Tony collapsed face first on the bed, groaning. Jethro grinned as he took in the sight, then shrugged out of his shirt and tossed it in the hamper. As Jethro unzipped his pants, Tony turned over and glared at him. Assuming an innocent expression, Jethro asked, “What?”

“That. Sucked.” Tony stated, still glaring.

Unable to resist, Jethro corrected, “No, that stunk. Are you sure you got everything off in the shower earlier? Because I’m pretty sure I can still smell that dumpster you went diving into.”

“Fuck you, Gibbs.”

But Tony was trying not to grin as he said it, so Jethro knew the younger man wasn’t really ticked. Not that he was complaining, but it seemed like Tony had complete control of his facial expressions except around him. Stepping out of his pants, he picked them up and tossed them in the hamper as well. Naked except for his boxers, Jethro crossed the distance to the bed and climbed on, straddling Tony in one move. Jethro rested his hands on Tony’s stomach and said, “You did good today.”

Tony shrugged, obviously pleased, but just as obviously trying to downplay the emotion. “I did okay. But thanks.”

Grinning again, Jethro slid his hands under Tony’s shirt and said, “I think that such good work deserves a reward.”

“I keep asking for a raise, but my boss is a skinflint,” Tony teased, smirking.

For that, Jethro pinched a nipple. Tony gasped, instantly arching against him. One of the things that Jethro loved so much about Tony was his responses.

“Jethro!” Tony gasped, swallowing heavily.

Licking his lips in anticipation, Jethro pulled his hands free and lay full length on his lover, stretching his arms above Tony’s head. This close, all Jethro really saw was the stubble on Tony’s chin and he slid his tongue over the rough scrape of it, moving down to the hollow just underneath and sucking there lightly.

Tony’s arms rose, twining with his, and his legs moved apart, offering Jethro full rein. Smiling again his throat, Jethro nibbled there as his hips undulated his hard cock against Tony, the fabric of his pants confining the other man’s cock. Rocking slow and easy against him, Jethro decided to get them off just like this. He shifted up again and captured Tony’s mouth in a long, wet kiss, thrusting his tongue lazily into his lover’s open mouth.

Groaning, Tony’s leg hooked over Jethro’s hip, urging him to go faster while their tongues swirled together. Jethro could feel it approaching for them both in the tightening of his balls and the way Tony’s head fell back, breaking the kiss as he arched against Jethro.

“Oh God, Jethro, please, yeah, oh yeah, right like that oh please…”

Jethro moaned as his cock emptied just after Tony orgasmed, the other man gasping silently as he came. Panting, Jethro didn’t move for a few minutes, letting himself recover slowly, nuzzling at Tony’s throat again.

Sighing deeply, Tony’s arms moved down to surround him and hold him tight. “I know it doesn’t usually count after coming, but I love you, Jethro.”

Jethro’s breath hitched at the admission and he pushed up on his elbows, staring into Tony’s eyes to determine the truth of it. Love. People bandied it around a lot and, given his track record, it was stupid to think he could ever really be part of the real thing, but… “I love you.”

Eyes widening, Tony asked, almost cautiously, “Are you saying that because it’s true, or because you think I want to hear it? Because I’m a big boy, Jethro. You don’t have to say it back just because…”

Jethro shut him up with a kiss and then was rolled so the Tony was on top. He laughed, a little breathlessly, forgetting how strong his lover was. Cupping the other man’s face, he repeated, “I love you.”

Smiling brilliantly, Tony kissed him back and then said, “Good.”

“Good? That’s it?”

“Yeah. Good.”

Jethro snorted at the mischievous look in Tony’s eyes and kissed him again. “Get undressed and let’s get some sleep.”

With a nod, Tony rolled off of him and peeled out of his clothes in record time. Jethro squirmed out of his own boxers and tugged the covers down. He just got settled when Tony jumped on the bed and pushed him out of place. “What?”

“I get to hold you tonight.”

