9.
The knock on the door was impatient. Tony quickly found Laurel and they sat on the couch per orders. After a few moments inspection through the eye glass, the door opened. The man was holding his pistol in front of him. The woman followed behind. Luckily for Tony's peace of mind, both were still wearing their ski-masks.
Giles threw the cell phone at Tony. He managed to catch it before it hit him in the face. "What's wrong, my minutes expire?"
"No, wise guy. What the hell is with that phone? They traced it almost immediately. We barely got away in time."
Tony smirked. "I have a tendency to be late on my bill, so they like to keep close tabs on me."
The man, who Tony was really starting to hate, reached forward and backhanded him. It took all his willpower to keep from fighting back. Only Laurel's presence restrained him.
"Get up, asshole! Fight. What are you, yellow?"
"Smart. You've got the gun. You don't like what I do, you'll fire."
"Enough of this. Who are you?" Giles asked.
"Thought you'd never ask." He smiled. "Anthony DiNozzo, at your service. My friends call me Tony, but since you aren't my friends, you can call me Mr. DiNozzo."
"And what do you do for living, Mr. DiNozzo?"
"Oh, me? What do I do?"
"Yeah, what do you do?"
Tony edged away from Laurel. There was no reason to lie, all they would have to do is look at his identification and he'd be busted. "I'm a special agent with NCIS."
"With who?" The man was confused. "What's that?"
"NCIS. Navy Criminal Investigative Service."
The woman walked to where Tony sat, her dark brown eyes narrowed in thought. "Give me your wallet."
Tony moved slowly, handing over the wallet. "Laurel honey, why don't you go into the bedroom and wait for me to come get you. Will that be okay with you two?"
Giles nodded abruptly before opening the wallet. Laurel ran from the room. The secretary studied the identification, then the gold shield. Suddenly it appeared that the light dawned and she reached out, raking his face with her nails. "A federal agent! You're a cop. Damn it!"
Tony held his hand to the scratches bleeding on his cheek. "Hey, I can't help that. It's a job, just like any other."
"Billy, teach him a lesson."
More to come…