Warnings: Slight spoilers for "Borderland"

A/N: Wow, I managed to update three out of four fics this weekend. Hoping to update that fourth one tomorrow :). Enjoy!

Tony woke up with the coppery taste of blood in his mouth.

Four days had come and passed since being ambushed at the crime scene. He should have known better than to venture out to the old truck… he thought they were safe, that they were doing the right thing to clear Gibbs' name. Foolish, foolish, foolish, he chided himself. Exchanging himself for the release of Abby and the others was the least he could do when Reynosa and her men cornered them.

She still had not revealed why Hernandez was so important to her but she had given Abby a shell casing that she strangely wore around her neck. Like some kind of trinket. Abby was given ten days to trace the bullet and hand over the killer—or Tony was to die.

Meaning, unless they were willing to give her Gibbs... than Tony was not going to make it. Abby had looked crestfallen. Tony had done his best to smile at her and reassure her. He'd promised Abby it was going to be okay and then turned his badge and weapon over to her and got into Reynosa's truck—willingly. Since then he had been kept in this dim, dank room that smelled of hay and horse manure. The only sunlight he saw was through a crack in the wooden door and the wood planks of the boarded up window. It was hot. He was only given water when Paloma felt like it.

I'm not going to last ten days, Tony thought, remorsefully. And he knew that was just what Paloma was banking on, that or he was going to piss her off enough that she have her men kill him. He'd already sustained beatings what were a few more until he bled to death.

"Special Agent DiNozzo, I see that you are awake," Paloma's voice came from the entrance to the room. "Perhaps you are ready to discuss your future."

"Don't see much of one, Ms. Reynosa," Tony drawled with a painful shrug of his shoulders.

"You could get out of here, Agent DiNozzo," Paloma said stepping deeper into the tiny room. "All you have to do is bring me Gibbs."

Tony glared at her underneath a swollen eye. "Guess you haven't learned anything about me in the last few days, Ms. Reynosa. I won't betray my team. You can beat me down all you want but I'm not going to tell you how to get to Gibbs."

Paloma flicked her wrist and two large men came into the room with her. Tony knew them well. Every time he denied Paloma what she wanted—which seemed to be information on Gibbs and how to break the agent—she had these men beat him. He braced himself for the swift kick in his gut. "Ms. Sciuto's bullet did not lead back to the killer. You know that Gibbs is the murderer and yet your harbor him."

"Abby is the best forensic tech out there. If her findings pointed to someone other than Gibbs…chances are… that person killed good old Pedro," Tony snapped.

"She lied! Her report says that the bullet didn't even come from Gibbs' gun! She is doing this to protect him!" Paloma shouted. "She is willing to let you die so Gibbs can live!"

Tony licked his dry, cracking lips. "Guess what? I'm okay with that. Because if you kill me… you're going to have one pissed off agent on your tail. And I know Gibbs… he'll get you, he'll kill you…" He wasn't prepared this time for the steal-toed boot to connect with his chest. The air was sucked from his lungs and he went crashing backwards into the hay.

Paloma sneered at him. "You will die here, Agent DiNozzo. Alone. Afraid. You will die here just like my father died in that truck. Gibbs took my father from me… I will take his son from him."

Natalie floored the Jeep across the Navy Base in San Diego, heart pumping. Everything had been out of control, had come unraveled four days ago when Abby said that Tony willingly went with the drug cartel leader. She knew why he had done it… to protect Abby and the lives of the Mexican students… but if they rescued him in one piece she was going to make sure he heard it from her. He promised to be careful!

Vance had been furious when they got the phone call from Abby, yanking the MCRT from their case and putting them on this one immediately. He'd been on the phone non-stop with the Mexican government but it did not seem to yield any results.

Alejandro Rivera from the Justice Department was dodging NCIS. Natalie hadn't been sure why until that morning.

She threw the Jeep into park and climbed out, taking a file folder with her. Gibbs had been chatting with the Director via the phone at the NCIS office on base while she had been holed up in a hotel room going over her profile… going over ever last detail until she had found the piece of the puzzle that had been missing—Paloma's connection to Pedro Hernandez and why she was hell bent on revenge.

"Gibbs!" Natalie cried, pushing past the agents on duty and into the office. "I found something!"

The team leader appeared, his blue eyes intense and urging her to continue—Natalie took a deep breath, "Pedro Hernandez was Paloma Reynosa's father and Alejandro Rivera's," she said, holding the file out for him. "Rivera set this all in motion by having Abby go done there to investigate a cold case. He wasn't impressed with her work at all! It was just a set up!"

