Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS.

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Twisted Brother

Chapter Fourteen

"Welcome To Hell, Agent David"

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Gibbs: If Gibbs had driven like a madman before, it was even worse now. He heard an ambulance in the distance and realized Ducky must have called them before he did. Of course, the doctor would be well aware that one way or another, at least one of the team would need medical care. Glancing back as he pulled up to the group waiting by the surveillance van, he grew more and more worried about McGee. He was just too quiet; he hadn't moved since he'd been found. Gibbs stomped on the brakes, opened the door and rushed around to the back seat, managing to get to his agent before Ducky or even Abby could. "You stay with me now, McGee. That's an order!"

Abby Scuito was not sure she could handle much more. If Tony was like a brother to her, Tim was closer in a different way. Though their relationship had changed over the years, she knew she loved him. And though she wasn't at all sure exactly what that meant, she desperately wanted the opportunity to find out. She watched as Ducky and Palmer hurried over to where McGee was lying, unmoving and too quiet. She waved frantically at the ambulance as it careened into the area, pointing the EMTs toward the car. And she felt Vance come up beside her, heard him utter some kind of comforting words. But she didn't approach the car. She just wasn't sure she wanted to know how badly Timmy was hurt.

Gibbs stepped back and watched as Dr. Mallard examined his wounded agent, and saw as his care was efficiently handled by the ME and then the EMTs. He made eye contact with Ducky and saw him shake his head ever so slightly, but he did it with a slight smile. The two men had been coworkers for so long—no, that wasn't right—he and Ducky were way past being just coworkers. They were friends and could almost read each other's minds. He knew Ducky was letting him know that while Agent McGee was in very bad shape, there was still hope.

As Tim was bundled up and placed in the waiting ambulance, Gibbs came over to him, wishing he would open his eyes. He wanted to tell the young man that he had done great. He wanted to assure him that they would find Tony. And he really wanted to know if Tim could give him any information on DiNozzo. But Tim's eyes remained closed. Gibbs looked at the senior EMT, who had assessed McGee. The question on the team leader's face was easy to read.

"I just don't know yet, sir. He's stable, but he's not in very good shape. I'm not sure if he has any internal injuries and head wounds are tricky at best. We'll get him to the landing area, and fly him to Bethesda. Unless you want him to go to Washington Hospital Center instead?"

Ducky joined in the conversation. "No, Bethesda has the best neurological staff. He should go there." Gibbs nodded. "Go with him Ducky. Call me as soon as you know anything." Ducky's response was immediate. "Of course, Jethro. And you do the same as soon as you have information on Anthony and Ziva."

It was at this point that Abby's composure reasserted itself. "Wait!" She hurried over to McGee's side. Gently placing her hand on his cheek, she leaned over and brushed her lips across his nose, the only part of his face that wasn't bleeding, bruised or bandaged. "You listen to me now Very Special Agent Timothy McGee. We have a lot of computers still to hack, and cases that won't solve themselves. The team needs you. Tony needs you and Gibbs, well, he really needs you. He can't even turn his phone on without your help. So you hurry up and get better. And…I need you, Timmy. We aren't through yet, you and I." Gibbs wasn't the least bit surprised when he saw McGee's eyes move. Though he did not wake up, somehow, he knew that Tim had heard Abby. And that he was responding to her.

"He'll be fine Abs. He wouldn't dare disobey both of us."

As soon as the ambulance left, sirens blaring and lights flashing, Gibbs turned to the waiting team. "Let's get busy people. We have some tracking to do. We need to find Tony and Ziva and we need to do it now."

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Ziva David: Ziva let herself continue to weep softly. Like Gibbs, she was very aware that Mehi was not in the van. She figured either the man was a coward, and did not want to face them outright; or he was simply playing it safe. She hoped they wouldn't be going too far. She was extremely anxious to see Tony. After seeing the condition Tim was in and knowing Tony had already been recovering from the earlier gunshot wound, she feared he could be in even worse shape.

