Warnings: Spoilers for "Patriot Down", "SWAK"
A/N: Sorry for the long wait. Enjoy!
It had gotten colder.
Wait? Colder? I'm in the middle of the desert! Tony thought with alarm. As painful as it was to open his eyes, he forced himself to do so. The room was dark, indicating that it was nighttime. How many days Tony had slept, he wasn't sure. The last beating had done a number on him. He knew that he'd injured his ribs. It hurt to move his torso and sometimes to take a breath.
His lungs were filled with that same burning sensation that haunted him, the same burning sensation he had felt in those agonizing hours in a room with blue lights.
Tony blinked, tried to take a deep breath and felt like his lungs were on fire. Damn those sniffles he had left D.C. with. Natalie had warned him that if he didn't take care of himself, they would get worse. He should have known with his body compromised that they were going to turn into something more. Boss… you gotta do something… soon! It hurts! Every muscle, every inch of his body ached with the unmistakable pain of being ill…seriously ill… and add on the injuries he had endured in his beatings—he wouldn't be surprised if his body was shutting down at that very moment.
Paloma's sly face slid into his vision, the sun behind her. He must have dozed off for a few hours. "You are not looking so well, Agent DiNozzo. It will be a shame if you die before I get what I want. Of course, I could always use Agent Callahan or Agent McGee instead."
"NO," Tony ground out, hoarsely. "Leave… leave them…alone."
"I really do not think you are in a position to have a say in this, Agent DiNozzo."
Tony wished that he could physically strangle her. But it was taking all of his strength to stay conscious. Darkness tugged at him and as he fell into an unconscious state, he let one single pray go—that he'd get to see Natalie one last time.
Getting to Tony was taken a lot longer than Natalie had anticipated. To keep attention away from them they had rented horses for their travel across the desert, which was making their trek slow going and long. And the longer it took the more worried she got.
Paloma was not going to keep Tony alive forever and not to mention, they were riding horses out in the open desert where any drug cartel could find them. True, the horses offered a more silent mode of transportation but still... she felt incredibly vulnerable.
It didn't seem like this was bothering Gibbs or Franks. Natalie pondered what they had been like as partners. Tony had only told her some bits and pieces about Franks. From what he had told her, she wasn't sure she liked the guy. He was much too loose of a cannon for her tastes. Yet, here she was, blindly following him into the desert to rescue Tony. Well, Tony would do the same for you… wouldn't he?
Franks had talked about everything but their destination. Natalie understood now why Gibbs' was such a functional mute as Tony liked to say. The former marine probably never got a word in edge wise while working with his former boss. "Shouldn't be long now," Franks drawled out, grinning at her.
"But you still can't tell us where we're going, exactly?" Natalie guessed.
"No. That would ruin all the fun, little lady," Franks quipped. "Besides we have to wait for nightfall before we can move in to get DiNozzo."
"Nightfall?" Natalie threw out.
Franks shrugged his shoulders. "Can't be busting onto that ranch in board daylight. Paloma has heavily armed men working for her."
Natalie glared at him. "Heavily armed men probably have not stopped you before."
Gibbs could tell she was on edge and he didn't blame her. He wanted this nightmare to be over just as much as she did… "Natalie, we're going to get him back. But Mike's right—we can't just go rushing in there—we'll all be dead if we do."
"So, we're just going to wait here—for the rest of the day?" Natalie inquired when they stopped behind a ridge.
"Brought a deck of cards," Franks said with a grin.
"He's kidding right?" Natalie asked Gibbs.
"No. Don't think he is," Gibbs replied.
She felt like bursting into tears. Where was their sense of urgency? She knew that Tony meant more to her than these two men, but still…. Sliding off her horse, she tied the reigns to a nearby cactus, made sure he had some water and announced she was going for a walk—she needed to clear her head. She found the only patch of shade—behind a rock formation—and collapsed to the dusty ground. Natalie pulled her knees up to her chest and buried her face into them.
It was becoming obvious that things were unraveling and doing so at an alarming rate. Franks and Gibbs had to be out of their minds if they thought just the three of them were going to be able to rescue Tony. Why hadn't Vance tried to petition the Mexican government for help? Why had Vance even signed on of this crusade in the first place? By the time they got to Tony he was going to be dead. She was sure of this.
Footsteps crunched on the gravel and she looked up to see Gibbs enter the shade. He was wearing a somber expression on his dirt stained face. "You have to trust him, Natalie. You have to trust me."
Natalie shook her head. "Trust has nothing to do with this, Gibbs. Time is our problem. Tony doesn't have it."
Gibbs shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "You've seen Tony when his back is against the wall. He's stubborn, he's obnoxious, and he's not going to just give up."
"He could die for something you didn't even do. How do we convince her you didn't kill Hernandez?"
"We don't, Natalie."
