Bait (pt 1)
...
3rd Person POV:
The team climbed out of the NCIS van amidst the chaos of students and faculty being led out of the high school by military members. There had been a hostage situation, entailing one of the students holding them up in a classroom with a bomb strapped to his chest. McGee and Ziva opened the back of the van while Tony sauntered behind them, with an air of haughtiness. Claire waited patiently behind them, grabbing the bags handed to her.
"Gibbs is already on scene, you three follow my lead. This isn't my first time at this particular kind of dance" He commented coolly, seemingly unphased by all the bustle around them.
"Yea I've been to a few myself Tony." Ziva told him pointedly.
"I've been lead on multiple situations like this, so I think it's safe to say I know the drill." Claire added.
"Well you know I play Counterstrike online, that's pretty realistic." McGee chimed in jokingly as he strapped on the camera. Tony pursed his lips.
"Yea well, you only get one life here elf-lord." he quipped. McGee glowered at the nickname while Gibbs walked over to meet them.
"The kids in a classroom on the south wing, SRT has set up a command post in the east wing. McGee, Ziva recon the exterior. DiNozzo and Claire with me. Tony you grab the bags" Gibbs listed off, gesturing for Claire to follow him immediately. Claire snickered at Tony before dashing off after Gibbs. McGee and Ziva shot him smug looks as they set all the heavy equipment and bags at his feet since they wouldn't be needing them. Tony glared in annoyance as Ziva slung her last bag into his chest. With a disgruntled sigh he managed to grapple all the gear in his arms and waddle off after Gibbs.
"On your six, boss." He called and raced into the building.
...
Claire's POV:
On of the administrative offices had been converted into a makeshift control center. We stared at the camera feed showing the halls of the building, particularly the one with the classroom that was the center of all the excitement.
"The target's name is Cody Meyers, 15 years old. According to the witness he came in with a bomb strapped to his chest." The commander explained as we watched his bomb squad set up a barrier on one end of the hall.
"We set a perimeter outside the classroom, evacuated all nonessentials, EOD on site sweeping for secondaries." He listed off.
"How many hostages?" Tony inquired.
"Four maybe five. My men are taking a head count of the student body." He answered.
"Did the witness describe the device?" Gibbs asked. The man sighed.
"She was rushed to emergency and being treated for a panic attack." He explained stoically. I bit the inside of my cheek. Sometimes it was situations like these with innocent kids that were the hardest part of our job.
"Tony find out who Cody Meyers is, get his parents in here." Gibbs turned towards him. Tony nodded and flipped out his cellphone.
"Has he tried to make contact yet?" I asked once Tony was busy.
"No, ma'am not a word. We didn't try to establish any communication yet, we figured that was your job." He elaborated with a shrug. Gibbs smirked while I rolled my eyes. Of course he did. Gibbs sighed and ran a hand down his face in thought.
"Claire take point on this one." He instructed before making his way out. I stared at him incredulously. Sure I was typically a negotiator for hostage situations for my past teams but this was completely new.
"Where are you going?" I asked him warily.
"Back to NCIS to pull some strings and get this information coming faster." He told me. The commander looked at me curiously and I just shrugged.
"Any idea what that was about?" he asked me.
"Probably a gut thing." I muttered. If Gibbs was going to leave in the middle of a case then he had good reason. Something tells me that his gut was going into overdrive and he needed the director to pull some strings for us. Lord knows he's the only one that could boss her around.
...
3rd Person POV:
Outside McGee and Ziva rushed around the outside of the building as quietly as they could. It would have been effective if there wasn't an incessant squeaking noise coming from McGee's shoes. As the man rushed to hide behind a large tree in the yard he glanced around for his now missing partner.
"Ziva?" he questioned, glancing around. Hearing no reply he pursed his lips.
"Ziva?" he called in a whisper once more, looking around towards the front. Tim jumped when he felt a hand tap him on the back.
"I am here." She hissed.
"We need to be stealthy." She instructed and pointed to a power unit near the room that would provide them some cover. They shared a nod before taking off towards it. Ziva stuttered in her jog and turned to look at him in bewilderment as the creaking started up, breaking the silence. She glanced down at his shoes before shooting him a look as he came to a stop behind her.
