Chapter 15
Tony sat in the stifling room, fully restrained, bit-gagged and blindfolded. What was this for? Had Gibbs misunderstood some portion of his assignment, or was Sullivan just playing with them? Tony felt around the cuffs, trying to see if he could detach himself from the chair, but it wasn't going to budge. If he struggled, he would only hurt himself.
A good ten or fifteen minutes after he'd been left alone, the door opened. "In here?" asked a voice that was vaguely familiar to him. He couldn't place it, but he knew he'd heard it before.
"No, sir, the next door," Sullivan said hurriedly. "We can look from –" The door shut on his words, and Tony realized that he was being displayed for one of Sullivan's friends. Shoving his emotional freak out at that thought into a box for later, Tony fought to consider the implications of that brief incident. That sir . . . was he a higher ranking officer or was there someone else that Sullivan respected enough to call sir? Regardless, if Tony knew the man's voice, there was a chance the man would know him on sight. Maybe the gag and blindfold were a blessing. They had to hide or distort enough of his face to make recognition difficult.
Time passed with no measure. Tony couldn't tell what was going on around him, all he knew was that no one came into the room for a long time. Kate had to be getting antsy out in the car with no contact from him. He wasn't sure what he hoped at this instant. He didn't want the op ended too soon, but he didn't particularly enjoy feeling like a cut of meat under a shop display.
Finally, after what had to be more than an hour of the sweltering room, the door opened again, letting in a breath of cool air that chilled him slightly. By this time, Tony had cramps in his shoulders from the unnatural position he had been forced to sit in, and his butt had largely gone to sleep. He wondered what was in store for him now. He didn't think enough time had passed for Gibbs to have arrived.
Someone walked around behind him and unhooked him from the chair, leaving his hands cuffed behind him. Hands from both sides lifted him to his feet, so there were two of them. From their relative heights, he thought it likely that it was his usual pair of bullies. They took him out the door and turned left, and if he recalled correctly, that was the direction of the room Sullivan usually met Gibson in. He didn't fight them, there wasn't much point, he couldn't see to escape, and he couldn't remove the blindfold without his hands.
They paused, opened a door from which even colder air emerged, and took him inside. They walked him a few feet into the room and then released his arms, leaving him to stand blind in a room he didn't know the configuration of, though from the feel of the carpet under his bare feet, he thought it was probably the usual meeting room. He heard the door close. A moment or two passed, and he could sense someone moving around him on the thick carpet. "Remove the gag," Sullivan ordered from in front of Tony. Someone moved forward to do that, and Tony worked his jaw for a moment after being released.
"We've got you back, Tony, thank God," Kate said in the earwig, and Tony wished he could let her know he could hear her.
"You're trembling, boy," Sullivan observed.
"Shivering, actually," Tony said, and his teeth tried to chatter as he spoke. "There's got to be a thirty degree temperature difference between that room and this one."
Sullivan laughed. "Not that much, but I suppose enough to have an effect." He paused, and Tony couldn't tell what was happening, but a moment later the air system made a dull thunk, and he felt warm air come rushing into the room. "We wouldn't want to make you sick." Tony didn't really have a response, so he remained quiet.
"Sadist," Kate muttered. Tony wholeheartedly agreed.
"Your boss has made a serious error," Sullivan said, and Tony felt his flesh chill in a way that had nothing to do with the temperature. Kate had told him that everything went down fine. "One hopes it was unintentional, but I have received an irate call from the man he did business with today, claiming that the high end radio units he sold him don't work." Tony felt a light tap on his cheek. "In light of that, I'm thinking I may just take some liberties with his property."
"Tony, say the word and we'll come in," Kate said.
"Without giving Gibson a chance to explain?" Tony asked.
"I'm giving Gibbs a call now," Kate said.
