Leroy Jethro Gibbs was not a happy man. Despite the valiant efforts of McGee and Abby, there were still no leads as to where Miller was holding Kate, frustrating the team leader to no end. Adding to his sense of helplessness was the fact that he had not been able to console his senior field agent, who had refused to go to sleep, knowing that his partner was in mortal danger. DiNozzo had finally managed to drift off about an hour ago, his body finally succumbing to the exhaustion that he had been fighting for the last several hours. It had taken a direct order from the ex-Marine to prevent Tony from checking himself out of the hospital AMA, but ultimately DiNozzo had conceded to wait until morning. Now that the younger man was asleep, Gibbs finally allowed himself to enjoy a brief respite.
Tony had been beside himself with worry for Kate’s safety, taking blame for placing her in harm’s way. Gibbs understood DiNozzo’s concern and frustration, but all they could do was wait until Miller contacted them again. Neither he nor Tony was known for their patience, especially if there was a threat to one of their own.
The team leader sighed as he folded Tony’s discharge papers and placed them in his coat pocket. The nurse had informed him that the doctor had left instructions stating that DiNozzo could be released before breakfast if there were no complications. Tony had only been asleep for about an hour and Gibbs refused to wake the dark-haired agent from his reluctant slumber, so he had taken the papers and told the nurse that he was going to allow DiNozzo to sleep for a while longer.
Unfortunately, Tony’s demons were not going to permit him to rest. As DiNozzo began to moan, Gibbs placed a calloused hand on Tony’s forehead, hoping that the physical touch would help ward off the ghosts that he knew were haunting his memories.
His senior agent’s muted cries tore at his heart, prompting the team leader to gently shake Tony’s shoulder in hopes of waking DiNozzo before his nightmares consumed him.
“Tony?” he quietly called out. “Come on, Tony. Wake up.”
He breathed an inward sigh of relief as he saw a glimmer of recognition in Tony’s eyes. Gibbs gently patted his cheek, ignoring the fine layer of stubble that was growing. “You with me, DiNozzo?”
Tony licked his lips. “Yeah, Boss,” he whispered. “I’m with you.”
“That’s good, Tony.”
Gibbs sat down on the edge of the bed and patiently waited for Tony to rouse up. He watched as DiNozzo blinked several times and then ran his hands through his disheveled hair. Gibbs couldn’t help but grin at the normally perfectly coiffed hair that was now sticking up every which way. Even if he was wearing jeans and a T-shirt, Tony was meticulous about his appearance and to see him so unkempt was almost humorous.
“What time is it?” Tony finally managed to ask.
“Almost 6:30.”
Tony sat up in bed and threw back the sheet that had partially become entangled around his legs. “6:30?” he exclaimed, disbelief evident in his raspy voice. Gibbs noted that the effects of the smoke inhalation were more pronounced today.
“How long have I been asleep?” Tony demanded to know.
“Not quite an hour,” Gibbs assured him.
“Where are my clothes?”
“In the bathroom. Abby brought them last night when she dropped off the pizza.”
“Good. Hope she remembered my sizes.”
“Do I even want to know why Abby would know your sizes?” Gibbs teased.
“Probably not, Boss.”
“That’s what I thought.”
Gibbs stood up and went to the other side of the bed to help Tony stand up, but DiNozzo was already on his feet and heading towards the bathroom. The stubborn agent stumbled prompting the team leader to grab him by the elbow in order to steady him. “Take it easy, Tony. You’re not going to do anybody any good if you fall and end up with another concussion.”
“I know that, Gibbs. I’ve just got to get out here so I can find Kate. Did Abby or McGee manage to come up with anything?”
The former Marine shook his head. “No. We’re waiting on Miller to make the next move.”
“If he hurts her, I…”
The team leader squeezed Tony’s shoulder. “I know, DiNozzo. But Miller knows that if he does anything to hurt her that he won’t get you.”
Tony met Gibbs’ concerned gaze. “I won’t let her down,” he vowed. “I won’t let him do to her what he did to Sydney.”
“I know, Tony.”
Gibbs nodded towards the bathroom. “Go get cleaned up. We can leave whenever you’re ready.”
“I won’t be long.”
“I’ll be right here.”
“You could go get us some coffee,” Tony suggested. “I know how you are without your morning brew.”
“All right, but you better be here when I get back,” he warned. “Or when I find you, I’ll…”
DiNozzo raised his hands as if surrendering. “I’ll be here,” he promised.
