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Chapter 8
Tali didn't immediately understand what had happened. One minute she had been staring at the barrel of the gun waiting for her life to end, the next that gun was going off at the same time someone leapt in front of her and it was who it was that shocked her most.
She stared in horror as Blair exhaled sharply as the bullet buried itself into her stomach and she staggered backwards. She turned halfway to look at Tali before she stumbled and collapsed to the floor.
Tali stared in dismay before everything clicked into place, Blair … shot…. Blood.
"NO" she screamed in horror and instantly began to struggle before she fought herself free. Instantly she fell down next to Blair who was gasping and shifting, her eyes wide with pain.
"Blair" she gasped in shock instantly placing her hands over the wound pressing against it feeling hot blood trying to force its way out. Blair groaned gasping "urgh it hurts" she murmured.
"You idiot" Tali sobbed pressing harder "why the hell did you do that you idiot, they were going to kill me, they weren't going to hurt you, why the hell did you get in the way". Blair groaned again "you're welcome" she muttered before falling silent. Tali looked away from Blair's stomach and glanced up at her face, where her eyelids were fluttering. "Blair. Stay awake ok. Don't close your eyes." She begged. Blair winced and bit her lip, "Tali." she started but Tali didn't let her finish "No. Blair. Stay awake. You don't get to die ok. You saved my life, now it's my turn to save yours." She told her, pressing harder on the still bleeding wound, causing Blair to cry out in pain.
"Tali" Blair groaned "stop it" "no" Tali cried "no you are not going to die, you hear me, please Blair hang on, hang on for Timmy, he needs you Blair". Blair shifted whimpering in pain "he lasted fifteen years without me, I think he will be fine" she moaned. "No Blair he loves you, he doesn't want to lose you" Tali begged "please Blair, don't leave him ... don't leave … me"
Blair's eyes fluttered before she focused on Tali who stared at her fighting to stop her tears. "Please" she whispered "don't leave our family"
Blair stared at her, her eyelids still fluttering "stay with me" Tali whispered "please hang on" she shifted and then let out another cry of pain. Tali looked up to see guns pointing at her obviously making sure she didn't try anything. She looked at the leader. "Please" she begged "let her go, let someone get her out of here, let them take her to the hospital where she can be saved"
The leader didn't look at her as he peered through a crack in the blinds "I do not want her to be saved little darling" he said "I have no need for two cop children remember". "But she is innocent" Tali screamed "please let her go, you can kill me I don't care just let her go"
He turned to look at her studying her before he moved over and swung his gun up to point at Livie and April "you two" he snapped "go help her save your friend". They stared at him confused before they slowly rose to their feet and Tali saw April slip the radio into her pocket of her jacket quickly as they moved over to Tali and Blair kneeling down next to them their faces instantly turning worried when they saw Blair with Tali's bloodstained hands pressed over her stomach. Tali stared at them feeling tears stream down her cheeks "I don't know what to do" she sobbed "I don't know how to save her"
April looked at her before she looked around at the hostages "does anyone have something we can use to stop the bleeding" she asked "please we don't have much time". Slowly one of the bank workers raised his hand "there is a spare shirt in my desk drawer" he said gesturing to it. Livie rose to her feet flinching briefly as the guns swung up to point at her, then keeping her hands raised she moved over to the desk and pulled out the shirt moving quickly back over to Blair handing the shirt to April who caught hold of it. "Tali" she said seriously "we have to swap your hands for the shirt ok, it will slow the blood down a lot more" Tali nodded still struggling to hold back tears and quickly they exchanged her bloodstained hands for the shirt which instantly blossomed with colour as blood continued to try and force its way out. Blair cried out again, her eyes were wide and dazed.
"I can't feel my legs" she mumbled "shit she's going into shock" April swore "come on Blair hang on hang on dammit". She looked at Tali "I don't know what I can do" she said "Tali getting shot in the stomach… it doesn't have a high survival rate". Tali stared at her "no" she gasped "no Blair you are not going to die you hear me, you are not going to die", Blair looked at her "keep telling yourself that" she mumbled and her eyelids fluttered again. "Livie tilt her head up, keep her awake" April said pushing down on the wound angrily.
