Track Twenty

All Revved Up With No Place to Go

I was nothing but a lonely all-American boy looking for something new,
And you were nothing but a lonely girl.
But you were something,
Something like a dream come true.

I was a varsity tackle and a hell of a block,
And when I played my guitar
I made the canyons rock—but—
Every Saturday night
I felt the fever grow.
Do ya know what it's like
All revved up with no place to go?
Do ya know what it's like
All revved up with no place to go?

The brown-furred wolf gazed down at the suburbs of Washington, D.C. from his spot on a rocky hill, several miles outside of the city. Starlight reflected in his green-gray eyes, making them impossible to read.

Since the murder of his former partner, Kate Todd, he would sometimes come up here to think and be by himself. Even though Kate had been a Static, Tony had had a brother-sister relationship with her. They'd have fun ganging up on McGee, he recalled, and now he had a new partner-in-crime: Ziva David, the Mossad liaison officer—who also happened to be a Shifter. DiNozzo had instantly taking a liking to her—and it was nice to know he wasn't the only Shifter on the team anymore.

Lately, though, he'd been feeling restless every Saturday night—not that he was sure why. Sometimes it felt as though the wolf inside him was trying to crawl out of his skin—and that scared him.

Nails scratching at the stone, the wolf looked down at the orange glow of the city once more before pointing his muzzle back and howling at the gibbous moon. After a moment, he turned away, not really expecting to hear anything else.

The answering howl stopped him in his tracks. It sounded vaguely familiar . . . Was it Ziva? Tony huffed and took off, suddenly wanting nothing more than a warm bed.

In the middle of a steaming night
I'm tossing in my sleep.
And in the middle of a red-eyed dream
I see you coming,
Coming to give it to me.

Back home and in bed, Tony had sunk into a fitful sleep. He kept tossing and turning, caught up in the nightmare.

He is running in human form through thick woods in Rock Creek Park, mist swirling around the black, skeletal trees. The NCIS agent can't shake the feeling of being chased. Glancing back, he sees red eyes peering through the gloom.

Why does this feel like I'm in a horror movie? Well, I'm not exactly like the helpless victims picked off by the serial killer or monster . . . Man, I gotta watch Nightmare on Elm Street.

Those red eyes are coming closer, and now Tony sees they belong to a huge man-wolf—a Hollywood werewolf, like in Prisoner of Azkaban.

Without thinking, he changes forms, his paws sending leaf mulch flying into the air. He cannot let this beast catch him.

A lone figure suddenly appears through the trees, sending the wolf skidding to a halt as he tries to avoid knocking it over. Its scent reaches his nose, and with a start, he realizes it is Ziva.

What the—

He glances back, but the werewolf has vanished. Confused, he returns his attention to his partner and is surprised to see a dark, promising look on her face. She reaches down; in his haste to move away, Tony hits his head hard on a tree trunk.

The moment his wolf head collided with the tree, Tony's eyes snapped open. Weak moonlight cast silver rectangles and dark shadows on the walls of his bedroom. He propped himself up on one elbow and glanced at the clock. It was late, so late it was early.

"What a dream," he muttered. And he knew he wouldn't be able to go back to sleep tonight.

I was out on the prowl down by the edge of the tracks.
And like a son of a jackal
I'm a leader of the pack—but—
Every Saturday night
I felt the fever grow.
Do ya know what it's like
All revved up with no place to go?
Do ya know what it's like
All revved up with no place to go?

The next night, he was feeling restless again after Gibbs released them for the day. Thankfully, there were no cases and the team could do whatever they wanted now that they were off duty.

One of the problems with transforming into a wolf was that Shifters had the whole pack mentality. Aside from Ziva, he wasn't aware of any other Shifters in the area, but there had to be a pack in one of the other Washington, D.C. suburbs. He'd come across a lot of hidey-holes that had been set up in case of emergency—to be used in case a pack member, or any Shifter, needed a place to rest or was in danger. While Tony was Gibbs's Senior Field Agent, he'd known he was never meant to be a pack leader.

Walking down along a street that paralleled a set of railroad tracks, he caught Ziva's scent, briefly. Then it was gone with the breeze it had come on.

Frustrated, he turned back and began prowling along the edge of the tracks. He disliked the feeling of being full of energy and having no outlet for it.

Once again, he caught a whiff of his partner's scent and began following his nose. His sense of smell had never let him down before.

Oh, Baby, I'm a hunter in the dark of the forest.
I've been stalking you and tracking you down.
Cruising up and down the main drag all night long.
We could be standing at the top of the world
Instead of sinking further down in the mud.
You and me 'round about midnight.
You and me 'round about midnight.
Someone's gotta draw first,

Draw first,
Someone's gotta draw first blood.
Someone's gotta draw first blood.
Oooh, I gotta draw first blood.
Oooh, I gotta draw first blood!

Since he was heading back into town, it was easier to remain in human form. Soon, she was in his sights, leaning against the front window of a pizza parlor. He joined her, slouching against the window. "Hey, Zee-vah. You hungry?"

The Israeli glanced behind her, as if slightly surprised. "No, not really, Tony. Why, are you?"

Tony, thinking of several possible answers to that question, grinned. "You could say that."

"How can you be? It's almost midnight and this place is closed."

"I wasn't talking about food."

Ziva rolled her eyes. "Tony, that's— Move it!" She dove to the side, pulling him down with her, just barely missing the silver bullet. Already she was tearing off her clothes, preparing to shift. Tony, after much swearing and confusion, followed her lead. Seconds later, two snarling brown wolves were in their places, ready to face their unknown attacker.

«It's not a ninja, is it?»

«No. Geez, Tony, what do you think this is—Van Helsing?»

«Well, that was actually about a monster-slash-vampire hunter. Cool special effects, by the way.»

«Why do I even bother?»Ziva huffed and began prowling toward the man in black, who was hidden in shadows across the street. «C'mon. If anyone is going to draw first blood, I'd rather it be one of us than him.»

«Besides, maybe he has only one silver bullet,»Tony added hopefully.

Instead of answering, Ziva lunged, moving faster than the eye could see. Her jaws latched onto the attacker's throat, and before long, he was no longer breathing.

«Well, let's go home,»the she-wolf said.

«Hey, Ziva,»he asked before she could get very far, «do ya know what it's like all revved up with no place to go?»

«Tony, shut up. I don't like Meat Loaf.»

«How can you not like meat loaf?»

«Not the food, you idiot. The singer.»

«Oh. Pizza?»he offered as he padded after her.

I was out on the prowl down by the edge of the tracks.
And like a son of a jackal I'm a leader of the pack—but—
Every Saturday night
I felt the fever grow.
Do ya know what it's like
All revved up with no place to go?
Do ya know what it's like
All revved up with no place to go?

I was nothing but a lonely all-American boy
Looking out for something to do.
And you were nothing but a lonely all-American girl,
But you were something like a dream come true.
I was a varsity tackle and a hell of a block.
And when I played my guitar I made the canyons rock.
But every Saturday night
I felt the fever grow.
All revved up with no place to go.
All revved up with no place to go.
All revved up with no place to go.
All revved up with no place to go.
All revved up with no place to go.