Shifting around until she was sitting up, she tried to look around, knowing the team would be receiving data from the chip in her glasses. But the interior of the van was dark; there were no windows in the back. Still she decided she would try for some information.

Crawling forward, she leaned over the back of the seat. "Excuse me." She had to concentrate, to not only keep her voice sounding timid, but to try very hard to eliminate her Israeli accent. That was the most difficult thing she had faced so far. "Where are you taking me? Where is Agent DiNozzo? And when will you let me go? I want to see my brother." Adding a hitching sob to her voice, she managed to get to her knees, and directed her gaze out the front window. They were driving on a country road, and though there weren't too many landmarks, she hoped Gibbs and the others could find something that was helpful.

The man in the passenger seat turned around. "Shut up lady. And sit down. The boss said if you don't stay on the floor, we tie you up." Ziva quickly sat back down; she did not want to be tied and she hoped the little she had seen would be enough to help. "No, please don't. I'll stay put."

The ride seemed to go on forever, and the roads got increasingly bumpier as the time went on. Finally, after she estimated they had been driving for about two hours, she felt the van slowing. Deciding to risk a look, she quietly got to her knees again. But just as she peered over the seat, the man turned.

"Lady," he threatened. "I ain't got no problem smacking you, woman or not. Now sit down, shut up and don't get up again." Ziva complied; again, she didn't want to be tied up or unconscious. Neither of those options would help Tony at all. "I'm sorry." She said softly.

She had only caught a brief glimpse of the outside before returning to the floor; there were some trees and she had spotted some kind of cement structures in the distance. She hoped that was not their destination, knowing that if it was, the tracking devices Abby had so carefully provided her with might not be of much use.

It was only another few minutes before the van halted. Ziva waited, hunched over and trying to look frightened; not wanting to risk being tied up. The doors were pulled open and she raised her head slowly, pretending to look at the men who were advancing on her. In actuality, she was directing her gaze over their shoulders. Nothing was in sight except for trees. A lot of trees. Mostly Eastern Red Cedars, but she saw several other varieties as well. And hopefully, if nothing else, though she knew the Cedars were plentiful all over the area, Abby or someone would be able to help identify where they were.

Before Ziva could look around much more, she was grabbed roughly by the arms. The taller of the two men towered over her. Ziva wanted nothing more than to kick him in the balls, but she knew that would be out of character. So instead she cowered, whimpering and shaking. As he hauled her out of the van, she started wildly shaking her head, again pretending a fear she did not feel to cover her anger. She caught a glimpse of the cement buildings and her heart sank as she realized that was where they were likely holding Tony. Before she could see much more, her glasses were removed.

"No!" she cried. "I can't see without them, please, I need my glasses." But the man ignored her, and instead put a blindfold on her. "I might give them back once you're inside; if the boss says so." And with that, Ziva was led away. "Please, where are you taking me? Don't let me fall!" She made her voice as loud as she dared, hoping the audio would still pick up. As she felt stairs beneath her feet and smelled the dank and moist odors that got worse as they descended farther down, she knew their chances of being found had just gone from bad to worse. "No, wait, please, I hate the dark. Do not —don't take me down here. Please!" She dug her feet in, trying to slow their descent. This time one of the men slapped her. Though it only made her angrier, she kept quiet, again understanding she would be of no use if she was knocked out.

Finally, they came to a landing. She heard a door being unlocked. Her keen hearing picked up the sound of metal hinges being scraped against cement. She was pushed inside, her blindfold was pulled off, the door began closing, and she heard maniacal laugher from somewhere behind her. As her vision adjusted, she caught sight of Special Agent DiNozzo, lying still and silent in the corner. Turning, trying to see who was laughing, all she saw was the door swinging shut. And then she heard a man's voice.

"Welcome to hell, Agent David."

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Surveillance Van: Gibbs had quickly taken charge. As soon as the ambulance was out of sight, he had climbed in the van and asked Jenkins if he had a line on David.

