Chapter One - Tony
Tony was moving slowly and slightly hunched over, as he walked toward his desk. Sitting down in his chair, he pressed his hands against his stomach. The pain had started at about 4 a.m. and it seemed to be getting worse, not better.
"You look like you're a hell," Ziva said.
"I look like hell," Tony corrected, "and thanks for the compliment."
"I heard you tied one on good last night," McGee laughed.
"Jeez," Tony murmured, "Is there a direct line from my social life to this bullpen?"
"No, there's a direct line to me," Gibbs replied coming up behind Tony and slapping him on the back of the head.
"Let's go!" Gibbs continued grabbing his coat, "Ray DiLito was spotted near a warehouse in the 700 block of Edgewood."
Ray DiLito had been on the run for 2 weeks now. He was arrested for killing his wife, but he had solidly maintained that they had the wrong man. Then, the day before his trial was to begin, DeLito escaped.
As the team pulled onto Edgewood Street, they surveyed the area. The warehouse was a three-story, red brick building, about 70,000 square feet. The building and empty parking lot were surrounded by a 6 foot high chain link fence complete with an foot of razor wire strung around the top. Railroad tracks ran behind the building and Highway 1 was just beyond them.
Tony winced and held his stomach. This was a huge building to search, and it was going to take a lot of footwork. Biting his lip, he gave himself a pep talk, "Gibbs was shot in Kuwait and still managed to carry a fellow marine to safety and get a few shots off at the enemy before he went down. You drank a hell of a lot last night, but you haven't been shot, so buck it up, Bellimbusto!"
Gibbs ordered Ziva and McGee to search the first floor. He and Tony headed upstairs.
There was a long hall with lots of rooms. As they headed down it, Gibbs checked the rooms on the left, Tony, those on the right. After each check, they verbally cleared each empty room.
"Clear…"
"Clear…"
"Clear…"
Tony and Gibbs were nearing the end of the hall. Tony entered his final room and checked the left side, but before he could turn to the right, he felt the muzzle of a gun pressed up against the back of his skull.
"Drop your gun," a voice quietly commanded. Tony bent over and set the gun on the floor.
Just then, Gibbs exited the room on the opposite side of the hall. "Clear," he shouted.
As Gibbs turned around, he was greeted to the sight of Tony standing in a doorway, unarmed, with a gun pointed at his head.
"Sorry Gibbs," Tony said trying to keep things light.
"You don't want to do this, Ray," Gibbs said, aiming his gun at DeLito.
"I didn't kill my wife and I'm not going down for it," DeLito answered.
"Well you're not going to buy any sympathy by killing an agent," Gibbs replied firmly, yet calmly.
"I'll take my chances," DeLito said as he pulled Tony back into the room and slammed the heavy metal door closed.
