Message in a Body
Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or it's characters. There is no monetary profit from this work of fiction...it's just for fun.
Correction: I flubbed up on the location of the FBI precinct as low and behold =P I completely had a moment and forgot that the NCIS building was located in the Navy yard( Go figure =D ). Thank You Cathy for pointing this out. So I'm going to make a slight correction to Chapter two and while in reality the FBI precinct is no where near the Navy yard...for the sake of this little fic we'll just pretend it is =P.
Sorry if you got an extra alert for Chapter 2. I'm still getting the hang of and how to fix things.
Chapter Three: Sledge Hammer
"You got quiet." Abby smiled when she felt a tickle against her cheek as light as a feather and for a moment the very idea that she and Tim were trapped in an elevator inside a possibly unstable NCIS building, her home away from home was just a fleeting dream. "Tim..." Abby felt a few more feather touches and scrunched her shoulders and nose in tandem as she shewed the offender away. Her smile dwindled when the softness slid across the back of her hand in a slick of baby powder consistency and she got no reply.
In an instant her eyes snapped open and then fluttered as she fought the wavering stabbing pain from the intrusion of light. "McGee!" Still nothing. Panic rose as Abby fought to sit up, grunting out in agony as she panted, holding her side, looking about frantically. Ok, she hadn't just imagined McGee over and over...waking and sleeping. Surely her head wasn't injured that badly. He'd been here, clearing out the elevator, talking to Gibbs...he'd been here...he had.
"McGee..." Abby whispered, emerald watering over as her lips parted to pant in against the tears, her gaze cast upwards in time to realize that the feather touches were bits of ash that were raining down into the elevator from the hole above. She closed her eyes, drawing in a shaky breath as ash dotted her dark lashes. She sniffed against the tears and looked to her right where the metal should have parted to reveal her lab.
Her Lab! Abby stiffened as she suddenly remembered McGee talking about getting to her lab with Gibbs. She scrambled, well started to, before the pain slowed her to a crawl, but she managed to get to her feet, managed to wedge her elbow in between the doors, managed to nudge them open just enough to see...
She looked into a foreign landscape of pitch black, not even the hue of monitor light to show her the way. What should have been a dusky twilight was marred by spiderwebbed fractures of glass where rubble hadn't quite broken through the bullet resistant glass that Gibbs had promised and delivered on years ago. Abby's breath caught in her throat as she climbed from the elevator to the floor and froze, a lone flashlight halo shining off the glass from her office. "McGee..." Still no answer.
Abby limped in that direction, holding to her side protectively, her head in such a state that she almost wished she wasn't awake, until she saw McGee slumped against the wall beyond the partition. Abby rushed, as much as she could rush, to his side, dropping to her knees with an Umph, the impact nearly sending her diving back into unconsciousness. In a moment though her vision cleared and the pain lessened enough so that she could think straight, letting her get back to making sure that McGee was alright.
Trembling hands slid across Tim's chest pausing when the reverberation of his heart beat met her palm. "Oh Thank God." She frantically wrapped her arms around him, rousing him to his own pain as she flinched to hers, yet ignored it as best she could to take in the solace of knowing that he was alive. He groaned under her embrace as his head lulled and he gasped in a breath.
"Abby?" McGee whispered out worriedly, rousing to panic as he realized that not only was she moving around, but he'd failed to get her out of the elevator. "You shouldn't be up..."
He heard her snub in breath through her tears as she pulled back and suddenly socked him lightly in the shoulder. "Apparently you shouldn't have been either. Why didn't you tell me, you were hurt?" Abby asked, her face betraying the intensity of her worry. "What's wrong?"
"I was trying to keep you calm..."
She cut him off again with another slug to his arm garnering a soft yelp from McGee in response. "Next time try not lying! What's wrong?" She asked again, more pointedly her eyes widening to betray an unspoken threat of another slug.
"I have a piece of rebar stuck in my right flank...it's small...I think..." Abby's eyes widened even more returning to the panic from before. "I think I was on the phone explaining that to Gibbs when I passed out." McGee explained.
"We're going to have a long talk about honesty when we get out of here." Abby promised him, while pulling his coat back to see the wound. "God..." She swallowed tightly. "McGee..." another tear slid down her cheek as she met his eyes. "I'm sure it's not as bad as it looks." He tried to reassure her.
OOO
Three hours saw a lot of change on the outside world, far beyond the crumbling and shattered remains of the NCIS building there was another tragedy. The FBI wasn't near so insulated, the building sustained far more damage and thus the casualties were far greater. The team stayed helping where they could, until Gibbs got McGee's call.