"So then we just live our lives like this? Always looking over our shoulders?"
He didn't know what to say. This wasn't going to end with rescuing Tony. Paloma was going to keep coming at them until she got her revenge. Gibbs sat down with Natalie and reached out, putting his arm around her. He kissed her temple softly. "I'm going to stop it."
She swallowed, anxiously. "How?"
Gibbs licked his lips. "Haven't figured it out yet. But I promise, I will."
Natalie turned her tear filled gray eyes up towards him. "We're going to get Tony back, right?"
"Yes," he said, firmly, recognizing the need for assurance in her eyes. "We're going to get Tony back." I won't settle for any other option.
"Special Agent McGee," Vance's called down from the catwalk. "My office, immediately."
McGee nodded and acknowledged that he was coming, however he could figure out what Vance wanted to see him for. With Gibbs and Natalie off in Mexico looking for Tony, Vance had pretty much sidelined the junior agent. Had something happened to his team?
Vance was seated at his desk when McGee entered the office. "Close the door, McGee." He waited until the agent had done so, then slid a case file across the desk towards McGee. "I was recently made aware that an NCIS agent's body was found yesterday morning, in Maryland. She was murdered and then had her remains dumped into a graduation bonfire. I want you to look into it."
He grabbed the case file and flipped it open. McGee's mouth opened in shock. Special Agent Macy? He recalled the tall, blonde leader of the OSP out in Los Angles. She had some kind of history with Gibbs that Nate Getz had been trying to piece together… briefly he wondered if Nate had ever been able to do so. That doesn't matter now, Timothy. "When did Agent Macy return to D.C? I thought she was overseas in France?"
The Director frowned. It was what he believed too, until he had called the office in France to inform them of Macy's passing. He found out that Macy had taken some personal leave time to fly home to work on a case. "Find out why she was here."
"Yes, sir," McGee said, turning to go.
"McGee?"
"Yes?"
"Have you heard anything from Gibbs yet?"
McGee shook his head. He saw the slight look of despair run through Vance's dark brown eyes. With Special Agent Macy murdered the agency was now looking at the possibility of two dead agents. Gibbs had to get Tony back in one piece. It would be a low blow to NCIS if they lost two agents in a week. And what about Abby? She barely held it together after Kate died… oh God, Natalie! Tony's death would tear Natalie to pieces...
His heart was breaking just thinking about Tony never coming home. As he took his leave from the Director, McGee decided that Tony dying at the hands of Paloma Reynosa was just not an option.
In the bullpen, Phil Balboa was waiting for him. McGee saw the concerned look on the other agent's face. "Before you ask—no, Gibbs hasn't found Tony yet," the younger agent stated, he reached for his keys and gear.
Balboa grabbed him by his jacket sleeve. "Vance talk to you about Macy?"
"Yes. Why?"
"My team found out something. I think it's something that you should know… the knife that was used to cut her throat… same kind that was used to cut the brake lines on Tony's car."
McGee felt the color draining from his face. "Macy was murdered by the Reynosa cartel."
Balboa nodded is head. "Macy was the MP in charge of investigating Gibbs when Hernandez's body turned up. She was the one that concluded Gibbs' was innocent. Macy's death was revenge on Paloma's part, Tim."
Everyone involved in that case was a potential target. No wonder Mike Franks had disappeared weeks ago. McGee wasn't sure what do at that point. Whoever had killed Macy had been hired by the Reynosa cartel. And chances were that person was back in Mexico by now. "Is Abby testing the knife?"
"She found partial prints. She was running them," Balboa reported. "You realize, Tim, that you, Abby—Ducky—you're all in danger because Reynosa thinks Gibbs killed her father."
"Yeah, the thought has crossed my mind," McGee mumbled, "Several times."
He was very much aware of the danger his team, his friends, were in, and McGee knew that it was going to take all of them working together, around the clock, to keep each other out of harm's way.
Why aren't you sick?
I'm stronger than you are, Tony.
Blue lights and fits of coughing, they plagued his dreams or actually his nightmares and they always haunted him when he was sick. Kate's face, covered by a mask hovered in the recess of his mind. He had known he was dying just looking into her eyes but he'd asked her anyways why she wasn't sick. Years he had wondered why she had stayed by his side when she could have been infected. Years it took him to realize that she cared about him, deeply. They had been too stubborn or stupid to do anything about it before it was too late.
Tony's chest ached, his joints ached, and his head felt foggy. As the sun had gotten higher the small, little room had gotten hotter, making it very difficult for him to breathe. Paloma was enjoying this in her sick, twisted way, pouring the rest of her Scotch on his whip burns. She had relished the cries of pain that had emitted from Tony's lips. Of course she had watched with great pleasure as her men whipped him good the other morning, leaving slashes on his chest and shoulders, his shirt torn and bloodied.
