Chapter Three
Vulnerability
DiNozzo's eyes were closed as his head lay limp in Ziva's lap, he could feel her fingers running about the smooth curves of his cheeks and it caused him to show that fly boy smile he was so known for. "If I didn't know better Officer David, I'd think you actually cared." He could feel her fingers tense over his cheeks, and the thought that she might slap him flashed through his mind but when the gentle caresses continued he relaxed his tired body. He'd like to think he was invincible, that nothing ever got to him but to say that would be just him kidding himself into thinking he was brave. Actually, he was a weak man. He knew it, and those few who pushed past the mask knew it. He was the kid who grew up rich, knew what money was, but had never experienced love in his life. His own parents hated his existence, and that crushed him, made him emotionally 'unavailable.' Or at least that's what the psychologist said when he had to go a few years back after he was forced to kill his own partner in Baltimore.
He sighed gently and placed a hand on Ziva's thigh so he could shift his position a bit, soon though he found that to be the biggest mistake of his life. Pain shot through his body and he couldn't help but let out a strangled cry. The sound and the paleness of his flesh made Ziva react with incredible speed, her fingers running along his sides as she made soothing sounds. The only thing for him to do to relieve the pain, and he knew this, was to relax and let it pass. Ride it out like a good little boy and see what happens. He'd told himself the entire time they 'interrogated' him and his Israeli partner.
My fingers smoothed over the torn and tattered flesh that were the remains of my partner's once firm and toned body, with a soft coo like noise I leaned closer to his face. In my heart I could feel the vulnerability of Tony, even from the moment we met I knew he was fragile in so many ways. But now, sitting here trapped in this warehouse with his blood upon my hands, now I could feel that gut tingle Gibbs was fond of mentioning whenever he had a notion. But this was a notion that I didn't want to have, it was a notion that burned in my heart and made me want to bury my head in the sand. Though, I forced a scowl at him and replied to his banter. "About Tony? How could anyone care? Honestly, take your finger out of your..."
"I believe you mean foot Officer David," neither had noticed that the door to the room they were in had slid open and so that standing before them now was Mr. Baldasarre himself. "Oh, do continue your little chat Agents David and DiNozzo. I doubt your new company would mind terribly, in fact he might just enjoy hearing something he can not see." That horrid smile of accomplishment was plastered upon Atalo's features as he signaled for one of his men to throw a heavily bleeding man into the room. The man hit the ground and then bounced for a few feet before rolling until he stopped just inches from the two agents. "You should know this man, he works for your FBI friend, Tobias Fornell. Tried to play the undercover assassin in my unit, fouled up though when he mention you both by names I had not released. Enjoy agents."
With that Atalo and his man walked back out of the room and shut the door behind them. I looked down at Tony and sighed gently. "I'm going to have to lay you on the ground Tony, don't protest to much will you? I've heard enough of your groaning to last me a lifetime."
"Oh really Officer David? You like my groaning, eh Ziva?" He put special accentuation upon her name, like he always did to piss her off. But the tone, was not the normal playful one that he had, there was fear in his tone and behind that fear there was weakness. She could smell the fear radiating off of him as she lowered him to the ground, his body tensing and then curling into the fetal position as his muscles screamed to be let alone.
I crawled over Tony slowly, my injured and numb leg dragging slightly as I moved to the agent before us that I recognized but had no name to match with a face. His face was turned away from us, but by the words that Atalo had spit out like venom, I already figured they had gauged his eyes. Though, turning him and seeing the damage they had done I couldn't help but sigh softly. It wasn't the first time I had seen damage like this, there were many terrorists that preferred this type of cruelty. But this was far more severe than I had expected for a relative of the DiNozzo clan.
