Chapter 3 â€" Escalating Tension
Abby was sitting in an upright chair in front of what looked horribly like a double bed. A table behind her held a bottle and two wine glasses and the whole room was ominously surrounded by plastic sheeting, or at least covering the three sides of the space that they could see. The camera angle indicated it was positioned high up, above the head of the bed.
Her captor, who they assumed to be the Phantom, was standing with his back to the camera, facing Abby.
Gibbs curled his hand over his young agent's shoulder as McGee stared at the screen, unable to tear his eyes away, not sure if he was attempting to reassure McGee or trying to ground himself as he felt his stomach churn at the sight. He sensed Ziva move up to stand on Tony's far side, as she wordlessly supported her partner.
Fornell looked from the screen to Gibbs and back again, concern for the tremendous strain on his friend warring with his relief that Abby was still alive. The FBI agent was equally horrified to see his young friend in such obvious peril.
"Can you get sound on this thing too, McGee?" Gibbs' voice sounded hoarse as he tried to focus. When he didn't respond immediately, Gibbs squeezed McGee's shoulder again to break him out of his daze.
"Sorry… yeah, on it, boss. It'll only take a moment to set up." He glanced at his boss, a flash of understanding passing between the two men that neither wanted to examine too closely for the moment. Tearing his eyes away from the large screen and the sight of his former lover, McGee got to work.
Tony watched his boss and friend retreat behind a familiar icy exterior. He wasn't fooled for a moment by this mask, the image Gibbs usually projected in a crisis. They'd been grateful for that calm control in the past and Tony suspected they'd all need it even more before the day was out.
They all knew by now that the less emotion Gibbs showed, the more he was actually feeling. Given the unreadable expression on his face right now, his emotions had to be in turmoil.
The Marine felt far too much but was just better at hiding it than most.
Tony suspected that Gibbs especially felt too much when it came to their forensic scientist. He knew of Abby's strong feelings for Gibbs as she'd shared them with her 'big brother' in the past, but up till now he could only speculate on whether his boss reciprocated those feelings.
This was not the way in which he'd have wished to find out. Tony cared for them both and would have done anything to spare either of them pain.
Judging by his boss's reactions tonight, if they lost Abby, they could very well lose Gibbs as well.
Seemingly unaware of Tony's thoughtful look, Gibbs stared intensely at Abby, moving closer to the screen.
It was hard to see her in detail. She at least looked uninjured, but he'd never seen her sitting so still before. She was usually a bundle of energy, unable to keep motionless for very long. Even her hands weren't moving… which was almost unheard of. He couldn't think of a time when her hands weren't in graceful motion, gesturing, signing, fidgeting… or gesticulating in some way.
He sensed Ziva beside him and wasn't surprised when she voiced the thoughts running through his head. "Why is she not moving, Gibbs? It is hard to tell from this angle but it does not look as if he holding a weapon on her. So why is she sitting so still?"
Tony joined them, sounding puzzled. "Ziva's right, boss. She's not struggling or moving at all."
Fornell commented, pointing at the screen, "But she doesn't look tied up… at least her arms and hands don't appear to be tied."
Gibbs agreed, it didn't look as if her arms were bound to the chair. "Is there something else holding her there?"
Ziva moved closer to the screen, looking thoughtful. "There seems to be something around her waist, holding her against the back of the chair perhaps?"
"Yeah, but that doesn't explain why her head and arms look so… still," protested Tony.
"Perhaps she can't move them," commented Gibbs quietly, running through the possibilities in his mind as to why Abby couldn't move, none of them positive.
"You mean the bastard drugged her in some way, boss?" None of them had heard McGee's voice carry so much venom before.
Ever practical, Ziva said, "It would make sense, given that he was able to abduct her so easily from the parking lot. If he drugged her, it would make it easier to move her and subsequently restrain her now." Ziva hesitated before finishing her thought quietly, knowing none of them would like hearing it, "She would not be able to fight back… then or now."
What worried Gibbs more was the bed he could see at the foot of the screen. Together with the screen of plastic sheeting all round the visible space, it added up to a chilling picture.
Turning from the screen, he met Fornell's worried gaze as he moved up to stand beside him. "Looks like some kind of warehouse, Jethro. I don't like the look of that sheeting."
"Or the bed, Tobias," his throat closing over at the obvious implication. Gibbs swept his eyes over DiNozzo who seemed frozen to the image on the screen, anger rolling off him. Ziva stood quietly by her partner, her normally warm brown eyes dark with an icy fury as she took in the sight of her friend.
