Chapter One

Special Agent Gibbs looked up from his desk as FBI Agent Fornell approached him. Gibbs felt a chill run down his spine at the grim expression on the agent's face.

Gibbs stood. "What happened?"

"We lost him, Gibbs." Fornell's voice was apologetic and angry at the same time.

Ziva and McGee stood and joined the FBI agent in front of Gibbs' desk, their expressions concerned.

"You lost him?" Gibbs growled, his face a mask of barely contained fury.

Fornell ran his hand through his hair. "Yeah, we lost him. The team monitoring DiNozzo's movements fucked up, but not before we got recording of his cover being blown."

Gibbs fist slammed down on his desk. "Damn it, Tobias, I told you I wanted our people backing him up but you insisted on doing it your way. When did this happen?"

"Yesterday morning."

Gibbs yelled, "Yesterday morning? And we're just hearing about this now?" He looked like he was going to take a swing at the smaller man, who backed up, his hands up in a placating manner.

"I'm sorry, Jethro," Fornell's voice was raised. "It wasn't my decision not to inform you right away. People higher up wanted to try to fix the situation themselves before calling in other agencies."

"You already involved 'other agencies' by getting me to agree to let DiNozzo work your undercover op for you, Tobias. You guaranteed that you would back him up and give him all the support he needed. Now you're telling me that your team 'fucked up', that DiNozzo's cover was blown and he's been missing for over 24 hours?" Gibbs' laughed bitterly.

Fornell had the grace to look ashamed. He had made those promises, and he meant them. He knew that Tony DiNozzo was a good agent, one he'd love to have on his own team, and he thought that he had his best people backing the young agent on the undercover operation. His best people turned out to be seriously lacking in the experience needed to recognize the danger signs of an operation going wrong. Upon listening to the surveillance tapes, Fornell could tell that DiNozzo was giving subtle verbal hints that had completely gone over the heads of the two FBI agents monitoring communications. Hints that any of DiNozzo's teammates would have picked up on immediately; hints that would have initiated actions to disengage the agent from the dangerous situation.

Instead, Special Agent DiNozzo was revealed to be a Federal Agent, not Anthony DeMarco, the arms specialist who dealt in stolen weapons. The events that were recorded before the wire had been discovered and disabled were violent, the brutality of Gianni Mancuso flaring instantly, overpowering DiNozzo before he could react. The static on the tape was ominous.

TBC

Chapter Two

Gianni Mancuso was a big man, years of working out at the gym had turned his body into solid muscle. He was loud, boisterous and temperamental. When you were Gianni's friend, you had his complete loyalty. When you were an enemy, you watched your back.

Tony had become the man's friend, charming his way into the organization that Gianni ran with his brothers. The older brother, Vincenzo, was more like his late father, tall and slender. Vinny looked like he'd be at home in a corporate board room or on the golf course. He wore expensive tailored suits and had manicured hands. He oozed charm and poise, and his smile was cold and predatory. The youngest brother, Antonio, was medium height, with nervous habits. His eyes darted about, always watching out for threats.

Tony had managed to work his way into the good graces of the Mancusos by posing as an arms dealer. After the death of their father, the brothers were expanding the business to include buying and selling illegal weapons in addition to their deals in prostitution, gambling, drugs and influence peddling. The FBI had requested Tony's help in infiltrating the family, having lost their best Mafia expert the previous year. Gibbs wasn't too keen on the idea, saying they didn't have any jurisdiction in the case, but he relented when Fornell told him that the weapons being dealt had been stolen from shipments going to Iraq. He agreed to let the FBI back up his agent, but not before giving Tony a lecture about not doing anything foolish.

Following Gianni into the huge house, Tony casually glanced around, spotting the 'worker' on the telephone pole, checking the wires, but watching the house closely.

"Allie!" Gianni yelled. "I brought company for dinner." He turned to Tony. "You're gonna love my sister's cooking. She learned everything from my mother, real old-world Italian-style cooking."

"What, you think I'm running a soup kitchen here, you can bring in every stray that follows you home?" A tall, slender young woman came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a kitchen towel. Her dark hair was pulled back and her face was flushed with the heat of the kitchen. She approached her brother and his friend, eyeing the stranger speculatively.

"Allie, this is Anthony DeMarco. Anthony, this is my sister, Alexandra Mancuso."

Tony smiled and held out his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Mancuso."

Alexandra accepted his hand and nodded. "Yeah, likewise." Swatting her brother with the kitchen towel, she scolded, "Gianni, did you remember to bring the wine?"

Holding up the paper bag with the bottles, he grinned at his sister. "Do I ever forget what you ask for?"

"Go get washed up. I hope you're hungry, Mr. DeMarco, there's plenty of food."

"Anthony," Tony replied, "and yes, I'm starving." She smiled at him and returned to the kitchen.

The meal was everything Gianni had said it would be. There was an abundance of pasta and sauce, sausage and peppers, chicken and veal. The sumptuous dinner was topped off with homemade cannoli and strong espresso. Talk of business was forbidden at the table and the conversation covered everything from politics and sports, to the latest movies.

