Disclaimer: I don't own the characters and I don't intend to make money out of this.

A/N: I am aware of the fact that the story is OOC, but no matter how hard I try, I just don't seem to be able to write them any differently! It's an extreme situation, maybe that's just the way they would react, who knows. Hope you still like it!

Chapter 2

"Tony!" Kate ran down the stairs when she had discovered her colleague making his way down the street. "Tony, wait!"

He stopped abruptly, taking deep and measured breaths.

"What the hell was that all about?"

"Nothing." His jaw was tight.

"Didn't seem like nothing."

"It's none of your business, Kate. Stay out of this."

"Tony! This girl was scared, she didn't do anything to you. She just wanted to talk."

"Oh, yeah? Did she?"

"What's up?" Kate cocked her head. "She an ex?"

Suddenly he looked at her and Kate was shocked when she saw the hurt in his eyes. He didn't look like the Tony she knew at all anymore.

"Tony," Kate pressed, gently laying a hand on his trembling arm.

"She…" He gasped, jerking away from her touch. "Yes," he added calmly after a moment. "Yes, she is."

"And?"

"And nothing. We broke up, no big deal."

"Tony," Kate smiled gently. "Even if I wasn't trained for this kind of thing, I'd know that it bothers you a lot."

He shrugged. "I'm not that good at hiding, either, huh?" He took a few steps until he had reached a bench and sank down, closing his eyes. Kate patiently waited for him to gather his thoughts.

"We worked together, in Seattle."

"When have you been in Seattle?" Kate asked incredulously. She knew his file, not once was Seattle mentioned there.

"I had it erased from my file."

That was it? Kate couldn't believe things could be that simple, but right now that wasn't the point. "Okay, go on."

"At first our relationship was strictly business, but it changed. I'd found my soulmate," he snorted. "Guess she had another one."

"I'm sorry."

He shrugged. "She told me it was best for both of us; that she meant nothing but trouble. That she put me in danger just being with me. That she didn't want to be responsible for my death."

"Doesn't sound like it was easy for her." Kate carefully watched him. The pain was tangible.

"Whatever. She stuck to her words. She just locked me out, refused to even talk to me. Dated another guy. Eventually I gave up, moved away. End of story."

"So why do you think she came here?"

"I don't know."

"She seemed pretty desperate."

"Max isn't desperate."

"She seemed to me."

Tony hesitated for a moment, and then he shook his head. "I don't give a damn."

"Really?" Kate asked. "Come on, you can't say her appearance hasn't affected you."

"What if I tried?" He knew it was a lame attempt.

"Then I'd call you a liar." Kate grinned. "Talk to her, DiNozzo."

Tony stared straight ahead for a long moment before he finally nodded. "You're right."

"I'm always right."

"Now you're the liar!" For a short moment the Tony DiNozzo Kate knew was back. Why had she never appreciated him? She hated seeing him like that, all serious and obviously hurting.

"May I can help you, Mrs…"

"Max. Just Max."

"Okay, Max. I'm Jethro."

"Nice meeting you." She seemed light years away.

"So, Max. Do you mind telling me what's gotten you all upset?"

"I'm sorry. I really don't want to talk about it."

"Okay. Do you want to wait for Tony? I'm sure Kate will convince him to come back."

Max shook her head. "No, it's okay. I wasn't sure if I should contact him in the first place. It's been a mistake." She sniffed, smiling sadly. "Tell him I'm sorry. Good bye."

"Max…" Gibbs tried.

"Good bye."

"Where did she go?" Kate looked around, trying to find the cute brunette.

"She left." Gibbs stated, his eyes narrowing. "Said she was sorry she bothered you. And now let's get back to work."

"Boss, I…when did she go?" Tony fidgeted nervously.

"Couple of minutes ago. Now what? This is not the time for you to sort through your private life, DiNozzo!"

"Sorry, boss. I just…I need to find her."

Kate watched him run back the way they had just come before her eyes returned to Gibbs. "Listen, Gibbs. I know this doesn't belong here, but…"

"Get back to work, Agent Todd." He smiled despite his strict tone, indicating that he was fine with Tony's decision.

"Max! Max, wait! What's going on?" Tony had caught up with her in the lobby. Apparently she was in no rush.

"I shouldn't have come."

"No, don't say that. It's alright."

Max forcefully grabbed his arm and pushed him into an empty conference room.

"They are taking us out, Tony. One by one." She kept her voice low.

"What? Who?"

"I don't know who." She sounded nervous and lost. "There is no Manticore anymore, or so we thought."

"How many already?"

"Five of us. There are only three of us left, Tony. And I don't want them to kill us as well."

"Who is us?"

"Jace, me- and Alec."

A piercing pain shot through Tony's heart at the mentioning of the name, but he covered it immediately. "Where are they?"

"Jace is hiding in Mexico, Alec is still in Seattle, too stubborn to take any precautions. I can't do this alone, Tony. I didn't know where else to go."

"You think the government is behind this?"

"It's likely, don't you think? Nobody else really knows about this project. Maybe they want all traces to disappear."

Tony leaned against the closed door. "You know what you're asking of me, right? Me going after the government I'm working for."

"Not the whole government, just a small subgroup of sadists." Max's voice was dripping with hatred.

"This is huge. I can't do it alone."

"You can't tell anyone. It's too risky, for them and for us. You know that."

"My team will ask, Max. They are my friends, they worry. They will find out something's up and they won't just watch me dig into this."

"Do you trust them?"

"Yes." He answered immediately, without a second of hesitation. He knew how much this one word meant for Max, and he also was well aware that she still had destroyed all trust he used to have in her.

"Okay."

"I will tell them all of it, Max. If they get into this they deserve to know."

"I don't have much to lose."

"Okay, then…" Tony turned to leave the room when Max grabbed his arm.

"Wait."

He looked down to see her hand on his bare skin.

Max also looked at it and drew her hand back immediately. "There is something else. About what happened between us…"

"Don't. It's been a long time. I don't want to go back there." With that he left her standing there, alone.

TBC