He was doing his best to hang on, but how much longer could he put up with this? His body could only take so much torture before it began to shut down… perhaps it already was starting to shut down…
Gently a hand reached underneath his head and lifted it. He felt a plastic opening of a water bottle touch his lips and a soft voice instruct him to drink. Tony did as he was told, welcoming the luke warm water that washed down his throat. Slowly he opened his eyes and saw beautiful, friendly storm gray eyes looking back at him. "Natalie…"
Natalie hushed him. She pushed his sweaty hair away from his face and he noticed two figures moving behind her in the shadows of the tiny room. "It's okay now, Tony. We're going to get you out of here and get you some help."
"Paloma?"
"Hopefully doesn't know we're here yet, DiNozzo," Gibbs replied. He raised his chin towards the other person in the room. "Mike, help me get him to his feet."
Mike Franks stood on one side of him, Gibbs on the other. Tony felt Natalie's hand fall away from his head and she stepped back. The two older men got him to his feet, causing him to bit down on his lower lip in pain, drawing blood.
Natalie went ahead of them, weapon drawn and slowly pushed the door back. Once night had fallen the trio had made their way onto the ranch, using the cover of darkness to do so. It didn't take them long to find Tony, Gibbs had picked the locked on the tiny shed and now… well… hopefully they were going to make it off the ranch before being noticed.
Going was slow though with Tony. He was hurt worse than any of them had anticipated. He was too weak to walk on his own and depended on Gibbs and Franks to drag him along. It was also incredibly painful for the senior field agent thanks to his injuries. Gibbs balled up the scarf he was wearing to keep sand off his neck and shoved it in Tony's mouth to muffle his screams and cries. "Almost there, Tony, hang on," he whispered.
Tony simply nodded. His entire body was screaming in protest as Gibbs and Franks helped him up onto a horse. He hated horses. It reminded him of the time he'd been forced to ride one in Arizona with Gibbs, reminded him of his mother. Tony felt a body shift onto the animal behind him, holding him in place, and when they began to move pain exploded behind his eyeballs and he thankfully fell unconscious.
Kate looked at him, fear in her eyes, sympathy. He was dying. They both knew it. Those blue lights they were standing under were doing nothing. He asked why she wasn't sick, even if he knew the answer… "I'm stronger than you are, Tony."
Was it enough? Was it just the right amount of zing to get Tony into his competitive state? She wouldn't sure… not until he coughed and snapped, "Are not."
She smiled under the mask, or at least he thought she did. "Am too."
Hours passed. He tried to sleep between coughing fits. Dr. Pitt had ushered Kate away but Gibbs had come. You. Will. Not. Die. He slept after that, only waking when they finally turned the blue lights off and discovering that Kate had stayed with him…
"This reminds me of Aliens…"
"What?"
Tony forced his eyes open, straining against the bright sunlight. Natalie was sitting above him on a military plane, wiping his face with a cool cloth. He tried to say something but she brought a finger to his lips to hush him.
Natalie gently ran her fingers through his hair. "You need to rest, Tony. That cold I was on you about has turned into bronchitis. You have two broken ribs and multiple lacerations from a whip that still run the risk of being infected. You have to conserve your strength."
Gibbs appeared on the plane and leaned forward, over Natalie, looking at his agent. "She's right, DiNozzo. Listen to her."
"Y-yes, boss."
Outside there was a loud commotion. Someone was calling for Gibbs and Natalie. The former marine was gone in a flash, Natalie pressed her lips to his in a soft kiss and then went with their team leader. Tony tried to raise his head to see what was going on, but it was too painful. As he fell back against the knapsack being used as a pillow, he caught sight of a man standing at the end of the ramp—Alejandro Rivera.
"Special Agent Gibbs," Rivera said, smiling slyly. "I did not know you were in Mexico."
Gibbs stood at the end of the ramp, his fists balled up at his sides. Liar, he thought. "You were aware that a drug cartel was holding one of my agents hostage. Abby Sciuto informed you herself before leaving last week. I came to rescue him. All of this was approved and sanctioned by your government."
Rivera eyed Natalie for a moment, a predatory look in his eyes. "I am not worried about proper sanctions, Agent Gibbs. But when you anger the drug cartels, usually it is myself that is cleaning up the mess. I cannot be held responsible for what happens to you… or your agents. Playing with fire… you will end up getting burned."
Natalie watched as Gibbs slid in front of her, as he growled low in his throat. "You can tell Paloma Reynosa that she's playing with fire too and if she comes after any of the people that I care about… there will be hell to pay."
"Those are bold statements, Agent Gibbs."
"I stand by them."
Rivera grinned like the Cheshire cat and it sent chills down Natalie's spine. As he turned and headed back towards his car with his guards, she knew that they may have saved Tony… but this was far from over.
So thoughts? Still enjoying this story?