**Thanks so much for all the great reviews and for those who added this to your favorites and story alerts - I really appreciate it. In answer to a couple of questions, this is not based on any particular episode and the story will be non-slash.
*****
Gibbs pulled his car into the driveway and turned off the motor, glancing over at his passenger who immediately was jolted awake as soon as the car stopped. "We're here, Tony," he said needlessly.
"Yeah, guess we are." Tony nodded as he wearily rubbed his eyes then yawned. Damn, he felt like he could sleep for a week.
Gibbs raised an eyebrow, but said nothing as he pulled the keys out of the ignition and moved to exit the car. Tony took a deep breath to summon up some energy and opened the passenger side door. Once they got outside, everything seemed to happen in an instant. Out of the corner of his eye, Gibbs saw what he assumed to be the flash of a gun. "Tony!" he shouted a warning and made a move to retrieve his gun.
Dinozzo's senses heightened as his adrenaline kicked in. He went into alert mode and tried to grab for his own weapon.
"Either of you moves, the other one's gonna get his brains splattered all over the driveway," came a gruff voice from the darkness, just prior to the emergence of three men dressed in camouflage fatigues. Each was armed with a semi-automatic weapon and they didn't look like anyone you would want to play around with. "Now throw your guns on the ground, nice and easy."
Gibbs measured the situation and quickly concluded that there was nothing he could do without endangering Dinozzo. Almost imperceptibly he shook his head at his agent before tossing his weapon to the ground. Tony shot an uneasy glance at Gibbs but also realized that taking action was futile. With frustration evident on his face, he dropped his gun down next to Gibbs'.
Just then, a white van pulled up in front of the driveway. It effectively blocked the drama taking place, at least partially, from anyone who might be passing by. Bellingham got out of the vehicle and briefly surveyed the scene in front of him before speaking angrily. "What the hell is the hold up?" he hissed. "Cuff them and let's get out of here."
"We just weren't sure..." one of the men began uncertainly. He was very tall, at least 6'4" and heavily musclebound. "You know...he wasn't alone and..."
"Well unless I'm mistaken, Sheldon, you do have more than one set of handcuffs."
"Sheldon?" Tony couldn't help laughing in spite of the dire situation they were faced with. This guy looked like a steroid freak. He sure as hell didn't look like any Sheldon he had ever seen. "Oh man...you've got to be kidding me, Sheldon..."
"Shut the fuck up." Sheldon approached Tony and sadistically yanked his arms behind his back then securely fastened the cuffs onto the young agent's wrists as one of the other men did the same to Gibbs.
"Did you search them?" Bellingham asked impatiently. This was taking too long. He thought they would have already been well on their way with Gibbs by now.
"Just about to do that," one of the men mumbled, seeming to cower slightly under Bellingham's glare.
Gibbs and Dinozzo were quickly but expertly patted down. Their wallets, cell phones, badges, watches, even their knives were found and taken. After the search, the two men were escorted to the back of the van and roughly shoved inside. Sheldon and the guy who had cuffed Gibbs followed right behind them. They were forced to sit down with their backs against the side of the van and the door was slammed shut enveloping the men in total darkness. Moments later the engine of the van roared to life and they began their journey into the unknown.
*****
Gibbs wasn't at all surprised when after a few minutes of riding in total silence Tony spoke up. He sighed softly to himself, mentally urging him to be careful and not to make the situation worse than it already was. His agent never seemed to be able to keep quiet for very long unless forced to do so or when he was asleep, although Gibbs had witnessed Dinozzo to have multiple episodes of talking in his sleep in the past. "So...anyone want to clue me in on what exactly is going on here?" Tony asked.
His question was met with silence which only served to egg him on further. "Boss, you have any idea what this is all about?"
"Shut up." Sheldon's voice snarled out of the darkness.
Tony ignored Sheldon and continued speaking. "Because if you do, I'd really like to not be the only one in the dark, though I guess literally speaking we're all kind of in the dark at the moment," he ended with a chuckle.
"Are you deaf or just stupid?" Sheldon felt his anger rising with every word Tony said. He really couldn't stand this guy and was wishing they had left him behind with his brains strewn all over the pavement. A flashlight beam was flashed brightly in Tony's face causing him to blink his eyes several times against the sudden, harsh light.
"Well..."
"Dinozzo..." Tony could read the underlying tone in Gibbs' voice perfectly. He knew he was skating on thin ice and Gibbs wanted him to stop. Tempted to keep up with his game of seeing just how far he could push Sheldon's buttons, Tony finally decided to heed Gibbs' unspoken warning, at least for now, and the agent fell silent once again.
*****
Grateful for the silence in the van, Gibbs' mind was going a mile a minute as he tried to figure out what options he and Dinozzo had. Unfortunately, right now they seemed to be very limited. He had no idea at all what any of this was about. He hadn't recognized any of the men who were holding them including the ringleader. All he knew was that whatever this was about, it had to do with him and Dinozzo had unfortunately been in the wrong place at the wrong time. He wished he had just sent Tony home to his pizza or burger or whatever junk food he had wanted to eat. He sure as hell would have been a lot better off than he was now. He was jarred from his thoughts as the van came to a halt followed about a minute later by the sound of the van door beginning to open. The face of the ringleader stared in at him, an eerie smile on his face. "End of the line, boys."
*****
Gibbs and Dinozzo were none too gently escorted out of the van and they found themselves in a large parking garage. It appeared to be mostly deserted though, with just a few stray cars scattered about here and there.
"Come on, let's get moving," Bellingham ordered as he started on ahead. One man flanked Dinozzo and Gibbs on either side while Sheldon brought up the rear, taking great pleasure in thrusting his gun into Dinozzo's back whenever he wasn't moving quickly enough to suit him.
"Will you cut the crap!" Dinozzo yelled after one particularly painful thrust. He turned to face Sheldon, his eyes flashing with anger.
Sheldon's face reddened with rage. How dare this punk keep openly defying him? Without thinking, he swung his gun cruelly against Dinozzo's forehead, sending the agent crashing unceremoniously into Gibbs. Impaired drastically by his cuffed hands, Gibbs was only barely able to keep his balance, but Tony dizzily fell to the ground.
"Leave him alone, Sheldon!" Bellingham bellowed. He didn't have the time or the patience for any of this. He had thought this man was a professional, but he was acting like a schoolyard bully. "Get him up and stick to the agenda."
Sheldon vehemently yanked Dinozzo to his feet and they continued on their way.
"Are you alright, Tony?" Gibbs whispered as he looked at his agent with concern evident in his eyes. Tony's forehead was bleeding freely and the young man looked a little bit dazed.
"Fine, boss." Tony answered automatically, just concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other. "He'd been banged on the head plenty of times in the past. This time seemed no worse than any other time.
"Are you su…"
"Did I say you could talk, Agent Gibbs?" Bellingham turned around and Gibbs could see the pure hatred in his eyes. "Just shut the hell up and keep moving. I'm not going to tell you again…"
Gibbs stared at the man for a long moment, memorizing his facial features as best as he could before Bellingham turned away and started walking again. So far there was nothing at all that seemed even vaguely familiar to Gibbs about him. He really wished he had some idea of who he was so he would have some idea of how to address this situation.
The group of men reached an elevator, and were ushered inside, as Bellingham pressed the button for the basement level. Once the door opened, they proceeded along a dark corridor and walked some distance before they finally reached their destination. A solid metal door was opened and Gibbs and Dinozzo were shoved into the room behind it.
"Welcome to your new home, gentleman." Bellingham's laughter echoed loudly and the door was closed behind them with an ominous bang.