"One more bite," Lizzie cooed, pressing the cake-filled fork to Tim's mouth. He, in turn, sighed and opened up, lest she should do her "spoon airplane" again.
The dinner was thankfully nearing its end. The food had barely tasted edible, but it had been shoveled down his throat almost forcefully. He had eventually caved and had some wine for no reason other than to wash out the taste of Lizzie's cooking. In fact, the wine had been the best part of the meal. It not only cleansed his palate somewhat, but he was starting to become tipsy enough that he might forget that he was being held prisoner by a psychotic women who was hell-bent on serving him the worst food he'd ever tasted.
Lizzie wiped a napkin against the corner of his mouth, removing the stray bit of chocolate icing that had stuck there. "I just knew you'd love the dessert."
"'Love' is a bit of an exaggeration. It was just the least disgusting thing you force fed me tonight."
She began stacking the empty plates and pushing the table and chair back against the far wall. "It was all in Momma's old cookbook and Poppa just loved her cooking."
"He must have had a strong stomach."
Lizzie returned to the bed side, still holding a glass of wine. She offered it to Tim and he reluctantly accepted it. She poured all of the liquid that remained in the glass into his mouth, causing him to cough and sputter for a moment. "Too strong?"
"Too…fast…" he said between coughs.
"Well, we're almost to the climax of our evening," she told him with a smile. "But first I need to bring Fluffy back upstairs."
"Why?" Tim asked. He didn't care whether or not the dog was down there – he actually preferred not to have the vicious canine anywhere near him – but he had a bad feeling about the reason behind her actions.
"Because, I don't want any distractions," she said vaguely.
She unhooked Fluffy's leash and led him up the stairs. He growled and bristled, but allowed her to pull him away. When she returned, Tim almost cowered beneath her stare. He wished he could just press himself down through the mattress.
"Now then, I think we have some business to attend to." Lizzie slowly unbuttoned the dress, revealing an old and ill-fitting bustier. Tim's eyes bulged, his impending fate suddenly dawning on him. This woman – this crazy and apparently sex-starved woman – was hoping to use him the way a queen bee uses her drone.
"You like it?" she asked, mistaking his widened eyes as a good thing.
"What…what the hell are you doing?" he screamed.
She placed a hand over his mouth. "I'm just getting you in the mood." She leaned down to him, the bustier falling away from her chest and giving Tim a glimpse of more than he wanted to see.
"I don't want to be in the mood," he mumbled against her hand. "I want to go home…"
"Rolands! Is this Lowell woman armed?" Gibbs barked as the team made their way through the wooded area.
"Her father definitely had a few guns, but I can't say I've seen her use any of them. Though, that dogs hers is practically a weapon."
"Boss, do you think…I mean, should we be checking the woods…?" Tony asked, not wanting to say what was on everyone's mind.
"Tony, if you and Rolands didn't stumble upon any body while you were traipsing about the woods, I don't think we have any cause for worry." Unless, of course, the corpse is still in the house, but Gibbs didn't think it important to bring up that possibility.
"What could she possibly want with McGee?" Ziva asked. "We have not received a ransom note. From what you've told us, this Lizzie does not seem to have any connections to terrorist or any reason to kidnap a federal agent."
Rolands sighed. "Lizzie's father was a bit…over-protective of her while growing up. She wasn't allowed to date and I don't know that she had a chance for a normal social life."
"So you think she nabbed McGee to live out her unfulfilled teenage years?" Tony commented.
"I think she's starved for a man and was willing to pounce upon it when the opportunity presented itself."
"So…she's planning to…uh…mate with McGee?" Tony shivered. "Poor Probie."
As they trudged through the woods, the rain pounded down harder upon them. The sky had grown even darker, lit only by the occasional flash of lightening. The wind blew through the trees, rustling the leaves and whipping them about the team. As Tim had on that fateful night, they saw a stream of smoke rising above the trees.
"At least we know she's home!" Tony called out above the screeching wind.
"Ziva! You'll come in with me," Gibbs ordered. "Tony, Rolands! I want you two to circle the house in case this nut job tries to escape out a window."
"Got it, boss!" both Ziva and Tony replied. They had their guns drawn, ready to shoot.
