A Dare, Or Something More Sinister?
Rating: T
Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS... I'm just taking the characters for a spin!
Author's Notes: Thank-you all for the reviews, I'm glad you all like it... as always a few more wouldn't go unnoticed! Please!
And of course, again a humungous thank-you to Kate for her terrific work and inspiration!
The car entered the small, quaint town, and the team saw the first patch of green grass since the beginning of the journey. Traveling to the centre, McGee gave directions on how to get the local cop-shop. Tony parked the car out the front of an old but well kept building.
"Well, this should be it" McGee said as he put away his PDA
They got out of the car and walked into the police station. As they walked through the door, their eyes landed on a uniformed officer, a constable, who was asleep in his chair with his feet rested on his desk. Gibbs raised his eyebrows and was about to wake the man up when another officer walked in.
Upon seeing their expressions, the man introduced himself as Sergeant Deakin and explained that the constable had attended a motor vehicle accident over the night which had lasted longer than expected. He led them into another office and sat them down, "Okay, so here's what's going on, your man is still residing at the One Stop Inn, he's made a few trips to the local supermarket and various other stores, nothing interesting. We have an officer keeping surveillance and last time he called in, your man was still in the motel"
Gibbs nodded towards the sleeping constable, "Hope he's more alert than him"
Deakin smiled, "I would hope so, he's only been on duty for two hours"
"When did he last call in?" Tony asked
"Ten minutes ago. I have 3 other officers at my disposal and a further 4 if I call some in from the nearest town" Deakin said
"We should be fine" Gibbs answered, "So, where is this hotel?"
They pulled up outside the hotel and got out, moving to the back of the car to get bullet-proof vests on and ammunition for their guns. The local police pulled up behind them and suited up as well. Deakin made his way to Gibbs and spread the blueprints of the One Stop Inn on the hood of his car. Deakin pointed to the prints, "Exits are here and here, fire exits are here and here. His room is" he studied the map, squinting "About here"
Gibbs nodded, "Okay, you and you're officers take those exits, we'll go in and get him"
Deakin nodded and directed his officers to the various exits, running off in the opposite direction to them. Gibbs turned to his own agents, watching them get ready to go in, and realised that this would be one of the last times they would do this.
"Boss?" Tony asked as he saw the expression on his face
Gibbs looked to Tony and smiled, "Ready to kick some ass?"
They moved as one into the hotel and to the room. Gibbs and McGee went to one side of the door whilst Tony and Kate stayed on the other. Gibbs gave Tony a nod, drawing his gun. Tony nodded back and kicked the door open, going inside with his gun drawn, working with Gibbs, and Kate and McGee as they searched the rooms. Shouts of 'clear' rang through the small apartment like place. Kate, McGee and Tony met in the centre, with confusion written all over their faces.
"What the…?" a voice asked from the door
They turned around and saw Brown as he recognized them and bolted. They ran after him, with shouts of "NCIS, freeze!" as they ran down the corridor. Brown turned a corner and ran towards the front entrance, but stopped and spun around when he saw Deakin waiting for him. Tony stepped forwards with his gun drawn, "You've got nowhere to go, you're surrounded"
Brown looked around desperately and pulled out his own gun, pointing it at the agents, "So, I take it you didn't find him in time" he said with a slight smile
"What makes you think that?" Kate asked
"For starters, Agent Gibbs is not here, secondly, he was almost dead when I left him, I made sure of that" Brown replied, grinning
"Put the gun down, Brown" Tony said steadily
"You first, sweetie" Brown responded, swinging his gun around, "I couldn't help it, when I found out Mitchell had been seeing Dowling," he made a sudden movement, "I was so pissed off. Then he died and a few days later and that other bloke figured it out, so I killed him too…" Brown trailed off, and smiled, "That's when I realised I liked doing it, got a …thrill from doing it. It was exciting"
Brown stood there with a smug look on his face. Even though there were more than enough guns pointed at him, he smiled at the thought that he had killed their leader. He froze, however, when he heard a cold, unidentified voice behind him. "Put the gun down now." Kate's eyes flicked to the tall figure standing behind Brown.
"Now, now, Jethro, that's really not necessary" Brown chided him, turning slightly to look at Gibbs, "You look like shit, you shoulda stayed where I left you, you would have been much happier"
"I said, put the gun down!" Gibbs demanded
Brown smiled, his eyes twinkling, "I heard you. But I really don't feel like doing that" he moved the gun around so it pointed at Kate, he watched Gibbs for any change in his expression, but none was given.
"Put the gun down now!" Gibbs snapped, muttering to himself "Or I swear to god…"
"See, that's the problem with all you federal agents, you're all wound up so tight" Brown told them, laughing slightly. "And I know there is no possible way I'm gonna get outta here alive," he raised his gun at Tony, then flicked it to Kate, "I wonder how many of you I could take down with me"
"You wouldn't be stupid enough to try," Tony threatened, his gun aimed at Browns head. Tony's breathing deepened when he saw Brown flick off the safety catch of his gun. All four agents quickly followed suit and unclicked the safety catch of their own weapons, keeping them trained on Brown.
