MWSATDKT – Will Kate come back? Hmm…we'll see, but for the record, if I say that there will be Tate, there will be…eventually :P
kap0w – A very astute yet logical statement ;) Really cool theories, I hope mine is actually good enough to satisfy everyone (blushes slightly)
eilien, shirik, julie250, TheNaggingCube, TheMayflower, MaeLace, moogsthewriter, NavalHut, Jillie Rose – Thanks heaps for taking the time to comment.
preston-gal – LOL, yeah Tony and Gibbs would be hard to forget, especially Tony (coughs), but it wasn't intentional…
campbellk2 – Thanks, I was really trying to keep everyone as in-character as possible, but I'm not particularly sure how to handle Ziva's. I've only just come back from a long hiatus of NCIS and I haven't watched many episodes past S2 (shameful, I know). I'm rehashing most of S2 on DVD, but I haven't got any of S3 on DVD, so I've tried to research her character and I've asked friends who have watched episodes with Ziva in it, so I hope her reaction will be satisfactory.
Pro Amor – Wow, thank you so much for your review. I'm not going to flame you for pointing out something important, I'm very grateful for your insight. I think it's a matter of perspective, because in this chapter – which is Tony/Kyra-centered – she's very playful. To me slutty and playful are mutually exclusive, to others it may be the same. I think there's an innuendo or two in this chapter, but I don't have her offering herself to him or anything like that. Kyra is sort of the female-version of Tony. But Tony does find a source of weakness of Kyra's that both confuses and clears up the Kyra/Kate dichotomy, so I hope that's an aspect interesting enough for everyone. But if there are any others that you have in mind, please feel free to say so. :D
Bookworm4hire – Don't worry the confusion about Kyra/Kate will be cleared up in due time :D
Knightgirl4Jack – Your recognition is well-deserved, I love your reviews!!! But when Kate does find out about what she did to those men, it makes for great heart-wrenching angst :P Would-be lover? Hmm…
ImaSupernaturalCSI – LOL, starting to get the hang of how I write now. Hehe, I love giving answers later, it makes for fun writing and hopefully interesting reading.
RiverDeep, NCISBananna – That's the million-dollar question…;)
BlueTigress – She's a sly one, that one. :D
Before I say anything else I just want to thank everyone for taking the time to read and review this story, it's really an inspiration and I'm sorry if I made you guys wait longer than usual. I had several presentations at uni last week so I got a little behind in my writing. Sorry for the wait, but here's the next chapter, complete with Tony and Kyra in an interrogation room the entire time :P
Oh, I wanted to ask ss there a cell-block in the NCIS building?
Anyway, here's the next part. Hope you like it.
Chapter 4
Tony took slow deep breaths, not heeding the time he spent stalling, but he quickly realized that if he didn't get in there soon, he'd have Gibbs to deal with.
He reached for the handle, twisted it and pushed the door open before closing it behind him and staring into the teasing eyes of a killer.
A single word escaped her lips, "Tony…"
Hope flourished inside of him at the mention of his name from her lips, "You remember?"
His hope was dashed as that infuriating grin appeared on her face and she shook her head, "You told me before, your name was Tony."
He tried to hide his disappointment as he remembered how he had tried to extract her name from her, but resulted in giving her his own. He took a moment to gather himself and cleared his throat before approaching the desk in the centre of the bland room. Before he could begin speaking, Kyra spoke in a voice that Tony likened to Gibbs; no room for argument, "Tell me about this 'Kate' person you all have me mistaken for."
Tony disguised the pain that stabbed him at the referral of her name, "Why should I?'
"I might tell you a little bit about myself."
Tony glanced at his PDA and saw Gibbs' order to acquiesce to her demand; they had still found nothing and Gibbs saw basically no harm in divulging information concerning a dead person.
Tony loosened his tie and took a deep breath, "What do you want to know?"
"What was her full name?"
Tony never imagined that it would be so difficult to say, "Caitlin Todd."
Silence followed as Kyra allowed the name to hang in the air, she observed Tony's behavior, which was uncomfortable to say the least.
Her response cut through the stifling air like a knife, "Kyra Stone."
"Kyra Stone…" Tony repeated.
