Golden Shields ( Katy1008 & CrimsonMaster )

Callen and Sam led the small convoy over the short distance back to the city. Tom and James followed. Tom was driving but he was aware that James was a lot quieter than usual. A couple of times he took a quick glance only to find on both ocassions that James seemed more interested in the passing scenery.

"You okay?" he asked on the third look. James seemed to be taken a little by surprise by the question. "What? Oh.. yeah."

"She's okay." Tom said guessing at what might be on James' mind. "Maybe." He shrugged a little and half shook his head. "There's something... She's tryin' to hide it but there's something." Tom went back to driving wondering what it was that he had missed that James hadn't. But James clearly couldn't be specific. He would just have to keep a closer eye on Evie when things got back to normal. 'Were things ever normal with the MCU?' he thought to himself.

Evie had joined Kim, Kensi and Deeks in the third car. Evie was relieved that there was the distraction of the almost incessant bickering between Kensi and Deeks. She liked Deeks a lot although she never really understood why he tended to play the fool so often when he most certainly wasn't, and anyone who assumed otherwise usually regretted it. Outside her family and her team if she had ever needed a friend, Deeks probably would have been pretty near the top of her 'go-to' list despite not seeing him that often these days. At that moment though, the conversation and the laughter kept her mind focused away from other things.

When they arrived at their destination, Callen and Tom placed their teams where they wanted them and they all made their co-ordinated attack on the building. On Tom's call, Kim and Evie entered from the left. Almost immediately they ran into three men. Evie shot at one and the man went down - dead before he hit the floor; she adjusted her sights and aimed for a second. The first bullet tore into his right shoulder, the second into his upper right arm. The man collapsed in a heap on the floor. Kim had taken out the third; although he wasn't dead he probably wasn't going to make it to the hospital. Evie reached the man on the floor. He wasn't armed. She slipped her own weapon back into her jeans and reached down, dragging the man to his feet. As she turned him around, Kim handed her a pair of cuffs and the two of them took him back to where the rest of the buys were.

""We got Sanchez!" Evie said in response to Callen's question.

Four hours and a mountain of paperwork later, Tom led the rest of the MCU and the OSP team into Malone's. For the first couple of hours the 8 of them sat around a coupld of table and for the most part took the piss out of Deeks who as ever took everything in his stride. Then Sam said he needed to get back to his family, Kim and Kensi also had other plans and James wanted to go and see his Dad and fill him in on the events of the last few days. That left Tom, Callen, Deeks and Evie to continue the drinking. Truth was, Evie was shattered and in a lot of ways really wanted her bed; she was struggling to count how long it had been since she had had a proper night's sleep. But there was also a significant part of her that wanted to put off that moment of switching the light off for as long as possible. Just in case she found that she couldn't sleep.

It was Evie's turn to buy the drinks. She eased herself off of her chair and walked up to the bar. She was waiting for Rusty to pour the fresh beers when she was aware of Deeks at her side.

"What?" she asked looking up at him.

"You okay?" he asked, with his usual grin fixed in place. Evie looked puzzled and she laughed a little. "I'm fine. Did you think that something might have happened to me between over there and here?" Deeks shook his head. "No... but I read Hughes' file before we started. NCIS files are pretty good. Lots of detail."

"Detail about what? And in case you've forgotten, LAPD files aren't exactly empty"

"Yeah... but our's are almost top secret." Evie laughed out loud. "OURS? My God Marty... you're really not a cop anymore are you?"

"Of course I'm a cop... just with access to better resources. And how come you've changed the subject.?"

"Changed what subject?" Deeks didn't answer; he just looked at her, grinning. Waiting.

"Marty. I'm..."

"Don't you dare say fine. I told you, we have great intel on Hughes. On his past. His likes and dislikes. What he has a tendency to do." Evie struggled to keep the smile on her face as he spoke. She hesitated for a moment and then Rusty placed the glasses on the bar. She paid him and thanked him and then picked up two of the beers. She turned back to Deeks.

"I don't know what you're talking about Marty. Really. I'm fine." And with that she walked back to the table. Deeks watched her go before he picked up the other two glasses and followed.
 
After the raid and the bust of Sanchez. Tom spent the better part of his day filling in the Governor on how the case was closed. Hetty also had a long talk with Tom to get what deals she could from his point of view. Tom enjoyed talking with Hetty. They shared some war stories from their colorful pasts over a cup of tea. Tom then left to join the others with the celebration. This type thing wasn't new to either team, but it was the first time they had ever worked together. During the evening Callen & Tom got to knew each other pretty well. Tom found out that most of Callen's past was still a mystery even to him. Callen was surprised to find out that Tom's father had been a criminal underworld kingpin. Tom said that his father had gone straight and he was currently in Las Vegas to buy a casino. Rick was planning on building a few casinos around the world. He did however want a well known casino in Vegas to start from. During the evening Tom had been keeping an eye on Evie. He noticed that something seemed off about her. But he thought that perhaps her time in prison was just the cause. Prison life can be rough, even for an undercover cop. Tom didn't know who rough it had been on Evie. Her troubles weren't so much from being locked up, but from what Hughes had done too her. Evie returned to the table followed by Deeks. Callen was talking about the case they had worked on with the Five 0 team. It had taken Callen & Sam to Hawaii, but they return with Danny Williams and Chin Ho Kelly and closed the case here in L.A.
 
Evie put one glass down in front of Callen whilst Deeks bought Tom's and his own. As Evie sat down, she moaned softly and immediately the three men looked at her. She smiled.

"It's nothing. It's been a long few days that's all and prison beds aren't exactly the most comfortable. I'm just a little stiff that's all." Of course it had nothing to do with the beds; Val and her friends, Bass and Blair, Hughes, Cyrus, and Khaled's men... they had all taken their toll on her body. In the last couple of days she had been well and truly fucked and her body had been used and abused. Add to that the way she had tried to fight against those restraining her when Hughes was pouring water... she stopped her thought process and then suddenly realized that Tom had said something to her. She looked at him.

"I said, maybe you should give the morning run a miss tomorrow. Maybe these should be the last... get you home and you can take a long bath." Evie stared for a moment; the memory of the bath water immediately beneath her head, of the edge of the bath banging against her hip bones, the feel of Cyrus slamming into her... maybe not a bath she thought to herself. She smiled. "A hot shower certainly would be good. And maybe I will have the morning off from the run. Although if I'm getting in the ring in four weeks, maybe that's not a good idea?"

"You box?" Callen asked as he sipped from his glass. Evie shook her head. "It's a mixed martial arts thing I kind of got a little steam rollered into."

"A cage fight!? With who?" Deeks was just about to take a drink when he stopped himself dead and looked at Evie in disbelief.

"Sergeant Carol Cahill." Tom said plainly, the merest hint of a smirk on his lips.

"'Killer Cahill? You're kidding right? Since when did you...? Tom, you can't let her..." Tom held up his hands in a sign of surrender. He figured Deeks must have forgotten that getting Evie to stop anything she had her mind set on was pretty much impossible. And Evie had decide that Kim wasn't going to take a challenge that Cahill had set for her.

"How much training have you done so far?" Callen asked.

"Oh...erm... None."

"Okay...well that's an interesting approach. Is Cahill any good?"

