Chapter 15

Abby heard the doorbell downstairs and cursed, her eyes flicking to the phone on the bedside table. She really wanted to phone Liz but she decided that she needed to get rid of whoever was at the door first. She pulled her black combats on and ran down the stairs as she fastened them. She grabbed the door with one hand while the other pushed her wet hair from her face.

"I don't…" she got no further before she noticed the cold dark eyes of the person standing before her. She slammed the door shut, her mind speeding ahead of her body. Without waiting to see what Ari would do she sprinted to the back of the house and the basement. Gibbs kept a spare gun down there, if she could get it and get out of the basement before he got in the house she had a chance, she thought desperately. She didn't bother to waste time looking behind her. She had always hated it when women did that in the horror movies, all it did was slow you down or trip you over, her feverish mind thought. She heard the door handle turning and cursed Gibbs for not having a door that locked automatically. She pumped her legs faster hoping she could at least make it to the damn gun before he got to her. If she was going down then so was he she thought with anger and determination.

Abby reached the basement and nearly tumbled down the concrete stairs in her haste to get to the gun in the cabinet. She heard Ari moving slowly through the house, obviously checking rooms as he went, looking for her. Abby threw herself at the cabinet that housed Gibbs's tools and ransacked the large box that contained his neatly lined up tools. She threw them haphazardly around until her hand found the thing she wanted most. She gripped the Sig in her hand, the other one reaching for the clip that went with it. She snapped the two together and thanked Gibbs silently for showing her where he kept them. She held the gun steady, getting a feel for the weight of it before she moved away from the cabinet. She could hear Ari in the kitchen and knew he would be in the basement in seconds. She slid quickly under the boat in the middle of the room, her eyes locked on the stairs that led up to the kitchen. She manoeuvred herself into the best position that offered the most concealment but also allowed her a view of the bottom of the stairs. She steadied her breathing, trying to still her pounding heart, afraid that he would be able to hear it from across the room.

She watched as his feet came slowly into view, the banister preventing her from getting a clear shot of him.

"I know you're down here Abigail" Ari murmured, his voice rich and sensual. "And I am sure you are by now armed" he continued, not moving any further into the basement, his eyes scanning the room for her hiding place. He noticed a small shadow under the boat and smiled to himself. "I don't want to hurt you, just talk to you" he said as he stepped back onto the stairs. He kept his foot tread silent as he moved partly up the stairs. He peered over the banister, working out what her line of sight was.

"Come now Abby, I could have killed you earlier if I had wanted to" he continued to speak calmly, as he slowly and silently climbed over the banister, balancing carefully on the wrong side of it. Holding his gun at the ready he threw himself from the banister, landing with a loud smack he rolled quickly and expertly so that he came up at the side of a stunned Abby.

His gun level with the side of her head, Abby slowly turned and stared down the cold steel. She closed her eyes briefly and cursed her stupidity at not guessing what he had been planning. Slowly she opened her eyes, her dark ones meeting his. Hers shooting sparks of fury and hatred, his cold and unemotional. Slowly and with deliberation she levelled her own weapon at his head.

"You were so like right" she told him with a grin. "I am armed and I'm an ace shot too" she said as if telling him about her latest full spectrum microscope.

"I don't doubt that you are my dear Abby" he said softly "But do you really want to shoot me?" he asked softly, his tone caressing.

"You bet your socks I do" she said clearly, her gaze and aim unwavering. "I'm not Kate" she said, feeling a pang of regret at her words, but knowing he would understand her meaning clearly. Ari angled his head in acknowledgement, his eyes never leaving hers.

"No, your not" he agreed, his eyes darkening with some unknown emotion.

"So, we staying here till Gibbs gets back or what?" she asked Ari calmly, amazing herself at her own calm reaction to the situation.

"That is not my intention" Ari answered "But I can be flexible when the need arises" he added on with a smile.

"Yeah right" Abby muttered sarcastically. "So is this where we both agree to put our guns down on the count of three, or where I blow your brains out?" she asked him with a look that told him she preferred the second option.

"Neither" Ari said as he rolled over onto his side, his action catching Abby of guard again. She tried to follow him with the gun and her eyes but he moved too quickly. One moment they had been in a stalemate and the next he was moving. Abby felt the searing pain in her arm before she heard the echo of the gun shot. She watched as if in slow motion as the gun fell from her hand, blood pooling around it from the wound in her arm.

She tried to react, tried to grab the gun with her other hand, but Ari moved fast, hitting it out of reach and grabbing her at the same time. Abby struggled with all her might, ignoring the pain in her arm and the blood smearing the ground.

"Stop it now" Ari demanded harshly, his breath sucking in as her fist connected with his already battered body. "I really don't want to have to hurt you further" he grunted as she continued to struggle, almost breaking free from his grasp, and trying desperately to crawl away from him.

Ari growled low in his throat and pulled back the hand holding his gun, Abby felt a pain shoot through her mind before darkness claimed her.