Marching.Thunk, thunk, thunk.
Footsteps drummed down the stairs, heavy as Tony's heart. The evidence, it added up so perfectly, it was such an elegant solution. He hated it. Each brick of evidence fell in such a flawless pattern, building up impenetrable walls. It was an unbreakable box, lid shut tight.
Marching.Dum, dum, dum.
Footsteps drummed across the carpet, three sets of shiny shoes. Two crisp FBI agents flanked Tony as he led them to the bullpen. Stony faces bared all their lack of emotion. There was nothing but the pounding of hearts, steady in time to the metronome. Beating, beating, to the beat.
Stop.
Turquoise eyes flicked up. They passed between the FBI, confusion simmering in his eyes.
"Tony, what's going on?" Ziva's and Gibbs's eyes burned into his back, heat waves flashing over his skin. He couldn't do this. Tony wanted to scream, scream for him to run but the cry wouldn't rise. The evidence blocked his throat, cementing it shut. He hadn't wanted to believe it, he had thought up every possible fanciful reason he could but it hadn't been enough. When his voice warbled through, it wasn't his. It was a low, quick thrumming, a bow drawing across the strings of a bass cello.
"Agent McGee, you're under arrest for espionage and treason."
Silence, steady in time to the metronome.
A/N: I have four chapters lined up for this, but it's not my top priority right now, so updates may be slower. I think readers deserve to know that, so there you are.