A/N: Okay so this is a story that I've been working on in between all my other stories. I finished it now. It is a one-shot but if there is enough response I am willing to continue it in a sequel...

I don't own either NCIS, JAG or Criminal Minds.

Don't forget to review, and remember to enjoy!

Slowly the world came back into focus for Tony DiNozzo. Not that he wanted that, he was quite comfortable in his king-size bed. The buzzing of his alarm clock was not helping any. He turned around, expecting to cuddle into the large frame that normally laid beside his only to be met with an empty space.

"Wake up, sleepy head. You're going to be late if you keep lazing about." The man who talked to the still sleeping Tony entered the room in his uniform, piece of toast in hand.

"Don't wanna," Tony mumbled. "Come back to bed, please?"

"Can't. Court date, remember?"

"Harm!" Tony whined. Harmon Rabb chuckled and leaned over the still form of his lover.

"Wake u-up!" He sang softly to the Italian.

Hearing Harm's voice from close by, Tony opened his eyes. He turned around and saw the clean-shaven face of the JAG. He smiled lazily before he reached up and gave his man a morning kiss.

"Mmm, morning Tony." He kissed Tony back with fervour.

Tony quickly linked his arms around Harm's neck and pulled the man over him. With smirks and chuckles, the men laid on the bed kissing each other. They were interrupted by the loud tones of Tony's phone.

Tony groaned before he pushed Harm off of him and reached over the bed to his nightstand.

"DiNozzo," he groaned in the phone.

"…"

"Where?"

"Be there in thirty, boss." With that he hung up and reluctantly got out of bed.

"Case?" Harm asked, getting off the bed as well.

"Yeah, dead PFC found out in the woods," Tony was already in the bathroom and turned the shower on. He yelled to Harm over the falling water.

"Apparently, murdering naval personnel is becoming quite the hype."

Harm shook his head. He was always caught by surprise when it came to Tony's cavalier attitude to the objects of his job. Of course, he understood that Tony needed to be so blasé to be able to keep doing his job without going insane.

"Eggs and bacon?" He yelled out to the half-closed bathroom door.

"Please!" was the response.

Harm had just finished Tony's breakfast when he came into the kitchen. Harm turned around to check his partner out. He loved seeing Tony enter the kitchen in the morning in a sharp suit that was freshly put on. The way it fell around his frame was something that still took his breath away.

"Thanks, babe," Tony gave him a peck on the lips and quickly ate his breakfast.

Harm wordlessly handed him a thermos cup with strong coffee. Tony sniffed at it.

"Did you make this for me or for me to give to Gibbs?"

Harm smirked. "You need it, if your performance five minutes ago was anything to go by."

"Thanks. Love you," Tony gave Harm another kiss, this one deeper. "And good luck in court today. Not that you need it. You'll bury the guy."

Harm chuckled and shoved Tony lightly.

"Go! Find me a guy to get convicted." Tony gave his million watt smile at that and quickly grabbed his gear.

"And don't forget dinner at my mother's this Saturday!" He called after Tony. There was a second of silence.

"Damn. I'm really hoping for another dead guy," Tony answered. Harm grinned at that. It was no secret that Tony and his mother did not get along. Well, that was not true. They just got under each other skins in a matter of seconds.

"Only reoccurrence of the plague or a kidnapping will get you out of this one, Tony."

"Fingers crossed for kidnapping then … I hate hospitals."

The front door closed with those words and Harm laughed at no one. He had been together with the crazy-assed Italian for almost six years now. He had met the special agent when he and Gibbs were investigating the death of a JAG. They had even arrested him for some time, only to find out that he was not the one who murdered her.

A few years later, after his assignment in London was finished, he had returned to DC and accidentally bumped into Tony. They had immediately recognized each other and had decided to join for drinks.

They both were shocked at each other's lives; plague, lost loves, crazy London terrorists, partners shot and bosses with amnesia… Tony had struggled to keep his team together, and had been close to fallen apart himself.

Harm had helped Tony to keep it together. He was the one who listened to Tony when he needed to rant and vent. And he supported Tony through it all. And one day he had realized with a shock; he was in love with him.

Hiding his love had done such wonders for him and Mac, he decided to take the plunge with Tony. Everything that happened at their job helped him realize one thing; life was too goddamn short to hide and be scared. So when he confessed his feelings to Tony, he fully expected to be rejected when living this 'carpe diem' philosophy. He hadn't expected Tony to throw himself at him and kiss the living daylights out of him.

So Rabb was there when Tony came to him, fully conflicted what to do with an undercover assignment. Rabb had urged Tony to take it, taking out the arms dealer had been too important. Tony had explained it involved seducing and dating the arms dealer's daughter.

The next day Harm had been in the office of one Jenny Shepherd explaining to her his relationship with Tony DiNozzo. Jenny had been surprised, but supportive and the undercover assignment had changed. Instead, Tony had become great friends with the woman.

It had come as a great shock for Jeanne that he was in fact an NCIS agent. That day was one of the worst days of Harm's life; getting the call from Jenny that Tony's car had been blown up.

Harm shook his head to free it from his reveries. He had a court to attend and a judge and jury to convince. Carefully making a last round through the apartment, he locked the door behind him.

Tony arrived at the end of the trail. He quickly put on heavy boots for the hike towards the crime scene. Arriving at the scene he stood still to take in a very unusual sight. His team mates were working together with FBI agents. On the off side stood Gibbs with another stern-faced man.

"Well, I finally found out what it feels like to fall down the rabbit hole," Tony spoke out loud.

'There are no rabbit holes here, Tony," Ziva looked confused.

"It's a reference, Zee-vah! You know Alice in Wonderland, follow the white rabbit, falling down the hole, Cheshire cat, no?" Tony ranted.

Tony should have expected the slap on the back of his head.

"Morning boss," he called as a hand automatically went to the spot his boss just hit.

"Uuh, boss?" he called out tentatively.

"Joint investigation, DiNozzo. Apparently our PFC has been the victim of a serial killer. We now work together," Gibbs answered the question not asked.

"Never knew you as the sharing and caring type boss," Tony quipped. He could see from the tenseness in McGeek's shoulders that he had to deal with the brunt of Gibbs' anger before the SFA had arrived. The second head slap didn't come as a surprise.

"Photographing the scene. On it boss." Tony took his camera and went to work.

"Hi, you must be Tony DiNozzo," a dark man from the FBI came forward. "Let me introduce us."

"Oh, right. Tony DiNozzo Senior Field Agent for NCIS." He waved as he took a snap shot from a lost shoe.

"These are Dr. Spencer Reid, SSA Emily Prentiss, SSA Jennifer Jareau and talking to your boss is our boss SSA Aaron Hotchner." The crew nodded or waved at him and he smiled and nodded his head, before turning back to the man that had introduced the Fibbies.

"And you are nameless?" He inquired.

"Oh, right, Derek Morgan." He introduced himself.

"Pleasure," Tony responded. "Fair warning, don't try to steal our bodies; never ends well. We high jacked Air Force One once to make sure the body was in our custody," he smirked at their disbelief.

"And no, I'm not kidding," he turned back and started to take in the crime scene. Shooting pictures of the evidence and the area. He stood up as he remembered what else he did for that body.

"I actually hid in a body bag to make sure our pal Fornell and Slack didn't have the right body but me in the back of their van. Hurt like a bitch when they threw me out of it," he continued snapping pictures.

Morgan looked at Prentiss who mouthed "Are they for real?" to him. He didn't know, but somehow he felt the guy wasn't kidding.

"Ah man!" he heard Tony curse lightly.

"What's wrong?" Morgan asked the NCIS agent.

"I just got some kind of mud on my shirt. Damn it, this was a new Armani!"

Morgan shook his head at the man, not knowing what to think of him.

Tony looked around the scene. The PFC was shot in the head from quite up close. But the wounds didn't suggest a normal Beretta or Glock. If only he could find some brass. He went closer to the bushes and saw something glisten under the branches.

He zoomed in with his camera only to lower it as he realized what kind of brass he was looking at. He paled as he realized it, goddamn this.

"What's wrong, agent?" a deep emotionless voice asked from behind. Tony didn't turn around, couldn't turn around to see Hotchner.

"Boss?" He called out, his voice slightly trembling. Gibbs was next to him in a flash.

"What you find, DiNozzo?" His voice is gruff, and his eyes showed the concern he felt for his senior field agent.

"Brass, a Lapua .308," he answered. Gibbs stiffened as he leaned forward. Tony was bending away the branches to make the shells visible. Gibbs recognized the shells just as easily as Tony did. Gibbs put a hand on Tony's shoulder.

"Not the first time, and wouldn't be the last time, DiNozzo," he gruffly comforted him.

"But it's weird boss. Why would you use this for a kill from this distance?" He asked, his brain on full throttle.

"Got an ID, boss," McGee calls out. "Todd Gideon Price, he was a PFC on the USS Seahawk."

Tony and Gibbs stared at each other. Gibbs tilted his head and Tony nodded.

"I get started on the lists boss. Yours updated?" he tiredly swiped a hand over his face.

"It's still in the same spot," Gibbs told him.

Both men looked at the brass lying innocently on the ground with loathing edged on their faces.

"Wanna bet it's moly coated?" Tony mumbled to his boss.

Gibbs just shook his head, already knowing it to be so. Dammit, who the hell was after his team. Was it him personally they were after, or McGee or Tony?

"Boss? Why does Tony need your list?" McGee looked confused.

"Lapua 308, McClueless. Victim with the name of Todd Price. Served on the Seahawk." Tony's voice was clipped and calm, belying the storm below the surface. "Give the shells to Abby and I can assure you, she'll find they are fired from a Bravo 51. Brass from a Kate, and it's probably moly coated."

"Are we talking personal connections?" Reid asked the NCIS crew. "Because if we do, the entire BAU team has a connection with the name Gideon. He disappeared on us a few years ago; he had a burn-out."

Gibbs and Tony glared once again at each other.

"Refining and expanding, on it boss," Tony shoved his camera in his boss' hands and walks away quickly.

"So, what's the story here?" Morgan queried the NCIS team. It was silent for a moment, before McGee spoke up.

"A couple of years ago, one of our team members was killed by a rogue officer from another country. She was killed with a sniper rifle, a Bravo 51. The ammo that was used were moly coated Lapua 308's. Her name was Kate Todd," McGee swallowed roughly. He could still clearly recall the look of shock and grief on Tony's face as he got up on the roof, the spatters of blood on his face.