Tali looked over as the leader picked up the phone and with a smile on his face he called their team outside.
XO
Gibbs looked at the team around him, everyone was stressed, there was no denying it, they were all terrified for their children, especially those on his own team; Tony was pacing back and forth angrily, Ziva was flicking her knife open and shut; her expression was ice cold. He watched Tony suddenly stop and his gaze fell on Tim who was sat on a bench staring at the bank with a look of horror and fear in his eyes. Slowly Tony moved over and sat next to him, speaking softly to him as a friend and a fellow father in the same situation.
Gibbs looked over at Ziva and moved over to her grabbing a chair and setting it beside hers before lowering himself down next to her. She had stopped playing with the knife now and was running her hands through her hair staring at the ground. Slowly he looked over at Kate who was talking with Gregson watching his men prepare for a raid should they find the opportunity.
He slowly looked back at his female agent "Ziver" he said softly reaching out to grip her shoulder comfortingly "Tali will be fine, she is a smart kid". Gradually Ziva lifted her head from her hands though she continued to stare at the ground "I know" she said softly "she is smart but that is what worries me". Gibbs looked at her questioningly "you know what she is like Gibbs; she won't let anyone get hurt if she can help it, even if that means getting herself hurt"
Gibbs pulled her close and kissed her forehead reassuringly. Uncertainly Ziva looked over at Tony and Tim "how is Tim holding up" she asked "not good" he responded quietly "he only just found her, he is afraid of loosing her again" Ziva sighed sympathetically. Kate came over at that moment "Gregson wants to talk to us" she said quietly and moved over to tell Brennan and Booth. Tony and Tim came over with Tim looking slightly calmer. Ziva slipped her hand into Tony's and he gave her the most reassuring smile he could muster as they moved towards the command post.
A gunshot rang out from inside the bank, echoing through the near silence.
Everyone froze staring at the bank in horror at the same time a horrified scream of "NO" sounded from inside.
Ziva let out a cry of terror and ran forward, Gibbs leapt after her and managed to catch hold of her "no" she cried out "Tali"
"Ziva you have to calm down" Gibbs shouted struggling to keep hold of her "no" she sobbed "Tali". She struggled frantically in his grip fighting to get away. He heard shouting from beside him and saw Tony fighting to hold on to McGee who had a look of horror on his face. "Tim" Tony shouted "stop you can't go in there" Tim ignored him still fighting "let me go Tony she's my daughter… Blair" he gasped.
"Tim" Tony said again "listen I know how you feel ok, Tali is in there too and I love Blair just like you love Tali, I know how you feel but you have to stop Tim, you cannot go in there". Tim fought for a bit longer before slowly he stopped and he stared at Tony before he looked over at Gibbs and Ziva, slowly Gibbs looked down at Ziva, she had tears trickling down her cheeks and was sobbing quietly for her daughter. Looking around he saw the other agents all looking petrified; Rick had his arms round Alexis and his eldest daughter was clinging to him as she stared at the bank where her little sister was being held, they had no clue what was going on and that was terrifying. Kate was standing frozen beside him her eyes wide and frightened.
Gregson came over with his men "we are going to have to raid" he said "we don't know what happened, we have to go in there" they all just stared at him in panic.
The phone rang at that moment and they all dived towards it and Kate grabbed the phone. "What happened" she demanded "I shot one of the cop girls" he said calmly "who" Kate asked desperately looking around at them all. "I don't know and I don't care Kate, now listen to me I have my gun aimed at the other cop child's head… I know that they are gearing up for a raid out there and unless you want me to blow her brains out I suggest you stop it now because after her come the other two"
Kate whirled round but Booth, Gibbs and Rick were already sprinting towards Gregson and his men shouting at them to stop. Gregson was shouting at them to get clear but Gibbs stepped in front of them shouting that they knew the raid was coming and they would shoot the girls if they went in. Gregson didn't look very happy and he deliberated for a moment before he began to shout ordering his men back.
