Checkmate
A/N : OK, here it is-- the long awaited showdown!
"You guys really don't have to do this," Nikita said quietly.
"Yes we do." Ziva stared her down. "And there is no time to argue now."
Nikita sighed and pushed the door open. The room was dimly lit but she could make out a cot against the far wall. A small, still figure lying on it seemed to be the room's only occupant.
"Isaac!" Nikita darted forward, freezing at the soft laughter that filled the room.
"How touching." The Black Dragon stepped into the light, allowing them to get a good look at him. To Ziva's amazement, he was only in his mid-thirties. Also he was rather unremarkable in appearance—sandy brown hair, blue eyes, athletic build. He looked like the distant cousin at a family reunion who is forgotten once he leaves the room.
"What did you give him?" Nikita demanded, staying where she was.
"Come, now, that would spoil the game." The Dragon's expression became cold. "You killed my son, and it's time you paid the price."
"'Paid the price'?" Nikita repeated incredulously. "You sick bastard, YOU set this in motion seven years ago when you murdered my parents!"
"That was merely business," answered the Dragon. "Not unlike your own, Nikita Stewart."
At those words a frightening change came over Nikita. Her eyes grew dark and her expression conveyed only hatred. When she spoke, her voice was cold and laced with venom. "Nikita Stewart is dead. I am the Black Tiger!"
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As Nikita lunged for the Black Dragon, Tony grabbed Ziva's arms in a painfully tight grip.
"The boy," he hissed in her ear. Keeping their eyes on the fight, the two agents began edging toward the cot. Not even in a movie had Tony seen such a fight. Barehanded, both assassins were deadly, but somehow they had drawn knives and now the fight was punctuated by the clash of metal on metal. He hoped Nikita could hold out until they got to the boy...
"Oh, god, no," Tony whispered. The boy was still, a bluish cast to his skin. Ziva knelt at the child's side and felt for a pulse.
"He's gone," she choked out, tears sliding down her face. The child was already cold; there was nothing that could be done.
"That lying son of a bitch!" Tony shouted, drawing his weapon and aiming at the fighters.
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Tony's shout broke through the red haze in Nikita's mind—long enough for her to feel a searing pain in her chest. She found herself face to face with the Black Dragon, his knife embedded in the same spot she had stabbed his son.
"I believe you know what happens now," the assassin sneered, his hand firmly gripping the knife hilt.
"Yes, I do." Nikita's eyes narrowed as she struck the Dragon as hard as she could with her claw strike. The Black Dragon fell, blood spurting from his carotid artery—and the knife still clenched in his hand.
"NO!" Ziva's cry sounded far away as Nikita stared at the blood flowing from the knife wound.
"Checkmate," she whispered as she collapsed.
I know, I'm evil, ending things on a cliffhanger for this week! Hope you enjoyed it!