"And what was this all about brass of a Kate?" Emily wondered.

Ziva answered her question. "US Marine snipers call the Bravo 51 a Kate, agent Prentiss."

The BAU team stood in silence. They understood the references this victim had to this team's past.

"And Price?" Hotchner continued. McGee and Ziva exchanged glances.

"Tony has worked as a cop before he joined NCIS. He worked Homicide at Baltimore PD," McGee started to explain. "His partner was Danny Price. We found him dead at a copycat Port-to-Port crime scene."

"Jesus," Morgan breathed. He had worked as a beat cop as well. To find out your partner was dead hurt like a bitch. It didn't matter if you still worked with one another, it seemed that Agent DiNozzo had other tough breaks over the years as well.

"Tony was right, McGee. It makes absolutely no sense," Ziva looked at the victim. McGee joined her and nodded his agreement.

"But if you look at the patterns of the blood below the body … It suggest that Price was killed right here." McGee gestured to the pool of blood below the body. Ziva stood up and walked to the bushes where Tony found the shells.

"Then these were planted," Ziva concluded. "That means he has policed his brass from another location, to make sure we found it here."

Ziva looked at McGee. "What are the evens, McGee?"

McGee sighed and nodded. "Odds, Ziva. And yeah, you're right."

"What odds?" Hotch required with a frown.

"That a man with a name like that served on the USS Seahawk," Ziva told him. A look made it clear he didn't understand.

"Tony served as Agent Afloat on the USS Seahawk, Agent Hotchner." McGee cut in.

"So it all circles around Agent DiNozzo," Reid concluded. Ziva nodded.

"Yes, it's all very spooky. Tony really eats this if we don't solve this soon," Ziva commented. The FBI team looked confused.

"It eats Tony, Ziva," McGee corrected her, not so confused as the FBI by Ziva's problems with American idioms. "Not the other way around."

"What? How can it eat Tony? That does not make any sense," Ziva exclaimed.

"Where exactly are you from, Agent David?" Emily asked her amused.

"It's Dav-eed," Ziva corrected her. "And I'm former Mossad. I used to be liaison officer for Mossad at NCIS, but I decided to be an actual agent and become American citizen."

Emily and JJ exchanged glances. They were not so sure about her allegiances.

They jumped as a hand collided with the back of their heads. They turned around to find agent Gibbs glaring at them.

"I have a set of rules I live and work by. These rules help me and my team," he spoke softly. "Number one is; don't screw your partner. Trust is something hard to procure, but so damn easy to break. Don't try that with my team."

JJ and Emily slowly reached the back of their head as Gibbs looked at the guy and the opposite direction.

"McGee," he called out.

"On it boss," McGee called out.

"Take one of the," Gibbs looked distasteful at the girls, "FBI's."

Morgan walked up to McGee and they both disappeared into the woods surrounding the clearing. Gibbs walked away to the other side of the crime scene. Ziva approached the two women.

"It is okay, you get used to it. And it is not harmful," she told them with a small smile.

"You sure," Emily checked her hand to make sure she wasn't bleeding.

"Well, if you are exposed to it for long time … DiNozzo is a good example of it," Ziva laughed. "But mostly, he is a –what Tony calls – functioning mute. Slaps are signs of affection."

And with a pad on the arm she approached the trail.

"Ducky is here, Gibbs." She called. Gibbs turned around.

"Terribly sorry Jethro, but apparently Mr. Palmer here forgot that the body was on the end of the trail," dr. Donald 'Ducky' Mallard came into view with the young Jimmy Palmer behind him.

Ducky slowly sank on his knees at the body.

"Oh dear," he spoke softly as he saw the very familiar headshot on the victim.

"I know, Duck," Gibbs answered the M.E. with a squeeze of the shoulder.

"And I see we have some guests, how marvellous!" Ducky exclaimed. "You must tell me all about yourselves once this poor lad has finished his tale."

JJ raised her eyebrows in disbelief and turned to Reid. Reid was fascinated with the M.E. and didn't even blink or glance in JJ's direction.

"Jethro, where are dear Timothy and Anthony?" the old man asked Gibbs. Gibbs looked up with a glance.

"What do you mean; where is DiNozzo?" he barked.

"Well, his car is right by the beginning of the trail, next to Timothy's." Ducky continued unknowingly driving a knife through Gibbs' heart.

Ziva was already off in a dead sprint. Gibbs followed her just as fast. The FBI team was slower, even though they were well-trained as well. It was clear though, that the NCIS team was used to chasing trained men and women. They caught up with the two almost at the end of the trail, crouching down just besides the trail.

Gibbs' face was expressionless as he stared at the thin silver necklace lying innocently in the tall grass. He knew that necklace, it had belonged to Tony's mother and he always carried it with him.

"He would never have dropped this voluntarily or nilly-billy," Ziva spoke. Gibbs' didn't have it in him to correct her English at the moment.

The BAU team was standing a bit away from the two, who were now conversing quietly. Ziva took out her phone.

"Abby," she spoke and was quiet for a second.

"I need you to track Tony's phone," she asked. Hotch's eyebrows rose at that. Well, didn't they need warrants?

Gibbs caught the look and even though he normally wouldn't bother, especially at a time like this, he didn't need a second nagger from the FBI on his ass.

"We all signed agreements, Agent Hotchner. Comes with rule three," Gibbs looked the other agent deep in the eye. "Never be unreachable."

"Gibbs," Ziva called for his attention. "Abby cannot get a clear signal to track or even generally triangulate. She says the signal is wacky."

Gibbs fought the urge to scream frustrated with the disappearance. First the name and brass, and now Tony disappears? It cannot be a coincidence. And the BAU got the call that this was a murder by a serial killer they were hunting. Think, Jethro, think!

"Who was closest to this Gideon on your team, Hotchner?" he demanded. Hotchner looked at him.

"Dr. Reid," he answered the man.

"Guard him like a Doberman. My gut tells me that he is next to disappear."

They could do nothing more than finish up at the crime scene and take the body back to NCIS. The FBI was subdued by the disappearance of the exuberant agent, but the NCIS team was filled with rage and determination. No one was allowed to touch one of their own. No one.

"Gibbs," the entire group looked up to see a dark man in a suit coming down the stairs.

"Vance, now is really not the time," Gibbs growled.

"I know," Vance lifted his hand to sooth the irate agent. "I just came to tell you that your team has the lead on the case now. As it seems this was a trap, one that cost us an agent, you have the lead Gibbs."

Gibbs nodded at his director.

"And Gibbs," Vance spoke up. "Call him."

Gibbs grimaced but nodded. Vance once again disappeared up the stairs to his office.

"And that was?" Reid asked awkwardly.

"Director Leon Vance," McGee spoke to the guy.

"Gibbs doesn't like him very much, does he?"

"Gibbs doesn't like anyone very much," McGee answered. "Except his family."

Gibbs stared at the phone. He knew he needed to make the call, but goddamnit making the call made all of this real. And it would put a JAG on their ass. Resolutely he picked up the phone and dialled the number Tony gave him all those years ago.

"JAG office, lieutenant commander Roberts speaking."

"Yeah, this is special agent Gibbs from NCIS. I'm looking for Harm Rabb," Gibbs closed his eyes begging him not to be in the office.

"He is here, but I'm not sure he has time for you, sir. Just wait one moment," the line went dead until another voice picked up. Gibbs could hear the laughter in it as the man introduced himself.

"Commander Rabb speaking."

"Rabb? It's Gibbs," Gibbs was forcing himself to speak the words.

"Gibbs?" Harm sounded surprised. "What is it? I'm about to leave the office."

"Rabb, something happened this morning," Gibbs' voice softened involuntarily.

Harm couldn't help the shiver that sentence created down his back.

"Jethro," his voice was shaky.

"We were at a crime scene, dead PFC with the name Todd Gideon Price," Gibbs paused for a second. "Tony immediately realized what it meant and left for his car to go back to NCIS to work on our lists. He never made it to his car."

"O God," Harmon breathed. "Is there any sign of him or any communication?"

"Not yet," Gibbs confessed. "But listen Rabb, we have both the BAU and us here working the case and it'll be over my cold dead body before I let Tony die."

Harm chuckled watery. "Tony was never one to disobey your direct orders."

"Damn right he isn't," Gibbs grunted. "Come here, or I'll keep you posted through phone."

Harm was silent for a second, not able to let the situation truly sink in.

"I'll talk to the admiral to see about the case and get back to you," Harm spoke.

The two men quickly said their goodbyes. Harm kept staring at the phone after Gibbs hung up. This could not be happening. This morning they were joking about kidnapping and now it was actually happening! No, no, no!

Harm was lost in his own world, not realizing that the phone had slipped out of his hands, or that has knees had given out on him.

It was in this position, with tear tracks down his face that Bud Roberts found him. He immediately ran to his friend and colleague.

"Rabb, Harm!" He called out, gripping the man's face. "Come on man, talk to me."

His yelling alerted the rest of the office and it wasn't long before Admiral Chedwiggen himself came in the office.

"Roberts?" he asked. "What happened?"

"I – I don't know sir. I found him like this," Roberts stammered.

The admiral looked at his best prosecutor and came to the realization the man was in deep shock. He crouched down to Harm's level and smacked him firmly across the face. Roberts stared incredulously at him, but it seemed to have done the trick. Harm started to move again, his eyes flashing to all directions.

"Harm, I need you to calm down and tell me what happened," Chedwiggen's voice was stern and commanding.

"O God, Tony," the man groaned. Chedwiggen looked at the man with a sharp glance. He knew about the long-term relationship both men had. He had met DiNozzo and could see exactly how the man was the perfect fit for Harm. He lightened up Harm's serious character, and had enough backbone to stand up to him.

"What happened with DiNozzo, commander?" He demanded.

"He, he got caught. The crime scene was a trap and he was taken," Harm's breathing came out in gasps.

AJ Chedwiggen now understood the expression 'to be struck by lightning'. He felt exactly like that. DiNozzo always got in trouble, but always managed to get himself out alive and relatively unscathed. This though, it sounded like his team had no idea where he was. He said the only thing he knew to be true at this moment.

"Listen to me son," lifting Rabb's chin so the man was forced to look him in the eye. "Your man is tough and the most stubborn son of a bitch in his field. He can and will fight and tough this out."

