CHAPTER THREE: NEVER BACK DOWN
Firmness in enduring and exertion is a character I always wish to possess. I have always despised the whining yelp of complaint and cowardly resolve.
Robert Burns
Ziva David sat in the corner of the waiting room, eyes constantly scanning the slowly enlarging crowd. In addition to herself and Abby and Pen—and that policeman who'd carried Emily to the ambulance, members of the various teams were arriving. The first to arrive was a man slightly younger than Gibbs, carrying a small baby. His hair was cut short and dark. He looked a bit ragged, a bit worn, but she supposed he could be deemed handsome by some. "Where's Agent Spade?"
Pen was the one to answer. "She's being examined, sir."
"How bad was she hurt?" He demanded, pulling the baby closer.
"Bumps and bruises at the most." Ziva broke in, suspecting that this was Jack Malone, Sam's supervisor. And Sam's new baby. The blond had told them the supervisor had agreed to keep the baby in a hotel nearby for the night, just in case he needed his mother, while she went out with her friends for the first time since giving birth. "Elena is also being examined."
A twinge of guilt flashed in his eyes at the mention of his other agent. Ziva's lips quirked, now entirely convinced he was completely in love with Sam. She wondered if the other agent knew.
"How is she, too?" The baby fussed, drawing the man's attention. He jiggled him, the move shouting long experience.
"Bumps and bruises." Ziva repeated.
"Any news on your friend, Agent Prentiss?" The man settled on a hard plastic chair, and pulled a bottle from the blue bag slung over his shoulder.
"Nothing yet." Penelope said. "We're still waiting."
Before anything else could be said, Ziva saw a familiar face. Timothy McGee was rushing down the corridor toward their waiting room, Dr. Ducky on his heels. He stopped just inside the waiting room, eyes darting first to Ziva in the corner, then over to the wildly dressed Abby. He dropped to his knees in front of the Goth woman. "Abby."
"Oh, Timmy! It was awful, there was so many of them! And Emily and Ziva and Elena were fighting so hard! And Sam tried to get me and Pen and JJ back inside, but she couldn't!" Abby threw her arms around his neck and held on, as dramatically as Abby did everything.
Ducky moved to Ziva, taking one hand in his. "My dear, I take it you are well?"
"Of course, doctor." Ziva murmured softly, as always, touched by the doctor's concern. He never treated her like a killer, but like a lady. It disconcerted her occasionally.
"And your friends?" Ducky asked, one eye running quickly over the female occupants of the room. "Any news?"
"Still waiting. I don't suppose you…" She asked, knowing he had privilege at all the hospitals in the area.
"Certainly, my dear. It will be only a moment." With that the elderly doctor slipped into the ER to inquire about the women's conditions. Less than three minutes later, the first woman appeared. Sam rushed to her supervisor and her baby, taking the child and cuddling close. She'd fared pretty well, with just a split lip and bruised ribs, was what she told the waiting crowd. She sat beside Malone and was asleep on his shoulder within minutes from the pain pill.
Soon four men burst into the hospital, faces pale and bodies tensed. Ziva suspected they were BAU, and that was confirmed when Penelope squealed and launched herself at the dark one. He hugged her tight, then pulled back before asking. "Em and Jay?"
"They're doing a routine exam on JJ. She fell at one point. We don't know about Emily, Morgan. She was bleeding so much!" Penelope had tears running down her cheeks as she turned to the most severe looking man. He was handsome, Ziva admitted, and though his body language shouted cold, she could see the heat in his eyes. He was angry, powerfully so. Kind of like Gibbs would get when one of his team was endangered. This must be Emily's boss, Hotchner.
Ziva still stood in her corner, eyes cataloging everyone in the room. The older man was vaguely familiar, she'd seen him on television and figured he was the writer Emily had mentioned. And then there was the young one. He was no older than Ziva, and tall and thin. Cute, if she went for the more bookish. She didn't. She looked straight at the almost-cold one. "Dr. Ducky is asking about Emily now."
"Dr. Ducky?" The darkly handsome one enquired.
"My colleague. NCIS chief medical examiner. He came with McGee to pick Abby and myself up. He has privilege here and can get the information quickly." Ziva didn't trust the dark one. He made her nervous. And Ziva always trusted her instincts.
"What the hell happened?" The writer one asked. "How did she get shot in a bar? For God sakes, and where's JJ?"
"A question I'd like answered." A southern Louisiana accent said from behind the four men blocking the door to the waiting room. The BAU men moved aside to let the two new arrivals enter. Penelope threw herself at the taller of the two--a man who dressed as loudly as she. Ziva suspected that was the infamous Kevin Lynch. The smaller man looked incredibly worried. "Agent Hotchner? Where's JJ?"
"I believe I can answer that." Another accented voice Ziva recognized as Ducky's said from behind even him, "If we could all please move inside the waiting room, instead of congesting the hall?"