It appeared that they had used a serrated knife to scrape away the flesh about the eye socket, nothing too out of the ordinary she'd seen that done many times. Cause them as much pain as possible before causing more, good interrogation technique, not that she ever used it of course. It appeared that they then heated some sort of metal rod, thrust it into the socket and twirled it around based on the burned flesh there and then the untouched. It also looked like they wanted him to bleed to death from this wound, so they went back and cut flesh from inside the sockets. They truly were demented men, but this was just an example to Tony and I. I gripped the man by the shoulders and drug him to the wall where Tony and I had been laying. After propping him up I returned to Tony, pulling him back into my lap to support his head once more
Meanwhile Back at the Hospital
Ducky had sat for hours with Jethro, and had to finally leave him when the nurse came in to change the dressings. Before then, a nurse had come in to take back the drug dose they were giving him, he was set to wake up in a few hours. But Ducky knew he'd be awake much sooner than that, he was so stubborn after all that they had to give him enough sedatives to make a normal man overdose on them. With a soft smile he pushed open the door to young Timothy's room and walked in. "Hello Abigail, how is the patient?"
"Doing better Duck, he is talking a bit more. At the moment he is resting, he finally let go of the gun though. That's a start."
"My, my Abigail, I believe you took up the wrong profession. I believe you should be a nurse with this amazing achievement." He smiled warmly, a smile that Abby was happy to see as she stood and pounced on the older man. Ducky was like the wise old wizard when it came to the team, everyone loved him and needed him at some point. But he always found away to be there in some shape and form, to Abby it was this that reassured her.
"Ah, come now Ducky, you know you'd miss me if I ever left." She winked and rested her chin on his shoulder. "How's Gibbs?"
"He is Jethro, Abby, and yes I would very much miss my dark haired Pippy Longstocking." He smirked gently and simply held onto her, he knew she needed to be reassured about Anthony and Ziva but he had no reassurance to provide her at the moment. "Has young Timothy said anything about the case? Anything that the Director could use?"
"Only a name, I was going to head to the lab and run it. He said they were attacked by a man named Atalo Baldasarre. Know him Ducky?"
"Know him? You better believe it. I figured this would be personal, the way Jethro acted earlier. But not that personal."
"Ducky?" Her eyes scanned his and he placed a hand on her cheek.
"Don't worry my little angel of darkness, all is well. This is good news, for Shepherd and I know how to deal with Mr. Baldasarre. But pull those files either way, she might have your pigtails if you don't." He smiled and let her go, his body turning so he could head out the door.
"Ducky..."
"Yes Abigail?"
"Just tell me one thing, tell me that my Tony will be alright."
"Your Tony, Abigail? I can't tell you something that I don't know. But my heart tells me that he will be fine, as well as Officer David."
"Ducky, honestly." She gave him the scowl she mimed from Gibbs, and Ducky couldn't help but smile about it. After that Ducky left the room, heading back to Jethro's with his short and squat gait. He could waddle much faster, he admitted, but he didn't wish to. He was in a way dreading what he would be speaking to his old friend about. Dreading it so much that when he came to Jethro's door, he simply stood for a few moments gazing at it as thoughts filled his head making the normal serene brain work frantically.
With a soft sigh of disapproval at the thought that some people always finish last, he pushed the door open and gazed through his glasses at his now coherent friend. "Now, Jethro tell me what Atalo has done this time." There was a growl from the bed, before Gibbs tossed his head the other way.
"McGee finally spoke I take it."
"Just the name Jethro, but for me and you that is enough. Do tell me this latest exploit, so we can find our men."
Gibbs grunted his fingers gripping the bed sheets as he pushed himself up into a sitting position. "Ducky, there is a lot to tell."
"Well then, it will be like listening to one of my own stories will it not?"
"Oh Duck." Gibbs couldn't help but smile, but then it faded, those blue eyes darkening to almost a predatory glow. Ducky saw this darkness in his friend and his brow contorted sharply, he had seen that look only once before and there was nothing that made him want to see that look again. Not after...well just not after.
"Jethro, we will find them."
"We better find them."
"We will, if you just tell us what happened."
"Fine, fine. It started about a week ago..."