Harm nodded at the admiral, making sure that the man knew he had heard him.

"And his boss is the other most stubborn son of a bitch in the world. And he would not fail his SFA in such a way. He will do all he can to bring him back. And when that man is Gibbs, well that says something."

Harm took in a shuddering breath and acknowledged Chedwiggen's words with another nod.

"Now, you're in no way capable of handling court today. I'll contact the judge and make sure to postpone it, making sure they understand the extenuating circumstances," Chedwiggen started to give his orders. "You, you are going to let Roberts here drive you to NCIS and you'll sit tight there and help Gibbs in anyway he'll let you. Understand!"

"Yes, sir!" Harm nodded and forced himself off the ground. Bud was there to steady him, and silently guided him to the car. Harm's tall frame was shaking like a leaf. He was scared, scared as hell. Who took Tony, and why?

The world came back to him in black and white. 'So this is what a dog sees,' he thought hazily. A menacing chuckle brought his thoughts to clarity.

"Welcome back, Special Agent DiNozzo," the kidnapper spoke from behind him. Tony squinted against the torch that was shone in his eyes.

"Time to give your little friends the good news," the voice continued.

Tony wrecked his brain, he knew that voice but from where? Realizing the guy was waiting for an answer he gave it in typical DiNozzo fashion.

"Well, I know I was out of it for some time, but nine months? I'm sure I didn't miss that much," he spoke flippantly. "Sounds a bit three men and a baby to be honest."

A blow on the back of his head silenced him. The kidnapper moved to his front and put a riffle against Tony's forehead.

"You shut up, and only tell them this," the kidnapper ordered and started to tell Tony what he had to say.

The bullpen was loud, but at the same time eerily quiet. Ziva kept glancing at the desk opposite her. Instead of seeing Tony hanging back in his chair making some obscure movie reference, a dark FBI agent was going through Tony's list of arrestees and enemies. Every now and then he asked a question about someone on the list. Gibbs almost always could explain who and why, but some convicts originated back to his early PD days.

The elevator pinged and everyone automatically turned around to see who it was. A tall man in full dress came speeding towards them. The FBI exchanged glances and casted looks at the NCIS team. They could clearly see the grimaces on their faces and Gibbs stood up from his desk and met the man head on.

"Rabb," Gibbs grabbed the man by the arms. "We have no reason to believe he is dead. We would have found his body instead of the necklace. We just have to wait until the people who took him contact us and then I will turn over every goddamn stone until we have him back."

The man nodded and heaved a huge sigh. He turned to the FBI team.

"Who are they?" he asked a bit imperious.

"FBI, Behavioural Analysis Unit. They suspected the dead marine was part of a serial. Now, we can only guess why they staged the crime scene so we had to share jurisdiction," Tim spoke up. "Morgan move."

Derek lifted an eyebrow but stood up from the desk. Harm let himself fall into the chair and automatically grabbed the picture that rested against the monitor.

"Hi, commander Rabb?" an awkward voice made him raise his head. A guy with too long hair and a distinct college nerd vibe waved at him.

"My name is dr. Reid, with me are special agents Hotchner, Prentiss, Jereau and Morgan."

Harm stared at the young man for a second and then nodded to him. He turned to Gibbs.

"What do we know?"

Gibbs appraised him for a second. Hotchner was clearly about to speak, no doubt keeping him out of the investigation, when Gibbs spoke.

"Victim's name was Todd Gideon Price, deployed on the Seahawk," Gibbs started. "Duck's still working the autopsy, but we guess headshot with a Bravo 51 was cause of death, although the guy was cut up pretty bad. Tony found Lapua 2308 shells on the scene as well."

Harm was quiet as he forced his brain to work past the panic.

"Well, clearly this screams set-up," he spoke softly. "And you're sure he was taken."

Gibbs didn't speak but stood up and put the thin silver necklace in an evidence bag in front of Rabb on Tony's desk. The poor guy paled even further. Tony would never be so careless to lose it or willingly leave it behind.

"I understand how hard it is, sir. But you cannot be here." Hotch finally spoke up. His team didn't miss both Ziva and Tim flinch at this. They looked apprehensively at the commander, who rose slowly from the chair.

"FBI agent Hotchner?" He began, Hotch nodded not willing to back down. "We have a dead PFC on our hands, and the kidnapping of a NCIS Agent. According to my profession and my position within the JAG office, I can assure you my presence here is better explained than yours."

JJ had to admit it, the man; he was good. They hadn't realized he was JAG, though she could now see the little crest on his sleeves. And he apparently was a top JAG. She glanced quickly at agent Gibbs, his face was unreadable but she was sure he was not about to force the man away.

"Are you personally invested in the disappearance of Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo?" JJ had to give it to her boss, he was not backing down.

Rabb now almost stood toe to toe with Hotch. His impressive stature loomed over the FBI agent.

"Maybe, but not in the death of PFC Price," Harm was just as quick as Hotch.

Morgan had sunken down on McGee's desk. The both of them were watching the two alpha's go at it like they were watching a tennis match.

"Commander Rabb!" Another voice sounded from the balcony. Everyone looked up to see a dark man in an expensive suit standing there.

"Stand down!"

"Director Vance," Rabb spoke as a greeting. Morgan and Reid looked at each other warily. They knew NCIS was far smaller than the FBI, but was a big player in the inter agency politics. And the way the MCRT was reacting to their director made it clear they knew him far better than their team would ever know Strauss.

"SSA Hotchner," the man spoke to their boss who straightened when the hawk-like eyes rested on him. "You and your team were attached to this case as a courtesy to the BAU. Do not presume you can tell any navy officer what to do, especially JAG commander Rabb. He will have full disclosure on both the death of PFC Price and the disappearance of Agent DiNozzo. He will not have any field privileges," with this he shot a quick glare at Rabb. "But his mind is sharp and you will make use of it."

Vance didn't bother with the rest and walked away again.

"Oh, and Gibbs?" he called, turning back around. Gibbs tilted his head a bit, showing he was listening.

"Bring your boy home, now." Gibbs smiled a bit at this.

"GIBBS!GIBBS!GIBBS!"

The entire BAU team jumped in their spot as the shriek sounded through the bullpen and heavy footsteps made their way. They looked warily at the NCIS team, who was merely bracing themselves.

A black blur in a white lab coat collided with Gibbs, who was already waiting for it with open arms.

"He can't go missing like this! He has to be okay, Gibbs. He always is!" The Goth was beside herself. "Although there was the heavy scarring in his lungs from the plague. And there was the extensive therapy after that diving off the docks thingie."

"Abs," Gibbs softly interrupted his forensic scientist. "He'll be fine. We'll get him back, I promise. If serial killers can't kill him, this won't."

"Serial killers?" Emily echoed.

The Goth in lab coat turned around, showing her heavy black make-up had smeared under her eyes through her tears.

"Yeah, White. We thought he was an Iraqi antiques dealer. Turned out he liked to slice throats. Tony went undercover, and in the end tried to convince him to get himself arrested but had to shoot him." She took a deep breath before her eye fell on Harm.

"Harmon," she let go of Gibbs and made her way over to the JAG. Without hesitation she wrapped her arms around his ways, giving him the strongest hug she could achieve. To the surprise of the BAU he returned the hug with the same vigour. After a while they let go of one another.

"You, mister lawyer, will stop thinking doom things," she started to lecture the man who was almost twice her size and length. "That does not help Tony! We need to think positive. He will get through this, you understand!"

The BAU was surprised by the ferocity of her glare. The tiny Goth could apparently make the biggest of man cower with her black accented eyes. It came as no shock that Harm nodded his acquiescence at her demand.

"Good," Abby nodded, before she visibly reigned in her emotions. "I'll look into surveillance and traffic cameras, see if I can come up with anything hinky. And I'll leave the trace program running continuously on Tony's cell. When something comes up, I'll be ready." Her eyes narrowed. "And Gibbs?"

Gibbs nodded. "I know, free reign no forensics or body left behind."

"Precisely," and with those words she disappeared to set up everything in her lab.

McGee had been startled out of his staring with Abby's suggestions and began running through all the cameras in the area surrounding those parts. It was not a heavily used piece of road, so the cars could actually be followed up.

The BAU had retreated with a list of potential enemies that could have taken DiNozzo. They were slowly making their way through, but it was tedious work to follow up on the extensive list of names. But they did it without complaining, considering the list had been cleaned up a few years back when agent DiNozzo had been framed for murder.

They spend the next couple of hours doing exactly that, whilst Gibbs was off in MTAC and fighting with the director and SECNAV. Morgan shook his head and called softly to Ziva.

"Does your boss actually have the balls to fight with those political heavy weights?" He could not help the incredulity in his voice. Ziva met him with a flat stare.

"He and Tony managed to blow them both in rescuing me out of a terrorist camp in Somalia." She responded without emotions.

"Sucker, Ziva, it's sucker not blow," McGee corrected her without moving his eyes from the screen in front of him.

Harm looked on as both teams tried to find out who had taken Tony. God, why did they have to tempt fate like that this morning? With Tony's bad luck, of course something like this was bound to happen. He realized that he should really cancel dinner with his mom this weekend, but immediately discontinued that thought. God, his head was a mess.

The phone on Gibbs' desk was ringing. Both teams stopped what they were doing and stared at the phone. McGee and Ziva looked at each other. When Gibbs wasn't in the bullpen, normally Tony answered the phone. They never dared to touch the phone on Gibbs desk. Now, they sort of had to.

McGee made the decision and resolutely walked the short distance.

"Special Agent Gibbs' desk," he spoke up. After a short while of silence he spoke up again.

"Is it sufficiently screened?"

"…"

"No, I did not imply that you don't know how to do your job. But then again, have you checked for any lead lining in the package?" He asked, anger now tinting his voice.

"Do that first before you send it up. Make sure there is not a freaking live bacteria in that package before you do pass it."

"Yes, I'm sure!" he growled impressively. 'The last time your department didn't 'bother' with that, sir, it caused a life threatening situation for our Senior Field Agent, that's why!"

"You do that!" With a bang McGee hung up. Turning around he saw Gibbs standing behind him, demanding an explanation with is icy blue stare.

"Package was hand delivered for 'team Gibbs', boss," McGee huffed out. "They called up after doing preliminary checks on it. But with our luck receiving mail …"

"Attaboy, McGee," Gibbs petted the back of his head for a second before dumping a coffee in front on Rabb, while sloshing his own in his cup.