"Perhaps I should, but I'd rather like to see what's on offer." Tony felt hands at his waistband, and he knew he couldn't permit it. He could tell from the hands and the voice where Sullivan had to be. He raised his knee as though to catch Sullivan in the groin, which Sullivan evaded easily, of course, though his hands left Tony's waistband. However, while he was off balance, Tony aimed based on where he could hear the footfalls and swept Sullivan's feet out from under him. He caught at least one foot and he heard a thump and a grunt that made him suspect that Sullivan had, in fact, fallen. Hands grabbed him from either side, but Tony had made his point. "Rudy, go get Nathan!" Sullivan ordered, his voice guttural. The man on his right left and Tony heard the door open and close. "Get that blindfold off him!"
Tony blinked as vision was restored. His eyes adjusted quickly, and he could see that Sullivan was in the process of undressing. Tony's mouth went dry as the other man removed his pants, freeing an erection that Tony feared he'd caused. What the hell was with the man? Tony physically attacked him and it turned him on? "Go, boy, kneel beside your master's chair," Sullivan growled, and Tony, gulping, did as he was told. "Out of deference to his reputation and the agreement we entered into, I will hold my punishment until after he's had the chance to explain and rectify the problem, but you are about to see what you can expect if I am not satisfied with his response."
Tony's teeth were clenched so hard they hurt because he could think of fifty things to say and any one of them might get him hit or worse if he actually said them. Now was not the time for wisecracks.
The door opened and Nathan came in followed by Rudy. Nathan was wearing a t-shirt and jeans, but no shoes. His eyes went first to Sullivan, and then to Tony. "Strip!" Sullivan commanded, and Nathan's attention snapped back to his master. He began to remove his clothes quickly, though he put them in a neat pile on the floor. "Arms behind your back." Nathan obeyed, turning around. Sullivan seized a pair of cuffs from Rudy and snapped them around Nathan's wrists. He shoved Nathan towards the coffee table. "Assume the position." Nathan recovered his balance and fell to his knees at the end of the table, bending over it and spreading his legs, though not before shooting Tony a suspicious glare. "Are you ready for me, slut?" Sullivan demanded, walking up behind him.
"Always, master," Nathan said, his head pressed sideways to the table, away from Tony. That answer said a lot more about Nathan's private life than Tony ever wanted to know.
"Wider, slut," Sullivan said, kicking at Nathan's feet. Nathan spread his legs wider, and Sullivan went to his knees behind him, rolling a condom into place. Tony wanted to look away, but he couldn't. Sullivan spread Nathan's butt cheeks and positioned himself. Then he looked up and met Tony's eyes with a hard, hungry stare as he thrust hard into Nathan's waiting ass. The sex act was violent and aggressive. At one point Sullivan bit Nathan so hard on the neck that he drew blood, but whatever he did, his eyes always came back to Tony, boring into him, full of threat and promise.
Tony tore his eyes away and stared at the wall opposite. He knew Nathan was getting something out of this. He could hear the moans of pleasure as well as the yelps of pain. Nevertheless, he really didn't need to witness it, and he didn't like the way Sullivan kept looking at him while he did it. Kate kept asking what was happening until Abby pointed out that he couldn't answer her. He was glad, because Kate in his ear being as dense as she always was about sex was not helping him cope.
Finally, with a hoarse growl, Sullivan finished and withdrew. He snapped the condom off and tossed it in the trash. "Take him to his room and let him finish himself off," Sullivan said.
Rudy walked forward and helped Nathan to his feet and then out of the room. Tony saw Nathan's erection bobbing as he walked out of the corner of his eye, but he kept staring at the opposite wall. Gibbs had to be arriving soon. Gibbs would have an explanation for what had gone wrong. Gibbs would be able to fix it. Because the only alternatives to that were ending the op without proving Sullivan was a traitor, or surrendering his body for the use he'd just witnessed, neither of which was an acceptable option.
Sullivan walked around behind him, and Tony could not turn to look. Sullivan leaned close to Tony's ear, so that Tony could feel the heat of his breath as he spoke. "I'll bet you're afraid of me now."