Tony found that he didn't work very hard to charm the Mancuso family, his interests meshed beautifully with all of them. He felt himself drawn to the only female at the table, which wouldn't have surprised Gibbs or Ziva, or any other member of his team. What would have surprised them, however, was the intellectual conversation he held with the young woman, peppered with occasional current pop culture references. Alexandra rivaled him in his knowledge of classic and obscure movies.

Tony spent the next few days working out details for a shipment of automatic rifles stolen from Camp Lejeune, to be sold to the Mancusos. He had dinner with the family every evening, enjoying the food and camaraderie during mealtime. If he didn't know so much about the brothers, he would have been very drawn to the whole family, especially Alexandra.

On the fourth day of the operation everything went to hell in a handbasket. Vincenzo Mancuso's attitude toward him had changed subtly, he couldn't quite place his finger on the difference. Gianni remained friendly, but Antonio was also more wary. Tony started to feel as if things were going badly. He tried to request help from his backup without alerting the brothers, but he wasn't sure he was getting through to them. Short of yelling, "Get me out of here!" Tony didn't know how else he could sound the alarm. Gianni's explosive attack came out of the blue and before he knew what was happening, Tony was knocked unconscious.


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Groaning, Tony tried to rub his head, but found he was tied up. He opened his eyes carefully, squinting at the bright light, finding himself lying on the floor of what appeared to be an old basement.
Sitting on a chair, looking at him with a slight smile on his face, was Vincenzo Mancuso.

"Ahhh, you're awake," purred Vincenzo. "I was afraid Gianni had gotten carried away and killed you."

Tony tried to sit up, but gave up when his stomach tried to come up through his throat. "Guess he didn't," he rasped.

"So, you're a Federal agent." Mancuso cocked his head. "FBI."

"On loan to them. I'm with NCIS." Tony figured talking wouldn't hurt, his cover was already blown. Hopefully the Feebs would be coming soon, or Gibbs.

"Don't know them," dismissed Vincenzo with a wave.

Tony sighed. "Yeah, I'm not surprised. We're not that well known."

"You are Italian, though," continued Vincenzo, ignoring what Tony had said. "What's your real name?"

"Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo."

Vinny looked surprised. "Your family the DiNozzos of Long Island?"

Surprised himself, Tony nodded.

Vinny shook his head. "Shame about your father cutting you off like that. When Pop heard about that, he was pissed. He always said, ‘blood is blood, familia is all you can trust'."

"Your father knew my father?"

Vinny laughed. "They didn't do business, if that's what you're asking. You don't have to be mafioso to have," he paused before continuing, "questionable business practices."

"How do you know that?" Tony tried to keep his voice calm.

"We know a lot of what goes on in the Italian-American community. My father may not have been an honest man, but he was what he was, there was no pretending to be a pillar of the community."

Tony smiled grimly. "Yeah, okay."

"Pop would never cut one of his children off, just for not following in his footsteps."

"How would you know? It seems all of you have, except for Alexandra."

Smiling, Vinny said, "Pop believed in family above all else. He didn't want Antonio to join the business, thought it would be too 'stressful' for him, but he let him do what he wanted."

"Admirable," Tony said, "he was a model father."

Laughing, Vinnie stood. "He was, actually. He would do anything for his family, do anything to give his children all the advantages he didn't have. He really wanted to have a priest in the family, but none of us had the inclination."

"What a shame."

Vinnie started to go up the stairs. "Gianni has a few things to say to you, Anthony. He'll be down shortly. Don't keep him too long, it's almost time for dinner."

Hissing in pain, Tony settled back against the wall, trying to check out his surroundings. He was in a cellar, not a basement. There were no windows, no exits other than the one at the top of the stairs. It was cold and damp, but luckily there were no rats or cockroaches, at leastthat he could see. The room was empty, except for the chair, a table and a dirty mattress.

Tony looked up when he heard a sound. Gianni and Antonio Mancuso came down the stairs, making sure the cellar door was closed securely behind them. Gianni had a feral look on his face as he stood looking at the bound agent.

"Well, Anthony," he growled. "Let's get this party started." He motioned to Antonio, who put a case down on the table and opened it. He reached in and handing Gianni something. When Gianni turned around, Tony saw he was wearing brass knuckles on both hands.

This was going to be bad.

TBC

Chapter Three

Special Agent Gibbs was at his wits end. It had been four days since Tony's cover had been blown. The Mancuso family seemed to have disappeared off the face of the planet, along with his missing agent. He knew the odds of finding the younger man alive dropped exponentially with each day, but he refused to give up hope. The Director tried to convince him that Tony was dead, that there was no reason to believe he was still alive, knowing the brutal nature of Gianni 'The Enforcer' Mancuso. The man was a suspect in at least five known homicides, and that was just the tip of the iceberg.

Gibbs had been called when a John Doe fitting Tony's description had been found. He'd gone alone, over the objections of Ziva and McGee. Heading back to the office, he flipped open his cell phone and hit speed dial.

"It wasn't him," he said tersely, when McGee answered.

"What now, Boss?"

"We keep looking. You and Abby keep searching whatever it is you search when you're on the computer. Get Ziva to see if any of her contacts can help us locate the Mancusos."

