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~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ NCIS ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Twisted Brother

Chapter Twelve

"Another Terrible Tuesday"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ NCIS ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

DiNozzo and McGee: Early Tuesday morning, Tony DiNozzo wondered if he might be losing his mind. He woke up to find his head leaning on McGee's shoulder. More than that, McGee's arm seemed to be around him. That startled him enough he quickly sat up; or rather he tried to. The sudden movement awoke all kinds of pain sensors and with that, his memory also returned.

"McGee," his voice was gravelly and dry. "I thought I told you, we don't know each other that well…." He broke off as the coughing seized him again. This time he saw black spots before his eyes and felt blood in his mouth. Trying to wipe it surreptitiously from his lips, he was startled when Tim grabbed his arm to stop him.

He was even more startled when Tim kept his firm hold on him. "Don't bother to hide it, Tony." He sounded as weary as Tony felt. "You've been coughing up blood for the last hour and a half. I already know how sick you are." Then Tim surprised him again by laying a hand across his forehead. "Your fever is up too. If I had to guess, I'd say at least 102."

Before Tony could reply, or try to break away from Tim's supporting hold, which unknown to him, was the only thing keeping him from toppling over; they heard a sound they'd hoped not to hear again, at least not so soon. The door was being unlocked.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ NCIS ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Morning at NCIS: Gibbs woke with a start, disoriented for just a moment. Opening his eyes, he asked himself why the hell he was asleep in Abby's office. But the remnant of a dream, where he'd been looking in vain for DiNozzo and McGee came back and he understood then. Sitting up he looked around. He was the only one still there.

After Gibbs hit the head, he went in search of his team, or what was left of it. He found Abby and Ziva looking over the tapes once again. This time they were refining each frame, trying to get a clear picture of any one of the faces of the three men who had abducted their agents.

"Jethro!" Abby hurried over to him, somehow managing to look incredibly refreshed. She hugged him tightly; then released him so quickly he had to take a step back to keep his balance. "Here's your Caf-Pow, only you call it coffee. Ziva went and got it for you. She said she didn't want to face you unless you had coffee, that you would be 'bare' without it."

Gibbs took the coffee without thinking, turning amused eyes on his female agent. "Bare? Agent David?" he asked. Abby giggled, and the sound was so refreshing, Gibbs wanted to hug her again. "I told her she meant you would BE a bear without it, but I kinda like her way better!"

Gibbs just shook his head, and Ziva looked down, trying not to be embarrassed. She knew Tony wondered if she mangled the language on purpose, and truthfully, sometimes she did. But she still had a lot of trouble with English homonyms. Shrugging, she returned to her work.

"Find anything, Abs?" Gibbs took a big drink and squinted at the various pictures on Abby's computers.

Ziva was the one to reply. "We are trying to isolate the frames, to see if we can find a useable picture to run through our databases. If we have an identity on their captors, it may help us locate them."

"Any luck?" Gibbs took a step closer.

"Not yet, not much anyway. But we've got a few we're in the process of cleaning up. We're close to it on these." Abby pointed at three different shots, two that looked to be of the same man and one of a different one. "We should have something in a couple of hours."

"Where's Ducky?" Gibbs asked, looking around.

Again, Ziva was the one to answer. "He and Jimmy had to finish up two autopsies. And since there was not really anything for them to do here right now, I told them it was fine, that we would call them if we were to need them." Ziva had to still be very tired, she didn't bat an eye at the possibility she had overstepped her authority.

"Oh, and Gibbs," she continued as he turned to go in search of Dr. Mallard, "The Director wanted to see you when you woke up. He wants a sit rep."

Turning back, and looking over Abby's shoulder, Ziva indicated one of the pictures. "There, Abby. That one is the best. We should clean it up first." They continued with their work, oblivious to Gibbs' retreating form. "Let me know the second you have anything," he called over his shoulder as the doors closed behind him.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ NCIS ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

DiNozzo and McGee. To their surprise, it wasn't Mehi who entered the stall, but one of the thugs who apparently worked for him. And even more surprising was the fact he had a tray in his hands that appeared to have water and some food on it.

