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Title: Liberation
By: nancy
Pairing: Tony/Gibbs
Fandom: NCIS
Rating: AO
Series: 1) The Ring, 2) Respite, 3) Death Match, 4) Whore, 5) Broken, 6) Vows, 7) Please
Warnings: DARKFIC!!! rape, violence, brutality
Summary: Tony vanishes and Gibbs tracks him into the violence of a human slavery ring. The FBI finds the human slavery ring in which Tony and Jethro are enslaved. Without a Trace crossover.

***

The firefight was brief and vicious. Jack heard Sam cry out in pain and grit his teeth against the rising rage inside. They managed to pin the bastards a few minutes later and Jack ordered, "Martin, get Sam to a bus. Danny, start coordinating the clean-up."

All three nodded and, with Sam leaning heavily on Martin, left the 'viewing' box. Gun aiming at the three men standing a short distance away, Jack moved forward to frisk them while Viv and Detective Morris covered him. That done, he stepped back and said, "You have the right to remain silent, but I really hope you don't you pieces of shit. You have the right to an attorney and I'm sure you have one on tap..."

"We have many."

Jack's gaze swung to the speaker; handsome in a pleasant, unassuming way. From their scant intel, he was the leader, though there was no name as yet.

"I bet," Jack replied, disgusted.

The man continued, "We'll be free even before you finish the paperwork. And this will never come to trial. Too many very important people have enjoyed our...hospitality."

Something else that Jack believed and it pissed him off further. His finger itched to pull the trigger and pull a bullet in the man's head, right between the eyes. The man responsible for a wealth of untold misery.

"You know, I think I'll go see how Agent Taylor's doing with the rescue efforts," Detective Morris said unexpectedly. "And I certainly hope the three of them don't overpower the two of you while I'm gone."

Pale blue eyes met his and Jack knew they were on the same page. These men were beyond the scum of the earth and the Detective was going to walk away and let Jack do as he saw fit. Glancing at Viv, Jack saw an equal measure of resolve in her face. How much of that came from Sam getting shot, Jack didn't know or care.

The door closed with a sound of finality.

As if knowing that death had come regardless of jurisprudence, the ringleader snarled wordlessly at Jack, a cornered dog, and charged. Jack shot twice into the bastard's heart. He gun hand shifted and he shot twice more, hitting the middle guy in the chest the same time that Viv did.

Jack felt nothing but satisfaction at the three very dead bodies on the floor. He flashed Viv a dark smile and commented, "Nice of him to rush us like that."

"Helps with the IA investigation," Viv agreed, dry. "Good thing Elena's home sick."

Jack snorted, but silently had to be grateful for the nasty flu that had kept the woman out of the office. He knew how to handle Martin, Danny, and Sam, but Elena wasn't someone he could shut down effectively. Not yet, anyhow.

Danny and Martin rushed into the room just then, guns drawn.

Holding up his hands, Jack assured them, "We're fine. They decided to go out in a blaze of glory or some other crap and rushed us."

Danny's eyebrows rose in disbelief, but Martin just nodded, accepting his words at face value. Still, Danny didn't question the statement publicly, so Jack considered that a win. Even with the bastards dead, he wanted to get Martin out as fast as possible. It was as though the evil wrought in that place had infected the very steel and cement and something might try to grab the young man from him.

Jack cleared his throat and asked, "Sam's okay?"

"Shoulder wound, she'll be fine," Martin answered, smiling briefly. "Already on her way to the hospital."

Nodding, Jack said, "Good. Locals going through the cells?"

"Yeah, and there's a lot more people here than we anticipated, Jack," Danny told him.

Jack grimaced and replied, "Then we should help out. Who knows how many missing persons cases we'll solve here? Everyone pick a sector and stick with it until the whole building is cleared."

Which looked like it would be hours to come.

*  *  *  *

Three hours later and Jack knew that he would never be the same again. He was sorry that he'd killed the men responsible because he wanted to do it again, much more slowly and with a hell of a lot more pain involved. Sixty-three sex-slaves and twenty-two fighters so far and there was one more wing left to check out.

He started with the cell at the end of the hall, letting other cops and agents take the rest. He knocked sharply and called out, "FBI Agent Jack Malone," as he opened the door. The cell was just as bleak as all the others with only a cot, toilet, and sink for furniture. The man who occupied it sat on the floor in the corner, legs drawn up to his chest, rocking back and forth, stopping now and again to bang his head hard against the wall. Hard enough for there to be smears of blood.

Jack cursed under his breath and then radioed Viv, "I need a bus for this one, pronto."

"I'll send a team to your location," she replied.

Walking over to the man cautiously, not sure just how he might react, Jack said, "I'm Jack Malone with the FBI. I'm here to help you."

