The morning flew by faster than Tony thought possible. He had a natural aptitude for the sport, or so Mr. Magnum said. The other kids didn't seem to mind at all when he took Tony aside to give him some pointers on pitching while TC and the other man, Rick, worked with the rest of the team.
Tony gloried in the attention. In his experience, most adults found fault with what he did, never praising him for the effort and hard work he put into things. Instead they chose to focus on the shortcomings and the places where he needed to work on improvement.
"You have a great arm,"Magnum told him as he showed Tony the correct way to grasp the ball. "Does your dad play catch with you at home?"
Tony's happiness came crashing down around him. "He's pretty busy," Tony shrugged, trying to pretend to himself that it didn't matter. "He doesn't have much time to spend playing catch."
Magnum had a piercing gaze, unlike anything he'd ever experienced before. Tony felt like he could see right through him. Tony imagined that he could see that the elder Dinozzo would never consider playing 'catch' with his son. In fact Tony could never really remember his father spending any time with him that didn't involve his father's disapproving stare. They had never spent time like this, out in the sun with other kids, having fun.
"It's too bad,"Magnum said, Tony couldn't tell from his words or his tone what he was thinking, "a great kid like you, he should make time for you."
Tony felt a lump forming in his throat and he knew the tears weren't far behind, he had to change the subject soon or he was going to embarrass himself. It was then that a voice interrupted them.
"Well, well, well, would you look at this."
"Who knew Thomas Magnum could be all paternal, teaching a kid to pitch."
"Next thing you know, he's going to be joining the PTA and organizing bake sales."
The harsh tone was at odds with the words and Tony looked around to find that two men were standing a few feet away, watching them. They'd been so intent on what they were doing, that neither one of them had heard the men approach.
Tony didn't like them. He didn't know why. It was the same sense that let him know he could trust Mrs. Brown and Mr. Magnum. He just usually knew if he could trust people and he knew immediately that these two guys couldn't be trusted.
Magnum must have felt the same way. He took a step forward that put himself between Tony and the two men.
"You're right, I'm Thomas Magnum, but I don't believe I know who you are?"
Tony could hear the sudden steel in Magnum's voice. Behind them the shouts and laughter from the rest of the team could be heard.
"You may not know us, Magnum, but our employer knows you and he's very eager to meet you," the man drew back his coat so that they could see the holster and gun hidden beneath the coat.
Tony's mouth was suddenly dry, he could feel his heart pounding and his knees suddenly felt like they were made of jelly. He tried not to make a move, he didn't want to remind the men that he stood there behind Magnum.
"Really, guys, this is a bad time," although his tone was light, Tony could feel Magnum's body tense in preparation for some sort of action.
The other men must have sensed it, too. The one who had showed them his gun stepped forward and drove his fist into Magnum's stomach, hard. Magnum doubled over with a surprised grunt.He was back up quickly with his fist drawn back, ready to defend himself and Tony. As fast as he was, the second man was faster. He stepped around Magnum and grabbed Tony by the arm. He pulled him back, away from the protection afforded by Magnum.
Tony could still hear the shouts of the kids as they practiced the drills set them by TC and Rick. It seemed wrong somehow that they couldn't tell that something was wrong. The place where he and Magnum stood was still except for the pounding of his heart and Magnum's pained breathing.
Tony tugged on his arm, trying to break free. The man shook him, hissing at Magnum, "Another move from either of you and I'll shoot the kid."
"You wouldn't shoot a…" Magnum began.
He got no further when the barrel of the man's weapon was shoved to Tony's head. His whole world narrowed and focused on that point. Tony could feel the barrel, cold and heavy against his skin. He could feel the bite of the metal where it was pressed into his temple
Would he feel it when it fired and shot through his brain? Would he know that he was dead? Would his parents find out what had happened to him? Would they even care? The thoughts whirled around him, when he heard Magnum speak again.
"Don't hurt him. I'll do whatever you want, just leave the kid alone."
"That's more like it," the man said, satisfaction evident in his voice.
Tony felt the gun ease back, it didn't bit into his flesh anymore, but he could still feel it, pressing against his back. The weight of it was solid and real.
"Now," the man continued, "we're all going to walk quietly to the car. We're going to get into it and drive away." He gave Tony a small shake as if to emphasize his point. "There will be no trouble. You will not alert your friends in any way or the kid will pay. Do you understand, Magnum?"