"How do you think she got the name?" Deeks said in a rather sarcastic tone. "Why don't you ask Steve....no no..." Deeks lightly hit Callen on his arm with the back of his hand. "You could do it. You and Sam. Evie, these guys would be..."

"Marty. I'm going to ask Steve. It's okay." Evie said quickly.

"Who's Steve?" Callen asked. "My oldest brother. He's done some..."

"Not the best idea." Evie gave him a puzzled look. "He's gonna hold back. He's not going to gonna hurt his kid sister"

"You don't know my brother." Evie joked although in truth she knew Callen likely had a point.

"Sam and I can probably sort out a schedule. I'll speak to him in the morning." Evie was a little nervous at the prospect but she was unlikely to get a better offer. Callen finishing his drink seemed to act as a signal for the others to do likewise and there was a silent agreement, perhaps in light of Tom's earlier suggestion, that they should call it a night. Callen and Deeks said their goodbyes with Callen telling Evie he would call her tomorrow sometime. Tom and Evie watched their cab disappear and then a few minutes later climbed into their own. Evie climbed in first with Tom immediately behind her. As soon as he was seated she moved close to him and leaned into his side as he reached his arm around her.

"Okay?" he asked."

"Hmmm... " she looked up at him. "Yeah" and then kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks for coming to get me this morning" She kissed him again on the mouth. "I don't know how you found me, but... I'm damn glad you did." She kissed him again holding it a little longer this time, not really caring about the cab driver watching her in the rear view mirror.
 
Tom was surprised at Evie's public showing of affection. In the past she had always be against any type of public display of affection. Of course it maybe because she had been drinking? Perhaps it was that she missed Tom while being locked up? Tom wasn't sure, but he really didn't care. He was just glad that Evie was back and in one piece. Tom kissed Evie back with a lot of passion. He told her that it had been Eric & Nell at the NCIS Headquarters who found her. Tom was feeling pretty bold and reached his hand up under Evie's shirt while they kissed. The cab driver got quite a show in the backseat of his taxi. As luck would have it, this cabbie was the same one who drove Tom, Evie & Kim back to Evie's place on the night of their threesome. He got one hell of a show that night and another one tonight.


Tom & Evie headed for her apartment. After being locked up, Tom felt that Evie needed to be home on her first night out. They spent the night together doing what couples do. Tom cooked Evie dinner and they shared a bottle of wine before having some incredible sex. The next day they returned to work. The next few days went by quickly for the MCU. Callen called Evie and set up a schedule for her MMA training. Sam Hanna was a former U.S. Navy SEAL and one of the top agents in the NCIS. He would certainly be a great teacher for hand to hand combat. Another fine teacher would have been Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett of the Five-0 Task Force. Steve had fought in an MMA bout for charity. He had taken the place of another fighter who was injured during a Five-0 investigation. Everyone had returned to their regular routines expect for Evie. She was in daily training with Sam & Callen. The current case that the MCU was working on was an extortion case. Tom had placed James & Kim on that case. There was no need for the entire team to work it. Tom used his time to catch up on paperwork for the Khaled case. He had to read over the reports from his team. Then write up his own reports before send copies to everyone in the loop. Tom also had to file these reports with the NCIS which only added to his work load. Reports from the L.A. County Sheriff told of how no sign of Gates was found. It appeared that he made a clean getaway.

Gates had fled south to Mexico where he made contact with one of his closest friends. Her name was Marie Cordova who was known as the Queen of the Mexican Drug Cartel. She was feared by the other members of the cartel. Marie was in her late 30's and had the looks of a Hollywood star. There were those who called Marie "The Black Widow" because she was so beautiful, but very deadly. Marie & Cyrus were very close. They had been lovers on and off over the last few years. With his ass in the sling. Cyrus had only Marie to turn to for help. Once he was safely in her territory. Cyrus hatched a plan for revenge. He had lost a ton of money after Khaled was killed. Cyrus had seen the helicopter go down and he knew who killed Khaled. The one person who took away Cyrus's income was Tom Reed and it would be Tom who paid for this. Marie contacted her people in Los Angeles and had them watch Tom. Over the next few days they learned enough about Tom and his routine to plan a strike. Cyrus wanted Tom dead, but he also wanted to teach the hero cop a lesson. He would turn Tom into a drug addict before allowing him the release of death.

The strike had been planned for the third day after Khaled's death. They would kidnap Tom and take him to Mexico. It had been hoped that Tom would be alone, but on this day he wasn't. That day was one of the days that Evie would be at Tom's place. Since becoming a couple they would each spend time during the week at the other's home. They would spend time alone during the week, but those alone times changed from week to week. There was no way for anyone to plan around when Tom would be alone. Marie's men would wait until Evie took her run before moving in. This was one detail that didn't normally change. By now Evie was back to running in the mornings. It was something that Callen & Sam wanted her to do. Once Evie was out of sight Marie's men moved in. They knew that Evie would be gone for at least an hour before returning. Four men stepped onto the boat, then made their way below. Tom had just left the shower and was only wearing a pair of shorts. He had planned on making Evie breakfast while she was out. Tom made his way up to the living room area when she spotted the four men. They jumped Tom before he could grab his Desert Eagle. The weapon was tossed onto the floor when the table it sat on was broken. Tom had slammed one of the intruders into the table breaking it. It had been one hell of a fight and Tom's living showed the signs. But in time the numbers caught up with Tom. The men finally knocked Tom out and dragged his body from the boat. They had a black SUV waiting near the gangway to Tom's boat.

Just down from Tom's boat was another boat owned by three friends of Tom's. These guys operated a Private Detective Agency from their boat at Pier 56. It was known as the Riptide Detective Agency. Cody Allen spotted the unknown men carrying Tom from his boat. He yelled for his partners Nick Ryder & Murray "Boz" Bozinsky. The three P.I.'s tried to stop Marie's men, but they were driven back by automatic weapons fire. The black SUV pulled out and sped away. When Evie returned from her run. The guys were waiting for Evie and told her what they saw. They of course expressed their willingness to help Evie out on this case, but this wasn't a case for privates eyes. It would take more skilled professorial to handle such a case.
 
Maybe it was the alcohol. Maybe it was the fact that her thoughts had kept taking her back to the events of the morning. Maybe it was the way Gates had fucked her that morning and that he hadn't let her cum before he had finished. Maybe it was just the post adrenilin rush. She just knew when she felt Tom against her that she needed him to hold her. When she had kissed him first she hadn't really intended anything else at that moment, but then one kiss led to the next and she realized how much she wanted him. And when she felt his hand under her shirt, she moaned and kissed him back harder. When they got back to her place, while Tom cooked dinner, she went for a shower. A long hot shower where she scrubbed her body clean. It was good to feel clean again. To smell clean again. By the time she walked back into the kitchen, wearing fresh sweats and a fresh white LAPD t-shirt Tom was just pouring wine. She smiled at him, kissed him softly on the cheek as she walked past him and set herself down in the chair. Tom told what had happened at the prison, told her what arrangements had been made for the likes of Angel and Kari. Evie told him about Kari... about Judge Harper clearly having lost his mind. She needed to find her a lawyer that would take on her case. 'The kid should be on a suspended sentence at least' Evie told Tom. 'She sure as hell would be if she was some rich kid from the valley'. After dinner, Tom cleared the plates away and they took their wine through to the lounge. Evie curled up against Tom as they watched the news before they went to bed. Once in bed, Evie felt as if Tom was reclaiming her. He obviously didn't know anything about what had happened over the last few days. He wouldn't have been completely niaive about things, and maybe it was because he thought it was highly likely that something would have happened, but he fucked her hard. And she did just the same, riding his cock or rocking herself back into him as he thrust forward. She couldn't have asked for a better welcome home.