"New shoes." He explained with a grimace. Ziva rolled her eyes.
"I'm going to the transformer." She informed.
"Ok." McGee nodded and prepped himself to run before Ziva held him back.
"I meant alone." She told him pointedly. McGee frowned in confusion but when she stared down at his shoes once more he nodded. Tim watched as she swiftly made her way around the box and peering around to see into the open windows of the room. She spotted Cody pacing back and forth, once his back was turned she made another dash to a transformer closer to the room. Flattening herself as much as she could, Ziva turned to take some pictures of the boy in question as he paced around. Looking at them all she could see was the top coils and a small detonator switch in his hand, the rest of the bomb was hidden by a zip-up hoodie.
"Come on boy, show me your bomb." She muttered in frustration. She took a few more pictures as Cody paused in front of the window, as if sensing her. Realizing this, Ziva quickly flattened herself out once more but was spotted. She watched as Cody quickly instructed two of the students to close the blinds, completely blocking out their view.
...
Claire's POV:
The commander and I made our way into the hallway where everyone was stationed.
"Classroom is around the corner, second door on your right. It can only be locked by the faculty, and Cody wouldn't have access." He quietly explained, as we rounded the corner. I wordlessly gestured for the man to follow as we crossed to the other side of the hall.
"My attack team is ready to go and there are snipers positioned outside. If you want them." He informed me. I shot him a look of displeasure. I was not about to take out some 15 year old unless it was a last resort.
"Is there any other way into the room?" I asked, trying to get some time of plan going.
"One door and a wall of windows. Blueprints are on the way so we can check the ducts." He answered. I nodded and began making my way past the fully decked out officers in riot gear. Holding up a fist, indicating for them to hold their fire, I silently made my way towards the door. I gestured the same to the men at the other end of the hall. Quietly creeping along the lockers I tensed up as I neared. I couldn't screw this up. Especially as the first time Gibbs has put me on point of a case.
"Boss!" a harsh whisper, caused me to nearly jump out of my skin. Knowing the voice all to well I glared up at the ceiling before slowly turning to stare at Tony. I glanced between him and the door in annoyance.
"Sorry." Tony whispered with a wince. 'Come on' I mouthed while motioning him over. Tony stared at me in surprise before nervously tiptoeing my direction.
"I found Mr. Meyers, he was in a conference at Washington DC. They're escorting him now." He let out a heavy breath.
"I just thought you'd wanna know before you go in there." he added with a nod. I only stared at him with wide eyes, silently asking 'why the heck did you just interrupt this just to tell me something unimportant?!'. Tony's lips drew into an awkward smile and he glanced around sheepishly.
"I also wanted to wish you luck. You know with the whole negotiation….and taking point thing. Iyou're your back." He grinned at me, dropping his voice even lower as the hall was silent enough to hear our whispered conversation. I bit back an amused grin and shook my head, though it did make me feel better that I had someone on my side for this. After a beat of silence he nodded his head back to where he had come from.
"I'll head back now." He muttered before darting off. I sighed before inching closer to the room once more.
"Cody Meyers." I shouted from beside the door.
"Special agent Conners, NCIS….Cody?" I called again when there was no answer.
"Get away from the door." the urgent voice of Cody warned.
"Talk to me first." I told him calmly, trying to keep my voice even.
"GET AWAY FROM THE DOOR or I….I blow this thing!" Cody shouted, stuttering a bit at the end. my brows furrowed for a moment before I complied.
"Alright." I told him gently.
"I'm sending someone out." Cody informed. At the announcement I held up a hand, silently telling the swat team to hold their fire.
"I'm coming out." a scared female voice called just before she timidly opened the door. She slipped out with her hands up in surrender. Once she was in sight I quickly rushed forward and pulled her out of the way. The frightened teen eagerly complied.
"Debrief her." I ordered tensely as I passed her off to Tony who seamlessly led her away. Once again I held up a hand the men who were already aiming to fire into the still opened door. Men and their shoot first attitudes. Before I could reach it, the door slammed shut. Everyone relaxed back into position while I gestured for them to continue standing down. There would be no gunfire or deaths if I could help it. Something seemed off about all of this and I was going to find out what. Cody sounded more frightened than threatening which threw me off. It made me wonder if he was more of a victim than a suspect like everyone else seemed to assume.
