Author's Note: Thank you so much for all your nice reviews. I have tried to thank everyone individually and if I inadvertently missed anyone, I apologize. I had hoped to get this out sooner, but real life interferes sometimes. I know things are still a little bit slow going but it should start to heat up a bit in the next chapter. Enjoy J

*****

Tony and Gibbs stumbled into the room as the door slammed shut behind them.

"Well, this certainly isn't the Hilton," Tony commented as he took in their new accommodations. The room was small, about eight feet by eight feet, and pretty much bare, except for a thin, not particularly clean mattress lying alongside one of the walls and an empty bucket as well.

"You're right about that," Gibbs agreed as his attention focused upward. He noted a tiny surveillance camera in an upper corner of the room. "Smile, Dinozzo. You're on Candid Camera."

"That looks pretty high tech," Tony said as he shifted his gaze in the direction Gibbs was looking. He then sighed heavily. " So boss, any idea what this is all about?"

Gibbs hesitated then shook his head slowly. "I've been wracking my brain, trying to remember anything at all about these guys, but I'm not coming up with a thing. I don't think I've ever seen any of them before," he admitted, knowing that was not the answer his agent was hoping to hear.

"Well...that lead guy sure seems to know you," Tony commented. I'm sure you'll figure it out." He started fidgeting as much as he could within the limitations of the handcuffs, then tilted his head back as far as it could go and stared up at the ceiling.

"Dinozzo, what the heck are you doing?"

"Head's still bleeding," Tony stated. "Trying to keep the blood from running into my eye."

"Let me see," Gibbs demanded.

Reluctantly, Tony lowered his head and gazed back at his boss.

"Dammit, Dinozzo. Why have you been going out of your way to aggravate this Sheldon guy, anyhow?" Gibbs could understand losing one's temper. It had happened to him plenty of times in the past, but Dinozzo's mouth seemed to constantly get him into trouble.

"You saw him shoving me, boss. What was I supposed to do?"

"Haven't you ever heard of turning the other cheek? Wouldn't that have been better than getting your head slammed?"

"I'm used to that." Tony muttered under his breath,

"What was that?" Gibbs asked loudly, knowing full well what his agent had said.

"Nothing, boss." Tony cast an aggravated look at Gibbs. He was tired and hungry and Gibbs had been constantly picking on one thing or another since they had left NCIS headquarters. He was very quickly tiring of it. He mentally forced himself to keep quiet and not to make any of the comments that were on the tip of his tongue.

Gibbs could feel that his anger and frustration were beginning to spiral out of control and he took a deep breath to try to calm himself. None of this was Tony's fault. He needed to keep it together or he was going to make the situation even worse than it was. "It looks like you could use a few stitches," he commented quietly.

"Yeah, well somehow I don't think Ducky will be showing up for a house call any time soon." Exasperated, Tony walked over to one side of the room and, using the wall for support, slid down to a sitting position on the floor. One look at the yellowish stains covering the mattress had assured him that the floor was the better option. Once seated, he leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. His head was beginning to pound, the combination of hunger and the hit he had taken beginning to take their toll. He longed for a good, hot meal and then to fall asleep in the comfort of his own bed.

Gibbs silently observed his obviously weary agent, mentally cursing himself once again for inviting Dinozzo to his home that evening. He walked over to Tony and settled himself into a sitting position by his side. "Hey, you doing okay?" he asked, the concern he was feeling very evident in his voice.

"I'm fine." Tony's stomach rumbled loudly and he glanced over at Gibbs with a slight grin. "Except for being really hungry. So...what were we going to have for dinner, anyway?"

Gibbs sighed. "Doesn't really matter much right now, does it Dinozzo?"

"It was steak, wasn't it?" Tony persisted. Gibbs was a real master at making steak. His mouth was practically watering just at the thought of it. He knew they wouldn't be getting steak in this place, wherever they were…hell, he wondered if they would give them anything at all to eat or drink.