Gibbs felt his muscles tighten. If only they could get in touch with Mike Franks but he too had disappeared. He wondered if Paloma had something to do with that as well. "The mercenaries… the ones that Camilla said showed up looking for Mike… the ones that Abby said took Tony away…"

Natalie nodded, remembering Gibbs trying to get in touch with Franks as soon as Tony had disappeared. "Men of Colonel Merton Bell. And you'll never believe who his lawyer is—M. Allison Hart. That's why she knew so much about us, they were all sniffing us out for Reynosa."

Now, the rage was no longer thinly veiled. Everyone in that room could see it in his eyes. He needed to find Mike… he needed to find the person that was responsible for killing Pedro… and he needed to get Tony back alive and in one piece… "That's good work, Callahan."

"Gibbs… we have to… we have to go after Tony."

"We can't. Not until we have the man who really pulled the trigger in custody."

"Tony doesn't have that kind of time!"

He saw the tears pool in her eyes. Gibbs felt for her. His heart broke seeing the relationship that both his agents had worked at was being torn apart. If they didn't get Tony back... he knew what the felt like. He hadn't even been able to open the body bag to look at Jenny. "Until we find Bell… we don't know where Paloma has taken Tony or Mike."

She bit down on her lower lip, so hard that she almost drew blood. "McGee says he can track Tony's phone. As long as the battery is still in it… she'll kill him, Gibbs. She thinks you're the one that killed her father… she wants you to pay for that."

Gibbs frowned at her. "Which is exactly why we can't go after Tony. Natalie, I won't be responsible for another one of my agents getting taken hostage by her."

Natalie raised her chin in defiance. "I'm not scared of her, Gibbs."

"Being scared has nothing to do with this!"

"But you're scared! You're scared of what she's going to do once she's killed Tony!"

He paused. She was right. He was terrified that it wasn't going to end with Tony… Gibbs relented. "Fine. Get McGee to find the coordinates."

She pulled a small piece of paper from her pocket. "Already done."

"Then I just need to get permission from Vance…"

"You have it," Vance said from the speakerphone, reminding Gibbs that he had been in the middle of a conference call before Natalie burst in. "Take Agent Callahan and go."

Gibbs hung up the phone and gestured for Natalie to come with him. They could be in Mexico at the coordinates she had in just a few hours. Hopefully… they weren't too late.

"Abby?" McGee called, entering the lab. "Where are you?"

There was no music playing in the background, which was an alarming sign that things were not going well. Of course, it was true, they really weren't going well. They still hadn't found Tony, they still had not convinced Paloma that her father had been killed by a rival leader, using the set-up that he'd been killed by a marine sniper. However, the bullet was not marine issued. Gibbs could not have shot Hernandez.

And even if the bullet had been marine issued... it did not trace back to Gibbs' rifle. Abby had spent hours testing and retesting everything to make sure it was perfect so they could get Tony back. McGee had not been surprised when Paloma refused.

McGee shuddered thinking about what Tony was going through at that moment. Knowing Tony he was probably giving Paloma hell while taking a beating. Natalie had told him about the senior field agent staring Saleem down even with a bullet through his shoulder. "Abs?" he called again, stepping deeper into the lab. "You okay?"

Abby looked up from the floor by her desk. Her eyes were rimmed with tears and she was hugging Bert. "No. It's my fault, McGee. Tony was only out at that truck because I asked him to take us there. He wouldn't be in this mess if it weren't for me." She sniffled and gave Bert a tight hug causing it to let out it's trademark farting sound.

"Hey. Gibbs and Natalie are going to find him," McGee promised her. "We traced his cell phone. He can't be too far from it."

"Unless they dumped it," Abby grumbled. "In which case those coordinates are useless."

"That's not very positive thinking. It's not like you."

"Sorry. I don't feel positive."

McGee sat down on the floor with her. He wished that his physical state allowed him to be in Mexico with the rest of his team, but the truth was a rescue mission was too demanding on his body. It looks like Tony is going to be heading to medical leave soon… STOP TIM! STOP! He screamed internally. Tony IS going to be fine! "We're going to get Tony back, and now that we know Collins was being paid by the Reynosa cartel to take out drug dealers in the area to expand her business… we have every agency working on this case around the clock. I have a meeting with a DEA agent in an hour. Abs… we're going to come through this on top, okay?"

