Hi – thanks for the reviews, would love some more, hope you like this one...
Chapter 13
Everyone stared at Booth as he stood there eyes wide "April" he said again "yeah dad it's me", hurriedly he put her on speaker in time to hear her say "listen Tali and I, we escaped" he frowned "how" he asked "Tali picked the locks with a bobby pin Livie managed to give to her", Tony and Ziva both sighed in relief "are you both ok" Booth asked feeling the same relief rush through him and saw it in Brennan's eyes "yeah we are fine" there was a rustle and then Tali said "I am fine, April has been shot" "WHAT" everyone shouted.
"thanks Tali" April said and they heard her take the phone back "you've been shot" Booth said anxiously "no, well yes, I have but it just grazed me, it's not too bad" a male voice said "you sure it looks pretty bad" Booth frowned again "is that Seth" he asked in confusion "yeah" April said "he was driving back from Baltimore visiting his family and we ran out onto the road and persuaded him to give us a lift, we are heading back the Jeffersonion ok" "April go to the hospital" Booth said "dad we don't have much time we need to get to Kate and Livie" "are they ok" Rick asked anxiously.
There was silence on the other end before April said "they risked everything to help us escape, Livie gave us a hair pin and Kate managed to hold him down long enough for us to get out, he was pretty mad but he won't kill them" "why not" Rick asked "um I really don't think that I should tell you over the phone Rick, it's pretty shocking" "who is he" Gibbs asked.
Tali caught hold of the phone "his name is Adam, I didn't get a second name, he's about 32, drives a black SUV licence plate Z90.." she paused "um oh yeah BGN, Z90 BGN" McGee was hurriedly typing that information into the computer and he began a search "good job shortcake" Gibbs said to Tali "you ok honey" "yeah" she said "I'm good" "listen" April called "we are about 10 minutes out ok so we will tell you everything when we get there" "ok" Booth said "see you in a minute bud"
The call ended and they all looked at each other "they are ok" Gibbs said "they are on their way here and they can tell us everything, and then we can go back and get Kate and Livie out of there ok" he looked at Rick who nodded quietly "hey" Gibbs said to him, Rick looked up "your girls are strong" he said "they will get through this together ok" Rick nodded "I know" he said softly and hugged Alexis as she came to him "I know my girls are strong" Gibbs clapped him on the shoulder and then they all headed towards the doors and out to the gates.
XO
Exactly 7 minutes later a small blue pickup pulled in, and Tali scrambled out followed by April much more slowly clutching her side, Tali assisted her out before they both turned and ran at their parents, April launched herself at her mother who had tears of relief trickling down her cheeks before opening one arm to catch hold of her dad as he caught them both up into his arms, Tali collided with Ziva who began to murmur to her in relief in Hebrew before releasing her to Tony who picked her up hugging her tightly "hey ninja" he managed to choke out clutching her tightly "hey daddy" she mumbled clinging to him.
Once they had released their children Booth hurried them inside after thanking Seth who had to head home but promised to visit April soon, he gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead before clambering back into his truck and they all headed back into Angela's office where everyone began to fuss over April who continually protested that she was fine before saying "can we tell you what we know", everyone paused and then nodded, and slowly they all sat down, April looked at Tali who nodded and April began to tell their adventures.
