"Dat boss of yours is one helluva stubborn cuss, ain't he?"
The soft whisper immediately behind him made Tony jump. He struggled to turn towards the unfamiliar voice but only managed to turn his head enough to peer into the gloom, unable to see the speaker.
"Ya know, they ain't gunna stop until he breaks. They love ta see ‘em scream! But I got da feelin' that one ain't gunna give 'em the pleasure. I reckon he'll go ta his grave without beggin' once. Pity! Just a gosh darn pity! I love seein' marines cry like babies." The voice quietly taunted as the man stepped around the chair allowing his prisoner to see his face. "Ya know, I've been thinkin' maybe there is a way to break 'im, maybe da boys just ain't goin ‘bout dis the right way, maybe they should use somethin' dat would really hurt ‘im." He murmured as he stared at the bound NCIS agent in the chair. "Yeah, maybe we've just been doin' dis the wrong way." He muttered again as he leaned forward and roughly grasped Tony's chin, forcing the agent to look up into his face. "Maybe all we need is you!"
Tony's eyes grew wide in horror at the suggestion before defiance and anger replaced the look. Tony attempted to dive forward, ignoring the ropes that bound him tightly to the chair, as he threw himself at his tormentor. But the attempt was thwarted as someone from behind suddenly grabbed him, preventing him from reaching his objective.
The older man looked on amused. "Yeah, I think it's gunna be fun watchin him break over a young pup like you! And it's gunna be almost as much fun watchin' ya beg for mercy, Boy."
Determined that he was not going to allow their captors to use him as a weapon against Gibbs, DiNozzo began to struggle wildly as he was roughly grabbed and held then untied from the chair. Disappointed to find his hands were still trapped behind his back, Tony allowed himself to be lifted to his feet, waiting for an opportunity that he might be able to use to break free. His patience was quickly awarded when he felt the bruising hold on his shoulders momentarily loosen as his subjugator reached for his arm. Tony lunged forward breaking free of the restraining hands, slamming into the body of the man who had taunted him. The momentum carried both captor and captive backwards into the one-way mirror with enough force to crack the thick, reinforced glass. The two men crashed to the floor, leaving a bloodied streak that trailed down the glass and wall. Tony attempted to roll free from the limp body beneath him, while he still had the element of surprise on his side.
"What the Hell?" Leroy muttered as Tony broke free of his grip and crashed into his papa, knocking the older man to the floor in a bloodied heap. "You little…" He screamed as he ran forward and raised his boot back. Using all his weight behind his kick he drove his boot into the young prisoner's back as Tony rolled to his knees.
Unable to stop the silent scream that tore from his throat as his kidney erupted into a fiery pain that quickly radiated through out his back and body, driving the breath from his lungs, Tony fell back to the floor. He had no time to draw himself into a protective ball as he felt the rain of kicks and punches descend upon his body, striking him on the body, head and legs, until the agony of each blow blurred and seemed to morph into each other until he could not distinguish one new agony from the next. Unable to even have enough time between the blows to draw enough air into his lungs to cry out, he finally succumbed to the darkness that offered him a relief from his torment.
Rushing into the room Jed stared at the sight before him. His pa was sitting, dazed, against the wall as Leroy continually kicked and punched the motionless young NCIS agent huddled on the floor.
"Stop ‘im, Boy, before he kills da kid." His father gasped waving towards his brother.
Snapping out of his shock, Jed ran forward and grabbed his brother's arms, pulling him away from the bloodied form on the floor. "That's enough, Leroy, we don't wancha to kill the kid yet!"
Breathing heavily, Leroy raised his foot again, delivering another brutal kick to his helpless victim's ribs. "He hurt Pa!" Leroy protested as he felt himself being dragged as he fought against his brother's restraining hands, wanting to kick the man who had injured his Pa again.
"I know he did!" Jed acknowledged as he held tightly onto his brother as he began to patiently explain to the dim witted man, "And Pa will let cha whoop him good but not until he tells ya' ya can, understand?" When his brother failed to answer, Jed grabbed his shoulders and swung him around, forcing him to face him, shaking him as he growled almost viciously, "Understand, Leroy?"
"I understand, Jed, but he hurt Pa!" Leroy pouted as he dropped his eyes to stare sulkily at his feet.
"I know he did, Leroy and we'll make "im squeal like a pig soon ‘nough, I promise." Jed smiled warmly as he squeezed his brother's shoulder, "When Pa says so."
NCISNCISNCIS
Soft pain filled moans slowly filtered through the protective darkness and pulled him towards the surface, reawakening the white-hot agony that seemed to envelope every nerve within his body. He remained motionless for several minutes as he tried to remember what had happened, and the reason why he now felt such pain.
Jumbled images of being hit and punched intermingled with the haunting memories electric shocks flittered through his mind. Ignoring the pain he tried to search for more memories but the sound of a soft cry of pain from somewhere close caught his attention again. Aware enough now to realize that the moan was not his own, he slowly lifted his head and forced his eyes open, focusing on the blurry figure sitting opposite him.
He blinked several times, as he forced the blurry image into a clearer focus, his breath catching in his throat as he recognized the battered figure bound in front of him. "Tony?" The whispered name slipped through his tightened throat as he stared at the bloodied face and body of his senior field agent and the man he had thought would be his rescuer. "DiNozzo, are you alright? Come on Tony, talk to me!"
Author's Chapter Notes:
Gibbs taught Tony a set of marine rules when he first joined NCIS. Rule #1 was Never Surrender. Tonight will test Gibbs and Tony. Will they be able to obey that rule?