Disclaimers disclaimed.
WARNING: Mention of rape and torture.
Chapter XV - Smile
After a few hours of searching for any evidence inside the warehouse and the building adjacent to it, Tony, Ziva, and McGee finally returned to the Navy Yard. Torres met them in the garage and signed for the evidence so he could take it to Abby. Once they got that squared away, they headed straight to the conference room that Hunter was taken to after a medical team treated his wounds and injuries. Bishop waited quietly with him until they arrived. When they entered, Bishop left and closed the door behind her. McGee then placed his finger on a biometric scanner under the table that immediately put the room in SCIF mode. Ziva and Tony sat across from Hunter and McGee sat in the chair next to him.
It was quiet for a few moments then Hunter broke the silence. "Director and Agent Dinozzo, I'm so sorry", he said softly as he shook his head in defeat.
Ziva reached for Tony's hand under the table and squeezed it as she fought back her tears. Tony looked at her then back at Hunter, "Officer Amadi, we need to know everything from the beginning. Please, I know it's a lot right now, but be as detailed as possible from the moment they captured you."
The young man gave an understanding nod and took a deep breath. "I was leaving the gym on Okie Street when I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head. That was eleven days ago."
Tony and Ziva looked at each other in disbelief then at McGee. "Wait, eleven days", McGee asked. "So you were taken three days before Tali?"
Hunter nodded, "I guess so. I wasn't sure how many days I had been there when Tali got there." His eyes looked saddened as he proceeded to tell them what happened. "When I woke up on what I believe was the first day, I was in a large dimly lit room and Lucifer was standing over top of me. I was tied up with rope and he had my mouth covered with tape. He started kicking me senselessly but he didn't speak. I think I took a kick to the head and was knocked out because, after a while, I found myself waking up again. But that next time I was tied to a chair and three masked men took turns wailing me with punches."
He paused to shift in the chair as he felt a low pulsing pain come up the side where his ribs had been broken. When he was situated again, he continued, "It had become the normal thing over and over, then they moved me out of the room one day for a while. Lucifer was beating me up again when one of his men came in and whispered something to him. He left but I could tell he was pissed about something. I could hear him shouting about a girl and then I heard three shots. I was pretty out of it so I don't know what was going on, I mostly just remember the shots. Shortly after that, his men came back to get me. One of them must have clocked me in the head because it got really fuzzy after that. But I think I remember being literally thrown back into the other room and Tali was there. I heard her crying over me and asking for help. She was trying to get them to save me because my head was bleeding. I must have passed out again right after that." Hunter sighed and rubbed his head as he recalled the events he'd described so far.
Ziva took the moment of silence to reassure him, "you're doing good so far Hunter. Whenever you're ready, continue."
He took a few more moments then started again, "When I woke up again, Tali and I talked. Mainly about who I am and the possibilities of why we'd been taken. When she told me her name, I put two and two together and figured he'd taken us to stop the deal signing."
"Did you tell Tali about it", Tony interrupted.
"I know it's classified information, so I told her only as much as I could. She was more concerned about why Lucifer had called her 'the key'. I felt maybe he was going to use her as his in to stop the deal and then sell her off to some ... some perve politician looking to buy a virgin girl or something."
"What made you draw to that conclusion", McGee asked.
"I remembered one of his men talking about something like that when they had dragged me back to the room. He was saying that Lucifer had plans to sell her for top dollar on the hill. I wasn't completely sure because I was hazy so I didn't tell Tali. I'm pretty sure she knew I was holding back, but I really didn't want to scare her anymore than she was already scared."
"Hunter", Ziva reluctantly spoke, "your parents were sent a video of you being chained to a pipe and beaten by Benjamin ..."
"Benjamin?" This was the first time Hunter had heard his captor called by another name.
"Yes", Ziva continued, "Adolf Benjamin is his real name. He sent them a video of him hitting you with a bat and Tali was being forced to watch. Do you recall what happened that day?"
