Chapter Five:

Tony woke with a start. It seemed to Tony as if he had been drifting in and out of the same nightmare for weeks. He remembered Freddy Krueger, as he had come to call his captor, demanding to know what NCIS had on him, and he had a vague recollection of his wallet, phone and car keys being taken out of his pockets. He thought he remembered there being another man with Freddy but the continual beatings made it hard for him to think clearly. He could barely remember what it was like not to hurt all over. At some point, the chair he had been tied to was knocked over, and Tony found lying on the ground, even if he couldn’t move, to be a vast improvement. It had become very hard to hold up his head during his moments of wakefulness. Sighing, Tony let sleep pull him back into the recurring nightmare.

When he woke again he wondered what day it was. He had no real sense of time and the blindfold prevented him from accessing the time of day. His thoughts drifted and he found himself thinking about his friends. He was proud of them. They worked hard, and more importantly, they worked well as a team. He remembered the dark days after Kate’s death, when Ziva was new to the team. Probie and Abby had been so broken and when she joined the team Ziva had been so defensive. He had worried then that they would not be able to hold it together. Tony remembered how he had ramped up the joking â€" Ziva providing the perfect foil as he teased her about her misuse of American idioms and proclivity to over arm, and soon McGee had joined in. He thought about the extra time he had spent with Abby, overcoming his own childhood fear of nuns and joining in on the weekly bowling dates, the lone male in a sea of women. The quiet, cherished evenings spent with Gibbs as he watched him endlessly sanding his boat, exercising his own personal therapy, floated through his thoughts. He remembered how the rhythm of the sanding had enveloped him, soothing him the way rocking calmed and comforted an infant. Tony realized that worrying about them, finding ways to ease their pain had been what had helped him to heal. He wondered if they knew he was missing yet. Did they realize how important they were to him? When had they started to drift apart? Had it been after Gibbs had left for Mexico to pull himself together or had that fucked up undercover operation with Jeanne been the turning point? Tony wished he had told them what they meant to him, but expressing real emotions was hard for him. It left you naked and Tony had discovered the hard way, at a very young age, what can happen to you when you are vulnerable. He had always thought that Gibbs understood, but lately he had not been so sure. Lately, Gibbs seemed distant and cold. His thoughts began to fog and he couldn’t think straight anymore. He could feel the nightmare knocking on the door again. Unable to resist, Tony succumbed to sleep.

The next time Tony was fully conscious it occurred to him that he had not heard Freddy or his friend in a long time. He knew he had been there for quite a while because of how thirsty he was. ‘Apparently ones own blood did not provide hydration,’ he thought bitterly. The cold from the floor seeped into Tony’s bones, and he was having trouble breathing. He had been jerked half awake often by the coughing spasms racking his body. The pain which had become his new reality demanded attention. ‘Just need to hold on until Gibbs gets here’ he told himself, and feeling slightly reassured, he drifted back into the sleep which was beckoning him.




When Gibbs and the team got back to headquarters, McGee immediately tried to trace Tony’s phone. “No luck Boss. Looks like it’s turned off.�

“Check his call log, McGee. Incoming and outgoing,� barked Gibbs as he paced in front of his desk.

“On it Boss�

“Ziva, get a bolo going on his car and file a missing persons report with the local Leo’s. I don’t care if it hasn’t been twenty four hours. Tell Metro this is one of our own and we know he’s in trouble. What’s taking you so long McGee?�

“The records are just coming on line now. Tony’s last outgoing call was to your phone Boss, at 17:35, Friday afternoon. His last incoming call was from Abby at 18:15 on the same night. “ He paused, looking worried. “If Tony were okay there is no way he wouldn’t have used his phone over the weekend, Boss“

Gibbs snatched up the phone on his desk and punched in three numbers. “Abs, when was the last time you talked to DiNozzo?� He paused, listened and then asked, “Hang on a second, I want to put you on speaker� and he signaled for his agents to join him by his desk. “McGee, get over here and show me how to do that,� and Gibbs waited while Tim took the phone away from him, punched some buttons and hung the receiver back up.

“You’re all set Boss.�

“What did you talk about Abs?�

“What’s this about Gibbs? Why are you asking all these questions? Where’s Tony? Is he okay? “

“We don’t know Abby and you were the last person he talked to on his cell phone, so I need you to take a deep breath and tell me what you discussed.�

“I called him Friday night to ask if he wanted to go bowling with me and the nuns. It’s been way too long since he did and Sisters Eloise and Maria have been nagging me to bring him along.� This piece of information caused McGee and Ziva to exchange a quick look. “He said he was too tired and that he was going to quickly check up on a lead and then call it a day. That’s pretty much it Gibbs.�

“Abby, did he say what the lead was?� Ziva asked.