Gibbs tried the door and found that it was locked. Luckily, the door was barely holding up anyway. A quick kick opened it, revealing an almost empty living area with a fire roaring in the fireplace. The only inhabitant of the living area was a vicious dog who was barking and straining at his leash to attack these new intruders.
Ziva and Gibbs entered, not sure what they were going to find.
Tim had his eyes closed, hoping and praying that when he opened them Lizzie would be gone and he'd be back in his own bed and this entire ordeal will have been a bad dream.
"I'm not going away just because you close your eyes," Lizzie's voice cut through the air, effectively ruining Tim's wish. "Now just open your eyes and let's get to this!"
"Don't you think we're moving a bit too quickly?" he said as he slowly opened his eyes. Lizzie was standing before him, wearing just the bustier. "I don't like to rush into…uh…this specific area of a relationship."
"Sorry, doll, but we don't have much time to sit and wait for you to be ready." She knelt above him, straddling his body with one knee on each side. Her fingers were unbuttoning the shirt which had only recently been placed over his bare torso.
Tim yanked at his bindings, but they were tightly tied. He tried to throw her off of his body by rocking his hips back and forth, but she hung on like an expert bull rider on a mechanical bull. "Look…can't we just talk about this?"
"You're not a virgin, are you?" she asked, giving him a suspicious look.
"No!" he bellowed, though he wasn't certain why he cared so much about whether or not she thought he was a virgin. "I just don't want to do this!"
She pouted, resting her hands on his lower torso. "What? Don't you think I'm attractive?" she asked, looking down at the bustier she wore.
Tim was silent for a moment, not sure how to reply. If he lied and said he did think she was attractive, she would take it as permission for her to continue; if he told her the truth and said he didn't find her attractive, she may get angry enough to do something horrible…even more horrible than forcing him to have sex with her.
Before he could choose which response would cause him the least amount of reciprocal pain, he was saved by a loud crash from upstairs. Both he and Lizzie glanced up at the ceiling basement inquisitively. The sound of Fluffy's barking and growling could be heard in the distance.
Lizzie cursed. "Damn wind must have blown the door open." She slid off of his body, causing Tim to sigh in relief. "Suppose I'd better get it boarded up."
"Take your time," he mumbled beneath his breath.
She didn't bother to grab the dress she had tossed to the side, but she did look him level in the eye and say in a firm tone, "Now don't you move until I get back."
Upstairs, Ziva and Gibbs heard someone ascending stairs. Each took to one side of the door, guns ready. When the door opened, a woman emerged, dressed only in lingerie. Her hair was pulled back into a ratty ponytail and she hadn't a lick of make-up on.
"Freeze! Federal agents!" Gibbs shouted.
"Put your hands in the air!" Ziva ordered.
Lizzie, completely startled, screamed in terror, her hands flying up over her head. Fluffy, hearing the distress in his master's voice, gave one more lunge, breaking the leash, and ran toward the trio. He jumped toward Ziva who managed to grab him by the scruff of the neck, though she did suffer a rather deep bite in the process.
"Don't hurt Fluffy!" Lizzie screeched as Gibbs clicked handcuffs around her wrists.
Ziva was barely listening, as she was more interested in getting rid of the dog. She pulled the animal to an open door, shoved it in, and slammed the door behind her. The door pounded into her back as the dog shoved against it, trying to get out.
"You okay?" Gibbs asked.
"I will be fine," she assured him in a breathless tone. She looked down at her wounds. She had a multitude of scratches and a rather nasty bite on her arm. She would most certainly need medical attention, but at the moment she was more worried about finding Tim.
Tony and Rolands burst in through the door, guns drawn. Tony caught sight of the scantily dressed woman in handcuffs. "Boss?"
"Yeah, DiNozzo! Take her," Gibbs replied, pushing Lizzie into Tony's grasp. He leaned down into the doorway out of which Lizzie had just come. "McGee?"
"Boss!" Tim called up wearily. "Boss, I'm down here!"
Gibbs sprinted down the stairs, stopping short when he saw the young agent tied to the bed with an unbuttoned shirt. "McGee…what the hell is going on?"
Tim sighed in relief, not even able to muster up enough energy to be embarrassed by the fact that his boss was seeing him in this condition. "It's a long story. I'll be happy to tell you the entire thing once you untie me and get me out of this crazy house!"