"Boss." McGee hesitated.

"He's not dead, McGee. We'll find him." Gibbs cut the connection.


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For the first time in her life, Alexandra Mancuso was afraid. Not for herself, not for her family, but for a stranger. A stranger she found herself drawn to, not physically, although the attraction was there, but emotionally. She liked the brash young man who was going to put her brothers in prison. That traitorous feeling made her stomach roil with competing emotions. Loyalty and love for her family; horror at witnessing the brutality of her brothers, something she had never seen before, but always knew was there; sympathy and pity for the abused agent, and; guilt for not doing something to help him. The sound of the beating filtered through the cellar door, sending chills down her spine. She couldn't ignore it any longer.

"This has to stop, Vinny," she whispered to her older brother. "Gianni's lost it. He has to be reined in."

Vincenzo shrugged. "The guy has to die, Alex. He's a Federal Agent. He knows too much about our family and our operations to be allowed to live."

"Why like this?" begged Alexandra. "Why so slowly and painfully? Why don't you just shoot him? I know you get rid of threats that way, why is Anthony any different?"

"He's not," Vinny replied, "not to me. It's Gianni that's got it into his head that the schmuck has to suffer. He was starting to like the guy, treating him like a best friend or another brother. You know how he is, he feels betrayed. Cross Gianni and you'll regret it for the rest of your short life."

A scream tore through the air, making Alexandra jump. The sound was chilling, full of desperation and pain. It rose in intensity and volume until it was animalistic.

"Vinny!" Alexandra looked at her brother imploringly, who ignored her, continuing to read his book. The screams continued for a few minutes, died down briefly, then resumed, weaker, hoarser, but still heartbreaking.

"This ends now," Alexandra declared, glaring at Vinny. She headed toward the cellar door. "If you won't stop this, I will." Angrily, she jerked the door open. She could hear moaning downstairs, and the sound of flesh slapping flesh. She could hear the agent's voice, breaking, begging, "No more… please, stop… oh god… please…"

As she entered the cellar, Alexandra could feel the bile rise up into her throat. Antonio was on top of the abused agent, pounding into him. Gianni was standing nearby watching, his eyes glittering with excitement. There was a bloody condom lying on the floor.

Fury gave the woman the strength she needed. "Get off him, NOW!" she screamed, as she pulled the larger man off his helpless victim and threw him into the wall.

Antonio, surprised by the attack, quickly covered himself. "Alex! What are you doing down here?"

"Allie!" Gianni yelled, covering himself as well. "Get out!"

"No! I will not allow this to continue, Gianni. Go upstairs. NOW!" She stood facing her two brothers, fists balled up, eyes wild.

"Allie," Gianni implored, "please, don't interfere, this is business, it has nothing to do with you."

"It has everything to do with me," she hissed. "You brought me into this business when you dragged all of us out here. I should have done something sooner, but I'm not going to sit by and let you continue this barbaric behavior. Shame on you, Gianni. Shame!"

"Allie?" he whispered.

His sister went to him and took his face in her hands. "Gianni, I love you. I will always love you. I walked you to school when you were a little boy, read you stories, made you soup and cared for you when you were sick. You're my little brother and will always be my little brother. But right now, Gianni, I'm ashamed to be your sister." The large man looked as if he had been slapped in the face. He seemed to shrink into himself, tears welling up in his eyes.

"Antonio," she looked over at her other brother, "go upstairs and get blankets, clean towels and hot water. Now, Antonio, and get rid of that," she commanded as the young man hesitated, indicating the offensive item lying on the floor. Pulling his pants on, he scurried upstairs to do as she ordered.

Alexandra turned to the dirty mattress and knelt beside DiNozzo, who was curled up in a fetal position, shivering uncontrollably. He pulled away when she reached for his shoulder. "Don't touch me," he said harshly.

Gianni growled and advanced menacingly. "Don't talk to my sister like that!"

"Gianni! Go upstairs!"

"I won't leave you alone with him," Gianni said, continuing to glare at the offending man.

Alexandra sat down next to the mattress. "I don't blame you for hating me," she said softly. "I hate myself for letting this happen to you. I'm sorry, Anthony." She sighed when there was no response. "Please let me help you now."

Antonio returned with the requested items and set them down next to Alexandra.

"Go upstairs," she ordered her brothers.

"No…"

"I said. Go. Upstairs." Both men saw the determined look in her eyes and knew there was nothing they could do but obey. They exited the cellar, leaving the door open.

Alexandra kept her voice soft and soothing. "I'm going to clean you up, Anthony. I'll try not to hurt you any further. You don't have to say anything, just let me help you." Gently, she placed the blankets over his body.

Tony kept his eyes focused on a spot on the wall, refusing to look at the woman as she began gently cleaning his injuries. His handsome features were obscured by swelling and bruises. She kept speaking softly, not expecting, or receiving, a response from the shivering man.