A slight tensing of McGee's body let Tony know that the younger agent had seen the possibility of taking the man down. Tony braced himself in preparation but before either of them could do anything, the second thug followed, with the shotgun again trained on them. So instead they relaxed and waited.

"Boss doesn't want you to die of thirst or hunger. Doesn't want you dead quite yet. So eat this, all of it, if you know what's good for you." He set the tray down, several feet away from the agents and backed out of the room.

"You hungry, Tony?" McGee asked. The thought of food actually made DiNozzo nauseous, but he was thirsty. Very thirsty. "Not really. But go ahead and eat, and get me some water will you?"

McGee eased his arm from behind his sick partner and made his way over to the tray, bringing it back with him. He opened a bottle of water and started to bring it to Tony's lips, but Tony reached for it with his left hand and managed to keep from dropping it. He sipped slowly, knowing he had to be careful, though he wanted to gulp the cool liquid down.

Tim looked the food over, picked up something that vaguely resembled an Egg McMuffin and started chewing away. "You'd better eat something, DiNozzo. This is actually pretty good."

Tony managed a snort of laughter before a cough stopped that. He took another sip of water, glad for the way it eased his throat. "Of course, you'd like it McMuffin-Man." But knowing he needed to try and eat something, Tony nodded at the tray. "Got any toast or something?"

Forty-five minutes later, most of the food was gone, though DiNozzo had only managed to eat a half of a piece of toast and a few bites of egg. However, McGee was starving, and gladly put away the rest of it. He drank only a little of the water, though, knowing his partner needed the fluids much worse than he did.

The rest of the morning, they rested and Tony drank as much water as possible. Tim was very pleased when DiNozzo started looked incredibly uncomfortable and began squirming in a way that had nothing to do with his injuries. And he couldn't resist pretending not to know what DiNozzo was too proud to ask, waiting until finally he couldn't stand it.

"McGee, damn it." Tony's voice was still hoarse with pain, but this time the element of irritation overrode that. "You've pissed in the corner at least three times. Now help me up so I can go, before I wet myself."

Somehow McGee managed not to laugh, and helped his friend to his feet, then supported him as Tony did his business. In truth, he was relieved that he needed to go; it meant the dehydration wasn't critical yet.

After that, DiNozzo was completely exhausted and alternately dozed, coughed, and drank more water. Tim had no idea how much time had passed, but he figured each hour that went by meant that Gibbs was closer to finding them.

During one of Tony's more wakeful times, they discussed Gibbs, and how often he had an uncanny way of ferreting information out just in time to solve a case. They reassured each other that he would find them soon. Tim hoped Tony was as sure of himself as he sounded, and as the older agent lapsed into something a little closer to unconsciousness than just dozing, he found himself repeating the words, "Come on Gibbs, hurry up."

McGee had fallen asleep again too, and wondered what was next when he heard the lock rattle again. He hoped it was just one of the thugs coming to bring more food, or retrieve the tray. But his hopes were dashed as the door opened and Mehi entered.

"Okay, boys. Your rest and play time is over. Now the real fun begins. Oh and your hope of Gibbs finding you? Never going to happen in time. Now, who's first this time?"

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NCIS Headquarters: Gibbs had finished briefing the director; checked his emails, had a member of Balboa's team check both McGee and DiNozzo's computers to make sure nothing had come in on either of them, and was now in autopsy talking with Ducky.

"Duck," Gibbs voice sounded incredibly weary. "You know Tony's physical condition as well as anyone. How much do you think he can handle?"

Dr. Mallard had sent his young assistant back to Abby as soon as they were finished with the first autopsy, insisting he could handle the second on his own. He looked up from his work and paused to consider Gibbs' questions. "Well, Jethro. I hate to sound like a broken record, but Tony; actually BOTH Timothy and Tony, are young, healthy and strong. And more importantly, they are both incredibly resilient and they have been taught by the best. I will continue to believe they can each handle whatever is given to them to handle; though I admit, I do not like this situation at all."

Gibbs was not often given to self recrimination; or to second guessing his actions or decisions. Years of doing what he did had taught him those were not particularly productive courses of action. But he couldn't help believing he should have somehow known something more could have happened.

