The room was little more than a closet, but Tony investigated it thoroughly anyway. With no windows, the only exit was the door used by his captor. Creeping along, he tapped the walls and examined the floor; and, as far as he could tell, there was no way out except through the door.
If it was just himself, he might take the chance, go through that door and make a run for it. But he wasn't alone, he had Ben to think about. When he left, Ben was going with him.
He stood for awhile at the door listening to the muted voices on the other side. He couldn't hear exactly what was being said, but at least it wasn't shouting or violence.
Was the kid alright? He thought Ben was safe, at least for a little while longer, they guy had seemed to be a little gentler with him, as if he wanted to make a good impression with the kid. He wasn't going to take any bets on how long that might last though. The perp hadn't appeared any too stable. He rubbed his head, wincing when he came in contact with the bruised and torn flesh there.
While searching the room, he'd done his best to distract himself from his condition by piecing together the puzzle with just the info he had, but he wasn't coming up with anything fast. The perp said he was Ben's father, but Ben's father was dead as far as he knew, killed in the first Gulf War.
Perp said he'd killed McGee, but Tony refused to believe that until he had proof positive in front of his eyes. The one thing he was certain about, this guy had a beef with Gibbs, His voice had been pure venom when he talked about Gibbs. Hell, most people had a beef with Gibbs, fortunately most of them weren't taking it out on his team.
Wearily Tony sagged against the wall, at the end of his strength. Normally he was a glass-half-full kind of guy, he worked hard to view the world as a cock-eyed optimist. Working with Gibbs, he had to maintain a sense of humor about things; but in this case, he was quickly becoming frustrated.
There were too many questions and no answers and no way out. There wasn't anything he could use in the room as a weapon. His gun was gone. Tony assumed his captor took it; but for all he knew, it could still be under the tree where he and McGee had laid their trap.
The only bright spot in his inventory was that he had his knife. Gibbs rule #9, never go anywhere without a knife. That rule had served Tony in good stead once. Although he really hoped he didn't get into a knife fight with the guy holding him. The man was big and Tony wasn't in any shape to engage him hand-to-hand.
Who was he trying to kid? On a good day, Tony wasn't in shape to engage this guy hand-to-hand.
He allowed himself to slide down the wall and rest for a second. He needed to conserve his strength. The shivers were getting worse, too, he was finding it harder and harder to fight them off. He knew he had to figure a way out soon, shock and blood loss were taking their toll. And even if his injuries didn't get him, the man on the other side of the door was going to come back for him again soon. Tony had a feeling that he wasn't going to like it when that happened.
Trying to warm his hands a little, he shoved them deep into his jacket pockets where he encountered a hard cold shape. Hope flared when he pulled it out to discover his cell phone. He thought he'd lost it way back at the SUV, blown up with the rest of their gear. It looked like it had been stepped on, but it was basically in one piece.
His hope flickered and died when he flipped it open to see that it was dead in his hand. There was no tone, no lights – nothing, nadda, zip.
For just a second despair washed through him. He was going to die, and possibly Ben, too, and there was nothing he could do about it.
"Get a grip, DiNozzo," he told himself sharply. "No way are you going out like this. You'd never hear the end of it from Gibbs." Just the thought of his boss gave Tony the strength to swallow his despair. Gibbs wouldn't quit, neither would he.
Turning the phone over carefully, his fingers feeling clumsy and thick, he saw that the back panel and the battery were loose, barely connected to the phone. With all that had happened, he was lucky that the battery hadn't become separated and been lost forever.
Holding his breath, he pushed everything back into place, feeling it slide and lock. He turned the little phone, his fingers shaking and hit the 'on' button. His breath whooshed out in relief when the light came on and the phone beeped.
He glanced up at the door fearfully. It would be just his luck to find the phone and have his bad guy come back through the door and take it away.
He really needed a break. He really needed this break.
He pushed the speed dial number for Gibbs. Each second felt like an eternity as he waited for the call to be processed. He listened as it rang, once… twice…
"Come on, Gibbs, answer your phone," he muttered.
Finally he heard, "Gibbs." He sounded weary and tense, but it made Tony felt better just hearing that gruff voice.
"Boss?" Now that he had him on the phone, Tony wasn't quite certain what to say.
"DiNozzo?" Tony wasn't sure he'd ever heard that particular combination of relief and amazement in his boss's voice before. "Where in the hell are you?"
He kept his voice low, hoping that there was no one standing on the other side of the door listening to him now, "Wish I knew, boss. Listen, I'm in a situation here…"
Gibbs interrupted, "DiNozzo, I know. What's your condition?"
Tony considered the question, but there was really nothing Gibbs could do about any of it, so there wasn't any reason to worry him with it. "I'm fine, Boss, but I've been taken by some guy who doesn't seem to like you very much and he has a kid, too. His name is Ben…"
Gibbs' voice reflected his impatience, "His name is Leo Morgan. Now listen, DiNozzo, we pretty much know your situation, including how 'fine' you are. We're headed to where we think your location is now."