"When Papa was alive, he never brought the business home. After he died and Vincenzo took over, that didn't change. It's easier to turn a blind eye to something when you're not confronted with reality. I've never seen Gianni so enraged and brutal. He was always a sweet and loving brother." Alexandra soaked a clean washcloth in hot water and wrung it out, moving the blanket down to wash Tony's body. She flinched at the sight of the bruising, cuts and burns, but continued to talk.

"I was sixteen when Mamma died. Papa was devastated. Vinny was already in the family business, but Gianni and Antonio were still young. I always helped Mamma in the kitchen, so it was natural for me to take on the cooking and cleaning, and mothering my two little brothers. Gianni was always so sensitive, one big emotion, losing our mother was hard on him. He would follow me around, afraid that I would go away too. No matter how much I tried to reassure him, he couldn't shake that fear. Antonio was afraid of everything. He would turn to Gianni for protection, so I think it was only natural for Gianni to become the protector of the family. I don't know how he turned so vicious. Maybe he was always like that, but I never noticed."

Despite himself, Tony found himself watching the face of the young woman. She appeared not to notice his gaze, buried deep in memories, her face sad, as she gently tended to her injured charge.

"It scares me to think that my brothers are killers. As long as I didn't see anything, I could pretend that they were perfect gentlemen. But now…" She sighed, looked into Tony's eyes briefly, then turned back to her task. "Now, I've seen what they're really like, in glorious Technicolor. My father raised three cold-blooded killers, and I helped raise two of them. That's not the worst part, though."

Alexandra looked straight into Tony's eyes again. "The worst part is I'm not sure what kind of a person I am. I knew how angry Vinny and Gianni were when they found out who you were. I suspected they were going to do something, and deep down, I guess I knew they were going to kill you. But I didn't try to stop them. I didn't try to get Vinny to run off to a country with no extradition. And, if I hadn't been able to hear what they were doing to you, I don't know if I would have stopped this at all. I know I waited too long to do anything about it." Her eyes were filled with tears. "This isn't an excuse, there's no excuse for what I let happen. But I swear to you, I won't let them hurt you any more." She turned away and reached for another clean towel.

Pulling the blanket back over Tony's torso, she started to roll him over, but he stopped her. "No," he whispered, his eyes pleading.

Cupping his face gently, Alexandra smiled softly. "I have to clean you up, Anthony. I promise I'll try not to hurt you any more, but I know you'll feel a little better if you're cleaned up."

"They're only going to kill me, why bother?"

"They won't kill you, Anthony, I won't let them. I'm going to get you help. Please, let me help you." She held Tony's gaze until finally, he nodded, closed his eyes and rolled over, wincing in pain.

After Alexandra finished cleaning Tony's wounds, she tucked the blanket around him tightly and rolled up another blanket to place under his head. "I'll get you some soup," she said, standing to leave.

"Why?" Tony's voice stopped her. "I know you said you felt guilty, but it's not just that, I can tell. Why are you really helping me?" There was no anger or hostility in his weak voice, just confusion.

She looked at him for a moment, then replied softly, "I don't know," turned and left the cellar.

TBC

Chapter Four

Tony was once again tied securely, his arms twisted behind him so that his elbows were bent and ropes wrapped tightly, allowing no slack or movement. His legs were bound together at the knees and ankles. There was no chance of freeing himself at all, even if he had the strength to try.

Alexandra had come back, accompanied by Antonio, full of apologies that she didn't have the promised soup. She had discovered that her brothers weren't giving Tony the food she had provided for the past few days and felt that the rich soup she had made would be too much for his deprived system. Instead, she brought some clear broth, crackers, and some cold water.

"I wish I had some ginger ale or Gatorade for you," she said, as she carefully fed him the broth, "but water is the best I can do, other than beer or wine."

Tony didn't say much, a softly murmured thank you the only acknowledgement of his benefactor's kindness. The broth was wonderfully hot, the flavor sending shivers of pleasure through his body, the crackers settling comfortably in his cramping stomach. He sighed softly, relaxing as his body eagerly accepted the sustenance. Antonio watched him warily from the corner.

Wiping Tony's mouth gently, Alexandra turned and called to her brother, "Antonio, take the tray back upstairs, I'll follow you shortly." Seeing her brother's hesitation, she added, "It's okay, baby, he's tied up, and he's too weak to do anything. I'll be up in a minute."

"No more than a minute, Alex," her brother said, giving Tony a warning glare.

"Yes, yes… a minute."

When her brother had gone up the stairs, she turned back to Tony. "Are you feeling any better, Anthony?"

Tony looked at her briefly, studying her eyes. "Yes," he whispered hoarsely, "a little. Thank you."

Alexandra smiled sadly and stood to leave.

"Wait," Tony said quickly. She stopped and looked at him questioningly. "Did you mean what you said? About helping me get out of here?"

Nodding, she said, "I just don't know how to do it yet. Gianni's very angry with you, and upset with me for interfering. He's sulking, drinking too much and sulking."

"Will you call my boss? Tell him where we are?" Tony's eyes were pleading.

Alexandra hesitated. "My brothers will be arrested. They won't go quietly, they might be killed," she whispered.

Closing his eyes briefly in despair, he opened them again and pleaded, "They'll kill me, Alexandra. If you don't want to risk them, then at least get them to finish this. I don't think I can take any more."

