Tony DiNozzo yawned as he stepped out of the elevator and into the semi-darkness of the NCIS parking lot. It had been a long, stressful day investigating the accidental shooting death of a young sailor that turned out not to be the accident it first appeared to be. The long hours spent with Gibbs in interrogation attempting to get to the truth with the wife had been exhausting. The woman had at first denied everything, claiming her husband had accidentally shot himself. Tony smiled as he remembered the way that Gibbs had cornered the woman with her own lies, finally eliciting the truth.

The light touch of what he instantly recognized as the barrel of a gun pressed against his back snapped the young agent back to the present. "Ahhh, Agent DiNozzo, I was wondering when you were going to come, I was starting to think I would have to wait here all night." A soft, male voice whispered into his ear as a hand reached around and removed his gun from its holster.

"What do you want?" Tony asked, raising his hands in a show of non-resistance, aware that the cameras located around the parking lot would be capturing his possible abduction and help was most likely on its way. All he needed to do was keep his attacker calm and stall for some time.

"Why, you!" the soft voice chuckled in his ear.

The young agent felt more than heard a soft pop a split second before he felt something slam into his back, robbing him of his breath as he was thrown to the ground. He blinked in confusion, his mind had told him that he had just been shot but his body felt no pain. A shadow dropped across him blocking out most of the light as a dark figure knelt down into his slowly fading line of sight and he felt the shooter's cold fingers momentarily press against the side of his neck.

Tony struggled to remain alert as the figure rose and walked calmly away. He heard the distant sounds of running feet and shouts as the darkness slowly claimed him.

NCIS NCIS NCIS

Ignoring the co-coordinated frenzy of activity being carried out around him, Gibbs knelt on the cold concrete floor beside his wounded agent, unconsciously whispering quiet words of reassurance to the unresponsive man. His attention was divided between the wounded man and Ducky who was carrying out a hurried medical examination. "Well?" he demanded impatiently, wanting - no needing to know how serious his agent's injury was.

Ducky shook his head and sighed as he gently pressed his handkerchief down onto the bleeding wound. "Not good, Jethro," he whispered. "I think there is a high probability that young Anthony's spinal cord may be damaged, but I am far more concerned at the moment that the bullet has hit his lung. We need to get him to the hospital and into surgery as quickly as we can."

"McGee, where the HELL is that damn ambulance?" Gibbs shouted, as he turned partially towards his probationary agent who stood only a few feet away speaking to the security guard.

McGee jumped and quickly turned to his boss. "It…It's on its way. Do you want me to get an ETA?"

"No, McGee, I want you to cancel it! What the hell do you think? YES! I want an ETA and I want you to tell them to get here NOW!" Gibbs growled as his attention was diverted by a soft moan from the man on the ground.

Gibbs quickly turned and leaned close to the ground, trying to ensure he would be in Tony's line of sight should the agent open his eyes. "Tony, can you hear me? Tony? " He called softly, desperately hoping to get some reaction from the wounded man. He was rewarded for his efforts when Tony moaned again and slowly opened his eyes, blinking slowly as he attempted to focus on the face just inches away from his own.

"B…Boss?"

"I'm here, Tony," Gibbs softly whispered, "You are going to be fine. The ambulance is on its way."

Tony swallowed and licked his dry lips, trying to moisten them before he spoke. "S…Sorry B…Boss," he whispered weakly, "I ... I really screwed…up. Was…wasn't paying …attent…attention."

"It's okay, Tony." Gibbs whispered, his chest tightening at the confession. "We all let our guard down a little while we are in the building. No one expects anything like this to happen." He tried to reassure the young agent, reaching for Tony's hand and giving it a light squeeze "Just rest, don't try and talk!"

Weakly grabbing the offered hand, Tony held it as tightly as he could. "B…Boss," The soft whispered ended in a choking cough and Gibbs felt the light hold Tony held on his fingers tighten.

"Don't try and talk, Tony." He again advised gently as he pulled his handkerchief from his pocket with his free hand and gently wiped away the small trickle of blood that snaked its way from the corner of Tony's mouth towards the ground, "You're going to be fine!"

The young man blinked, trying to will away the darkness that threatened to overcome his senses. He drew in a shallow breath and tried to speak again. "Does…doesn't hurt…Boss. I…I can't feel any…thing." He breathed as his eyes slid closed and his hand relaxed its grip.

Gibbs blinked back the tears that threatened to fall and took a deep, steadying breath before he spoke softly to the unconscious man, "Everything is going to be alright, Tony. The docs at the hospital will have you back on your feet in no time." He was unsure if the whispered lies were more to reassure himself or to reassure the man who could no longer hear them, as he again squeezed the hand in his own.

Firm hands grasped his shoulders and began to lift him to his feet. "Jethro, the paramedics are here. Let's move out their way so they can help young Anthony!"

Looking up into Ducky's worried eyes, Gibbs nodded silently and rose to his feet, moving back to let the medical personal to attend Tony. He watched a moment before he turned away and forced himself to focus on the investigative activity that surrounded him.

Kate Todd stood near the stairwell with her sketchbook in hand as she studied the crime scene that was spread out in front of her. She tried hard to ignore the fact that the victim lying just yards from where she stood were a member of her own team. "Focus, Todd, focus!" She muttered to herself as she again found herself watching the activity surrounding Tony rather than sketching.

"What have we got so far?" Gibbs' voice behind her caused the female agent to jump and she turned spun quickly around to face him.

"So far, not much. Security saw Tony being accosted by a man with a gun as he reached his car. They responded immediately but by the time they reached the parking lot, Tony was already hit and the assailant had vanished. McGee has gone to collect the surveillance video now to take up to Abby. Not sure how much use it will be. Security says that the assailant kept his back to the camera at all times. They doubt that the camera even got a shot of his face."

"I want a full report from Abby as soon as she checks out the video. Whoever did this had to pass through the security checks either at the front door or at the parking lot entrance. I want a full list of everyone who has checked into the building in the last twenty-four hours." Gibbs demanded.

"That's a lot of people to check, Gibbs." Kate answered and receiving a heated glare from the senior agent, quickly asked, "Do you think that the hit on Tony may have been done by someone employed with NCIS?"

Looking over the agent's shoulder, Gibbs watched as Tony was carefully lifted onto a waiting gurney. "Who ever made the hit on DiNozzo had to pass through security." He stated quietly, "And until we prove otherwise, everyone is a suspect! Also have McGee check through Tony's files for anyone who has threatened him recently or made threats against him in the past and have been recently paroled or maybe waiting in the wings for an opportunity to make good their threat."

"Will do." Kate acknowledged as she turned back towards the crime scene and watched as Tony was wheeled towards the waiting ambulance. "How is he?"

"Critical!" Gibbs answered softly as he stepped around her. "I'm going to the hospital. I want to be informed immediately on any leads."

Kate nodded and watched as Gibbs ran to climb into the back of the ambulance before the doors shut tightly and the ambulance pulled away with its sirens and lights going. She sighed and turned to speak to an agent who waited for new orders.