9 AM was a peaceful time for most people, but not for the team. A black federal car drew up outside the warehouse and pulled to a sharp stop. Out jumped the team, armed to the teeth and ready to kick ass.
"Right everyone!" Tony stated, "We know what we're here for, do what you do best and fo…" He was abruptly cut off as a shot rang out and everyone ducked, dodging a bullet. Immediately, Tim whipped his head around and fired back at the shooter, causing him to scarper. "Let's go everyone!" He yelled.
The team scattered, Gibbs and Ziva going straight into the building (just as he and Kate had done years ago), Tim staying on the outskirts, making sure that no one got out but available if there was an emergency inside, Tony and Ellie climbing up the side ladder to get to the roof.
Not one of Ari's men was going to get out this time.
Aria and Kate pressed themselves against either side of the iron door, blending into the shadows, knowing that at some point, someone would come to get them. Kate had the sig clutched in her scratched palms, as she was the one with the most experience with it. Aria was charged with any close combat, as she was currently the stronger of the two of them.
Suddenly, there was the sound of footsteps running down the hallway and the door being unlocked before it was swung open and the shadow of a guy appeared in the doorway.
"Caitlin," he called, his voice harsh and taunting. Aria realised that it was the same guy from the night before. "Miss Bright."
Before the guy could say another word, Aria stepped out of the shadows, kicked him in the crotch area, twisted his arm and flipped him face first onto the concrete.
"Let's go," Kate breathed, leading their way out of the room.
The two wound their way through endless corridors, Kate shooting at people who tried to interfere, hitting them square in the chest every time, and if she really needed to, Aria would pull out a few close combat tricks. Everything was going alright, until they turned a corner and crashed headfirst into Ben Rowe, the man that Aria recognised from pictures back at the NCIS headquarters.
"Caitlin," he sneered, giving her a terrifying smirk. "Fancy finding you here."
Kate swore under her breath- the only weapon that she had was empty. She thought of her daughter, who was stood behind her, and silently begged her not to try anything stupid: Ben was dangerous, and physically fighting against him would be a death wish.
"And mini DiNozzo," he smirked, turning to face Aria, "So nice to finally meet you."
"Wish I could say the same," Aria retorted, looking him right in the eye.
"Well Caitlin, we must be going. I think your friends would like to see you, don't you?" Kate froze as Ben drew a gun from his belt and pointed not in her direction, but in Aria's. "I wish we could've had a proper introduction, but I don't have a use for you, so you'll have to go."
Before Kate could even move in front of her daughter, Ben fired the gun, the bullet burying itself in her daughter's chest. Aria staggered back, gasping, and collapsed onto the floor, before falling completely motionless.
"You bastard!" Kate screamed, launching herself at Ben and attacking him with all of the Secret Service training that she could remember. However, he had been Mossad, and she was weak from being restrained for so long; so she ended up being annihilated. She knew that her daughter was wearing a bullet proof vest, but she was still extremely worried.
He grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her back, holding her in front of him. "Let's go, Caitlin." He hissed, steering her towards the stairway for the roof.
A scream echoed through the warehouse and up onto the roof, where it reached the ears of Tony, who recognised whose it was instantly.
"Kate," he whispered, looking over at Ellie, whose expression verified that she'd heard it too.
They were just about to head inside when about three more men emerged from the door to the roof, guns blazing.
"Tim," he gasped into his microphone, "We need some assistance up here!"
"On my way up Tony," came the reply.
"Aria!" A pair of strong but feminine hands was shaking her as she slowly opened her eyes to her surroundings. "Aria, wake up!"
She stared up into the face of Ziva David, who visibly relaxed upon seeing her eyes open; she'd been knocked unconscious due to the force of the bullet to the chest. She thanked the lords that she'd put on that bullet proof vest the day before. "What is it Ziva?"
"There's a sniper, over on the opposite warehouse from this," she pointed in the direction of the building in question. "There's no doubt that Ben's gonna try and get your mother killed in the way that she should've died years ago, so you need to go up there and stop that from happening!"
"Why me?" Aria asked frantically.