Kneeling next to Tony, Alexandra gently wiped away the tears that had formed and were tracking down his cheeks. "I'll do what I can, Anthony, I promise."

"Tony."

She looked at him, puzzled.

"No one calls me Anthony, except my parents."

"Tony." Alex stood up to leave.

"202-555-7295." She looked down at him again. "That's my boss' cell phone. If you call him, tell him you know where Tony DiNozzo is. Please."

Nodding once, Alexandra left the cellar and closed the door behind her.

Sighing, Tony settled back, trying to get as comfortable as he could. He felt a little better with the rich broth and broth-soaked crackers inside him, but he knew the feeling was temporary. Gianni wouldn't allow his sister to continue her nursing, no matter how much he loved her. He was a man with vengeance on his mind, and his target was tied up in the cellar. His emotions whirling around inside him, Tony closed his eyes and managed to fall asleep.


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Gibbs was at his desk, going over the history of the Mancuso family. The whole team was still working late, Ziva and McGee at their desks, Abby going over the evidence in her lab, trying to see if she could gain one bit of information from what little she had.
Gibbs sat back, rubbing his eyes. He looked over at Tony's desk, but instead of seeing his senior field agent, goofing off, he saw Tobias Fornell, using Tony's computer to go over some records he pulled up from the FBI database.

Fornell had worked tirelessly with Gibbs and his team, using his resources to try to fix the mess his men had made, trying to locate the missing agent. Privately, he agreed with the Director, that DiNozzo was already dead, and it hurt him in a way that surprised him. He saw how much pain his friend was in, worrying about the younger agent, and Fornell knew that he would be just as upset if one of his agents had disappeared.

Gibbs' cellphone rang, and he answered it with a curt, "Gibbs."

There was a slight hesitation, then a woman's voice said softly, "Is this Tony DiNozzo's boss?"

Gibbs sat straight up. "Who is this?"

Ziva, McGee and Fornell looked over at Gibbs, noting the tenseness is his voice. McGee got on the phone immediately and told Abby to trace the call.

There was another pause, and then the woman whispered, "This is Alexandra Mancuso."

Gibbs' eyes widened in surprise. He kept his voice steady and calm, not wanting to frighten the caller off. "Miss Mancuso? Where are you?"

"I don't know what to tell you. I don't even know why I'm calling you." The woman sounded frightened and confused. "I can't let them continue hurting him like this."

"Who, Miss Mancuso," urged Gibbs patiently, "who's hurting who?"

"Tony," came the whispered reply. "My brothers are hurting your agent. They're going to kill him."

"Where are you? Where are they keeping Tony?" Gibbs asked, trying to keep the desperation out of his voice.

She seemed not to hear him. "He asked me to call you, so you could come help him. If I couldn't do that, he asked me to get my brothers to finish him off quickly. They've done some terrible things to him, he won't last much longer if they continue." Alex's voice broke.

Gibbs closed his eyes in despair. Taking a deep breath, he repeated, "Where are you, Miss Mancuso? Please, tell me where Tony is."

There was a noise in the background and Alexandra's voice got even softer, "They're coming. I'll call you back, I promise. I'll try to protect him, but Gianni's got blood in his eyes. He wants Tony to suffer and die slowly… I'll call you later."

"Miss Mancuso," Gibbs called frantically, swearing when the connection was broken. "McGee, did Abby get anything?"

"Abby?" McGee spoke into the receiver, waiting briefly before smiling broadly. "The connection was long enough for Abby to get a location!"

Gibbs grabbed his weapon from the drawer, the other agents doing the same, and headed for the elevator. McGee finished scribbling the address and rushed to join the others, surprised to see Gibbs holding the door for him, but looking very impatient.


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Tony was awakened by a bright light coming through the cellar door as it was thrown open. The darkness returned when the door was shut and locked, the silence broken by the sound of someone stumbling down the stairs.
Pulling the chain on a lone lightbulb in the middle of the ceiling, Gianni Mancuso stood, swaying slightly, holding a bottle of beer and glaring at his prisoner. He reeked of alcohol and cigarette smoke and his eyes were bloodshot.

Glaring, he went down on his knees next to Tony and put his face close to the agent's. "What did you say to Allie? Why is she so worried about what happens to you?"

Unable to back away from the alcohol soaked breath washing over him, Tony replied, "I didn't say anything, Gianni."

"Liar," roared Gianni, backhanding Tony, causing the agent's head to hit the wall. "She said she's ashamed of me," he growled. "You must have told her something to make her ashamed of me."

Tony's head was buzzing from the force of the blow, but he managed to keep from getting sick. "She saw what you were doing. I didn't have to say anything to make her feel that way."

Shaking his head, Gianni drank some more beer and said, "No. She saw Antonio fucking you, not me. She didn't see me."

"She's not stupid, Gianni."

"Did you sleep with her?" accused the other man.

Tony looked confused. "What? No..."

"She not good enough for you?"

"What?..."