“Tony…”

“C’mon, Jethro, you held me last night. Fair’s fair.”

“God, you’re a pain in the ass.”

Tony smirked. “Not yet. Working on it.”

Laughing outright, Jethro gave in and settled chest to chest with Tony. He sighed deeply, relaxing when one of Tony’s arms went around him and warm lips pressed to his head. “Night, Tony.”

“Mmm. Night, Jethro.”

As he drifted into sleep, Jethro counted his blessings that had led the younger man first into his bed, and then into his heart. He knew that he’d be a lesser man without Tony’s influence.

* * * *

Tony woke slowly, something warm and wet moving up and down his cock. He groaned in pleasure and then gasped in the same when a slick finger pushed inside him and started moving.

God he loved waking up in Jethro’s bed.

Even though they’d been lovers for a few months, they’d only recently gotten around to penetration, thanks to Tony’s decided lack of experience. Jethro had claimed to love going slow and doing everything, but it had still embarrassed Tony. Especially now that he knew how fucking incredible it could be.

Two fingers pushing into his hole grabbed his wandering attention and his legs splayed apart of their own volition. “Fuck, Jethro, yes!”

A warm chuckle vibrated over his cock and Tony arched into the sensation, unable not to do so. Everything still felt so new, despite the fact that he’d had plenty of blowjobs over the years. Probably because it hadn’t been Jethro doing it, he thought with an insanely goofy grin.

The fingers stretched him slowly, probing and loosening him. He moaned in disappointment when Jethro’s mouth left his cock, but that incredibly talented mouth kissed its way up his torso, lingering on his nipples. A moment later, the head of Jethro’s cock breached him and he gasped in a mix of pleasure and pain as it invaded him completely. There was still a few minutes needed to get used to his lover’s cock inside before the stinging stretch faded to an acceptable level and Jethro waited for him every time.

Pushing onto his elbows, Tony whispered, “Kiss me.”

Jethro smiled up and him and complied, relinquishing the nipple for Tony’s mouth. The kiss was so gentle and whole-hearted that there was no way that he could doubt the previous night’s declarations. He broke off the kiss only to order, “Move, Jethro.”

Another soft laugh and, “Bossy bottom,” before Jethro began the push-pull motions that never failed to consume Tony.

The kissing resumed, sloppier and harder to go with the increasing force of Jethro’s cock inside him. Tony fell back against the mattress, his arms going around his lover’s back and clawing at him for more, since his mouth was too full to order it. Jethro complied, as always, and the slap of his balls against Tony’s ass became audible. The friction was incredible, Jethro’s stomach trapping and rubbing against his cock, and then came the magic moment when lightening exploded and he cried out, losing the kiss.

Tony’s feet dug into the mattress, forcing his body to meet Jethro’s thrusts into his body for more. His balls were tightening and the panting involuntary as he strained to get closer to Jethro, his nails digging into the bare skin. Jethro’s mouth bit and sucked at his throat and chest, stinging accompaniments to the loving torture sending him out of his mind. He was completely unaware of the litany falling from his mouth of, “Oh God, oh God, Oh God…”

And then he couldn’t stop himself from going over the edge at a particularly hard thrust from Jethro that struck gold again. Tony shouted, coming hard between them, and jerked against Jethro without thought. His ass clenched down hard on the shaft inside and provoked an identical shout of release from his lover, who humped hard against him as he spilled into Tony, sans condom.

Panting, Tony clung silently to Jethro, not wanting to lose the connection as his lover spurted a few more times deep in his body. The older man was limp in his arms now, sweaty and breathing hard. It was several minutes before Jethro’s cock softened and fell from his body and Tony sighed in disappointment when it happened.

Jethro was sound asleep now, collapsed utterly in Tony’s arms and he had to smile at the image. The boyish features were slack with sleep, face pressed to Tony’s chest. He had to laugh at himself mentally to think that there was a time when he didn’t want this. It had snuck up on him, that was for sure. One day Jethro had been Gibbs and Boss, and the next, he’d been Jethro. He even knew when it had happened, too.