"That was the day the real torture started. He cut me and beat me to a pulp. When I was almost complete broken physically, Tali ... she um ... she stopped him."
"How did she stop him", Tony asked. All three of them really focusing on Hunter's words now.
"She screamed 'enough' and it was like everything in the room froze." He took a deep breath. "Luci .. Benjamin", he corrected himself, "turned his attention to her and started taunting her. Tali was tough for a moment though, she spit in the bastard's face. That's when he really lived up to the name Lucifer though." He paused again and his eyes grew wide as he remembered what happened next. "He made his men leave the room then he uh .. he carved the swastika into her back like he did mine, but her's is smaller. After that he started choking her until she almost suffocated. He um, he did that a few times before he ..." Hunter sighed. His face contorting as the feeling of helplessness hit him all over again.
As hard as it was to hear, they knew it was necessary to know every detail. While Ziva forced her tears back again, she nodded and said, "please, Hunter, we need to know what happens next."
He took another deep breath and finished, "he cut her clothes off then started to punch her." His voice started to tremble as tears now welled in his eyes, "I begged him to stop but he just kept going. It was fun for him and uh ... I was going in and out but eventually I saw that he had loosened her and she tried to fight back but he overpowered her." He closed his eyes as the tear now flowed freely down his face, "he pinned her down and she screamed, when I heard her I opened my eyes and he was on top of her. She was looking at me and I wanted to get to her but I was chained. Then ... he was ... inside her. Right there in front of me, just a few feet away, he was raping her. And I couldn't ... I couldn't save ...". Hunter opened his eyes and looked directly at Tony and Ziva, "I'm so sorry. I wanted to save her. Tali needed me and I couldn't ... I couldn't ...". His words completely failed him and he started hyperventilating.
McGee put his hand on the teen's shoulder as Tony walked over to help calm him down. Ziva stood up and ran out the conference room crying. McGee caught Tony's gaze, "go check on her, Boss. I've got him." Tony nodded and rushed out the room to go after Ziva.
When Tony reached Ziva, she was stepping onto to the elevator. He slipped in right before the doors closed. When they shut completely, Tony hit the 'emergency stop' and took Ziva in his arms. As she nestled her face into his chest, she started crying harder. Tony felt her body shaking and eased her down to the floor. They sat curled up for a while without speaking. The only sounds were the whimpers coming from Ziva as her tears soaked Tony's shirt. Both of them feeling a wide of mix of emotions as the harsh reality hit them— their little girl had been violated.
Tony stroked Ziva's hair and kissed her forehead softly. What do I do? He had no idea of what feeling to settle on or what to even begin to say. Truthfully, he wanted to breakdown too but that wasn't what his wife needed. So, he kissed her softly again and reassured her that he would make everything right through his embrace.
After her tears slowed down, Ziva looked up at Tony with terror filled eyes. "All I can think about is Somalia", she choked out. It wasn't something she ever talked about. At least not in detail. It killed Tony as she finally verbalized that part of her time in that prison camp so many years ago."Saleem and his men took turns every night ... raping me ... or breaking me in as they referred to it. It wasn't the first time it had happened in my life, but it was the worst time. There's no other pain in the world like it."
"Zi, I'm sorry", was all he could say.
She sniffled then laid her head back on his chest. "Tony, he stole her innocence. God only knows how many times in the last eights days that he had his way with her. I can't shake what Hunter said. She was screaming this morning, what if Benjamin or his men were ... oh God ... And now we don't even know if she's still ...". Her body started trembling again.
"Sshhh, don't babe", Tony stopped her from saying the only thing that could be worse than what they had just been told. Ziva started crying hysterically and, this time, Tony couldn't hold it in. They both cried together on the elevator floor. It wasn't typical of them, but nothing in the past week had been typical. For the sake of emotional release, though, right now the moment was necessary.
