Tony woke slowly, aware of numbness over most of his body. He moved his head, regaining feeling down the most part of his torso. He took a look around the dark interior of the barn he now found himself in. He tried to raise a hand, but felt the harsh burn of a rope as it twisted around his wrist. He turned his head as far as he could to look down. His wrists were securly tied with some sort of thick cord rather than rope. It was fibre, and for some reason pink. He turned his head just that little inch further to see what he was tied to. He wasn't actually tied to a chair, but to something that looked like what you tied horses to outside bars in old western movies. It was just one long piece of wood suspended by two large barrels. He gave it an experimental tugg but received no effect, but a slight pain as the cords dug into his wrists.
He took another look around the interior, trying to search out for Madisyn. He stopped another chair off to his right and called her name, but got no reply. Her chin was resting on her chest, rising and falling as she breathed. At least it was easy to see she was actually breathing. Tony tried again, with slightly more force. Again he got no reply. It was only when he tried for a third time that he saw the flicker of movement in her wrists. Her fingers twitched, figuring out why her hands were in a rather un-natural position behind her back. Her dark eyes opened and she blinked into focus.
"You're persitant, arn't you." She muttered, testing the strength of the cords binding her wrists. Tony sighed with slight relief. Madisyn looked over at Tony and frowned.
"You're shirtless." She remarked.
"Well done, Sherlock." He answered sarcastically. "Sadly, you're not." Madisyn stuck out her tongue at him before breaking into a weak smile.
"So...You married Agent DiNozzo?" Madisyn asked after a few minutes of trying to slide out of the cords. Tony looked over at her, raising his eyebrows. "I was only asking." Madisyn muttered. "Just trying to start a conversation." Bordom wasn't helped. It just made of think of all the horrible things they might do to Tony and herself. The images weren't pretty.
This time Tony tried.
"What's England like?" He asked.
"Cold...Wet." Madisyn replied.
"So not very different."
"To where? The North Pole."
"No polar Bears."
"I thought they did live in the North Pole."
"I think it's south."
"You don't really get on with your father, did you?" Tony turned to look her in the eye, his forehead lining into a frown.
"What?"
"You don't really get on with your father."
"How did you know?"
"Well it was a fifty per cent chance I was right and you would've contradicted me if I was wrong."
Tony didn't get a chance to reply as the doors at the far end opened and two men walked in. Both were not hooded and only one was carrying a gun. The shorter of the two walked over and sat on the rail between Madisyn and Tony, making sure both could see him clearly.
"Comfortable?" He asked in his English drawl, addressing Tony.
"Not really." Madisyn replied.
"Was I talking to you?" The man turned with a hint of anger in his voice.
"Oh, sorry. I thought you were a gentleman, and gentlemen always address the ladies first."
The man got up and strutted over to her. She flinched as he raised a hand, but he just ran a gloved finger down her cheek. She pulled away and was rewarded with a stinging slap across her right cheek. She could hear Tony's chair creak but her head had snapped in the other direction. She waggled her jaw slightly, hearing it click. The man infront of her lifted his hand again and slid his index finger down her cheek. She didn't pull back, but turned her head enough to see Tony just before the gunman swung the gun butt into his midriff.
"No!" Madisyn yelped. The man's hand stiffened.
"Quiet! Quieten down for Simon." His voice was slightly higher pitched than it had been and caused Madisyn to look at the man in disgust.
"Ivydown." She spat, only turning as another thud of something hard and painful hitting muscle made her wince. She cried out again, this time an idea struck her.
"Would you do something for me?" She asked in a sickly sweet voice. Simon smiled and she did the same.
"I would do anything for my beautiful daughter." Madisyn had to clench her jaw to keep in character.
"Let Tony go home." She forced out, trying to be as light and sweet as possible. This man made her feel sick, and this was her father? No, that couldn't be right...could it? Ivydown straightened up.
"Quint, stop." He said. "Bring me a phone." The man lifted his gun from where Tony was panting. Madisyn swallowed and tried to catch his eye, but he didn't look up. Ivydown looked the gunman up and down.
"Why are your lapels not straight and your jacket is only zipped half way up. It should be zipped three quarters of the way and the lapels of your coat should always be level!" His voice was near to a scream. The man nodded and Ivydown snatched the phone away, dialing the number he'd memorized from Tony's cell
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Gibbs took one last glance over the crime scene. It was clean except for one parellel pair of skid marks that Tim had found up near the road five metres from the box. They must have been made from a large heavy car acelorating fast. A van or an SUV, maybe. But otherwizse there was nothing except the almost perfect circle of a twenty metre radius of cleared ground. There was not a rock or piece of rubble anywhere in the circle and it looked as if it had been completely swept clear. That was odd in and of itself.
Tim and Kate walked up, Tim with the camera around his neck and Kate with her pack slung over her shoulder. Kate had opened her mouth to say something when Gibbs' phone rang. He flipped it open and looked at the caller ID. He didn't recognise the number and neither did the SIM card in his cell. "Gibbs." he answered the call.
"Mr. Special Agent Gibbs." Garbled a somewhat hysterical male voice. It was also speaking so fast it slurred a lot of the words.
"Yes." Gibbs managed to say before the man charged onwards.
"My Madisyn says Mr. Special Agent Tall Man needs to go home so you need to come and get him. I can tell you where, I will and...and you come and get him. Madisyn says he is getting tired and I think when he was playing with Quint he hurt himself, but he hasn't said anything yet. I think he's gone to sleep. But I don't want him walking the streets at night. Its not safe you know. He's in the Dolphin farm with Madisyn now, so come and get him before the hour is passed because Madisyn also needs to go to sleep, she looks very tired. I don't know what that Mr. Tall Agent Man Special did with her but she is tired. Come and get Mr. Agent Special Man Tall and be smart. Must always be smart. Can't be scruffy. Won't do, just won't do!" And the call was disconnected with the fading mutterings of the derranged English man about smart jackets and lapels.
Author's Chapter Notes:
"Oh he ain't gunna do it, you ask him, he'll put a round through the back of your skull and double tap you when you're back is turned."