Chapter 6

Tim ran through the cornfield as fast as his legs could carry him. He knew there were others out here, and now they'd be after him for killing Jake Cobb. He pushed his way through thick corn stalks, trying to find a different path. As he pushed his way through another row, he heard a noise.

Shit, they found me.

He stilled and readied his weapon. He looked down, and saw a set of feet moving toward his position.

It's now or never.

"Freeze!" he shouted, jumping out in front of the assailant. He nearly dropped his gun when he saw who was standing in front of him.

"Tony! Are you all right?"

"You have no idea how glad I am to see you, Probie,"

Tim sheathed his weapon in the back of his jeans and started to attempt to pick the lock on Tony's handcuffs.

"What did they do to you?"

"I think I was about to live out Deliverance for myself."

Suddenly, they heard movement in the corn not far away.

"It's them."

"I know. Let's get out of here," Tim said, yanking Tony by the chain of his handcuffs. They moved off into the corn, away from the noise.

"How do you know about these guys?"

"I shot one of them looking for you, and they're going to kill me if they find me, so can we please keep moving?"

"No one is moving anywhere."

Tim pulled his gun and whipped around. There were four men coming out of the corn, guns trained on them. Tony only recognized two of them.

They must have called in reinforcements.

"Drop the gun, kid. You're outnumbered."

Tim exchanged glances with Tony, and slowly put his gun on the ground. Before he set it down, he whipped it at the nearest guy, and tackled him. Tony jumped on another of their assailants.

Tim locked one of the men in a wrestling move, and forced his gun out of his hands. The man quickly overpowered him, and in seconds, they were pointing guns at each other.

"Drop it or your friend will be fertilizing my fields."

Tim did so immediately, and one of the men grabbed him by the arms. The other had Tony by the cuffs, with a gun to his head. The fourth man rounded on Tim.

"Who are you?"

Tim remained silent. The man searched his pockets, and came out with Tim's badge and creds.

"Look at this, guys, we have a Fed!" He put his gun under Tim's chin, and forced Tim to look him in the eye. "I should kill you right now and leave your body to the crows for killing my brother."

"What's stopping you?" Tim spat out.

"I want you to suffer... you and your friend. Nobody crosses the Cobbs and gets away with it." He pulled his gun away from Tim's chin, and pistol whipped him across the face with it. He looked over at one of the men holding Tony.

"Lock them in the barn, Jimmy, and use the good stall this time, dumbass."

"Got it, J.P."

NCISNCISNCISNCIS

John shifted nervously in the driver's seat of his truck. It was nearly midnight, and Tim hadn't returned yet. He knew he'd be no match for the Cobb boys if he went onto their property alone to find Tim. He sighed and looked down at the phone in his hands. He wished it worked, so he could at least call the Sheriff.

Headlights shone in his back window, and John stilled in his seat.

What if it's J.P. Cobb? I'm going to die.

The headlights remained on as someone got out of the car and approached the truck. Suddenly, there was a gun being pointed at his face by a silver-haired man wearing an NCIS jacket.

I'll be damned... Tim's friend really did track him using that cell phone.

"Are you Gibbs?"

"Are you the farmer that found him?" Gibbs countered suspiciously.

"John Maxwell's the name. That phone doo-hickey really does have a tracker in it, huh?"

"Yep. Where are my Agents?" Gibbs asked, sheathing his weapon.

"Somewhere out there," John said, pointing to the vast cornfields. "Tim went out there two hours ago, looking for his friend. I haven't seen him since."

"Do you know your way through that maze?" Gibbs asked.

"I can get you to the Cobbs' property. Those heathens probably have your boys locked in their barn."

"You're awfully specific with your answers, John," Gibbs pointed out suspiciously.

"I've known JP, Jack and Jimmy since they were kids. They used to chase my daughter and her friends through the cornfields all the time. I know exactly which way to go to find their property. Lord knows I've dragged them there by there ears plenty of times."

Gibbs grinned.

I think I like this guy!

Gibbs reached into his ankle holster and pulled out his spare gun.

"Here, you can use this."

John reached into his glove compartment and pulled out a .45 pistol. Gibbs watched as he expertly checked it for ammo.

"I've got my own."

Gibbs grinned again and put away the spare weapon.

"Let's go."

TBC...