— Agent Turner, what are the orders ? a man asked.
— First, be sure that the place is clear, we need to evacuate the building and lessen the risks as much as possible, he automatically answered.
— Yes, sir.
— Alright, update : anyone in the parked vehicles over here ? he questioned his man, pointing a finger at the few cars around.
— We have Granners and Paritzi taking a look at the very moment, sir. Two dead men in their car at the entrance, like we were told, both taken out of here, and five armed agents who just entered the ground floor, about to free the people.
Agent Turner suddenly noticed the hand waving in his direction, and immediately left his interlocutor.
— I want the pole cams on every angles ! Right now ! he insisted from afar, before turning back.
— Agent Turner, nobody in any vehicles.
— And what about this one ? he instantly showed another small one on the other side of the pavement.
— Why, sir ? You think this one might be dangerous ?
— This is an isolated car in a selected perimeter, young boy ! For God's sake, where did you learn how to be an agent ?
The man instantly nodded and headed in the direction in question, double checking that last element. Agent Turner watched him stare through the window and took a look around before coming back.
— No one to evacuate, sir, only flashers on. No one will be allowed to rejoin the building until the end of the mission, if there are people coming back, we have our men to block the way, Agent Turner.
Agent Turner nodded and tightened his bulletproof jacket, definitely ready to come inside, when he suddenly interrupted his walking pace and froze. He quickly turned his head and opened in mouth in order to yell something.
— Everybody, move !
The numerous armed men outside the building watched from afar the tense arm accompanying the voice order, and hurried to get away from their current spot, not trying to understand. The team wasn't extremely closed to the space in question, maybe they'd have enough time to leave…
Both orange lights kept flashing for a last, short while, and the rectangle on four wheels finally expectedly freed a noisy fireball in the air, several parts of the vehicle now violently flying around the uniformed men and buildings, including their own cars, sharing their damaged pieces around for some unbearable thirty seconds…
— Agents down ! someone shouted from the other side.
Agent Turner wanted to know more about it, but a group of civilians brusquely approached after a minute or two, professionals by their side, and immediately brought him back to reality.
— Check the bodies and make sure these ones safely get out of here ! he finally added before starting entering the building, snapping tense fingers, inviting others to join him…
— — — — — — — —
(At the same time…)
— NCIS, everybody out ! Gibbs, Tony and Ziva hurried repeating to the numerous people they met, on another floor.
They all bit their lips, torn between two kinds of feelings...knocking at people's doors when they already should be inside that apartment, something they had to do…but Tim might be their really first priority at the very moment, they couldn't risk having tons of people around, dead for that reason.
One bomb in McGee's place, already. And a new one outside, from what they could have heard. So why not another one in the building ?
— Faster, faster ! Gibbs impatiently ordered, followed by Tony and Ziva, desperately willing to find his agent alive...
— — — — — — — —
...Tim felt the water wetting his head and tried to fight back, these dark spots still blinding his vision and blurring his thoughts…and now he was back to only a few months ago, that same face, nose and mouth of his sinking under the cold liquid… Karon didn't try speaking, this time, Tim could only hear a few instinctive groans coming out of his lips, indicating his rage and wish to definitely complete his task. Karon had put the stopper in the bathtub amazingly fast, once they had reached the new space, because barely a minute later, McGee's head was already facing deep silence again, small waves moving around him under the pressure of the flow…until bubbles finally escaped his throat, now single sound echoing inside his ears...until these words...
« You're gonna die, Timothy McGee, and I will let rats make a feast of your body… »
Tim tried to gesticulate the way he could, that strong hand pressing his neck and pushing his bones, his own groans' sounds seeming far, far away from the earth's surface…he could have cried if there hadn't been that much water.
« No, please ! Please, kill me boss. I swear to God this is my decision, kill me now and do not let them do that to me again. Please, Gibbs ! »
The young agent's eyes widened as the next words resonated in his mind, reminding him of everything he had deeply wished to forgot. Water was bringing back so many memories...
The hand kept pressing as he tried another time to free himself, and Tim then seriously realized he was about to die.
Unless…
He stopped fighting the pressure and suddenly decided to deal with it. If he couldn't go out, he could keep going 'in', right ? Conscious Tim would have known he was about to risk breaking his neck for good, but according to the pain he was currently enduring, he didn't know if there could be a worse ending than this one…so he pushed himself against the bottom of the bathtub and briefly surprised his aggressor. Tim was already suffering, as expected, his neck and shoulders hurting the white, slick material, and as the top of his back slid on a centimeter or two, he grabbed the tap with one hand and pathetically raised a leg in Karon's direction, kicking anywhere he could. His enemy of the day barely fell and ended up tightening both fists around Tim's humid collar, the agent feeling his head punching the bathtub, shiny eyes sinking under the amount of water again.
— You son of a bitch, the terrible voice said from the other side, you're gonna regret to be born !
— — — — — — — —
— Gibbs, we're here, Tony said, although it was obvious they had arrived at the good floor, according to where they were, and the noise coming out of the nearest apartment.
Jethro put a finger on his lips, expectedly indicating Tony and Ziva to be discreet, but a woman suddenly opened her door, ready to run.
— Please don't kill me ! she shouted at the discovery of the trio, raising both arms in the air. I have a son, I…
— Leave ! Ziva instantly lowly ordered, but she knew it was already too late.
The woman pushed the resident inside her place again and both women then fell to the floor, the duet now hearing the bullets flying in the corridor.
— NCIS ! Drop these weapons ! Gibbs and Tony said all at once, raising their guns and trying to hide, while fighting for their lives, desperately watching the holes piercing the walls around them, their pieces falling, then turning into dust.
Ziva finally joined the duet again and started firing at Karon's men. One of them groaned as he got hurt.
— Nice one, Ziva ! Tony said, his voice half-covered by the bullets exchange.
— Gibbs, she neutrally shouted, we need backup, now !
Jethro was about to answer something, but a few agents suddenly arrived from behind, ready to help.
— That's usually why we tell people to wait, Agent Turner commented, while firing at Karon's group, hiding as well, in the end, behind the damaged walls.
He didn't know if Gibbs had nodded, but he clearly didn't say anything. In fact, everyone in the corridor simply kept using their guns and definitely hoped for the best.
— — — — — — — —
…Karon's fist punched Tim right in the face, that same face now sinking again underwater, although the level of it had definitely turned higher. Tim didn't feel like he could move a lot in that small, uncomfortable new prison, and only pressed a weak palm against Karon's head, barely grabbing his hair, before pulling him in the bathtub's direction for the umpteenth time. Their movements had definitely become unclear and extremely unorganized, but both of them knew that at this point, the only goal was, at least, for one of them to survive, no matter what.
— Is it how you American agents fight, Timothy McGee ? his aggressor turned angrier than before. Like kids begging for their lives ?
Tim tried freeing his face and shoulder from the water, and maybe drowning his enemy in the process, but his body position was definitely not the one to realize such thing, so he only managed clumsily slapping Karon's skull, still pushing him a bit against the white ceramic wall. The silver tap cut the skin along his jawbone on the way down, and Tim took advantage of that short other moment of dizziness to kick him with his knee. He then tried to leave the small occupied space and clumsily fell onto the slippery floor, water splashing on his heavy body.
...Karon's face was now bloodier than his own when the man seemed ready to stand up again, and Tim knew he was now more willing to kill than ever. So he slowly left the bathtub and violently pulled the shower curtain with one hand, sharing its drops in the future dead body's direction, delightfully watching the breathless young NCIS agent fearfully waiting for him on the floor.