"My name," Kyra clarified. "It's Kyra Stone."
Tony could imagine Gibbs harassing McGee and Abby now that they had a name to follow. Her next question hurled her out of his ramblings as his mind registered the audacity of it, "What was your relationship with her?"
He swallowed the ball that had formed his throat and attempted to speak in as firm a tone as possible, "We were partners."
He failed miserably. He knew she knew because her face lit into that knowing smirk, and she made a biting statement that was too close to the truth for comfort, "That would explain why you sound so nostalgic when you speak of her."
Tony struggled to gain some sense of dominance in the situation or at least be the one controlling the direction of the interrogation. After all, she was the one in custody, and he was supposed to be asking the questions.
"I meant in work." Tony's face adopted a serious expression.
But it did nothing to wipe that arrogant smirk off her face. Her reply dripped with disdain, "Of course."
She paused as she appraised him, watching him struggle for control, enjoying how his emotions were written all over his face. Kyra smiled maliciously, "You wanted it to be more."
It wasn't a question.
Tony's fists clenched underneath the table at her impudence, "She was an attractive woman and I was a guy."
His efforts to try conclude the topic of Kate were futile as Kyra said nothing as she leaned back into her chair, regarding him with an amused look. His reaction was too quick, his tone too terse, his posture too rigid. She could discern that he was having more difficulty convincing himself than her.
It seemed like the longest moments to Tony, where everything that had happened to him in the last 24 hours were thrown into stark relief. Being shot, abducted, stabbed with adrenaline, and enduring the sting of a razor-sharp blade from a knife wielded by the woman before him.
His calf began to throb, the cuts on his face and neck began to tingle and he could almost feel the dull pain of both the needles she had used to stab him with morphine and adrenaline.
Kyra continued to smirk while she broke the excruciatingly tense stillness that enveloped them, "You were a player."
Her eyes narrowed and she placed her hand under her chin as if in thought, "And now you're hiding behind your reputation to conceal your affections for her."
What infuriated Tony wasn't how close her accusation was to the truth, but how certain she seemed to be of it. If there was one word to describe him, proud would be one of them and to have his innermost darkest secrets displayed like an object in a museum was nothing short of humiliating.
Irony had a sadistic sense of humor; sending a woman who looked like an exact replica of Caitlin Todd back but in the form of an assassin, was currently probing him and extracting from him truths that even he was hesitant to confront, let alone voice.
Tony chuckled bitterly and shook his head, "Are you a profiler by any chance?"
Kyra quirked a brow, "Was she?"
His jaw hardened; he attempted to curb his frustration as she retained her cool and playful demeanor, "I thought you said you'd tell me a bit about yourself."
She shook her head and quipped in that teasing manner that was now very becoming of her, "I said I might, I never guaranteed that I would…Tony."
Her choice of words rewarded her with the desired effect; he visibly stiffened at the use of his first name from her lips, coupled with her incessant barbs and indications that she did not want to cooperate. Tony inhaled deeply as he gathered himself, "That would be Special Agent DiNozzo to you…Miss Stone."
Kyra grinned at his retort and licked her lips, "Pity, I thought we were on first-name basis now."
Tony leaned forward until they were only divided by the breadth of a hair, "Think again."
He then assumed his position in his seat and slid the folder containing all information on Kate across the table into her waiting hands. She was about to open when Tony began to speak, "What do you remember from two years ago?"
Kyra slanted her head to the side, opting to listen to him and look at the file later, "Where are you going with this?"
"Kate was killed two years ago." Tony's nails dug into his palm as he relived the painful memory. "She was shot with a bullet to her head."
"And I'm supposed to care because…" Kyra examined her nails.
Tony crossed his arms and motioned at the folder, "Take a look."
Kyra opened it. A swirl of images slammed into her until she was lost in the black shapeless maze that was her memories from another life.
The chill that sped up and down her spine, resulting from the feel of unwelcome hands moving up her legs. The sound of a bullet piercing an innocent man's flesh. The warmth of a man's lips who looked too much like…
"Bring back any memories?" Tony's taunting voice hurled her from her thoughts.