"Try me" Brown challenged them
"Why don't you just let us take you into custody, we can sort something out" McGee said
Brown smirked, tightening his grip on his gun, "You're all too afraid to use your guns, that's humorous. Well, I'm not." With that, Brown shot at Kate, triggering the first of the shots. After the gun fire, Brown lay on the ground, his body ridden with about 8 bullets. Kate staggered into Tony, her hand clutching at her chest, Tony caught her as she half-fell to the ground.
"Kate!" Gibbs shouted, coming over as Tony tried to undo her jacket, fumbling with the zip as his hands were covered in her blood.
"McGee…!" Gibbs called
"Paramedics, got it boss" McGee interrupted, getting out his cell
"Kate, stay with us" Tony said as they got the jacket open
"I'm right here, Tony" she replied in a strangely clear voice
As the jacket opened, Gibbs pulled up her shirt to reveal the bullet-proof vest, with two bullets lodged in it. He breathed out deeply and sat back on his heels, "Goddamn it, Kate", he wiped a bloodied hand over his brow, "Where are you hit?"
"Um," Kate said, trying to sit up to take a look, but was stopped by Tony, "Where the blood is coming from"
Tony rolled his eyes, "Could you be more specific?"
"My shoulder, I think" Kate replied
Gibbs eased her forward and took off her jacket and shirt, revealing the bullet-proof vest and a blood-stained T-shirt. He studied her shoulder and nodded at Tony, applying pressure to the wound, "Just a flesh wound"
Tony smiled at her, "Looks like you were lucky, Todd"
"Luck has nothing to do with it, DiNozzo" Kate replied, moaning
Gibbs brushed a strand of hair out of her face as she groaned in pain. Even through her pain, Kate glared at him, apparently still pissed off at him. Gibbs averted his eyes and retracted his hand, still keeping his other hand on her wound, applying pressure. He took a moment to recompose himself, before turning to McGee, "What's their ETA, McGee?"
"They should be here any minute, boss. They were nearby when I called" McGee answered, stopping when he heard sirens, "I think that's them"
"I'm fine. I don't need paramedics" Kate said, trying to sit up
"Kate!" Tony said warningly, "Lay down, I don't want you to pass out"
"Tony, I don't need to go to hospital" Kate responded, but lying down anyway
"Let's let them make that decision" Gibbs said
Kate grumbled and snatched her shirt from under Gibbs' hand where he was applying pressure to her shoulder, "I can do that"
Gibbs bit his lip and stepped back, keeping his face devoid of any emotion. When the paramedics came in and started fussing about around Kate, Tony came to join him.
"You okay, boss?" Tony asked, concerned
Without looking up from the activity around Kate, he answered, "Why wouldn't I be, DiNozzo?"
Before Tony could answer, Gibbs walked off and out the main entrance, to talk to Deakin about Brown's body. Tony sighed and looked for McGee, the younger man was on the phone, probably talking to Abby, the two never seemed to be able to go for six hours without contacting each other. Tony moved closer and heard bits of the conversation.
"No, we ran out last night….yeah; we used the last of it…well, yeah, ok, I used the last of it this morning before I left….no, we wont be able to drop by a chemist on the way back, there's one just up from NCIS…yeah…yeah, love you too" McGee hung up and noticing somebody behind him, turned around to see Tony wriggling his eyebrows
"The chemist? You used the last of it? Tut tut, McGee, you shouldn't do something like that by yourself" Tony said
McGee frowned, "Ah, we ran out of foot lotion, Tony, we both have foot calluses"
"That's what I use it for" Tony remarked. He gave McGee a slap on the back and walked over to Gibbs, who had just finished speaking with Deakin. "You wanna ride with her in the ambulance, boss?"
"I don't think she'd want me there" Gibbs replied
Tony rolled his eyes, "Get in the ambulance with her. And don't argue with me"
Gibbs studied the young Italian for a moment before silently nodding and turning to watch Kate as the paramedics helped her into the back. He walked over with Tony close behind, and replied in the affirmative when the paramedic asked him if he wanted to come along for the trip.
Kate glared at him as the paramedic moved aside, "I don't want you to come along with me" she said coldly, "I'd rather ride with Tony" she continued, thinking about the odd, brother like relationship she had with him now. "Or McGee, but I definitely don't want you!"
Gibbs heard McGee's sharp intake of breath from where he stood behind him and a muffled gasp from Tony. Gibbs' heart constricted for the hundredth time that day, convincing him that by the end of the day, he'd have a heart attack from the anxiety and hurt she was causing him. He opened his mouth to reply, to tell her that he didn't care what she wanted, that he was coming along anyway and pull rank on her. But he couldn't bring himself to do it, he couldn't think of any response, not an indifferent or even angry one. Closing his mouth, he realised he had to get out of there and fast, and not because Kate looked as if she would physically attack him, but because of the emotional turmoil she had wrought over him. Because the walls he had built around him to protect him, were crumbling, and he didn't want everybody to see the raw emotion that lurked beneath. Turning on his heel, he stalked towards the car, not waiting to see what would happen.
Tony watched Gibbs stride off, and turned back to Kate, "That was harsh, Todd"
"He deserved it, DiNozzo" Kate responded
Tony narrowed his eyes, "McGee! You're riding with Kate. I'll see you both at the hospital" he said, before turning to catch up with Gibbs.
That's it for chapter 35... I hope you like it! Please review, please!