"He'll know that I'm missing instantly- he's already got word that 5 agents came here, if I'm missing when he tries to put his plan into action, he'll just change it and kill her on the spot! He thinks that you're either dead or out cold already, so he won't question your absence."
"What if I miss?" She whispered, knowing now what her task was.
Ziva took her sig from her belt and pressed it into her hand. "You won't, now run."
Tim had just finished gunning down the last of the men when there was a new arrival on the roof; one that wasn't Gibbs or Ziva.
It was Kate, being forced forward by Benjamin Rowe, who was twisting her arm behind her back painfully and pressing a gun to the side of her head.
Tony couldn't help but gasp as he took in her battered form. Her hair was matted, eyes dull. She had scratches up and down her arms and bruises on her face. She was walking with a limp, as if the very movement was effort to her.
"Drop your weapons," Ben Rowe growled, "Or I'll end this for Caitlin right now."
Without hesitation, Tony dropped his sig to the ground, Ellie and Tim following his action. Ziva and Gibbs rushed onto the roof just then, and immediately dropped their weapons too, raising their hands in the air just like their teammates. Kate's eyes washed over all of them and came to rest on Tony. The look that she gave him broke his heart- it was one of a person who knew that the end was near.
"Very good," Ben smirked.
Aria raced up what she hoped was the final flight of stairs, panting desperately. She didn't think that she'd ever run this far this fast in her life. She had to reach the roof and dispose of the other shooter before the signal to shoot was given. This was the point where it was all up to her; where her mother's life was in her hands.
She finally reached the top of the roof, and drew the sig from her pocket. In front of her, crouched in front of a small wall was a man, clearly poised and ready to shoot.
She pulled the trigger on the sig and watched as the gunman slumped to the floor, blood oozing out of the back of his head.
"That was easy," she thought, running over and positioning herself in front of the sniper, which she recognised quickly as a Bravo 51- the same model as the one at the training ground. Adjusting her aim on her target, she waited. This was probably the most important shot that she'd ever take in her life. She wouldn't miss- not even by a millimetre.
"Well, this is interesting," Ben mused. "I was expecting a bit more resistance than that."
"I know for a fact that if we were to resist, you'd put a bullet through Agent Todd's head." Tony spat.
Ben raised an eyebrow. "Such formality from you, Agent DiNozzo," Tony winced inwardly, remembering Taylor saying exactly the same thing. "I thought you of all people would put up a fight for the person that you claim to love."
Tony heard Kate intake a sharp breath, and locked his eyes with hers. "As much as I do love Agent Todd, I know for a fact that if I do put up a fight, you'll put a bullet through her head."
Ben chuckled, "If it makes you feel better, it wouldn't be me putting the bullet through her head, it would be one of my men over on that rooftop, stationed in exactly the same place that my late colleague, Haswari, was in over a decade ago."
At this, Ziva breathed in sharply, her fists clenching at the mention of her half brother. Ben turned his head to look at her. "Ziva," he smiled, "How did you get caught up with this rabble again? I thought you were way above that."
"Nobody is above NCIS, not even the director of Mossad," Ziva replied boldly, holding Ben's gaze with a steely glare.
"Whatever you say," Ben laughed cruelly. "This will be over in just a second, and Caitlin will be dead, just as she should've been years ago."
Ziva glanced over at Tony. She could already tell what he was thinking- he was going to jump in front of the sniper bullet to save Kate. He met her gaze, his eyes darkening. She shook her head at him, telling him not to do it. He looked momentarily confused, but understood, and nodded. Tony had always trusted her when they had worked together- why wouldn't he now?
"Have you got anything to say before your life swiftly ends, Caitlin?" Ben asked, moving her to the side of him slightly.
Kate looked at Tony again, her eyes filled with pain, believing this to be the end. "I love you," she murmured out of chapped lips, "and I'm sorry." She closed her eyes as Ben raised an arm, signalling to the sniper on the far away rooftop. The team watched the scene unfurling in front of their eyes helplessly.
There was a loud bang as the sniper took the shot and the bullet whizzed towards them at an unearthly speed.
"Katie!" Tony yelled, his voice raw, just as the bullet struck its target, and blood splattered across his forehead.
A/N: Is Kate alright? Did Aria hit her target? Come back tomorrow to find out!