"Drink, Rabb," he ordered. "We need you sharp, not in exhausted shock with a lack of caffeine running through your body."

Reid looked like he wanted to cut in but a small headshake from Hotch prevented that. Hotch understood what the team was going through. Had he not felt similar when Reid was taken by Tobias? And it seemed this team was even closer than his own unit, actually having made their own dysfunctional family. He was only wondering what Rabb's place was in this family.

But besides that, this must be killing them. He could see they were like dogs with a bone when it came to cases. He had seen their closure rate, when he was handed information on the team by Strauss. Seeing the team work with such finesse and ease, every single member knowing exactly what was expected of him or her based on just the calling of their names … It made him realize that his team was not the closest they ever saw, something that he used to think in the crevices of his mind.

Fifteen minutes later an irate middle-aged man came out of the elevator, carrying a brown small package. Without a word he dumped it on top of Gibbs' desk and turned around. Though not before sneering disdainfully at McGee, who looked back unimpressed.

"Nice look, McGee," Ziva commented, trying to lighten the mood. McGee smiled at her.

"Please, I've been working under Gibbs for years now," he waved her away. "Like that small little puppy glare would scare me."

JJ looked at Gibbs, noticing the small quirk of the corners of his mouth. She fought down the urge to laugh at the ridiculousness of this. The man was proud because his team had learned to withstand intimidation because of his own voracious glaring capabilities.

All eyes centred on the package. Ziva had called down to the lab and autopsy. Jimmy, Ducky and Abby had quickly gathered in the bullpen as well.

Gibbs opened the package, wearing white gloves. They all raised their eyebrows when the package opened to reveal an old VHS tape. Abby walked over slowly and started to inspect it meticulously.

"Older tape, Gibbs," she started to say. "Scratched on the flap indicate it has been used before in a video player. Though the old tape can be an indicator that the camera our perp uses is so old he needs a player to put it on a tape from the recording tape."

Abby quickly pilfered a post-it from McGee's desk.

"Got it, production code and make," she threw the post-it block to McGee, who wordlessly caught it and started to type away on his computer. After a couple of minutes, which Gibbs used to dust the tape for fingerprints, he nodded to his boss.

"Program is running, boss."

Gibbs saw only one set of prints and quickly took them. After he was done he handed them over to Abby. Ziva walked to the desk slowly, and at the imperceptible nod from Gibbs, she took the tape and put it in the video player connected to the plasma. She pressed play and stepped back.

The BAU team was leaning on different desks while staring at the screen. The NCIS team had gathered around each other, ready to support their family however they could. Emily had to swallow a lump as she saw the wordless love everyone was expressing.

Morgan looked around them, and realized the entire bullpen had quieted down. Everyone was pausing in their steps, or leaning over the partitions. It was clear that Tony DiNozzo's fate had all of the agents worried.

The black faded away to a dark red brick wall with a concrete floor. And there in the middle of the shot, was Tony bound to a metal chair glaring furiously at the person who apparently was behind the camera. He seemed to give some directive as Tony nodded, while clenching his jaw, before focusing on the camera in front of him.

"Hey Boss, Ninja, Probie, and of course my Mistress of Darkness," Tony smiled his exuberant smile, though it was weakened by the red blood tainting his teeth. "And I guess a big shout out to our guest Fibbies as well."

Gibbs smirked, that was his SFA.

"Okay, well as you can see I'm alive, though at the moment I'm in a bit of an Arikatie situation." Tony's attention shifted to slightly above the camera.

"Dude, I'm me; I make movie references. For your information; Arikatie is a Japanese cartoon genre based on beautiful girls with big eyes and brightly colored hair, red for example, and their ass-kicking ways. It is a guilty pleasure, sue me."

To their horror they suddenly saw a black flash coming in front of the camera, with an accompanying snap. They could clearly see Tony bracing for the pain he obviously felt. The bloody lash across his pristine white shirt sickened them. When Tony could breathe normally again he glared back at the person behind the camera.

'This was a 500 dollar Dolce shirt! You do not put that in harm's way, it's sacrilege!" Tony yelled out, as if scandalized by the occurrence, not as if he was in pain.

"Alright, alright!" Tony acquiesced. "So this is what I have to say to you, and can you believe I've got flash cards at the moment? This is pay-back, one does not leave me without consequences. Say goodbye to those weakest, they will be next."

Tony was silent for a second, shifting his eyes once again up. "I swear, I feel like we need background music. Something like Jaws or that whistling tune from Kill Bill. Makes for a nice eerily atmosphere."

Again the whip came down on Tony's torso, though this time he didn't comment on it.

"You guys have twelve hours before his next step. So; Good morning, and in case I don't see you anymore; Good afternoon and Good night!"

The video turned back to black. The BAU team was slowly looking at the NCIS members. To their surprise Gibbs was smiling.

'That's my boy, Tony." He mumbled slowly.

"Abs," he spoke. Abby nodded fervently.

"I'm going to do a thorough check with McGee of the entire building."

"You recognize-"

"Truman Show, Gibbs," she spoke. "I watched it this weekend with him. It's about a man whose entire life is a tv show, meaning-"

"Everything is on camera," Gibbs nodded. "Get at it."

"His shirt," Morgan spoke up. The NCIS team froze and looked at the man.

"He said it was Dolce on the tape," he was slowly thinking. "But at the scene he was groaning about ruining his Armani shirt with mud." His eyes opened. "Replay the tape."

McGee did as was asked and they once again heard Tony complain about his shirt.

"Harm's way," Reid mumbled, before his eyes opened dramatically.

"The Unsub knows commander Rabb. Probably has a stronger connection to you, commander, than Tony. Why else would he change the name of the shirt?"

Rabb's eyes widened.

"But, I'm a prosecutor. I take most of the bigger cases with JAG. Do you have any idea how long my list is?" he breathed.

"But Tony knows who the Unsub is. And we can judge how tall he is. Tony was continually staring him in the face. We know how tall Tony is, we can easily estimate his height."

"He has a gun to his head, boss," McGee mumbled looking downcast. Everyone shut up and looked at the agent.

"He said Arikatie, boss. As in Ari and Katie. Kate always got very annoyed and threatened to shoot him when he called her Katie. And the Japanese cartoon he referred to is not called that. Closest I can figure is anime, but …" McGee shrugged helplessly. "I don't know if he refers to the rooftop or autopsy, boss."

Gibbs roughly scratched his face.

"One thing at a time McGee," he sighed. "Make sure you keep an eye on tracking the tape. Abby's running the prints. We need to see which people hate you that Tony knows, Rabb."

"It's a man," Hotch cut in. "Agent DiNozzo made sure to nickname us all at the beginning of the tape. He consciously called the Unsub 'dude'." Hotch turned to Rabb.

"It is someone who probably greatly disliked Tony and wasn't afraid to show it."

To his shock everyone snorted. He frowned a bit, wordlessly demanding an explanation. NCIS looked at each other, before all turned to Harm.

"Agent Hotchner," Rabb spoke slowly. "I don't know if you actually seen and spoken to Tony, but there is more than your fair share of people that dislike Tony."

"He has a bit of an abrasive side to him," Ducky allowed. "But that does not stop a lot of people caring about the boy."

Reid ignored everyone and kept staring at the now frozen image of Tony in the chair. He had the entire thing memorized and was actually staring in the void, trying to come up with clues. He got stuck on one sentence.

"Commander Rabb, has one from your office been reprimanded for improper conduct?" He asked, cutting through all the conversations and speculations.

Harm looked up at the genius.

"Several people, myself included at some times. Why?"

"Has one of those people been involved in some sexual situation or encounter at the office?"

"Where are you going with this Reid?" Hotch asked his colleague.

"After the Japanese cartoon comment he talked about a redhead. Now, you all assume it was about the late Agent Todd. But after that, Agent DiNozzo said; 'It's a guilty pleasure, sue me'," Reid started to pace in the small space in front of the plasma.

Gibb stared at the young man. "You think it has something to do with jealousy, dr. Reid?"

Reid looked up as if he just realized the man was standing across the bullpen. He nodded.

"Guilty pleasure is what sticks with me and the 'sue me'. I've only met Agent DiNozzo for brief moments but he would not throw out such phrases for nothing in a situation like this."

McGee nodded. "It's one of his strong suits. He talks a lot, so people tend to miss that he slips the important parts between the mindless babble. Throws people off."

"That leads me to believe that the Unsub can actually sue someone. Since he later makes a comment about commander Rabb, its only conclusion is that-"

"It's someone working for JAG," Morgan finished. "Good work, Pretty Boy."

"But the guilty pleasure, I'm still not sure what he means by that," Reid frowned. The bullpen was silent for a moment, before McGee broke it hesitantly.

"I can only think of what my father uses that phrase for," he admitted. Hotch looked up sharply.

"What does he use it for?" He demanded.

"DADT," McGee spoke through gritted teeth.

The BAU looked confused.

"Who is your father, and what does that term mean?" Hotch asked.

"My father is admiral McGee, and DADT is 'Don't ask don't tell'," McGee explained the acronym. "If the guy really is part of JAG, than he definitely falls within that policy."

Hotch turned to Rabb.

"Ever been approached by one of the guys in the office?"

Rabb frowned.

"Not that I can recall right now," he spoke slowly. "The people working there are different since I came back. And just after I returned I got involved with Tony."

"Returned?" JJ asked. "Returned from where?"

"Well, I'd been assigned to London couple years back. Just before that was the first time I met with Gibbs and Tony. They slipped their cuffs on me," He said with a wistful smile.

"Cuffs?" Emily raised her eyebrows.

"I was accused of murdering another JAG officer who was moving to San Diego," Gibbs frowned at that.

His phone rang and he answered it. Abby was clearly recognizable through the phone, screaming for Gibbs to come down. Without a second word he left for the lab.

'Thank god for their gut," Rabb exhaled. "It was actually already going to trial. They reopened the investigation and found the real killer."

"And I thought we lived convoluted lives," Morgan mumbled to Reid who snorted at that.

"I'm going to get a coffee, anyone else?" Reid stood up and without waiting for answer left for the elevator. The rest of the teams were bending over the evidence found at the crime scene, waiting for Gibbs to return and tell them what Abby had found.

It was only ten minutes later that the man returned. He was about to order his team around when he closed his mouth and looked around.