...
3rd Person's POV:
"I need to get Nadia's inhaler." The girl, Stephanie, muttered with a hiccup. She sat with Tony at a table in the administrative office, nervously wringing her hands together and letting out stuttered breaths.
"We're getting it." Tony assured.
"She needs it." Stephanie pressed urgently.
"Alright I know, that's what we're doing."
"She can't breathe.."
"Stephanie." Tony cut her off, giving her a gentle but stern look.
"We're getting it from her locker ok?" Tony told her comfortingly. The girl swallowed back another wave of tears and nodded.
"Tell me what happened." Tony requested softly. Stephanie swallowed again and thought for a moment.
"I was in homeroom ..and…and I heard Joe messing with Cody…..then all of a sudden it got really quiet and …..I look up and Cody unzipped his sweatshirt….and he had a bomb." She told him, breaking into tears again.
"That's good ok, what kind of bomb?" tony continued softly, writing it down.
"Like in the movies….it was strapped to his chest." She sobbed again, trying to keep it together so she could talk to him.
"Ok, that's really good Stephanie." Tony encouraged.
"Was he calm?" Stephanie frowned thoughtfully.
"He was acting really weird…..like he was talking to himself." She told him. Tony nodded and wrote down some more notes. After a beat of silence Stephanie calmed back down and looked at him pensively.
"What about Nadia?" she inquired worriedly.
"We're helping her out, that's what we're doing right now." He told her gently, watching as she started to tear up again. Tony winced uncomfortably as she began holding herself and crying quietly. He leaned towards her, in an attempt to be comforting.
"Look, I know this is hard. Stephanie, I need you to hold it together can you do that?" Tony asked her. Stephanie nodded, sniffling and taking a deep breath.
"Ok, now tell me a little bit about Cody." He began.
"He transferred this year. He's like a loner…..the football players, they'd screw with him but they screw with everyone." Tony nodded. Stephanie's eyes widened as she looked at him.
"Oh god….is that what this is about?!" she asked him nervously.
"It could be." Tony muttered truthfully.
"He's gonna blow everyone up." She sobbed again in fear. Tony looked up in relief to see Claire striding into the room, ready to help comfort the crying girl.
"No he's not." she told her in a stern but gentle voice.
"Stephanie, it's gonna be ok." Claire assured, kneeling down next to her. Stephanie sobbed and Tony ran his hands down his face tiredly. Crying teens were not his thing. At this moment McGee made his way towards them.
"Claire, I've got the inhaler." McGee informed holding it up.
"See." Claire told the teen pointedly.
"I have to take it to her. that's what he said, he said that I have to get the inhaler and I have to bring it back to her." Stephanie told them frantically, turning to the woman imploringly.
"We'll take it to her." Claire assured her.
"She needs it!" Stephanie protested adamantly.
"Ok, calm down." Claire patted her softly on the shoulder as she nodded.
"Tony get her a drink." she instructed him softly. Tony nodded and hopped up, leading Stephanie out of the room. Claire sighed and began glancing over Tony's notes as they duo left.
"Claire, you're not going to send her back in there are you?" McGee asked his temporary boss worriedly. Claire shot him a 'really?' stare.
"What do you take me for McGee? I know well enough not to do that." She glowered at him.
"Of course not, you've got a plan." he muttered apologetically. Claire nodded lightly, having absolutely no clue how to go about this. At least McGee had confidence in her. Tim watched as Claire began sketching out some rectangles on a notepad.
"What exactly is.."
"Got background on Cody yet?" she quickly cut him off. He didn't need to know that her mind was drawing a blank on the whole plan thing. Fake it till you make it right?
"I do, I searched the school records. He's an average student, member of the chess club, uh part of junior UN…"
"Let me rephrase…Background information that is useful?" Claire countered, mildly amused.
"Well..well we've got a team right now at Cody's house collecting his things, computer, personal effects. It'll be transported back to Abby's lab." McGee informed.
"How long will analyzing all that take?" Claire questioned, wanting to have some semblance of timeline.