Even if Gibbs hadn't been intending to tear this Phantom limb from limb with his bare hands, from the look on Ziva's face she was planning to take the serial killer apart slice by slice.
McGee's voice broke into their reverie. "We've also got sound, boss, from the live feed. We should be able to hear what's being said in that room, as well as communicate with both the LA office and Callen and Sam in the field."
Gibbs listened as Eric directed the LA agents to the neighboring building to continue the search. Dread settled in his stomach as they found the owner, Mike Smith, dead and no sign of Abby, confirming Callen and Sam were in the wrong place. As the search expanded to include other sites owned by the lawyer, his gut screamed at him that they were going to be too late.
As the Phantom began moving towards her, they could see Abby glance up at the camera, although she still couldn't seem to move her head very freely.
"What's the bed for?" Gibbs could hear the fear in Abby's voice as he heard it for the first time as she tried to keep the killer engaged in conversation. Her voice sounded much quieter than normal and seemed slightly slurred, as if she was fighting off the effects of drugs.
The Phantom responded, raising his glass. "To you, who empower me."
Eric exclaimed, "Wait, he's toasting her. I thought he was gonna gloat. What's with the wine and the bed?"
Fornell glanced at Gibbs, "Is the kid really asking that? Jeez, I'd have thought it was obvious."
Hetty put in, "Men love women who appreciate them, and she alone has appreciated him."
Gibbs and Fornell exchanged worried glances, hearing their own fears being voiced aloud.
"He's going to… " Tony could barely bring himself to say the word, "rape her, isn't he, boss?"
Fornell turned, "It doesn't look like she can try and fight him off either… not if she can't move."
Ziva offered quietly, "Even if she could move, he has killed 14 people, Fornell. I doubt she could overpower him."
Gibbs looked at her, not liking that she was right. "I know, Ziva."
Fornell muttered, "Yeah, you might be able to, Ziva, but not Abby. She's not a trained agent."
Nate's voice brought their attention back to the audio feed, "I don't buy it. He's too smart. He knows she's his downfall. He knows that she won't come around. At best he's playing with her."
"Playing, like chess?" asked Eric.
Nate sounded grim as he replied. "More like a bear with a salmon."
Gibbs found himself gripping the back of McGee's chair, fists clenching and unclenching in an attempt to control himself as they calmly discussed Abby's plight, his Abby.
Abby's voice drew his eyes back to the screen, "You must have been good at math." He noticed her right arm had slipped down the side of the chair. Perhaps she was regaining some movement?
The Phantom sounded smug… boastful. "Good at everything. So, Tampa?"
"That was your first?"
That's it, keep him talking, Abbs.
Her captor shook his head, perching on the edge of the bed. "My fifth."
"So, what four did I miss?" He could tell Abby was trying to keep her voice neutral, whatever she might be feeling inside and even in the midst of his fear, Gibbs felt proud of the way she was handling the situation.
The Phantom could have been discussing the weather, his tone was almost conversational. "Well, they were before the suit. My first was in Chico. My first human, I mean. Animals, whew…. "
Gibbs could see her react, her green eyes widening as her breathing became faster, a shudder running through her frame.
Steady, Abbs, don't let him provoke you.
"Before that there were dozens of animals," the Phantom continued, smiling at some internal memory. "That's how I knew I was built for this, really… I just couldn't stop killing. It was such intense pleasure."
"It's not fun. It's awful. And you are awful." Abby's voice became stronger as her outrage and disgust gave it strength. "Every person and animal that you killed had a life, and people that loved them and deserved them alive. I'm not on your side. I've never been on your side, and I will never be on your side."
"I know." His quiet certainty as he got off the bed chilled those who were listening. "But it was fun to pretend. Do you want to pretend? Buy yourself another night of life? After all, you'll be able to move soon."
Gibbs felt his heart almost stop and fought to suppress something akin to panic as the Phantom patted the bed and spoke of Abby 'buying' another night of life… none of them in any doubt as to what that meant.
He could see the fear and despair pass over Abby's face before she tried to hide her reaction from her captor, and felt such a burning hatred for the man who would threaten her with every woman's worst nightmare.
Could this get any worse?
Could they all stand there… could he really stand here and watch Abby being raped in front of them all, while they stood by, helpless to stop it?
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