A/N: I am not an action writer, so this chapter took a while to get it right. Thanks to Binglexjells for the beta job on this, and Cattylizzie for the DC research.

II

"We'll walk in from here," Gibbs announced as he parked the car on the side of the dirt road. They were still a good quarter of a mile from the location McGee had given them, but he didn't dare get any closer for fear of alerting Watson of their presence. So far as he knew the element of surprise was theirs, and he wanted to keep it that way.

Tony nodded and unbuckled his seat-belt. He tried not to let Gibbs notice the fact that he needed to lean against the car for a few seconds before he could stand on his own. His hand was sore from clenching the side of his seat so tightly, and he flexed his hand a few times to relax the muscles. The last ten miles of their trip had been on a switchback trail, and Tony had been convinced more then once that they were going to fly off the side of the mountain. The trip from DC to their current location should have taken three hours. It took Gibbs just over two. It might have taken less, but not even Gibbs could make the traffic on the Fourteenth Street bridge go any faster then its usual crawl.

"Let's go get Abby," Tony said as he accepted the bullet proof vest that Gibbs handed him. He could feel the sharp edge of adrenalin building up in exception. With every fiber of his being he believed that Abby was going to be found today. McGee had called half an hour ago, muttering under his breath about never letting Ziva drive anywhere again, and informed him that they had come up empty. It was up to him and Gibbs now. She had to be here, because there was no other option.

Gibbs' only answer was a firm nod as he fastened his own vest and started walking up the road. His gun was already out of its holster in preparation. Tony had no doubt that Gibbs was fully prepared to use whatever force was called for. He wondered if Watson had any idea just what kind of wrath he had tempted when he had decided to take on Special Agent LJ Gibbs. Tony very much doubted it.

They walked in silence until the dirt road they followed turned into a wide clearing. In the middle of the treeless circle was a rustic cabin; parked in front was a battered pick up truck. Either they had found Watson and Abby or they were about to give some hunter the scare of his life.

"Not much cover," Tony muttered under his breath.

"Then I guess we'll have to be extra careful to be quiet, won't we?" Gibbs turned his attention to the front door of the cabin, and Tony understood without asking that he should walk around to the back to cover any other exits.

"Good luck," Tony said as they separated. Before he rounded the corner to the back of the cabin Tony glanced at his boss. Gibbs had made his way to the bottom of the steps. His gun was raised and there was something about the way he held it- it was almost like an extension of him. On the backside of the cabin there was another door. Peering into the window to make sure know one was in the room, Tony observed a small and rustic kitchen. Not caring for anything other then the fact that the room was empty, he cautiously opened the door.

There were half melted puddles of snow on the steps leading up to the front porch. Gibbs was carefully not to step in any of them. He didn't want even the slightest sound, not even something as innocuous as crunching snow, to alert his prey to his presence. It wasn't until he was on the third step that Gibbs saw the streak of blood on the weathered wood of the porch. It wasn't much but it could have come from Abby. There had been dried blood on her temple. After climbing the last two steps Gibbs flattened himself against the cabin wall next to the front window.

Grimily he pressed his lips together and took a deep breath to prepare himself. Slowly he edged away from his position against the wall and looked through the glass. This was the right place, and the bastard wasn't expecting them. Watson was sitting on the couch, his eyes closed. Gibbs sighed with relief; he obviously hadn't caught Abby's sign language message.

Abby. She was still tied up to the same chair, with duct tape over her mouth. It was even harder to see in person then it had been on the video. He wanted to rush in and rescue her, but years of training over ruled his instinct; he needed to give Tony time to get into position. As he counted out the seconds in his head, he wrapped his left hand around the doorknob and slowly turned it. He gave Tony a count of one hundred before pushing the door open. It squeaked.

"Don't even think about it, Watson," Gibbs warned when the man sprung out of his seat and reached for the gun lying on the table next to him. He heard Abby's muffled squeal of recognition, but he didn't dare acknowledge her. He needed to focus.

"Think about what?" Fear and anger warred with each other in his eyes, but his voice was surprisingly affable.

"Hands in the air," Gibbs ordered. Watson had tried that 'good old boy' attitude on him once before, and Gibbs still burned to know that he had fallen for it. This time he knew exactly whom he was dealing with.

"Sorry, Gibbs, but I wasn't really expecting company and I don't have time to sit and chat." Gibbs took a step towards him, but Watson moved too fast. Instead of going for the gun he sidestepped in the other direction, positioning himself behind Abby's chair. His arm wrapped around her neck. Abby tried to pull away from him, but Watson only tightened his hold.

"This is between you and me, Watson. Let her go." Gibbs didn't like the way Watson was positioned. There was something in the way he stood and the placement of his arm that spoke of an ability to inflict pain or kill without the aid of a weapon. His gun was centered on the other man's forehead, but Gibbs wasn't one hundred percent certain that he could pull the trigger before Abby was hurt; he wouldn't take that risk.

"It's about you, Gibbs, but the girl isn't blameless. She played her part in our game, and has to pay for that." Watson used his free hand to pull on Abby's wounded arm, watching Gibbs the whole time. "Plus she's my insurance that I get out of here safely. It's not like you are just going to let me walk out of here. Abby is coming with me."

"Like hell she is!"

"You can't stop me. I have the hostage and all you have is-"

"A partner, you moron," Tony said as he struck the former captain on the back of the head with his gun. Watson fell to the floor with a loud thump.

"It's about time, DiNozzo." Gibbs holstered his weapon and started to untie the ropes binding Abby to the chair. "You're safe now."

"I'll get the rope," Tony said non-apologetically as he removed a knife from his pocket. "You get the tape."

"Okay." Gibbs reached up to the silver adhesive. Her good arm untied, Abby caught his attention with her hands. i Just yank it off/i she signed. Grimily, Gibbs nodded.

"Hey Gibbs," Abby whispered when the tape was gone.

"You okay?" He asked as he cupped her face between his hands. "You gave us a hell of a scare."

"I..." At that moment Tony cut through the last of the rope and she fell forward. Gibbs caught her easily, but in doing so pinned her arm between them. The added jolt of pain proved to be too much, and she fainted.

"How is she, boss?" Tony asked worriedly as he folded up his knife.

"She's going to be fine," Gibbs vowed. Picking her up as carefully as he could, he carried her the few feet to the couch and laid her down. "Why don't you go get the car? I want to get her to a hospital as soon as possible."

"What about Watson?" Tony pulled his gaze away from the painful vision of Abby on the couch and scowled at the unconscious kidnapper.

"I'll take care of him."

"Sure thing." Tony caught the keys when Gibbs tossed them, and jogged out of the cabin. Not bothering with the steps he jumped over them and ran down the road at full tilt.

Gibbs reached down for one of the rope pieces to tie Watson's hand together, but before he could straighten up he was tackled from behind.

"You ruined everything," Watson yelled as he rammed a fist into Gibbs' side.

"Not sorry about that," Gibbs grunted as he pulled away from his assailant. Turning to face Watson he threw his fist into the man's solar plexus. Watson fell backwards and landed on top the coffee table. His weight caused the wooden legs to snap and the table to break. Watson didn't stay down long, though. With one of the shorn table legs in hand he stumbled to his feet. He charged at Gibbs, but Gibbs was ready for him. A single bullet to the heart was all it took to stop Watson.

Gibbs crouched at the bleeding man's side just long enough to feel for a pulse. There wasn't one. Hearing the familiar engine sounds of an NCIS Ford pull up outside the cabin, he stepped over the dead man.

"I've got you Abbs," he said to Abby's unconscious form as he picked her up. "Now let's get out of here."