"ok so you called us and we tried to get away but there were like 10 of them" "12" Tali piped up "yeah well you would know, she knocked them all out" April said grinning at her friend before carrying on "they came after us again but we ran into the woods, we got separated though, I found Livie and then we saw Tali get caught, we had to run but they caught up to us, Livie didn't run" she said "she could have escaped but no, she stayed with me and got caught" she paused and sighed "when we woke up we were in a stone room, a basement and we didn't know where we were, we had chains round our ankles and we couldn't escape, but we were ok, hurting a bit from our falls and me and Tali had needle marks on our us from where we had been drugged, but we weren't hurt"
She paused "then he came in" Booth looked at her "could you describe him" he asked gently, she nodded, before looking at Tali "you're better at this thing than me" Tali nodded and looked at Angela who had her sketch pad out, they moved over to the desk and Tali began to describe him whilst April carried on describing their horrors, "he was kind to us in a way, very sweet, told us that he only wanted one of us, the other two were there to keep you guys at bay because no one has ever gotten that close before, he talked to each of us then he looked at Livie, she was refusing to talk, he laughed at her and said he understood why she didn't talk, she said because he had tried to kill her mom, he just laughed and said he had been asked to kill her but he didn't want too, that was why she survived, he purposefully aimed to the side, to give her a chance to survive, Livie said he was lying and he just laughed"
She looked at them "he then told her that she was very brave and that he had killed the man who had tortured her" everyone frowned "why did he do that" Rick asked confused "I'm getting to that" April said gently "Livie asked him who he wanted out of the three of us, and he said her" everyone chewed their lips "she asked why and he said she looked a lot like her mom, he said she looked a lot like her when they first met when they were both 18"
April paused and looked at everyone listening "he called her darling and his, she told him she wasn't his" April closed her eyes "he told her to do the math" she whispered "he said he met Kate not long after her 18th birthday and Livie was born not long before her 19th" everyone froze and then gasped as the realisation hit them "No" Rick whispered, April nodded "he said he was her father"
Everyone was silent as they digested that "well he has to be lying" Tony said "he must have just said that to scare her" April lowered her head "that is what we thought" she mumbled "then Kate arrived" Rick looked at her and she looked at him, "he took her to Livie and then she obviously recognised him because she started screaming at him and he shouted at her, then we knew it was true, he was Livie's father"
Everyone went silent again and April continued to fill them in on other details that they knew "so" Tony said "Kate's ex decided to kidnap his own daughter and then her after kidnapping two other girls and trying to shoot her and successfully shooting 8 others" he looked around "um what now" "we go get them" Tali said coming over as Angela slid her drawing into the scanner and sent it up onto the screen, everyone looked at him and McGee ran it through facial recognition "Adam Wesley 32, was a sharp shooter for the army" he said "dishonourably discharged after he killed 3 people to get to one person, has a very high body count", Gibbs, Booth and Esposito who had all been snipers studied him carefully "so how do we find him" Esposito asked.
Tali moved over to the computer and pulled up a map slowly scrolling away from the Jeffersonion "Seth picked us up here didn't he" she said to April who nodded, slowly Tali began to move the map counting the kilometres "don't tell me you managed to keep track of how far we ran" April said incredulously, Tali shushed her as she carefully orientated herself on the map "somewhere around here" she said "there is a little cottage hidden from view, that is where he is hiding"
Gibbs kissed her gently on the forehead "let's plan" he said "we can't role without planning, it is too dangerous, and if he hears us coming he could get spooked and kill them", everyone nodded "I want to come" Tali said, "me too" April added, "no" everyone responded at the same time, they both gave symmetrical scowls "come on, Livie is our friend we have to help her" April protested "you have already helped her by telling us all this information April, the only place you are going is the hospital" Booth said "you have lost loads of blood, we should really get you there now" she scowled "your dad is right April" Tali said "hey" April said "all in this together remember", Tali looked at her before turning to her parents "I want to come" she said defiantly, everyone looked at her "Tali" Ziva began but Tali looked at her pleadingly "please ima" she said "I can help, you know I can look after myself, I can help you find that place, it is really well hidden, you will never find it without me, please, I want to help"
Ziva looked at her daughter big green eyes wide and pleading, then she looked at Tony who looked how she felt, they both knew Tali could hold her own, but they didn't want her near the danger, but this place might be hard to find. They both looked at Gibbs who sighed and bent to Tali's level, she looked him straight in the eye, something only she could do "when we get there" he said quietly "you stay out of sight yes, you stay in the car and if we tell you to do something you do it deal" she nodded and took his proffered hand "deal" she said, he smiled at her before turning to April, she sighed "I know I can't go" she grumbled "don't worry, I will tell you what happens" Tali promised, April nodded and shifted on the sofa before wincing
"Bones" Booth said looking at Brennan, she looked up at him her eyes still full of relief "why don't you get Aps to the hospital" she nodded "I'll go too" Lanie volunteered "I guess you guys aren't going to let me come are you" they all shook their heads and she sighed before moving over to Esposito "bring them back" she commanded "both of them, alive" he nodded "of course I will" he promised, he hugged her tightly whilst Booth ignoring April's protests lifted her up and carried her to the car.