The following morning she woke up aware of her phone ringing. She reached out and picked it up off of the bedside cabinet.

"Yeah"

"Rise and shine Detective. This is your 5.00am alarm call. Your first training session is at 6.00."

"What? Sam?"

"Way I hear it, you've got four weeks, so there's no time to lose. Get you ass down to NCIS." With that the phone went dead. Tom rolled over and asked who it was. Evie relayed the conversation. Tom laughed, rolled over and went back to sleep. She had made it across town and managed to find the place, only to then have two hours of Sam making her looking like she was on her first day of basic training in the Academy. Callen had been there, adding moral support - for Sam - and barking out additional instructions to Evie; telling her what she was doing wrong as he watched from outside whatever move Sam was working with her. At then end of the two hours, Sam told her she wasn't fit enough... wasn't strong enough and didn't know enough. Evie stared at him, her body aching again. She maybe wasn't that surprised about him saying she wasn't strong enough, and she was aware that she didn't really know anything beyond the academy handbook and a little street smarts. But she was surprised when he told her she wasn't fit enough. She was in no position to challenge him though.

"I thought I was here so that you could ... make me fit enough and strong enough and so that you could teach me enough."

"Im not a miracle worker you know."

"Are you saying I'm a lost cause"

"No. Not if you do what I tell you to. But if this Cahill is any good, chances are..." Over the course of the next thirty minutes, he laid out a schedule for her. She was at the NCIS HQ just about every day. Periodically, he would give her a 'rest day' but then she still had to run... twice... and he wanted times... She told him she did 10k in about 55 minutes. He laughed and asked her whether she was walking part of it. She looked up at Callen. "Hey... I told you he wasn't going back of from hurting you... or your feelings" he said.

"So what's your time on 10k" she asked Sam.

"Between 33 and 35 minutes." Evie opened her mouth in surprise, closed it again and then finally managed to find the words.

"35... The world record is about 26 minutes and you run in sub-35."

"Yeah... and at the end of the next four weeks, you'll be running sub-40. So make sure whereever you run that the distance is accurate and you record your times." Evie was starting to wonder what the hell she had gotten into, but she knew that if she was to have any chance at all against Cahill, this was probably it. When he had finished laying everything out, Evie got up to head out.

"Sam." He looked at her expectantly. "Just in case... over the next few weeks if I appear in any way ungrateful... I'm not. Thanks for this. I appreciate it." She held out her hand. He smiled and took it. Nodded.

As work was light, as she had the MMA and she was just off the back of a hard undercover, she decided to take some time off work. It was a new thing for her to stay at home, albeit spending a lot of time working out, cooking dinner for Tom ready for when he came in from work and then Tom filling in on his day and the MCU work whilst they ate. It was a 'normal' life she guessed; she guessed this is what women all over the States did. She wasn't sure that the idea of doing this indefinitely was something which appealed to her, but it was certainly different and after only a couple of days, it was still attractive. After the second morning at the NCIS gym, she had returned to Tom's place to stay therefore for a couple of days. She got home mid afternoon, took a shower then cooked. They did dinner, and a bottle of wine and TV news and bed. Their typical evening in, enjoying each other's company. The following day, she wasn't going into the gym. Sam had told her that he wanted her to try and run... really run the 10k. If she really pushed herself was was the best time she could do. It was a beautiful morning. She got dressed without waking Tom but leaned over and gave him a kiss just before she headed out.

Unseen by Evie as she had headed out, Cordova's men had waited; watched her leave and then waited just in case she wasn't just popping out for coffee. She had set off harder that usual, but she knew enough about middle distance running to know that she needed to finish. So it was a hard pace if not full on. When she ran around the last corner and down onto the pier, she was breathing hard, her legs were burning, but she checked her watch. 44 minutes. 44 minutes. FUCK she thought to herself. She was pleased that she had run so much better than the 55 minutes she had indicated to Sam a couple of days ago, but howw the hell was she supposed to get 4 minutes off that. As she started to slow down, she was aware of the welcoming committee... Nick, Cody, Murray all waiting for her. The look on their faces told her something was wrong. As soon as they told her she ran to Tom's, quickly followed by the PIs. she almost jumped down the stairs and then stopped dead, looking around the chaos of broken furniture and fixtures. She ran her fingers through her hair, looking around, trying to get her thoughts. She heard Nick repeating the details of the van and suggesting they could look into things.

"What... erm... thanks Nick, but... I'm gonna call James, get the team down here. This has to be work related." She turned over bits of broken table and glass and found her cell phone lying on the floor. She clicked it open and called her brother. He told her to stay there; he hadn't made it into work by that time so he simply turned the car around. When he'd finished speaking to Evie, he had called Kim and then his Dad. At the same time, Evie called Deeks. Remembering what Tom had told her about how NCIS had found her, maybe they could find him.
 
On the morning Tom was kidnapped, he had a meeting with the Governor. At this meeting Tom was going to try and help Kari & Angel by asking the Governor to look into their cases. This meeting would now be placed on hold since Tom was gone. Marie's men got Tom out of the city and to a waiting helicopter. Tom was tied and a hood placed over his head. He had no ideas where he was, or where he was going. Tom was tossed into the helicopter which took off heading south. It landed about 45 minutes later at a warehouse in a small Mexican town called La Presa. This town sat south east of Tijuana. The warehouse was owned by Marie Cordova. She used this place for any number of illegal activities. Including drugs, prostitution, smuggling and gun running. This warehouse was just one of many buildings Marie owned in the area. She also had many buildings in Tijuana and other locations. Tom was dragged from the helicopter and into the warehouse where Marie & Cyrus were waiting. Tom was led to a large wooden chair which looked like an old electric chair. He was untied and fought back once he was freed. Still the numbers game was to much. Plus Tom still had the hood over his head. So he couldn't tell where anyone was. Marie's men forced Tom into the chair and strapped him down. He was sitting with his hands & wrists strapped to the arms of the chair. The hood covering Tom's head was removed.

It took a few moments before Tom's eyes adjusted to the light. He saw a woman standing there along side Cyrus Gates. Tom demanded to know what was going on here! Gates just laughed and said that Tom was going to pay for costing him so much money. Tom was then told that he would be turned into a junkie. Gates showed Tom a syringe filled with heroin. He said that it was the best that Marie sold. Gates again laughed and told Tom that he wouldn't hook him on anything, but the best. Marie stood there smiling as Gates explained that once Tom was hooked. They would stop give him the heroin. Gates said that after Tom was willing to rip his own guts out for a fix. He would allow Tom to die. Tom struggled against the straps as Marie came up. She took the syringe in her hand and after Tom's arm was swabbed, she injected him with the heroin. Tom still fought hard, but escape was useless. The drug soon took effect on him. He relaxed into the chair looking dazed. A smile appeared on Tom's face as Marie laughed. " There now......That's not so bad.....Is it? " Marie leaned in placing a kiss on Tom's lips. She pulled back and tossed the syringe away. " He'll get another shot in 6 hours.......We'll keep that up until he's totally hooked. " Marie said as he looked around at those watching. " He's strong......But in time he'll breakdown and beg for more.......Then you can kill him. " Marie laughed as she and Cyrus walked away.

