Okay, don't own them, never have… never will. Poor Abby, she's stuck right in the middle of this mess. Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I'm giving fair warning. This chapter is a bit violent and alludes to some disturbing things. If that will bother you, please don't continue. If that seems to be your cup of tea, then please travel forth and read the next chapter in our journey.
Sunset
Don't lose hope. When the sun goes down, the stars come out. -- Unknown
The room was dark, dank, and cold and she could find no comfortable place to sit without getting chilled. She had been in her fair share of scary places, several graveyards in fact, hell she slept in a coffin, but Abby was scared. She had been sitting alone in this dark room for what had felt like an eternity, and she didn't know how much more she could stand. No one had spoken to her since they had held the phone to her mouth so she could speak to Gibbs. She hadn't seen Eve since then either. The men had dragged her out, blindfolded with her hands tied tightly together. Though she was alone and scared, Abby was working hard at holding herself together.
When she had awakened in the room she had crawled over to Eve to make sure that she was okay, and had found the spy groggy but awake. Eve had looked at her and had whispered in an urgent voice, "Abby, I don't care what they do or what you hear. Do not let them see you cry. Do not show them any weakness. I know these guys, they're sharks and you do not want them to see blood in the water. They're going to use you to get Tony and Gibbs to do something. I'm not sure what. They don't want you, so be as cooperative as you can so they don't hurt you. Don't think about anything but surviving. Now, I need you to do something for me."
"What?"
"Memorize as much about them and this place as you can and when they open that door you walk out of here without a backward glance. Don't think about me or anything else except getting back to NCIS. Can you do that?"
"What's going to happen to you?"
Eve had averted her eyes, she had hoped that Abby wouldn't ask that particular question. She was silent for the longest time before she finally responded. "You don't want to know. I'm a spy, I've been expecting this moment for my entire career. It happens to all of us…eventually. I'm just surprised it took this long."
A few minutes after that their captors had walked into the room and blindfolded Eve then drug her out finally returning a few minutes later with a cell phone to call Gibbs. Mindful of Eve's advice and not liking what she had seen in the other man's eyes, Abby had cooperated when the call had been placed. Once the phone had been disconnected, Davis had given Abby a cold stare and had walked from the room without a backwards glance. After the door slammed shut she had curled into a knot and started to pray for someone to find them.
Jeff Davis enjoyed his work. He had been one of the best interrogators the Company had ever trained, and he had loved his job. Right now he was feeling a bit of frustration as he attempted to question his captive. She was stubborn, no doubt about it. "Agent Dupree, this would go much faster if you'd just tell me where Anthony DiNozzo, Sr. is hiding. There's no need to you to experience pain. Why fight?" Davis circled the chair he'd tied his captive to and tested the point of his knife against his thumb. It sliced through the skin easily, just as he had expected. Now, where could he cut this time to cause the most pain? Hmmm, he looked at the woman tied in front of him and sighed. She was tougher than he'd imagined; John had taught her well. He decided to stop, take some video of her condition and send it to NCIS for Agents Gibbs and DiNozzo to see. It would give them a bit of motivation to do what he wanted. He turned to leave to grab his camera and was stopped by a raspy voice behind him.
"What do you want with Tony's father?" She could barely speak, her throat was covered in fingerprint shaped bruises and she'd had no water in 24 hours.
Davis turned and looked at the woman sitting before him. Her face, except for the bruise on her jaw, was unmarked; he had told his men explicitly to not touch her face. They had reserved the worst of their attentions to the rest of her body. He smiled, remembering the morning's "session" with a flush of pleasure. He had thoroughly enjoyed it, but he was certain she hadn't. He decided to humor her with an answer. "He has something of mine. I want my thirty million dollars. You know exactly what I mean. I want the money that you and Agent DiNozzo cost me. It's mine, and I will have it."
Eve had been gasping for air earlier after a vigorous beating that had been concentrated on her chest and stomach. She coughed and could taste the metallic flavor of blood as it exploded on her tongue; she narrowed her eyes and thought for a second. He was after money. She shouldn't be surprised; he had betrayed his country for it. "What makes you think that Tony's father is going to give you anything for me?"
"Not for you, for him. We're going to exchange the lovely Ms. Scuito for him, and his father will pay for his safety."
"What have you done with Abby?"
"Now, now, she's unharmed. It's no fun to play with someone who can't take it. She'd be no challenge at all. She's still sitting in the room we left her in."
Eve closed her eyes wearily and sighed. "Anthony DiNozzo, Sr. is not going to pay thirty million dollars for a son he has only spoken to a handful of times in the last 20 years or so. I don't know whose crack pipe you've been smoking, but it's just not going to happen."