"Yeah, it was steak," Gibbs admitted. He, for one, didn't even want to think about it. As much as he had harassed Dinozzo earlier about his poor eating habits, truthfully, he hadn't been eating particularly well himself over the past few days. He had been too focused on Tony's undercover assignment to worry about eating properly.

"Rain check?"

Gibbs smiled faintly. "Count on it."

*****

Bellingham turned his attention away from the monitor with a feeling of satisfaction. It felt so good to finally have Gibbs under his control after all this time. Getting his young agent was an additional bonus he hadn't expected. It was going to enable him to change his plan to make Gibbs suffer even more. He picked up the syringe from the table in front of him and fingered it lovingly. Tomorrow morning, Gibbs would find out exactly who he was and would regret the day he had destroyed his family...

*****

Tim McGee scurried into the bullpen area and anxiously settled himself at his desk. He placed his cup of coffee down and turned his attention to Ziva after noting Gibbs' and Dinozzo's empty desks.

"Where's the boss?" he asked, his eyes darting around the room, expecting Gibbs to pop up out of nowhere like he so often did.

"You are late," Ziva stated, an amused smile on her face.

"I know that, Ziva," Tim replied as he took a sip of his coffee. "Traffic was all tied up. I couldn't help it."

"You should have left earlier. I was not late."

"Whatever, Ziva." Tim shot an annoyed look at his co-worker. "Anyhow, you didn't answer my question. Where's Gibbs?"

"Gibbs is not here yet."

"Really? What about Tony?"

"Also not here."

Tim grinned broadly as he drank some more coffee. Gibbs wasn't going to know he was late and he wasn't going to have to endure any of Dinozzo's insufferable comments either. Today must be his lucky day.

*****

Gibbs groaned softly as he gingerly moved his neck, the sore muscles rebelling against his actions. He hadn't really slept, had only managed some fitful periods of dozing. He had no idea what time it was. He assumed it was early morning but it was only a guess. The overhead light in the room had remained on so far which was a good thing, much better than remaining in constant darkness, in any case. Tony stirred beside him and opened his eyes, shifting a bleary gaze in Gibbs' direction. "Hey boss...did you get any sleep?"

"Not much," Gibbs replied. "How about you? How's your head?"

"No, I didn't really sleep either...feel stiff as a board." Tony's shoulders were aching and his wrists were raw and tender from the tightness of the cuffs around them, He hated sitting still for very long and being restrained this way was making him crazy.

"What about your head?" Gibbs asked, noting the younger man had chosen not to answer his question.

"Its okay, boss. You know I've got a hard head."

"That you do, Dinozzo...that you do." The two men shared faint smiles, offsetting a slight bit of the tension that was hanging over them.

"I sure do wish they would bring us something to eat or at least some water…something…" Tony trailed off. He had done nothing but go over the situation over and over in his mind between catnaps during the night. He had only succeeded in making himself even more on edge. He couldn't help but wonder if they were just going to be left here to slowly die of dehydration and starvation. The thought frightened him more than he would ever admit.

Gibbs could see that Dinozzo was rattled which was a side of him that was rare to see. "We're going to get out of this, Tony," he said softly.

"You don't know that, boss…You have no idea what this is about. We're helpless here…we're totally at their mercy, there's no way the team will even be able to track us…" He knew he was rambling, letting his fears get the best of him but he just couldn't seem to help himself.

"You're not giving up on us, are you, Dinozzo?" Gibbs asked in his best authoritative voice.

"No, boss…sorry, boss. I'm not giving up." Tony took a couple of deep breaths and managed to get himself back in control. Becoming unhinged wasn't going to help anything. "You're right…we'll get out of this somehow…"

"Oh I wouldn't be counting on that, Agent Dinozzo…" Charles Bellingham's voice echoed loudly as he opened the door and entered the room followed by a heavily armed Sheldon. "I wouldn't be counting on that at all…"