Gibbs waited patiently as Tony sorted his thoughts out. He had a pen in his hand, poised above the notepad, ready to write down what Tony told him. He wasn't sure how Tony was going to relive everything he had been through, right down the last detail, but he wasn't going to interrupt him either. After all, he knew Tony well enough to know that the younger man would shut down if someone interrupted, or thought he was lying, or laughed at him.

"This all started because I tried to save two kids from getting kidnapped," said Tony slowly. "Are they okay?"

"They are doing much better than you are. Both of them think you are a hero and want to thank you in person. When you're ready for that, let me know, okay?"

Tony nodded. "I was heading to get coffee for all of us. I would have been about two blocks from the coffee shop when I saw those kids. Nobody else was helping, but all of them were watching it happen. I couldn't let two innocent children get hurt, so I ran across the road, shouting at the men to stop. I succeeded in that. They let the kids go and turned on me instead. I kept thinking about that. Why didn't they run? They could have been long gone by the time police arrived, yet they stayed to grab me. They knew me, so I kept thinking that maybe it was done on purpose."

"It could be. We don't know yet."

"Did anyone catch them?"

"Not yet."

Tony shuddered as he thought of the two brothers running loose out in the streets. "They tasered me until I couldn't fight them off anymore. I passed out just as they shoved me into their van. When I woke up, I was still in the van. We hadn't stopped yet, but I could see that we also weren't in DC anymore. The streets were lined with trees, and that just doesn't exist in DC. I wasn't sure where we were or how long we had been travelling, but from the time I woke up to the time we stopped was roughly ten minutes."

"Was that the last stop?"

"Yeah. It was a motel. Evidently it was the motel in Silver Springs, because once I was in there, they never moved me again."

"Did you recognise them?"

"No. At least not until the second day. They told me who the younger one was, and that was when I realised who they were. I guess that was where my thoughts of it being personal came from too. Did they know who I was when they grabbed me?"

"Possibly. We figure that if they didn't know you at the time, they certainly knew you when they found your NCIS ID card."

"When we got to the motel, the two of them came around to the back. The older one, Thomas was his name, dragged me by my arms into the motel room. He dumped me on the bed and then disappeared into the tiny bathroom while his brother- Jamie- went to get water from the fridge and taunt me with it. I managed to ignore him, but it was hard. He waited for his brother, then the two of them dragged me into a seated position on the bed and strapped a chain to my left wrist. The leather strap was so tight, I felt like my hand was going to fall off. I tried to find out who they were, but they just laughed and said to be good if I wanted to get out alive. After that, they disappeared. I tried to find a way out of the motel room, but I couldn't figure it out. And then there was the chain too. It was far too tight to get off, and believe me, I tried. I was alone for hours by the time Jamie returned."

"His brother didn't come back?"

"Not until the following morning. It was like that every day. I thought that they must have decided to do that, because there was never any overlap or anything."

"Okay." Gibbs wrote down what Tony had already told him. "What happened next?"

"Jamie was drunk. I could smell the alcohol on his breath when he forced me to stand up and go over to him. He told me he had a present to give me, but I knew he was up to something. I tried to avoid anything happening, but being chained up really doesn't give you a lot of leeway. He dragged me to the bathroom and made me get undressed…" Tony faltered, unsure of if he should tell this part to his boss.

"Tony, it's okay to tell me. Whatever it is, I'm here to listen," said Gibbs softly, his voice showing only kindness and care.

"You won't judge me when I tell you?" Tony asked in a whisper.

"Of course not. You are my friend, and nothing is going to change that."

Tony took a deep breath, glad to have Gibbs on his side. "After I got undressed, he told me that I was going to have a shower and that he was going to be the one doing the washing. I got scared when he said that, but it was too late. He had already turned the cold water on and sprayed me with it. He rubbed soap onto me, but it was just a ruse. Once he got to my… my backside… he started to… to… caress me. I begged him to stop, but he laughed and said that I was in no position to bargain with him. He kept making circles with his right hand and moved his left hand to the front of me. He played with me… with my penis." Tony felt humiliated, but all he could see in his boss' eyes was love and sympathy. He knew he was safe to tell Gibbs the rest.