He shivered as he remembered the sight of Jethro shot and bleeding. It was something he never wanted to experience again, though logically he knew that there was a better than average chance of it happening, given their occupation. It had taken a lot to get through Jethro’s complete focus on the terrorist who’d escaped, but he’d managed it. It helped that Tony knew when to give Jethro his space and when he actually wanted company, despite words to the contrary.

Kissing Jethro’s temple, Tony sighed in contentment and closed his eyes. It was Sunday, so they could sleep in. He had to get back to his apartment later to check mail and take care of things there, not to mention do laundry, which was almost becoming a foreign concept with the amount of time he was spending at Jethro’s.

* * * *

“Jethro, come on, I have to go! I have…things…apartment. Mail. Laundry. Mega-piles of laundry are screaming for me.”

Ignoring the protest, Jethro held out his hand, his hips moving to the Chicago song playing. “Just one dance to help me relive my misspent youth and you’re free of me for at least, oh, twelve hours.”

Tony snorted, but gave in, taking his hand. The first few times they’d tried this had been a laughing disaster, both men instinctively trying to lead. So they’d divvied it up into favorite groups and eras. And Jethro groaned mentally at himself that there were ‘eras’ of music that separated them in age. At least he knew it wasn’t a midlife crisis, since he’d had male lovers throughout the years.

Humming as they moved to the easy going rhythm, Jethro spun them around the living room with ease, his hands on Tony’s back and ass, respectively. Tony laughed as Jethro moved to dip him and they almost fell over, but didn’t try to take control of the dance. Jethro loved that he was so adaptable and kissed him for it, then lost all track of dancing as it turned into a standing up make-out session.

But then the song was over and Tony was pulling away, a firm look in his eyes that told Jethro there was no more delay allowed. Sighing, he released Tony and complained, “I never see you enough.”

Tony’s jaw didn’t actually drop open, but the disbelieving expression was clear enough. “You see me all the time.”

“Not like this,” Jethro countered, rueful. “I want to see you like this all the time.”

Freezing in place, Tony thought about his words then asked, “What are we talking about here? Me moving in?”

Not even realizing that that had been what he was saying, but knowing that it sounded perfect, Jethro nodded. He’d had enough with being on his own. For the last time. “Yeah. I want you with me all the time.”

“I um…how about we limit the earth-shattering revelations to one per weekend?” Tony asked, only half-joking.

Jethro didn’t want to scare Tony off and easily gave in with, “Sure. Just think about it, okay?”

Clearly troubled, Tony nodded. He smiled a little and observed wryly, “You sure know how to keep the excitement going, Jethro.”

Shrugging, Jethro replied, “Something my ex’s wouldn’t agree with, but I’m glad you think so.”

“I do,” Tony stated. He leaned in for a quick kiss and said, “I’ll see you at work tomorrow. And I will think about it, Jethro. It’s just…a little overwhelming, okay?”

Jethro nodded agreement. “I know. Tony?”

Tony stopped at the door and looked back with, “Yeah?”

Not hesitating, Jethro reminded, “I love you.”

A brilliant smile spread over Tony’s face, along with a flush, and Tony echoed, “I love you. See you tomorrow, Jethro.”

Closing the door behind his lover, Jethro sighed and looked around the room. It was so much emptier when Tony wasn’t there.

Well. There was always work to do.

* * * *

Immersed in a new computer program that Tony had shown him on Friday morning before the insanity of their last case, Jethro didn’t even notice when the time crept past. He was vaguely aware of Kate sitting at her desk talking on the phone, and a growing sense that something was out of place, but nothing stood out until his email alarm called for the nine o’clock meeting.

He looked automatically over at Tony’s desk and frowned when he saw it was empty. Standing, he left his office and walked over to Kate’s desk.

“And you’ve rejoined the living,” she observed dryly.

