... it was everywhere. There was no telling where it stopped or started just that it tainted his clothes and skin in a way no soap or water could ever erase. "It..."

"Ziva" Her attention was slowly brought back to him as she pulled her gaze away from tarnished fabric and settled it on his where she noted that his pupils were slightly unfocused.

"I... I can try." With the knowledge that Spencer was worse off than she originally thought she looked out the window trying to gain a sense of direction. She wasn't in the greatest of shape herself and with the way she had been fighting her eyelids she knew it wouldn't be long before she was lost to the world. "Does this thing have GPS?"

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"I've got blood." Tony informed as he better inspected the doorframe.

"And we've got two more bodies back there." Morgan gestured to the way he'd just come.

"Does it leave a trail?" Gibbs and his question appeared out of what seemed like nowhere.

"The blood doesn't" Tony hinted at what he was now seeing just outside the doorway.

"That means whoever was injured took the time to bandage themselves." Morgan theorized as he followed Gibbs out the door; immediately stopping behind him to state, "Clearly there was a struggle here."

"And clearly this guy didn't win." Tony watched as Gibbs inspected the body.

"It's getting more obvious by the minute what went on here." And Morgan didn't like it.

"Is it now?" Gibbs gave him a fiery look as he instructed, "Morgan left, Tony right" and then took off straight ahead. He really didn't like people making assumptions.

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"Spencer I..." Her breathing was ragid as she struggled for words. "I can't continue." With her eyes firmly shut she tried not to let herself get dragged away from the present. "Not like this."

"Just a little bit longer Ziva." He tried with all his might to make it sound reassuring though he was positive that at best it sounded tired. "We're almost there."

"Spencer" She was barely grasping reality as she pleaded, "Talk to me, I need something to focus on."

"I..." He blinked hard as he adjusted his grip on the steering wheel. He wasn't sure he could trust his eyes any longer. "I don't know what to say Ziva."

"Just..." She rearranged herself so she was sitting uncomfortably; trying to make it harder for unconsciousness to find her. "Say anything."

"I'm sorry" Spencer nearly whispered as he turned his gaze to Ziva, "About everything."

"It wasn't your fault" She spoke with resignation. She didn't want to think about it and not so long ago he had told her not to.

"I know" He breathed deeply as he tried to stay in control of himself. "and it wasn't yours either..." He knew that would take her some time to believe. " But I promise, I'm going to find everyone responsible for this, And I'm going to make them pay."

The hate in his words burdened her, he wasn't a vengeful man, but that burden was nothing compared to what she felt for herself and the selfish enjoyment she got out of them. Her life was full of loss and his innocence was just the latest sacrifice. "We'll make them pay."

"Good" They had lost too much already and if he could help it she wouldn't lose anymore.

"Spencer" She couldn't handle listening to the monstrous ideas she had imbedded in this once peaceful man. She couldn't stand knowing that it was her fault he would never be the same. Instead she tried to remember things as they were when she had met him so long ago. "Recite me something please" She only hoped it would be as comforting as it had once been. That his words would be as hopeful and inspiring as she remembered. "Just like you used to."

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"What do you make of this?" Morgan questioned Tony, who had just appeared, as he kicked one of many bullet shells.

"I'm guesssing shoot out" Tony stated as he bent over to pick up some brass. "I started following these casings about 40ft back, passed a few stiffs on the way."

"Makes sense," Morgan nodded in agreement. "Someone definitely squatted here. What doesn't make sense is the lack of David's men."

"Maybe they didn't get this far." Now that Derek mentioned it he hadn't seen anyone dead or alive that resembled Mossad since they'd left the perimeter. "As many as there were I bet it was still ten to one odds."

"I don't like it." Derek rubbed his neck as he tried to ignore the layer of dust covering his throat. "Something here is screaming ambush to me."

Tony dropped his find as he stood. "The question is, who was more surprised?"

"HEY!" They both turned to look at the sound of Gibbs' shout. "GET OVER HERE!"

"What do you think he found?" He shared an appraising, if not slightly nervous, look with Morgan before they took off at a mutual sprint.

In less than a minute flat they were by Gibbs' side, following his icy gaze to the bodies on the ground.

"Tell me that's not..." The look of Tony's face alone confirmed Derek's suspicion.

"If they're not with him..." Tony couldn't help but think the worst. There in a bloody muddle of sand laid the only man that could have helped them.

"They could be anywhere." Morgan spoke angrily as he looked over to the other corpse with disgust. His friend was still missing and these men were at fault.

"What do we do now?" Annoyance was the only thing he let show as he stooped next to Eli. His blood was boiling and it had nothing to do with the heat of their desert like surroundings.

With the majority of his focus on quickly fading tire treads, the other half on finding his people, Gibbs' declared, "We re-group"

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The cabinet creaked as he opened the door to reach for a glass.
The day was a hot one and even the cool drink he would soon have wouldn't do much to tame it.

With a tired sigh he turned on the faucet and filled his cup, but big brown eyes and a whine stopped him from drinking his fill. "Alright my friend" Once more he filled the glass, but this time instead of drinking he carried it to a bowl where its contents were emptied. "There is no need to beg."

He smirked as the dog nearly tripped over his own paws to reach the dish. As long as they had been together it was hard to believe he could still have such enthusiasm over simple things such as water.

With a pat to the animals side he returned to the sink but he stopped just short of the handle as his ears picked up on something and he reached for the drawer instead. In seconds he was armed and (with labrador now at his side) searching his home. He hadn't been expecting anyone so any guest that appeared would most definitely be considered unwelcome.

A slamming sound outside had him cocking his gun as he opened the front door and carefully glanced out. Immediately his target was in sight but with one glance the gun was lowered to his side.

"Help" It wasn't until the intrusion was at the bottom of his stairs that he stepped out onto the porch; his faithful friend growling lowly from behind. "Please" The man panted as he did his best to support, what looked like, an unconscious woman. As he climbed the steps he tripped on one of them and fell back down two, settling somewhere in the middle as he held to her for dear life. His head hung low, nearly too heavy to hold, he barely breathed in exhaustion, "Please... Help us"

E/N: Thanks for reading and I hope you have a blessed day.
P.S. As for those who commented negatively, I'm sorry you feel the way you do but I write first and foremost for myself and your bullying wont change production of my story one way or another. I promise that I offer these chapters to you as soon as they come to me, but it is literally impossible for me to get them to you before then.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!