It wasn't long before black n whites appeared at King Harbor Marina. They blocked the area off while statements were taken from those who witnessed the kidnapping. James arrived quickly followed closely by Kim. Within 20 minutes of James's phone call, both Jack & Steve arrived. The area soon took on the look of an academy function. Brass from all levels were on scene. The chief and deputy chief were there. Along with a dozen or so captains & commanders. Everyone was talking to the press, but no one had any answers. High ranking LAPD Officers aren't just kidnapped in broad daylight. Everyone wanted to know why this happened? But an answer was just as absent as Tom was.
 
While the crime scene techs were going through Rick's place room by room, Evie got a shower on The Riptide. She'd waited until the techs arrived, told them where she'd been when she had come back and what she had moved. She'd gotten their permission to remove some clothes - jeans, t-shirt, shirt, jacket., underwear, boots. She'd waited for James to effectively hand over the scene to him and then she had showered and changed. Cody had put coffee on and there was a fresh steaming mug waiting for her as she came out of his cabin tucking her shirt in her pants. Since getting together with Tom, she had gotten to know these particular neighbours of his quite well. They had had quite a few evenings, enjoying a bottle and the evening sun. Tom usually didn't have a lot of time for PIs and the fact that he did for these guys said a lot. As Cody was updating her on what had happened whilst she was in the shower they stepped back out onto the dock. The scene was very different to the one she had left. Through it all she saw her oldest brother's car pull up and saw Steve and her Dad get out. She excused herself and went to meet them. Each man gave her a hug and told her they'd get him back. Jack felt his little grl hold him tight, trembling a little. He eased her away from his.

"Hey. Listen to me. If they'd wanted him dead, they wouldn't have taken him. They would have just killed him right here." He reached up and cupped his daughter's cheek. "He's an ornery son of a bitch when he wants to be. He'll give us the time to find him." Evie nodded and then fell back into his hug nice again.

"Okay. Come on. Lets do our job huh?" Evie nodded then eased herself way taking a breath. Her dad then led they way onto Tom's boat with Evie and Steve behind.
 
Normally one wouldn't find the commanding officer & the top sergeant of Narcotics at a kidnapping scene. But Tom had always been like a member of the Taylor family and there was no way in hell anyone could keep Jack & Steve away. Because Tom was the commanding officer of the MCU. Chief Beck placed James in command of the scene & the case. James was after all second in command of the squad. Commanding officers from every division offered there help. Lieutenant Lesley Tamura of Robbery-Homicide stopped to check on Evie and added her help if it was needed. Chief Beck soon ordered all the brass and others out of the area. This of course didn't apply to Jack & Steve. It wasn't long after the area cleared out that Deeks arrived with Kensi, Callen and Sam. This wasn't an official NCIS case, but Hetty gave the OSP team permission to help out. Hetty was looking forward to playing poker with Tom in the near future and she didn't want anything spoiling that. A grouped formed on Tom's boat to discuss what was known and what needed done. Kim asked if anyone had called Tom's father Rick? Callen told everyone that Tom said his father was in Las Vegas buying a casino. Jack was sure what Rick's reaction would be. He did need to be told however and there were only two people here who knew Rick well enough to make that call. One was Jack himself, the other was Evie. Jack just wasn't sure if Evie was up to making that call right now? Cody, Nick & Murray told the OSP team everything they saw and heard. It wasn't long before Callen was on his cell phone calling back to their HQ. He wanted Eric & Nell to check every camera in the area for the black SUV.
 
Evie was leaning against one of the kitchen counters, listening to what was beng said as they all identified what they knew, what they didn't. Steve stood on one side of her, Deeks on the other. Her dad had righted a chair that was still in one peace and was sat where the table had been. James was pacing, stepping over broken furniture and crockery as he did. Evie was starting to get a little frustrated. They didn't actually seem to be DOING anything and all the time they were standing around talking, whoever had Tom was getting further away. Thankfully she managed to keep her professional head on and kep her mouth shut. They didn't really know anything at that moment so where we're they supposed to start looking. The list of people who had something against Tom Reed was a long one.

When Kim mentioned Rick, everyone looked at Evie. When Callen indicated Rick was in Vegas, she asked when he was due back. Callen didn't know. She looked at her dad.

"Maybe we should wait until we know something. I mean, what can we say right now?" Jak stared at Eie for a moment. "Maybe. But if it were Steve or James instead of Tom, i'd want to know from the start, even if there was nothing I could do." He amused for a moment then he stood up. "I'll call him."

"No, it's okay Dad. I'll... I'll do it." She took out her cellphone and stepped outside onto the pier. She hit the speed dial for Rick and took a breath. A few minutes later, he returned to the group downstairs.

"He's gonna fly back this morning. He should be at LAX around lunch time. I said I'd meet him there." Jack nodded and said he'd go with her.
 
Callen told Evie that Eric & Nell were already hard at work checking security & traffic cameras for signs of the black SUV. He said that they should have something to go on by the time she returned from the airport. Callen assured Evie that Eric & Nell would find who took Tom. He said that they were the best at tracking down information. Jack & Evie left for the airport since the flight from Vegas wouldn't be long. Rick used a private jet for traveling so it was no doubt ready and waiting for his return. In the meantime, James, Kim and the others would look into those who were perhaps holding a grudge against Tom, or even his father. Steve had the thought that this could be some form of revenge against Rick. He had perhaps more enemies then Tom had. There had been more then one son who paid for the sins of his father. Every possibility needed to be checked while the NCIS checked over footage from the area.

Jack & Evie left the harbor and headed for LAX. They went to the private terminal where private jets would land and park. This area was often used by celebrities and high ranking officials. A little over an hours after Evie's call, Rick and 3 members of his all female security team appeared. Rick came up to where Evie & Jack stood. He wanted to know if there had been any word on who took Tom? Rick said he would pay any price to get his son back alive. It had crossed Rick's mind that an old enemy could have struck out at Tom. Rick had more then once gave the police information to take down one of his competitors. Many of them wouldn't let the fact that Tom was a cop stop them from getting their revenge. It wouldn't long before Evie got a call from Deeks asking her to come down to the NCIS HQ. As Callen has said, Eric & Nell did their work well and had information on who took Tom.
 
Jack and Steve had arrived at the harbour in Steve's car; to pick up Rick from the airport Jack asked for Evie's keys and he drove the pair of them in the Mustang. There was an uneasy heavy silence in the car as they made their way towards the airport. Evie was staring out of the window, running through names of people who could be behind this. Truth was of course, she knew almost nothing of Tom's career. Her Dad was probably better able to identify potential suspects.

"We'll find him." Evie turned and looked at her Dad. She really wanted to believe him. She wanted to feel that he knew... really knew the truth of what he was saying rather than simply saying it to make her feel better. She shook her head a little.

"I don't understand why they took him. Why not just kill him? It can't be for ransom? They don't have any need to take him unless... whoever is behind it.... couldn't actually get to the boat... or the City." Her mind was starting the work through things; as idea came into her head she was saying them. "They needed someone to take Tom to them... and then..." She swallowed hard and looked at her Dad.