When he got back everyone was waiting for him "let's plan" he said and they all nodded.
XOXOXO
Kate woke up slowly and frowned confused, everything felt sluggish, she slowly opened her eyes, everything was still dark, the only source of light a flickering bulb, she sighed, wishing that yesterday had only been a really bad dream, but no, it was real, she and Livie were still stuck in this little hell, she looked down at her daughter still lying there with her eyes closed, her breathing slow.
"Livie" Kate murmured touching her daughters cheek before she felt a chill of fear rush through her, Livie was deathly cold, skin pale and icy, slowly Kate sat up, pulling her daughter over "Livie" she said again, Livie didn't respond "Livie" she cried again more urgently cupping her daughters cheeks in her hands rubbing them desperately "come on" she begged "open your eyes", to her relief very slowly Livie's eyes fluttered open "mom" she mumbled "thank god" Kate whispered and she pulled Livie into her arms wrapping them tightly around her "it's cold" Livie whispered "shh, I know" Kate whispered back hugging her as Livie began to shiver "I'm tired" she whispered her eyelids drooping "no" Kate whispered turning Livie's head to face her "no Livie, honey open your eyes, look at me"
Slowly, almost grudgingly, Livie did as she was asked and looked at her, she looked dazed and confused "what's wrong" she asked "you just need to stay awake" Kate whispered, slowly dreading what she would find she reached out and took Livie's hand, it was white and cold "can you squeeze my hand" she asked quietly, Livie's hand tightened slightly before she sighed "to tired" she whispered, then she frowned "what's going on" she asked.
Kate blinked back tears, shivering, white hands, tiredness, confusion, all symptoms of hypothermia "nothing's wrong" she whispered "just try to stay awake ok" Livie nodded sluggishly and leaned against her still shivering Kate shrugged out of her coat again to wrap it around her, Livie had pushed it back towards her before April and Tali had escaped, refusing to wear it, saying that she needed it, but now she was the one who needed it, she carefully pulled it around her daughter's shaking body, Livie was so tired and confused she didn't even realise what her mother was doing, Kate ignored the cold bite of the air and hugged Livie rubbing her arms, desperately trying to warm her daughter up, for now her heart rate was slow, but she knew that unless they got out of here soon, Livie would get worse, she pressed her lips to the top of her daughters head and prayed for a miracle.
XOXOXO
It was an hour later when the door opened, Kate was still leaning against the wall, Livie's breathing was fast now and she was shaking hard, Kate continued to cling to her, trying to keep her warm. She looked up and saw Adam standing over them eyebrows raised "what's wrong with her" he asked shortly, Kate stared at him "she has hypothermia" she said "please Adam you have to help her please" he frowned at her "I know nothing about treating hypothermia Katie Kat" he said "help me warm her up" Kate begged "bring me some blankets, anything please" "what do I get out of it" he asked.
Kate stared at him "she is your daughter Adam" she said "you are the reason she has hypothermia, please help me save her" "is that you acknowledging that she is mine" he asked, Kate stared at him "I never denied that she was yours" she whispered, he bent to look at them, Livie was shifting uncomfortably, eyes closed, he reached out to touch her cheek and Kate had to resist the urge to pull Livie away, he stroked her cheek before looking at Kate "well then why didn't you ever tell her who her father was" Kate looked at him "because you left her before she was even born" she said "you made it perfectly clear that you didn't want her, hell you wanted me to kill her, when Livie asked I told her that you had left us, simple as that, she never asked your name or why you had left us" he gazed at her "would you have told her" he asked.
