A/N: I know it's been a while, but heres a chapter folks! To my latest followers & favourites, welcome aboard! I'm so glad to have you with us! To my reviewers, you all rock! I love hearing your thoughts on this story, they truly keep me inspired to keep going, so keep them coming!
Guest Reviewer Ladyaloysius: thank you so much! I absolutely love hearing how much you love the stories & that you read them over & over again. And yes, I would love to see Mark Harmon act it out, espeically the moments of being silly with his kids! And yea you're right, never gonna happen, but that's why we write!
Now, lets get right into it.. how are things going in Stillwater?
Ziva was half way down the street when the gunfire started to ring out, it sent her scrambling for cover. Taking stock of what was going on, she knew that while she wanted to help out here on the street, she was needed in the theatre & she had to get there quickly!
Firing her weapon as she ran, she propelled herself through the bodies that were flying everywhere, she thought she saw some civilians. She had already been notified that they'd cleared the main street, so what were these people doing here "Get back into the store! Stay down!" she yelled at them as she ran straight past, glad to see that they heeded her warning & retreated into the nearest shop.
"Peters?" Ziva yelled coming into the lobby.
"Upstairs!" was the yelled reply.
Ziva charged up the stairs & saw one of the SWAT guys motioning her quickly, she followed quickly, but as she entered the room, she stopped dead in her tracks, this woman was strung up like a christmas tree.
"Ziva this calm lady here is Joanne" Peters said as he patted Joanne's thigh "Joanne, this is Ziva, she's going to help us get this off you, ok?"
Joanne took this woman into sight, she couldn't do a lot, she had to put her trust into these people, so she just nodded.
Ziva knew who she was, so she had to get her out of this "We'll get this off you, don't worry"
"Where are we at?" Ziva asked as she took a step back to Peters.
"We're having trouble finding the single point of detonation, think we're going to have to all tackle them at the same time" Peters admitted, it wasn't the most ideal situation.
Ziva started to look all the wires & boxes over, she certainly wasn't seeing any clear box of origin for everything, she lay herself down, thinking that there might be box under the seat. As she pulled herself under the seat she certainly saw a box, but like the others it didn't look like the final box, damn! So far she'd 4 boxes, one under here, one on her lap, one on the back of her neck & the last one was attached to her ankles.
"Anything Ziva?" Peters asked, he'd looked already, but maybe she might have seen something else.
Ziva pulled herself back out & just shook her head "Think we need to do your idea, 4 of us tackle the boxes, and one ready to…" she motioned Peters in Joanne's directions as if to say 'yank the woman out'.
Peters nodded in agreement "Right, Brown, Abrams, you two on the boxes, Cam, you know what to do"
"Yes sir" came the reply from his men.
Peters looked back at Joanne "we're going to get this stuff off you, you need to keep still, as soon as we've gotten the boxes disconnected Dave here will get you out of the chair quick smart, just let him lead you, ok?"
Joanne got nervous, she wanted to tell them to not touch any of it, she was petrified that they'd set it off, but she was equally as petrified about it just blowing up, why on earth had Mac done this to her? She just didn't understand it! She took a deep breath though & just nodded her understanding.
Peters took it upon himself to tackle the box on her lap, he motioned his men to the ones on her ankle & underneath, having seen Ziva taking it upon herself to disarm the one on the back of the neck.
Ziva had the clippers in her hand as she hovered over the box, there were four wires coming out of it, all four were wrapped around either her neck or intertwined around her ears, she'd have to cut them quickly, but also carefully.
Abrams was under the chair & his eyes widened "ahh! Got a light flashing here!"
Peters waited for the inevitable explosion, but it didn't come but what did come shocked him! He watched as a surge of something radiated all over Joanne & her whole body violently shook.
"Get it all off her!" Ziva yelled, it wasn't a bomb per-say, it was a massive electric circuit & it had just gone off, she madly rushed to clip the wires from the box on her neck as another shock wave ran its course.
Peters started cutting his wires just as madly as Ziva was, and he knew his men were doing likewise "Stay with us Joanne!" he saw her eye's start to roll & knew that wasn't a good sign! "Cameron, paramedics, now!" he ordered, seeing his man high tail it out of the room.
As soon as all the wires were removed & the boxes dealt with Peters manoeuvred Joanne to the ground, he needed to assess her "Joanne?" he asked seeing if she was still with them, but received no answer.
Ziva was down on the ground instantly, she felt for a pulse "her pulse is very erratic, the shock waves must have sent her heart into an un-healthy rhythm"
"We need a defib to shock her back into a normal rhythm" Brown said
"Go make sure the EMT's bring it & Abrams go help out there!" Peters ordered his men, he & Ziva could handle this now.
Ziva watched the men charge off "we can't let her die" she whispered
"I'm not loosing anyone on my watch! Especially to that bastard!" Peters asserted.