Tony watched, his eyes wide with fright as Magnum sized up the men. He could almost hear Magnum's thoughts as he took in the situation and his chance of getting himself and Tony out without harm. He held himself still, poised to do whatever he needed to do to help the other man. He could read the 'not yet' in Magnum's eyes as he turned to their captors.
"I'll go with you, but leave the kid out of it. He's not part of whatever this is."
"There's where you're wrong. The kid is our guarantee of your good behavior. You step out of line just a little bit and the kid pays the price."
Tony could see Magnum had known that was going to be the outcome, but he gave Tony a 'I had to try' glance. Tony was glad they wouldn't let him go. Whatever happened, he wanted to be there to help Magnum.
Tony could also see the fire burning in Magnum's eyes. There might be nothing he could do at the moment, but Magnum would pick his time and place and the two men were going to be so sorry.
Tony just hoped he'd be there to see it.
The men didn't realize the danger they were in, though. They thought they were the ones still in charge. He thought he might be losing it a little, because he almost laughed at them. Then he saw Magnum looking at him. Tony gained a measure of control from Magnum's steady gaze. He could also read Magnum's promise that he intended to get them both safely out of the situation.
Tony gave a minute nod of his head that he understood. Magnum's smile of approval warmed him.
If they saw the silent exchange, the two men gave no sign of it. The man holding Tony's arm marched him to the car. It sat just a few feet away, parked at the curb. It was a black, featureless, car - a car no one would remember or comment on. Opening the passenger door, the man motioned for Tony to climb into the front seat. Once Tony was settled, he slammed the door and climbed in behind him.
Tony was certain that the gun was still pointed at him. Even though it was no longer pressed into his flesh and he couldn't even see it, he could feel its presence like the monster in the closet that one of their maids told him about. It waited for bad little boys to fall asleep, she had said, then it would come out to punish them. He'd slept with a night light ever since that day.
Magnum climbed into the driver's seat beside him. Surreptitiously he gave Tony's hand a squeeze when he picked up the keys one of the men had thrown between them. Once again it gave Tony a feeling of steadiness. Magnum wasn't going to let anything bad happen to either of them.
The second man climbed into the car behind Magnum, "Just start the car nice and easy," he instructed tersely. "We wouldn't want your friends to think that there was a problem, now would we?"
Tony shivered at the coldness he heard in the man's voice.
"It would be a shame if someone were to get hurt because you did something stupid, wouldn't it, Magnum?"
Tony thought that the men would probably like that a lot, but he kept his thoughts to himself. He thought he should probably do everything he could so that the men would forget he was still with them.
Magnum didn't say a word either. He inserted the key in the ignition and started the car. Smoothly he put it in gear and applied a little gas. They slid out of the parking space like a shadow, unnoticed and unseen.
Tony sat quietly, watching through the glass. Rick and TC had finished with the drills. They'd sent the team to their places on the field and the players were taking turns hitting the ball and running the bases. As they drove slowly by, it was Chris's turn at the plate.
He swung the bat a time or two to get the feel for it. He nodded to indicate to his uncle that he was ready. TC threw the ball, a perfect pitch over the plate. Tony watched as Chris swung and connected solidly. The ball flew high over the heads of his cheering teammates soaring towards the outfield. Chris tore out, running the bases as fast as his legs would carry him.
Mary dropped back and back and back, and still the ball soared on.
Chris rounded first and headed for second, waved on by Rick. Tony grinned despite the gun and the men and the bad situation. They all looked so happy, they were having such a good time, and he was happy for them.
At last the ball would fly no further and it came to the ground with a rush. Try as she might, Mary didn't catch it. It came to rest in the grass just a few feet from where she stood. She scooped the ball up and threw it with all her might to the third baseman.
She was too late. Chris had already tagged third and was on his way home. Oboe had dropped down to cover the base, since it was Chris who was batting. He caught the ball and threw it home.
Tony's angle was bad, so he couldn't really see if Chris was safe or not. In his mind's eye, though, he could see the scene and Chris was safe at home.
As they drove on, Tony watched until he could no longer see his friends and the park faded from sight. All that was left was the car and the two men and Magnum at his side and the Hawaiin countryside rushing past the window..
TBC...
A/N: Sorry, it took so long to update. Tuesday's episdoe caught me by suprise and I even considered reworking this. But I really like where it's going and I like the characters I'm playing with, so I will leave it. I guess this story has just become an Alternate Universe story!
Thanks so much for the reviews and everyone who's following along, you make my muse happy!