Disclaimer: NCIS and all related characters belong to CBS, Donald P. Bellisario and Belisaurius Productions.
Chapter Seven
Kate sensed the friction the moment she stepped into the small room that had been turned into a temporary command centre to coordinate the finding and safe return of NCIS Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo. If the tension itself wasn't bad enough, the people clustered in there who were studiously avoiding her eyes while studying her entrance with ill-concealed fascination didn't help to reassure her one bit. Ignoring them, she immediately sought out her team leader, eyes widening when she found him.
Oh boy.
Gibbs was standing in one corner of the room, glowering at a tall, lean Chinese man, who, from the look of things, didn't appear at all intimidated by the larger man, and was returning Gibbs' glare with equal measure. Guessing the good-looking stranger to be Detective David Chen, Kate shook her head as she walked up to them, catching the end of the man's sentence.
"…I've already got all available units out combing the city and surrounding districts for both Gatley and Agent DiNozzo, as well as an APB on Gatley's truck." He waved a hand in the air. "Now, regarding the FBI…"
"No." Gibbs' unyielding tone brooked no argument.
"And may I ask why not?" The sentence practically dripped exasperation.
"Any increase in the number of people involved would only lead to an increase of potential mistakes that might just screw up this entire investigation." Gibbs shook his head. "And I can't take that chance, not with this case."
Chen gave a brusque nod, understanding all too well the other man's reasons for not wanting the Feds involved. He would probably do the same if it had been one of his people who were missing. "All right. We'll hold off on that for now. But I still need you and your people–"
"It is one of my men who is missing," Gibbs countered with a fixed stare. A police cruiser had located Tony's abandoned vehicle a few minutes ago, and the small traces of blood discovered on the driver's seat had been anything but reassuring.
"I understand that, Agent Gibbs. But this is still my investigation so unless you know where they are, we will do this my way!" the other man shot back with firm finality before turning towards Kate. "Yes?"
"Agent Kate Todd, NCIS," she supplied on cue. "I'm with Agent Gibbs."
"Detective David Chen," the dark-haired stranger returned, steadfastly ignoring the scowling NCIS agent beside him.
Kate shook the proffered hand while trying hard not to smile at the annoyed look on Gibbs' face, despite the severity of the whole situation that they were currently facing. It wasn't very often that someone got the upper hand on her enigmatic boss. In fact, it was downright rare. Looking from one man to the other, she asked, "What's going on?"
"We're waiting for Gatley's next call," Chen responded evenly. "He wants to trade Agent DiNozzo for Margaret Colson."
"The woman who accused Tony," Kate murmured, looking towards Gibbs for clarification and received a terse nod in reply. "Any luck tracing the call?"
Chen shook his head. "Too short. And Gatley has so far refused to speak to anyone else besides myself, seeing that I was arresting officer," Chen continued tiredly, rubbing the back of his neck. He cast a sidelong glance at the NCIS senior agent. "Which is why I need you and your people to stay out of this for now while we handle the situation, Agent Gibbs."
Gibbs glowered. "Fine ... for now. But I want to talk to Colson."
Suspicion flared briefly in Chen's dark eyes. "Why?"
"I think she might be able to help."
"We already tried that," Chen shook his head. "She refuses to believe what we were trying to tell her. My guess is that she thinks it's all a ploy to get her to give up Gatley."
"What about Gatley's accomplices then?" Kate asked. "Maybe they could give us something."
Chen pursed his lips and shook his head. "Not without their legal representatives present, they won't. Both suspects lawyered up as soon as they could. Except Colson, that is, but–"
Gibbs levelled him a look. "She'll believe us."
The young detective sighed inwardly at the determined, confident tone. And he'd thought DiNozzo had been tough to deal with earlier in the afternoon. Apparently, the younger agent must have learnt from the very best. At the moment, however, to get the missing man back safely, Chen was willing to explore every possible avenue available to them, even if it meant putting up with obstinate NCIS agents at each turn.
"All right, Agent Gibbs. I'll allow you a try," he conceded with a nod, stuffing his hands into his pants pocket. He shot the older man a curious look. "But what makes you think she'll talk to you two?"
Gibbs bared his teeth in a faint mimicry of a smile. "Gut feeling."
Chen blinked. Whoa, that's definitely one dangerous man. Making a mental note never to get on the NCIS senior agent's bad side, ever, the detective studied the older man for another second before answering. "Okay. Make it count. We'll be watching on the other side."
O o O o O o O
Ow, ow, ow… Blinking hard, Tony tried to orientate himself past his pounding head, feeling extremely nauseous. I need to stop waking up like this…
He squeezed his eyes shut against the next wave of pain that swept over him. Great, another concussion to add to my ever growing collection of head injuries… Then again, what's one more…?
Eyes still tightly closed, he took mental stock of himself and found that he was lying on his side, with his hands bound tightly behind him, so much so that his fingers were all but numb. Experimentally moving his legs, he discovered them to be tightly bound as well, once around his thighs and another time around his ankles. He could barely feel his toes. Well, crap…
Once he managed to get his eyes fully opened, and breathing under control, Tony moved his head ever so slowly, mindful of the fact that it felt all but ready to explode from the intense pain, and studied his surroundings thoroughly. Wondering absently how long he'd been lying unconscious on the dirty floor, the young agent saw that he was in a wooden cabin.