Squinting at Tony, the other man stared for a while, a grin slowly crossing his face, sending a chill down Tony's spine. Standing awkwardly, Gianni stumbled over to a table and came back with a roll of duct tape. Ripping off a piece, he placed it firmly over Tony's mouth. He leaned in and whispered into the agent's ear, "Wouldn't want to wake her up, would we?"

Tony tried to struggle as the bigger man rolled him over onto his stomach. He tensed up, waiting for the inevitable, his eyes closed tightly, but nothing happened.

"Damn," muttered Gianni, "too much beer."

Tony sighed in relief, but froze when he heard, "Well, guess the bottle'll have to do."

The cellar resounded with Tony's muffled screams.

TBC

Chapter Five

Gibbs and his team were getting into position outside the house, moving quietly. Two other back-up teams were also getting into position. The house was dark, everyone appeared to be asleep. Giving the signal, they moved in.

There was very little resistance, having surprised the Mancusos while they were asleep. At least most of them. Gianni Mancuso had fought hard, killing an agent and wounding another before he ran into a bedroom. Gibbs followed him, breaking the door down and storming in, his gun ready. He found Mancuso on the bed, holding a woman in his arms. Gun aimed at the man and backed up by Ziva, Gibbs slowly advanced on the pair.

Gianni Mancuso held his sister tenderly in his arms. He looked up at Gibbs and whispered, "She can't go to prison. She's too good, she'd never survive." Looking closely, Gibbs could see the young woman's head was at a strange angle. Gianni Mancuso had broken his sister's neck, to spare her from being put away. The large man was crying as he rocked Alexandra's body. Two FBI agents came into the room, Gibbs walked out, leaving them to take the man into custody.

McGee joined Gibbs and Ziva when they came out of the bedroom. "No sign of Tony yet, Boss," he said grimly.

"Down here!" yelled someone from the cellar. Gibbs raced down the stairs where another agent was bending over a body lying on its side on the floor. Heart beating rapidly, he approached them, recognizing the swollen face of his missing agent.

Tony was unconscious, his face covered with a sheen of perspiration, his breathing rapid and shallow. He appeared to be in shock, shivering uncontrollably. He was covered with a blanket, duct tape over his mouth.

Kneeling quickly, Gibbs turned Tony's face toward him and gently removed the tape.

"Tony," he said softly, not wanting to startle the younger man. "DiNozzo, can you hear me?" McGee and Ziva had followed him and crouched down beside Tony.

"Is he alive?" McGee asked fearfully.

"He's breathing," replied Gibbs.

"There's blood on the blanket." Ziva pointed to a large stain. She carefully lifted the blanket, then cursed softly. Gibbs looked to see what she discovered and drew his breath in sharply. "Damn it. Where are the EMT's?"

"They're on their way," replied McGee.

"Gibbs." Gibbs looked over at Ziva, who indicated an object on the floor. His eyes followed her signal and he swore loudly. An empty beer bottle lay under the table, blood evident on the neck.

Turning back to Tony, Gibbs started stroking his hair, speaking softly to the unconscious agent. The three of them stayed like that, trying to comfort their teammate, until the medical team arrived to care for him and transport him to the hospital.


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Tony woke up in the hospital, 32 hours later. He knew something was different the minute he started regaining awareness. He was no longer cold and in pain. He felt pleasantly warm and comfortable, and he didn't want to wake up, but his body kept drawing him out of the welcome darkness.
Opening his eyes carefully, he blinked to focus. He looked around and spotted Gibbs, sitting in a chair next to him, dozing, with a cup of coffee in his hand tipping dangerously.

Clearing his throat, he tested his voice, "Boss?"

Gibbs started at the sound, his sharp gaze honing in on Tony, the cup of coffee never hitting the ground.

"DiNozzo," Gibbs was at the side of the bed swiftly, "how you feeling?"

Looking around, confused, Tony tried to be flip. "I've been better."

Unsmiling, Gibbs just looked at the young man. Squirming nervously, Tony said in a small voice, "Not too good, Boss. How'd you find me?"

"I got a phone call."

Tony looked surprised. "Alexandra?"

"Yes."

"Is she in custody?"

Gibbs paused, then decided to tell his agent the truth. "She's dead, Tony. Her brother killed her so she wouldn't have to go to prison." He was surprised at the tears in the younger man's eyes.

"Dead?" whispered Tony.

Gibbs nodded.

"She tried to help me."

"She did help you. She told us where you were."

Tony took a shaky breath. "She stopped them… from hurting me. But Gianni came down later, after she had gone to sleep…" his voice broke.

Gibbs took his hand and squeezed comfortingly. "You're going to be okay, DiNozzo. The doctor said there's no permanent damage, and we'll help you get through the rest."

Tony looked at him, his eyes haunted by memories. "I don't know if I can, Boss." Tears started to slip down his cheeks. "I don't think I can forget."

"You'll work through it, Tony. I know you'll be able to," assured Gibbs. "You'll have help, the doctors will help you, and we'll be there to help you. I'm not going to let you lose yourself to what happened. You're strong, and when you're not feeling strong, we'll be strong for you. I'll be strong for you."