Kate stared at him, when Livie had gotten to that age where she had started to ask questions about why she didn't have a daddy she had wondered what to do if Livie ever asked who her daddy was, but once she had explained that her daddy wasn't with them she had dropped the subject much to her relief, then she had asked again at around 9 years old but once again she had sensed that her mommy hadn't wanted to talk about it and refrained again from asking, odd times in between she had mentioned not having a daddy but she had always told Kate that she liked it just the two of them, Kate had wondered if she should tell her about her father but there had never been any need to. She looked at Adam "I don't know" she said softly, he gazed at her "she says I am not her father" he said "meaning that I don't need to do anything for her"
Kate stared "she said that you weren't her father but she was still your daughter" she said "please Adam" she felt a few tears trickle down her cheeks, he stared at her before grabbing her chin and forcing her to look into his eyes "maybe" he breathed "if you hadn't helped those other brats escape, I would have helped her, but no, you defied me, this will be your punishment" he turned and walked back towards the door, Kate lowered Livie to the floor and scrambled after him "Adam" she begged "please don't punish Livie for my actions, please she could die" he looked at her "she is already 14 years late at dying Kate" he said "please" Kate screamed "I will do anything"
He paused and turned to look round at her as she stood there, fists clenched and trembling, a small smile slid across his face "anything" he asked, "anything" Kate whispered lowering her head, "what do you propose" he asked leaning against the wall, Kate looked at Livie shaking on the ground, then she turned back to him "let me call a member of the team" she begged "or Lanie my best friend, let me get them to pick her up, we take her to them and you let them take her, to a hospital where she can be saved" he narrowed his eyes "and once she is safe" he asked, Kate lowered her gaze "I will go with you" she said "I will stay with you and follow you for as long as you want, I will do anything you want, as long as Livie is safe"
There was a choking gasping sound from behind "mom no" Livie managed to stammer from behind "No mom don't please don't" "shh Livie" Kate said eyes still on Adam who stood there smiling at her "aw Katie look at you, giving your life for your little girl, how sweet" he grinned "I will consider it" he said, but Kate knew his mind was already made up "please Adam" she begged, he just laughed, "later my darlings" he said and closed the door.
Kate threw herself against it crying hard, then when she realised that it was pointless she moved back over to Livie and leaned against the wall, pulling Livie into her arms, through chattering teeth Livie whispered "I guess… everything is not ok… if I have… hypothermia" "everything will be fine" Kate promised "you… shouldn't have… done that mom" Livie whispered "you c… can't go with him" Kate stroked her hair "shh" she whispered "conserve your energy honey" "you can't…go" Livie gasped "don't …go please" "shh I am not going anywhere now" Kate whispered, Livie slowly turned and rested her head against her chest "don't leave me mommy" she managed, Kate rested her head on the top of her daughters "never" she whispered.
XOXOXO
Tali leaned against the table listening to them plan, April had disappeared to hospital though someone had given her her phone because she was texting Tali on her repossessed phone asking what was happening, Tali sighed and sent a message saying 'nothing yet will tell u when something does ok" she groaned as her phone rang and expecting it to be April she answered "nothing has happened ok" a male voice answered "Tali where the hell have you been kita" "Amir" she said in surprise and walked away from the table, Booth looked at Tony "who's Amir" he asked "it's complicated" Tony said "ah" Booth said, "I know what you mean", Tony rolled his eyes.
Tali moved out of the office and sat on the steps to the platform as Amir responded "yeah of course it's me kita where have you been, you never showed up for our run, I have been worried out of my dam mind" Tali sighed "Amir I am sorry, I was otherwise engaged" he must have picked up on the tone of her voice "what happened Tali" he asked gently, she sighed "long story Amir, short version is I got kidnapped again by a psychopathic serial sniper with April and Livie" there was silence on the other end before he responded "I am sorry what!" she smiled "I told you long story, but me and April escaped and now we need to save Livie and her mom" "oh" he said "are you ok kita, he didn't hurt you did he" she laughed gently "nothing I couldn't handle Amir I swear I am fine, listen I am sorry I haven't been in contact with you, but I really have to go, I am helping with the rescue mission" "Tali" he warned "don't you dare do anything stupid kita" Tali sighed "I promise ok, I will see you soon yes" "you'd better kita, now go save the world little ninja" she giggled "will do, you know me, I will contact you when it is over ok, bye" "bye kita take care" he said softly before hanging up.
Tali smiled as she closed her phone, then she rolled her eyes and headed back into the office "how's Amir" her dad asked innocently, she narrowed her eyes at him seeing the teasing in his eyes, she grinned at him "better now he knows why I haven't been answering any of his calls, he nearly blew a fuse when I answered" Tony grinned "sounds like Amir" he said and Ziva elbowed him "focus please" she said and he nodded at her and they all turned back to their plans.