Ziva steeled herself again, she nodded in agreement as she kept her fingers on her pulse, it was erratic to say the least.
Peters hated this, there was nothing he could do except hold onto her, he was glad she was still breathing, but it was very shallow. He knew she was related to Gibbs or Shannon more to the point & he was going with her mother, Mac was a true bastard, he wished he'd get the pleasure to deal with him, but he had a job in front of him, "come on Joanne, hang on! Your family need you! You can't go now, they're right here, stay with us!"
As the moments ticked by Ziva got more nervous "her pulse is fading, we have to do something!"
"Cameron! Brown! Where are my EMT's!?" Peters demanded through the comms.
"En-route boss! ETA 6 minutes out" Cameron replied
"We need them now! Hurry them up! We're loosing her!" Peters vented frustrated, though he knew there was little chance of rushing them more than they were.
"We'll do what we can boss" Cameron replied, understanding his LT's frustration.
"Her pulse is gone!" Ziva exclaimed.
Peters wasn't sure what CPR would do to her heart's condition, but he couldn't do nothing so he instantly started CPR.
Ziva bent over her instantly, starting working in tandem with Peters giving her mouth to mouth "come on! Breathe! You need to come through this! Your family, your daughter needs you!" she said, trying Peters trick of talking to her.
"Incoming!" Cameron called
Peters looked up, thank the stars! "She's lost her pulse! She…"
"We've already been briefed, stand back Lieutenant, we'll take care of her" Paramedic 1 stated as he crouched down & instantly getting to work.
Peters only moved slightly "She's not dying!" he asserted.
"We'll do our best to make sure that doesn't happen" Paramedic 2 stated as his partner started to hook up the defib.
"Clear" Paramedic 1 called, he pressed the button.
Ziva held her breath as the EMT's checked her pulse, she closed her eyes as they signalled no pulse, come on! She thought. She just waited as the machine recharged for the second time.
Paramedic 1 checked her pulse after the second shock & breathed a sigh of relief "got a pulse!"
"She's breathing!" Paramedic 2 added.
Ziva finally let out the breath she was holding, thank heavens! She had just realised what she might have been forced to do if she hadn't made it, she'd have to have told Gibbs that she'd not been able to save her, that wouldn't have something she was sure she could have done, so she was glad she wasn't going to have to do that!
Peters breathed a sigh of relief "is her heart beat regular?"
"It's not as regular as I'd like, we'll get to over to the hospital quick smart, get her checked properly" Paramedic 1 answered.
"Brown, go back up Abrams & the others, Cameron & I will escort Joanne" Peters instructed his man before turning to Ziva "go back & help your friends, tell Gibbs we've got her, we wont leave her unprotected"
Ziva nodded, knowing that's exactly what Gibbs would demand.
"You can't ride with us, we're going to be full up" Paramedic 1 remarked as he settled Joanne onto the stretcher.
"I don't care who you've got, I will not let this lady go without me!" Peters asserted.
Ziva watched as the paramedics shared a look, apparently having a silent conversation.
"Ok, you can ride up front, but there wont be a lot of room" Paramedic 2 finally conceded.
"Glad that's settled!" Peters replied as they made their way out of the building.
Dayle was ready, ready for anything, his hatred & downright fury that was levelled towards MacDonald Fielding was overwhelming him. During the last 24 hours he'd spoken with his brother numerous times, the hours on the road gave him more than enough time to learn about those kids, namely Phoenix & the struggles his brother went through trying to help the boy fit into his new school. But learning just why he'd gone through it was more than he could contain, he wanted nothing more than to rip the man in half!
Gibbs heard the gunfire & saw Mac had attempted to scramble away, he threw himself at the guy, he wouldn't let him get an inch away! "You're not getting away" he sneered. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted Ted getting Shannon to safety, he knew he'd keep her safe!
Acron threw himself onto Gibbs "get the fuck off him" he snarled.
As soon as Dayle had heard the gun fire he'd thrown the door open, praying that at least maybe Ted could get Shannon out of harms way & it came to fruition, as soon as Ted had crossed the threshold he threw himself out the door in support of Gibbs. He went straight for Acron, the man had thrown himself on top of Gibbs in an attempt to get him off Mac.
Jenn was taking cover with Tony as the shots rang out, she noticed that the contingent that had all been paying strict attention to Gibbs stand off was now having to take cover & return fire into the street, she didn't want to do the same, but they were causing all sorts of trouble & needed to be dealt with! She did however motion a SWAT officer to divert his attention to the alley, as she did likewise, she gave Tony the signal that he was in control of that situation.
Gibbs was in a total scuffle, Acron had him from behind in a bear hug hold, he slammed his head back against the guy's head & followed it up with a sharp elbow as he attempted to break free.
Dayle was struggling to get Acron off Gibbs, damn was this guy strong, but then he saw Gibbs make his move & he made his. He gripped the guy as hard as he could & drove his knee into his lower back in an attempt to get him to release Gibbs & it worked, the guy had no choice with the sheer force he & Gibbs were using but to release.