The head hit the wall with a stunning force that made Jack wince. He had no choice but to grab the guy by the shoulders and pull him away so he couldn't do it again. Strangely, there was no reaction, no violence or even surprise. The man just hugged himself tighter and continued rocking.

Jack noted the multitude of bruises on the young man's body and face as well as a thinness that spoke of malnutrition. If there had been any animation on his face at all, he might have been considered handsome; instead, the blankness just lent a creep factor that made Jack want to let go and inch away.

"Can you tell me your name?" Jack finally prompted. "We're going to be looking for your family and a name would help."

That sparked a faint reaction as the man whispered, "No family. No one left. Not anymore."

Jack repeated, "What's your name?"

The man's head dropped and his arms went over his head, signaling the end of the too-short period of lucidity.

Sighing, Jack stood back up and just kept an eye on him so he didn't hurt himself again. The EMTs arrived a few minutes later, looking drawn and tight-lipped from whatever it was they'd already witnessed.

Jack offered, "I couldn't get a name, but he's semi-catatonic and self-destructive. He was trying to slowly bash his head in when I got here."

"Right. Sedative first, questions later," the older one said firmly. "Once we get him to the hospital, you can talk to him again."

Nodding, Jack stepped back to let them do their thing, but the man on the floor suddenly became a maelstrom of violence. The older EMT cried out in pain when the victim launched shoulder-first into his gut, propelling him against the nearest wall. Fists slammed repeatedly into the poor guy's body before Jack recovered and grabbed the victim in a headlock, jerking him away.

Jack had no choice when the man continued to fight him. He grunted in pain when an elbow connected with his side and forced the victim onto the floor. Putting a knee in the man's back and twisting his arms around in a suspect position, Jack snapped, "Sedate him, already!"

The younger EMT jabbed a needle into the victim's shoulder and seconds later the thrashing slowed down, even if it didn't stop. Jack didn't say anything when he went to check on his partner instead of doing anything else for the victim. Didn't blame him at all, either. He would've done the same if it had happened to anyone on his team.

A sound made him look down and he was surprised to find the man's mouth moving. He cautiously moved closer so he could hear what was being said, keeping his knee in place. It took a while to figure out that it was just one word repeated over and over again, "Gibbs," slurred as the drug took effect.

Whether it was the victim's name or someone else's, Jack had no idea. Finally, though, the drugs knocked him out and Jack relaxed, looking over at the EMTs. "You okay?"

Holding his side, the older EMT nodded and grimaced. "Should've expected that with PTSD. I wasn't paying enough attention. We'll load him up now."

"Strap him down," Jack advised.

Viv's voice came over the radio as he watched them load the victim on to the gurney. "Jack, we have a problem here with one of the fighters."

"What kind of problem?"

"The kind that makes me want a taser," she answered, sounding angry. "This guy's taken down four agents and two cops."

Alarmed, Jack demanded, "Martin?"

"The boys are fine, Jack, they're still on ID duty."

Something neither had been happy about, but Jack and Viv had been united in that. Once they'd seen the extent of the depravity, Jack had immediately ordered the two younger agents off the main duty of recovering the victims. It wouldn't spare them the sight of the victims, but it might lessen the impact a little, not getting them in their cells.

"He keeps demanding to see someone named Tony. Says he won't leave without him."

A suspicion formed as Jack's gaze landed on the gurney, now with its bundled up and strapped down passenger. "His name wouldn't be Gibbs, would it?"

Sounding exasperated, Viv demanded, "Now how the hell could you know that?"

A grin flickered over Jack's face as he answered, "I'm psychic. Tell him I've got his Tony and to cooperate or he won't get to see him at the hospital. I'll walk out with the gurney."

"Got it."

Jack followed the gurney out, more than happy to be quit of the stink of evil.

*  *  *  *

The hospital was extra busy with even just a third of the victims brought in from busting up the human slavery ring. Jack yawned and rubbed at his eyes, the whiteness of the hospital blurring momentarily as he realized that he'd been awake for almost thirty-six hours straight.

"Here, you look like you could use some of this," Martin said.

Jack smiled at him and took the cup of coffee. "Thanks. So, what do we know?"

"That you and Viv are in a shitload of trouble if your stories don't match."

Jack went still for a few seconds before looking sidelong at the younger man. "Oh?"

Martin snorted. "Don't try that innocent look on me, Jack, I know you too well. I just wish that you'd shot them somewhere it hurt like hell and would take a long time to bleed out."

Taking a sip of coffee to buy some time, Jack finally amended, "What do we know about Gibbs and Tony?"

