One by One, by Tweeter
A/N: Thanks once again for all the wonderful comments. Boboseven5: That answer comes later. AndyCake: Thank you. This is the first story I've written in a long time, and I wanted to keep it simple, at least in my head. Besides, I want to keep the readers on edge about Tony! Again, heartfelt thanks to Rinne, for betaing the rest of the story for me, all correct punctuation, some clearer ideas and the chapter title are hers.
Chapter 5 – The River
Gibbs didn't have a chance to say a word, as soon as the doors swished open Abby and McGee began talking full speed.
"GIBBS! McGee found something in one of the photos!"
"At first I didn't notice it, there were so many stray pieces of paper lying around…"
"Like that airline ticket, at least it looked like an airline ticket, could've been a train ticket…"
"…so I was concentrating on the construction of the room, in case we could find some sort of architectural anomaly…"
"Which really wouldn't have helped in this case, because, hello, we're talking the inside of a room, not anything we could recognize from the outside and this isn't the same as finding someone in an ammo dump…"
McGee glared at Abby. "Which proved a waste of time, for reasons already stated. So I started focusing on anything…"
Gibbs let out a piercing whistle, stopping the two mid-word.
"Just tell me. What. Did. You. Find?" he hissed through clenched teeth.
"Show him, McGee."
"Right, Boss."
Turning to the keyboard, McGee punched in a command and an image on the plasma screen enlarged.
Stepping forward, Gibbs squinted at the screen. "Is this a joke? Because this is not…"
"Gibbs! We wouldn't do something like that!" Abby's pigtails bounced indignantly.
"What is it?" demanded Gibbs, looking at a sheet of paper with a series of numbers on it and the words 'Come alone, or he's dead' on it.
"Longitude and Latitude"
"Where…"
"By the river." This time McGee interrupted him. He punched in some more commands, bringing up a map of the city, zooming in on an isolated part of the river.
"There's a park there, with a pier. The area is wide open, pretty much empty since boating season is over." Abby turned to Gibbs expectantly.
"He'll be able to see if I'm being followed," mused Gibbs. "I've got to do this alone."
"But Boss," objected McGee, "he'll kill you. You don't even know if Tony will be there, or if he's still alive."
"Tony's alive. And I'm going to go get him." Gibbs turned on his heel and strode out of the lab, followed closely by McGee.
The night air was chilly, as Gibbs' car approached the deserted recreation area. He saw the pier stretching out into the river, something indistinguishable at the end. The water was dark, making the pier look foreboding.
Gibbs pulled his car up to the end of the pier, pointing the headlights down the length of the wooden structure and got out of the car.
Looking around briefly, he started walking down the pier at a brisk pace. As he approached the end, he could see what was there.
Tony, still gagged, blindfolded and naked, lay curled up in a fetal position, his arms and legs bound with more duct tape.
Heart beating rapidly, Gibbs ran the last few feet and crouched next to the still body. Gently, he removed the tape from Tony's eyes and mouth, but the unconscious man didn't flinch. He pressed his fingers on Tony's throat, but couldn't feel anything, the skin cold to the touch.
Quickly, Gibbs removed the tape binding Tony's arms and legs and rolled him onto his back, placing his ear on the chilled skin of his chest. Holding his breath, Gibbs concentrated, blocking out all the ambient sounds until he heard it, a heartbeat, and then another, weak and slow, but there. He could also hear a shallow breath being drawn. Relief flooded his body as he pulled off his jacket and tried to cover Tony with it.
A blanket was tossed by his side. Without looking up, Gibbs took the blanket and wrapped the unconscious agent in it, rolling up his jacket and placing it gently under Tony's head.
"Very good, Gibbs. It appears you made it in time to bid your man goodbye."
Gibbs looked up at the smirking face of Ari Haswari, the man who killed one of his agents and may have killed another.
Ari motioned with his gun.
"Stand up."
The air was still, the soothing sound of the river the only thing breaking the silence. The two men stood facing each other in the glare of the headlights. Steel blue eyes bored into ice cold ones, both men sizing each other up.
"You gonna just shoot me?" Gibbs nodded at the gun, spreading his arms and turning around until he was again facing Ari. "I'm unarmed."
Ari cocked his head. "That wouldn't be very sporting, would it?
Smiling crookedly, Gibbs agreed, "Nope."
"I did say to come alone, not unarmed."
"That you did. I extrapolated."
Ari laughed, a cold, ugly sound. "So Gibbs, fancy a little hand-to-hand?"
"Oh yeah." Gibbs' eyes turned predatory.
"To the death?"
"Oh yeah."
Ari turned and threw the gun toward the grassy area by the car. As he was turning back, Gibbs rushed him. Ari huffed as he was driven to the pier on his back, but twisted and pinned Gibbs underneath him.
The two fought like devils, the silence broken by the sound of flesh hitting flesh, harsh breathing and grunts of pain. After what seemed like hours, it appeared that despite Gibbs' Marine training, Ari's youth and equal training were beginning to take their toll.
Gibbs staggered back as a strong kick hit him directly in the solar plexus. He fell to his knees, unable to draw in a breath. Through blurry vision he saw Ari standing in front of him, breathing hard from the exertion, ready to deliver the killing blow.
Suddenly there was a shot and the front of Ari's chest exploded. The look of pure hatred on Ari's face turned to surprise. He looked down at Gibbs, eyebrows raised, fell to his knees, then pitched forward onto his face, dead.
Gibbs looked up at McGee, dressed in a scuba suit, holding a gun, looking grim.
Gasping for air, Gibbs managed to croak out, "What took you so long?"
"Sorry Boss, I got disoriented. I had to surface briefly to get my bearings. I was afraid he'd see or hear me, but you kept him occupied."
"Well yeah, McGee, that was the idea." Gibbs sank the rest of the way down, sitting heavily on the deck of the pier. "Make sure that bastard's dead."
"Yes, Boss."
Sirens approached in the distance, back-up and an ambulance. Gibbs crawled over next to Tony, taking a lax hand in his.
"We're going to get you to a hospital, Tony," he murmured, "You hang in there just a little while longer, okay?" With his free hand he reached to stroke the young agent's hair.