"Well it might take a few hours for Abby to process it all." McGee muttered. Claire shot him a look.
"We don't have the luxury of taking that much time. Abby will need some help." She told him. McGee frowned at her thoughtfully, not picking up her thought process. Claire sighed and stared him down pointedly.
"I'm gonna go back there and supervise." McGee told her as more of a question. Claire grinned in response. With that McGee quickly gathered his gear and scurried off back to NCIS, leaving the inhaler next to her. Once he was gone Claire huffed and buried her head into her hands. How did Gibbs manage to do this so effortlessly?
...
Claire's POV:
A few minutes later I was staring into the camera of some robot the swat team had brought in.
"What is this? Robbie the robot?" I asked jokingly. Wow that sounded like something Tony would say….I'm spending way to much time with the goof.
"Sorta, it can climb stairs, negotiate corners and unlock doors." The commander informed.
"Impressive, will it convince Cody to surrender?" Ziva asked dryly. I smirked at the sarcasm in her tone. Ziva had joined me in the recon area once she had sent the pictures over for Abby and McGee to analyze. The man pursed his lips in irritation.
"No…but it will deliver the inhaler to the sick student without endangering anybody else. And its camera might get a video of the bomb" He explained, placing the inhaler within the robot's claw.
"You sure this will do the job?" I asked him skeptically, eyeing the joystick that would control it.
"It looks like something you use for video games." I pointed out.
"I've seen one of these cross a mine field under heavy fire in Iraq agent Conners." The man countered defensively. Yea well this isn't Iraq and these aren't enemy soldiers. It's a bunch of scared kids.
"How long until this POC is ready commander?" I asked him. The man sighed, which is never a good sign.
"There's a problem with the software, just have to run a quick diagnostic and…" he trailed off at the annoyed glare I shot him.
"20 minutes?" he estimated. I shook his head.
"We can't afford 20 minutes." I muttered thoughtfully. Suddenly a very stupid…..but possibly game changing idea popped into my head. Something that Tony would absolutely murder me for even thinking. But then again…..what would Gibbs do in this situation. Going with my gut, I snatched the inhaler and made my way over to our supply box. Opening it up I plucked out an earwig and wrist mic, placing them on my person accordingly.
"Ziva, tell Tony channel 2." I ordered, dropping my gun on the desk and marching out of the room. Pausing to reconsider I turned back to peer into the room.
"….after I'm already gone if you would." I added. Ziva nodded in agreement.
"Channel 2." she sighed, knowing there was no stopping me. I quickly made my way down the halls and towards the room. I held up a hand to the gunmen at the end of the hall before taking in a breath. Oh please let this work. Before I lost my nerve, I grasped the door handle and swung the door open, instantly walking inside. Who I assumed was Cody, jumped and stared at me wide eyed. I stood there silently. Giving him time to adjust to my abruptness and not freak out on everyone. Glancing around the room I spotted one girl who was wheezing erratically. That must be Nadia.
"What the hell are you doing." Cody snarled as he backed up and held the switch in his hand up threateningly.
"Nadia's inhaler." I told him, holding the object up in plain sight.
"Stephanie was supposed to bring it, where's Stephanie?" he asked frantically. I eyed him silently, taking in his frightened actions. He wasn't being overly dominant in this situation, rather he was shying away from my presence.
"Safe." I answered easily.
"No…this…this is all wrong." He hyperventilated worriedly.
"Just give this to Nadia, I'll make it right." I told him.
"I'm in charge here, not you!" Cody snapped aggressively. I held up my hands peacefully. Something was definitely off, his words and actions were wildly contradicting.
"You're in charge." I agreed.
"Get Stephanie back in here." He ordered. I shrugged, apparently the adrenaline going through my body was making me a bit bold.
"Not gonna happen." I told him. Cody visibly stiffened and he ran a hand through his hair roughly.
"You're killing everyone!" he warned. I glanced around calmly, watching the group of kids sit there with teary eyes.
"I'm not the one wearing a bomb." I pointed out. Cody scrunched his face up in distress.
"While you think on that, I'm giving this inhaler to Nadia." I explained and slowly walked towards the wheezing girl. As I neared, the teen snatched it from my hand and instantly began inhaling the puffs of medicine. I squatted before her, holding her hand comfortingly.