Gasping Kate shouted down the phone "we stopped it we stopped it don't hurt them" "very good Kate" he praised "now I don't care whether the girl lives or dies but the other girls are getting very upset and if I shoot them all it will mean I have less hostages and the other hostages are upset too so here"
There was a rustle and then Tali spoke and it sounded like she was crying her eyes out. "Kate" she sobbed "Tali" Kate breathed "listen your mom and dad are here". Quickly she handed the phone over and Ziva caught it up frantically gasping "Tali what happened aheva" "he was trying to shoot me" Tali sobbed "he tried to shoot me in the head but … Blair stepped in the way and… and he shot her"
Everyone stared at each other in shock. Blair had saved Tali's life, that seemed like too much to comprehend. Blair hated Tali, why would she do that? It was Gibbs who came to his senses first "Tali" he called "where did he shoot her sweetheart" "in the stomach" Tali sobbed "he shot her in the stomach and I can't stop the bleeding"
Everyone glanced around and saw the horror they felt reflected in each others eyes as they all knew the severity of a gunshot wound to the stomach. It was Gibbs who once again leapt to it "Tali listen to me" he said "keep her still ok, don't move her, and keep her conscious do you hear me? Keep her awake Tali"
"I can't she keeps drifting in and out" Tali cried "come on Blair please don't leave me" they heard her beg.
Gibbs looked at Tim and saw that his face was clouded with pain. Praying that look would not remain on his face he continued to speak "keep pressure on the wound ok… now are you ok Tali". "Yes" she sobbed "hey listen Tali stay calm ok you hear me everything is going to be ok". But his comforting words did little to soothe her as she continued to sob "no Blair" she wailed then "please let her go" she sobbed to the robbers "please I'll do anything" they heard the robbers laugh at her pleas before they evidently snatched the phone away from Tali as she continued to beg.
"Is my van there yet Kate" the leader asked and slowly Kate took the microphone back. "No" she said bluntly "it is stuck in traffic" he sighed and tutted as though disappointed at her "well then" he said "I guess I have to shoot a hostage…hmm who to choose". Everyone gasped in fright as they heard him pace back and forth before he spoke in a pondering voice "maybe I will just finish off the injured one, that way I won't be losing any"
Instantly they heard Tali scream "no don't touch her please" "get out of the way you little brat or I will simply shoot you first" the leader snarled. "No don't shoot them" Kate begged "I swear to you the van is on its way I cannot control traffic or the city, we just need a little more time"
There was a long silence before there was a loud crack as another gunshot went off causing them all to flinch and then there were screams from within the bank from the other hostages. "What was that" Kate cried panicked "it was a warning shot Kate, you had better hurry that van up because next time I won't miss" and with that he hung up.
Slowly everyone turned to look at McGee who looked shocked and dazed "Blair" was all he could stammer before he staggered backwards and Tony caught hold of him gently pushing him into a chair. "Anyone have any water" he asked "I do in my car" Kate said slowly and moved slowly away from them towards her car ducking under the police line fending off reporters and worried family members of the hostages and made her way to the car reaching in to pull out the bottle of water.
She was just pulling out when she heard a strange clicking sound. Frowning she located it to find that it was coming from her spare radio and that was what confused her; very few people knew the frequency to that radio. Still frowning she carried it and the water back to the team and handed the water to Tim before she lifted the radio and hesitantly pushed the speak button and asked "hello", instantly she was greeted by a flurry of clicks.
"What is that" Booth asked coming over, she shrugged before asking. "Who's there". There was a pause before the clicks came again slower and more pointed "is that Morse code" Booth asked and she nodded grabbing a pad of paper as the slow and pointed clicks repeated themselves, and through the length of the clicks she deciphered what it was they were saying and she gasped.
"April" she asked incredulously dropping the pad with the girl's name on in surprise, there was a single click. Kate felt a tiny smile slip onto her face as she realised what must have happened. They must have somehow gotten hold of the radio; it was probably the dead security guard's radio. She knew Livie knew the frequency of her spare radio; it was something she had had her memorise just in case something happened; something like this and Kate was very glad she had. She stared at Booth and everyone else before handing the radio to Booth who caught hold of it.