Ignoring the comment, Jethro asked, “Where’s DiNozzo?”

She shrugged and answered, “Haven’t seen him. Why Gibbs, is that a hickey?”

Momentarily diverted, Jethro tugged his shirt back into place and said, “Allergic reaction.”

Snorting, Kate replied, “Uh huh.”

“He didn’t call you?”

“Wasn’t my turn to watch him.”

Jethro pinned her with a look. “Very funny.”

“No, he hasn’t called me. He didn’t you, either?” Kate questioned.

Jethro shook his head, frowning. “No.”

“What about Abby?”

“Why would he call Abby?”

“Just throwing things out there.”

Eyes rolling a little, Jethro picked up her phone and dialed Abby’s extension.

“Y’allo?” Abby answered.

Jethro shook his head. “I thought we talked about how you were going to answer the phone.”

“Damn. I thought you were Kate. Not fair, Gibbs, tricking me like that.”

Snorting, Jethro changed the subject with, “Has DiNozzo called you?”

“What, this morning? No. Why?”

“He hasn’t checked in or shown up yet,” Jethro reported.

There was a pause, then, “That’s not like Tony. Even if he’s pulled an all-nighter, he always calls.”

“I know. Let me know if he does call.”

Abby’s voice was worried as she answered, “Sure.”

“What about your cell?” Kate prompted when he hung up.

Almost hitting himself for not thinking about that, Jethro nodded and pulled it out and saw that it was turned off. Irritated, he said, “I can’t believe I forgot to put it on this morning.”

Kate smirked a little as she leaned back in her chair. “Oh my God, you’re human.”

Turning on the phone, ignoring her baiting, he sighed in relief when he saw Tony’s cell among the Missed Calls’ menu. Grinning a little in relief, Jehtro announced, “He called. Hang on, he left a message.”

She nodded and agreed, “See? Nothing to worry about.”

Dialing his voicemail, Jethro waited impatiently for the message to come on. Then he paled at Tony’s pained shout of, “Jethro! Jethro, help me! Someone’s…fuck…get off!” the sound of fists hitting flesh. “Three of them! Son of a bi…white men…masked…fuck! Get off…Jethro!” and then the dial tone.

Instantly worried by Jethro’s reaction, Kate stood and leaned over to take the phone from his lax fingers. She brought it to her ear to replay the message.

Fury that someone had taken Tony fought to overwhelm him, but Jethro ruthlessly quashed it down, shoving it tightly into a box to deal with later. He instantly picked up Kate’s phone and called Abby.

Kate eyes widened as she heard the message and she breathed, “Oh God!”

“Forensics, Abby speaking.”

Meeting Kate’s horrified gaze with a hard one of his own, he ordered Abby, “Call the phone company and see if Tony’s cell is still in use. If it is, triangulate its position.”

“Uh, what?”

“Now Abby.”

“Right. Okay. Hang on.”

It was a long, tense minute before she answered, “His apartment, he’s still there. Gibbs, what’s going on?”

“Tony’s been kidnapped,” Jethro told her. “We’ll let you know when we have more information.”

Hanging up on her gasp of shock, Jethro dialed the police and informed them of the attack at Tony’s apartment and that he was on the way there. When he was done, Jethro took the cell phone back from Kate and the two of them strode from the office.

* * * *

Pain. Lots and lots of pain echoed through most of Tony’s body. His head, his chest, his ribs scraped painfully together; even his legs hurt, though he was hoping that didn’t mean they were broken. He groaned as he tried to move, only to find that his arms were handcuffed down by his side. He started to panic when he couldn’t open his eyes.

“Awake are we, Agent DiNozzo?”

Tony turned blindly towards the man’s voice, demanding, “What the fuck is going on!?”

“Take it easy now, we didn’t expect you to put up quite such a fuss. If you’re worried about your vision, don’t. You’ve simply been blindfolded.”