"Ok?" I asked soothingly. Nadia nodded, finally taking in deep breaths.
"She's fine now get out!" Cody barked.
"I'm a valuable hostage Cody." countered, staring at the boy calmly.
"More valuable than a room full of kids?! Get out now! Or we all die." Cody tried again.
"Hon, you're surrounded by marines who all think you're crazy. Cody I'm the last chance you have of getting out of here alive." I told him seriously.
"Don't call me hon." the boy muttered weakly as he eyed me thoughtfully. It was obvious that he was shaken by what I had told him.
"Shut the door." He finally instructed. I nodded and did as he asked. Cody nudged a boy in the desk beside him, making the teen flinch violently.
"Search her." Cody ordered. The boy quickly lept up and walked over towards me. I held up my hands, waiting for the search. The boy stood there and scanned me over uncomfortably before turning back to Cody.
"Like…like they do on Cops." Cody shrugged, imitating a pat down on his own person as explanation. I smirked in amusement.
"That's quite the reference there hon. Is that where you learned all this from?" I asked him, trying to see if he would slip up. Cody glowered at me.
"Stop calling me that! You're trying to get me to relate to you and it's not working." He insisted. The other boy glanced away from me shyly as he began patting down my shoulders. Once he reached my torso he paused and looked at me in alarm. I grinned comfortingly.
"Go ahead, I won't bite. Just watch where you put your hands." I warned teasingly. The teen blushed but continued regardless.
...
3rd Person POV:
From the 'control center' Tony and Ziva were watching the hallway on the feed, all the while listening in to what was going on in the room.
"Of course she didn't go armed." Tony muttered sourly, listening intently to what was going on over his headset. He was livid and terrified that Claire would do something as reckless as waltzing right into a room with a crazy teen with a bomb strapped to his chest. Her motherly nature for kids was gonna come back to bite her one of these days. He just hoped today was not that day.
"Where's Stephanie?" Ziva asked, breaking my morbid train of thought.
"She should be getting home soon." I told her, leaning back against the desk.
"This kid is smart." Tony mused, as they listened to the very knowledgeable instructions on where to look. This came from more than just cop shows.
"Not smart, he's trained. This could be a political statement." Ziva muttered thoughtfully.
"He's a 15 year old kid." Tony defended.
"Well I've seen 12 year old suicide bombers in Israel." She countered pointedly.
"Ziva hes not a terrorist." Tony insisted.
"Says who?" Ziva argued.
"Claire wouldn't have gone in there if she thought he was." He defended adamantly. Ziva scoffed.
"She's too soft when it comes to kids. Maybe she is distracted by their age. You can't base your thought process off of what she would think. Think for yourself." She spat at him. Tony glared in her direction.
"I do think for myself, but the thing is that I trust Claire with my life. She's good at reading people and I trust her decisions. I know trusting is a foreign concept to you but for us its vital." He told her seriously. Ziva pursed her lips, knowing that he had a point.
"Well then he's obviously mentally disturbed and if that's the case then I think…."
"Not now." Tony cut her off, paying attention once again to what was going on in the room.
...
Claire's POV:
"She's clean, Cody." the boy, who I learned was called Joe, told him quietly as he finished placing all of my belongings on the desk. Cody stood quietly, staring at the floor intently.
"Check her ears." He instructed after a moment. How would he know that? This is more than just watching some TV shows.
"What?" Joe asked in confusion.
"Do it." Cody pressed. Joe gently tilted my head side to side, looking in my ears.
"She's wearing some sort of hearing aid." He informed, gesturing to the earwig.
"Take it out." Cody ordered, looking at me intently. I complied and placed it into Joe's hands.
"Check his wrists." Cody added. I stared at him as Joe did as he was told. Cody couldn't meet my gaze and rubbed his arm subconsciously as if he was shying away from my scolding gaze. Joe found the clip on mic and took it off, showing both devices to Cody who frowned.
"Step on both of them." He ordered. I stared down at the ground but didn't protest. With a shrug Joe crushed both of my devices, cutting me off from the rest of my team. Looks like I'm going solo for this…fantastic.
...