"Where is dr. Reid?" he asked both teams.

"Went for a coffee five minutes ago, boss." McGee answered. "And I found the track of the tape. But it had been purchased ten years ago at a small convenience store. It was paid for in cash."

Gibbs ignored him and turned to Hotch.

"I thought I told you to keep a close eye on your agent, Hotchner," he growled at the man before calling Ziva and McGee, grabbing his own gun.

Without any other word the two jumped up from their desks and ran to the elevator. Before the BAU had any idea what had happened, they all were in the elevator as the doors closed behind them.

Hotch was ready to tear himself a new one. He knew that Gibbs was a straight on guy. When he said to keep an eye on Reid, he said it because of a damn good reason. He should have rallied the rest of his team around him and make sure Reid was not going anywhere alone. Instead, he had kept it close to the vest, make sure not to panic the team. Well, he sure managed that one.

Without a word the two team leaders made their way to the coffee shop everyone working in the Yard knew about. It was empty of the blonde genius. Gibbs turned to Hotch.

"You have a picture of him?"

Hotch wordlessly produced his phone and showed him a photo on it. Gibbs grabbed it and made his way to the counter.

"Heya, agent Gibbs!" the elder red-headed woman greeted the man with a smile. " Normal black, right?"

"Actually, Silvia. I just have a quick question with that coffee," Gibbs answered in a low and warm voice.

"Sure, shoot."

Gibbs showed her the picture on the phone.

"Did he come in here?"

"Yeah, cute and awkward," she answered with a fond smile. "He asked for just your order, Jethro. Met up with a very cute guy in uniform just outside the shop. Talked with him for a bit and went with him without a second thought or backward glance."

"Thanks, sweetheart," Gibbs caressed her cheek with his hand for a second, before he walked out with a new Styrofoam cup in his hand. Outside he addressed Hotch.

"It must have been the perp. He told Reid in some way or form to go with him, or DiNozzo would die." Gibbs voice was curt and biting, but his eyes belied the worry.

"I agree," Hotch said in a low tone. If something happened to Reid, he would never forgive himself. Gibbs seemed to pick up on his thoughts.

"Hotchner, I've had Tony as my SFA for more than ten years. He never would let anyone get hurt on his account. Not if he could help it. He knows the perp and gave us clues. He'll keep your agent alive as well."

"The question is, how long can he keep this up?" Hotch reluctantly responded. Gibbs didn't answer his sighed question.

"Let's go back, try to get a trace on Reid's phone," Gibbs offered to the man. Hotch nodded his acquiescence and both men headed back upstairs.

The trace had just the same success as it did on Tony's phone. Abby thought that it had to do with a jammer or maybe some metal in which they were encased. "Remember the docks, Gibbs?" She explained her theory in her speed-talking, widely gesturing with her hands in agitation. "Ziva and Tony were locked in that container. No way that we could get the signal clear enough for tracing or triangulating."

Abby leaned against the silver-haired man with an air of defeat. Gibbs pulled her in a fierce hug.

"I'm scared Gibbs," she finally confessed.

Gibbs gave her a kiss on her hair.

"I did not give him permission to die, Abs."

Abby pulled out of the hug with a sad smile.

"He'll listen to you, Gibbs. But what about the bastard that has him?"

Tony had been fallen in a light slumber as he was sitting in the chair. He was thirsty, hungry, his chest hurt like hell and he could really, really use a beer right about now. Or maybe he could convince Gibbs to donate one of his bottles of bourbon from his basement. He just couldn't understand how this could've happened. How had he not noticed how unstable the man was? He had seen him countless times, and never had been oblivious for the blatant hate the man seemed to nurture for him.

In fact, they had many conversations about the March Madness and NFL over the years. He never suspected the man carried a torch for Harm, and secretly fantasized about cutting off his toes and gouging out his eyes for being in a relationship with him.

He arose quickly at the sound of the heavy metal door opening. He felt his stomach drop as he recognized the sweet doctor from the FBI. The man was unconscious with a cut above his left eyebrow. Tony suspected a pistol whip had knocked him out.

"I brought you some company, agent DiNozzo," the cruel voice sounded again. "I thought we could provide you some entertainment."

DiNozzo forced all signs of the horror away from the surface. He could not let the man know that he got to him with Spencer Reid. He knew he had to try and bait him, to keep him away from the genius. He also knew it was going to hurt like a bitch.

"What?" He tried to sound mock offended. "I'm the most entertaining man you'd ever find! I feel insulted and hurt."

The man smiled wickedly at that and slowly stalked towards the occupied chair. Tony saw Reid start to stir behind the man. He knew the door was open, he just hoped he could distract the guy enough for Reid to make his escape.

"You think you don't need entertainment?" The man asked loftily.

Tony gave him his biggest shit-eating smirk he could manage.

"Nope," popping his lips on the word. "And you really don't need the extra entertainment either. Come on, you hate me and I'm helpless over here. I can drive you insane with my babble. But him?" Tony indicated the fallen doctor. "He's the kind of guy you go 'aaaw' with, you know; cute like a newly born bunny."

The man paused for a second. He seemed to seriously contemplate Tony's words.

"Well then, Very Special Agent DiNozzo …" the man smirked evil. "Let's start with the show, shall we? Then we'll find out if I have room for an … encore."

Tony saw Reid sit up behind him, clearly about to intervene. He tried to signal the young FBI agent not to do that. Tried to make clear to get the hell out of here.

"Please," Tony continued to distract the man with a derisive snort. "Have you met me? Attention seeking first class. And as you know," Tony smirked smugly at him. "I get it. Even from those you're pining for. Missing Harm's strong arms around you?"

The man's face distorted with rage and with a scream he swung his fist at Tony. Hitting him full in the stomach, Tony suppressed a groan of misery while bending in half as much as possible.

"You know, this reminds me of a movie. James Bond, Casino Royale," Tony gasped a bit. "You know, the scene where Bond, played by Daniel Craig, is tied to a chair without seating. He's totally naked and being tortured. He wore a beautiful suit in the scene before. Too bad they had to destroy it for the movie." Tony sounded wistful. "Almost as big a waste as the amount of Astons they crash for those movies. Now, that is sacrilege."

Tony wasn't trying to get anything to his team this time. He was babbling and rambling to distract himself of the pain he knew was coming. He hoped Reid would be able to sneak off.

A flash of brown in the corner of his eye interrupted his thoughts. He saw the camera was turned on again, and his host was once again holding the whip. A few feet behind him Reid opened his eyes completely and sat up without a noise. His quick mind analysed the scene before him with horror. He looked into the defiant eyes of DiNozzo and knew the man was trying to heap a lot of pain on himself to give him a chance. He turned his head to the side and saw the door unlocked from the corner of his eye.

"Showtime," the man announced. "Why don't you start our opening scene, Agent DiNozzo?"

The whip came out hard and unrelenting, striking against the bare flesh over his collarbone. The lash felt like liquid fire had been smeared over his skin. Tony gritted his teeth so he wouldn't cry out in pain. He wouldn't give the bastard the satisfaction of hearing him cry out in pain. And Abby … he couldn't do that to his techy sweet baby sister, who'd probably be the one to analyse the footage together with his McProbie.

The whip came down again and again, though not a single sound passed Tony's lips. Reid was slowly backing out the room. He cringed every time he heard the whip connect with the agent's skin. It went against his every instinct to leave the man behind, but the rational part of his mind realized that he was their only chance and he needed to grab it fast.

He was out the door and around the corner into the hallway, when he heard Tony speak up to the man.

"You know, if you keep doing this, it won't be much of a second act in your film. If all the tension is within the opening scene, well, the rest of the film is rather anticlimactic."

Reid tried to listen what happened in the room, and didn't see the metal toolbox that appeared in front of his feet. With an impressive clutter of sound he went down over the box and landed in a heap. Everything was silent for a heartbeat.

"Run, doc!" Tony yelled out.

That was all the incentive Reid needed. He quickly scrambled onto his feet and started running through the corridor. He quickly came to a rickety staircase. He ascended them until he hit a door. He twisted the knob but it didn't budge.

"Come on, come on," he breathed. He could hear the man's heavy feet closing in on him.

He threw his weight against the door repeatedly. Finally it crashed open and he found himself in a spacious but old-fashioned kitchen. On the other side of the wide kitchen was another door. He sped through the room, but just as he flung it open he could hear the cold metal sound of the cocking of a gun.

"Not another move Dr. Reid," a dark voice spoke with barely hidden fury.

Spencer Reid had no other choice but to raise his hands and slowly turn around to face his captor.

In the basement room Tony was left alone. The beating he had just received was extensive and his whole body screamed in agony.

When Reid had fell over in the hall, Tony had seen the look of furious disbelief in the man's eyes. He had walked over to Tony and gave him a hard kick in his chest. The chair had toppled over and Tony had crashed hard with his head on the floor. He now felt dizzy and had trouble breathing due to the blast he had received on the back of his head.

"I swear to God, Gibbs," he groaned out loud. "If we get out of here. I demand exemptions on head slaps for at least a month."

He heard a door gave way to some weight and knew he only had a few moments to put in some clues for the team. If only his head would coöperate with his plan, but his thoughts were muddled and he had trouble to come up with an obscure clue that isn't to obscure for the team or Harm.

"I swear, a baseball bat on the head would be kinder than what I feel know. Harm, when I get out of this, I swear I want to be couch potato for a month only watching College Basketball and NFL games, and so help me God I will not be subjected to any dinners with your mother!" He could feel his eyelids drooping and his brain shutting down. He tried to fight it, he knew that if he was unconscious Reid would bear the brunt of the man's pain.

But it couldn't be helped and with a whispered "Sorry, doc," he lost the fight with consciousness.

Reid couldn't stop the whimper escaping his throat as he was dragged back to the room by his collar and hair. He was cursing his own stupidity and trying to choke back the fear that was rising quickly. They arrived back at the enforced door and he was thrown back into the room. Roughly he fell on his knees and shoulder. As he tried to right himself up. He saw the toppled chair with Tony still attached to it. Reid looked for a sign of life in the man, but it was clear he was not awake. He sincerely hoped his failed escape attempt had not resulted in the death of the NCIS agent.

"It seems I underestimated our dearly beloved Agent DiNozzo," the man grunted, anger clear in his voice. "Unfortunately, Dr. Reid, you must bear the repercussions of his sins."

