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Ziva woke to the strong gusts of wind rattling the walls and window and the sound of tiny rocks pelting the kitchen's windows that Earl had not had a chance to board. She sat with her hands tied behind her to a post with some kind of plastic-coated cable. She began to twist her wrists, optimistic the smooth covering could eventually be loosened. She blinked her eyes to focus as her head spun, fighting the nausea. She lifted her head slowly looking across the kitchen. There was a man on each side of Tim holding his arm with another man in front of him demanding Cassie's whereabouts. Tim was kneeling, dazed, an indistinct expression on his beaten face as blood ran down the side of his head.

"Tell me or we start using your girlfriend as the next primary means of entertainment!"

"We...dropped her at her...desti..destination..a while go."

The man kicked Tim in his side. Tim doubled over, unable to breathe. "Yeah, yeah-" He kicked him again. "Destination, dropped off, blah,blah. Friggin broken record."

The man grabbed Tim's jaw to bring his head up to look directly into his eyes, but Tim's eyes were closed. "I don't like your answer." He yanked his hands away with disgust as Tim's head fell forward.

"Tie him to the post..there." Tim didn't fight as he hung loosely from their grip, standing him in front of the beam, tying his hands above his head hanging them over a hook on the back of the post. His head bowed forward. Ziva yearned for Tim's acknowledgement; a look, gesture, but he was too weak to raise his head. Ziva was now able to see what they had done to him while she was unconscious. His gunshot wound was bleeding, again, and his face was now bruised along with the previous cuts and scrapes. His shirt was further ripped and tattered so she was able to see the severe dark bruises that covered his full torso. He looked like he was at the end of his rope. After Tim was tied, the leading man's two adversaries; stood by, patiently waiting, for another order.

"Aah...I see someone is awake." The man drew his attention to Ziva walking over to her. "Maybe you can be a more valuable source of information...he bored me, with his, we don't have her, yadda, yadda crap. Now you can tell me something I need to know. I bet you know where she is because if you don't there is going to be some serious woop ass to pay...from the both of you." Ziva glared at the man, shooting daggers of fire. She sat like a rock and didn't cower from his confident threats. She detected a flash of hesitancy run over his face that morphed into anger. She had been trained for situations like this but Tim had not so she wanted to refocus his attention to herself.

"What makes you think we would hand a child over to you monsters?" The winds howled and the interior lights flickered creating a frantic immediacy in Ziva's survival mode; unable to see his actions in the pitch black.

"We've searched this entire establishment, we'll just burn it down with you two tied up in it."

The man looked so self-satisfied in his Armani suit and smug replies.

"Do what you see fit, this is how it is."

"Dammit to hell." He slapped a can of tomatoes from a counter as it crashed to the far wall. "Don't you see? Her father was a spy, stealing highly classified materials from within our corporation; information that should not have leaked out...with the potential of ruining us. Or...getting into competitive hands bringing on more disaster. And, I don't know where the hell he hid them." The man had come closer to Ziva as now she could see the veins bulging in his neck with rage. He still appeared calm but Ziva knew he was a time bomb ready to explode.

Ziva's interogator walked aimlessly about the kitchen while he spoke to Ziva inspecting different objects picking them up then putting them back. He came to a long bladed knife, studying its edge and point, twirling it in his hand as his eyes looked over the edge of the blade to meet Ziva's. "We believe his daughter can lead us to that information. We don't want to kill her...we just want to spend time with her."

"How could a child lead you to highly classified information? Her father wouldn't have put her in such a dire situation-"
"You obviously had never known her father. An ipod, laptop... something the kid played with that her father could have used to store codes, passwords. Somewhere no one would think to look."

"She. Was. A. Witness. You do not want her alive."

The man turned on one of the burners laying the knife's blade across the flame. A distant flash of lightening brightened the room creating a strobe affect.

"I'm not listening to any more. She is some where safe and negotiation isn't an option-"

"Well, I can still try."

The rumble of thunder shook the walls accompanied by the sheer force of the high winds. The lights flickered once again.

"It will get you no where, except deeper into trouble with the law-"

"Yea, yeah...whatever. So...who's first?"

"Well, he's out...I'm sure you will get no where with him-" said Ziva.

"Ahh, that's cute. Protecting your little boyfriend." The man retrieved the knife from the flame. Ziva detected a quick shimmer from a ring on one of his fingers just before the blade of the knife, also, shimmered, twirling it. The man stood on the side of Tim and grabbed the back of his hair to pull up his head then let go, rousing him. Tim moaned, his eyes slowly opening.

"Ziva?" He attempted to focus his eyes, narrowing them, looking at Ziva from across the room. "Are you okay?"

Ziva sadly smiled, with tears breaking through. She pulled in a sharp gasp to hold back a sob.

The man stepped closer to Tim grabbing a fistful of his shirt causing the edge of his shirt to rise revealing his stomach. He ran the point of the red-hot blade over his taunt belly, as Tim squeezed his eyes containing his anguish. He futility pulled in his stomach to desperately avoid the penetration of the blade. Ziva could not imagine the pain Tim was suffering from the searing, sharp point. She couldn't take it anymore.

"Please! Stop! I can tell you-"

"Ziva... No!" Ziva could see the point of the blade beginning to penetrate. Blood seeped in a straight line over his belly.

"I'll tell you, I...will..tell you. Just please stop!"

Faint cries from Cassie from under the floor grew into Ziva's awareness; but the louder sound, like that of a freight train drowned it out. It brought the man's attention towards the window as he released Tim's shirt. He walked closer, his eyes wide, unable to talk till finally, he whispered. "Son of a bitch." The lights went out for good as the noise became unbearable...

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