“No and I didn’t ask. Gibbs, tell me Tony’s going to be okay! “

Hearing the growing hysteria in Abby’s voice Gibbs assured her, “We’re going to find him and he’ll be fine Abs. Stay there and I’ll let you know when we learn anything.� And with that, he signaled for McGee to end the phone conversation. Sighing with resignation, he knew what was coming, and mere moments later he heard the clomping of Abby’s boots as they raced through the bullpen. He braced himself as she catapulted herself at him, leaving him to support the breathless and shaking ball of black that had taken up residence in his arms.

“You have to find him Gibbs! Bring him home. This can’t keep happening to poor Tony. We need to take better care of him!�

Silently Gibbs agreed with the truth of Abby’s last statement. Aloud he said, “Let’s go down and see Ducky, Abs. I haven’t told him yet and you can keep him company while we find Tony. Ziva, I want you to review all the cases you worked last week. McGee, get into Tony’s computer and see if you can find out what this mysterious lead was. Call me the minute you have anything. Come on Abs� he said, putting his arm around her and drawing her towards the elevator.



Ducky looked up when he heard the doors to autopsy sliding open. Seeing Jethro enter with his arms around Abby, he braced himself for bad news. “Ducky, Tony’s gone missing. No one seems to have seen him since Friday night. The team is working on finding him as fast as possible but there’s nothing for Abby to do right now. I thought that she might keep you company for a bit.�

Trying to digest the information Gibbs had just shared he said, “Oh course she can. I think a spot of tea is called for� He watched as Gibbs pressed a kiss to Abby’s temple, gave her a hug, and wheeled to go back upstairs. “Jethro, please do bring Anthony back safe. “ More sternly he added, “Make sure that you also give some thought to that issue we discussed a few days ago. I worry that it may have contributed to this situation. If you think about it hard enough you will realize that you are the only one who can make that right.�

“I know Ducks. I intend to do just that after I’ve got him back� Gibbs said, surprising him self with this statement.

Smiling slightly to himself at Gibbs’ admission, Ducky said enigmatically, “See that you do. The rewards should outweigh the initial discomfort. Nothing worth having is easily attained.� Looking at Abby, he held out his arms and said, “Come along dear girl; let’s put the kettle on to boil. Jethro will let us know the minute he had good news.� And with that, Gibbs realized he had been effectively dismissed.



Upon re-entering the bullpen Gibbs was surprised by how quiet and tense it seemed. Gibbs looked over at his own area and saw Bob Sanders and Mike Young, a couple of agents from other teams, talking quietly to McGee and Ziva. Apparently word about Tony’s absence had gotten out he thought. As he walked towards his agents, he could feel heads all around the office watching him. Glancing about he was greeted with a series of nodded heads and sad smiles. When Gibbs reached his desk one of the two men speaking with Ziva turned and addressed him, “Hope you get him back soon Gibbs. We all like Tony. He’s a great guy and one of the best agents around. I know we all owe him a favor or two. Let us know if there’s anything we can do.� Gibbs nodded his thanks and as the agents drifted back to their own teams he wondered if Tony realized how he was viewed by his co-workers. ‘Guess that’s another thing we’ll have to cover when I get you back Dinozzo’ he thought, not willing to even entertain the idea that Tony might be gone forever.

“What ya got for me?� He demanded.

“Not much boss� said McGee. “I couldn’t find anything on his computer that referenced a new lead on any existing case. I checked the files on our newest cases and looked at his email. Ziva is still looking over the hard copy on the cases we worked last week but so far hasn’t found anything new.�

In frustration Gibbs dragged his fingers through his hair and glared at McGee as if the situation was somehow his fault. McGee was spared from the verbal assault which was bound to follow by the ringing of his boss’s desk phone. “Gibbs� he snarled into his phone. “When? Give me the location. My team will be there in just a few. Don’t let anyone mess with it� and with that he slammed the phone down. “Grab your gear, local Leo’s found DiNozzo’s car abandoned in a parking lot at the mall in Alexandria.�

Pulling into the parking lot Gibbs could see a squad car parked by Tony’s car. Slamming the car to a stop, he jumped out and demanded, “Has anyone touched it?�

“No Sir!� stuttered the patrolman, who looked all of fifteen. “We waited for you.�

“Good, we’ll take it from here,� and he pulled a glove on his hand and tried the driver side door. Finding it unlocked he ordered, “Ziva, sketch and shoot. McGee, see what prints you can pull and then bag and tag everything you find. �

It took them a while to thoroughly process the car. Gibbs had called and arranged to have the car brought back to NCIS. By the time the transport truck arrived to pick up the car the team had gotten all of the information they could from the car. They were discouraged as they watched the car being hoisted up onto the bed of the truck. There had been nothing out of the ordinary with the car. There was no sign of a struggle and nothing seemed out of place. The only worrisome element had been the discovery of Tony’s backpack on the floor in the back. They all knew Tony was not likely to have willingly left it behind. McGee had pulled a few prints off the car but would not know what he had until he could get them run through IAFIS. With that goal in mind they headed back, hoping good news waited for them back at headquarters. They were all aware that time was running out for Tony.