Tony still looked uncertain. "It's too soon, too fresh for you to realize, but believe me, with help, you'll be able to put this behind you. You survived, Tony." Gibbs squeezed his hand. "You survived and you're alive. You won't be the same, but it's up to you if you'll be strong or you'll allow yourself to break."

"You'll help me?" Tony's voice was shaky.

Smiling, Gibbs ruffled the hair on Tony's head. "I'll help you. That's a promise."

TBC

Chapter Six

Tony looked nervously around the office, noting the tasteful décor. It was almost soothing. An older man sat in a chair across from him, Dr. Howard Stern, the psychiatrist that Gibbs had made him see.

Smiling brightly, Tony said, "Howard Stern, huh? This your day job?"

The doctor laughed. "My practice got a lot more interesting after that guy went on the air."

"He's sort of in the same line of work as you," Tony commented. "I mean, he's a 'shock jock' and in order to shock people you have to know something about what makes people tick."

Stern nodded thoughtfully. "I hadn't considered that before, but you're right."

Indicating Tony's twitching leg, he asked, "Are you okay, Special Agent DiNozzo?"

Tony put his hand on his knee to stop his leg from jumping. "Please, if I'm going to spill my guts out, you can at least call me Tony. Mind if I call you Howard?"

"Whatever you feel comfortable with, Tony."

There was an awkward pause, then Tony spoke, "I don't know where to start." He looked frustrated.

"How are you feeling, now that you're out of the hospital?"

Tony thought for a moment. "I'm antsy, I can't seem to sit still. I've always been a little hyper, drives Gibbs crazy, but now," he paused, "now, I can't sit still for more than a minute. It's taking every bit of willpower I have not to get up and start pacing."

"You can get up and walk around if you'd like, Tony," Dr. Stern said. "It might help you gather your thoughts."

Tony got up and immediately started pacing around the room.

"I want to forget about what happened, just put it behind me, but my usual coping mechanisms aren't working."

"What are those?"

Tony laughed. "Eating junk food, watching old movies, just totally tuning out the world."

"But your mind won't let you push the events of the past few weeks behind you."

"No," Tony nodded, "my brain won't shut up. I can be sitting there, watching TV, and suddenly an image of that cellar will come up in my head, out of nowhere."

"Maybe your brain is trying to tell you something. Some people can block out unpleasant memories. Others can't let go. You seem to be a person who won't sit by idly and write the incident off."

"Incident?" Tony's laugh was humorless. "That's a nice way of putting it. You're wrong, Howard, I ignore things all the time."

"Ignoring and forgetting are two different things, Tony. I bet you carry a lot of past hurts, deep inside, and while you think you've gotten over them, their memory affects the way you behave." Tony stopped pacing and looked at the other man in surprise.

"You think so?" he asked.

"Yes, I believe so. I also believe if you don't work through what happened, you'll bury it so deep that the anger and fear you felt will explode some time in the future. Perhaps in an inappropriate or dangerous way."

"You think I'm a ticking time bomb?"

"You could become one. No one wants to see that happen, Tony."

Tony stood still for a moment, contemplating what the doctor had said.

"I've never felt so scared in my life," he said softly. "I've never been so helpless." The doctor waited for him to continue. "I've been in tough spots before, but I've always been able to do something to work toward getting out of the situation. This time, there wasn't any way I'd be able to free myself, to fight back. All I could do was take what they dished out and hope Gibbs was coming for me."

"Gibbs?"

"My boss, Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Ex-Marine, tough as nails, a hard boss, but a fair one. He's got that 'leave no man behind' mentality, I knew he'd be looking for me."

"You knew he'd come for you, not the team that was backing you up?"

Tony shook his head. "I figured if my cover was blown and I was dragged to who-knows-where, the team that was backing me up wasn't exactly the brightest bunch."

Tony sat down and stared at his hands for a moment. "I don't know how long I was down in that cellar, I couldn't tell if it was dark outside, or light. I figured a few days had to have gone by, though. I was so thirsty, and hungry." He paused again, gathering his thoughts.

"There was so much pain," Tony's voice was barely above a whisper. "They just kept whaling on me. They didn't...you know... until after a lot of time had gone by. At least, I don't think so."

"What did they do to you, Tony?" Dr. Stern's voice was soft, encouraging. Tony looked at him for a moment, but continued as if the doctor hadn't said anything.

"I just waited. I knew Gibbs would come, Gibbs always comes."

Stern decided to follow that line of thought. "You respect Gibbs. Trust him."

"With my life," confirmed Tony. "He's one of the most honorable men I've ever met. He's loyal, he looks out for his people. He's a tough boss, and sometimes he can be a real bastard, but he makes you want to do your best for him. When he tells you you've done a good job, you know he means it, and he's proud of you. Gibbs doesn't pass out praise lightly."

"So you look to him as a mentor or a teacher, a father-figure maybe?"

Tony snorted derisively. "I don't know what a father-figure should be, or at least a good one."

"You aren't close to your own father?"

"Yeah," Tony laughed, "you could say that. My father wasn't exactly thrilled with me as a son. He wasn't for as long as I can remember. I don't know if he was ever proud of me, even as a little kid."

"But Gibbs is proud of you, as one of his agents?"

