Gibbs had been working on overdue paperwork the Director insisted he finish before the end of the day. He would much rather be out with his Senior Field Agent, interviewing the witness, no matter how dull the interview would be. He'd rather be anywhere other than sitting at his desk filling out reports.

Actually, a long road trip with DiNozzo wouldn't be bad.Truthfully, Gibbs enjoyed the young man's company; Tony seemed to be in a perpetual good mood, and he was one of the few people who could make Gibbs laugh. Sure, the kid talked a blue streak, but he would shut up when necessary.

Thinking of Tony, Gibbs looked at his watch and frowned. DiNozzo should have been back by now. He picked up his phone and hit the speed dial for DiNozzo's cell, frowning when he went straight to voicemail. Either the younger agent was talking to someone or his phone wasn't on. Hitting the switch hook, Gibbs hit the speed dial for Abby's lab.

"Sciuto's Den of Inequity, what's your pleasure?" Gibbs grinned at the playful greeting.

"Abs, can you do a trace on DiNozzo's cell, he's not answering and he's overdue."

"Will do, Bossman," Abby replied, the sound of her keyboard clicking coming over the line. "Hmmmm, his phone must be off, I can't get a signal."

"Could he be out of a calling area?"

"That wouldn't affect the GPS signal, that goes through a satellite," Abby replied. "Do you think he's in trouble?" she asked worriedly.

"He will be, if I find out he turned his phone off," growled Gibbs. "Thanks, Abs, keep trying, okay?"

"I will," she said, setting her computer to constantly search for a signal from Tony's phone.

Ziva was in the middle of an article about crocheting holders for hanging plants when her phone rang. Pulling the phone out distractedly, still reading the article, she put the device to her ear, muttering a greeting.

"David, I need you back here right now," Gibbs' voice blasted through the earpiece, causing Sophie to look up from her knitting.

"What's wrong?" asked Ziva.

"Tony hasn't come back from his interview and he's not answering his cell. It's turned off, so we can't get a GPS fix on him."

Ziva sat up straighter, her senses on aler., "Do you think something has happened to him?"

"I don't know," was the grim reply. "Get back here, we may need to go look for him."

"I'm on my way." Ziva closed her phone and started gathering her things.

"Leaving?" asked Sophie.

"Yes, I'm afraid I'm needed back at the office," replied Ziva. "Do you mind if I keep this?" she asked, indicating the magazine Sophie had lent her. "There's a great article about painting a mural in the bathroom that I'd love to try at home."

Sophie waved her off. "Of course, dear, be my guest. I hope you get your paperwork straightened out later."

"Me too," replied Ziva. "Thank you, Sophie, it was very nice meeting you."

"You too, sweetheart, you take care."

Ziva pulled her bag over her shoulder and hurried out.

The interior of the barn was dark, moonlight filtering in through the cracks in the old wood of the barn. Inside was quiet, the silence broken by the restless shuffling of the horses in their stalls. The large animals were nervous, their sensitive noses picking up the smell of blood.

As Tony slowly regained consciousness he became acutely aware of the pain. Carefully, he opened one eye, then the other, grateful that the Sheriff had listened to his girlfriend and hadn't damaged much of Tony's face. The rest of him, on the other hand, felt like it had been used as a punching bag, which wasn't far from the truth.

He was still hanging from the ceiling. Tony felt blood trailing down his arms, indicating that the cuffs had dug deeply into his wrists. He hoped there wasn't any permanent damage to the tendons and ligaments. From the difficulty he had breathing he could tell he had more than a few broken ribs. Tony shifted a bit and cried out in pain, startling the horses, causing them to stamp their feet and snort in alarm. He stayed as still as possible, panting in order to control the pain that radiated from his shoulder.

Tony closed his eyes, trying desperately to think of a way out of there, but realizing he was in no position to do anything. Even if his captors unchained him, he was in no condition to fight them; he was well and truly screwed. Tony's only hope was that Gibbs would wonder what had happened to him and would come looking. He just hoped it was in time.