Davis' fist cocked back and delivered a hard punch to her cheek. She felt the pain explode from her jaw all the way up to the roots of her hair. She hissed in pain as she felt her skin split and blood begin to pour from the wound.
"Shut your mouth, bitch! If you say another word then I'm going to make you regret it."
Baiting him was a really bad idea, but she couldn't seem to stop herself. Eve chuckled darkly, the pain beginning to set in and scream inside her head like white noise. "Make up your mind. First you want me to talk; now you're threatening me to keep my mouth closed. What, do you have multiple personalities in there?"
Davis turned red with rage and nodded to his subordinate. The large man cut Eve's bonds and dragged her to the back room and tossed her on the floor. Davis followed and entered the room. He gave her a smug smile and said in a silky tone, "I told you I'd make you regret it…" He slowly closed the door behind him with a click.
Abby looked up fearfully as the door to her cell opened up and two men dragged a limp body inside. She tried not to shake as they came close to her to leave their burden. They gave her nary a glance when they dropped the body and left the room as quietly as they had come.
Abby felt tears rise into her light green eyes, and she pushed them back stubbornly. She quickly assessed Eve's injuries as best she could in the dim light. She looked okay…from the neck up. She had been punched in the face a few times, but that wasn't too bad. It was from the neck down that worried her. She looked as though someone had been strangling her, stopping, then starting over again. She had cuts on her torso and bruises everywhere. "Eve, are you awake?"
Her voice was almost painful to hear when she finally spoke. "Abby?"
"Uh Huh, I'm here."
Eve coughed and curled on her side before she spoke again. "Listen to me. I overheard him a few minutes ago. He's going to come in here with a video camera and take some footage to send to Gibbs. Can you sign quickly enough to get a message to them"
Abby gave her first smile since this whole ordeal had started. "Yeah. What should I tell him?"
"We're down by the waterfront in an abandoned warehouse. Tell them to check my bag. Tony'll know which one. There's something in there that will help them get us out of here. Can you tell them all that?"
"I think so. I'll try anyway."
Eve began to cough again, bringing up copious amounts of blood as she choked and struggled to breathe. "Those last few kicks to the ribs…" She paused to cough again then finally just put her head on the damp floor in defeat. She glanced at Abby. The other woman was working hard to keep her fear under control, and Eve felt a surge of pride in her friend. It took a special kind of person to keep it together whilst sitting in a dark room alone. "You've done great Abby. Let's…try…and…get a clue to your team so they can get you out."
"What about you? Gibbs'll never leave anyone behind! He's gonna find us both. He's Gibbs after all!" The faith in her voice was like a balm to Eve's soul, but she was also a realist.
"When they finish taking the video he's going to drag me out for more fun and games. Davis will kill me before anyone gets here. Just promise me you'll take care of Tony for me. Tell him that I love him."
Abby shook her head violently. "NO! You tell him yourself when Gibbs gets us both out of here. You wouldn't let me give up or be scared, so I'm not cutting you any slack! You will get out of here. Do you hear me, Agent Dupree?"
Eve chuckled and squeezed Abby's hand in hers. "Yes Ma'am." She fell silent again, racking her brain, trying desperately to formulate any kind of advantage. "If I can get one of them to drop a cell phone, could they find us?"
Abby nodded her head vigorously. "Definitely. McGee could use the GPS to find us once we call them, but how…" She stopped when she heard voices outside the door and grasped Eve's hand tighter.
The two women clung to each other for comfort when the door opened again to admit Davis and two of his associates. He pointed at both women and snapped, "Stand them up! It's magic time."
Abby let herself be stood up, keeping to her promise not to fight back. The man was quite gentle and didn't even squeeze her arm. He helped her balance and patted her back in a slightly embarrassed way. She gave him a tremulous smile and watched as the other man grabbed Eve by one of her arms and roughly pulled her up.
She had been waiting for this moment. They had made a fatal error by not tying her hands and ankles after that last "session", and she planned on using her last bit of her reserves to make them pay for it. She knew they intended to kill her anyway and she might as well go out fighting. As soon as she was standing she shifted her weight to pull her guard off balance and caught him with a quick knee to his solar plexus. He doubled over, gasping for air which gave her enough time to follow up with several more kicks, using her shin bone as a weapon. Davis grabbed her from behind dropping his camera in the fray; the pair fell to the ground struggling and fighting for leverage. He finally subdued her with a knife pressed against her throat.
"Don't make me slit your throat right here in front of your friend."
She instantly stilled and watched Abby with wide eyes.
