He'd passed out at some point, exhaustion and dehydration getting the better of him. It was morning, when he heard the voices.
Was it the voices in his mind returning ? ...no…they didn't speak Italian.
Something bumped into him, jarring his body, reminding him painfully of his side which he'd hurt when the chopper went down.
Cracking his eyes open, he saw an expanse of white.
He heard a woman's voice. "Fermati! Proprio la'. Esatto. O, mio Dio... Matteo, uno di loro... sembra
morto. Fa in fretta! Sbrigati!"
It was a boat...a yacht of some type. He tried to keep his eyes open but...he was so tired…
Hands reached for him.
"Tienilo per le spalle... sì, così." It was a man's voice now."Io ho le gambe."
He was lifted up onto the deck of the boat, the line to O'Shea still pulling until they took off his life jacket. He heard them pull his body on board as well.
"Maria, radio la polizia, dì loro che abbiamo trovato qualcuno in acqua. Torniamo in porto. Sembra ferito... L'altro... è con Dio adesso." A gentle hand checked Tony's pulse and stroked his face for a moment.
He suddenly realized he had heard the word radio... Oh God…The Phantom could pick up the transmission, Latham might hear it..."No!" he rasped out. "No radio...Per favore…no radio...too dangerous! Morta !" He struggled to remember any words he could to make them understand. "If they hear you...they'll kill us all..." he coughed a bit. "Morte...all of us...please!" The coughing fit worsened and he felt like the world was spinning.
"Va bene, va bene signore. No radio. Tranquillo... per favore..." The voice soothed.
He nodded, still unable to open his eyes. He said softly, "Cagliari...Navy...U.S. Navy base..."
He heard them talking in low voices, presumably looking at O'Shea.
"Portiamoli in porto e la' troveremo dei poliziotti - " He heard the man say, and their voices started sounding far away... " L'uniforme è americana..…"
And then darkness claimed him again.
(End Flashback)
He had stopped talking, and looked off to the side for a while. He hadn't told them the part about Gibbs...he would never betray him like that to Jarvis.
Gibbs saw the strain...Tony looked so close to cracking now, it was coming off the younger man in waves, and he was trembling. It had taken a toll on him, going over what had happened to O'Shea. The observation room was silent except for the occasional sniffle from Ziva.
Vance had told Gibbs, Brian O'Shea's body was being shipped stateside, and coming straight to Ducky.
Jarvis cleared his throat, bringing Tony out of the daze he'd gone into.
"So..." Tony said softly," the rest, you know. They took us in to the Carabinieri, the Sardinian Police, who took us straight to the Cagliari Navy base. They called you...and here I am."
Jarvis shook his head. "This is almost too much to believe."
Tony's posture changed, as he stared at Jarvis. "You want proof Clay? Well, then, let's get it! There are at least 700 patriots in that fleet who have no idea how Latham is using O.N.I. to sell us out. He's already done incredible damage to the country…you tell him I'm alive yet, by the way?" Tony looked at him intensely, waiting for his response.
"No, I haven't spoken to him about you, and was careful to control communications from Cagliari. I wasn't aware you had been on the ship….or the MH-60. He doesn't know."
Tony looked down again, his jaw working a little in anger.
Jarvis sighed." I believe you, Tony."
Tony nodded, and let out a long breath. "He's coming after you, and when he finds out I'm alive, he'll try for me too. And we have about two weeks or less before he sells that microchip." Tony looked up at him, expectantly. "I'd figure since you helped make this mess, you'll wanna' clean it up."
Jarvis nodded and sighed. "We'll have to figure out what the next move is."
"Whatever it is, it better be good. And I want in."
"You're not in any shape-"
"They gave me 120 volts, a few times a day, ," Tony hissed, tilting his head, "Don't you think that's earned me a little closure?"
Jarvis was silent for a moment.
"Agent DiNozzo, I think we're done for now. I'm sure your team is looking forward to seeing you, and you probably need more medical attention as well." He got up from the table.
"I wanna' know what you're planning to do about this, Mr. Secretary, "Tony said, a bit loudly.
Tony 's eyes glittered at Jarvis with fury. He stood up quickly…too quickly.
Suddenly, his expression changed, and he looked dazed, and leaned his one hand on the table. A painful frown now crept across his face as he pinched his eyes closed, holding the one arm tight to his body.