"April" he said "one click yes, two clicks no, can you talk"
Click click
"Can they hear us?"
Click click
"Ok good" he said looking around "is Blair ok"
Click click
Everyone swallowed nervously "is she… still alive" Booth asked dreading the answer and everyone visible held their breath,
Click
Relieved everyone sighed in relief "ok" Booth said "we have contact within the bank, that is good right" Gregson came over and they quickly explained the new situation and he seemed quite relieved to find that they had contact within the bank "the van is nearly here" he said before he looked at the radio "ask her if the hostages are out of the way and if it would be safe for us to raid".
Booth asked his daughter whether the hostages we out of the way to which she responded yes but when he asked if she thought it would be safe for a raid she answered no.
Booth sighed "April" he said "listen if they get mad and things get bad you signal us ok, four clicks understand"
Click
He smiled "good job bud I'll see you soon yes"
Click
He looked around at them all, now all they could do was wait for the van to arrive and see what the robbers wanted them to do next…
XOXO
Blair was struggling to stay awake Tali could see that. Every breath was a battle for her and it sounded rattling and weak to Tali. She kept her hands firmly pressed over the shirt trying to stop the bleeding, resting Blair's head in her lap trying desperately to keep her conscious.
"Tali" Blair whispered weakly and Tali looked down into her green eyes which were filled with pain "why … are you doing this" she whispered. Tali stared at her "doing what" she asked "this" Blair whispered and raised her hand weakly to rest next to Tali's on her stomach "keeping me alive… why are you trying to save me"
Tali stared at her "because I don't want you to die" she whispered. Blair sighed and closed her eyes briefly before opening them again "but if you let me die" she mumbled "you wouldn't have to share our family; you could be the princess of the bullpen again". Tali stared at her "maybe I don't want to be the princess of the bullpen anymore" she said "maybe I want to share our family and the love they give us". Blair looked at her confused "you're weird" she mumbled "tell me about it" Tali said with a smile.
She looked around; the kidnappers had finished emptying the vault now and were talking quietly whilst keeping an eye on the other terrified hostages. After they had hung up on their parents they had thrown April and Livie back over to the others where Tali had seen April slip the earpiece to the radio in and use her hair to cover it, she was sitting at the back of the hostages where the robbers wouldn't notice her. She kept very still, acting as surreptitiously as possible.
Tali looked back down at Blair. "When we get out of this" she whispered "can we call it truce"? Blair looked at her "if… I survive this, we can give it a go" she said softly letting out a small sigh with her eyelids drooping.
"Hey" Tali whispered "stay awake Blair" she gently shook her causing the older girl to mumble grumpily "leave me alone DiNozzo I want to sleep" she muttered. "Not yet" Tali whispered "please hang on a bit longer" but Blair wasn't listening and she let out a sigh as she closed her eyes. Knowing she would probably regret this, Tali groaned before she pushed down hard on the bullet wound causing Blair to instantly open her eyes wide and let out a cry glaring at Tali but she was awake again and that was what Tali had intended to get out of that. "Hey shut up" one of the robbers shouted turning his gun on them, Tali held up her hand "she is in pain" she said "please let her go, that way she won't keep crying out"
The leader turned and walked towards her crouching in front of them. He studied Blair before he caught hold of Tali's chin forcing her to look at him "why are you so desperate to save her" he asked "after that shouting match earlier I didn't think you cared for her". Tali stared him straight in the eye "because she saved my life" she said defiantly "so now I am saving hers". He smiled cruelly he placed his hand over Tali's and pushed hard causing Blair to cry out again "get off her" Tali cried pushing him away, he laughed and stood up chuckling to himself as he moved away.
That was when the phone rang and the leader grinned as he moved over to it putting it on speaker "hello Kate" he greeted. "The van has arrived" Kate said bluntly not bothering to return his greeting "good" he praised moving over to the window and cracking the blinds slightly to peer out "thank you Kate, it looks good from here"
"How is Blair" Kate asked sounding worried "is that the one I shot… well her stomach hurts" he said moving over to them and jabbing playfully at Blair with his foot making her cry out again. "Leave her" Tali cried, but he ignored her and did it again jabbing her harder this time so that she screamed in agony. Tali leapt up angrily launching herself at him but she was grabbed again by the other robbers who yanked her away from him and Blair much to Tali's dismay.