At that moment, Bryce Mallory entered the room. "Gibbs," he said. "Sarah McGee is upstairs, studying again. She's pretty upset; do you want to talk to her?"

Gibbs studied the younger man for a moment. "That can wait. Mallory, you don't have any other family that would have a reason to hate NCIS do you?"

Mallory's faced paled. "I don't think so Gibbs. I've obviously thought about it a lot; but my father died several years ago, and my mom is at home in Oregon. I talked to her this morning, and she hasn't left Salem for months. She's living there with her new boyfriend. She was pretty upset about Blake and Beau's deaths. She's in shock and her health hasn't been real good. She didn't even make it out for Blake's funeral."

"How about Blake's or Beau's father?" Gibbs asked.

Mallory shook his head. "Beau's father died last year. And Blake's father; well, when Mom took up with Beau's dad, he was pretty shook up. He left the states and has been living overseas for years. I haven't seen or talked to him since I was in my teens, and I don't think he's had contact with Blake or Beau for at least 5-6 years. Last I knew, he was living in Belgium. I don't even have an address for him."

Gibbs thought for a moment; something about that statement bothered him, but he couldn't quite figure it out. And it was at that moment that Abby's face suddenly appeared on Ducky's monitor.

"Gibbs! I need you up here, now. Right away. This minute."Abby turned away from the screen, but she could still be heard mumbling on. "Immediately. At once, Gibbs! Without delay! Today McFly! Oooh, that sounded like something Tony would say! This instant. Why aren't you here yet? Anytime would be good..."

Gibbs didn't hear anymore, as he was already out the door and headed for her lab. Mallory followed on his heels. Ducky returned to the autopsy and peered down at the face of the marine sergeant who had been killed in a car accident. "Well, sergeant, I do hope Miss Scuito has some vital information. I did not want to share my fears with Jethro, but I am quite concerned about our two missing lads. Quite concerned indeed."

Gibbs and Mallory entered Abby's lab. Abby opened her mouth to say something, but when she saw Bryce, she stopped.

Going over to the screen which was showing a picture that was much clearer than it had been when Gibbs had been in earlier, he asked. "Who is that, Abs? You got an ID on those clowns that took DiNozzo and McGee?"

Mallory had followed him and both Abby and Ziva were watching him closely. Before Abby could reply, he heaved a huge sigh. "I can answer that Gibbs. I guess Blake's father isn't in Belgium anymore. That's James Mehi, Blake's Dad."

Gibbs turned on his heel and glared at the younger agent for a full 30 seconds. Bryce held his gaze, looking miserable, but not guilty. Finally, Gibbs sighed as well. "Not your fault, Bryce. But I just figured out the connection, that's what was bugging me in autopsy. Somewhere I read in a report on the earlier murder cases, one of McGee's, I think, that Ian Patters spent some time in Belgium before coming back to the states. My guess is he and Blake's father met up. Since John Patters was working on this too, hoping to get revenge against DiNozzo, he must have included James Mehi in the deal. And when DiNozzo killed Blake, his father would have wanted his own vengeance."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ NCIS ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

DiNozzo and McGee: Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo did everything he could to get to his feet. He saw that James Mehi's sanity was completely gone, and he did not want McGee facing him, especially not alone. But try as he might, he simply couldn't make it all the way up. The best he could do was to push up on one knee. At that point, he was stopped both by his coughing and weakness and by McGee's hand as it rested on his shoulder, holding him down.

"I got this one, Tony." McGee's eyes, as they looked down at DiNozzo were very full of expression. Tony managed to look up and he saw fear, regret and pride all warring there.

Mehi's laugher rang out. "You two take the cake. I might be impressed, touched even, if you didn't remind me of my son and Beau. Those two would do anything for each other. They would die for each other. In point of fact, they did. So now, one of you is going to die."

Tony's voice was barely a whisper as he angled his head to be able to look his partner in the eye. "I'm dying anyway, McGee. Just help me up, damn it."

McGee ignored him, and stepped away, knowing Tony likely couldn't get up on his own. He faced Mehi, and waited.