Gibbs knew what was coming. He turned quickly to the door, "Get in there, Duck. Now. He's at the end of his damned rope..." They all ran after him into the hallway.
They saw Tony on the floor when they burst open the door, Jarvis leaning over him and calling to him.
"I think you've done enough, Mr. Secretary," Gibbs said angrily, putting his hand on Jarvis's shoulder.
Jarvis backed off while Ducky quickly kneeled at Tony's side.
Tony had simply collapsed, face up on the floor, one leg bent and opposite arm splayed out from his side.
Ziva and McGee stood back, wanting to do something, but as Jarvis started walking out to Vance in the hallway, Gibbs caught the Israeli's movement from the corner of his eye.
He grabbed her arm, and she looked at him. He saw the revenge, brightly burning in her eyes.
"Not now," he said quietly. He didn't blame her. He wanted to shoot Jarvis himself.
"But…Gibbs-" she said in a strangled whisper.
"Let's worry about Tony, for now," he nodded towards the agent on the floor, who let out a small moan.
She stared into his ice blue eyes for a moment, and nodded, body relaxing, and suddenly looking back at Tony.
"He's got a fever," Ducky said, as he opened the top buttons of Tony's shirt to give him access with a stethoscope.
That's when McGee gasped.
Now they got a taste of the reality, around Tony's neck and just a small patch of his chest was bruising in a collage of colors. They could almost date the weeks of abuse he'd suffered.
Gibbs knew there was probably a lot worse underneath his friend's clothing. He swore under his breath, heart aching.
"Oh'" Ducky said sadly, "my poor boy. I'm so sorry for what you went through." He looked at Gibbs. "We should get him to Bethesda."
It killed Gibbs to say it. "No. Too dangerous. Stratton almost got to him there before. We can't risk they'll find out. You'll have to check him out downstairs, Duck. If it's anything life threatening, that's another story. They also gave him a once over at the base. For now…"
"He's in too much danger," McGee finished.
Gibbs nodded. He turned to kneel on the other side of Tony, while Ducky got something out of his live kit.
"Tony," Gibbs gently tapped at his face, noting the heat coming off his skin, as well as a few spots where it was peeling slightly from being burned a few days previously.
He saw Tony's head move slightly, but nothing else. He frowned with worry.
"Duck, he just passed out, right?" Gibbs said as he saw Ziva sneak around him to take Tony's hand in her two smaller ones.
"Yes, Jethro, I believe so. But…this should help," Ducky held a small vial under Tony's nose. Ammonia.
His eyes flew open, and he gasped and coughed a bit.
"DiNozzo," Gibbs said more loudly, "you with us?"
"Yeah Boss," he choked out, blinking, and said weakly "but…I had the strangest dream…and you were there." Then he pointed at Ducky and said ,"and you were there…" then at Ziva, "and you were there…"
She looked confusedly at Gibbs as he snorted, a little smile on his lips.
"Come on," he said, helping Tony slowly sit up, "let's get you downstairs so Duck can get a better look at you."
Tony's eyes were semi-closed as they all helped him up and out of the room.
He muttered in a sleepy voice, "There's no place like home, Boss…"
TRANSLATION OF ITALIAN
***"Fermati! Proprio la'. Esatto. O, mio Dio... Matteo, uno di loro... sembra morto. Fa in fretta! Sbrigati!"
(Stop! Right there. That's it. Oh, my God…Matteo, one of them...Looks dead. Hurry! Hurry!)
***"Tienilo per le spalle... sì, così. Io ho le gambe."
(Get his shoulders…yes like that. I've got his legs.)
***"Maria, radio la polizia, dì loro che abbiamo trovato qualcuno in in porto. Sembra ferito... L'altro... è con Dio adesso. "
(Maria, radio the police, tell them we found someone in the water. And let's head for port. He looks injured…The other one… is with God now.)
***"Va bene, va bene signore. No radio. Tranquillo... per favore." The voice soothed.
(Okay, okay, mister. No radio. Easy…please.)
***"Portiamoli in porto e la' troveremo dei poliziotti -" He heard the man say, and their voices started sounding far away... "L'uniforme è americana..."
(Let's just take them to port and get the police there. The uniforms are American.)