Jenkins indicated the monitor in front of him. "It's not much; looks like she's still in the van. She's been looking around, but the light is bad. We'd better start following; this thing only has a range of a couple of miles or so."

Gibbs looked to Mallory who was in the driver's seat, and already had the van running. "Go, go. Don't lose her." With that, they headed west. The hardest thing was staying close enough to keep contact, without giving their position away. While Gibbs was sure Mehi must know he would follow, he figured there must be some way the criminal had planned to keep them from being able to locate the two agents.

It was crowded inside their vehicle; Jenkins was in the seat in front of the monitor, the place where normally McGee would be sitting. Abby was perched behind him, watching carefully and making suggestions to clean the picture up. Vance was in the passenger seat, next to Bryce, looking over his shoulder at the action going on behind him. He hadn't said much yet; not wanting to distract Gibbs or the others. Palmer was in the back, and he was clutching his medical bag, well aware that he could end up being Tony's best chance for survival. He just hoped his efforts and knowledge would be enough.

Gibbs was the only one not sitting down. Even in the confines of the van, he somehow managed to convey the image of pacing. His anger and worry had been pent up for too long; he wanted a chance to vent it in the worst way. And he was ready to implore any God who would listen that the target of his wrath would end up being Mehi. Next to finding his agents alive and getting Tony the medical help he needed, he wanted nothing more than to kill the bastard who had done this. He didn't even need to do it slowly. He just wanted him dead. He wanted this over and he wanted his team back.

Jenkins suddenly sat up a little straighter, just as Abby pointed. "There!" Gibbs stopped his internal raging and barked, "What?" The monitor suddenly flashed with light and color. Obviously Ziva was trying to give them some information. The audio feed was scratchy, but Gibbs could hear what was being said. He noticed Ziva's line of sight lingered just a little longer before she complied with the orders and sat back down.

Jenkins immediately began running longitude and latitude information, using the GPS system. Zeroing in, he called out directions to Bryce. Nothing more happened for quite some time, close to 90 minutes. They were traveling west by southwest, and the roads got progressively worse. As they started kicking up dust from the gravel, Gibbs reluctantly gave the order to slow down. He didn't want to get too far behind, but wasn't ready yet to give away their position.

Just as Abby was getting discouraged again, there was another brief flash, as Ziva apparently tried to look out the front window. She was once again made to sit down, but it gave Jenkins one more point of reference. A few short minutes later, Gibbs was forced to call a halt, as the van carrying Agent David slowed to a stop. Knowing they were probably within a two – four mile radius, it was difficult to wait. But finally, light entered the back of the van. They could see what Ziva saw.

The picture was jerky, and they caught a quick glimpse of a large stand of Red Cedars, and maybe some sort of structure. Then all could hear her cries of "No." The picture went black; as it was obvious her glasses were removed. Whether this meant that Mehi was already onto them, or he was just being cautious, Gibbs didn't know.

The audio continued for a few more minutes. They could hear shuffling, and Ziva's soft cries. Knowing she was simply trying to give them more information, Gibbs listened as hard as he could, snapping his fingers at Jenkins, silently begging him to somehow clean up the sound. The audio got worse, but he could just make out her words. Something about not taking her down, and being dark. Then the sound of a slap, and after that, nothing. The audio feed stopped abruptly.

Vance had been holding his breath as everything took place. When no one said anything, he broke the pervading silence. "Tell me you got a fix on her before we lost her."

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DiNozzo and David: Ziva's head snapped around when she heard the words. Realizing there would be little point in denying what the man had somehow figured out, she defiantly tossed her head.

"Thank you, Mr. Mehi. I can see you have resided here for a long time already. If I need anything in hell, I will be sure to ask you." With that she ignored the man who stood behind the door, continuing to laugh hysterically. Instead she hurried over to Tony, praying he was still alive. With a hand that should not have been so shaky, she carefully reached out, almost afraid to touch him. After what had been done to McGee, she was not so sure she wanted to learn her partner's fate. But Ziva was not a coward.