The deranged man paused. "Of course, there is still another option. Maybe if I call this Gibbs of yours, he'll exchange Sarah McGee for one of you. I still want her, and I might even keep my promise to let one of you go. Of course, I'd have a great time with her. I'd even let my men play with her first before I killed her. Slowly and painfully. What do you say? If I get this Gibbs on the phone, do you want to ask him to send Sarah?"

McGee's emotions were no longer conflicted. At the mention of his sister his rage grew out of control. He rushed at Mehi and managed to knock the man back against the wall. Tony watched in shock, and then with the slightest bit of hope, as it seemed for a moment McGee might overpower the other man. But that was when the two hired henchmen entered the stall. One of them walked over to where Tony was still gallantly trying to gain his feet, and placed the shotgun on his forehead, effectively stopping him from continuing to struggle. The other grabbed McGee and spun him around. When he saw the gun in his partner's face, McGee stopped.

Mehi laughed, a sound that was eerie and unnatural. "I'll take that as a no, then." He turned and left the stall, motioning for the men to take McGee. Turning at the door, after McGee had been taken out, he smiled one more time at Tony. "Don't worry, DiNozzo. I'll be back for you eventually."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ NCIS ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

NCIS Headquarters: The next several hours were spent in running down every single piece of information on James Mehi the team could get their hands on. Mallory proved invaluable. He called his mother, and though she didn't particularly want to get involved, he badgered her until she finally agreed to search for anything she might have that would give some indication of where Mehi might be holding the two agents.

Just as they were going over a list of properties that he might have any possible interest in, Gibbs' phone rang. He didn't recognize the number and he snapped his fingers to get Ziva's attention.

As soon as she had a tracer set up he answered it, putting it on speaker. "Gibbs. Who is this?"

A voice came on. "Why Gibbs. I'm either your worst nightmare, or your best friend. It depends on your perspective, I suppose."

"Where are you? I want to talk to DiNozzo or McGee. Now!" Gibbs voice was hard as steel.

"Well," the man's drawn out answer grated on Gibbs' nerves. "That might not be too feasible. One of them ain't feeling too good. And one of them isn't feeling anything at all."

There was silence for a moment, and Ziva had to make herself concentrate on what she was doing, not on what the man's statement might indicate.

"What do you want?" Gibbs asked; his voice dangerously soft.

"Well," again Mehi drew the word out. "I want my son back. But since that isn't going to happen, I'll take something else. I'm willing to exchange one of your agents for who I want. Of course, I can't promise what condition they might be in. Any chance you're interested?"

"Keep talking," Gibbs said, glancing at Ziva to see if the trace was complete. She held up three fingers and shook her head. Gibbs knew he had to keep him on the line a little longer. "Who do you want?"

"I tell you what, Gibbs." Mehi's voice had lost its drawl and was now almost as hard as Gibbs' had been. "I'll trade you one dying man for a living woman. I want Sarah McGee."

Gibbs closed his eyes. He didn't know if he wanted to know which agent was dying and which one might already be dead.

"That might be arranged," Gibbs said, eyeing Ziva with a raised eyebrow, obviously asking her a question. She looked up and nodded without hesitation, indicating her willingness to be involved in whatever Gibbs was planning. "How would we make the exchange?"

Mehi was silent for a few seconds. "I'll call again in an hour. As soon I complete a little unfinished business." The next thing they heard, before the line went dead, was a gunshot.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ NCIS ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

DiNozzo and McGee: Tony was disgusted with himself. He had finally managed to get to his feet, about three minutes after Tim had been herded out at gunpoint. He could barely take a step without his leg threatening to buckle beneath him. And even if he made it to the door, he knew he couldn't get it open. He didn't think he'd ever felt so helpless.

At least, he knew McGee was strong. He'd taken the first beating and survived; not just survived, but had been taking care of DiNozzo's sorry butt ever since. Tony didn't know if he'd ever been more proud of his probie. He hated that Tim was being tested this way, but when it was all over, he would find a way to let the younger man know how he felt. He knew he certainly craved Gibbs' approval, so he guessed it was time he let his protégée know that he was proud of him too.