Kyra's eyes peered over the folder; her mind still reeling from the memory but trying to pull alongside reality at the same time. Her voice was uncharacteristically soft, "I'm not your Kate."
She then straightened her back and raised her chin in defiance, "This is a government agency. You think I don't know of the technology that you have at your disposal? You think I don't know how easily you could create a profile?" Her eyes flitted to the folder lying abandoned on the table. "Or falsify an existing one?"
Tony smirked; feeling more confident now that Kyra was feeling slightly unbalanced, "I can understand how it would be difficult for you to swallow, living your life as one person only to discover that you're someone else."
Kyra's eyes narrowed and snapped acidly, "Projecting her identity onto me won't bring her back…Special Agent DiNozzo."
Again, she threw him off balance; his green eyes grew ablaze, his posture stiffened and his knuckles had turned white against his dark jacket. His temples ached as he gritted his teeth and her triumphant smirk only fueled his exasperation. He quickly regained his composure and moved to a subject where he would be on more stable ground given the circumstances, "Why did you kill those men?"
The sudden change in topic was expected; she smiled knowing that she had won herself another victory in their battle of wits and responded nonchalantly, "How's your leg?"
It twitched in response; he placed a hand on his thigh as if it would eliminate the pain that sprouted at the mention of it, "It's fine, but that doesn't really answer my question."
Kyra tried to tuck some stray strands of her hair behind her ear, but failed due the handcuffs that boundher to the table, "Tell me, how did your team find you?"
Tony rubbed his forehead in impatience; she was just like Kate, always testing his limits, "In the haste of your men to leave the crime scene, they didn't bother to frisk me. When you fetched the first-aid kit, I called my boss."
Kyra clapped her hands several times in applause, "Well done to you. You were just pretending that you were coming to. Hmm…" she paused for a moment. "…being stabbed with morphine while conscious must have hurt like hell."
Tony unconsciously rubbed his neck; his eyes narrowed to slits as he recalled the memory, "Just a little."
Kyra let out a hearty laugh; Kate's source of amusement was often at Tony's expense, "What about with the adrenaline?"
"What about it?" Tony asked irritably.
"Were you conscious?"
"Thankfully, no." Tony rolled his eyes and sighed; this wasn't going anywhere. "But it still hurt nonetheless."
Kyra chuckled again as if she wasn't in the custody of a government organization, "Don't be so bitter about it, Special Agent DiNozzo."
It sounded so odd and out of place for his title to be coming from her lips, but with the given situation, he wasn't sure he wanted her to be calling her Tony either. Calling him by his ranking and not by his given name reminded Tony that the woman he had been trying to interrogate for what seemed eternity, was not Kate.
She was an exact replica with regards to her physical appearance; lusciously dark and wavy hair, deep brown eyes that could shut him down with a glare and the same physique that Tony never tired of eying. However, beyond the surface, Kyra Stone and Kate Todd were two completely different people. Tony was well aware of that now, but that didn't hinder his mind's occasional lapses that blurred the line separating the two entities.
Tony glanced at his watch and discovered that he had been questioning her, or she had been questioning him for almost two hours now; time really could fly. The air was once again suffocating and his insistently loosening his tie had ceased working a long time ago. He glimpsed into her eyes, which were lit with that coy twinkle; he needed to escape, even for a little while.
He brusquely stood and cleared his throat, "I think that'll be all for now."
He was already limping towards the door when she called out to him, "Agent DiNozzo?"
Tony slowly turned and clasped his hands behind his back, "Yeah?"
Kyra gathered the papers on the desk and held them out to Tony as far as her shackled wrists could reach, which was very limited given that they were chained to the table, "You forgot this."
"I didn't forget." Tony shook his head and made a last-ditch attempt to have the last word. "I thought you would probably need some time to yourself to wrap your head around what it's like being someone you're not."
As Tony had hoped, her expression noticeably hardened and before she could conjure a witty retort, he was already out of the room. He leaned heavily against the door as soon as he closed it, heaving the deep breath he didn't know he'd been holding. He closed his eyes and begged the images to go away, just this once. He didn't want to think of Kate, not now; he didn't want to remember what he had found long ago…
…only to have it slip through his fingers.
TBC
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