The place was basically unfurnished except for a table and two chairs. Over at a corner, a dilapidated cupboard stood empty, looking as if the only thing holding it together was the thick coat of dust covering it. What appeared to be several pieces of cloth were heaped up haphazardly in another corner and Tony stared at the pile of rags for a moment in complete puzzlement before he realised that it was Gatley's makeshift bed.
The door and windows were tightly shut but judging from the shafts of light shining through the numerous cracks in the wall, Tony figured that there should still be a few hours of daylight left. Good, he didn't fancy blundering around in the dark while trying to make good his escape. So, all he had to do now was to get loose and out of this place before Gatley returned.
Piece of cake.
O o O o O o O
"Ms Colson, I'm Special Agent Todd," Kate introduced herself as she sat down across the woman in the interrogation table. She tilted her head slightly to the right to indicate her silent boss. "And this is Special Agent Gibbs."
"FBI?"
"NCIS."
"I see." Colson studied the people before her with a lazy gaze. "You work with him." It was not a question. Neither was there a single doubt whom it was that she was referring to.
"Yes," Kate responded, her expression carefully neutral. She noticed that Gibbs had no trouble doing just that. In fact, if she didn't know better, she'd say he was half asleep.
A knowing smirk graced Colson's full lips. "No wonder he wasn't interested in me…"
Kate didn't even blink. Colson's blatant innuendo was not something she hadn't heard before, though such allusions weren't at all surprising – Tony was without question an extremely attractive man. Naturally, there would be some talk of the sort, especially since the both of them worked so closely and so well together as a team.
However, despite how incredibly much the insinuation grated at her nerves, Kate had no intention of justifying herself or her relationship with Tony to this woman – what they are to each other, and especially what he means to her, was none of Margaret Colson's business. Narrowing her eyes Kate stared, long and hard, at the one person who might just be their only chance of finding their missing teammate. "As you've been informed, Carl Gatley currently has Agent DiNozzo–"
"So they tell me," Colson turned away. She waved one hand dismissively at them but Kate caught the flash of uncertainty on her face before Colson continued, a slight frown marring the smoothness of her forehead, "Nice try, honey, but I didn't believe it when Chen said it and I don't believe it now."
Slightly surprised by the woman's vehement tone – Colson appeared to be trying to convince herself that what they were telling her wasn't true – Kate shot Gibbs a quick look. Her boss was looking steadily at the woman across from them, but she could see the cool fire smoldering in his eyes. Gibbs was pissed, and she was suddenly glad that she wasn't the one in his current line of fire.
"Does this look like a game to you, Ms Colson?" Gibbs growled, his voice low and dangerous. He leaned forward, placing both arms on the table, hands fisted, and glared at the woman. "We are talking about a man's life here!"
The brunette turned wide, startled eyes towards the NCIS agent, suddenly realising that beneath the calm, relaxed demeanor was an exceedingly furious man. She licked her suddenly dry lips, feeling a shiver of fear snake down her spine. "Are you telling me it's all true?" The look on Gibbs face was answer enough and she covered her mouth with one hand in horror. "No, he couldn't be that idiotic…" she said faintly.
"Carl Gatley is a desperate man, Ms Colson," Gibbs spoke up with a grim look. "And from my experience, desperate men tend to do desperate things…"
"But I just saw Agent DiNozzo…" she protested, apprehension and disbelief giving an edge to her voice.
"We believe that Gatley was waiting for Agent DiNozzo inside his car prior to abducting him," Kate informed her, her own tone flat and emotionless.
"That idiot!" Colson raged softly, shaking her head. "That stupid, mindless idiot." She seemed genuinely stricken as she continued to mutter half under her breath, "What have you done, Carl? What have you done…?"
"Tell us where we can find him," Gibbs interrupted, commanding her attention once more.
"I–" she paused and looked away from the piercing blue eyes. "I can't help you there, Agent Gibbs."
"Carl Gatley is in a lot of trouble, Ms Colson," Kate reminded her, none too gently. "Unless you help us find and stop him, there's no telling what he might do to Agent DiNozzo. But know this, whatever he has planned, you'll be an accessory after the fact – we'll make sure of that."
"I don't know where he is," Colson said tonelessly after a moment of taut silence, still keeping her gaze on the table before her.
"Ms Colson–" Gibbs began, his tone icier than ever, but before he could go on any further, the woman spoke up once more.
"I do not know where Carl is. I swear I don't…" she reiterated earnestly, looking up after a while and observing the similar expressions of doubt on both the agents' faces. "I've not had any contact with him since I got here."
"But…?" Gibbs prompted when she hesitated, knowing intuitively that there was more to her denial of her boyfriend's whereabouts.