Martin's knowing look almost made Jack squirm before the other agent related, "NCIS Agents, both of them. Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo and Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, his boss. They work out of DC. DiNozzo went missing almost a year ago and Gibbs raised holy hell looking for him, but to no avail. Or, not any official one at least. When Director Sheppard told him to cease and desist, he quit. Not that she accepted his resignation. Technically, he was on medical leave when he disappeared about a month later."

"He found the ring and then got trapped in it," Jack guessed.

Martin nodded. "Sounds about right."

Shaking his head, Jack said, "Almost a year. What kind of emotional state will DiNozzo be in when he wakes up?"

"Not a good one," Martin sighed. "The docs confirmed rape from his exam. From the bruising, it looks like it's been going on a long time."

Jack had expected that, of course, but hearing it made him flinch anyhow. Martin unexpectedly put a hand on his shoulder, stepping closer. Taking a few seconds to regain his composure, Jack finally looked over at him and said softly, "If anything like that ever happened to you, I don't know what I would do."

Martin's hand tightened on him as he replied, just as soft, "Nothing like that will happen, Jack. And if it did, you would find me."

Just like Gibbs found his Tony, fat lotta good that did either of them, Jack thought bleakly.

But Martin was right. Jack would always find him. Clearing his throat, Jack said, "Where's Gibbs now?"

"Getting cleared by the docs and getting restless to see DiNozzo, according to Viv," Martin answered. He half-smiled and continued, "She's the only one he'll listen to."

Jack snorted. "Now why doesn't that surprise me?"

"I wouldn't want to piss her off."

"Me, either."

They shared a smile of affection for their teammate before Martin finished, "The NCIS team is on their way, though I warned them not to expect a lot right away. I gave the lead agent, McGee, the particulars of the ring, though not what Gibbs and DiNozzo specifically went through. I said we hadn't actually interviewed them yet."

"Good," Jack sighed. "Not looking forward to that."

Martin rubbed his shoulder again before his hand dropped away. "It won't get any easier for the waiting."

Jack grimaced and agreed, "No, no I suppose not. All right. Let's do this."

They walked down the hall to the ER where a lot of the victims were still being treated. His brief glimpse of Gibbs as the other man had been herded into an ambulance by Viv has been an impression of strength and violence. Of course, the six downed men and the months of survival fighting in the ring were testament to that.

Gibbs sat on an exam table, stone-faced and silent as the doctor finished stitching up a nasty looking cut across his midriff.

Frowning, Jack asked, "I thought you fought without weapons."

The smile Gibbs gave him was downright scary as he explained, "That's from the knife I took off a guard when your small army stormed the place. He wasn't paying attention and now he's dead. Where's Tony?"

Ignoring the confession of murder, Jack told him, "Sedated and admitted. He's out cold in a hospital room, which is where you'll be if you don't get yourself under control."

"What can I tell you that you don't already know?" Gibbs countered sharply. "It was a human slavery ring and we were the victims. Tony was raped repeatedly and I fought in the ring. It's that simple. You did find the men responsible, right?"

Jack allowed a small smile to show as he replied, "They resisted arrest. You don't have to worry about them anymore. No one does."

"Fuck!" Gibbs snarled. "What right did you have? We should've been allowed to kill them!"

We, meaning I, Jack thought. And after all they'd gone through, Jack didn't blame him. Out loud, he said, "Keep talking like that and you're going to end up in a psych ward. What good will you do Tony there?"

Gibbs subsided immediately, giving him a shrewd look and then saying, "You're right. I'm sorry. Can I see Tony now? When will he wake up?"

Sensing that Gibbs wasn't going to be any good to them until he'd seen DiNozzo for himself and the other man had woken without any lingering physical trauma, Jack looked at Martin. "Find out which room Tony DiNozzo's in?"

Martin nodded and walked off, but wasn't gone long. He returned in a couple of minutes and said, "Three twelve."

Gibbs hopped off the exam table, but Jack threw him a warning look and asked the doctor, "He okay to leave?"

The doctor nodded and admitted, "He's in better shape than I am. Everything you see is superficial."

Jack motioned for Gibbs to precede him and said to Viv on the way by, "Check in with Sam, will you?"

"I will. Keep an eye on him," she ordered.

Jack fully intended to, but when they got to the room and Gibbs went in, the expression of pain on the man's face as he looked at DiNozzo had Jack looking elsewhere. He said gruffly, "Call if you need anything. I'm right outside."

Gibbs didn't even look at him as he closed the door.

Jack's eyes searched for Martin's as he retreated from the room. All he wanted to do was wrap his arms around his lover and sink into his body to remind himself that Martin was not only alive and whole, but untouched by the horror they'd come into contact with.

Martin whispered, "Later."

It was a promise and one Jack vowed they would keep sooner, rather than not.

***

Next story in series: Real.