Tony looked up, thoughtfully. "Yeah, I think he is. If he wasn't, I wouldn't be on his team for so long. I wouldn't be his senior field agent."

"And how does that make you feel?"

"Is that a standard line they teach you in shrink school, Howard?"

Dr. Stern smiled. "Yes, it's in the required reading in Psych 101."

Tony chuckled. "Funny man." He paused again. "It makes me feel proud, makes me want to do better, just to get his approval. It makes me feel good about myself."

Dr. Stern nodded. "I've met Agent Gibbs. I believe you're right, he strikes me as a no-nonsense sort of man, one who doesn't suffer fools lightly. He has an excellent record. If he's proud of you, then you have reason to feel pleased with yourself as well."

Tony nodded. "Yeah, he doesn't put up with incompetence, that's for sure."

Tony was silent for a few moments, gathering his thoughts. Doctor Stern waited patiently, allowing his patient to collect himself.

After awhile, Tony started to talk again. "I started to doubt, though. Started thinking that maybe the Feebs hadn't gotten him involved soon enough, that the trail was too cold for even Gibbs to follow. After they... did it, the first time, I just wanted to die. It was like they ripped my soul right out of my body. I felt empty, and hopeless." Tears had started trickling down his cheeks, but Tony didn't seem to notice them, lost in his memories.

"Then Alexandra came down, she stopped them. She had those two huge guys backed up and almost cowering." He chuckled at the memory. "She cleaned me up, tried to make me comfortable, fed me..." his voice trailed off.

"What happened next, Tony?"

"I asked her to call Gibbs. Call Gibbs or tell her brothers to kill me, quickly."

"Because you wanted to die," confirmed the doctor.

"Yes. And I didn't want them to..." Tony took a deep breath and swallowed. "I didn't want them to... rape me... again."

"Did she help you?"

Tony nodded. "She called Gibbs. I know she was torn, she didn't want to turn her brothers in, but I could tell she was upset at what was happening. I'll never know why she finally decided to make the call."

"You haven't spoken to her at all?"

Tony shook his head. "She's dead. Her brother killed her, to save her from going to prison."

Stern sighed. "I'm sorry, Tony."

"Yeah, so am I."

After a moment of silence, Stern spoke softly. "It was hard for you to actually say what happened to you, wasn't it? Why?"

Tony shrugged.

"You feel ashamed." It was a statement, not a question.

Drawing a deep breath, Tony nodded. "I know it's wrong. I know that rape is a crime of power, not sex. I know all that, I just ..." he fell silent.

"You feel humiliated, that you should have been able to do something to stop them. You feel, dirty, maybe?" This was a question.

Tony nodded.

"Tony, you were a cop before you joined NCIS. Did you ever come in contact with rape victims?"

"Yes," Tony whispered.

"Did you feel they'd done something to deserve what happened, or that they hadn't fought enough to prevent or stop it?"

Tony's head snapped up, "No!"

Nodding, Stern continued, "From what I've seen, what I've read in your records, what your boss and teammates have told me, you seem like a very compassionate man.. You hide that behind the bluster and chauvinism, but underneath it all, there's a man who cares deeply, feels things intensely. I imagine you treated the victims you met with the utmost sensitivity."

"I tried."

"Why can't you show yourself the same sensitivity, Tony? Why don't you deserve the compassion and comfort that you'd give other victims?"

Stern barely heard Tony respond "I don't know."

"Do your teammates treat you differently?"

Tony shook his head, "They're good. I was afraid they'd pity me, or go overboard and treat me with kid gloves." He looked up at the doctor briefly, then looked down again and continued. "At the same time, I kind of didn't want them to act like nothing had happened, that things were just the same as always. Because they aren't. Things are different. I'm different." He paused again. "Yeah, they're good, just the right amount of caring and treating me normally."

The two sat in silence for a few minutes, Tony lost deep in his thoughts, Stern watching the emotions play across the young man's face.

Finally, Dr. Stern broke the silence. "Tony," he said gently, "you've been through a terrible ordeal, one that would make anyone crack. You've done an admirable job of holding it all together. I'd like to see you again, maybe once a week for awhile."

Tony looked up, his eyes red. "You think you can fix me, Howard?"

"I don't think you're broken, Tony. I think you need help moving on, putting this experience behind you. It's not going to be easy, and it's never going to be something you'll forget, but you can go on. From what your boss said, what you've said, you'll have all the support you want from your team. They care about you, deeply. I could see that your boss was concerned about you, he seemed very sincere about wanting to help you take back control of your life."

Tony smiled. "They're my family," he said softly.

"I can see that. You're lucky to have them."

Tony nodded.

"Our time's up," Doctor Stern said, reluctantly. "Elizabeth will schedule your next appointment. We've made a good start, Tony, really."

Tony shook the doctor's hand solemnly. "Thank you, Doctor." He seemed reserved, but calmer than when they had started the session.

Walking out of the building, Tony wasn't surprised to see Gibbs waiting for him. They walked to the car in silence. Tony buckled himself in, then held on for dear life as Gibbs tore out of the parking lot.

Yeah, things were going to work out, eventually.

The End