Satisfied, Gibbs left in search of coffee, trusting Tony to keep his word. He checked the nurse’s station and discovered that the pot was still brewing. The nurse promised him a cup if he would wait a few minutes, in which the team leader gratefully obliged. He could keep an eye on Tony’s room and still be able to give his senior field agent the privacy that he was seeking. It was obvious that DiNozzo’s request for coffee was nothing more than a silent plea for a few minutes alone and Gibbs truly could appreciate the need for solitude.
An alarm went off in another room, interrupting his thoughts. He heard a nurse yelling for help, stating that her patient was in cardiac arrest. Gibbs stood against the wall, trying to make himself invisible as the nurses and the doctor busied themselves with trying to save this man’s life. A moment of guilt came over him as he found himself thanking God that it wasn’t Tony who was struggling for his life; the kind of struggle that his DiNozzo was facing was not physical, but mental, and it would either destroy him or make him stronger.
Pushing these thoughts aside, Gibbs saw that the coffee was done and busied himself by pouring two cups, loading one down with hazelnut creamer and three sugars. While he was stirring in the sugar, he tried to block out the organized chaos going on around him. He felt sorry for the man who was fighting for his life, but right now, he had to keep focused on Tony. However, it was the hustle and bustle of the drama involved in saving a life that prevented the team leader from hearing the telephone ring in DiNozzo’s room.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Tony cursed as he nicked himself shaving, startled by the sound of the phone ringing. Putting a piece of tissue over the small cut, he managed to pick the phone up on the third ring. “DiNozzo!” he snapped.
“Still not a morning person, I see.”
DiNozzo stood tall, his eyes narrowed as rage began to course through his veins once again. The sound of Jason Miller’s voice made his blood boil with hatred, forcing him to become someone that he would rather not be. “How’s Kate?” he growled.
“She’s fine and she’s waiting on you.”
“When and where?”
“Noon at the entrance to Rock Creek Park. Come alone,” Miller instructed. “If you don’t come alone, I’ll slit her throat right in front of you.”
Tony clenched his jaw. “I understand.”
“The trade off will be simple. Once I have you, I will allow Kate to leave in the car that you arrived in. Don’t bring your gun, cell phone and don’t even think of getting fitted with any kind of tracking device. If I find anything on you that makes me believe that you’re being tailed, let’s just say that Kate won’t nearly be as pretty as she is right at this moment.”
“You lay a hand on her,” Tony seethed. “And I’ll…”
“Don’t worry. I’m planning on saving all my sadistic surprises for you. By the time I’m through with you, you will be begging me to kill you.”
“Let me talk to Kate,” the agent insisted.
“All right, but just for a minute.”
The next voice he heard was like music to his ears. “Tony?”
He could tell she was scared, but she was hiding it well. Kate was a strong woman, but even she had her limitations. “Kate,” he said, hoping that he was disguising the fact that he was scared as well. “Are you all right and tell me the truth.”
“I’m fine,” she assured him. “Tony, it’s a trap.”
“I know Kate, but everything is going to be all right.”
“Do you think I should tell her that you said the same thing to Sydney?” Miller interrupted.
“Bastard.”
“Yes, I am. Remember what I said, Tony. Come alone.”
The line went dead and Tony sat down on the edge of the bed. Anger and worry was consuming his every thought. The knowledge that Kate was all right calmed his frayed nerves only slightly, but the fact remained that she was in the clutches of Jason Miller. “Not for much longer,” he mumbled.
“DiNozzo?”
Tony startled at the sound of his name and dropped the receiver on the floor. “Hey, Boss. Didn’t hear you come in.”
“Thought you were taking a shower.”
“I was getting ready to and then…uh…then…”
“The phone rang,” Gibbs finished.
“How’d you know?”
“You just dropped the receiver,” Gibbs pointed out. “Pretty good indication that you were talking on the phone.”
“Guess that’s why you’re the team leader.”
“Who was it?”
Tony knew that he couldn’t lie to Gibbs, but Kate’s life was at stake. Maybe this would be a good time for rule number 18: it’s better to seek forgiveness than permission. He swallowed hard as picked the phone up off the floor and hung it up, trying to buy some time before he had to come up with a believable answer. Maybe he should try and utilize another rule; when you lie, be specific. “It was Miller,” he finally admitted.
He flinched as the ex-Marine’s eyes narrowed. Tony had been the recipient of that all too familiar glare too many times. “What did he say? Did you talk to Kate?” Gibbs anxiously inquired.
“Yeah. I talked to her,” he replied. “She sounded okay; maybe a little scared. Of course, who wouldn’t be scared being taken hostage by a complete psycho?”
“What did Miller say?” Gibbs pressed.
“Just that he’d be in contact soon,” he lied. “Just calling to get his kicks.”
Tony didn’t figure that Gibbs would buy into his story and he was right. As he tried to head back to the bathroom, the team leader grabbed his arm. “You want to try to come up with something better than that?”