A half hour later, the once extremely vulnerable and emotional parents were back in the conference room. They had braced themselves before exiting the elevator and had now shifted back to government agent mode. It was hard but they still needed information.
There was more truth to be heard. So when the conference room was secure and in SCIF mode again, Ziva looked back across the table at Hunter. "Officer Amadi, I apologize for exiting the way I did. Please understand, that none of this was your fault ..."
"That's what he said", the young man whispsered.
"Excuse me", Ziva asked as both Tony and McGee's facial expression matched her own face of curiosity.
"Lucifer ... I mean, Benjamin ... that's what he said this morning. That none of this was my fault. That I'm just a victim of my own DNA."
His own DNA? ... His father. Tony looked at him intently, "is that why you didn't want me to tell your father your whereabouts? Did Benjamin say that your father is involved?"
"According to him, my father is the mastermind behind the whole thing. There are attacks being setup. My father pushing for me to be a liason at NCIS was just to coverup his involvement and make him look like a victim just as you and Agent Dinozzo would, Sir." He paused then turned his attention to Ziva, "Benjamin said that it was my father who got him out of prison and told him to kidnap Tali as payback for Agent Dinozzo locking him up."
It is my fault. Ziva felt Tony squeeze her thigh under the table. She looked at him as he mouthed, 'It's not your fault' then kissed her forehead.
Hunter and McGee both watched the exchange and immediately reiterated in unison, "It's not your fault."
"I was the target the entire time, ma'am. Benjamin hadn't even thought about getting payback until my father had mentioned it to him. At least, that's what he said. Apparently this plan has been in the making for years. And Benjamin claims that my father has actually been playing dirty from the beginning."
"Do you believe Benjamin", McGee asked the question for everyone.
"At first I didn't", he cracked his neck and let out a heavy sigh, "but now I don't know. I have no proof but Benjamin says my father is still in DC. And some of the other stuff he said got me thinking all sorts of things."
"What other stuff? Things like what", Tony pressed.
"Like how you guys were using every resource you have here to find him and get Tali back. How my father called off his own search at SASS for me. He told me he wanted to let me go because my father was playing him and he had no actual use for me. How kidnapping us had nothing to actually do with you guys not signing the deal. This whole thing is just one big distraction from what my father is really planning, a rebel strike on American soil to take out most of the government agencies."
Hunter shook his head, "part of it seems like a lie but I genuinely believed him when he said that I was at his mercy so he had no possible reason to lie to me. He was right, he could have killed me but instead he let me go. He purposely gave me that phone with the number to get into direct contact with you. I believe he is intent on one thing now, and that is to get back at my father for even involving him in all of this. I think he truly believes that we share a connection as soldiers following my father's orders and getting played."
Before another word was spoken, the buzzer from outside the door went off, causing a video image of Abby to pop up on a monitor in the corner. "Tony, you guys have to let me in, like now!" She was holding a laptop and pacing in front of the door.
"Abby, we are debriefing", Tony responded.
"I know that but you know I wouldn't interrupt if it wasn't absolutely important. Please, all of you need to see this RIGHT NOW! Including Hunter!"
Tony sighed and nodded to McGee to open the door.
"What is so important Abby that it couldn't wait", the tone of Tony's voice making it evident that it had better be good or she was going to be in trouble for interrupting them.
"Okay look", Abby sat the laptop on the table then, with few strokes of the keyboard, she pulled up two identical looking pictures on the monitor for everyone to see. "What is that", she asked as she walked to the monitor and pointed between the two pictures.
"That's two pictures of the room we found Officer Amadi in", McGee stated the obvious.
Abby shook her head, "you are half right and half wrong!" Everyone looked at her as if she was crazy. "Look closer! Like really REALLY close! Do you see it?"
Tony tried his best not to let his irritation rise, "Abby, we don't have time to play this game, just tell us."
"Fine", her tone shifted slightly as she picked up on Tony's annoyed vibe. "The picture on the right IS IN FACT the room that you found Hunter in. BUT, the picture on the left is from the ACTUAL place that he and Tali were kept."