Reid's eyes widened as he saw a soldering iron in the man's hand. He tried to crawl away, but knew there was no escape. Vindictively, the man pressed the iron onto the back of his hand. It took a few seconds before the numbness made way for the searing pain. A minute later, Reid's screams were echoing against the brick walls.

"Let us see what your teams will make of this, Dr. Reid," the man spoke wickedly. "They haven't caught me yet, and they'll never will."

The man grabbed the recorder and walked out of the room. Reid flinched as the bolts of the locks slipped back into place, leaving him behind in their cell with an unconscious and hurt DiNozzo.

"Abs, anything yet on the doctor or Tony?" McGee walked into the lab, carrying a large CafPow and was followed by SSA Morgan and SSA Prentiss.

Abby didn't need to answer her friend, he could clearly tell by the lack of music and her drooping shoulders that nothing had come up on her searches yet.

"Timmy," she whispered as he held out her drink. "I don't deserve that. Nothing I can think of tells us where they are. And who says that Reid is taking by the same man? I mean, they were hunting a serial killer. What if they got to close and BAM! the wacko grabbed the cute doctor?"

"Abs," Tim gave her a hug. "To be honest, with all the evidence and the same crap that's happened, I think our wackjob may be the kidnapper."

Abby got out of the embrace with a horrified expression on her face. "Our Tony boy, kidnapped by a serial killer? No! not just no, but a hell no! He already went through that once, remember? With White, and the creepy stuff in the cabin?"

"Wait, are you talking about Jeffrey White?" Morgan interrupted. "I think he was mentioned earlier. He was a serial killer, right? Started out in Seattle, was finally charged with some theft charges, only to escape with an undercover agent? Later it was found that he was indeed a serial killer."

"Tony was the undercover agent," Abs sniffed. "He went in on some non-violent charges, we stages the break-out to let him lead us to his partner. But he was a smart bastard, way too smart bastard and knew Tony was a fed from the start. In the end it came too close to him having his throat slashed."

Prentiss and Morgan looked at one another. They had seen the file of Tony DiNozzo and were suitably impressed by the stellar career the man had thus far. Morgan had been most impressed with the Macaluso job he had done in Baltimore. He was also still working with Chicago PD back then and was more than happy to hear that the mob boss was taken down by the Baltimore PD during a deep uc-op.

They knew DiNozzo could hold his own, but they were really fearful for their Reid. They knew he had a backbone made of steel ever since that Kingfisher job and especially during the Tobias Henkel case. Didn't make it any easier on any of them to know he was taken by the son of a bitch.

They agreed with McGee's assessment. Everything pointed to the fact that the serial killer was the one that had taken both Dr. Reid and Tony DiNozzo. But the why behind everything was still eluding them.

They jumped as Abby's phone rang through the silent lab.

"Abby," she spoke in the receiver.

"Abs, get everyone up here. We got another tape."

Abby nodded and hung up with another word. The three agents looked at her expectantly.

"We have more mail."

The agents ran to the elevator. When they arrived upstairs they saw all the others had already gathered around one of the bigger screens. When Gibbs saw they had arrived he nodded toward Ziva, who pressed the play button without further delay.

They saw Tony, still looking worse for wear tied to the chair.

"I brought you some company, agent DiNozzo," they heard the voice off camera speaking. "I thought we could provide you some entertainment."

Gibbs clenched his jaw as he saw a flicker in his friend's eyes. "Don't you dare, DiNozzo!" he grumbled.

The BAU team looked at one another, horrified that they now had the evidence that Reid was indeed captured by the same man they saw torturing the NCIS agent.

"What? I'm the most entertaining man you'd ever find! I feel insulted and hurt."

"That stupid, moronic, imbecile johnass!" Ziva threw her hands up in the air in despair as Abby paused the tape for a moment.

"Jackass, Ziva. Jackass," Abby corrected her.

"What's wrong, David?" Morgan asked the Israeli agent.

"What is wrong is that Tony does what he does best; annoy the hell out of everyone! And he is doing it on purpose," Ziva exclaimed.

"I don't follow," Emily looked from one agent to the other.

McGee cleared his throat. "What it means is that Tony will annoy the hell out of the man who's taken them, making sure he'll take on all the heat instead of your agent Reid."

The BAU was struck numb. Tony DiNozzo hadn't known any of them this morning, and right now he was willingly sacrificing himself on the altar of torture to save their dear friend. It was awe inspiring. They would all do it for the next civilian, that was their job. But a colleague? Someone who voluntarily took on the same risks as he did? That was more than anyone could ask for.

The NCIS team seemed resigned. They knew their SFA, if he wanted the attention on him, he would make damn sure that he got it. Reid would not be hurt as long as Tony was alive and conscious. They just hoped that it would not come so far that Tony wasn't one of them.

Abby wordlessly pressed play and they continued to watch the video in silence. They looked on as they saw the broad back of the man appear in the frame. Harm took a step closer, almost willing his mind to compare the back on the screen with the backs of all the men he could remember.

"You think you don't need entertainment?" The man asked loftily.

Tony gave him his biggest shit-eating smirk he could manage. Gibbs growled loudly at that, feeling helpless at what he knew would follow.

"Nope, and you really don't need the extra entertainment either. Come on, you hate me and I'm helpless over here. I can drive you insane with my babble. But him?" Tony pointed with his head to an angle behind the camera. "He's the kind of guy you go 'aaaw' with, you know; cute like a newly born bunny."

The man paused for a second. He seemed to seriously contemplate Tony's words.

"Well then, Very Special Agent DiNozzo …Let's start with the show, shall we? Then we'll find out if I have room for an … encore."

A shiver went through Harm as he heard that voice. "I know him, I definitely know him," he mumbled, trying to get his non-cooperating mind to focus.

"Please," Tony continued to distract the man with a derisive snort. "Have you met me? Attention seeking first class. And as you know,"

"Don't say it, Tony," McGee pleaded with his friend and mentor.

"…I get it. Even from those you're pining for. Missing Harm's strong arms around you?"

McGee hung his head down, resigned of what would follow. It seemed their suspicions had been right. It was someone Tony knew, and it was someone that was carrying the torch for Harm. The sound of Tony getting hit made him cringe. He could hear Tony desperately gasping for air, but didn't look up. Hit in the gut, an inner voice that sounded suspiciously like Tony was providing commentary for him. He hated his brain for it.

Harm was balling his fist in rage, he was looking as his lover, his life mate, was being hit in the gut and there was nothing he could do about it.

"You know, this reminds me of a movie. James Bond, Casino Royale," Tony gasped a bit. "You know, the scene where Bond, played by Daniel Craig, is tied to a chair without seating. He's totally naked and being tortured. He wore a beautiful suit in the scene before. Too bad they had to destroy it for the movie." Tony sounded wistful. "Almost as big a waste as the amount of Astons they crash for those movies. Now, that is sacrilege."

"What's he trying to communicate?" Hotch mumbled out loud.

Ducky sighed, feeling for his young friend. "I'm afraid nothing at the moment, my dear agent. Tony has trouble with his lungs, so a hit in the stomach area, knocking the wind out of him makes him a bit winded. He's trying to detach himself from any pain."

"And to brace himself for what to come," Jimmy Palmer completed the doctor's thoughts. He hated seeing his friend like this. But he could do nothing to help him, he felt useless.

"Showtime," the man announced. "Why don't you start our opening scene, Agent DiNozzo?"

The next moments were the worst Gibbs had ever had during his professional career. It was almost as bad as the moment he lost his girls. Tony had become a close friend, almost like a son to him. To now watch that son get whipped bloody was more than he could take. Turning around with a bellow he crashed his cell phone on his desk, thoroughly destroying it. All the while, the sound of the whip hitting Tony's flesh kept sounding in the background.

"You know, if you keep doing this, it won't be much of a second act in your film. If all the tension is within the opening scene, well, the rest of the film is rather anticlimactic."

"That is it, Tony," Ziva mumbled, her eyes fixated on her partner. "Show them no weakness, no crack in the armor. Stay strong."

She herself had felt the pain of a whip in Somalia, and every time the leather descended on Tony with a loud snap, she could feel the echoes of her own pain lingering on her skin. She felt for her partner, but knew better than to pity him. It would do nothing for him. She vowed solemnly that she would help build him up in whatever way he needed it, just like he did when she returned from Somalia.

The whipping continued on until they could hear a loud noise in the background. Tony lifted up his head and stared the man torturing him straight in the eye with a grim defiance that surprised even the NCIS team.

"Run, Reid!" Tony yelled out.

"Good, Tony," Abby cried out.

"What the hell?" JJ croaked.

Abby turned around to face her but what she wanted to say was diverted by the cry from the television. With a flash she looked back on the screen to see the man charging forward to knock Tony out. He hit him on the temple with such a force that the chair toppled over. With horror she watched as Tony's head hit the cement floor hard. Her hands shot up to her mouth, as to try and contain the soundless scream that was wrenching itself from the depths of her being.

The team was praying that Tony would move, make a joke, anything.

"I swear to God, Gibbs," Tony groaned pitiful. "If we get out of here, I demand exemptions on head slaps for at least a month."

"Granted," Gibbs barked with a curl around his lip.

They could hear more sounds from the background, but it was hard to discern what it was.

"Door being forced open, wood," Abby guessed wooden, praying to God that Reid would make it out.

"I swear, a baseball bat on the head would be kinder than what I feel know. Harm, when I get out of this, I swear I want to be couch potato for a month only watching College Basketball and NFL games, and so help me god I will not be subjected to any dinners with your mother!"

Everyone looked on as Tony was slowly losing the battle with unconsciousness, his eyes slowly closing.

"Sorry, doc."

And they saw Tony had blacked out.

Harm was not seeing Tony anymore. He was seeing nothing but the visage of the man Tony had identified for him. He had to give it to Tony, the way in which he gave them the clue to who took him was brilliant. Everyone knew Tony was a sports fanatic, but not everyone was someone he spoke about it with seriously. He knew Tony would hope that they already had narrowed down the field with his previous clues. This one was the nail in the proverbial coffin. That son of a bitch! He growled in his head. He's dead, he's so completely dead for doing this to Tony!

The rest of the people watching the screen didn't notice Harm flying off his handle silently, as their attention was caught by Dr. Reid who was being dragged into view.

