Everything had gone smoothly. The team had tracked down Lieutenant Murdock with Abby's help, and they had made it to the harbour in time to find their culprit ready to board the next ship out to take him to Europe, where he would have disappeared with the money and weapons he had stolen.
Gibbs had wordlessly split the team into two: Agents McGee and David were to quietly go around the back of the containers that were between them and the Lieutenant while DiNozzo would have Gibbs' six as they confronted the man.
Lieutenant Murdock had not resisted the arrest, and Gibbs was satisfied that their team would be able to close this case without a hitch. To hear his SFA shout for them to take cover and to feel himself being pushed behind one of the containers therefore came as a shock for Gibbs.
Before he knew it, there was a series of bangs echoing around them. The Lieutenant that had been in the process of getting cuffed now lay motionless a few feet away from him, a pool of blood slowly forming from the holes in his chest.
Frantically, Gibbs reached for his gun while his eyes set on the other person who had not yet made it into cover. After shouting a ''cover me!'' over his shoulder to Ziva and McGee, Gibbs quickly ran out and grabbed his SFA, throwing the younger man's arm over his shoulder and sliding his own arm around Tony's waist to support him as they swiftly made it to the relative safety of the containers.
It had not gone unnoticed that Tony let out a small cry when Gibbs had lifted him towards their cover, and as he gently helped his agent lean against the metal wall he noticed the blood oozing from Tony's thigh.
''Gibbs!'' Ziva shouted as both she and McGee managed to slip towards their colleagues, their guns drawn and eyes darting around for any potential threats. ''We have called for backup. Are you alright?''
''I'm fine,'' Gibbs growled, removing his jacket. ''DiNozzo's been shot.''
''I'm fine…'' Came a weak groan from Tony. He sucked in a breath when Gibbs pressed his jacket against the wound to try and stop the bleeding.
''Like hell you are.'' Gibbs retorted, gesturing at Tim to come closer. ''Keep applying pressure and stay with him. Ziva, you're with me.''
Again, the team split up, with Gibbs and Ziva stalking towards the other side of the container as McGee looked after Tony.
''Stay with us, Tony.'' Tim muttered nervously, noticing how quickly he could feel the blood soaking through Gibbs' jacket. DiNozzo's breath was shallow, his face contorted into a grimace as McGee pressed onto the wound. ''Help is on the way.''
Gibbs signalled at Ziva to creep around the next container as he cut through a narrow gap between them. It had been eerily quiet since the first shots had been taken, but as soon as Gibbs poked his head around the corner, he was met with another rain of bullets. From his quick glance, Gibbs identified three assailants.
Trusting that Ziva had his six, Gibbs briefly came out of his cover and managed to take down one of the three men before they fired back. Cursing under his breath, he realised he needed a different vantage point to try and hit the other two.
He calculated his next move: he could try to simply hold the assailants off until backup arrived, but thinking back at the amount of blood that his senior field agent had been losing, he felt like he needed to get Tony to a hospital sooner rather than later.
''Gibbs.'' He was drawn away from his thoughts by Ziva's hushed voice. Somehow, the former Mossad agent had made it to the next row of containers. Gibbs nodded at her, silently agreeing that he would draw the remaining assailants' fire to get them out of their cover. Ziva had a much better chance at hitting them than he did right now.
Taking a deep breath, Gibbs ducked out of his cover again and started to shoot. The second the two unknown attackers showed their faces, Ziva jumped out and shot them both twice in the chest. After that, it became eerily quiet once more, safe from the waves and the faint sound of sirens in the distance.
''I'll take care of this.'' Ziva nodded at Gibbs, understanding his need to return to his agent's side.
''Boss, it's not looking good…'' McGee stammered nervously as soon as Gibbs ran back towards them. Looking down, Gibbs internally winced at the blood covering McGee's hands, which he still kept firmly pressed against Tony's thigh. ''I-I think the bullet might have hit an artery.''