3rd Person POV:
Tony winced violently as the static ringing burst through the headset he was wearing. He rolled his eyes and massaged his ears as the pain subsided.
"Very well trained." Ziva sighed.
"Yea." Tony grunted in agreement, his ears still ringing. He sighed and stared at the hallway feed. The closest thing he could get to making sure Claire was ok. The fact that she was left in there on her own with an active bomb attached to a twitchy kid made his stomach knot up painfully. On top of that he now had to take charge on scene, seeing as the point was out of commission and Gibbs was off doing who knows what for this case. This day just kept getting worse and worse. Tony clicked through various blueprints and pictures that they had managed to acquire.
"We need eyes in that classroom." He noted.
"SET snaked camera's through the vents here and here, however both were taped shut. Cody was covering his plates." Ziva pointed out on the blueprints of the room.
"Bases." Tony corrected absently before pointing to a spot on the computer.
"What about that door." He suggested.
...
Inside the classroom Cody was watching as he had his classmates tape up the bottom of the door with duct tape. He was smart, but the level of knowledge he had about this started to set off some red flags in Claire's mind.
"Now make sure you cover every crack." He insisted. Claire sat atop a desk on the other end of the room, just silently watching, taking in Cody's movements and reactions. The teen looked over and glowered at her.
"You have no idea what you're dealing with here." He pointed out lowly. She said nothing but rose a brow in interest. If only he was aware of who he was dealing with. Cody stiffened up at her silence and turned back to watch his classmates, actively avoiding her gaze.
...
Abby's POV:
McGee was scanning over the websites that Cody had frequently visited while I was busy sorting through the physical evidence I had been gifted. I was anxious to get all I could back to Tony so I could help Claire get out of there faster. It was stupid to go barging in there but knowing her I would expect nothing less.
"I think it's safe to say that Cody has some suicidal tendencies, you should see his webpage. It's all about death and dying. The kid was obsessed." McGee told me as he read over Cody's blog. I pursed my lips in curiosity. There's nothing innately wrong with that stuff.
"So….what's your point?" I asked, starting to put up some of Cody's effects.
"The point is he probably worked up the nerve to do something about it." McGee clarified.
"It's not the kids who talk about dying that you have to worry about Timmy, it's the ones who stay quiet." I countered.
"Abby I've been in this kid's room ok? It's all black with skulls everywhere and he listens to death metal." He continued as he swiveled around.
"Oh." Abby hummed sarcastically. My room looked exactly as he described, what was he trying to say. McGee huffed, knowing that this 'evidence' was going to work.
"There's nothing wrong with those things if you are an adult." He amended, pointing at me. I scoffed in amusement.
"McGee….you slaughter people online. Are you going to become a mass murderer?" I pointed out, raising my brows challengingly.
"I did not take my classroom hostage." He argued lightly.
"Oh yea? Did you ever think about it?" I shot back with a knowing grin. McGee was silent and glanced downwards, further proving my point. With a grin, I began listing out the facts that contradicted the seemingly accepted theory.
"You said the bomb sniffing dogs didn't alert to anything inside Cody's house. I haven't found any explosive markers on any of his clothing or his effects. He didn't visit any bomb making websites. And these photos they show us, nothing." I explained, pulling up one of the better views of the bomb and walking over to the plasma screen.
"Maybe his bomb is fake." I suggested. McGee tilted his head in thought before strolling up to stand next to me.
"You believe that?" he asked skeptically. I lifted my head up in certainty.
"…no."
...
Claire's POV:
Joe and one of his teammates were pushing one of the heavy bookshelves across the doorframe, as Cody had ordered. He more than likely didn't want any more unexpected guests barging in like I had done.
"We can end this now, Cody. You tell me what you want and we'll get it for you" I told him.
"I'm not making any demands until I speak with a negotiator." her countered sternly. I sighed and stood up from my spot on the desk across the room.
"I am the negotiator." I informed with a small grin.
"They wouldn't send a negotiator busting through the door, I'm not stupid." Cody argued with a sneer. "No one says you are, if anything I was the stupid one." I quipped jokingly.
"Just be quiet." He spat defensively.
"Hurry up." He growled at the two boys. I watched as he started to tense up, clearly adgitated by everything going on.
