The police officer to respond to the woman's call greeted them as they rang the woman's doorbell. "Yeah, come on in. I'm Officer Logan. My partner, Officer Taylor, is finishing up with a couple of questions for the lady who says someone was shot across the street, Mrs. Parnell." He shook his head, and continued quietly. "My partner and I checked out the house, and we didn't see a body. To tell you the truth, I don't think anything happened."
"Well, thanks guys. We'll take it from here." Kate said. She walked into the living room, where Officer Taylor was getting up to leave.
"Hello Mrs. Parnell, I'm special Agent Todd and this is Special Agent DiNozzo. Can we ask you a few questions?"
"Sure." The woman looked tired. "Can we finish before the kids get home from school? I don't want to scare 'em with all you cops here."
"I'm sure we'll be finished long before that. So, can you describe to me what you saw that made you call the police?"
"I was outside taking out the trash, and I saw this man hanging around, never seen him before. He was dressed in sailor clothes. He saw me and stopped whatever he was doing, like he didn't want me to see him or something. So I went back inside but I watched through my window, cause I wanted to see what he was up to. He went inside that old house, and maybe 5 minutes later I heard the shot."
"So that's all you saw, ma'am? No one came out of the house?" Kate asked the middle-aged woman.
"Yeah, and the gunshot came from the same house." The woman pointed to a dingy house across the street that looked as if it had been vacated for years.
"Do you know if anyone lives there?"
"All I know is, sometimes I see people going and coming sometimes. Mostly men. You wanna know what I think? It's one of them drug houses. Now, is that all your questions?"
"Yes, for the moment. Thank you for your help, ma'am. If you remember anything else," Kate pulled out her card and handed it to the woman, "just give me a call. Ok?"
Kate walked back to the car, Tony following. The police had left. She grabbed her flashlight. "Come on, Tony, let's go check it out."
They walked across the street. Kate opened the door and flipped on her flashlight. They surveyed the room. Trash everywhere. A large dingy window let in a little light. Kate scanned the walls. This house wasn't even wired for electricity. Suddenly she jumped, then screamed as a rat scuttled away from her foot, scared by her movement. Tony laughed. "You're so paranoid, Kate. It's a mouse, for crying out loud!"
"Shut up, DiNozzo," she answered, more than a little embarrassed. "I'll give you paranoid if you make fun of me again." Tony scanned the corners of the room, then located a dusty doorway. He eased the door open. It was a tiny room, no doubt once a bedroom. There was an old cot that looked as if it would tear at the slightest pressure. The floor was covered in dust, except for some footsteps, no doubt left by the two cops.
"Nothing in here but dust," he announced. There was another doorway. Tony tried the knob, and it swung open. It led into the backyard. He shut the door and walked back to the other part of the house, where Kate was still examining the walls and floor. She looked up as Tony came close.
"Look at this, Tony," she beckoned him close as she shone her light on the walls. He squinted. Small spots on the wall looked as if something had been wiped off of them. They ran all the way to the floor in a path. She shone the flashlight at the floor. A patch of the floor was not covered in dust like the rest. It too looked as if it had been wiped down recently. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Tony?"
"Blood spatter." He said. "Someone cleaned up after themselves too. It looks to me like someone was shot here, fell down against the wall, and then lay here bleeding."
Kate nodded. "That's what I thought. I'm going to call Gibbs."
"I'm going to go check around outside while you do that," Tony volunteered. "Be right back." He left.
Kate flipped open her cell phone and dialed. "Gibbs? It's Kate. I think there may have been a shooting here, but we can't find a body. Can you send a team? Ok, Tony and I will wait here." She hung up.
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOooOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
Tony walked around the side of the small house, scanning the ground as he went. He turned the corner of the back yard, and heard something rustling. At the same time, out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw the back door move. When he looked, everything was still. Must have been an animal. Now who's paranoid? The yard was rather overgrown, weeds covered the grass patch that passed for a lawn. Tony noticed a pile of leaves, and suddenly had an idea. He knelt and pushed the leaves aside. There was an old wooden door that no doubt led to an old basement of some kind. He opened it and shone his flashlight down the hole. There at the bottom was the body of the sailor.