Stupid. Of course he was blindfolded. Though he was pretty sure he could cut himself some slack in that, since he was throbbing in agony most places. A little calmer, he demanded, “What do you want? Why have you kidnapped me?”

“I’m afraid you don’t get to know that, Agent DiNozzo. The bait seldom does,” the man replied.

Tony struggled against his cuffs, but they were attached to the frame of the cot that he seemed to be lying on. His ankles were bound as well. “Look, what happens when I need to relieve myself?”

“Feel free to let go any time you like, Agent DiNozzo,” the man continued pleasantly. “We won’t hold it against you.”

“You son of a bitch!”

“Now now, no name calling. Enjoy your stay.”

A door closed and Tony sagged against the cot for a few moments to try and get the pain under control and take inventory. Broken ribs for sure. Possible concussion and bruised kidneys. Maybe it was just as well he didn’t have to relieve himself just then because he was sure it would hurt like a bastard.

Concentrating, Tony listened as hard as he could, trying to figure out where he might be being held. There weren’t any obvious noises like the ocean or a train or even heavy traffic. That could mean that the room was really well insulated, or that he was being held in the countryside. Easy enough to do in their area where you only had to go an hour to get in the middle of nowhere.

He sighed, giving that up to check on his restraints. No matter how hard he pulled, which given his condition probably wasn’t very hard, there was no give. Not even any hint of giving. Breathing hard, Tony collapsed against the cot again. There was no way that he’d be getting free until someone set him free.

The fear returned at that realization and he thought, C’mon, Jethro, now’s a really good time to find me.

Finding nothing inside Tony’s apartment building or the apartment itself, Jethro and Kate moved outside. They found the cell phone in the alley between the apartment buildings. There were definite signs of a struggle in the knocked over trash cans and spatters of blood on the pavement. Swallowing, Jethro turned to Kate and motioned to the entire alley. “Seal it off.”

She nodded and walked towards the cops who were already there in full force.

Kneeling down, Jethro forced himself to calmly take pictures of both the blood and the cell phone, then bagged the phone and tucked it into his pocket. Turning to his case, he pulled out swabs and vials and proceeded to take samples from all the splotches on the cracked pavement.

“Gibbs? The FBI is here,” Kate announced from behind.

Surprised, Jethro stood and faced two unfamiliar men, who both held their IDs out for him to view. Looking the older black man in the eyes, taking him to be the one in charge, Jethro asked, “What’s the FBI doing here, Agent…?”

“Wills. Agent Mark Wills. And this is a kidnapping,” Wills replied, dark eyes calm and his demeanor easygoing.

“It’s not your jurisdiction.”

“Agent DiNozzo wasn’t military, he was a civilian cop, that makes it our jurisdiction.”

“He works for NCIS, that puts it into our purview.”

“No, it doesn’t. That makes you his employer.”

Keeping a grip on his temper, Jethro said thinly, “You aren’t going to push us out of this investigation, not when it’s one of our own who’s been taken.”

Conciliatory, Wills stepped closer and replied, “I’m not trying to push you out, Agent Gibbs. I want to make sure this young man has the best chance of being found safe and sound. You’re emotionally wound tighter than a wire, ready to snap, and that leads to mistakes. I can see that and I’ve only known you two minutes. The best thing you can do is let us take it over and give us help where we need it; Agent DiNozzo’s background.”

Jethro knew from the steel beneath the soft tone that the agent wasn’t going to give in and had the authority to block him from the investigation altogether. He hated to admit it, but the man was right. Tony worked for NCIS, but he wasn’t military and they had no real jurisdiction to pursue this investigation; he’d just muscled in on the cops before anyone could think to deny them access.

He met Kate’s gaze, then looked back at Wills and said, “Fine. But you’d better keep us apprised of the investigation.”

“I’ll do better than that,” Wills promised. “I’ll go with you back to your office and you can tell me all about Agent DiNozzo’s latest cases and potential enemies.”