"So Kate" he continued still crouched next to Blair reaching out to brush hair from her face causing her to pull away angrily and then whimper in pain "this is the part where you let us go". "Really" Kate said sounding sceptical "yes" he said happily "you are going to let us go as you have done every other time you have tried to catch us, and do you know why you will let us go this time… because I am taking the cop kiddies with me"
"No" Tali cried fighting "please no leave Blair she wont survive if you take her with you, take me just leave her" she begged. The leader laughed "well Kate these two certainly are close aren't they" he moved away from Blair towards Tali "I will take her with me" he said "because then the cops will do what I say knowing they don't have much time". Tali glared at him before she let out a stream of Hebrew curses at him making him laugh.
"This is how it is going to go Kate" he said "I will let the other hostages go, in return you will let us go, you will park the van round the back, and if I catch sight of anyone then I will blow the cop kiddies brains out do you understand". "Yes" Kate said softly "good" he said "go park the van round the back I will let you know when I am about to release the hostages" and with that he hung up.
He looked at his accomplices "prepare the building" he said with a smile before looking at Tali still struggling "bind her over there" he said nodding to the other end of the room to where Blair was lying. "No" Tali screamed thrashing "Blair" she cried.
The older girl stirred looking around "Tali" she called out weakly, her voice suddenly afraid. Tali thrashed but they were strong and they yanked her over to a post binding her wrists tightly with flexi cuffs.
Tali watched in horror as they opened one of the bags they had come in with and began to pull out white blocks that she recognised only too well. C4. She looked at April and Livie and saw the horror in their eyes as they stared at her. The leader picked up a block and carried it over to near where Tali was bound. "Please let Blair go" she begged "let the other hostages take her out please" he sighed as he primed the bomb "you really are a broken record aren't you my dear" he said, then a cruel smile slid over his face "she won't be much use though will she" he mused and Tali felt the tiniest bit of hope creep through her. He grinned "I think we will just leave her here" he said
"NO" she screamed fighting "no please no no no" she continued to scream until the leader shouted "will someone gag her" and one of his accomplices came over and shoved a rag into her mouth. She continued to scream past it sobbing frantically.
Over in the corner April was frantically signalling clicking the button four times. "April" he dad said "what is it is Blair ok" hurriedly she began Morse code; the same letter and number over and over again as she watched the robbers coming over "on your feet" he snapped.
Everyone was scrambling up and April was following them towards the others when suddenly she was grabbed from behind as an arm wrapped around her neck. She struggled frantically as she felt his hand grope around before he grabbed the radio and yanked the earphone out of her ear. She froze breathing heavily and saw Tali staring at her in horror. Then she felt herself get yanked round as he grabbed her throat "what's this honey" he crooned and he yanked the headphone out and they could hear her father shouting "April, April what's going on April"
"You little…" he was so mad he struck her hard sending her falling to the ground, April rolled over in time to hear a gasp and saw Livie get thrown to the ground beside her. "No" she shouted "Livie had nothing to do with it I swear it was all me". He glared at her "you know honey I don't believe you, I think that it was a team job". "No" she whispered, he struck her hard again and she spun round spitting out a mouthful of blood as he stood over them glaring angrily at them "you know what my friends" he said looking at his companions "I think we shall have some more company on our little trip"
April stared in fear looking over at Livie whose eyes were wide with terror as he stood over them. "Bind them with the other one" he ordered and they were yanked over to Tali and bound like her. Then he bent studying them before he looked at the TV and he frowned.
"Well would you look at that" he breathed and they both looked over to see that Livie's mom was on the screen standing next to Rick who had Alexis. They were all staring at Booth who was talking frantically into the microphone. He grabbed hold of Livie and studied her before a triumphant smile spread across his face. "Well well well" he said "nice to meet you Kate Beckett's daughter". Then he struck Livie hard and she fell to the floor where her head smacked against the stone and she blacked out.
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