''Shit,'' Thor had parked the bike in a small alley. Peeking around the corner, he could see the road up ahead was blocked off by patrol cars. Anyone who tried to get past the cars, be it on foot or driving, had to identify themselves to the heavily armed officers. As it stood, they only had one loaded gun left between them, so shooting their way out was not an option. ''Now what?''
''They've probably got road blocks all around DC…'' Tony conceded, leaning heavily against the wall they were hidden behind. ''We've got to find a place to lay low.''
Turning around, Thor gritted his teeth. His partner was pale, there were dark circles under his eyes and he looked like the wall was the only thing still keeping him upright. Though the wound was not necessarily life threatening, Thor realised that it still needed to be seen to, if only to keep it from getting infected.
He hated to admit it, but he'd come to like the guy. In the few hours that they'd known each other, 'Loki' had proven himself a valuable asset to their team. The operation might have been a failure, but thanks to his partner, he had a chance to survive, a chance to fight for their cause once more.
''I don't suppose you know of any abandoned buildings we can squat in?'' Thor quipped half-heartedly. He had a small apartment he'd rented out on the other side of town, but he did not want to push their luck trying to make it there. Even if they did not get caught driving there, he started to wonder if the brunet would be able to stay conscious long enough.
''I might know something better…'' Tony smirked weakly. The adrenaline rush he'd felt before was quickly fading, replaced by a burning agony in his shoulder. ''An old acquaintance lived a couple of blocks from here…''
''Lived?''
''H-he died a little while ago…'' Tony grimaced as he pushed himself away from the wall. He swayed slightly until he noticed a steadying hand on his good shoulder. ''Bastard never locked his door, hopefully that's still the same…''
''Lets go.'' Thor nodded. They decided to abandon the motorcycle for now, opting for silently creeping through the narrow alleys instead.
With every step they took, Tony could feel his energy fade. He was beyond exhausted, and it took every last bit of his willpower to get to the house in the dark street. It was close to 3am when they reached their hideout, and any people who had stayed up to watch the fireworks had now retreated into their warm homes.
DiNozzo couldn't help but feel nervous when they approached the front door. He'd been at Gibbs' house more times than he could count, but tonight he wondered what he would find on the other side of the door.
He hadn't seen a 'For Sale' sign out on the lawn. Had Ducky and Abby been inside? Had they packed away Gibbs' belongings? Tony's heart ached as he thought of the grief they must have dealt with: Tony had spent the past nine weeks not-quite-mourning the loss of his family, but so had they.
He had not allowed himself to think of their deaths too much and had instead focused on getting better and stronger (yet here he was shot for the second time in roughly two months, Chapman would not be impressed). It wasn't just because it was too painful: it just did not make sense.
From what he'd seen tonight, these terrorists were not nearly as organised as he'd expected them to be. So how had one of them managed to kill three armed federal agents? Even if they'd been focused on DiNozzo, they would have fought back the moment the first gunshot had pierced through the air.
Pushing his thoughts aside, he tried the door: it was unlocked. Carefully opening it further, Tony was surprised to see the room exactly as he remembered it. Nothing had been packed away: it was the same, neat living room he'd walked into time and again.
Thor ushered him to the couch and helped him down with a gentleness Tony did not expect of him. DiNozzo's shirt was soaked with blood, and a closer inspection revealed that there was no exit wound.
''There should be a first aid kit in the bathroom upstairs…'' Tony grunted, his shoulder protesting when they worked him out of his shirt. ''Second door from the right…''
Thor disappeared upstairs to retrieve the box. Tony pressed the shirt against his injury to stop the bleeding, listening carefully to his partner's footsteps. The blond man quickly returned, first aid kit in hand, and crouched down besides him. He opened the box and rummaged through it until he found what he was looking for.
''You ready for this?'' Thor asked, eyeing Tony carefully. Tony removed the shirt from the hole in his shoulder and grinned sheepishly.
''Have you even done this before?'' He retorted.
DiNozzo gasped as Thor suddenly inserted the pliers, wiggling them around until he got a hold of the bullet. Without warning, the man pulled the bullet out, and Tony worked hard to bite back a cry of pain. White spots were dancing in his vision as Thor worked to clean and bandage the wound.
''Hey, Loki!'' Thor snapped his fingers in front of Tony's face. Tony blinked the fogginess away, meeting the man's concerned gaze. Had he passed out? ''You with me?''
''Y-you couldn't have done that a bit more carefully?'' Tony uttered weakly, offering the man a faint smile. He could see the relief washing over his partner in crime.
''I did what I could with the items at hand,'' Thor shrugged, wiping his hands on Tony's ruined shirt. ''I don't suppose the guy that lived here has a sowing kit so we can close that wound properly?''
''I doubt it.'' Tony snorted, examining the blond man's handiwork. The pain in his shoulder had subsided considerably now that there wasn't a small lead projectile prodding him every second, and though there were plenty of bloody bandages scattered around the living room, the gauze on his shoulder seemed clean. ''Thanks.''
''We're brothers now, aren't we?'' Thor grinned. He got back to his feet and started to collect the bloody clothes and bandages. He briefly disappeared into the kitchen, then walked back into the living room with two glasses of water, handing one to DiNozzo.
Tony downed the glass in one go, not having realised how thirsty he was. Thor settled in the armchair nearby, taking a few sips before placing the glass on the corner table. Tony glanced at the clock on the wall, but his vision had become blurry. Before he knew it, his eyelids had slipped shut, and he succumbed to his exhaustion.