"Then we take him back!" Her Dad sure sounded convinced by what he was saying. Evie gave a nod and then looked back out of the window. The rest of the journey was in silence. Jack pulled in only a few minutes before Rick's plane touched down. They watched the plane track to the gate, stop and the staircase was lowered. A few second later, Rick appeared and walked purposefully down the stairs. Jack stepped forward to meet him. The two men shook hands and hugged each other. A black limousine had pulled up next to where Jack had parked the Mustang. The three of them walked towards the two cars, with Rick suggesting that it could be someone out to get him. Jack told him Steve had considered that; that they were looking into every possibility. As they got to the cars, Evie's cell phone started to ring. Jack and Rick stopped and watched her as she took the call. When she finished it, she looked at both of them.

"Dad, why don't you take Rick home. NCIS might a lead. I'm gonna go down there. I'll let you know what I find." Her Dad tossed her the keys to the Mustang and then the two of them watched as she walked away. Twenty minutes later she was walking into the NCIS HQ, a visitor pass hanging around her neck.
 
Evie was met by Deeks who greeted her with a hug. They then went upstairs to where everyone else was waiting. Once Evie had joined the NCIS Team, Hetty asked for Eric & Nell to make their report. Eric started off by bring up footage from different cameras around the harbor area. He zoomed in on a perfect shot of one men's face. This was taken when the men were placing Tom into the SUV. This man had turned when Cody, Nick and Murray came running after them. Eric said his name was Enrique Romo. He was hired muscle for the Mexican Drug Cartel and currently worked for Marie Cordova. Nell then brought of a picture of the beautiful and deadly woman. She pointed out that she was known as the Queen of the Mexican Drug Cartel and had the nickname of "The Black Widow."

Nell turned towards Evie and said that Marie was a close friend of Cyrus Gates. Hetty slowly walked up to Evie and stated that they believed this was purely a case of revenge. She pointed out that Tom took Khaled out when he shot down the helicopter. Hetty then said that Gates lost his major money maker when Khaled died. " It all points to revenge. " Hetty said, but she added that they would track them down and help to get Tom back alive. Eric spoke up saying that Cordova owned a number of properties in Mexico. He said in a solemn voice that it would take some time to track down the location where Tom was being kept. Sam said that they had people undercover in the areas where Cordova did her business. They would find Tom and get him back. Even now those undercover eyes were working to find where Tom was hidden. It was just a matter of time. But did was time really on their side?
 
The Ops Center was an impressive place. The technology in the room was about as good as it got outside of NASA and a few top secret military bases. Deeks led her in and they finished up standing almost in an arc around the large screen. Eric and Nell were sat to one side in front of consoles. Hetty was closest to them. Then came Kensi, Sam, and Callen. Evie stod next to Callen and Deeks fell in next to her. Evie listened and watched the images as Eric outlined what they'd found. Her stomach turned when she saw them dragging a clearly unconscious Tom into the SUV. The name Enrique Romo meant nothing to her. Marie Cordova was equally unknown but it was impossible to deny that she was a beautiful woman.

When she heard Gates' name though, she looked across to Nell and met her gaze for a moment and then looked ack to the screen as his picture appeared. Her mind immediately went back to the last time she had seen him. Then Khaled's image appeared. Her memory shifted again. She walked a little closer to the screen, staring. Then she turned around and looked at Sam?

"So what? Do we just stand around and wait for a phone call? Is there nothing we can do in the meantime!"
 
Hetty walked up to Evie. She said that everyone knew how hard this was for her. Buy everything that could be done, was being done. " We have good informants on the ground and they are looking for Tom even as we speak. " Hetty said that it could be days, but the information could come in sooner. " It could only be a matter of hours before we get word. " Callen then said that it killing Tom was their goal. They would have done that at the boat. It was clear that Marie & Cyrus wanted him alive. No one doubted that they would in time kill Tom. But there was more to their game then just murder. Sam then suggested that they all go get some coffee. It wouldn't do any good just standing around waiting. Callen & Deeks agreed. They both wanted to try and get Evie's mind working on other things. Callen knew how worrying about something like this could rip you up inside. No one here wanted to see Evie dragged down to that level. She needed to relax a little and try and calm herself. Kensi knew that Evie's nerves must be on end by now. It had only been days since she was held captive by Khaled & Gates. Now Tom was under Gates's thumb and needed rescued. Kensi walked up placed her arm around Evie's shoulders and said she buy the first round of coffee. All they needed was time.

Time was slowly ticking by. Tom was in a heroin filled haze. He had no idea where he was, but really right now he didn't care. The heroin took all of his worry's away. The drug however would ware off and Tom would start to feel withdrawal. Cold sweats and a shaking body. In time another injection was given. Tom fought against the straps and yelled out how he was going to kill everyone! But soon Tom was calm and again fell into a heroin haze. Marie also made sure she was around to watch Tom when he was injected. She wanted to see how this powerful man stood up against her best black tar heroin. Marie also liked how handsome Tom was. She would come back later for a special and more private visit with him.
 
Evie looked at Hetty, smiled at little, and nodded. She knew that Hetty was right. She knew that there was nothing they could do. But it was the doing nothing which was the worst part of it. They had all been in that position before and they all hated it. But sometimes there really wasn't anything else that could be done. As it was thye had been lucky to have identified one of the men who had taken Tom and then linked him back such that they could narrow down the location to the extent that they had. Callen, Sam, Deeks and Kensi took Evie back down to the bullpen. Evie called her Dad and gave him the update whilst Deeks made fresh coffee and they tried to keep the mood relatively light. Eventually Sam decided that they were wasting time. If they were going to be there waiting then they might as well put the time to good use. Sam had a quiet talk with Kensi who disappeared and returned 10 minutes later with a NCIS t-shirt, a pair of sweats and a pair of reeboks. Evie looked puzzled for a moment and then a little exasperated.

"What?" Sam said. "Instead of sitting around here growing old, we could actually make good use of the time. What did you run this morning?"

"Sam. She came back to find..." Deeks started

"Marty it's okay." She looked at Sam. 44"

"Better. That we can work with. Come on." Evie hesitated for a moment; something didn't seem right but then there was nothing else they could to do find Tom. Sam was right and it would certainly give her something else to think about. And so that was the afternoon. A training session from hell. But it did the job. It passed the time. She wasn't exactly sure she was going to be able to walk in the morning and she expected her back and her arms to be covered in bruises. Just after six she headed home after persuading them all that she would be fine. In light of the afternoon, she was going to try and get an early night. She drove home, opened a bottle of wine and sat down in front of the TV, although she wasn't really watching it. Thirty minutes later, the door went and it was James and Steve armed with pizza and beer.

"I'm supposed to be in training. Sam will kill me."

"Well don't tell him."

"He'll know..." Steve looked at her silently asking her 'how the hell...'. She shrugged. "I'm telling you, he'll know." She finished up eating some of it anyway. The brothers stayed the night at Evie's and then Steve drove them back to the NCIS HQ the following morning... after Evie had done her run. 46 minutes. Steve went on to LAPD but dropped off James and Evie. Deeks came out to meet them both and escorted them in through security. He made fresh coffee and then the wait started again.
 