"What", everyone asked at the same time.
"Right! That's exactly what I said when I noticed it! They only used the location we found Hunter in for today. Before today, they were both held some place entirely different. When they left Hunter today, they weren't actually relocating, they were just going back to the original location."
Ziva was the first to ask what everyone else was thinking, "how do you know this Abby? They look completely identical."
Abby smirked, "because of the wall patterns. The picture Tim took today showed different brick work than the pictures the kidnappers tried to delete off of the burn phone they gave Hunter." Everyone readjusted their focus and realized she was right about the patterns. "I'm still working on back tracing the burn phone to see if I can get the location of where this picture on the left was taken. But, based on the nasty stuff I found in Hunter's tox screen, I can confirm that it is possible that the kids were knocked out by a real icky serum and then moved to someplace staged just to throw us off."
"The lights and the door", Hunter said as if he'd had a revelation.
"What about the lights and the door", McGee said as everyone looked at Hunter.
"When I heard the screaming I was coming out of crazy haze. It was the same feeling I got after every time they injected us with that stuff. When I was almost fully alert, the lights were off and it threw me for a loop. In all our time there, the lights were never off. When Benjamin finished with Tali, he came in the room and flicked a light switch. There's never been a light switch before. And the door was clean. Both mine and Tali's blood should be on the back of that door. Abby has to be right."
Ziva reached across the table and grabbed Hunter's hand, "Are you sure the room was different?" Her emotions were mixed but something that felt like hope was creeping up above all else.
"Yes ma'am, I'm positive", it was the first time since being there that his voice boomed with confidence.
Tony felt his gut trying to tell him something as he looked at Hunter then back at the pictures. He just wasn't sure what it was yet. Still though, for now he wanted to believe in Abby's findings and that Hunter was completely sure. He stood up, "McGee, go with Abby and help her in the lab. Find me something, anything that points us to the direction of where that other photo was taken." They immediately did as they were told and left.
"Tony", Ziva gently tugged his wrist and looked up to meet his gaze, "Hunter needs to rest and recover and he needs protection. I think we should put him in a safe house. We can finish debriefing in the morning. Plus, I have a hunch about something, I need to go to MTAC."
"What's the hunch", Hunter asked curiously.
"You said Benjamin said that Director Amadi is still in DC but you don't have proof. If he is still here, I can track him down from the time he left here. The hunch is that, as insane as I feel saying this, Benjamin is telling the truth."
She paused to gauge Tony's reaction then continued, "He found out Director Amadi broke protocol and possibly played him, so his own plans changed. That's why we never got a call following the first one. The kidnappers made sense on day one but now there is no sense at all. The only logical thing there could be is that Benjamin's own motives have shifted. I'm thinking, we take Benjamin at his word about there being attacks set up. We find Director Amadi, we shutdown the attacks and he could also lead us to where Benjamin is with Tali."
"That's sounds smart", Hunter agreed.
Tony nodded, "Okay babe, you head to MTAC to work on that and I'll get Officer Amadi set up at a safe house. You going to be okay with just staying with III tonight? I want to keep the first watch on Officer Amadi."
Ziva stood from her seat and pecked Tony's lips, "We'll be fine. You just be safe."
"Always", he said as he gave her another quick kiss. That was enough to assure Ziva, she smiled then left to go to MTAC. Tony looked at Hunter who had a smile on his face now too and looked to be in a daze, "what is it Officer Amadi?"
The young man snapped out of his trance, "Nothing ... just ... in my thoughts. Actually the only good thoughts I have of this whole ordeal, Sir."
"And what is that", Tony said as he walked over to the back of Hunter's wheelchair to take him out of the room.
"All of Tali's stories about her parent's perfect love and her perfect family. She never stopped talking about it ... Now I see why." He looked up behind him as they started to exit, and caught Tony's hopeful smile.
