3

Chapter Three

I'd caught glimpses of their faces as the two men changed my dressing, tried to recognise them…I was pretty sure I'd never seen them before, as sure as I could be…

The pain I'd felt before was nothing compared to the fierce burning agony of having the old dressing literally ripped from my arm. I know I blacked out once, at least once…not for long enough, they weren't gentle, all they wanted to do was put on a clean dressing and get out of here.

They talked about me as if I couldn't hear what they were saying.

"If he's so concerned about the state of his arm, why doesn't he put on a new dressing?"

"I don't know, maybe because he pays you, he figures he gets to tell you what to do."

I tried so hard to concentrate, to get a name, any name, something that I could link to a case, but they weren't giving anything away. The older man, the one who brought the water…he was holding the flashlight while the younger one unwound the old bandage. I watched as he exposed the gauze pad, rusty brown where the blood had dried…I caught his smile as he took hold of the pad, I braced myself, but it was no good…I screamed…couldn't help it…

When I came round he was putting the finishing touches to a new dressing, he was none too gentle about it, but it looked better…at least there was no blood this time…

"I'm done with this, he's good enough to make a phone call."

Phone call...proof of life...

"Gibbs…doesn't deal…you should…let me go…"

They both laughed out loud.

"Not going to happen McGee, we've been studying your boss, we know he's a hard ass, but our boss…he loves his twin brother more than anything in the world, your team put him away. Believe me when I tell you, if he has to kill you, he will, with his own bare hands if need be. If Gibbs doesn't deal, you'll be sent back to NCIS in little pieces."

"No call for melodrama, as any law enforcement agency will tell you, I am a legitimate businessman. You should rest now Agent McGee, we'll be back shortly, there are a few technical details to be ironed out."

He must have come in when I'd blacked out...as the cell door slammed shut behind them I curled up on the floor, alone again, with nothing but time to think about dying...it was inevitable now...I'd finally caught a glimpse of the man behind the voice...he looked a lot like his brother, not identical, but close...I'd never spoken with David Devoisier, but I'd seen him when Gibbs and Fornell were interrogating him. Devoisier had killed a Marine...there was no way Gibbs would ever let him free...ever...unless they could find me, this was the last place I was going to see...and I'd started to wonder...were they even looking?

I woke with a start as the door opened again, no light this time, had another hour gone by, a day? I didn't know, I was aching all over, hot...then cold...They had more lights with them this time, I could see them...not clearly...couldn't focus...but I could see where I was. Not a cell...a cage, inside a metal box...a shipping container...it had to be...I knew only too well how anonymous those things could be...there were hundreds, maybe thousands of them...how would anyone find me here?

"Time for you to say hello to your boss Agent McGee. We can't have you lying on the floor...get that chair over here."

The younger man dragged the chair across the floor, the metal scraping on metal sounded so loud...it was almost painful to hear it after being alone for so long.

"Get up."

He put the chair right beside me, but I knew I wouldn't be able to do as he said. I tried to force myself into an upright position...couldn't even get any leverage with my good arm...

"We're wasting time, pick him up and put him on the chair, tie him to it if necessary. I want to make this call right now."

Devoisier's men took hold of me...even though they managed to avoid the actual wound, my arm still felt like white hot needles were being pushed into it, over and over...

They tied me to the chair…had to, I didn't have the strength to hold upright…Devoisier stood in front of me, he was holding a satellite phone.

"I will put you on to speak to him, all he has to know is that you are alive, there will be no necessity for too much conversation, are we clear on that McGee?"

"Gibbs won't…deal."

"I think he will, even though my idiot associates got me the runt of the litter, I think he'll want you back, after all, isn't it a Marine thing?"

Maybe it was, but I knew deep down Devoisier was right; Gibbs would have cared a heck of a lot more if Tony or Ziva had been sitting here…or Abby, he'd have moved heaven and earth to get Abby back safe.

"Could I…water?" I hated to ask them for anything, but my mouth was so dry.

The older man handed me an open bottle…I tried to take a drink, but I was shivering so hard, I couldn't get a grip on the bottle, he took it from me and held it to my lips as I took a few sips.

Devoisier was already talking. "Agent Gibbs, don't talk, listen. My name is Edward Devoisier, I have Agent McGee here…I said don't talk. Unless my brother is released from prison McGee will die. I will give you twenty-four hours to make the necessary arrangements and I will call again with details of the exchange. You may now speak to your man, keep it brief."

He held the phone to my ear.

"Tim? Are you there?" He sounded…worried, wasn't expecting that.

"Yeah Boss."

"How are you doing?"

"Could use…double fist…coffee…lots…sugar."

Devoisier grabbed the phone, "You've heard enough, he's alive. If you want to keep him that way, do as I've said, and wait for my call."

I'd been tapping the metal leg of the chair the whole time, hoping they would think I was still shivering, trying to tell Gibbs what I could…Wasn't much, three men, container…what else could I tell them? Didn't know anything…I had to hope they would notice, that Abby could clear up the audio enough to hear the long and short taps, that Tony would remember the lorry hijack case when I'd almost overdosed on caffeine…that he'd remember the Morse Code...

"What are you doing? The younger man pointed angrily at my arm. I must have still been tapping on the chair…hadn't noticed…

"N...nothing…can't stop…cold…"

I could tell from his face he didn't believe me, he raised his foot and kicked out at the chair, there was no way I could stop the momentum, and I only had a split second to prepare myself for the inevitable agony as the chair toppled to the ground.