Gibbs kept listening for sounds that may indicate their captor was returning, even as he devoted most of his attention to his senior field agent. Despite Gibbs' efforts to keep the younger man talking, Tony had spent the last thirty minutes drifting in and out of awareness. The lead agent was growing increasingly worried as DiNozzo's brief periods of lucidity became few and far between.
"Tony. Hey, listen to me." Gibbs was still trying to keep his agent awake as they sat side-by-side against the wall. "What were you and Tim doing at the bank, anyway?"
DiNozzo looked at him blearily. "What?" he slurred.
"The bank, Tony," Gibbs repeated patiently. "What were you and Tim doing there?"
Gibbs was surprised by the response. "My fault…" DiNozzo mumbled incoherently.
"What was your fault?" The lead agent gently prodded.
"Won a bet…wanted my money…this is because...of me…I'm sorry…" Tony was hard to understand, but sounded as if he genuinely believed he was to blame for the entire wretched situation.
"Jesus. Give me a break, DiNozzo. None of this is your fault. It was just bad timing, that's all." The lead agent shook his head, adding silently, the kind of timing that seems to happen with you a lot, unfortunately.
Tony coughed weakly and winced at the stab of pain it caused in his head. Suddenly he could no longer keep the ever-present nausea under control and he found himself retching and vomiting onto the floor. Tony shuddered, his already weak body aching from the exertion.
Gibbs gently rubbed DiNozzo's back as the younger man emptied the meager contents of his stomach, then continued dry-heaving for a few minutes after. When it seemed he had finally finished, Gibbs carefully helped Tony relax against the wall, using his own body to support the trembling man.
"It's okay, Tony," Gibbs soothed quietly. "Go ahead and relax." He was still reluctant to let his agent go to sleep, but couldn't in good conscience keep him awake anymore, either. DiNozzo was clearly suffering, and the lead agent's fatherly instincts - not to mention his fondness for Tony - made it very hard for him to see the younger man so completely miserable.
DiNozzo groaned and shifted slightly against Gibbs, trying to find a more comfortable position. The zip-tie binding his hands together had become almost unbearably painful. Tony couldn't decide which was worse, the burning of his wrists or the pounding in his skull. He was having an extremely difficult time forming a coherent thought, but instinctively knew that Gibbs would take care of him and somehow get them both out of this. The feeling comforted the senior field agent for the second time that day and he relaxed.
Tony had finally settled against his boss, his breathing slowing as he dozed, when he was awakened by the loud opening of the heavy warehouse door. The senior field agent startled and while his vision was too fuzzy for him to clearly see the person standing in the doorway, he knew from the way Gibbs tensed that Bossman had returned.
"Just wanted to make sure you two weren't trying anything stupid, like an escape attempt." Now that it was no longer obscured by a ski mask, it was easy to see the malevolence written all over Bossman's face.
Gibbs snorted at the implication. "No need," he responded confidently. "My team will find us. They'll take you down."
Bossman laughed, an obnoxious sound that exacerbated Tony's already substantial headache. "Why don't you just shut up and go away?" DiNozzo offered weakly as his trademark stubbornness took over.
As had happened several times before, the gunman's demeanor changed without warning. He lunged menacingly at Tony, who was far too weak to put up any resistance. Gibbs tried to defend his agent, but with his hands literally tied he couldn't do much but protest loudly as Bossman dragged DiNozzo to his feet by the collar. Gibbs tried to stand but was immediately kicked back to the filthy ground. Their captor violently shook Tony for a few seconds before dropping the injured man in a heap on top of Gibbs.
Both NCIS agents grunted at the impact as Bossman switched moods yet again. Their captor laughed merrily as he turned to leave. The gunman was almost out the door when he spun on his heel and snapped his fingers. Gibbs struggled upright and glared at him.
"I almost forgot about what I actually came to tell you!" Bossman's tone was disturbingly cheerful. "I've set my brand-new plan into motion. It took me a little while, but I finally realized who you are. That would be Anthony DiNozzo of the massively wealthy Long Island DiNozzos, yes? I put in a call to daddy dearest just a few moments ago. If your father doesn't come up with five million dollars by six p.m. tomorrow evening, I'll sadly be forced to kill you both." The gunman did not look sad about the possibility at all, and after the surprising declaration he left the two agents alone once again.
Tony moaned, but this time it wasn't due solely to physical pain. Even through his fog, he now understood why Bossman had been insistent on keeping him, specifically, as a hostage. He gathered all of his strength and lifted his head to softly say, "I'm sorry, Boss. No way will my father ever pay a ransom for me," Tony paused to take a deep breath before continuing, "and he probably won't even bother to call the police and let them know there's been a demand."
Gibbs wasn't privy to all of the details, but he did know that Tony's relationship with his father - with his whole family, for that matter - was almost non-existent. However, having been a parent himself he could not even conceive of a man that would completely disregard a threat against his only son's life. No child could possibly do something so horrible as to deserve that, Gibbs thought furiously.
He spoke gently to his senior field agent. "Tony. Maybe your father-" To his surprise, DiNozzo did not even let him finish the thought.
"No. He won't even consider it. Not a chance. I'm sorry, Boss. We're going to die here. Because of me." And with that statement, Tony finally lost his valiant battle to remain conscious. He collapsed across the older man's lap without another word.