Title: Cold Burn
Author: Tearsofamiko
Rating: K
Disclaimer: I own nothing about the NCIS series, its characters or plotlines. Why rub it in?
Spoilers: Red Cell
Summary: "The DiNozzo method. Not pretty, but effective." The guy would never know what hit him.
A/N: Hmm...Angry Tony...Effective and surprisingly easy to see.
.:::.
"You gotta let me do the interrogation, Boss."
Blue eyes turned to meet green across the hallway outside Interrogation. By the look in his eyes, Tony knew Gibbs was surprised; rarely did he volunteer for interrogation, choosing instead to watch from the other room. But it was different this time and, as he waited for an answer, he remembered why.
"Hello, NCIS. You want a clue? Be at the quad at 10:30am today."
"Look for something abnormal."
A masked man chasing a student through the quad, yelling at his victim as they go.
"Looks abnormal to me," as they take off, around, over, and through crowds of people – and cheerleaders – along the way.
It never failed. The sight of an unarmed civilian shot at pointblank range, right in front of him, always splintered something in him, made him want to rail and scream and cry. This time, he settled for drawing a bead on the shooter's head, his gun held tightly in a white-knuckled grip.
"Federal Agents! Drop the weapon!" he shouted and the sound of his own voice seemed to come to him from a distance. All he knew was the victim was right there, slumped against the fence, and he had a perfect shot.
He barely heard Gibbs come up behind him but he could hardly believe it when a firm grip angled his gun toward the ground, didn't understand Gibbs' order to stand down. And then the 'victim' climbed shakily to his feet as the shooter dropped his weapon. In a second, the penny dropped and a wave of horror broke over him, leaving him sick with the knowledge of what he'd almost done.
Blinking, he returned to the present and the blue eyes that met his once again were understanding as Gibbs nodded and walked past interrogation into observation. Glancing down at the floor, he took a deep breath and released it slowly, settling carefully into his role. His grip tight on the folder in his hands, he opened the door and strode in.
The kid, an uber-McGeek, turned to face him, his expression all innocence and eager helpfulness and the fact that he didn't know, didn't care sent a surge of anger through him, a cold burn that made him wish for a weapon and five minutes without a camera. He clenched his teeth, felt a muscle in his jaw twitch, and made himself channel away the anger; it didn't fit the role and he needed to play the role or he'd scare the kid, scare McGee and Kate in the other room, worry Gibbs and it would get him nowhere. So, he smiled instead, feeling the anger settle into a tenseness around his eyes.
The guy would never know what hit him.
"You know what's funny? Me almost putting a bullet in a kid's head because he's playing a game."