By the time he woke up, light was creeping through the gap between the curtains. The agonizing pain in his shoulder had become nothing more than a dull throbbing, and Tony wondered if those injections Chapman had made him use would still affect this healing process.
Turning his head, he realised that Thor had fallen asleep in the armchair at some stage. The SIG Sauer (when had Thor taken that from him?) rested limply in the hand in his lap, and his head was hanging forward at an angle that made Tony's neck ache just looking at it.
Overcome with curiosity, Tony stood up from the sofa, slowly walking towards the kitchen. Nothing appeared out of place, though he was surprised to see a few items in the fridge when he opened it. It was not much more than a couple of beers and a half empty tub of butter, but he still wondered why no one had bothered to clear it out.
He glanced inside some of the cupboards and found a few cans of beans and soup: at least they wouldn't starve if they had to stay here a few days.
He left the kitchen and almost automatically walked towards the stairs leading down to the basement. He stopped at the top of the stairs. His gut was churning, a lump forming in his throat. He was in Gibbs' home, and the knowledge that he would not find his boss at the end of these steps suddenly made his legs heavy.
Swallowing past the lump, Tony took a first tentative step down the stairs. He expected to be faced with darkness and dust, but was shocked to find the light on the table at the back still on. There was an unfinished project in the middle of the room, and his heart ached with the thought that it would remain incomplete.
The scent of sawdust brought back memories of evenings spent watching his boss work, not a word spoken between them unless Tony wished to speak. It reminded him of the night before he'd been shot in the leg: Tony had wanted to invite Gibbs over to his place for Christmas.
That wasn't the only reason, but DiNozzo couldn't bring himself to remember why he'd really come around. Gibbs had offered him a beer, and Tony had quietly watched the man work while he considered if he was ready to confess why he'd really paid his boss a visit. He hadn't been quite ready yet, and Gibbs hadn't pushed him. He would do anything for another night like that.
Reaching the bottom of the stairs, he found himself drawn to the single source of light in the basement. Next to the lamp, he could see files scattered haphazardly on the table: had those been there the last time?
From a distance, they looked like any other case file he'd dealt with. So why was his gut urging him to have a closer look? Walking further into the room, a single photo caught his eye: it was a photo of him.
He picked up the files and started reading through them: with each word, his anger grew, his knuckles turning white as the paper crumpled in his grip.
Deep breaths, Tony urged himself. Being absolutely livid would not help in his current predicament. The movement he could hear upstairs reminded him that he was not alone in Gibbs' home, and if Thor found these files, he'd be done for.
Collecting all the files, Tony looked around the barren basement for a place to hide the stack of papers. He remembered Gibbs showing him once that he had a secret compartment in the wall on the right. Tony didn't know why Gibbs deemed it necessary to keep a spare gun and stash of cash hidden in his basement, but right now it was a welcome hiding spot.
Carefully feeling his way down the wall, he felt the panel partially covered by the workbench and removed it. He was about to slip the files into the compartment when he had another idea. Glancing around, he was relieved to find a pencil in a pot of nuts and bolts.
''Loki?'' He could hear Thor calling for him, and he knew it was only a matter of time until the man would come down the stairs. He quickly scribbled down his message, then stuffed the files away and put the panel back in place.
''Down here!'' He called, quickly brushing the dust off his trousers, wincing at the pain that shot through his shoulder as he did so.
Thor came down the stairs and into the basement, still holding onto the gun as he eyed Tony expectantly.
''I remembered that he kept the good liquor down here.'' Tony held up a bottle he'd grabbed from the table just in time.
''Booze at 8am?'' Thor laughed, shaking his head.
''Helps against the shoulder pain.'' Tony explained casually, relieved when Thor seemed to buy his ruse.
''So do painkillers. Seems your friend had a fair amount of those in his medicine cabinet.'' Thor threw a bottle of pills, which Tony caught with his left hand. Eyeing the pills, he realised that these were the painkillers Ducky had prescribed Gibbs when the man had had a particularly rough run in with a suspect. It did not surprise Tony to see that the bottle was mostly full.
''And here I thought I could finally live the pirate life.'' Tony joked, following Thor back up the stairs.
Over the next hour, Tony and Thor considered their options over a bowl of lukewarm tomato soup. They had agreed that, even though they wanted to lay low, they could not risk staying in one place for too long.
Thor had explained that the others would not have gone back to the warehouse where they'd met each other. After running through every possible scenario, they came to two conclusions:
Firstly, they needed to get out of DC. Agents would be searching for them, and remaining in the city would only increase their risk of getting caught.
The escape plan was simple enough, though it did not come without risks. They would cause a distraction at one of the checkpoints, and then disappear within the commotion. When Tony had revealed his idea of a 'distraction', Thor had roared with laughter, but he eventually conceded.
Secondly, once they got out of the city, they'd split up. People were on the lookout for two assailants, and Tony knew from experience that people often did not think to look for these suspects as individuals. It was in their best interest to split up until things had cooled down, although they also agreed to stay in contact with burner phones.
Once they'd finished the soup, Tony made his way upstairs where he grabbed a clean shirt to wear. He buttoned up the navy blue shirt, rolling up the sleeves, which were slightly too short for his arms.
Rummaging through the closet, Tony found a grey jacket to wear over the shirt and carefully slipped his right arm in. Satisfied with his new garments, DiNozzo returned to the living room, where his partner was waiting for him.
Tony had made up his mind. Together, they would escape DC. After that, there would be Hell to pay.