Kate stood in front of the lab window, waiting on the results of the many tests Abby was running on the new pieces of evidence. Gibbs himself had searched the rest of Tony's apartment thoroughly, up and down, leaving nothing unturned. No other signs of struggle were apparent, other than the chloroformed rag that Kate had found. Now, only the lab evidence could tell them if Tony had been taken. And if he had been taken, hopefully it could tell them where to look. Kate turned when she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Gibbs.

"Good instinct today, Kate." Gibbs said. "Tony is lucky he had you looking out for him. You know, in cases like this, the sooner the disappearance is discovered, the sooner the missing person is found."

She spoke up sharply. "Tony is not just any missing person, Gibbs. He's one of us. He's…he's my…" She stopped and a tear ran down her cheek. "I should probably tell you this before it gets out. Tony and I…we were…I love him, Gibbs. I can't lose him."

He stopped her. "I know about that, Kate. And I promise you, if it's the last thing I do, I'll find him and bring him back."

She looked at him in shock. "How did you know about us? I mean, we barely knew, ourselves."

He smiled. "You should know, Kate, I always know what goes on in my office. I mean, what kind of supervisor would I be if I couldn't see what everyone else in this office already knows?"

She smiled, even as another tear crawled slowly down her cheek. "It was that apparent?" She shook her head. "I just—I need for him to be ok, Gibbs."

He gripped her shoulder and looked her in the eyes. "He will be, Kate. I mean, we're talking about DiNozzo here. He can take care of himself. I guarantee you that." He tried to sound reasonable, but in his own mind, he was distressed. One of his best agents was missing. He'd never admitted it to anyone, but despite his rough manner with them, his agents were the most important thing to him. He'd been trained in the Marine to take care of his men, and it was something that was deeply ingrained in him. And now he'd failed. One of his agents was out there, possibly hurt or in trouble. He reassured Kate with his words in an attempt to reassure himself. "He'll be ok."

She nodded. "I know."

OoOoOoOoOoOooOoOoOoOo

Tony kept an eye on Enrique as the guard sat in a beat up metal folding chair. Every so often he would look away or start to nod off, and Tony used these moments to continue loosening his bonds.

Now that his eyes were more focused and more adjusted to the darkness, Tony could make out his surroundings. He was in a large, rusty boathouse, full of ropes and other gear. A huge transport boat was in one side of it, and there was a dingy door on the far side. Closed, maybe locked. The air smelled like a mix of fish and salt, and he could hear the water lapping on the sides of the shed.

He kept working secretively on the bonds, and they finally were loosened to the point where they would come off if he gave them a good tug. He kept the rope wrapped around his hands, so that when Enrique looked at him, he would see nothing out of order. Now all he had to do was wait for an opportunity to reach down and untie his legs. Tony had no idea how he would get out of here, if and when he did free himself. All he knew was, if he stayed where he was, he would die. The man who had orchestrated his capture would have no qualms about killing Tony in cold blood. In fact, that was his intent.

His opportunity came sooner than expected when Enrique's cell phone rang. As the guard answered it, he stood and turned away from Tony, so that his conversation could not be overheard.

Tony leaned forward, and as he did so, sharp pain shot through his torso as his cracked ribs grated together on themselves. He barely kept the cry of pain from escaping his lips. His shirt was crusted with dried blood from where the brutal kick had torn out his stitches. He gritted his teeth and stretched forward once more, straining against the pain. His tired fingers finally found the rough rope around his ankles, and they worked quickly on the tight knot. Little by little he edged the rope loose. However, he kept it looped loosely for effect. Satisfied that it would give way the moment he would kick it loose, he leaned back.

Enrique hung up the cell phone, and before he could sit down again, Tony called out to him.

"Hey you! Come here."

Enrique turned toward him and walked closer, his eyes disdainful, and his gun in his hand. "You scream for help and I will shoot you."

"I just want some water."

Enrique laughed. "Water? No. Here's what you can have instead." He swung his foot toward Tony's side, to deliver a kick. But it never landed. Tony grabbed his foot, and with a move that would have made his college judo instructor proud, he used the man's momentum to flip him over on his back. Enrique landed on the cement with a dull thud, the breath knocked out of him.

But the gun was still in his grasp.

Tony threw the ropes aside and flung himself on top of the man, reaching for the gun. Enrique, though stunned for a moment, tightened his grasp on the gun and tried to knock Tony off of him. They strained, each trying to gain the upper hand, both equally matched in strength. Tony started to fell himself slipping, weakening from the pain that shot through him with every movement, every strain of his muscle, and he began to slacken his hold, giving up. Suddenly Kate's face went through his head. Don't give up now, DiNozzo. She'll kick your ass if anything happens to you. A shot of adrenaline coursed throughout Tony's body, giving him renewed strength, strength that would have done more than one man proud. And slowly he began to gain the upper hand in this deadly struggle for power.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

TBC!

Sorry for the once-again-short chappy, but I figure you guys would rather have a couple of short ones a week than wait a week or longer for one good-sized chappy. Guys, I have been on a roll lately with this story! I've already got some of the next chapter done! All of this aside, please read and review!

Perseverance