A/N: OK folks, we're getting near the end now, and things are getting exciting. Hope you like it, as always, please read and review!
McGee glared at Howard as the spy hung up on Gibbs. Anger flared through the young agent at what Howard had threatened to do. It was bad enough that Tony had already been shot once, but now he was threatening to shoot Tony again? McGee gritted his teeth. It went against everything McGee had ever believed to hurt an injured man.
Howard laughed when he saw the anger burning in McGee's eyes. "And what are you going to do about it kid?"
"Gibbs will find you. You won't get away," McGee said mechanically.
"Whatever. Don't wander off now." Howard laughed again as he walked out of the tiny room he had shoved McGee and Tony into.
"You're doing okay, Probie. And you're right, Gibbs will come." Tony's voice shocked him; he had thought the man was still unconscious. Tony had been drifting in and out of consciousness since Howard had ordered McGee, at gunpoint, to help him into the back seat of the Landcruiser. The first time he had passed out, McGee had thought he had died.
He turned to look at his fellow prisoner, faking a smile he didn't feel. "Awake again? What will Gibbs say when he finds out you've been snoozing on the job?" The smile faded away when he got a good look at Tony. His face was desperately pale, fine lines of pain radiating out around his eyes. Tony's usually perfect hairstyle was slicked down on his head with sweat, and McGee thought he'd never seen the man looked worse.
"That bad, huh?"
McGee shook his head, laughter bubbling up even now. "You look like hell. Edvina won't fancy you now." Tony laughed shortly, and tried to shift into a more comfortable position, hissing with pain as he jarred his leg. McGee knelt down next to him, and tried to look at the wound.
"Don't." Tony arched away from his touch, the shortness in his voice contrasting oddly with the plea in his eyes.
"I need to check it's not infected," McGee appealed. Tony shook his head, and McGee decided it would be simpler to wait until the man passed out again. He sat down next to Tony, both leaning back against the wall, and sighed. "Next time you suggest anything, whether it's a raid on a suspect's house or a film I should watch, I'm not listening."
"Hey, I'm the one that got shot!" Tony almost managed to sound like his usual self, and McGee had to admire his acting ability. Then, softly, Tony said, "He's using us as bargaining chips, isn't he? And I bet he's threatened to shoot me again, if he doesn't get what he wants."
"How did you know? I thought you were unconscious!"
"That's what I would do," Tony said simply. "Besides, Howard must know it will irritate the hell out of Gibbs."
McGee sighed and nodded. "So, if we don't want to put Gibbs in that position, we need to get out of here." Tony looked sideways at him, and smiled, despite the agonising pain in his leg. Probie was really starting to get the hang of this. McGee stood up and began pacing around the small, windowless room. "Only problem is, Tony, how are we going to do that?"
"Rules 4 and 9, Probie," Tony murmured as a wave of pain washed over him. He could feel himself beginning to lose his hold on consciousness. "Marines always improvise and always carry knives."
McGee frowned in concern as he saw what little colour Tony had drain away. Gently, he held a hand up against Tony's forehead and winced as the cold from his skin almost burnt him. Tony was freezing and his skin was getting clammy, shock obviously setting in, and combined with blood loss to weaken him even further. Gently, ever so gently and slowly, McGee bent over the injured man and eased up the leg of his jeans. The blood had stuck the material to Tony's skin and McGee flinched as the denim stuck and pulled at Tony's leg, eliciting a moan from the unconscious man.
Eventually, McGee managed to get a look at the wound. He had done the best he could, and his necktie was tied tightly just above the wound, as a very basic tourniquet. Blood was still seeping slowly out of the wound, although it had slowed considerably. Howard had allowed McGee to use the first aid kit in the bungalow, and all the bandages McGee had found there were now tightly bound around Tony's leg. Most were now stained crimson, with only a few patches of white remaining.
Still, the wound looked clean, considering the circumstances, and at least the bleeding had slowed down. McGee sat back in his former position against the wall, and sighed. "Marines might always carry a knife Tony, but I'm not a Marine." Closing his eyes, McGee wished desperately that someone else was here. Not that he wanted any of his friends in his position, but Kate or Gibbs would probably be dealing with this a whole lot better than he was. McGee wondered, not for the first time, if he was really cut out to be a field agent after all.
Isak and Edvina had both been horrified to learn that Tony and McGee had been kidnapped, and had instantly volunteered to help for as long as was necessary. When the US army had protested at the expense, Isak had, with great dignity, pointed out that when friends were in danger, money was no longer an issue. Kate and Edvina couldn't help but laugh as he again recounted this story of him facing down Colonel Hunter. Each time, his responses grew a little wittier and a little ruder.
"And then I told him he could stick his offer where the sun does not shine!" Isak concluded.
Edvina, quietly, muttered, "He simply said it was not a matter of money. All this other talk – I don't know where that came from."
They were back at the Hotel Royal, waiting for more news. Gibbs was still at the French army base, going over everything Howard had done, in the hopes that something would indicate where he was heading. Kate had found Isak and Edvina waiting for her in their makeshift conference room, already beginning to sift through what little information they had.
Isak had a large map of the Šar Mountains, the mountain range around Prizren, which Abby had pinpointed as the location of Howard when he called Gibbs. Abby had only managed to roughly triangulate the position, due to the interference from the mountains, but Isak was marking out regions that were possibilities. Edvina was helping Kate go over Howard's file again, for what Kate calculated was the fifth time in the past hour, hoping for a single clue as to where he was.
Kate sat back, scrubbed an exhausted hand across her face and looked despairingly at Edvina. "It's hopeless. We've been over this file so many times I could recite it word for word, and we still don't have a clue where he would have gone. It's hopeless."
""Not quite," Isak said determinedly. "Howard would wish to stay away from big villages, yes? Well, that narrows it down, and I think if I go and speak with a few people, we might be able to find him. He would be noticeable."
Relief poured through Kate. It might not be an answer, but it was something to do, something more productive than flicking through a file again. "Great idea Isak," she said, snatching up her coat. "Let's go. Edvina, you stay here and tell Gibbs where we've gone."
"Agent Gibbs will not be happy to know you also have gone off without him," Edvina pointed out.
Kate paused at the door. "Agent Gibbs would do exactly the same himself. And I don't care what he thinks anyway," she added to herself as she followed Isak out of the hotel.