"Relax Cody." I told him, in an attempted to keep him calm.
"stop saying my name!" he snapped. Clearly he didn't like me calling him by anything that was deemed friendly. At his outburst Nadia went into another fit of sobs.
"You know you're not going to build a relationship with me, so keep talking and I really will end this now." Cody told me warningly. I said nothing but glanced over at Nadia. Like I had hoped, Cody followed my gaze and his defensive stance instantly softened. So he was sympathetic and secretly caring about those who were outwardly frightened. He was fine as long as no one showed how terrified they actually were.
"Nadia, Nadia you have to stop that please." Cody asked her with a huff as he walked over.
"I can't Cody, I can't." She sniffled tearfully. Cody shook his head in frustration, obviously fighting an inner battle.
"She's scared, Cody." I pointed out, starting to walk towards the front of the room.
"Yea like she's the only one." Cody quipped, instinctively walking towards the back. The two of us almost doing some sort of dance around the room. The boy was determined to distance himself from me, emotionally and physically. However, his little side comment caught my interest. He was scared too, understandable in a way but it was the way he said it that really stuck out. It was almost like he was the victim in the situation.
"You're right. They're all scared, just wanna go home and see their parents." I added, once again sitting on the teacher's desk. Now Cody had maneuvered himself on the complete opposite end of the room as me.
"You expect me to identify with them huh?" Cody accused.
"Why do you assume that everything I say is for a psychological effect? Cody, I'm here to help you. Let me help." I told him sincerely. Cody paused, eyeing me before stiffening right back up again.
"You just want me to see them as people so it'll make it harder for me to do anything." He countered, as if trying to convince himself that this was my true intent. I watched him, curios as to how he came to know all these tactics. It's not exactly common knowledge.
"They are people Cody." I reminded.
"Stop saying my name!" he shouted angrily.
"One more word and I press this button." He warned, pacing closer towards her as he held up the detonator in his fist. I stared at him silently. I may have lost this small battle but I was looking to win the war, so I will have no problem waiting this out.
...
3rd Person POV:
Back in the command center Tony watched the hall camera feed tensely.
"WWGD." He muttered.
"Is that a weapons acronym?" Ziva inquired as she paced beside him.
"No…it stands for What Would Gibbs Do?" he clarified, straightening up to lean his hands on the desk before him. Gibbs was gone and Claire was gone, leaving him to run this solo. Yes, he could make decisions on his own but it was comforting to have someone to back him up or to bounce ideas off of. He wasn't so sure Ziva would be doing any of that.
"Well it's too bad we can't ask him. Or Claire as she was in charge but decided to ditch us." she countered with a huff. He pursed my lips and began to counter her statement but something she said sparked a thought. Tony bit his lip as he mulled over some new ideas.
"Captain, your teams are in place?" he asked the man, not looking away from the screens as his mind began running through options and strategies.
"We've got 3 snipers in position sir. When the target looks out the blinds again…"
"No one takes a shot unless I clear it. You're with me." Tony snatched off his headset and gestured for the commander to tag along.
"Where are you going?" Ziva asked, just watching him walk away with no explaination.
"To talk to Cody." Tony answered breifly as he started in that direction.
...
In the room, Cody peeked out the blinds, scanning their surroundings outside.
"You'll wanna stay away from the windows, hon." Claire pointed out as she watched him from against the wall. If he wanted to remain on opposing ends of the room then she would play along until he would allow otherwise. Cody turned to her in confusion.
"What because of snipers?" he asked warily before shaking off the thought.
"They wouldn't shoot a kid." He dismissed before peeking out again.
"I wouldn't count on that." Claire countered seriously. Cody drew his hands away but didn't turn. Instead he swallowed and went back to the window, opting to dismiss her advice. Realizing that breaking through his tough guy exterior was going to take a while, Claire pursed her lips and glanced around the room trying to get some other ideas going. She spotted a thermostat on a the wall not too far from her.
"It's not too late to fix this." she began, causally making her way towards the device. Cody had his back towards her but she wanted to be sure it would go unnoticed.