Dayle fell backwards in a heap with Acron right on top of him, using his arms & legs he wrapped himself around the guy in an attempt to keep him from interfering with Gibbs, but geez this guy was a tank, he flashed a look up to his men "Samuels! Migel!" he yelled.
Gibbs felt Acron release him, and he allowed himself a quick breath, yea he'd done damage to his ribs, that was certain! He then moved his gaze to Mac, the guy was getting to his feet, he'd apparently used Acron's scuffle to break free, crap! Double crap "look out!" he yelled, Mac had a drawn a weapon & was about to fire, where the hell was his sidearm?!
Jenn's eyed widened in absolute horror, Mac had moved very quickly & was now aiming a weapon right at Gibbs! She thrust herself forward ready to open fire "Freeze!" she yelled trying to overcome the noise of the bullets.
Dayle's eyes widened as soon as Gibbs had yelled, shit! Mac was moments away from shooting & he was aiming straight at Gibbs! He threw Acron off him & propelled himself towards Gibbs, he couldn't let anything happen to the man!
Gibbs flashed a look around & finally spotted his sidearm, it had somehow ended up a good few feet away, he lunged for it instantly, as he did he heard a shot ring out right as he felt a body fall on top of him.
Jenn couldn't believe her eyes, the man opened fire, she instantly did the same, but right at the same time a bullet from behind rushed past her, it sent a local officer pulling her back to a covered position. Pushing herself out of his grasp she moved to try to see what was going on, however as soon as she stood she was thrust backwards, Mac had shoved her out of his way & was walking with purpose towards the main street.
Tony couldn't remember a previous time things had gone to hell so quickly, but this was utter chaos! He saw that Mike was now engaged in hand-to-hand with one of the men & his eyes widened, he taken a second hit, crap! He tapped the SWAT Officer with him, they'd have to move out, he had no idea why the 2 men on the rooftop weren't taking any shots?
"Take a shot!" Tony ordered through to comms to the two snipers.
"Repositioning sir!" came a call "will be firing within a minute"
"Take the damn shot!" Tony replied, how long does it take to reposition?
Tony waited only 10 seconds before he saw a shot ring out from the roof, and was glad when they kept coming "Let's move!" he ordered, knowing they'd be somewhat covered, he had to get to Mike! He had to neutralise the threat, he had to get back to Gibbs!
Rushing out with a SWAT officer & local officer right on his flanks they were able to push the two assailants back, Tony was glad when the man that had gotten Mike fell to the ground having apparently getting taken down by their gunfire. "Get him to cover" he ordered.
Tony watched as the officer pulled Mike to the relative cover of the sidewalk, he breathed a sigh of relief as he saw the other assailant go down, but there was no chance to take a breath, he saw what was going on down the road "get officers down there!" he ordered right as he saw Mac heading straight across the street, he tensed & flared his nostrils all at the same time.
Tony wasn't sure where Gibbs was & while he was extremely concerned about it, he knew he couldn't let Mac get to the store, he rushed to intercept.
"Back off!" Tony asserted as he got himself between the front door of the store & Mac. While he was concentrating on the man in front of him, he did however flash looks all around & he noticed some of the SWAT personel escorting EMT's into the theatre, he just prayed everyone in there was ok!
"Special Agent Anthony Daniel DiNozzo" Mac sneered.
Tony was shocked that this guy knew his name, he kept it from showing though "you're not getting into that store" was the only response he gave.
"We'll see" Mac sneered, he was more than pissed off, his men had clearly failed him, they were falling by the second. There was only one hope he had & that was his plans for Joanne had been able to come to fruition, he would take comfort from that, oh & he'd take those kids away too! That'll teach the bastard once & for all, no one messes with him!
A/N: Take a breath! I know you all hate me right about now! lol ;p
So Joanne's heading for the hosptial, at least it wasn't a true bomb! But what did those electric shocks do to her? Here's hoping she pulls through!
I know, the big question is how's Gibbs? Did Mac get him? Did Dayle get to him to him in time? Can Tony stop Mac from getting into the store? All the answers in the next chapter!
Now, please don't hate me, but for the next number of weeks I am quite busy, so I can't guartenee when I will get the next chapter up. But I will be updating this as I write the chapters, as often as I can. Here's the catch, for those also following my other adventure - Discovering Kin - you're going to have to wait. That will be going on Hiatus until this is finished. My plan & hope is that by concentrating on this one, which is a lot closer to the end that DK, I can get it out quicker & then be able to focuse soley on that one. Because honestly if I kept both going right now, neither would be getting updated very often at all & would take forever to finish. But that's the plan right now, if I suddenly get more time I will of course amend this.
Anyway, that's all for now & I hope to get out a new chapter as soon as I can, remember I love hearing you thoughts/comments, so review away!