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Chapter Two

It was back, with a vengeance…a fierce throbbing pain that had me groaning as I returned to consciousness. They said the pain would go, the doctors would give me strong meds to make it go away, Tricia said…Tricia, she fell, she'd tried to keep me safe, then there was a man…I started to breathe faster and I could feel my heart beating rapidly. Something was wrong, badly wrong.

I opened my eyes, half afraid of what I would see, but I couldn't see anything, it was dark, too dark…it was never truly dark in a hospital. A quick surgery Tricia said, but I could tell by the pain, by the way I was dressed, I hadn't been anywhere near an O.R., where was Tricia…Greg? Please let them be okay, I had no idea what was happening to me, but I knew they didn't deserve to get hurt.

Tentatively, I reached out my hand and gasped as I touched a cold floor. My last hope that I was somewhere safe disappeared with that touch…someone had left me on the floor, in the dark…

Why was I here? Who was the man in the ambulance? Where was I? Would the team be able to find me?

Questions, too many questions, and not a single answer, time to start getting at least one answer. I had to try and find out where I was. Slowly and carefully I tried to stand…couldn't do it, so I got to my knees and crawled across the floor, within seconds I'd reached a wall, smooth and cold…I inched my way along, feeling for anything that could give me a clue where I was, a corner…I leaned my head against the wall…getting tired again, and I was thirsty…had to keep going. I reached out once more and my breath caught in my throat…metal bars…a prison cell?

That wasn't the answer I wanted, how was I going to get out of here? I stifled the beginnings of a hysterical giggle…I'd gone searching for answers, and all I'd come up with was another question.

It was cold in here too…I remembered a blanket, had he taken it? I slumped down to the floor and cried aloud as the sudden movement sent a fresh, piercing jolt of pain through my arm. I lay on the floor, feeling more alone than I had ever been in my life…they'd be looking for me, wouldn't they? Of course they would, I had to be patient, give them some time…how long had I been here? My watch…check the time, couldn't move my right arm, but if I reached over with my left, took off the watch, I could look…but my wrist was bare, had the EMTs taken it off, or the man who took me?

Phone…my mind wasn't working right, I should have thought of that first, Abby would be checking for the GPS, all I had to do was switch it on…my arm felt like it was covered in lead, but I managed to check my pockets…nothing, no badge, no gun, no phone…

It was colder than ever, still dark…a noise…someone was coming, I heard a lock being opened, light flooded in, blinding me for a moment. How long had I been out this time? It was daylight…same day, next day? I had no idea, all I knew for certain; I was hurting and I was in trouble, big trouble.

"Get away from the door."

It was a harsh voice, low, guttural…I couldn't see his face, he had a flashlight and he was shining it into my eyes. The door…I didn't know I was by the door, could I move? I tried to drag myself away…tried not to show my weakness, it took everything I had, but I moved a few feet. Seemed like that was enough, I heard another key being turned, the door swinging open; this is where Gibbs would dive at the open door, race away to his escape…Ziva and Tony could do it too…not me, too weak…I lay there like a fish out of water, gasping for air, it took all the energy I had just to stay awake.

Two small thuds and he was closing the door again. "Water, chocolate, you want it, get it; there's a bucket in the corner, use it. I don't want a mess on the floor, you hear me?"

"Please…why am I…here?"

The footsteps were moving away…and still I had no answers. "Don't go…please! Just tell me…what you want…from me…"

But the other door had slammed shut and I was alone again…he'd mentioned water…and I was so thirsty…I didn't know how long I could stay awake so I took as deep a breath as I could, and started the tortuous quest for water. I had a pretty good idea where the bottle had landed, but it seemed to take forever to move a few yards, as my hand touched the plastic bottle I almost laughed aloud, I'd done it! Except…how was I going to open the bottle? I didn't even want to try moving my injured arm, one hand was no good…teeth, had to be…I leaned against the wall, bit down hard on the plastic cap and twisted, the sound of the seal breaking was like music to my ears. I wanted to drink every drop, I knew that was bad…pretty sure I wasn't supposed to be drinking at all…wasn't that what the books said?

Maybe whoever wrote the books had never been in a situation like this…I took a few sips, spilled some…my hand was shaking; this was a cold place, cold and lonely…stop that, self-pity wasn't going to get me anywhere…I had to do something…maybe I should try moving my right arm, if I needed to fight…I tried to make a fist, all I got was a wave of nausea that threatened to have the water coming back up as fast as it went down…

If I was going to get out of here, I'd need help…they'd help me, Gibbs and the others…They'd be chasing down every lead they had, studying traffic camera footage, examining the physical evidence from the ambulance…God I hope Ducky didn't have to perform any autopsies, please let Tricia and Greg be okay…the rooftop, they'd check out the rooftop where the shooter…the shooter, was he a part of this? Was I shot to get me into the ambulance so that they could take me? He'd only fired one shot…maybe he wasn't looking for any more targets…this was getting harder to understand…why me? I didn't have money, not the kind of money kidnappers would be interested in, neither did my family…it had to be about work, a case…but which one?

There were so many, where to start? I needed to think, go back over old cases…try to make some kind of sense of what was happening to me, try to take my mind off the dull aching in my arm, the tremors shaking me from head to toe, I'd start right now…

There was a noise, metal on metal, he was coming back…I'd been sleeping again, how long this time? No way of knowing. The outer door opened, there was light outside…daytime still…I tried to sit up, get a better look at the door…three men this time…

"You failed to inform me that he was wounded, how did that happen?"

"You told us to get one of them any way we could, this was our best plan."

The new voice…British accent…sounded like he was in charge…

"Then I would hate to have seen your other options, so which one did you get?"

The flashlight was blinding bright, there was no way I could see their faces.

"McGee."

"So I see, I would have preferred DiNozzo or David; it appears Gibbs has a closer bond with them. No matter, from what I have learned Agent Gibbs has a strong team ethic, I'm sure he'll want this one back. Get a new dressing on his arm, he's my trump card, I don't want him to suffer further damage."

"Why am I here? Tell me…" I'd tried to shout out my question, but it came out as a hoarse whisper.

"You are here, Special Agent McGee, because I am not going to allow my brother to rot in an American prison. Your life for his; simple as that."