"What are you going to reason with me? Go ahead, really go ahead. Convince me that I'm not in trouble." He quipped back sarcastically. Claire rolled her eyes to the ceiling in annoyance. Teenagers were so moody. In one motion she swiped the thermostat up a few degrees and took a few steps away from it.
"Oh no you're in trouble." She assured, now leaning on the desk in the front.
"What did you just do?" Cody immediately asked as he whipped around to face her. He glanced all around the area she had been in, as if looking for something out of place. Claire tilted her head and stared at him curiously. His back was to her the whole time, so how did he see her?
"Nothing, just wanting to make conversation." She lied easily.
"No..you…you just did something. What was it?" Cody insisted, taking some steps closer to her in an almost pleading voice. Claire frowned in confusion but before she could answer him another voice came from across the door.
"Cody this is Special Agent DiNozzo. How's Nadia?" Tony asked from the hallway. Cody relaxed from his tense pose and began pacing, his hands on his hips.
"She's fine for now." Cody answered.
"What about the other kids?" Tony inquired.
"They're fine ok?!" Cody snapped, angrily flailing his hands in the air.
"Well I'd love to take your word on that but I'm going to need some proof Cody. Open the door." Tony suggested calmly.
"No. No way, you try to get in here and I'm…I'm …I'm setting this off." Cody warned once more.
"No one's coming in. I'd like to speak with Special Agent Conners." Tony requested. Claire's attention was taken off Cody once she heard this.
"Everybody's ok…boss." She told him. Tony's eyebrows shot up at the word, but then he grinned to himself. He rather liked the sound of her calling him boss.
"Well that's good to hear…..Special Agent Conners." Tony responded, the formal use of her title sounded foreign to him.
"Conners said she was your negotiator." Cody added.
"That's right he's my best man or woman rather." Tony went along. He wasn't lying, she was the negotiator.
"Well she's a moron for getting caught in here." Cody quipped, shooting Claire a look. She smirked in amusement.
"She always had an attitude problem." Tony instantly responded, his mouth running off without his brain. Claire bit the inside of her lip, trying to fight off a grin. Outside, Tony grimaced and clenched his eyes shut. He knew he was going to pay for that later. Tony silently repositioned himself so he was standing directly in front of the door rather than beside it.
"We're all going to get through this together. What do you say to that Cody?" Tony tried another tactic.
"Look I want the man in charge. Not the field commander, the one who makes the final decision." Cody told him.
"That's me, Cody." Tony told him after a pause. It was kinda daunting to realize that with Gibbs and Claire out of the equation that it really was him.
"So if I wanted a plane and a million dollars you would just give it to me?" Cody asked warily. Tony frowned in confusion and took a step closer to the door.
"Is that what you want?" he asked.
"Answer my question." Cody deflected irritably.
"I'll make some calls." Tony told him vaugely.
"Are you the man or not?" Cody asked again in exasperation. Tony swallowed.
"I'm the one you want." He insisted. Cody nodded and swallowed.
"Bring my mother to the classroom." He eventually requested, a resigned and tired tone to his voice. On the other side, Tony's frowned deepened.
"No deals, no stalling. You have until sundown. If..if…if you can't do that then….everyone dies." Cody added seriously. However, as he requested it, his eyes shot over to Claire with some emotion she couldn't decipher as they were hidden by his mop of hair. Tony nodded silently before taking off back down the hall to make some phone calls. Claire watched Cody as the boy walked back over to the windows quietly. Something was hinky but with her lack of outside access, it would be like pulling teeth to find out just what it was.
...
In the command center, Ziva was talking with Cody's father. "I want to see my son." Major Meyers demanded.
"That's not happening major." Ziva calmly countered.
"The hell it's not." The man bristled.
"Calm down." Ziva told him, warning the man with her eyes. The man backed off.
"I need to see he's ok." Mr. Meyers told her with a calmer tone this time.
"Besides from holding 5 people hostage, he's doing great." Tony told the man sarcastically as he strode into the room.
"What does Cody want?" Ziva asked.
"He wants his mother brought to him." Tony answered, looking over at the man.
"Oh god." Mr. Meyers instantly groaned.
"What?" Ziva inquired warily.
"Cody's mother is dead." he told them with a sad expression. Ziva and Tony shot each other alarmed looks. This was not what they were hoping for.