All these thoughts went through Tony's mind as he waited for the sounds of a beating or some other form of torment to start. He slid back down to the floor, resting his head against the wall that was shared with the stall next door, and he waited. He heard murmured voices coming from the next room, and in fact, he was pretty sure he even heard McGee's angry voice once. He heard the sound of a fist hitting someone, and figured it had begun.

Then he heard McGee scream. This was different than the cries he'd heard before. This sounded like McGee's world had just ended. And he heard Mehi's maniacal laughter. And then he heard a sound that made his blood run cold. He heard a gunshot, followed by total silence.

Tony couldn't breathe. He didn't know if was because of his lungs and injuries, or because of this sudden and overwhelming sense of fear and loss. He just knew that somehow, he had to know; had to get to Tim. With no memory of getting there or how he had accomplished it, he found himself on his feet, over at the door, pounding weakly on it with his left hand. Ignoring the pain the movement caused, he used his right hand to try and force the lock open. Though he wanted to scream and shout, his voice was a mere whisper. "No, no, no. Tim. Please, no…."

So when the door was suddenly opened from the other side, he took two stumbling steps back and stood, weaving, trying not to fall, dreading what he would see.

Mehi stood in front of him. He held what was left of Tim's shirt in his hand, and he laughed. He thrust the shirt in front of Tony's face, and laughed some more when the wounded man sunk slowly to his knees, not able to accept what his eyes were telling him.

"God, no. Please, not Tim. No, no, what will I tell Sarah." DiNozzo's head fell to his chest and he felt the world shrinking around him.

"Funny you should ask that, Tony." Mehi's voice was deceptively soft and almost reassuring. "Your partner just asked me the same kind of question when I told him Gibbs is bringing her here to trade for you."

The darkness was coming for him. He wanted nothing more than to fall into its warm embrace, but Mehi's words stopped his descent into that particular hell.

Tony's voice was nothing but a whisper. "No, no. Gibbs wouldn't do that. He wouldn't; you're lying."

The man who had so far brought so much physical torment to Very Special NCIS Agent Anthony DiNozzo now relished his opportunity to add such mental and emotional anguish to it.

"Well, now, for once I'm not lying, Tony. Gibbs said something about you being worth it; that he was willing to do anything to get his son back." He yanked Tony's head up by the hair, and shoved the shirt in his face.

"Of course, I have to wonder. What kind of son would let his partner's sister, his DEAD partner's sister, be traded for him? You're a sorry piece of shit, DiNozzo. I wouldn't trade my dog for you." He threw the shirt down in front of Tony and turned on his heel, leaving him alone with his fear, regret and shame.

Tony could not stop the tears from forming as he gathered McGee's shirt up. He brought it to his face, stopping when he saw it was wet with blood. Rocking back, he collapsed to the floor, and as the darkness returned for him, the only sound he heard was that of his own quiet weeping. This time, he didn't know if he would ever escape that darkness.

But that was okay, because he never wanted to ever see the light of day again. He couldn't face this; he couldn't face Gibbs, knowing he wasn't worthy of the man's faith in him. He couldn't face Ziva, and feel her scorn for him, that he hadn't been able to keep his partner safe. He didn't want to look Ducky in the eye and see his pity, nor hear Jimmy trying to make everything somehow be all right. He didn't want to know what the director would think of him now, and he couldn't bear to look at Sarah and see her grief.

But mostly, he knew he could never face Abby Scuito. Abby, who was like a sister to him. Abby who loved McGee. Abby who would forgive him, he knew. But he would never forgive himself.

His last thought just before he fell into the black abyss, as he brought Tim's shirt up and held it close to his chest was of Abby and Tim. "I should have done more. I'm the senior agent. It's my job to keep people safe. Gibbs would have figured a way. I should have….I'm so sorry, Tim."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ NCIS ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A/N: Okay, I am a little sorry for the very evil cliffy. And, I'm going to be out of town several days next week, so I may not be able to update until after Memorial Day. That is why I've tried to post chapters more frequently this week, to make up for it. Please don't hate me, and I promise to post as soon as possible. I have the rest of the story outlined, and if I can, I'll post at least a short chapter on Monday before I leave. It just depends on my work schedule this weekend. Thanks for reading. caro june.