During the night Marie returned to the warehouse where Tom was hidden. Marie dismissed her men so she could be alone with her prisoner. She undid Tom's shorts and pulled them down exposing his cock. Marie played with Tom's cock until it started to grow. Soon he was beginning to wake from his drug induced sleep. Tom's mind was still so clouded that he couldn't tell what was real from wasn't. He saw a woman whom he thought was Evie. It was however Marie. Tom called out to Evie which Marie responded too. She was on her knees giving Tom a blowjob. Tom was enjoying the how warm Marie's mouth was. But by now he was feeling the need for another shot. Tom tried to fight the urge, he tried to fight the growing need for more heroin. But Marie acting like Evie broke through. She rose up and straddled his hips. Marie lowered herself down on Tom's hard cock. She whispered into his ear that she could make his pain go away. All he needed to do was ask for a fix and she'd give it too him. Tom was confused, but in his mind this woman was Evie. He knew that Evie would do anything to help him. While Marie was fucking Tom harder, he asked for her to give him a fix. Marie whispered for Tom to cum inside of her. She would then give him the fix he needed. In time Tom came inside Marie as she wanted. Marie in turn gave Tom another shot. She then told him that she wasn't Evie and he was going to hers until she grew tired of him. Then she would let Tom suffer from withdrawal and let Cyrus kill him. Marie placed a kiss on Tom's lips before slapping him acrossed the face. She left after recalling her men to watch over Tom.

Later the next day word had reached the NCIS HQ of possible targets where an American had been seen. 3 locations where picked out by informants in Mexico. At each location an American male was seen. However a positive ID wasn't made. This was at least something to go on. Hetty informed everyone that they were heading for Mexico once Evie had joined them. The team would have to check out each location one by one and hope that Tom was inside one of the buildings. This was going to be a battle from start to finish. Each building was owned by Marie and most certainly protected by her men.
 
Evie was pleased that finally they were doing something. She was pleased that finally they had somewhere to go... somewhere to look. She called Rick to let him know that the information they had suggested that Tom was in Mexico. She was careful to say that there were no guarantees. She said that LAPD and NCIS were going to head down there and as soon as she knew anything she would call him. When she went back into the bullpen, James and the members of NCIS were planning a route and working out a plan of attack. Evie was a little puzzled.

"This is probably a stupid statement, but Im guessing no-one is going to have a conversation about us being invited into the country. The Secretary of State isnt going to have a word with the US Ambassador in Mexico who will in turn have a conversation with the Mexican Ambassador in Washington who might then be persuaded to extend an invitation... " she was suddenly aware of six people staring at her as if she had lost her mind. Deeks patted her on the shoulder. "Yeah... stupid question."

Deeks flashed a smile at her and she couldn’t help but laugh. For all there was still a lot to sort out, the simple fact that they had some word as to where Tom was and that they were starting to work the best plan to get him back seemed to have lightened the atmosphere a little. Suddenly things were a little more positive than they had been. But it took another 10 minutes before Evie was any closer to finding out exactly what they were going to do. The group moved from the Bullpen up to the Ops Centre. The large screen which took up most of one wall showed three locations. All of them were boroughs of Tijuana. Mention of the place obviously sent Evie’s memory back a few years to the last time she was there, but she quickly pushed those memories away and the fact that they were relatively close together maybe meant that Tom could have actually been seen in all of them as they moved him through the City – either when they first arrived or subsequently. The first place was La Presa, a borough of Tijuana in Baja California. The second was Centenario, a primarily industrial area on the far East side of Tijuana which was actually quite close to the US Border. The final one was El Refugio which seemed to be a residential area. The three locations weren’t that far from each other and they weren’t that far out of Tijuana itself – or that far over the border. Eric then said something about a helicopter which made Evie look around.

“We’re just going to fly over the border... no passports... no invitations... no nothing.”

“Yes” Callen said as if it was perfectly obvious what they would do. Evie looked at Deeks. He shrugged, still smiling. Evie just shook her head. If she thought that MCU had freedoms to operate, they were clearly nothing compared to NCIS. So much for diplomacy. Eric continued to explain that the helicopter would pick them up at the airport in an hour and fly them over the border at low level, under the radar. It would take them to the International Airport in Tijuana and someone would be there to meet them with additional transport arranged. The plan was to get in, search the three areas as quickly as possible and get out – hopefully with Tom – as soon as possible.
 
Time was running out for everyone involved with this case. While there was a debate on whether an invitation should be asked for. Tom's time on the planet was growing short. The time for another injection came and went. They were no longer giving Tom the heroin his body was craving. Now they would wait until Tom's pain grew worse. He had cold sweats now and stomach cramps. Dark circles had formed around his eyes. Tom's skin was very pale and he looked sick. Marie & Cyrus were enjoying their lunch a few blocks away from the warehouse where Tom was being kept. Her men kept them up to date on how things were going. If one was going to wait for the U.S. State Department to help Tom. This would end up being a body recovery and not a rescue. Rick however wasn't one to wait on the U.S. Government, or the police. With the information given to him by Evie, Rick put Tia on the case to find his son. It wouldn't be long before they tracked Tom down. Then Rick would go after his son without worrying about Mexican citizens, the Secretary of State or the Mexican Ambassador.
 
No overnight bag was needed. No passport. They all travelled light. Cell phones. Ear pieces. Their own preferred hand gun. Evie wasn’t quite sure she could believe how this was going down and was sure that this was going to cause some kind of international incident. Hetty assured her that while they were heading out to LAX and then flying down, someone would be making some phone calls to make sure that they weren’t arrested as soon as they landed at the airport in Tijuana. The six of them took two cars to the airport, with Evie’s remaining and NCIS headquarters. They were escorted through the security procedures and out onto the tarmac. There was a blue Bell 430 helicopter waiting for them, ‘parked up’ not too far away from where Rick’s jet had ultimately come to a stop. The helicopter was ... exclusive. It was clearly something which has been set out as a corporate toy, with space for 8 passengers. LAPD would need to spend half its budget to get something like this she imagined and she was pretty sure that it wouldn’t sit too well with the tax paying citizens if they did.

It was around 140 miles from LAX to the airport and Tijuana. The Bell at maximum speed could do that in an hour. As it was it took them a little longer but nonetheless the journey was quick. During it, the six of them agreed that they would split up and each of them would take one of the locations. They would stay in contact with each other whilst they each searched their respective locations. Kensi and Deeks would take El Refugio, Callen and Sam would take La Presa leaving Evie and James with Centenario. When they landed, they were met by someone who appeared to be a Mexican official. Seemingly, Hetty was right; otherwise, she had called in some favours, but either way, they were quickly taken through the Mexican immigration controls. Outside they were met by someone that Sam clearly knew. Sam went and spoke to him alone. When Evie asked who is was, Callen simply said that he was an agent working undercover in a part of one of the Mexican drugs cartels. The Tijuana Cartel itself had once been one of the major cartels but arrests of key members had diminished its importance somewhat. Sam returned a few minutes later with three sets of keys. He told them that there were three SUVs parked in the short-stay airport car park. It didn’t take them long to find them and they each headed off initially in the same direction. After about 15 minutes of driving, Sam and Callen turned off and ten minutes after that, Deeks did the same.
 