"Think?" Somehow that wasn't terribly reassuring.
"Don't interrupt, DiNozzo. We can triangulate on your cell again, and verify your location. We're on our way now. And DiNozzo, you're going to stay alive. You got that, Tony?"
"Sure, Boss." It was an order, he didn't have any choice now.
"Good. Now hang up and don't waste your battery."
Oddly enough, Tony was reluctant to hang up and sever his connection to his boss. He felt strength and determination flowing through the phone into him, Gibbs' strength and determination. Gibbs knew where he was, he was coming.
Swallowing past the lump that was suddenly in his throat, Tony said, "Alright, see you soon, Boss."
And the phone clicked in his ear. Gibbs was gone, but he was on his way. It helped.
Tony switched the phone to vibrate, his sense of caution telling him it wouldn't be good to have it ring when the bad buy was present. He didn't want to lose the only ace he had.
He felt oddly invigorated just knowing that Gibbs was on his way. He was going to get out of this. He was going to get Ben out of this.
He surveyed the room once more. He'd had his moment of defeat, but that was past now. There was a way out, he just hadn't discovered it yet.
Pushing himself to his feet, he began to tap on the walls with new determination.
Ben watched the man who called himself his father with wide, frightened eyes. Once he might have welcomed him with open arms, and a blind belief that he was the answer to his prayers. But Ben had seen what this man had done to his mother, casually slapping her across the room without a thought or second glance.
Ben was haunted remembering her, slumped over against the wall, blood trickling down her cheek. In his frightened imagination, he thought she was dead. The thought scared him, not just because he loved his mother but also because he was afraid that it meant he would now belong to this man. Leo? If he and Tony managed to escape, would he be returned to the big man's custody just because Leo said he was Ben's father?
Ben didn't think so, and in any case, he was confident that Tony wouldn't allow it. Tony was pretty important, he would take care of it. The thought of Tony made his stomach clench. He kept thinking of him, in the little room down the hall.
He'd never thought of Tony wounded, it had never occurred to him that Tony could be wounded. Tony had always seemed to him to be big and strong, able to defeat any opponent.
In his day-dreams sometimes he'd imagined that Tony would fall in love with his mom, and the two of them would marry, and then Tony would be his dad for real. He didn't really think it was going to happen, there were times when he thought his mom didn't even like Tony. But that's what he thought, in his day-dreams, sometimes.
He clenched his fists, trying to figure out what Tony would want him to do. Ben remembered the way he'd looked before, kind of sick and bloody. He didn't like seeing Tony like that. His eyes kept turning down the hall, looking toward the door where he now knew Tony was.
What would Tony do? Ben just kept wondering. He surely wouldn't be sitting tucked up in the corner hoping not to be noticed. Tony'd be doing something to get them rescued.
Ben's gaze darted around the room, trying to see if there was anything they could use to help the two of them escape. Maybe he could sneak in to see Tony and tell him the layout of the cabin, or smuggle him in something to use as a weapon.
There must have been something in his face to draw his fathe… no, Leo's attention.
"You know you don't have to be afraid of me," Leo said gruffly.
He sat at the table, an impressive array of equipment in front of him. Ben had no idea what most of it was, but it looked dangerous.
Ben's favorite times with Tony was spent watching movies at Tony's place. Tony loved to watch the cop thrillers and he'd point out to Ben all the things they did wrong: building bombs, car chases, blowing things up. Ben had a feeling Leo knew exactly what to do with the equipment in front of him.
Ben gulped down a breath and stood, going to stand at the table. He raised his chin defiantly "You hit my mom," Ben told him, "why wouldn't I be afraid of you?" Ben was determined not to let the other man see just how frightened he was. But mostly he'd moved closer to get a better look at what was on the table.
Leo laughed softly, "You got balls I'll give you that. I was afraid with you growing up with just your mom, you'd be some soft, sissy boy."
Ben didn't recognize all the equipment on the table, but he knew the dynamite and the timers. He took a chance and asked, "What you doing?"
Leo raised a surprised eyebrow, but answered, "We're liable to be getting some company sooner or later. I want to make sure they get the proper reception." He stood, stretching his back. He began to shove several of the bundles of dynamite into a duffel bag. "Now, I'm going to go out and set the perimeter. You stay in here, out of trouble."
His eyes met Ben's, they were steely and grey, like Ben's own. If he'd doubted this man was his father, just looking into his eyes told him otherwise. "And don't even think about going back and talking to the agent in the back room. I won't hurt you, but I also won't hesitate to punish you if there's need for it."
Ben nodded that he understood. He backed into his corner and sat with his head on his knees until he heard the door close. Without a second thought, he grabbed the car keys from the table where Leo had left them and headed for the back room where Tony was waiting.
This story just keeps moving on g>.
Thanks to everyone for your wonderful, encouraging comments!