Unearthed Secrets
AN: Thankyou all for your reviews! I really appreciate them!
Also a big thankyou to Kate for her inspiration and fantastic work!
"Well, so nice of you to drop by. To what do I owe this visit?" an old man at the far end of the cellar addressed them.
Tony took in his appearance, seeing that the man looked fit for his age. He looked like a much older version of Gibbs. Tony squinted, keeping his gun trained on the man.
"What? No hug for the father you haven't seen in…how long has it been, LJ?" the older man hissed
Gibbs cocked his weapon and continued moving forward, "Where is he?"
"Jake? Oh, he's safe. Don't worry about him" Gibbs' dad responded
"Safe like I was?" Gibbs asked, his voice wavering slightly
The man smiled, "You know me better than that, LJ" he turned his attention to Tony, "Ah, we haven't been introduced, I'm Leroy"
"I know" Tony replied
"Ooh, cocky, aren't we?" Leroy sneered; he turned to Gibbs and smiled again, "I wouldn't come any closer if I were you"
"Where's Jake?" Tony asked, taking another step closer
"Oh, you know, around" the man smiled, then drew his gun as the agents came too close for comfort, "Ok, now you start backing up" he said, waving the gun around
"Like hell," Gibbs muttered, stepping closer, "Put your hands in the air and give yourself up, you're surrounded"
"No, I'm not, you have no back-up, I saw you arrive" Leroy sneered at them
"They're on the way, should be here any minute" Tony told him
"Give yourself up, Leroy" Gibbs said, stepping closer again
Leroy looked in Gibbs' eyes and pointed his gun at Tony, "Come any closer and I'll put a bullet…"
The older man didn't finish his sentence as Gibbs shot him twice in the shoulder of his gun-arm, making him drop the weapon. Leroy clutched his shoulder and made to pick up his gun
"Do that and I'll aim to kill" Gibbs told him, his gaze one of steel, daring him to reach for the weapon
Leroy grinned, continuing to lean forward. Another two blasts rang through the air, and Leroy tumbled to the ground, groaning in pain. Tony strode forward and kicked the gun away, proceeding to cuff the man. Gibbs frowned before realizing Tony had taken the shot to the man's knee.
Suddenly there was a hustle at the door and shouts could be made out as their back-up arrived. Tony and Gibbs identified themselves and watched as Leroy was escorted out of the cellar, one of the officers reading his article 31 rights.
"Gibbs, lets get out of here" Tony said
Gibbs gave him a blank stare before slowly walking to the exit, he was numb, he wasn't sure if he was happy or pissed off that his father would rot in a prison for the rest of his life. As he left the cellar he heard familiar voices, in the form of Kate, McGee, and of course Abby and Ducky. Somebody approached him and asked if he'd found Jake, but Gibbs ignored them and walked away from the bunch.
"Jethro," Ducky called. Sighing when his friend didn't respond.
"Did they find Jake?" McGee asked again
Ducky shook his head, "One of the young officers said they checked all the buildings but found nothing"
Gibbs wondered around the property, remembering the times he'd spent here. He walked down a long over-grown path, looking for signs that it had recently been trodden on. His eyes lit up when he saw the broken and bent grass slades.
"Tony! Kate!" he yelled before running down the path to the shed he knew was at the end of it. He briefly looked over his shoulder to see a few figures following him. Looking forwards again, he redoubled his efforts, slipping on a patch of mud. Regaining his balance, he ran through a set of trees that hid the shed from view.
"Jake!" he yelled as tried to open the door, "Jake!"
He cursed when he saw it was locked and began pounding on the shed, "Jake! Can you hear me!"
"Dad?" he heard a small voice ask from inside
Gibbs almost cried with relief, "Jake, honey, its dad. We're gonna get you outta here, you hear me?"
"Dad," he heard his son choke back tears, "I knew you'd come for me. I told the bad guy that you'd kick his ass"
Gibbs gave a small laugh, tears rolling down his face, "Yeah, and I did. He's going away for a long time"
"Boss, what's going on?" Tony asked as he walked through the trees, he turned to Kate, "Get some bolt-cutters"
Kate scattered off as Tony approached the shed, "Is he alive?"
"I'm not a quitter" Jake replied, starting to cough
Gibbs frowned, concern evident on his face, "Are you okay in there, buddy?"
The coughing got worse and they barely heard his response, "Yep, I'm fine"
"Don't lie to me, Jake" Gibbs said, keeping his voice level
The coughing stopped, "My stomach hurts"
"Your stomach?" Gibbs asked, more than a little concerned
"You know that whole chest, stomach area" Jake explained, "Torso, I think. And my head"
Gibbs closed his eyes and held his breath, he whispered to Tony, "Where the hell are those bolt-cutters?"
Tony shrugged, "Does it hurt when you breathe?"
"Yeah," Jake answered, followed by coughing and wheezing, "Never had a cold or flu ever, but I get this"
Gibbs smirked at the expression Tony gave him, "Ever had allergies?"
Jake laughed and coughed harder, "No"
"Jake" Gibbs warned
"Ok, yeah, but that didn't count," Jake replied
Kate arrived, heading straight to the door with the bolt-cutters. Gibbs and Tony moved aside as she snipped the chain and padlock surrounding the lock. Tony moved the sliding door away from them as Gibbs entered and looked around. He saw Jake lying not far from the door in the foetal position.
"Jake" he asked as he approached
Jake unfurled himself and smiled, "Dad"
Gibbs knelt next to him and embraced him in a big hug that Jake returned. They pulled out of the hug and Gibbs looked at his son, noting the black-eye and the way his hair stick to one spot of his head.
"God," Gibbs breathed, stroking the back of his fingers down Jake's cheek
Gibbs swept his son up, carrying him back to the drive-way and awaiting EMTs. He placed Jake on the gurney and stepped back, but Jake grabbed hold of him, whispering, "Don't go,"
Gibbs grasped the small hand and kissed it, tears starting to pool in his eyes again, "I'll be right here; the paramedics need to check you over"
"I'm fine, I just want to go home" Jake protested
"Only once they say its ok" Gibbs told him, stepping back again but keeping eye-contact as the EMTs worked
"We need to take him to hospital," one of the EMTs said to Gibbs, "You can ride in the back,"
"Wouldn't have had it any other way," Gibbs said as he climbed in the back with the gurney
That's it for chapter 26!...Hope you liked it! PLEASE review! tell me what you think!