Tom was feeling the pain from withdrawal. His gut was hurting as if someone was ripping him open with a razor. His head was spinning and splitting with pain. Tom wanted a fix, but he knew that they were going to kill him. He remembered how Marie tricked him when he was coming down from a high. Tom thought that she was Evie and she played the part well enough. Marie told him of their plan, it was the same thing that Cyrus had said. Once they got Tom stung out enough, they kill him. Tom maybe hooked on heroin and at this point he'd steal for a fix. But he wasn't gonna them kill him. Tom knew enough Spanish to know what Marie's men were talking about. When they started talking about getting some food, Tom acted like he was passed out. They weren't worried about Tom getting away. The four men stepped outside still talking about what they should eat. This left Tom alone for the first time since he was brought in.

Tom used the pain & the need for a fix to break free. He struggled against the strap holding his right arm down. Tom groaned as he pulled harder & harder on the strap until it broke. He was breathing heavy and his gut hurt like hell. Tom unstrapped his left arm and then freed his legs. He tried to stand, but fell to the floor. The pain in his stomach hit him hard. His eyes opened wide after seeing the a new syringe. It would just take a few second and Tom could get a fix. Tom crawled on his hands & knees towards the table, but he stopped when one of the guards came back in. The other three had gone to get some food. This left only one man to watch over Tom. The guard noticed Tom wasn't in his chair. He moved around the table and found Tom laying on the floor. The guard laid his rifle down on the table and bent down to help Tom. Before the guard knew what was happening. Tom used his own head like a battering ram. He nailed the guard in the stomach then brought his head up catching the guard under the chin. This sent the guard crashing into another table. Tom crawled over and beat the guard with a broken table leg. He then stripped the man of his clothing. Tom found a colt .45 model 1911 while removing his clothes. He now had a means of escape and away to keep himself on the run. Tom still had no idea where in the hell he was. All he knew that people were speaking Spanish. But that could almost anywhere in the South West U.S. or Mexico. Tom heard a car pull outside. He wasn't sure who it was, but he wasn't staying around to find out. Tom jumped through a window on the other side of the building. He didn't even know how high up that window was. He did know that it was freedom. Tom hit the ground hard, glass raining down around him. Luckily the window was on the first floor of the building. Tom rolled a bit before pulling himself and running for his life. A guard appeared in the broken window and started firing at Tom. He however avoided the shots and made his escape around the corner. This escape would be a short one if Marie & Cyrus found him first.
 
Centenario was one of the most easterly borough of Tijuana. It had the largest number of factories and maquiladoras compared to other boroughs, the largest of which was Ciudad Industrial. Three major roads ran through the area; Boulevard Belles Artes, Boulevard Industrial and Mexican Federal Highway 2. The building they had been given was just off of Boulevard Belles Artes. When they got there however, there was nothing. The place had clearly been abandoned for years. It wasn't difficult to get inside but there was no sign of Tom... no sign of anyone. James then drove the SUV in a regular grid pattern off of each of these routes. He kept his speed to about 30mph which gave both him and Evie plenty of opportunity to scour the neighbourhoods... looking down the alleyways between the buildings, looking at people walking down the sidewalks. But they saw nothing. After about an hour, Evie was feeling her frustration rising.

“This is crazy. Needle in a haystack doesn’t come close. He could be any one of these buildings and we would never know about it.”

James said nothing. He had been thinking exactly the same thing but hadn’t wanted to be the one to say it. At one point, Callen had called to say that they had heard shots fired and had gone to investigate around the back of what had seemed like a deserted building. There was no sign of anything though when they had made their way around and they hadn’t even been able to tell exactly where the shots might have come from. They had managed to find a way into the place and had found recent signs of activity... clearly the place was used by dopers but other than that there was no signs of life by the time they were in there. Deeks reported that he and Kensi had found nothing.

"Pull the car over." Evie said suddenly out of nowhere. James looked at her, puzzled but he said nothing. He pulled over to the curb. Evie smiled at him a little falornly. "I don't know about you, but I need coffee." she pointed across the street to a small coffee shop. "Wait here. I'll be right back." The place was small and quiet and there were only a couple of customers in.

"Buenos dios Senor. Dos cafes para ir por favor" The man poured out fresh steaming coffee into two large styrofoam cups and placed lids on both of them. He handed them to her and she paid. Two minutes later she was climbing back into the SUV and handing James his drink. She settled back into the seat and took a drink. "At least the coffee is good." she said, sighing. She paused for a moment and took another drink. "We have to be missing something. There has to be another way... some way to get a more accurate idea of where he is."

"Well if there is, I don't know it."

"What about the police? Maybe the city cops would know where Marie... whatever her name is... might have taken him. Maybe we should head back into Tijuana and ask the authorities there?"
 
Tom was running without knowing where he was running too. He certainly didn't look like a tourist. Dressed in a dirty t-shirt & khaki pants and carrying a 45, Tom certainly stood out from everyone else. Marie was furious that her men had been so careless and let Tom get away. She ordered they to start searching the area. Four groups of two men each headed out from the warehouse where Tom had been kept. They were armed and looking everywhere. Two of the men had spotted a man ducking into an alley. Tom was by now hurting very badly. The withdrawal from the heroin was making him sick. Still he pushed himself on. He noticed the car and the men inside. He ducked into the alley, but kept moving. Tom entered a rear door to a cantina. Everyone stopped what they were doing when the American appeared. They knew this man was trouble. Tom was still holding the 45 as he stumbled through the bar. He leaned on the bar groaning in pain as the rear door opened again. Tom lifted his head and turned it towards the back door. Those two men from the car just walked in carrying AK-74's. They spoke to Tom telling him to give up. Tom made a mad dash for the front door. The two men opened fired, as Tom leaped through the front window. Tom hit the sidewalk, rolled then pulled himself up. He fired twice into the bar before taking off again. People screamed when the all the shots were ringing out. Car stopped in the streets causing a traffic jam. Tom was knocking people to the ground as he ran down the street. There was no way of knowing who was a friend and who was a foe. But Tom would kill anyone who tried to stop him from getting away.
 
James pulled away and started to head towards the centre of Tijuana. He wasn't entirely sure that Evie's idea was a good one but at that moment he couldn't think of anything better. Suddenly he became aware of a traffcic foul up ahead. He stretched a little to try and see what the trouble was, but then the gun shots were heard amidst the car horns and the screeching tyres. As James slowed Evie decided to get out and take a look.

"Hey... hang on... you have no idea... shit" James wasn't particularly happy at Evie getting out. For all they knew she was about to walk straight into the midle of a shoot out between the battling cartels. As Evie climbed out and closed the door, she reached behind her and pulled her glock out of the back of her pants. She moved onto the sidewalk as she walked forward, trying to see what was happening and where the shots were coming from and going to. It was difficult in the melee of people running in panic and cars screeching to a halt. Suddenly she heard breaking glass and saw what she thought was a man crashing through a window a few hundred yards ahead. As she tried to see, people kept getting the in the way, but then she caught a glimpse of the man but almost as soon as she saw him, she lost him again in the crowd. Her heart jumped. She needed to see him again. She scoured the people in front of her, quickening her pace into a jog. There he was... the back of a man running. She started running a little faster, keeping her eyes locked on him. He was a big man.... certainly about the same size as Tom. He wasn't running the way Tom would... it was as if he were drunk. The more she ran though the more sure she became.