No one missed the man's silent rebuke. Ziva smiled at the power Ducky wielded in a medical facility as compared with that he didn't wield elsewhere. She really loved that British man. The BAU men moved in, dwarfing the small waiting room. They were followed by Ducky, and to Ziva's surprise, Gibbs and Tony. Gibbs moved to Ziva's side quickly, and squeezed her hand lightly. "Dr. Ducky? Emily? JJ? Elena?"
"Agent Prentiss is holding her own." He began. "The bullet entered the left shoulder, nicking an artery. But they got the bleeding stopped. It was touch and go—apparently your friend is sensitive to the anesthesia and that caused a bit of concern. But it is under control now. It's still going to be touch and go, I am afraid, until they can be certain all the damage was repaired. We should know by morning. Your friend JJ is doing well, and will be released as soon as they finish the ultrasound. It's only a precaution. And your pretty friend with the lovely accent is arguing against X-rays and stitches. Probably broken ribs, broken nose, and broken arm. Their physicians will be with us all shortly, for more details."
"Thank you, Ducky." Ziva said. "I appreciate you finding out for me."
"Of course, dear. As for the bastard responsible for your friend's condition, he's doing well, and in recovery." The doctor's words were grim.
"What the hell?" The cop demanded, moving from his own corner where he'd stood observing. "I shot the bastard—as did your agent!"
"Apparently you both missed anything vital. Pity." Ducky said.
"And any others?" Ziva asked. "I know I knocked at least one in."
"I think you mean out, Ziva." Penelope corrected. "And I know Elena and Emily did some damage, too."
"Four have been transferred to the medical unit at the jail." The cop said, reading from his notes. "Two more are also in this hospital. In addition to Corruthers, apparently."
"So seven suspects injured?" Gibbs demanded. "Ziva, step by step, what happened? All details, please. I think we'd all like to know."
Elena chose that moment to enter, leaning heavily on a male orderly. She moved to Jack's side, sinking into the free chair between him and Abby. "We came out of the bar. Emily was in front."
"I was at Emily's direct left. JJ and Pen were slightly behind us." Ziva added. "Abby was beside Pen, Elena and Sam were in the rear. We were halfway to our vehicles when they stopped us."
"How many?" the almost-cold BAU man asked.
"Twelve at first." Ziva's eyes narrowed as she mentally reviewed every detail. "The tall one, the leader, eyes were cold, dead. High. He saw Emily first, never really looked away from her once he saw her. Had six men on his left, five on his right. None were too big—he was the biggest. I think he liked it that way, gave him a sense of superiority—I think that is the word. They looked at him for obvious direction."
"He made comments. Emily told him we wanted no trouble." Elena's accented words were added to Ziva's. "Told him to let us pass."
"Did you identify yourselves?" Gibbs demanded.
"Not then." Ziva said. "It would have been a bad idea. Female officers in their territory—would have been even bigger of a challenge. Emily warned him again. He grabbed Emily's arm. Pulled her to him."
"When did you draw your weapons?" The cop asked, taking notes quickly. The rest of the men's attentions sharpened even more, upon hearing of the guns involved.
"Not then." Ziva repeated. "We were too outnumbered. We told Emily we were ready. We knew trouble."
"I moved." Elena started. "Emily and Ziva moved. We needed space to move if necessary. Emily pushed JJ behind her, Abby and Pen moved closer to JJ with Sam in front of them. That left Emily center, Ziva to the right, me to the left. He grabbed Emily again. Jerked her closer."
"We fought." Ziva said starkly. "Sam tried to get JJ, Abby, and Pen back inside."
"I couldn't." The blond said, drowsily, from her position beside Malone. "Seven more appeared between us and the entrance. Herded us like damned cattle back to where Z, El, and Em were. Then we were surrounded. That's when we drew our weapons. We moved, covered each other."
"Emily told him we would not back down." Elena said. "Then we stood there. We knew they were armed. Threatened to shoot us. Emily called his bluff—told him if he shot us they'd not…they'd not…"
"If they shot us, they'd not get what they wanted, but if we shot them—we'd get exactly what we wanted. I think he believed her." Ziva said, not sugar-coating. "So we stood there, waiting. Five minutes, less than ten.Then the police arrived."
"I called them, on my cell, when we were behind that car. While Pen and Abby were throwing rocks." A new feminine voice said from the doorway. JJ moved quickly, throwing her arms around Will. He held her tight, one hand dropping to her belly. Then he released her and she hugged the rest of her team—with the exceptions of Rossi and Hotch.
"And then?" Rossi urged. "How did Emily get shot?"
"The bastard must have realized he had no out—he fired on Emily. She fired, as did Lt. Wyatt." JJ said, motioning to the copper-haired man standing near the corner. "They both went down. Emily was bleeding badly, so badly."
"But she never backed down." Elena said, voice closing with tears. "Never took her eyes off him. Refused to let that bastard win."
"She kept things under control until help could arrive." Ziva said, nodding. "Did exactly what she should have. And she definitely didn't back down."
The cop nodded, though his face showed a mix of irritation and admiration."No, she never backed down."