It wasn't a question, so Tony didn't reply. Sullivan stood up again and left the room, picking up his clothes as he went. The door shut behind him, but Tony still wasn't alone. Mark stood stolidly near the door, his face expressionless. Tony couldn't relax with him watching. He stared at the wall, searching for something else to think about.
He should probably find some way to reassure Kate that he was all right, but he didn't know how. Any noise he made could be interpreted in half a dozen ways that wouldn't be helpful to their cause. He just kept breathing, trying not to seem alarmed and probably failing dismally.
The door opened and he jumped. When he saw Gibbs, he felt his whole body relax, and he started to shake. Gibbs paused in the doorway, his eyes widening, and Tony realized that there was a distinctive musky aroma in the room. Gibbs crossed the space between them in three big steps. "Did he –"
"No, Boss," Tony said. "He . . . Nathan . . ." It wasn't the most coherent of statements, but Gibbs got the gist.
He sank into the chair beside Tony and put his hand on his head. Evidently he could feel the tremors, because he put his hand on Tony's shoulder and leaned down. "Do we need to go?" he asked.
Tony shook his head. "Not sure they'd let us, Boss. He says there was a problem with the job you did today." Hadn't Kate gotten through to him? Of course, he couldn't let on that he knew even if he did.
"What kind of a problem?"
"He said the radios you sold today didn't work."
"Did he touch you?"
Tony shook his head. "He started to take off my pants, but I stopped him."
"It was most impressive, Gibson," Sullivan said, coming in through the open door, once again dressed elegantly. "Bound as he is now and blindfolded, he knocked me on my ass."
At the sound of Sullivan's voice, Tony stiffened slightly. Gibbs squeezed his shoulder gently. Looking over at Sullivan with narrowed eyes, he said, "I'm very proud of my boy. What's going on? I reached my room to find that you'd left me a message saying you'd collected him, and he tells me you said there was a problem?"
"Yes, Martin called to complain that ninety percent of the radios you sold him today don't work. The first two boxes were fine, but the remaining boxes were all defective."
Gibbs' expression went very cold. His grip on Tony's shoulder remained gentle, but Tony could see the killer beneath the surface and he knew that Sullivan could too. "I see. I'll have to pay a little visit to my supplier."
"You do that, but until the problem is solved to Martin's satisfaction, Vellucci stays with me."
Gibbs gazed long and hard at Sullivan. The man was pushing his limits as far as he could. The simple comment had been enough to cause DiNozzo to press unconsciously closer to Gibbs' knee. "That is not happening," Gibbs said, ruffling through DiNozzo's hair reassuringly before resting his hand on the back of the younger agent's neck. "Vellucci goes with me."
"He will stay here –"
"Not happening!" Gibbs growled, coming partway out of his chair. They had things they could arrest him on, and this game had gone far enough. He could hear voices in the earwig, but, damn it, he was in this room with the bastard, and with a Tony who was shaking like a frightened hound. The armchair quarterbacks could go to hell.
Sullivan glowered at him, his jaw set. "Very well. But this problem had better be solved tomorrow."
"It will be." Gibbs stood the rest of the way up. "It's time for dinner. I'm taking my boy and going." Sullivan nodded. Mark and Rudy started to move. "Not them. You take me as I am, or I solve this problem tomorrow and we're done."
Sullivan's eyes narrowed, and he seemed to be gauging Gibbs' seriousness. "There's no need to be hasty, Gibson," he said, evidently judging him right. "I'll be interested to see how you and Vellucci work together."
"Vellucci?" Gibbs said, and Tony got to his feet. "Where are his clothes and shoes?"
"Outside the door, as always," Sullivan said, tossing Gibbs the keys to the cuffs.
They paused outside the door long enough for Tony to get dressed, then they went out to Gibson Howe's car. Gibbs opened the passenger door for Tony, and the younger man slid into the seat without a word. His unusual silence worried Gibbs somewhat. He might just be playing the part, but Gibbs wasn't sure. He drove and kept watch behind them for followers, and DiNozzo still remained silent.
"You coming in?" Morrow asked.