Davis looked at his broken camera with disgust and stood up. "Let's go, we need another camera!" He gave a few vicious kicks to her ribs just for spite and left the room followed by one guard who was still gasping for air, and the other who had clearly become enamored of Abby. He gave her a smile as he released her and left.
Abby immediately dropped to her knees and asked, "Did you get one?"
"Eve gave a smile that was more like a pain filled grimace and pulled her hand from behind her back. "Yeah. Davis had your cell phone in his pocket for some reason. He probably wanted to use it to taunt Gibbs. That wasn't a smart move. Call Gibbs." The pain threatened to overwhelm her, and she was fighting nausea from the last few kicks. Finally she gave in and rolled over on her side, and started to vomit, all the while letting the tears flow.
Abby quickly dialed, her hands shaking with adrenaline. He had to answer… he just had too. Finally, she heard, "Gibbs."
When his phone began to ring, Gibbs answered it without checking the caller ID. He knew that the bastard that had Abby would call soon enough with more taunts. His voice was rough from caffeine and no sleep when he said, "Gibbs."
Abby almost cried in relief when she heard his voice on the other end of the line. "GibbsGIbbsGibbs, trace this call NOW!"
He snapped his fingers at McGee. "McGee, trace the number calling my cell phone NOW!" He gripped the phone tightly and asked, "Abbs, are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Eve's hurt, but I'm okay; they didn't' lay a hand on me at all. Hurry up. They're coming back soon. I'm going to have to go and hide this phone so they can't find it."
"We're coming for you, Abby."
She interrupted to say, "We're on the waterfront in a warehouse, and Eve says for Tony to check her bag. She has something in there to help us escape. He should know what I'm talking about."
"Okay…"
"Gotta go, Gibbs. They're coming. HURRY, please please hurry!"
The phone went dead in his hand and he fought the urge to throw it against the wall. He looked at McGee who was busily typing.
"The phone is still on Boss. I'm tracing the GPS now and the phone signal is located in the old wharf area."
"DiNozzo!"
"Yeah Boss?"
"Get Eve's bag. Abby said that she had something in there to help us."
Tony looked blankly at Gibbs for a second and then gave his first smile in a day. He grabbed the bag from under his desk and pulled out two blocks of C4 explosive. "Can we use this?"
Ziva walked over and looked at the items with interest. She gave a small smirk and said, "Gibbs, I believe I can fashion a surprise for our friends that should distract them enough to allow us the upper hand."
Gibbs nodded in satisfaction. His team was worried and nervous, but they were still thinking. "Get on it. I'm going to update the director. Be ready to leave in five minutes!"
Ziva immediately took control of the C4 and began to work, completely ignoring both Tony and McGee. Her brow furrowed in concentration as she rapidly designed what she had in mind.
Tony watched her, fascinated by what she was doing. He finally stirred himself to interrupt, "Do they train all of you crazy spies to play with explosives?"
Ziva glanced up. She could see the concern he was hiding behind his light tone. "How many times have you seen me disarm an explosive device?"
"I don't know, several?"
"Well, then would it not stand to reason that I can build one as well as disarm it?"
"Uh, yeah, I guess…" His observation was interrupted by Gibbs storming back in the room.
"Grab your gear! Abby's waiting!"
Abby and Eve sat huddled together each offering the other as much comfort as they could. They had done all they could, and now it was up to Tony and Gibbs. All they could do was wait and hope. The room was silent, the darkness interrupted only by a dripping coming from the far corner. The door was thrown open and a monster stormed into the room, his face a mask of rage.
Davis was furious that these two had ruined his plans and released his frustration with a scream. "Where's the goddamn cell phone!"
Gibbs quickly pulled the car up a slight distance away from the warehouse indicated by the GPS signal. He looked at everyone. "Vests on everyone, take no chances. If you get a shot, take this bastard out. Nobody takes our people and gets away with it. Ziva, what have you got?"
She held up two small devices she had made. "They are crude, but I believe that they will do the trick."
Gibbs nodded, "Good work, go plant them where you think they'll do the most good. McGee, go with Ziva. You take the back. Tony, you're with me."
"On your six, Boss!"
"Ziva you blow those on my mark, got it?"
"I've got it."
The quartet slowly approached the warehouse and divided into pairs. Ziva and McGee quickly planted her explosives at a point outside the front of the old building and one outside the back as well. With weapons drawn they quickly reconnoitered the area around the building, finding no threats they approached the main door. Gibbs, with Tony following close behind, peered in the dirty broken windows. He signaled for Tony to stop then whispered into his microphone. "Three…two…one…mark."
As soon as she heard the whispered command she pressed the button on her detonator. A second later the evening air was filled with two loud explosions.
