Prologue

Gibbs took another swig of coffee, he hated hospital coffee, but it was better than nothing, and right now he needed something...The waiting room was quiet, way too quiet, just the sound of four people breathing. Abby's tears had stopped at last, her face was streaked with mascara, but she made no attempt to clean herself up. Ziva was staring at the door, she hadn't moved since they got here except to shake her head when Ducky asked if she wanted a drink. Tony...he was sitting, head bowed, a blanket draped over his shoulders, obscuring the scrubs he was wearing...he was as silent as the rest, even Tony couldn't find any words...The door opened and they all looked up expectantly, Ducky came in and shook his head. "Still no news."

The ME walked over to the Senior Field Agent, shook his head slightly, gave a brief sigh and lifted up Tony's chin. "You should drink that while it's hot, you need to keep warm. I still say you should have been admitted…Anthony, are you listening to me?"

Obediently, but silently Tony sipped at the hot chocolate that Ducky had forced into his trembling hands. He didn't need to be admitted, he wasn't going anywhere, not until they knew. He'd sleep on the floor if he had to, but he was not going home. He heard quiet footsteps and felt a gentle head slap.

"Hey Tony, You are not to blame for this, do you hear?"

Tony started to shiver again…not to blame, if only that were true…

Four Hours Earlier

"We should call Gibbs."

"Lighten up McRulebook, you're the one who found the tracks, you should be happy I agreed to follow you."

It was late afternoon on a chill November day, what little daylight there had been was fading fast as Tony and Tim trudged through the rain soaked Greenbelt Park. The MCRT had been called when Park Rangers found the body of a Marine Corporal hanging from a tree, dressed in uniform, and with his throat cut from ear to ear. Ziva was sketching the scene; Gibbs was interviewing the Rangers and would then assist Ducky and Jimmy in getting the Corporal down and on his way back to NCIS.

Tony and Tim had been sent to check the perimeter, and it was during that search that Tim had found the freshly broken branches and the impression of heavy boots on the muddy ground. They'd been following the trail, and it was leading them further away from the rest of the team.

"But if he's still around, we may need backup."

"Yadda, yadda…shh…you hear that?"

Tim shook his head. "All I hear is the water."

"There's…" Whatever he had been about to say died in his throat as a burly man came out of the bushes and grabbed Tony from behind. Tim went for his gun.

"That would be a bad idea, you want him to live, throw your gun in the water."

Tony wanted to shout at Tim, shoot the bastard; but there was a knife at his throat, and if this was the guy who killed their Marine, Tony had no doubt that he knew how to use it. Tim turned slowly and threw his gun into the fast running water.

The man nodded in satisfaction. "Good, now back off...I'm going to take your friend as insurance. You, I'll take your gun now."

"Get it yourself!" Tony knew he was antagonising his captor, but he couldn't stop.

More pressure was applied to the knife, and Tony flinched slightly as it pierced his skin. He could smell the man's stale breath as he spoke once more. "You throw the gun away, because if I have to get it I will use it to kill your friend over there."

"No! Don't...I'll do it."

"Nice and easy...keep your fingers away from the trigger."

Tony gritted his teeth, and using his thumb and forefinger he removed the Sig from its holster and threw it into the creek. The man grunted and started to drag Tony toward the small was desperately trying to figure out a way to stall this guy, maybe Gibbs would come looking for them, they'd been gone a while, or had they? Maybe it just seemed that way.

"You could take us both, two bargaining chips instead of one."

"Nah; two's just double trouble…me and…what's your name?"

"DiNozzo, you son of a…" Tony felt the pressure of the metal against his neck, and he saw the plea in Tim's eyes…keep quiet, don't antagonise him.

"Me and DiNozzo, we'll do fine, come on."

"Wait." Tim couldn't let him make a move. "I'm McGee, Tim McGee, what's your name?"

"Guess you'll know it soon enough – Nathan Byard, that's enough small talk, move DiNozzo, my car's that way."

He pushed Tony toward the small footbridge over the creek, then hesitated. He turned again to Tim. "Get out your handcuffs, nice and slow; good; now put them on…don't want you getting any ideas."

Tim snapped on the cuffs and Byard gave a brief smile, Tim could see a trickle of blood running down Tony's neck...this guy wasn't kidding.

"Listen…Nathan; why don't we talk about this, let me call my boss, maybe we could make a deal."

Tony almost smiled at that, Tim knew as well as he did that Gibbs didn't make deals, but he appreciated Tim trying to delay the inevitable, especially as it was pretty much Tony's own fault that they were in this mess, next time…if there was a next time, he'd wait for back-up. Byard didn't miss a beat; he kept walking, forcing Tony closer to the bridge. Tim felt powerless, he didn't have time to try and reach his phone, and Tony was being dragged away by a cold blooded killer; he couldn't let this happen, there must be something he could do…then he saw an opening…

A stumble, that's all it was - a momentary stumble, yet it sent the lives of two NCIS agents spiralling out of control…