The mood inside the helicopter was tense as Gibbs, Ziva, McGee and Tabaraz headed into the interior of the country to rescue DiNozzo. The nature of the mission would be in question until they reached their target. What they hoped would be a rescue could well turn out to be retrieval of the young agent's body.
Joe Tabaraz waved toward a clearing below, indicating that the pilot was going to land there. When they were on the ground, McGee began setting up the communications equipment as Gibbs and Ziva checked their weapons and supplies. They were bringing water, food and some medical supplies with them- anticipating that Tony would need some care before he could hike back to the base, if he could hike back. They also had a portable stretcher, in case they had to carry him back. Tabaraz would be coming with them as back-up, while McGee kept in close contact with the rescue team. Few words were spoken as each member of the team went about their assigned tasks.
"Ready?" Gibbs looked expectantly at the others.
"Ready," replied Ziva, slinging her back-up rifle over her shoulder. Joe indicated he was ready, as did McGee.
Once they were out of sight of the helicopter, Gibbs tested the communications devices. "McGee, can you hear me?"
"Loud and clear, Boss. You?"
"That's affirmative. Ziva, Tabaraz, can you hear everything?" Receiving answering nods from the other two, Gibbs pressed on toward the last known location of the guerilla camp. Making good time, the three approached the area cautiously. Stopping when he thought they were a few hundred yards from the camp, Gibbs signaled the others to take cover.
"McGee," he whispered into the com link, "has there been any chatter over the radio?"
"No, Boss," replied McGee. "It's been very quiet."
"Ziva, you and Tabaraz stay here. I'm going to go see if I can spot Tony and check out the position of the men."
Gibbs edged forward stealthily, taking care not to step on any branches. He was starting to get a bad feeling, it was too quiet. Dusk was approaching and they should be able to hear the guerillas talking among themselves. As he reached the tree line his heart sank. The camp was deserted.
"Damn."
Ziva's voice crackled through his earpiece, "What is it?"
"They're gone!" Gibbs stalked into the abandoned campsite, scanning the area for any signs of life. He heard Ziva and Tabaraz come up from behind.
"What happened?" asked Ziva. "It's very unusual for people to break camp at night."
Gibbs kicked at the smoldering embers of the campfire. "Maybe they got word we were coming. Or maybe something came up and they had to get to their meeting place sooner."
"It's too dark to track them," Tabaraz observed.
"The hell it is," growled Gibbs. "I'm not letting them get too far ahead of us." He scanned the ground, sweeping the beam of his flashlight around. "They headed that way. Let's go."
Luckily the moon was full and bright that night, illuminating the jungle in silvery light as it rose in the night sky. Determined to rescue their teammate and friend, the three pressed forward.
--------------
Tony was awakened by a shout. He looked around, confused, and saw two of the guerillas fighting. One of them pulled a large hunting knife and thrust it into the stomach of the other.
The leader of the group burst from his tent angrily. "What's going on?" he bellowed. "Ramon, Jorge, stop fighting!" He strode over to the injured man, lying on the ground clutching his abdomen, and bent down to check him out. Disgusted, he stood, took out his pistol and shot him in the head.
Tony felt his stomach jump at the sight of the cold-blooded killing. He knew there was no chance of his escaping, not when he was outnumbered and weak from dehydration, hunger and fever. His only hope was to antagonize the leader enough to have him lose his temper and kill Tony. Or wait for rescue, which seemed more impossible every minute.
"We go to the rendezvous now," announced the leader. "I'm not wasting any more time, you fools will end up slitting each others' throats. Grab what's important and let's go. Tomas, you get the prisoner and bring him to me, I'll make sure he doesn't give us any trouble."
"The sun is setting!" complained one of the men.
"Are you afraid of the dark?" sneered a second man. Another fight almost broke out, only to be stopped when the leader shot the complainer in the chest. "Does anyone else have something to say?" He glared at the others, smiling cruelly at the silence that surrounded him.
A big, burly man approached the prisoner and dragged him to his feet. Pain flared in Tony's shoulder and he got lightheaded. Unable to resist, he was dragged roughly to the man that had just callously killed two others.
The leader grabbed the front of Tony's shirt and pulled him forward. "We're going now, to trade for guns and ammunition. You will bring a nice price for extras, maybe some grenades or machine guns." He put his face within inches of Tony's and growled, "Give us any trouble and I will gut you like a deer. That will not make me happy, but I will do it."
"I don't know if I can walk very far," argued Tony, weakly.
The man just laughed and pushed him back toward Tomas. Pushing Tony to the ground, Tomas untied his hands and re-tied them in front of him. Then he tied Tony's knees and ankles together. Calling someone over, Tomas grabbed a long, heavy branch and threaded it through the ropes; then he and the other man lifted the branch, and Tony, and placed it over their shoulders. Tony hung helplessly from the branch, the wound in his shoulder sending tendrils of pain up his arm and through his body.
The group of men headed off as the sun began to set.
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"Boss, can you hear me?"
"What have you got, McGee?" Gibbs never slowed down, leading the other two agents through the shadowy jungle.
"I think I know where they're heading. There were a couple of transmissions, it sounded like coordinates for a meeting."
"Did you know they were breaking camp and moving?" demanded Gibbs, angrily.
"No, Boss! These transmissions just came over a few minutes ago. It sounds like they're communicating on the go. The people they're meeting with aren't happy that they're coming sooner, but they gave the guerillas their position anyway." McGee sounded insulted.
Gibbs didn't bother to apologize for snapping at the young agent. "Which direction do we head?"
"The rendezvous point is about 7 miles west of your position. From the short conversation they had, the guerillas aren't far from there." He paused, then said hesitantly, "Um, Boss?"
"Spit it out, McGee."
"They said something about having someone to trade for extra munitions. That he was young and strong and would make good money for the buyers overseas."
"No," replied Gibbs firmly, "he won't. Is there any place near the rendezvous point that you can land the helicopter and wait for us?"
There was silence as McGee checked the map. "Yes, Boss, there's a hill nearby, with a flat top, according to the topographic map. We can swing further west and approach it from the other side, so we don't attract attention. You'll have a little over a mile to get from the camp to the helicopter."
"Good. Meet you there, McGee. Keep monitoring the communications."
"On it, Boss."
Taking out his compass, Gibbs checked their position and then led Ziva and Tabaraz west.
Author's Chapter Notes:
A mission to South America turns into something unexpected.
Chapter End Notes:
The characters in this story belong to Bellisarius Productions and Paramount, except for the original characters. No copyright infringement is intended. This story is for entertainment purposes only; no money is being made. Huges thanks go to Rinne, who makes me look smarter than I am by clearing up my bad punctuation and asking me questions when the story doesn't make sense. She also helps when I just don't know how to get from Scene A to Scene B. hugs to Rinne.
A/N: Spanish is indicated by italics.
A/N: Spanish is indicated by italics.