"right" Gibbs said "so Tali, you say that they are in the basement under the house" she nodded and reached for a pen and a piece of paper, she drew a quick sketch of the house, "ok so you come in here" she said putting her pen over where the door was "I didn't see how many other rooms there were because we were too busy trying to escape, but there is a trapdoor here" she said drawing a square with an x on it, "it did have a bolt but I think he broke it, anyway" she drew another sketch "you go down the stairs and there are rooms on one side, four doors" she added them "we were kept in the one at the end of the corridor, Kate and Livie were kept in this one" she looked up at them "it is really dark down there, lots of shadows, and lots of places he could hide, you all need to be careful" Gibbs nodded at her "or we just shed some light on it" he said, he turned to Hodgins "head torches" he asked, the scientist nodded eagerly and hurried off to fetch them.
Gibbs looked at everyone "I take it we are all coming" they all nodded and he looked at them all standing there, Booth, Rick, Esposito, Ryan, Tony, Ziva, McGee and Tali, all standing there read "gear up" he said "everyone get bullet proof vests ok" they all nodded and then headed out to their cars, piling into three: Gibbs, Tali and McGee in the front one so Tali could direct, Rick, Ryan and Esposito in the next and Tony, Ziva and Booth in the last one.
Gibbs looked at Tali as she sat in the passenger seat looking determined, "You ok" he asked, and she nodded "I just want to stop him, before he hurts them anymore", "we'll get him shortcake I promise" she nodded "I know" she said softly "I just hope we are not too late" he looked at her "what do you mean" he asked, she looked at him "we didn't want to say before in front of Rick, but Livie looked bad, she didn't have a coat and she was cold, she is in so much pain mentally, and physically I don't know how much more she could take" Gibbs released the steering wheel with one hand to take hers "we'll get them kiddo" he said "and they will be fine ok" she smiled at him and nodded "I believe you" she said before pointing "there is a track just there" he quickly turned the car down the track "you think this is it" he asked, she shrugged "only track I have seen this entire time" she said "we didn't stay on the track in case he drove his car down looking for us" "good idea shortcake" he said with a smile, they drove slowly up the track "look" Tali said then and through the trees they saw a small cottage with a black SUV parked outside "that's it" Tali breathed.
Gibbs made to continue driving but Tali cried out "wait stop" he looked at her "what if he hears us coming" she said, he nodded slowly and then climbed out, slowly everyone in the other cars did the same, and they moved round to gear up,
Tony was just strapping on his vest when he looked round and frowned "hang on what if he makes a break for it" everyone looked up "we need to make sure that he doesn't escape" he persisted "on it" Tali chimed
They all whirled round looking around in time to see her disappearing up the track, Ziva instantly leapt after her and cursing the others followed carefully keeping their distance, Tali was creeping towards the house low to the ground to avoid being seen, then she dashed at the car, pressing herself against it and pulling a knife out of her boot "where did she get that" Tony murmured to Ziva who shrugged.
They watched as Tali carefully reached down and drew the knife across the tyre allowing the air to escape with a gently hissing, then she shifted along and did the same to the other tyre, then she looked up and saw them all out of sight of the windows but peering out at her, they all glowered at her, she gave an innocent smile before she slowly crept back towards them "what the hell were you thinking" Booth hissed at her, she frowned "I slit his tyres, weren't you going to do that anyway" "yes but you were told to stay out the way" she looked at him "I was less likely to be seen" she said, "now we know he isn't going to drive off with them" Booth rolled his eyes at her then noticed she was wearing a bullet proof vest "why are you wearing that" he asked "protection" she said innocently "you don't need any" Gibbs said taking her shoulder "back to the car please shortcake" she looked at him "but I don't know what's happening" she said "you promised Tali" Tony said sternly.
Tali opened her mouth to respond when three sounds echoed around the silent woods, three sounds that made them freeze and stare at each other in horror.
A terrified scream, a single gunshot, a howl of pain.
Duh duh duh :P Cliffhanger :D
Hope you liked it
The sooner I get reviews the sooner I update I promise, maybe if I get at least 5 I will update by Tuesday :D
Hope you like it, please give feedback – any and all appreciated.
Thanks Mysticgirl