"We are," Gibbs said. "Sir, can you turn off the surveillance? We're alone with no prospect of being with the targets."
Morrow was quiet for a moment. "Very well. Switch off, everyone. I want you all here within the next two hours. Be careful."
Gibbs waited a few minutes, then said, "Abby, that means you, too."
"See you soon, Gibbs," she said, and then he heard a click that signaled her leaving the line.
He sighed and glanced sideways at DiNozzo. The young man still wasn't speaking. Gibbs wanted to know what was in his head, but he wasn't sure how to break the silence. Once he was sure they weren't being followed, he took them to a drive through and found someplace quiet to park and eat. DiNozzo looked up when he turned the car off, but he didn't say anything as Gibbs handed him his order from the bag.
"What happened, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked.
"Can't we wait till the debrief, Boss? I don't want to go through this twice."
"It's up to you." Gibbs started eating.
Before long the silence got to be too much for DiNozzo, as Gibbs had known it would. "He is one freaky bastard," DiNozzo said.
"I noticed. Kate said she couldn't contact you for almost two hours."
"I think I was in the room where he displayed me to you on Thursday," DiNozzo said.
"Did anything happen while you were in there?"
DiNozzo shook his head. "Not really, I tried to fight them off, they overpowered me, stripped me to my pants and tied me up, gagged me and blindfolded me. It was really hot, so I wasn't very comfortable, but no one . . ." He trailed off and Gibbs felt his shoulder muscles tense up. DiNozzo was clearly remembering something.
"What is it?"
"The door opened and someone started to come in. Sullivan said that he had the wrong room, that they could look from the next door down. He might have been talking about something else, but I don't think so."
"I agree," Gibbs said, and DiNozzo gave him a faint smile. "Do you know who the person was?"
"No." DiNozzo's brow was wrinkled, though, and he looked uncertain.
"What?"
"The voice was familiar. I could swear I've heard it before. I'm not sure where or when."
Gibbs blinked. "It'll come to you."
"Anyway, whoever he is, he's someone Sullivan calls 'sir.'"
"That's interesting."
DiNozzo nodded. "Yeah. Well, I sat there for most of the time that Kate couldn't contact me, then Rudy and Mark came to get me. I decided not to fight them because I wouldn't get far." Gibbs snorted, and DiNozzo gave him a weak grin in appreciation. "So, they took me into the meeting room where the temperature was freezing. I think he was just playing with me because he turned the heat on pretty quickly. Then he told me about the complaint and said that he thought he'd take liberties with your property."
"Kate told me," Gibbs said. "But she couldn't tell me what actually happened."
Tony shrugged. "I felt his hands on my waistband, and I knew I had to do something."
"So you took him down."
"I did," Tony said, sounding mildly pleased with himself. "I thought so at the time, but couldn't be sure he'd gone down until he confirmed it."
"Good boy," Gibbs said.
Tony blanched and looked at him uneasily. "Could you please not call me that?" he said.
Gibbs considered what he'd said and grimaced. "Sorry. Good work, DiNozzo."
"Thanks, Boss," Tony said, his eyes still a little wild. "Um . . . the trouble is, my taking him down seemed to turn him on," he added, and Gibbs raised his eyebrows. "He sent for Nathan, ordered the blindfold removed and told me to kneel by your chair. Then he told me that out of respect for you, he wasn't going to touch me, but that he was going to show me what I could expect if your explanation wasn't to his satisfaction."
"And then?"
"And then he fucked Nathan, right there in front of me, hard, fast and brutal." His words were clipped and his tone flat.
Gibbs studied his agent's profile for a moment. "What else?"
DiNozzo gulped. "What do you mean, what else?"
"Something had you spooked when I came in."
"That's not enough?"
"Sure . . . but . . ." Gibbs let the statement trail off, and after a moment DiNozzo rewarded his patience.
"He was staring at me, the whole time, Boss. It felt . . . I don't know, it felt like being raped by proxy. I mean, it was clear that he wanted me to be where Nathan was."
