Disclaimer – See Chapter 1

Hi to everyone! Thanks for all the lovely reviews, hope you're all still enjoying the fic, it's great to hear from you all!

So what's the plan? Hidden wire? SWAT team? Obey the instructions? Read on and find out...

Oh, and the "fact" about wearing two pairs of handcuffs is totally made up, but it works in my head!

Chapter 38

"So, Boss, what's the plan?" Tony asked, unable to settle on the futon.

"I go in, you, McGee, and Abby keep trying to locate Dixon."

"What, that's it? You're seriously going to walk in there unarmed, with no backup, and leaving us with no way of contacting you?" Tony cried incredulously. Surely Gibbs had to have a better idea than that.

"DiNozzo, this isn't just some average drug-trafficker or petty criminal. Dixon was a Marine, he's a serial killer, and he has a child hostage. Our main priority is Mia's safety and if Dixon even thinks I am carrying a bug or a weapon, that little girl will be his first target. He is unknowingly giving us the opportunity to buy Mia some time so that we can carry out an extraction safely." Gibbs explained.

Tony knew the Boss was right. Dixon was unpredictable at best and despite everything, Gibbs didn't need a weapon to be dangerous.

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Exactly one hour later, Gibbs' cell phone rang and McGee's name flashed up on the screen.

"Yeah, Gibbs."

"Boss, it's McGee."

"That why it says 'McGee' on the damn phone?"

"Uh, right. Dixon has sent the address where the meet is."

"On my way, McGee." Gibbs ended the call with a snap, thrusting the small device back into his jacket.

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"It's an abandoned airfield, Boss." McGee stated, as soon as Gibbs had walked into the lab. Abby was looking very worried as she clung onto Bert, the hippo. "The message says you have to stand at the far end of the runway."

"You can't go, Gibbs! He'll kill you!" Abby cried, tears springing forth. Bert made a very rude noise as she squeezed the toy.

"He's not gonna kill me, Abs." Gibbs said softly, taking the sobbing Forensic Scientist into his arms. "If that was his plan, he had the chance before and didn't take it. Need you to do something for me."

"Anything!" She agreed readily.

"Need you at the top of your game, Abs. Once I get in there, it will buy you some time to find out where we are. I need you to work your magic and get Mia out of there." Holding her at arm's length, Gibbs explained what she needed to do. "He's gonna turn that camera back on at some point, and you'll be watching. I'll give you all the clues I can as to where that place is."

"And if you can't tell us? If he gives you the same rules as Mia and you're not allowed to speak?" She mumbled.

There are other ways of speaking. Gibbs signed, drawing a smile from his favourite Goth, who wrapped her arms around him once again.

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Freshly showered, clothes changed, and adequately caffeinated, Gibbs let out a sigh as he started the black Sedan. He wasn't the type to be nervous, and he wasn't nervous, but his gut was definitely active. It wasn't the fact that he was walking into a dangerous situation without backup, it wasn't even the probability of being injured, it was the not knowing what sort of condition Mia would be in. One thing was for sure, though, he would do whatever it took to get her out of there.

It was only a half-hour drive to the airfield, a journey which would have taken any normal law-abiding person about three times as long. Tony sat silently in the passenger seat. Neither agent spoke, there was nothing to say. The only reason the Senior Field Agent was along for the ride was to take the car back to the Navy Yard. Gibbs couldn't take the chance that Dixon would see the car and abandon the plan, thinking that he had brought backup.

"Boss, a bit of advice, be prepared for Mia to forget your rules. She'll probably be deep in the mindset she had before." Tony muttered.

"Not gonna enforce any rules, Tony. Let's get her out of there first, then we can worry about her mental state." The Boss replied, exiting the vehicle. Tony followed suit, watched his Boss, mentor, friend, walk away, before getting into the driver's seat and returning to NCIS.

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Gibbs was stock-still as the black van drew up and stopped. The agent fought the urge to reach for his non-existent weapon and blow Dixon's head from his shoulders. Instead, he watched as Mia's father got out of the van, pistol aiming at him.

"Thought you'd come and join the party, Agent Gibbs?" Dixon sneered, moving slowly.

"If it means a chance to get that little girl away from you, get the party started." He retorted. "Don't think I'm just gonna lie down and roll over though."

"I didn't think you would, so I brought something to help you along."

Dixon opened the back doors of the van and reached in. Gibbs struggled to hold his anger in check as Mia was dragged from the vehicle. Wrists still bound behind her back, she was dropped to the tarmac where a tiny groan was the only outward sign that she was conscious. The agent felt sick as he looked the child over. It was clear that once the camera had been turned off, her torment had continued.

"Cuff yourself. Hands behind your back. Both pairs." Dixon instructed, throwing two pairs of handcuffs at the agent. Gibbs sighed gently, Dixon was a Marine too, and he knew that wearing two sets would prevent dislocating the thumb to escape them. The agent hesitated, racking his brain for another way out.

Without missing a beat, Dixon stepped forward, flipped Mia onto her front with his boot, and placed the same foot in the middle of her back, between the shoulder blades. As he increased the weight on her back, Dixon sneered as he watched the girl squirm slowly, her mouth opening for silent gasps of air.

"Enough!" Gibbs snapped, cuffing himself and dropping to his knees, his eyes never leaving the struggling child.

"Better." Dixon smiled, giving the girl a kick to the side as he moved towards the agent. Gibbs was aware of a sharp jab in his upper arm before the world faded.

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