Tony drifted in and out of consciousness as he hung from the branch, swaying to the movement of the two men carrying him. The pain had become so pervasive that he couldn't think of a body part that wasn't hurting. His mouth was dry and he could feel his fever getting worse.
"Please," he called hoarsely, "may I have some water?"
The men walked on, ignoring his weak pleas. Tony passed out again; the next thing he knew they had entered another camp. The two groups of men faced each other warily, as the Leader moved to greet his counterpart.
Jeffrey Garner was a mercenary, an ex-SEAL dishonorably discharged after being implicated in arms smuggling. There was no way to prove his involvement, but Garner had a record of insubordination and other offenses, making it easy to kick him out of the service. He made his living selling his military expertise to the highest bidder.
Garner had a small group of hardened men working with him. All had some sort of military experience, and no ethics.
"What's the big hurry?" he asked the Leader. "You're a day early."
"My men are getting restless. We need to get our guns and go back to the fight," was the terse reply.
"You mean go back to terrorizing villages," snorted Garner. He signaled his second-in-command. "Show them the merchandise. Make sure you see their money first," he ordered.
The Leader motioned a man to follow the other.
"So," said Garner, "what's this about a man you want to trade?" He walked over to the two men carrying Tony, his expression curious. Seeing the prisoner's weakened condition, he laughed. "You said he was strong. He looks half dead to me."
"He's just injured, he'll recover," scoffed the Leader. "He's young and healthy. My cousin gave him to us. This one's a government agent."
"Oh yeah?" Garner seemed impressed. "Which government?"
"Estados Unidos. He's one of you, is that a problem?"
"Nope." Garner moved to get a closer look at Tony, turning the agent's face toward him. Tony stirred at the touch and opened his eyes.
"Hey," said Garner, "who do you work for?"
Tony tried to talk, but started coughing instead. "Please," he croaked, "may I have some water?"
Grabbing a canteen from one of the guerillas, Garner dribbled some water into Tony's mouth, making sure he didn't choke the injured agent.
"Thank you," murmured Tony, his head dropping down.
"I asked you a question." Garner's voice was hard.
Clearing his throat, he whispered hoarsely, "NCIS."
"Navy, huh? You guys are civilian, though, right?" Tony nodded.
"You guys gave me nothing but grief. Lost a really sweet deal when I got kicked out of the Navy." The mercenary laughed cruelly. "You got no friends here, buddy." He turned to the Leader. "Your guys do any sampling?"
"No," assured the Leader.
"Denny, come over here," Garner called out. "We got us a piece of meat we can sell to Lucho. Check him out, make sure he hasn't been used."
Denny led the men carrying Tony to a tent. Tony was untied and dropped to the ground. Everything appearing hazy, Tony looked over at the young mercenary. Snapping on latex gloves, Denny approached the injured agent.
"Now, let's have a look at you."
Too weak to fight, Tony closed his eyes, resigned to whatever was going to happen to him.
----------------
Moving steadily through the jungle, Gibbs and the other agents found themselves nearing a clearing. Motioning for quiet, Gibbs edged closer, using night vision goggles to observe the group of men camped out. Most of the men were gathered around campfires, drinking and laughing. There were two tents, but no sign of Tony.
Slipping back to where Ziva and Tabaraz waited, Gibbs laid out his plans.
"I couldn't see Tony anywhere, but he could be in one of two tents. Ziva, you take the one closest to us. I'll slip over to the other one; Tabaraz, you keep us covered. If you find Tony, Ziva, let me know. Speak very softly and use as few words as possible. Wait for me to acknowledge your message. I'll do the same to you if I find him."
Ziva nodded.
Switching his comlink on, Gibbs contacted McGee. "McGee, are you in position yet?"
McGee's voice crackled over the earpiece, "Affirmative, Boss. We're waiting on top of the hill just north of your position. Do you want me to come down and cover you from that direction?"
"Negative, McGee. When I give you the signal, have the pilot be ready to take off. We'll get Tony out of there, and if we need you to help us the rest of the way, we'll let you know. Be prepared to lay a covering fire behind us, in case we're discovered and they give chase."
"Roger, Boss, I'll be ready."
"Gibbs." He looked over at Ziva. "What if these aren't the buyers? What if Tony's already gone?"
Gibbs' eyes were cold and hard. "Then we get them to tell us where they took Tony and continue following." Ziva's mouth curled into a half smile and she nodded, pleased with the answer. She was just as determined as the senior agent to bring her partner and friend home.
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.