"It seems I underestimated our dearly beloved Agent DiNozzo," the man grunted, anger clear in his voice. "Unfortunately, Dr. Reid, you must bear the repercussions of his sins."

"No, no no!" JJ's eyes widened in horror, knowing what this would mean. It was like the Hankel case all over again. They once more were watching a screen on which they were forced to watched their friend being tortured.

Nobody missed the widening of Reid's eyes, nor the way in which he weakly tried to crawl out of reach from his torturer. Hotch had to close his eyes as they forced themselves to watch the white-hot metal being pressed to his skin. The missive ended in the most sinister way.

"Let us see what your teams will make of this, Dr. Reid," the man spoke wickedly. "They haven't caught me yet, and they'll never will."

"Oh, like hell you twisted son of a bitch!" Harm snarled at the man on the screen.

Everyone turned to look at the JAG, shocked at the almost inhumane rage that had taken over the stoic man's face.

"Rabb?" Gibbs demanded.

"That son of a bitch," Harm repeated, his knuckles clenching desperately. "Tony has never been anything but kind to him! He managed to get him ring seat tickets! Always making a quick joke with him, asking him how his days and cases went. And now? Now he has him in his sick little twisted bolt away!"

Harm couldn't manage to calm himself down, or listen to any of the agents who were trying to get him to calm down enough so he could utter a name to them.

Abby intervened. She surged forward and hit him on the back of the head. Gibbs-style. He froze on the spot, giving Abby opportunity to grab his face with her hands and pull it down to her height to look him straight in the eye.

"Pull yourself together, Harmon Rabb!" she yelled, never losing eye contact with him. "We need a name, so we can find the bastard. So take a breath and give us a name!"

Looking into the terrified eyes of the forensic scientist, Harm managed to get his temper under control. He broke eye contact with the goth, only to see everyone staring at him with barely hidden impatience.

"Care to share with the class, Rabb?" Gibbs demanded.

"It's a friend of mine from the office. Name's Jack Hubbison, he's been part of the team last two years. Had been assigned to my cases for the first half year to learn the ropes. Tony always talked to him about sports and all when he was waiting for me at the office to wrap things up. Mac had recommended him, so we hired."

McGee had already run to his station and started typing away. It didn't take him five minutes before he had the preliminary information on the flat screen.

"Okay, so Jack Hubbison. Son of Lauren and Frank Hubbison, whose family owns a string of food processing factories. Lauren comes from money as well, her family consisting of stock brokers. Did his stint in the navy and went on to study law, took an internship where his mentor was indeed your friend, Harm, Lieutenant Commander Sarah Mackenzie."

"Any properties directly to his name, McGee?" Gibbs asked tersely.

"Yeah, at first glance he privately owns an apartment here in DC, a chalet in Aspen and the family mansion in Mitchellville. But the family has many stocks in estate companies, and is in the board of several real estate funds. That is a lot of property to look through, Boss."

Gibbs cursed, and Hotch nodded grimly at his lashing out. One look at his own team and he could clearly see they were in a similar state as the NCIS agent; desperate for their friend and colleague to come home. But with the information found it would be a bit more problematic, even though they were a lot further now the Lieutenant Commander had identified their Unsub.

Ziva had commanded a list of the properties and sat down at her desk. Prentiss walked over and without a word Ziva handed her half of it. Together they went on the phones and the internet, trying to discern where would be the most probable location of their missing agents.

"Any link with dr. Reid, McGee?" Gibbs barked at his junior agent.

McGee's fingers were literally flying over the keyboard, trying to unearth as much information possible in the small timeframe they had.

"As far as I can see, he missed the opportunity to some double major because of Reid matriculating."

"That will do it for the man in question. He feels duped by his victims, as was in our initial profile. His victims are the obstacles in some way, hence the torture and the eventual headshot. My guess is the rest of the victims were just practice for the main event, which is both Reid and Agent DiNozzo. Reid has cost him the best education, making him rely on the references from others to get where he wanted. DiNozzo is the one who stole the love of his life," Morgan supplied them with the full profile they could now construct. Though he felt shivers down his back at the idea that the state in which the corpses were found, could be the exact same situation in which the two agents could be found in if they didn't hurry up.

Harm was still sitting at Tony's desk, half-numbed with the knowledge that it was someone from his life that was doing this to Tony. And of course Doctor Reid.

"As it has become a clear possibility that our kidnapper is also the Unsub, we need to make sure that this case matches the previous cases with his MO."

Everyone froze as they heard Hotchner. They had completely forgotten why the BAU was working with them on this case in the first place.

"That's not exactly a problem, Agent Hotchner," Gibbs growled back fiercely. "We have identified the kidnapper, we now need to find the property on which he keeps them. If he is indeed your Unsub, than I suggest you make sure to have the charges stick to them. For now, he can be charged with the kidnapping of two federal agents, which if we play it nicely, will get him a very long stint in jail."

Hotchner tried to interrupt but was silenced with the most voracious glare he had ever encountered on both colleagues and suspects.

"I really don't care what other things he has done at this moment, he has DiNozzo and he has dr. Reid. We get them out of there and if the son of a bitch resists arrest I'll be glad to show him what exactly I did for a living before I started working as an investigator."

JJ and Morgan turned to McGee and lifted an inquisitive eyebrow. Tim looked up and answered, without stopping his typing.

"Gibbs was a Marine Recon sniper."

Morgan and JJ managed not to stare at both Gibbs and McGee. Though they both had come to the conclusion that this team was full of very divers personalities and almost certifiable insane. Not that they were stupid enough to say that out loud in the presence of both a sniper and an ex-Mossad officer.

"You have to get off line, Gibbs," Ziva snarled. "I gladly introduce him to Mossad's more persuasive interrogation techniques, before handing him over to Abby."

"In line, Ziva, you have to get in line for it," McGee corrected her automatic.

Ziva didn't even glare at him but continued working through her list with Prentiss, while Gibbs dismissed Hotchner's concerns. And even the rest of the BAU had to admit that the evidence of the serial killings took a backseat to the rescue of the two agents.

"Gibbs," Ziva called out as both she and Prentiss jumped up from their seats. "The family mansion has old fashioned cellars, with rough bricks as part of the original foundation. It is a possibility, especially since his parents have been in Europe for the past four months and he is keeping eyes on the place, according to the neighbours."

"Mitchellville?" Gibbs barked.

"Yes boss," Ziva replied already getting her gun and knives out of her drawer.

McGee copied her, taking two extra clippings out as well. He walked to the desk Harm was sitting at, Tony's desk, and took out the entire second drawer on the left side. Not bothered by the stuff that occupied the drawer he turned it over, scattering the contents all over the floor.

The BAU looked on in surprise as they saw a small gun taped to the underside of the drawer.

"Good thinking, McGee," Gibbs said, before he also stood up. "I'll get the vests, meet you at the car in five. I'll talk to Vance."

"We're coming too," Morgan stood up, not even bothering to check with his own boss as he grabbed his stuff and jacket.

Gibbs turned around and watched him with a blank look on his face, Morgan shifted and did his best not to squirm under the watchful eyes of the ex-marine.

"Look, I get it; you guys have lead on this case. But it's not just your friend who is out there. and I'm not going to sit here thumbs up my ass while Pretty Boy is out there and in trouble."

"Alright," Gibbs spoke softly and took the stairs to Vance's office by two. Morgan and the rest of his team

"Boss!" McGee called out. "Satellite will be over the general area in five minutes, if we can get it onto infrared…"

"MTAC, McGee!" Gibbs barked.

McGee hadn't even waited on the order, already running up the stairs to the hermetically sealed doors. Morgan and Prentiss were following him as fast as he could. In front of the door, Vance was standing with a neutral expression on his face.

"Possible location for Agent DiNozzo, director," McGee reported dutifully. "Navy satellite will pass over in five minutes."

"Set it up, McGee," Vance paused for a second, closely watching the FBI agent that was at his agent's shoulder. "Let Agents Morgan and Prentiss in as well."

Morgan stood back as McGee put his eyes in front of the retinal scanner, an watched – impressed by the level of security inside the building – as a thick steel door opened.

"What is this place?" He asked the other man, who already was at a monitor, typing in several commandos and pulling the images onto the big screen that was one of the walls.

"MTAC, Multiple Threat Alert Centre. Basically all the eyes and ears the Navy has at its disposal can be converted in one of these babies to have the most intel possible for operations," McGee explained as the imagery from a satellite appeared on the wall.

"And why are we here?" Morgan pressed on. "You said something about a satellite?"

"One of our satellites is passing over Maryland right now. We can put it onto infrared and hopefully see if there are people inside the Hubbison family home. That'll give us enough leverage to get a warrant."

"You can do that?" Morgan was surprised that they would get clearance to use such a satellite for an agent.

"Sure," McGee turned around and looked at the dark FBI with a serious expression. "We may not be a large agency, Morgan, but we are part of the armed forces. No man is left behind, are words we live by."

Morgan nodded and tried to swallow the lump in his throat. He had met may military men in his career over the years, but never had he seen those words put into effect at such a rate.

"Besides," McGee continued with a snort. "If you were SecNav, would you be brave enough to tell Gibbs that he could not use any means to search for one of his? Especially Tony?"

"What do you mean by that?" Prentiss quirked an eyebrow. All day she had had difficulty figuring out what made the brusque man tick. Here, she was given an insight she could not pass up on.

"Tony is Tony," McGee answered with a shrug. "He was Baltimore PD, and tackled Gibbs when he was undercover. Found out his partner was dirty and he had to leave. Never understood that though, he didn't give his partner up. Said that he couldn't."

Morgan chuckled at the man in front of him. He was very good at what he did, but he was indeed no cop.

"Never screw over your partner is a mantra that you'd do well to follow in the force, Tim," he replied. "That was why he had to walk away. Even though his partner betrayed him in one of the worst ways possible, he was still his partner. And you don't throw your partner to IA. Like, ever."

"Right," McGee still didn't get it. "Anyway, he came here when Gibbs was working on his own. His previous SFA had quit on him after five years, and an ulcer. Took a promotion to become Agent Afloat. Never really got why it was so special that Tony stuck with him. But then I pulled up the records from the team before Tony and the third members of it. Between Tony and Stan, there was six months and fifteen TAD's."

McGee stood next to Morgan and Prentiss, watching closely as the satellite images slowly shifted.