"Get a grip, David," she murmured. As her fingers gently pressed against the carotid artery in Tony's neck, she was rewarded with two things at once. First, she felt the faint, but fast fluttering indicating he still had a heart beat. And second, the sweetest words she'd heard in a long time reached her ears.

"Talking to 'self, Ziva? Tha's . . . bad sign . . . ." Tony's voice was for too weak and ended with a gut wrenching cough that left him listless and panting in short breaths. But it was like music to her ears.

"Easy, DiNozzo, don't try to talk. Here, let me help you." She instinctively knew Tony was in very bad shape. He didn't even pretend to argue, but instead reached his left hand toward her, grasping her arm with surprising strength.

"Gotta' sit up; can't breathe." His words were almost whispered and she could hear the agony in his voice that he wasn't even trying to cover up. Gently, she braced him with her right arm and guided him to a sitting position. "Let me see how bad it is, Tony. Maybe I can help." After he was more or less sitting, she leaned him into the corner. Once she was sure he wouldn't just topple over, she began carefully probing. Tony closed his eyes and tried to stay quiet and stoic. But he had been through so much it was all he could do not to scream as nerve endings roared back to life.

As her hands felt along his arms, she reached his right shoulder. Sucking in his breath as she found the broken collar bone, he squeezed her wrist. "Easy, Ziva. Hurts."

Ziva closed her own eyes for just a second, but continued checking him. "Tony, you have several broken ribs." She laid her head against his chest, listening to his breath sounds. "You may have a punctured lung. And probably pneumonia."

As if to give credence to her words, a deep cough, starting low in his chest, and sounding wet worked its way up. Tony's vision faded as the wracking coughs continued. Finally, he laid his head back, completely spent and exhausted. After catching his breath, he let a sigh escape. "Been takin' doctor lessons?"

Ziva continued her examination, now working her hands along his legs. She hesitated to go anywhere near the wound in his thigh, but knew she needed some idea of what she was dealing with. "Brace yourself, DiNozzo. I need to check this." She carefully pulled at the remains of his sweat pants, the ones he'd been wearing when they had been kidnapped. The material was stuck to the wound, and after trying to ease it away and feeling his body tense and hearing the beginnings of another gut wrenching cough, she pulled her hand away. "Never mind, I can feel the heat from the wound from here. It is obviously infected again."

Tony was trying not to cough, and trying not to give in to the scream of anguish that wanted to escape. He didn't even try to come back with a smart remark. He was just inordinately glad not to be alone, even though it meant Ziva was now in danger as well. Since Tim had died….suddenly he sat up straight, ignoring the pain. Tim! How could he have forgotten?

"Tony, what is it? Is something else hurting? Did I miss something?" In her haste to check her partner, Ziva had forgotten that Tony most likely thought McGee was dead. So when he turned his eyes toward her in the dim light, she was not prepared for the look of torment in them.

"Tim?" he managed to gasp the one word out, before yet another agonizing cough stopped him.

"Oh, gods, Tony, I am so sorry!" Ziva opened her mouth to tell him the news that Tim was still alive. But before she could, all the color drained from his face and he uttered a few heartbreaking words before his consciousness fled. "No! Tim, no, no…"

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Surveillance Van: Gibbs slammed his fist against the side of the van. "Damn it!" Vance knew then that they had lost her. And though they were close, there was a lot of territory to cover and darkness was falling fast.

It was at that moment Gibbs' phone rang. "Jethro!" Ducky's voice sounded positive and upbeat. "I hope you can stand a little good news for a change."

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A/N: Okay, a not so evil cliffy for you. One or maybe two more chapters to go, I think. This story seems to have a mind of its own – just when I think I know where it is going, it takes another left turn. But I THINK I have most of the rest of it outlined. I'll try hard to post another chapter tomorrow. You are all awesome. Thanks so much for the kind reviews. Blessings! Caro