"TOM!... TOM! WAIT!" She called out but the man didn't seem to hear or take any notice if he did. Suddenly he ducked off of the main road and into an alleyway. She ran hard ducking down the alleyway after him. There was no-one there. She slowed a little, looking around her to see if the man had gone through a doorway or was hiding somewhere. Then suddenly someone was shooting at her. It took her a second or two to decide which way she needed to go, but before she could move she was hit hard from the side. Something had rammed into her from her left hand side. She was falling... flying through the air and then falling... she braced herself for the ground. When she hit, whatever had hit her was on top of her. She realized it was a man... and then she realized it was Tom. His arms were flailing and he was shouting at her, but what he was saying was almost incomprehensible.

"You bitch... you... fucking bitch... I'm gonna kill you..." Evie groaned as a punch caught her on her right cheek bone. Fortunately, it was more of a glancing blow but it was enough to literally make start explode behind her eyes. And then it stopped and the weight on top of her was gone. It was Tom's turn to be side-swiped. James had driven into the alleyway to be faced with the scene of Tom beating on his sister. He had gotten out of the car and charged him, the two of them rolling away, struggling with each other.

"James... don't hurt him... " Evie scrambled to her feet just as James was beginning to get a hold of Tom such that he could barely move.

"Don't... hurt... him? What about him... hurting us...?" James said.

"Something's wrong... he's out of his head... " Evie crouched down to where James was lying holding Tom. Evie took hold of his wrist and pushed up his sleeve. "Jesus!" The two of them looked at each other. The needletracks were clearly visible.

"Let's try and get him in the car." James said, feeling the fight quickly disappearing from his friend.
 
Marie's men weren't far behind. They came running into the alley firing their weapons. Everyone took cover quickly as the gun battle ended. Those men demanded that Tom be handed over to them. They said that a deal could be made which would make the two Americans very rich. They said that Marie wanted Tom back and what Marie wants, Marie gets. Suddenly four more of Marie's men appeared. They took up places at the other end of the alley. Evie & James were trapped at both ends. Two of Marie's men had cut them off from James's car. While four more cut them off from an escape at the other end of the alley. " Come on!........Male the deal!.......He's just a cop!.......You two can go home and just forget him! " These men were hoping that these two Americans would see that there was no hope in getting out with Tom. These two Americans could just give him up and leave. It's Tom that they were after. They didn't care about anyone else unless they tried to stop them from getting Tom.
 
Evie and James managed to get Tom to the relative safety of the rear of a dumpster. Their SUV was in the open ground between them at the men who were shooting at them. Evie looked at James and then to Tom who was almost unconscious. He was exhausted; Evie imagined that he had barely been fed since he was taken and had probably been given little to drink. His eyes were already a little sunken with dark circles under them. His skin was cold and clammy. Suddenly James started to move and as he held onto Tom, he fished into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone, handing it to Evie. She smiled. If he had been closer, she would have kissed her brother right then – never had she been so pleased to see a cell phone. She took it from him and sent a text message. “Got him. But trapped and under fire.” Then she added their location and hit send. She looked back to James. “How much ammunition do you have?” He shook his head. “It’s in the car.” Before Evie had a chance to answer, they heard a male voice calling out and making them an offer. Their English wasn’t bad but the Mexican accent was strong.

“We need a little time to think about it.” James called back.

“A little time huh? Well... okay... you got 10 seconds and then we’re gonna come after him.”

“Ten seconds. That doesn’t sound that long. But okay... and at the same time, you guys can decide which of you are going to die.”

“What the fuck are you talking about? You are the ones who will die”

“What? You think we’re just gonna sit here and let you come. I figure even if you come from both directions, we can take at least two of you out ... maybe four.... before you get across the open ground to us. We’re pretty good shots... just thought you should know that.” There was silence which was exactly what James was hoping for. He needed to make them question what they were doing... what they were about to do. Right now, it was a stand off. Hopefully, they would have enough time. As it happened they didn’t need any more time.

“The man’s right. They are pretty good shots... but we’re better.” It was Callen’s voice. Callen and Sam had been about three blocks away. Deeks and Kensi were themselves only a few blocks out. There was no response from anyone. Just silence. And then a car started up at the far end of the alleyway. The men decided that they would take their chances with Marie.

Over the next hour, they got Tom loaded into James’ car; Evie drove. James persuaded her that if he came round and started to fight again, he was going to have the better chance of keeping him under control. They all got to the helicopter, then got Tom loaded inside and headed home. Once they were in the air, Callen gave Tom a sedative from the first aid kit that was stored on board. It would keep him out until they could get him home.

Two hours later they were at Tom’s. Evie had called Rick as soon as they had gotten Tom settled. She told him everything that had happened and she explained the state in which they had found Tom. Rick had agreed that they should take him there. He’d be there when they arrived and he’d gotten Dr Jen Lee to meet him there too. In actuality, he had left for Tom’s place straight away. He had cleaned up the living room and made it liveable. He had taken plenty of water, orange juice, fresh food. He was going to stay with Tom and Evie and between them they would get Tom clean. No matter how long it took, whatever it took, he would get his son clean.

As big as Tom was, Rick carried him inside. Once he was in bed, Jen examined him and confirmed that it looked like they had been feeding him heroin. She said that maybe the best bet was to keep him sedated, permanently, for about five days. Whilst she was in no doubt that Tom was addicted, in light of the short time he had been taking the drug, she figured that it wouldn’t need that long before he could literally break the habit. Keeping him sedated would make it easier on him but just as importantly it would also be easier on Rick and anyone else who was going to look after him. Over those five days, there was very little anyone could do but there was a constant stream of visitors. Jack and Steve and Kim. The guys from the Riptide. Callen. Sam. Deeks. Jack again... and again. Most evenings Jack called in and stayed and finished up playing poker with Rick. Sometimes Evie was with them. Sometimes Rick sent her home to get a break and some sleep.

On the sixth day after they came back from Mexico, Evie pulled up at the harbour in the mustang. She had spent the previous night at home, had been out for her run in the morning, had showered and then had driven across to Tom’s. She had taken some leave so that she didn’t have to worry about work as well as everything else but Rick made sure that she kept to her training schedule. He had told her that with Tom being unconscious there was absolutely nothing she could do and nothing she needed to worry about. After a little reluctance, she eventually realized that Rick was right and so she had followed Sam’s regime. In addition to the run for a couple of hours each day she had gone to NCIS headquarters and Sam or Callen had given her instruction in some hand to hand combat. Truth was she was covered in bruises but she was damned if they were going to wear her down.

When she jumped on board and then down the stairs, she had found Rick in the kitchen making coffee.

“Hey. Morning.” She walked over and kissed him on the cheek.

“Morning.”

“How is he.” Rick looked at her and smiled. Then he poured out a cup of coffee. “Why don’t you take this in to him and see.”

It took her a second to register the real meaning of what he had said and then the smile spread across her face. She took the mug and almost ran into the bedroom. Tom was sitting in bed. He looked rough. He had more than a week’s growth of whiskers on his face. There were still dark circles under his eyes but there was a spark there that hadn’t been there the last time she had seen them, and there was just a little colour in his cheeks. She stood in the doorway for a moment, smiling and saw him smiling back at her. Then she walked over to the side of the bed, feeling him watching her, sat down on the edge and held the cup out for him.

“Welcome back Lieutenant.”
 
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