He pulled them all away, heading back to their demolished home as answers seemed even more fleeting. What they knew was that the explosion occurred in Ducky's lab. What they knew was that Acetone peroxide was present. What they knew was that the building wasn't stable at all. What they knew was that McGee and Abby didn't have enough time to stand around and listen to everyone pussy foot about the options, the risks. Was there another device? Could it be detected? Obviously the first one wasn't, even with the precautions already in place and by now it was fairly obvious that all this, wasn't an accident.
Tony hurried behind Gibbs and Ducky with Ziva trailing behind him and Palmer behind her, their small train headed towards what he suspected was some sort of tool shed. He wasn't sure if he should be any more worried that Gibbs had finished arguing and was now in action mode, having just ordered one of the crews to clear the debris from Abby's lab windows. They'd already heard the warning about another possible collapse but they were talking about life and death and it was their team. No one flinched at going into the danger zone.
Ahead of him Ducky was making his case for the possible causes of the explosion. "There are a number of chemicals that could have been mixed on site to cause the explosion, but with the presence of Acetone Peroxide..." Ducky paused as Gibbs pulled open the shed door and moved inside with purpose. "Tony." Gibbs gave him the heads up just in time to catch the sledge hammer he tossed in his direction. Gibbs grabbed another and without the slightest explanation they were on the move again.
"As I was saying." Ducky went on as he fell back into line. "The chemicals could have been mixed on site, but that would mean that whoever did it was cleared to be there or somehow alluded all of our security. The only other possibility would be if the device was delivered somehow and made it past the security, but the only deliveries I generally get are bodies..." Ducky trailed off thoughtfully, gaining Gibbs questioning glance.
"Could it have been in the body?" Gibbs asked without delay.
"I suppose, and it might explain how it got through without detection." Ducky was clearly wanting a moment to think it out more thoroughly.
"Ducky, make sure it's a possibility." Gibbs commanded as they neared the final approach on the lab side of the building, the crew just now getting to the first window. "Ziva..."
"I will find out who delivered the body." Ziva nodded immediately before breaking from the group.
Gibbs ducked under the precautionary tape, hearing protests from the the rookie who was assigned to guard the perimeter but ignored it as he headed to the window with purpose in every stride. Tony finally figured out what he was to do as he watched the Boss take the first swing at the bulletproof glass with the sledge hammer.
OOO
The entire force was heading to the FBI or the Naval yard and here he was checking out the latest call from Freak out Freddy, their resident cop wanna be but wasn't who often called in exaggerated reports. Officer Donovan Fischer sighed as he parked the car at the end of the alley in question and grabbed his hat from the empty passenger seat. He could only pray that the chief got over his grudge soon. Fred paced nervously at the alley's entrance biting at his already wittled down nails, but quickly perked up as Donovan joined him.
"She's one of yours...I'm so sorry." Fred started but Donovan cut him off with a roll of his eyes. "Yeah yeah yeah...look all of the department is accounted for, but please...lead the way." he motioned for him to go on. "Then she was pretending to be a cop. The name badge says Randolph." Fred narrowed his eyes in confusion. "I could have sworn I've seen her at the precinct."
Donovan frowned worriedly as he approached and could see that it was indeed a body...in uniform. Lacy Randolph was off today...He'd walked her to car the night before. He rounded the trash bins to get a closer look, praying that just one more time Fred had been exaggerating, that he was wrong...but Lacy's lifeless eyes told him another story. "I didn't touch anything." Fred promised him.
Donovan crouched beside her, trying to hide the emotions brimming behind his eyes as he nodded silently. He ran a hand down his face in a sort of shocked remorse before looking back over his shoulder. "Go wait by the car..." He told him before he reached up to radio it in. Fred gave him a respectful nod and started on his way. He was almost there when the world behind him ignited, sending him flying over the squad car and then skidding across the pavement at an awkward angle.
The dusky ambrosia sky was just coming back into focus when he realized there was a man leaning over him, his face obscured in shadow. "Tell them they've got it all wrong." The deep voice ordered before he felt him pat his chest as he slipped something into his shirt pocket. He sworn he just blinked...just blinked...and the only evidence that the man had ever been there was the dwindling sound of his footfalls.
OOO
Thanks for the wonderful reviews. I really appreciate the feedback and hope that you guys enjoy this chapter. Aha I finally figured out how to change this out without deleting and adding the chapter back...Feel free to laugh at my technical ineptness =P but alas progress...