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
Kate heard a slow creaking. It sounded like it was coming from the back room. She stood quickly, her heart pounding. She shined her light at the door. "T-Tony?" she called softly. If he's playing some kind of ghost trick on me, so help me… The bedroom door burst open. A man came out, holding a gun on her. He was grungy, but tall and well muscled. "Don't move! Don't even think about screaming. If your partner comes back in, I'll kill him!" He came closer, gesturing with his pistol.
Kate tried to keep her voice steady. "Did you kill someone? I found what I think is blood spatter, and you have a gun. I'm Special Agent Todd with the NCIS, and if you tell me what happened, it will be easier on you."
He swore, and grabbed her. He moved close to the window and looked out. "Where is your damn partner? I shot that damn sailor because he tried to cheat me. He sold me a stash. I guess he thought I wouldn't find out it was fake. I always try my stuff before I buy it. He must of thought I was stupid, but when you got as many customers as I do, you can't afford to be."
Kate was trying to think fast, what could she do? This guy has already killed one person, he won't have any trouble killing me and Tony. Her hand inched toward her cell phone. Maybe she could dial Gibbs without this guy seeing.
But he did see. "Hands in the air, bitch! I told you I was going to kill you if you tried anything…"
An explosion of glass cut him off. A body came hurtling through the large window, landing on top of him in a rain of glass. It was Tony. He rolled off of the man. Both were bleeding from glass cuts. The man's gun went sliding towards Kate. She picked it up. "Stay down!" She yelled at the man. "Stay down and put your hands behind your back! Tony, are you ok? You're bleeding!"
Tony got up painfully and pulled out his cuffs. He cuffed the man and pulled him up. "I'm fine. But I think I cut myself." He looked down at the man. "I'm Special Agent Tony DiNozzo. You're under arrest. That means you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you in a court of law. You have a right to an attorney. If you can't afford one, we'll give you one. Now get up, you stupid ass."
Kate pulled the man to his feet and led him out to the car. She shoved him into the back seat. Tony walked outside and sank to the ground. He was dizzy. He reached up and touched his head. It was bleeding. Kate ran to him and knelt beside him.
"Tony, you're bleeding. Let me see." She dabbed at his forehead. "You might need stitches."
Tony moved slightly, then gasped. A sharp pain in his side. His shirt was torn. Kate saw him wince and unbuttoned his shirt. His white undershirt was bloodstained. A dirty piece of glass was lodged in his side. She looked up at him. "I'm going to pull this out, ok, Tony?" He nodded and gritted his teeth. She pulled the glass out, wincing at the knowledge that she was hurting him. He breathed in sharply from the pain. Once the glass was out, blood flowed freely from the cut. Kate ran to the car to get her bottle of water and knelt back down beside Tony.
"I'm going to clean this out a little, ok?" She asked. He nodded, lips tight. She ripped off his undershirt and flushed out the cut with her bottle. Once all the water was gone, she looked up at him.
"Thanks, Tony. You saved my life. He was going to shoot me."
"I know," he whispered. "I found the body outside, and then heard some commotion inside. I looked in the window and saw what was happening. I didn't know what to do at first, I was afraid he would hurt you."
"Well, he didn't, thanks to you."
She bunched up the shirt and handed it to him. "Keep the pressure on that, Tony. I'm going to call Gibbs."
He grasped her hand. "Wait. I want to say something." He gazed steadily into her eyes. "When I thought he might kill you, all I could think about was that I'd never done something I should have a long time ago."
"What do you mean? You don't owe me anything, Tony."
He shook his head. "No. I mean this." He leaned forward suddenly and caught her lips with his. She was startled at first. Then she melted into his kiss. So many emotions were flooding her at once, and her heart was beating so fast, she was almost dizzy. This felt so right. She fit perfectly into Tony's arms. It was like heaven.
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
A/N: This is not all of the Tony angst I have promised…Muahaha!
As always, read and review if you approve! Thanks all you wonderful people who have reviewed so far, your comments are greatly appreciated!