"How long did this last?"

"A couple of minutes. It felt longer. When he was done, he washed off the soap with the cold water and stepped out of the shower. He told me to get some sleep because I had to do work the next day. It was humiliating, but at least I could dress in the bathroom before I walked out into the motel room where he was sitting."

"Did something else happen that night?"

"No. I fell asleep thinking about what I was going to do the next day. When I woke up early on Tuesday, Thomas was back. He and his brother told me who they were before they made me move to them and take off my top. As soon as my shirt was off, Thomas started hitting me with a belt. It hurt so much, but I kept my mouth shut so nothing else would happen. It lasted almost ten minutes, then Thomas put another leather strap around my right wrist and attached it to a second chain. They left me like that for a couple of hours, then came back."

"What happened when they returned?"

"Thomas dragged me to the middle of the room. Jamie had put a chair there. They made me strip off everything, shoved me into the chair, and tied pieces of wire around my arms and legs. They electrocuted me, and I don't even know how long that lasted. When they cut the power and took the wire off my body, Thomas told me to get dressed and get ready for them to come back later. They were gone a few hours by the time Jamie returned alone. I knew what was coming, so I stood up. It pleased Jamie, and he told me to go to the bathroom. I did, and as soon as I was naked and in the shower, it started again. He sprayed me with cold water, rubbed soap into my skin. He let his right hand caress my backside while his left hand came around the front and rubbed my penis. Then he slid his right hand between my… my butt cheeks… and caressed me again. He used his left hand to squeeze my penis and keep rubbing it. Then he washed the soap off and told me to sleep."

"Did he stay the night again?"

"No. When I woke up on Wednesday morning, they had just arrived. I felt sick because I hadn't eaten anything in two days, but they didn't care. They made me get up and strip, then they hit me with a whip. When they were done, they told me to get dressed. They gave me a newspaper and forced me to sit on the bed, facing a video camera. They filmed me for a few seconds, then turned the camera off and left."

"Did Jamie come alone again that night?"

"Yes." Tony sighed. "He forced me into the shower again, repeated what he had done the previous day. But this time, he put his fingers into my butt. He didn't even care that he was hurting me, he was enjoying himself."

Gibbs took down a few more notes. "Did he leave you alone to sleep again?"

"Yes. I woke up on Thursday morning to find them not there. I used the time before they came in to try and get the straps off my wrists. I didn't succeed. All I managed to do was hurt myself. When they came in, Jamie was angry. A woman had checked into the neighbouring room, and he was worried that she would find me. Thomas told him not to worry. Then they made me undress and stand in front of them. I didn't know what was happening until Thomas started saying to his brother that I looked good. Then Jamie came over and started playing with my penis again, while he and his brother chatted. When they stopped talking, Thomas told me to get dressed and left. A few hours went by, he didn't return. Jamie was still there, and he told me to strip and lay face down on the bed. I didn't know what he had planned for me until I felt him sit on my legs. I could feel his hands holding my butt cheeks open and then he put himself into me…"

"He raped you."

Tony nodded as he fought back tears. "He did it for a while, even using his hand to play with my penis. Then he got off, dressed and told me to get in the shower. He repeated what he had done the day before in the shower, but he was rough this time, like he was starting to get off on it. Then he left me there. The next morning, Thomas and Jamie came in. I was already undressed, as per their instructions. They told me that I was going to have sex with Thomas, and I said no. I kept saying no, so Thomas re-dressed himself and started hitting me with a hot poker. I heard sirens in the distance, and they must have too, because they stopped after a few minutes and ran away. I crawled to where my clothes were on the bed, pulled them on as best as I could, and then I just laid there, waiting for help. I was tired, and I felt so sick. I think I would have passed out if Detective Muller didn't come in when he did."

Gibbs finished writing his notes and put away the notepad and pen. He leaned forward, ensuring he had Tony's full attention.

"I will get them; I promise you that. They won't be getting away with anything, I'll make sure of that."

"Thank you, boss," said Tony with a sad smile. He was happy that he had Gibbs to back him, no matter what.