Impact

McGee was sick of listening to Kate and Tony argue. Granted, while they were arguing with each other they were leaving him alone, but today they had quarreled about everything.

The three of them had been sent to question a witness, which just didn't seem like a three person job to him. McGee suspected Gibbs just wanted the office to himself sometimes, or perhaps it was just that he felt McGee needed a lot more experience in field work and could learn a lot while watching the two more experienced agents. If that were the case, McGee certainly agreed with him. He was fine with the technical side of the job, but when he was dealing with people his lack of experience was apparent.

They arrived at the apartment, and yet another argument was sparked, hot on the heels of the last one. Tony had driven, and had been speeding the whole way. Kate kept telling him to slow down, which led Tony to retaliate by driving faster. Now they'd reached their destination Tony decided to park in a reserved parking spot.

"Tony, this parking space is reserved for apartment 7."

"So?"

"So we're going to apartment 5."

"That space is full."

"Then we should park in guest parking over there."

"Too far away."

"Tony…"

Tony got out of the car and started walking towards the building. McGee followed. Kate fumed for a few seconds more and came after them, slamming her door hard.

As they walked inside, McGee consulted his notes.

"The witness is Mrs. Sylvia Andrews. She caught a glimpse of the killer and gave a description to the police, but it wasn't very detailed." He looked up. Nobody was listening.

"I'm not going to be the one that explains to Gibbs why our car was towed!"

"It won't be towed."

By the time they had reached the second stairwell, they were both at a standstill, Kate glaring with hands on hips and Tony with arms crossed defensively.

"Move the car, Tony!"

"The car stays where it is."

"Give me the keys!"

"No!"

"Um, guys," McGee finally interrupted. Great, now they were glaring at him. "Mrs. Andrews? Remember?"

"Thank you McGee, we do know."

"Go on ahead Probie, we'll be there in a minute."

That was it. He was sick of them treating him like an idiot child. Now they were telling him to go and wait upstairs until they were ready? He didn't say another word, but climbed the last few steps angrily, plotting his revenge. There were some advantages to being a computer geek. He'd start by arranging to have them both audited…

When he got to the third floor, all thoughts of revenge vanished. The door to number 5 was ajar. He walked towards it and saw that the lock had been splintered. Recently. He could see the debris on the floor. He took a step back. He knew from his training that in a situation like this he needed to call for backup. He should fetch the others.

He was about to turn for the stairwell when he heard a sound from inside, and from that moment the world went into slow motion. It must have happened in only a few seconds but it felt like a lifetime.

He heard running footsteps, and then a bloody hand pulled the door open from the inside. The beaten and bloody face in the apartment registered only a moment of surprise at seeing McGee before an explosion from behind blew a hole in her head, the blood showering his face. He was unable to even register his horror before she fell and he found himself staring into the eyes of her killer. There wasn't even time to raise his weapon. The killer stood in the light of the window, weapon still raised, and, without hesitation, fired.

McGee felt impact and pain and fell backwards from the blast. He lay stunned, there in the hallway, next to the other body. The sharpness of the pain seemed to bring sharper clarity and he was aware of everything. He could hear the sounds of footsteps on the fire escape - the killer - and also on the stairs behind him - Tony and Kate, running . The floor was wet and some part of his mind told him he was lying in Mrs. Andrews pooling blood. His own as well, he supposed, but now those sharp sensations were receding and he started to feel foggy and disoriented. He was aware of Kate and Tony talking to him, fearful expressions on their faces. Was it that bad? He spoke to them, but after he'd spoken he couldn't remember what he'd said. Now he couldn't breathe, it hurt too much. Tony was speaking now, but he couldn't make out what he was saying. They were kneeling over him, working together. They worked well together, despite all the bickering. A good team, like him and Abby. Kate was saying something, but her voice was far away and he couldn't concentrate. He was cold and so very, very tired. He closed his eyes.

"We're losing him!" cried Kate.