''Hey, DiNozzo,'' Gibbs crouched down besides his agent, whose head was starting to slump forward. At the gentle head slap, Tony's eyes fluttered open, an unfocused gaze searching for his boss. Gibbs' gut was doing somersaults as he gently placed his hand at the back of his agent's neck to help him keep his head upright. ''Stay with us, backup is only minutes away.''
''Not goin' anywhere, boss…'' Tony slurred, clearly fighting the urge to close his eyes again. Glancing around, the agent frowned confused. ''Where's Ziva?''
''I'm right here, Tony.'' Ziva appeared from behind the container, silently taking in the scene in front of her. ''All three are confirmed dead.'' She assured Gibbs as they all took comfort in the sound of the sirens nearing them.
Gibbs was taken aback when Tony suddenly grabbed his arm. There was something akin to panic in his agent's eyes, his breath getting more laboured.
''Woah!'' Said Gibbs when Tony suddenly tried to move up, though he quickly fell back against the container with a cry of pain. ''What the hell, DiNozzo?''
''…'s wrong…'' Tony uttered, his grip on Gibbs weakening.
''What is?'' The older man asked, but the grip on his arm loosened, his agent's hand falling limply to his side. ''DiNozzo!'' Gibbs gently shook his agent, but his head simply lolled forward. Looking down, he could see the pool of blood that surrounded his agent, his own jacket and McGee's hands completely soaked through.
At that moment, multiple agents had come to secure the crime scene. Ziva quickly shouted for the medics to come to them, and they swiftly took over from McGee in applying pressure to the wound.
Gibbs barely remembered what happened as they took his SFA away in the ambulance. Once they'd lifted Tony onto the gurney, Gibbs had been left with just a pool of blood where his agent had been sat against the container. It chilled him to the core- it was like he was at a murder scene where the body had been dumped elsewhere.
''Gibbs!'' It was once again Ziva who pulled him out of his head. ''I'll liaise with the officers at the scene here. You and McGee should be there for Tony.''
Whether he should feel proud or ashamed, Gibbs wasn't sure, but still he nodded in agreement. He trusted that Ziva would take care of everything there, so he decided to rely on his team and barked at McGee to follow him to the car.
The younger agent followed him silently and for once, he did not seem to mind Gibbs' driving. It was only when Gibbs glanced over at his agent that his gut started twisting again. He wanted to head slap himself.
''McGee,'' He started uncharacteristically softly. The young agent looked up from his bloody hands, his thin frame shaking slightly. The look of terror in his eyes reminded Gibbs of when Tim had only just started, when he had truly been a Probie and had had his first experience out in the field. ''You did good out there.''
The rare compliment from Gibbs seemed to bring the agent back to his senses a little, though the frightful look didn't quite subside.
''I couldn't stop the bleeding, boss…'' McGee shuddered, swallowing thickly. ''I kept the pressure on it like you said but it just wouldn't stop!''
''You did what you could.'' Gibbs reassured him. He took a sharp turn to the left and accelerated so quickly on the near enough empty road that the force pushed McGee back in his seat. ''DiNozzo will be fine.'' He wasn't sure if those words were to reassure the younger agent next to him, or himself.
It took them 20 minutes to reach Bethesda hospital where it should have taken them almost double that time. Both agents jumped out of the car and rushed towards the entrance. Once inside, Gibbs flashed his badge at the nurse at reception, demanding to speak to whoever was responsible for his agent.
''What is the agent's name?'' She asked nervously, tucking a strand of hair back behind her ear. She quickly did a search on her computer as soon as Gibbs gave her Tony's name, his gut churning when she frowned.
''Ehm…'' The young nurse began nervously, glancing at the agents in front of her, both of which she noted were covered in blood. ''I- could you spell out his name for me, please?''
''Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo, Jr.'' Gibbs growled impatiently. ''Big 'D', little 'I', big 'N', little 'ozzo'.''
The nurse ran another search, feeling the glare from the senior agent with every letter she typed.
''I'm terribly sorry, Agent Gibbs,'' She stammered anxiously. ''I've triple checked now, but there is no Agent DiNozzo who has been brought in to Bethesda.''