Great. A chaperone. Sourly, he motioned towards the yellow tape and said, “After you.”

There was a smile from Agent Wills and a pleasant, “No, after you.”

Fuck.

* * * *

“You’re going to let them do this?” Kate hissed in the car.

His eyes on the road, Jethro replied thinly, “I don’t have a choice.”

“Gibbs…”

“For now.”

She perked up at his interruption and asked, “You have a plan? Of course you have a plan, you always do.”

His lips almost twitched into a smile, but didn’t quite reach one. “Thanks for the vote of confidence, but not yet. I’m working on it though.”

And it would all start with the cell phone and blood samples that Wills didn’t know he’d already taken at the scene. What the FBI Agent didn’t know, wouldn’t hurt him, after all. And he had more confidence in Abby’s ability to quickly process the evidence than some faceless agency drone who had no idea who Tony was or what was at stake.

When they got back to the office, he said, “Take my kit to Abby when Wills isn’t looking quite so hard at us. There are three blood samples and Tony’s phone. Full workup.”

She nodded and they exited the car.

* * * *

Talking about Tony to Agent Wills was an experience that Jethro could definitely have done without. It was riding the razor’s edge of showing that he knew Tony well, but not so well as to arouse suspicion that they were more than coworkers and friends. As it was, Wills kept giving him this curious look that told Jethro he wasn’t masquerading his tension as well as he needed to. All he could do was hope it was put down to a friend being violently kidnapped.

In the second hour of ‘background information,’ aka, interrogation, Wills got a phone call and excused himself from the conference room they’d preempted. Rubbing his eyes, which were hot and tired from lack of sleep the night before, Jethro allowed himself to think about what was going on, and what might be happening to Tony right then and there. That his lover could already be dead and there would be no charging to the rescue, no putting himself in harm’s way to keep Tony safe.

Jethro’s throat tightened at the thought and he cleared it savagely, focusing on the fact that they didn’t even know if the blood at the scene was even Tony’s. The phone rang and Jethro saw it was Kate. Picking it up, he asked, “What?”

“Abby got the results. A partial print on the phone that she’s running through VICAP and NCIC and one of the blood samples isn’t Tony’s,” Kate reported in a quiet rush. “How’s it going? You need a break?”

Meeting her gaze across the way, Jethro shook his head and replied, “I’m fine. I’ll give him points for thoroughness, that’s for sure.”

“What should I have Abby do?”

“Just what she’s - no I said I wasn’t going tomorrow night and now it’s definitely off,” Jethro finished as Wills returned.

“Sorry. Okay, I’ll have her keep going with it.”

Jethro nodded and agreed. “Good. I’ll reschedule another time.”

Hanging up, he saw that Wills didn’t look very fooled by his performance, but assumed the same innocent expression that had hoodwinked people for thirty-odd years. “Something break?”

“Just some stolen evidence,” Wills informed him, sitting back down. “You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”

Jethro maintained the same expression, but adding a little irritation as he replied, “What kind of stolen evidence?”

“I notice that’s not a denial.”

“It’s not a confirmation, either.”

The pleasant expression faded to a good degree and Wills snapped, “Hand it over or I swear to God I’ll charge you with obstructing justice, Gibbs.”

Jethro stared at him for a long moment, then nodded and picked up his phone to dial Abby’s extension. “Abby?”

“Yeah? Are they still there?”

“Send up your results, would you?”

“Oh, ah, sure. I’ll bring them right up.”

“Good.”

He hung up and looked intently at Wills. “So. What do you think is happening?”

“Still in the preliminary stages, of course, but we have a tire print at the scene and with whatever you’ve been working on, that should get the ball started,” Wills answered. He paused, then continued, “What do you think is happening? Who do you think took DiNozzo?”

Jethro sighed and replied, “I wish I knew. Just from the standard criminals that he’s put away over the years, the list is a mile long.”

“Anything stick out in recent memory?” Wills prompted.

