Being Part of the NCIS Family

Twenty-Four

DiNozzo POV
"Twenty minutes left." Josh called from the back. I flipped on the sirens and pushed the gas pedal down even farther. "Okay, fifteen."

"I hope they're still alive in there." Derek said. "No telling what's been done to them by now."

Liv POV
"How did you get untied?" the big burly guy asked as he yanked Ziva to her feet. "Doesn't matter. We'll tie you up better soon." As he said that, more men came in. One joined the first guy on Ziva and two more grabbed me. I yelled in pain as they yanked me up and my ribs and stab wound yelled in protest. I heard Gibbs grunt as he was yanked up, and McGee groaned as two men grabbed him. There was no chance to escape now, not with two men to each one of us and me and Gibbs being so badly hurt.

We were dragged to another room with four chairs, which we were roughly thrown into and tied tightly to. I saw four large canisters that looked like the oxygen tank I had been hooked up to for a while, but larger. Each canister had a small plastic mask attached to it. I was really confused for a minute, until I remembered something from a TV show I watched.

"No. No, no, no." I muttered.

"What?" McGee asked.

"It's nitrogen." I said. "Breathing it is like drowning on land." McGee's eyes widened. Ziva and Gibbs had heard, too, and their faces were grim. Four men wheeled the canisters over so that we each had one to our right. The four men stood behind our chairs. Another man walked in. He was tall and muscular, with thick hair that was shaggy and probably hadn't been cut, washed, or even brushed in a while.

"I am Miguel Santiago." he said. "So these are the brave souls who ventured into a mafia headquarters." he said. He had the voice of a heavy smoker and drinker, low and raspy. "You know that no one leaves here alive unless they belong here."

"We just want to talk." I said with difficulty. "We're investigating the death of Ernesto." The tall man scowled.

"And you have given me another reason to kill you." he said. "Because I killed Ernesto. He was too much trouble." the man stopped and smiled a cold, cruel smile. "And because now, I run this mafia." He laughed, a chilling sound that sent shivers down my spine. "Now." he said to the men behind us. They stepped in front of us and wheeled the tanks of nitrogen as close to us as they could. As they brought the masks closer to our faces, I whipped my head around, and I saw Ziva doing the same. Two men came up behind us and grabbed our hair while the men in front of us forced the masks onto our faces. The man who had killed Ernesto slowly walked down the line, turning each of the nozzles on the tanks slowly.

I held my breath, and I think that the others did too, but the shaggy-haired man nodded to the men standing behind us, and they came around to the front of us. I wasn't sure what they were going to do, and McGee, Ziva, Gibbs, and I looked at each other. Then the man in front of Gibbs punched him in the stomach. Gibbs doubled over and was forced to draw in air, but that only made it worse. He coughed, and his eyes went wide. Miguel walked over to him and yanked the mask off.

"You're the leader, eh?" he asked. "Not so powerful now, I see." he chuckled, replacing Gibbs' mask, then gestured to the man in front of Ziva. She was punched in the stomach, too. I started seeing spots, and I was resigned to having to stop holding my breath when Miguel noticed and gestured to the men in front of me and McGee. They punched us at the same time, and we doubled over, gasping for air. My stab wound hurt horribly, and my vision swam. I coughed, and it made my ears ring. I heard McGee and Ziva coughing, too. I heard Miguel and his men laughing coldly.

Suddenly, one by one, their laughing suddenly stopped. In my dazed mind, the gunshots didn't register until the third or fourth guy. Suddenly, my mask was ripped off my face, and I took huge, gasping breaths. My vision was still going in and out as someone yanked the ropes from me, freeing my arms and legs. I managed to turn my head to see other people doing the same for McGee, Gibbs, and Ziva.
Someone took my face in their hands gently and turned it back to them. My eyes only focused for a moment, but that was all I needed.

"Derek?" I asked hoarsely. I forced myself to focus, and I could see his eyes watering.

"It's me, Midgie." he said, his voice shaking. "You're gonna be ok." he stopped and took a deep breath. "You're all gonna be fine." Derek pulled me out of the chair and set me on the ground against a pillar. McGee slumped next to me, and Gibbs was on my other side. Ziva was next to him. Gibbs looked over at me, his eyes unfocused and wild.

"You alright?" he asked. I nodded and put my head on his shoulder. I felt him lay his head on mine. I heard my brothers calling for an ambulance.

"Doogie!" Josh cried. He rushed over, followed by the rest of my brothers and Tony. Tony rushed between Gibbs, Ziva, and McGee while my brothers fussed over me.

"I'll be fine, guys." I said.

"You're hurt." Aaron said. "What's all this blood?" I coughed, making my entire torso flare with pain.

"Little stab wound." I muttered. My brothers sighed. "I'll live." I said. "Really." Aaron shook his head and leaned down to kiss me on the forehead. I reached up and took his face in my hands and guided it lower so I could kiss his nose. He smiled, but I could still see the worry in his eyes.

Suddenly, I could hear sirens in the distance.

"Good, they're coming." Andrew said. Then Tony came to me and started fussing. I grabbed his face in my hands, and he slowed down a little.

"I'm fine, Tony."  I said. "Don't worry about me."

"You know it's not that easy." he said.

"I know." I answered. "I just want you to try." Tony gave me a small smile and kissed the top of my head. I realized then that the sirens had stopped. Then the sound of several people running through the house caught my attention.

"In here!" my brothers and Tony called. Several men and women ran in with stretchers and oxygen and a few other things. They pushed Tony and my brothers aside and started tending to me, Gibbs, Tim, and Ziva. I was the first to be put on a stretcher. The EMT's carefully put me onto a stretcher and started to wheel me away. I was closely followed by Gibbs. Our ambulance went roaring away before Ziva and Tim had been fully loaded into their ambulance.

I felt my bandages being cut off and my shirt was pulled up just over the stab wound. Someone else started to put an oxygen mask over my face. Panic welled up inside me. I cried out and squirmed, trying to evade the mask. One of the EMT's started talking to me calmly, assuring me that it was just oxygen, and I felt a hand take mine. I looked to my left, and I saw Gibbs laying next to me, his mask already on. He nodded to me and squeezed my hand. I squeezed back and the EMT took advantage of me calming down and slipped the mask over my face, still talking softly to me.

I took deep breaths, partly to get more oxygen since I was still fighting for consciousness over the nitrogen in my system, partly to calm myself down, because my heart was still racing. My vision spotted in and out as the EMT's continued to tend to Gibbs' and my injuries. Eventually, someone put an IV in my arm to start me on pain meds, I assumed.

My shock was wearing off and my heart was slowing down to its normal pace, but I wished it wouldn't. The shock and confusion might've been gone, but now, despite the pain meds I had been started on, pain washed over me in massive waves. I cried out, and Gibbs squeezed my hand again. I fought for consciousness, not wanting to black out, but it was losing battle. Finally, I couldn't do it anymore, and pain-free darkness overtook me.