Colson worried her bottom lip for a moment and then heaved a soft sigh as she made up her mind. "But I think I might be able to tell you where Carl could be keeping Agent DiNozzo."
O o O o O o O
Taking another deep breath, Tony gritted his teeth against the burning pain and continued on, steadfastly ignoring his nausea, aching head but more importantly, the remarkably overwhelming appeal of sleep. He was beyond exhausted but remained mindful of the fact that if he stopped, even for a single moment, he might not get this chance, ever again. For all he knew, it could be his only opportunity of escape – he hadn't seen a single sign of Gatley since he regained consciousness, but there was no telling when the man might decide to return to check on his hapless captive. Where are you, Gibbs? Anytime now would be great, Boss…
It hadn't taken him long to discover the sliver of glass on the floor underneath the old cupboard. Finding the broken piece of glass, however, turned out to be the easiest part of his whole escape plan. Turning onto his back, he'd used his bound legs to push himself towards his goal, coughing sporadically from the dust stirred up by his movements. Once or twice, he'd tried moving forward on his side or stomach, but his healing ribs had protested too much for him to continue for too long in those uncomfortable positions.
Painfully making his way across the suddenly sizeable dirt floor, Tony would stop every so often to catch his breath, turning back to his side to relieve the ache to his wrists and hands. He groaned in miserable frustration. At the rate he was moving, by the time he reached where he was going, whatever exposed flesh on his arms and hands would probably be scraped raw by the rough ground. How did the place get so big all of a sudden?
Tony had only managed to get halfway across the cabin, but his eyes were starting to close against his will. His clothes, considerably damp from his exertions, clung to him and he was shivering ever so slightly, to some extent from the chill that was seeping through his thin shirt and khakis, but generally from what he guessed was a delayed reaction – shock, most likely – to his abduction. The jacket that he had on when he was taken would have had provided him with some measure of warmth, but it was gone, and along with it, his watch.
Out of the blue, anger flared within him, violent and deep. He was tired of all this, of playing victim to a situation that was not of his making. Spurred by the sudden rush of adrenaline and rage, Tony determinedly wiggled the rest of the way, not stopping until he finally reached his destination. By the time he got to where the piece of glass was, he was dizzy and frighteningly short of breath, but at the same time also strangely elated by that simple achievement. For a long while, the only sound in the room was his harsh breathing as the young agent struggled for air.
After resting for a few moments and getting his pounding heart under control, he'd started sawing feverishly at the rope binding his hands together, using the sharp edge of the glass. Without his watch, his sense of time was undoubtedly more than slightly off, but Tony's best guess was that he'd been trying to get free for at least half an hour since he'd made his way to the corner of the cabin. It was slow, excruciating work, and he managed to slash his hands several times before ultimately finding the right angle and rhythm. He hardly felt the cuts; all he concentrated on was getting his hands free.
It was quite a while before he felt the rope, now damp with blood and sweat, give a little, and his heart gave a slight leap at that. With renewed determination, he moved his arms faster, all the while keeping a watchful eye out for any movement outside the hut that might signify that his captor was back.
And he had to get away before that happened – he'd no doubt that his very survival depended on it.
O o O o O o O
"Carl has this cabin…" Margaret Colson began slowly, hesitantly.
"We've already know about the one in Brookland," Gibbs stated, his expression unchanged. "Gatley isn't there and neither is Tony."
"No," Colson shook her head. "Not that one. There is another, just on the outskirts of Shady Grove…"
Gibbs' eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "Why hasn't it come up in any of the investigations?"
"He inherited this place from his maternal grandmother, and I think he left it under her maiden name," the brunette sighed, gripping both her hands tightly together. The unexpected news of Carl's rash actions of abducting a federal agent had shaken her badly. How could he have been so foolish?
"It's a crappy, rundown place – it's literally falling apart, actually, but Carl always said that it'd be the perfect hiding place for him if he ever needed one," Colson finished, her mouth twisted into a cynical grimace.
"Where exactly is this cabin?" Gibbs asked.
"I– I don't know," she shook her head. "I've only been there once, and by the time we got there, it was dark. All I can tell you about the place is that it was surrounded by a lot of trees."
"What was the grandmother's name?" Kate asked, her pen posed over her notepad.
"Hammond.... no, wait, it's Hamilton. Ella Hamilton," Colson supplied and watched mutely as both agents stood up and made for the door.
"Agent Gibbs," she called out just as the senior agent was about to exit the door. Pausing, he turned towards her, expression guarded. Quickly, before she lost her nerve, Colson took a breath and then blurted out, "Please, promise me you won't hurt him…"
Gibbs met her eyes evenly, nothing of what he was feeling showed on his handsome face. "I'm afraid that, Ms Colson, would be entirely up to Carl Gatley."
A/N: Wow, I'm fast running out of ways to show how grateful I am for the wonderful feedback and support. It's a totally humbling experience. Thank you all so much!
ladc: Well, I must say that you have impeccable timing when it comes to reviewing then. Thanks for the 100th one. :)
Right, just three more chapters to go after this... (though Chapter 10 is really really... really long...) :D Please stay tuned!