We're having a rainy July 4th here in New England so enjoying my time off, writing. Hope everyone is having a great holiday!
xxx
Ducky turned when he heard the swoosh of the autopsy doors opening, "Well, hello, Jethro. And how is Anthony's recovery coming along?"
"He left with Dorneget to investigate the contents of the safety deposit box that matches the key they found at the crime scene."
Ducky was sitting at his desk and stopped what he was doing. He slowly turned to face Gibbs. "This is all ringing a bell to me, Jethro. Doesn't this at all sound like another case we handled, concerning a dead marine staff sergeant back in 2005? Ziva had just joined…"
Ducky could see the signs of recollection appear all over the Special Agent's face and knew further explanation would not be necessary. They both brought their attention to Ducky's phone when it buzzed and Abby's image displayed on his screen.
"Gibbs? I need your presence in the lab immediately- "
"What is it, Abs?" Gibbs could see the top of Delilah's head in the background. Her eyes were red and puffy and she held a tissue to her nose.
"Uh…We have a situation-"
"Abby!"
"Tony has just been abducted by the same men who have presumably taken McGee and Bishop. He had the sliiiiightest….hunch," Abby squeezed the points of her thumb and forefinger together while squinting, keeping her gaze on Gibbs, "so he wore a tracking device but somehow it was disabled and we lost his location-"
"Abby!" Gibbs put both his hands on Ducky's desk then looked at the floor blowing a strong puff of hot air through his nostrils. "Abby...What about his cell?"
"Nothing. Sorry."
Ducky and Gibbs exchanged a look when they heard how meekly she was able to manipulate her voice to resemble innocence.
"I should have remembered that case, Duck." Ducky frowned at the profound guilt in Gibbs' eyes.
Gibbs started towards the door, "Jethro, don't feel so bad! We all make mistakes! I brushed my teeth with Ben-Gay the other day….And, I didn't even realize it until I was actually finished!"
The doors shut and Ducky sighed. "The poor lad."
xxxxx
The mountain-sized man that Tim had hit with the steel pipe grabbed him by the front of his shirt. Tim struggled, his hands grasping the man's hands, futilely trying to break free. A grin spread across the man's bloodied lips as he lifted Tim a foot off the floor then slammed him to the ground, the air forced from his lungs, taking a shaky few moments to return.
"Come on, Steve. We got no time for this. Boss, will be in here any second!"
Steve ignored his associate's pleas, then, without hesitation, punched his beefy fist into the wall where an outlet was located, crumbling the old sheetrock and turning it to confetti. He pulled a set of small, travel-pliers out of his front pants' pocket then used the gadget to yank out wires as he straddled McGee pinning his arms with his knees. He then sprang into a crouched stance over the fallen agent, roughly lifting Tim's shirt to expose his stomach. He hesitated, smugly grinning, then jammed the live wires into Tim's bare belly causing him to scream out in pain, his voice weak and cracking, evidence of the exhaustion that clung to him. His back arched as his body stiffened, unable to fight back.
Xxx
Delilah grasped Abby's hand, standing beside her as they both watched the rise and fall of the waveforms of Tim's desperate cries over Abby's computer, monitoring the incoming sounds from Tony's earwig, hoping to detect any foreign noises that could help them pinpoint their location. "Abby. What are they doing to Tim?"
Abby's eyes glistened, meeting Delilah's. She didn't answer her, knowing deep down that she already knew. She swallowed with difficulty causing her brimming tears to spill.
Delilah squeezed the lab technician's hand, with fierce determination, looking up at Abby. "Abs. We have to find them. Now." She leaned in closer towards the computer, her desire to decipher what little evidence that was developing in front of them, her sole priority.
Abby nodded, with reassurance.
xxxx
"Stop it, Steve! Listen to your… buddy!" Screamed Tony.
"Walter… his name is Walter!" Ellie piped in. "Walter! Tell him to stop!"
Tony took a confident step forward, still restrained from the man standing behind him. Steve ignored Tony until the special agent found the courage to kick him, hard in the side. Steve hopped up angry, now focusing on Tony, leaving Tim on the floor, his chest heaving, stunned and in too much pain to move. The oversized man pulled back his thick arm, punching Tony directly into the face, as if turning off a switch in his brain, rendering him powerless, his body crumbling.
Ellie watched in horror, Tony's eyes fixed open, staring blankly at her, his mouth open in shock and his body swooped and began to drop, the men holding him, keeping him upright. She almost expected to see a circle of small birds, chirping as they flew over Tony's head. Was she next? Her heart ached as she helplessly witnessed her comrades being tortured and beaten in front of her. She began to resolve to the conclusion they were all going to die. She surmised if she was to receive even just one vehement strike from anyone of these huge men, it would surely be the end of her.
A door slammed, silencing the room. Ellie could make out the sound of high heels on the old, worn wood floor. The men parted to reveal a petite, long, black-haired woman, dressed in tight black jeans, six inch spikes and a black leather jacket over a crisp, pure-white blouse.
She spoke in a calm, soothing voice, "Steven?" Steve was alert, his back straightening as his hands folded in front of him. "Yes ma'am."
"What did I say about beginning the torture of these men before I arrived?"
"To wait ma'am."
"Did you obey my order?"
"Well…there was an issue that needed-"
"I said….Did you obey my order, Steven?"
"Not really, but-"
The small woman grabbed the wires from the man then connected them to his thick, almost invisible neck. He stood and took it, crying out as his eyes bulged out in extreme pain.
"I'm guessing you didn't care for that too much, now did you Steven?" Steve's eyes were still closed, tears streaming down his purple cheeks as he shook his head, strongly. McGee made a move to sit up but the woman slammed her sharp heel onto his heaving stomach. "I suggest you stay right there Special Agent McGee, I need to have a word with you."