“No, not really.”
“What did Miller say, DiNozzo?” Gibbs asked once again.
“He was just talking trash, Gibbs.”
He pulled free of the older man’s grasp, desperate to get away from Gibbs. Tony tried to escape to the bathroom, but the team leader simply followed him. DiNozzo braced himself against the sink. “Please, Gibbs,” he pleaded. “Let me handle this.”
“We’ve already had this discussion, DiNozzo,” Gibbs reminded him. “We’re going to do this together.”
Tony’s head was bowed, his hands gripping the sink. He had to fight the urge to pound the mirror with his fists, so he wouldn’t have to see his reflection or the reflection of the one man in the world that he didn’t want to disappoint. “I’m not risking Kate’s life! Don’t you see that the only way that this is going to end is when he gets what he wants? If he has me, then all of you will be safe.”
“That may be,” Gibbs reluctantly agreed. “But what about you?”
“Don’t you get it? I don’t care what happens to me! I don’t want him coming after you and the others! If I don’t do something, he’s going to come after everyone I care about and I can’t live with that!” Tony fought to keep his voice low and controlled. The last thing he wanted to do was to get into a yelling match with Gibbs. “It was me he was after the night Sydney and Sean died; I can’t have any one else’s blood on my hands, Gibbs.”
Gibbs exploded. “But it’s okay for your blood to be on my hands?”
Tony bristled and gripped the sink that much harder until his knuckles were turning white. He couldn’t bring himself to answer the team leader. Leave it to Gibbs to turn his words around and use them against him. “I’m not trying to be a hero here, Gibbs. I’m trying to do the right thing.”
“Then let me help you!”
He stood up and began to strip. “I need to take a shower. We’ll finish this later.”
“We’ll finish it now.”
Tony threw his hospital gown on the floor, not caring that he was clad only in his underwear. “You can’t always have your way, Gibbs. We both need to cool down and I need to take a shower. So you can either stand here or you can step outside, I don’t care.”
Reaching in, he turned on the hot water. He discarded his underwear and stepped in the shower and allowed the water to cascade over his body. Tony finally relaxed at the sound of the door closing, grateful for a few minutes alone. “I’m sorry, Gibbs,” he whispered. “I have to do this my way.”
He knew that now Gibbs was aware that he was hiding something from him, the ex-Marine would more than likely be calling McGee, implementing their own private protection detail to ensure that he was never alone. Tony was also aware of the fact that he was going to have to come up with something creative to escape the watchful eyes of Gibbs and McGee. He tiredly began to wash his body, as his mind attempted to formulate a feasible plan. Kate’s life depended on him coming alone to Rock Creek Park and he was not going to fail her like he had failed Sydney and Sean.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Kate watched Jason Miller as he sharpened another knife. His movements were slow and methodical, taking great care to make sure the blade was sharp. She had gotten a brief glimpse at the room she was being held in and the contents that she had discovered in it made her stomach turn. It was clear that Miller had a special purpose for this room and she had an idea that everything in this room was designed to make Tony suffer.
She had tried to warn Tony, but he wouldn’t listen. Kate had long ago accepted that as a federal agent, there was a chance that she could die every day she walked out her door. However, deep down, she wasn’t prepared to die at the hands of a maniacal killer. There was no doubt that Tony would make the trade and then he would be at the mercy of Jason Miller.
“Why are you doing this?” she finally summoned the courage to ask.
Without looking up, Miller replied, “Because I have to have closure.”
“Closure?”
“Yes. It’s the only way I can let Sydney’s memory go. I have to destroy the man who turned her against me.”
“Tony didn’t turn her against you,” she stated. “You did that yourself. She loved Tony and…”
“Don’t say his name anymore,” Miller coolly instructed. “As a matter of fact, don’t even talk.”
“But…”
She flinched as she felt the point of the newly sharpened blade dig into her skin. Being tied in a chair, she couldn’t defend herself and this frustrated her. Kate didn’t like being a victim, but at the moment, that’s exactly what she felt like; helpless and unable to do anything to help herself or her partner.
Miller sat back down and picked up a picture of Sydney. “She was beautiful, wasn’t she?”
“Y…yes,” Kate stammered, relieved to no longer have a knife at her throat.
“She didn’t look so beautiful when she died.”
“You’re sick,” Kate spat, her anger slowly building up inside her.
“You have no idea,” Miller laughed as he walked out of the room.
Kate was glad when he left her alone. She looked around trying to see if there was anything that she could use that would help her escape. There was no way that she could allow Tony to take her place. If Tony fell into the clutches of Jason Miller, she knew that she would never see her friend alive again.
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