Abby looked at him, sadly. "Really Tim? How do you know that?"

"Do you remember when Tony and Natalie were missing in Somalia?"

"Gosh… I don't like to think about it… but yes."

"Do you remember how fit to be tied Gibbs was?"

"Yes. Of course."

McGee smiled at her sadly. "Well, then you know he's going to do whatever it takes to bring Tony back alive." He reached out and put his arm around Abby. She sank into his embrace and rested her head on his shoulder. "And you know Tony is giving her hell right now," he added as an afterthought.

Abby chuckled and closed her eyes to stop her tears. She just wanted Tony back. They both wanted Tony back. He was their big brother, the one that always looked out for them, always protected them… even when they weren't even aware of it. She didn't know what the team would do without Tony… and Natalie… "He's going to be okay," she stated, trying to assure herself. "He has to be okay."

Strong smells of Mexican spices hit her nostrils as she pushed her way into the cantina. Immediately all eyes were on her in the tiny bar, a white woman packing a SIG… it wasn't something that these people saw everyday. Natalie wasn't bothered by them—she had only one thing on her mind and that was finding Tony.

This was the last place anyone had seen Mike Franks before Bell's men came looking for him. It was still unclear if Bell's men had found Franks. No one had been able to tell her that or if they could... they weren't talking. Natalie could see that Gibbs was getting even more frustrated by the second that they couldn't locate Franks. He'd sent her into this cantina hoping that that would change.

Behind the bar a small woman with dark, curly hair eyed her while cleaning some beer mugs with a towel. "Can I help you, senorita?"

Natalie sat down on a stool and pulled a photograph from her pocket. "I'm looking for this man. Have you seen him?"

Immediately the bar maid tensed up. Natalie knew that she had found the right place, now it was just a matter of getting the woman to talk. She was shaking her had adamantly and sputtering, "No. No I have not seen him."

"He called my boss from this place a few months ago," Natalie replied, casually. "Are you sure? Look again."

"Please, senorita, I think you need to go," the bar maid requested.

"Why? I'm only looking for him so we can talk. I'm not one of the mercenaries that was here last week. I don't want to hurt him," Natalie told her. She was just about to pull her credentials out of her pocket to identify herself when she felt a hand clamp down on her arm and she was yanked away roughly from the bar, taking her off balance. She hit the floor, hard, pain shooting up her spine and she cursed.

Gibbs flew into action then, shouting, "Franks! Son of a bitch! That's my agent!"

Mike Franks looked at the glaring young woman on the floor, puzzled. "What happened to Lady Ziva?"

Natalie pulled herself up off the dingy floor. "Reassigned," she snapped.

"Oh well, my apologies, ma'am," Franks said with a cunning smile. "But I was blind sided by Bell and his men last week. Couldn't take the chance again, ya know?"

"Where's Bell now?" Gibbs asked.

"Haven't seen him or his cronies sniffing around here for a few days," Franks confessed.

"Leyla and Amira?"

"Shipped them state side as soon as you called."

Natalie was beyond confused now. When had Gibbs called? And who were Leyla and Amira? "So wait… if you know we were coming…"

Franks glared at her. "I didn't know you were coming, little lady. I haven't talked to the Probie here since he warned me about dear, sweet Paloma," he snapped. Turning back towards the former marine he continued, "You sure as hell pissed her off."

Gibbs shook his head. "It wasn't me that killed Hernandez. Rivial drug cartel set it up to make it look like it was me. I bet they weren't thinking that Lara Macy was going to close the case without making an arrest."

"You find the guy who did it yet?"

"No. I'm trying to find Tony."

"DiNozzo? Dear God did he go and get himself in trouble again."

"Paloma tricked him into coming with her," Natalie snapped, defensively. "And he went to save lives."

Franks grinned at her. "Oh, she's feisty. Where did you find this one? I like her."

Gibbs chuckled. "Boston."

Natalie was going crazy. They were standing here talking and not doing much of anything to find Tony. He could be hurt… he could be dead... she closed her eyes tightly to wish that thought away. He was not dead. He couldn't be…

"She's got a nice little ranch not far from here," Franks said, interrupting her thoughts. Her eyes popped open. "Bet that's where she's keeping DiNozzo."

"Any suggestions on how we get in there?" Natalie asked.

Franks cocked a grin. "You just stick with me little lady. I'll get you in."