"He was made SFA within three months, and stuck with him ever since. They," McGee paused and shook his head. "They have this silent thing going on. I've been a part of the team for almost eight years, and still I don't know what they are not-saying more than half the time."

A head slap made him shut up.

"Not supposed to know, McGee. That's why it's silent communication," Gibbs quipped as his eyes took in the sight on the screen.

"ETA on location is three minutes, boss," McGee quickly informed him.

The door opened once more to let in Vance, the rest of the BAU, and with them were Ziva, Ducky and Abby.

Vance came to stand shoulder to shoulder with Gibbs. "I already talked to the judge, Gibbs. If there is proof of life in that house, you are authorised with a warrant to go there. Fully armed and ready, any precautions necessary are allowed. Two choppers are on standby."

Although he had spoken in a soft tone, it was heard by everyone in MTAC. Abby's sigh of relief at what Vance said was like a gong going through the room. It was clear that everyone was anxious to get their 'boys' home.

"House coming up right now," one of the techs spoke up.

As one, all faces reverted back to the screen.

Tony groaned as he returned to the land of the living. Scratch that, he must be in hell. Otherwise his head wouldn't feel as if three elephants were dancing the tango on it.

"Agent DiNozzo?" a shaky voice sounded from another corner of the room.

He groaned again and tried to open his eyes. Ouch, bad idea. A really bad idea. The pain in his retinas was so great, he thought he would fall back in darkness once more.

"DiNozzo's do no pass out, DiNozzo's do not pass out," he whispered through gritted teeth. His eyes had closed again, and he waited until the nauseating pain resided a bit. After a while the wave subsided and he could think half clearly. He remembered where he was, and who the voice probably belonged to.

"That you, doc?" he asked in a whisper.

"Yeah, it's me," the voice spoke a bit louder and Tony recognised the awkward quality to it.

"How you doing?" he asked, concerned what that psychopathic maniac had done to the genius.

"Could be worse," was the reply.

Tony snorted, and immediately winced. He really needed to stop doing such things. "Of course it could be worse, you're not dead."

A silent beat, before a dry chuckle sounded. "That is true."

"What did he do to you?" Tony tried again.

"Soldier iron, mostly," the man confessed. "Over my hands, arms and legs. I'm better than you are though. You at the least have a severe concussion and those wounds need to get looked after or they soon get infected."

"Yeah," Tony groaned. "Thanks for the heads up, doc. Don't worry, they'll soon find us. My team knows my quirks inside and out, no way they didn't pick up on everything."

Reid nodded, although the other man had his eyes closed. "Yes, that's true. Your first video was received loud and clear. Got us to JAG. I assume you left another clue?"

"Well, if Harm's there, he'll definitely know immediately."

"Commander Rabb was present when I was taken," Reid confirmed.

Tony's shoulder relaxed a bit at the news. They'd be out of there soon. He still couldn't believe it was Hubbison. I mean, I gave the man front row seats to very exclusive games!" it was what pissed him off the most. How had he, a trained investigator with years and years of experience, not realized that the man who he joked and laughed with had been an insane serial killer.

The door opened once more. Tony could hear the footstep and realized it was Jackie boy himself. He didn't bother to open his eyes, knowing that would only lead to either vomiting or passing out. Neither prospect appealed to him.

"I just heard from the radio tower that two choppers are on their way out of here," the man spoke ominously. "The people at the tower were a bit late with calling me, considering they were landing as he called. So we now have a contingency of federal agents with blood lust coming our way. But the tale is not over yet, no sir."

The door opened again and he could hear two heavy footsteps stepping in from outside.

"Who are you?" Tony could hear Reid demand.

With all his strength, Tony forced his eyes to open to slits to see who had entered the playing field. As his head protested, his mind reeled back. This could not be happening.

"Hello, Antonio," the man on the left greeted him, a man he had no wish to ever see in his entire life ever again.

The three SUV's screeched to a halt. Not even bothering to wait until they were at a complete stop, several people were already jumping out of the vehicles with their weapons drawn.

The vests the men and woman were wearing, showed with clear lettering they were from FBI and NCIS.

It was clear they already had made plans on how to approach the house that stood in front of them. Wordlessly, they split up in several groups, attacking the different doors that led inside the house.

Slowly they made their way inside. The large hallway, that was entered by McGee and JJ, was clear. So was the upstairs that Morgan and Prentiss had taken. Hotchner, Gibbs and Ziva had made their way from the garden, through the living room and now approached the kitchen. With a nod to Ziva, Gibbs stood at an angle from the door. Hotch mirrored his position at the other side.

Ziva took a deep breath, centering herself before she threw open the door. Hotch and Gibbs stepped through as quickly as possible, with Ziva following on their heels. What they saw made them freeze. On a chair, bound just as tightly as Tony had been in the videos, was Dr. Reid. He was unconscious and was held up by Jack Hubbison.

Hubbison smiled maniacally as he tightened an arm around Reid's neck. Ziva had fallen back immediately, hoping she did not draw attention to herself behind the two imposing figures of Hotch and Gibbs.

"Let him go, Hubbison," Gibbs barked, his gun not wavering in his hand, aiming for a clean headshot. Hotch was aiming at the left shoulder, it would cause severe bleeding, but not instant death.

"I don't think so, Agent Gibbs," the man snorted. "But tell me, whatever did you see in goofball Tony DiNutso, huh? What is it, that everyone wants him? Reid here, I understand. The kid is a genius. He still pisses me off though, unfortunately."

Hotch took half a step forward, causing Jack to flick his eyes immediately to the dark haired man.

"DON'T MOVE!" he yelled raising a gun to Reid's temple. "Unless you want your pretty boy's brain all over the floor."

"No Bravo 51 today, Jack?" Hotch asked, trying to keep the attention on him. He had seen David falling back, and hiding behind the counter. He knew she would slowly made her way around it to have a shot from the side.

"Please, those 51 kills were just to get all of your attention. And a great opportunity to get rid of some nuisances. But this, this is the personal kill. Though the other one …" Jack trailed off and smiled darkly at the two men in front of him.

"Got him Gibbs," a female voice sounded from his left.

A quick glance told him a third had joined their party. And she clearly had the clean shot they were looking for. His smile broadened, so his fairy tale ended. He would become news, and they would know. They would know.

"Goodbye," he chuckled, pushing the gun to Reid's temple.

"Ziver," Gibbs intoned.

"Got it," Ziva smirked dangerously, before pulling the trigger.

Jack Hubbison fell on the floor, dead. Killed by the perfect shot to the temple, courtesy of the Israeli.

Hotch immediately ran to the two men. A quick check of their Unsub made clear there was no heartbeat or breath sounds.

"Dead," he announced, before checking on his young Agent.

"You got it from here?" Gibbs asked the man impatiently.

Hotch nodded. "Yeah, I call Morgan and Prentiss here. Go, Gibbs."

Ziva and Gibbs made their way to a wooden door in the corner of the kitchen.

"Gibbs," Ziva called softly, pointing at the edge of the door with her Sig.

Gibbs looked closer and saw the woods was damaged around the edge. Recalling the commentary Abby provided during the second torture video, he nodded.

"Basement," he confirmed.

Slowly the two made their way down. They saw a tool box at the end of the dimly lit hallway that was on his side, with tools scattered from it. He nudged Ziva to make clear she had seen it at well.

Ziva nodded, clearly remembering the sound from the second video. This must have happened when Reid stumbled over it.

The door closest to it was made out of thick steel. Gibbs and Ziva got in position. Counting silently, they entered the room with guns poised and …

The room was empty. They could see the camera standing on a tripod, the whip that was used to torture Tony and the soldier iron used on Reid. But the chair which had contained their friend and colleague, did no more.

Gibbs lowered his weapon, clicking the safety back on as he took a few steps towards the chair. On the seating he saw Tony's badge and credentials. On the table to the left he could clearly see a Sig, and he just knew that it belonged to Tony as well.

Ice coursed through his veins. Tony wasn't here, was he dead already? Did Hubbison know they were coming and decided to kill the one he hated the most?

Behind him Ziva was staring in disbelief at the chair that should have contained her partner. This could not be happening, he was supposed to be here!

She holstered her weapon and walked toward the chair, staring down at the badge and wallet that lay there innocently.

Blinking away the tears that started to form in her eyes, she frowned as something caught her attention.

"Gibbs," she called the man at her side, pointing at the wood that made out the seating of the chair. "What is that?"

Gibbs focused on what Ziva was pointing out, it was a branding of the wood. It was a crest, a crest he was very familiar with. The ice in his veins turned to the fire of rage and disbelief.

"Macaluso," he growled, before finally succumbing to his despair and screaming at the injustice of what was happening to Anthony DiNozzo.

A day later, both the BAU and the MCRT were gathered around the hospital bed of Spencer Reid in Bethesda. He had just been debriefed about what had happened to him and Tony in that cellar. Reid was silent for a second.

"These men, Tony was terrified when he realized who they were. He was severely concussed, so tried not to open their eyes. When he did though," Reid frowned. "One of them called him Antonio. Before he or I could do anything, they had injected him with something, and branded the chair, put his stuff on it and took him away. Not even five minutes later, we could hear your cars coming up. He then forced me to inhale chloroform."

"They are from the old Macaluso family, dr. Reid," McGee explained, his face pale. "Tony was the one who took them down. He said he was set to marry the mob's daughter."

"So what are we going to do?" Reid asked as he looked up from his heavily bandaged hands.

"We are going to find them, kill them and make sure DiNozzo comes home safely," Gibbs growled, not even considering any other outcome.

In Baltimore, in a desolate part of the docks, an unearthly scream was rendered from the throat of one Tony DiNozzo.

A man stepped out of the shadows and into the light of the sole bulb that was on in the room. The man was dressed sharply, in a well cut Italian suit and silk shirt.

"Antonio, Antonio," the man admonished the agent tied to the table in front of him. "You should have realized what happens eventually when you go Contra La Famiglia. And a Macaluso always has revenge, always."

The man on the table opened his eyes to show his coldened green eyes fixated on the man in front of him.

"They will find you, and you will die," Tony promised him.

The man in front of him burst out in laughter. "We shall see, piccolo. We shall see."

Hope you enjoy it and let me know if you want a hunt for the mysterious Macaluso and his buddies. I have to confess if it will come, it will be a long time for me to write it. Not really have envisioned yet what to do and which twists I want...

Till next time my readers!

Cjb1990