Before Jethro could answer, Abby arrived with a file. He waved her in and she gave Wills a wide berth, handing the file to Jethro. He smiled briefly. “Thanks, Abs. Keep us both updated.”

“Sure,” she agreed, hightailing it out.

Jethro scanned the file quickly, but it only reported what he’d expected, since Kate had already filled him in. Sliding it across the table, he said, “There haven’t been any cases recently that had serious bad blood between Tony and the suspect we put away. Generally, they reserve the hate for me, since I’m the team lead, and that’s how I like it.”

Wills frowned at that and asked, “Any of these perps threaten you? Think maybe that they’d take DiNozzo to get to you?”

That thought hadn’t occurred to Jethro and he went still, considering it. Leaning back in his chair, he admitted, “It’s not like Tony and I have a standoff-ish working relationship. I’m on good terms with all my people. But it would make more sense to take Kate, being that she’s a woman.”

“I don’t know. Would you react like this if she was taken?” Wills questioned shrewdly.

Fortunately, Jethro was saved from having to answer by the ringing of his phone. He saw it was Abby and picked it up with, “What is it?”

Abby’s voice was strained as she said, “I got a hit off of the partial.”

“And?” Jethro demanded.

“It’s Tyler Beckwood.”

Jethro’s stomach dropped at the news, but he managed to reply, “Thanks, Abby.”

Feeling a bit stunned at the news that Beckwood was free, it took a couple of seconds to marshal his thoughts enough to face Wills with a composed front. The dark eyes looking back at him were knowing as Jethro announced, “It is about me. Tony was taken by Tyler Beckwood, a man I sent away for life in prison. He murdered three men in an attempt to kidnap a visiting dignitary’s daughter for ransom. I say attempt, but really, he succeeded. If we hadn’t gotten a description from one of the dying guards, he’d have gotten away, scott free.”

“And he blames you.”

“I was the lead investigator.”

Wills nodded sharply. “Right. I’ll issue an APB for him.”

“With a warning that he’s armed and dangerous,” Jethro added. “Because he’s violent and smart with no morals or scruples, which is a deadly combination.”

Standing, Wills said, “I’ll be back when I get things in motion.”

Jethro half-smiled, a wry twist of the lips, and replied, “I’ll be here.”

After Wills was gone, Jethro leaned his elbows on the table and offered a silent scream of rage to the fate that had somehow let Beckwood free. His cell phone rang, startling him, and Jethro pulled it out. A restricted ID showed and he tensed, jumping to his fee and poking his head out of the conference room. “Kate! I need a trace on my cell now!”

She nodded and picked up her own phone as he finally answered his with, “Gibbs.”

“Ah, Agent Gibbs. How nice to hear your voice again.”

Jethro took a steadying breath at Beckwood’s voice and replied, “Can’t say the same.”

“No, I didn’t think you would,” Beckwood replied. “And I didn’t really call to chat socially. I have something you want, and you have something I want. I suggest a fair trade.”

Biting back the sarcastic remark that had almost slipped out, Jethro asked evenly, “What?”

“You.”

Jethro blinked in surprise, then asked cautiously, “That’s it? All you want is me? Should I be flattered?”

There was a short laugh on the other end before Beckwood said, “Definitely.”

“You could have taken me any time. Why the ploy? Why take DiNozzo?”

“Actually, I couldn’t have. Ask your new bodyguard, Wills. I’ll call back tomorrow to make arrangements.”

“Wait!” Jethro exclaimed. “How do I know that DiNozzo’s even still alive?”

“Hmm…let me see…you’re just going to have to trust me.”

“Beckwood!”

But it was too late. A dial tone mocked him and he gritted he teeth, wanting to throw it across the room and smash it. He looked over at Kate, who shook her head, scowling. Pinching the bridge of his nose, Jethro took a couple of seconds to compose himself. The adrenaline inside was looking for a way out, but he had to keep his temper until he figured out what the hell was going on.

All he could do was pray that Tony was still alive.