Chapter 12

Ray knew that he was risking a lot by pretending he didn't care about NCIS or even McGee. He hadn't failed to notice the look of panic and surprise on the man's face. He was surprised that there were no overt looks of betrayal. Disbelief? Maybe. At any rate, it was a risk to even suggest that he wouldn't do it if Simkins didn't promise to let McGee go. He didn't like the odds at all.

It certainly didn't help when Simkins sucker punched him in the right spot to probably crack a rib. The angle certainly was correct. He just couldn't worry about it at the moment. And they were in the middle of a firefight that could go either way.

It had been too good to be true that Simkins would keep his word. Ray knew that he and McGee were the liability. Even if he managed to convey that he was willing to join the other side, Simkins wouldn't believe it. Ray had a loyalty to his country and a sense of justice that frustrated people who wanted to play fast and loose with it. He was just lucky that the moment of reprieve was coming.

He hadn't failed to notice his girl slip into the lab and get into position. So when he gave the command to seek, Callisto was on it. She lunged forward and used her powerful jaws on Simkins' arm. She latched onto it and used her weight to bring her down and Simkins. A shot rang out, but luckily it missed hitting anyone.

"NCIS!"

Ray made a lunge to where Simkins had fallen and punched him across the face, disarmed him and got his gun back. He signaled Callisto to release. Simkins wasn't moving anytime soon since Ray could pack a punch as necessary. He pulled Simkins' gun and tossed it at McGee, "McGee! Here!"

There wasn't much time for reprieve since Simkins' men reacted and were firing upon them. There was return fire as Gibbs, DiNozzo and Ziva pushed their way in. Ray dove for cover near the vault, but the case was moving. He was looking for the one that had it. The firefight was a good distraction, and no one was paying attention to Ray as he managed to track the case.

Staying low, he crept with Callisto through the lab. Once he was within range, he hissed, "Talab, girl. Go."

Callisto took off, following their quarry. She put a spring into her limbs and tackled the guy, sending the case flying. Ray didn't see where it ended up since he was tackled from the side. He collided with a nearby lab table and landed hard on the ground amidst shattered glass. A weight pressed on him and tried to restrain him.

"Should've stayed out of it, Rook."

Ray looked up, grunting at a face he hadn't seen in years. He narrowed his eyes and grunted, "And I trusted you."

"Still can, Rook."

There was an explosion of glass that caused Ray's captor to flinch but he didn't relinquish his grip. Ray struggled but it was not possible and he couldn't call Callisto. He didn't even know where she was. He could hear her growling and grunts of pain along with intermittent gunfire. His focus though was on the face above his.

"Use what the Company gave you. Put the pieces together for us."

"Like I'd do that for them."

"You will because if you don't…"

More gunfire occurred and it was enough to cause a distraction. Ray struggled and managed to get a hand free. He laid a punch to the face above him and managed to push the body off him. Ray rolled over to get to his feet and could feel the sting of the glass. He looked around for a weapon while taking a couple of breaths.

"It's bigger than this Rook. Just watch your back."

Ray would have retorted but Simkins was on his feet and firing. One of his shots hit something and sparks flew, catching fire. Ray squinted as he tried to see where everything was. He found where his weapon had fallen and looked up to see where the players were. He could see Gibbs, DiNozzo and Ziva taking cover in their positions, but there was no sign of McGee. Searching, he saw the case with the nanites. There was still a chance to salvage this.

Taking cover, he fired a couple of shots to draw fire. Once he got it moving, he moved towards the case. He stayed low and managed to slide in the last few feet. The move carried him into the vault. Good cover, but the bad thing was that there was no way out. No exit. The fire was still going, and the emergency sprinklers weren't going on. Looking down, he had an idea.

Simkins in the meantime had managed to get to his feet. He was angry that Ray punched his lights out and set his mutt on him. He saw that his men were engaged in a firefight and it occurred to him that his ex-team leader had a plan set up from the very beginning. Judging from the way things were going though, it looked like it was half baked. That could play to his advantage as he looked for the case with the nanites. That and he had one more thing up his sleeve.

Simkins spotted Ray in the vault with the case. He decided to have a little fun and stalk him like a predator. Staying low, he moved to put Ray into his sights, so he had a clear shot. He could have made it from where he was since he was a sniper and had a rep for shooting from just about any angle. This time though, it was personal. He was pissed at the fact that Ray had taken his gun, but they weren't unprepared.

Simkins managed to find another gun that had clattered. Probably from the mutt taking down one of his boys. He checked, and it still had ammo. The other reason he had to get closer was because it wasn't his sniper rifle. Didn't matter though. He wanted to get up close and personal.

He hid behind a lab counter and checked on his target. Ray was leaning over the open case. He appeared oblivious to what was going on around him. Perfect target. He raised his weapon and took aim. He knew just where to hit him. His finger wrapped around the trigger and he started to squeeze the trigger.

"Ray!"

Simkins squeezed the trigger just as Ray shifted when his name was called. He was an open target and Simkins was confident it would hit. What he didn't expect was someone to step in the bullet's path. He did note the wide eyed look Ray had when he realized what happened. He growled in frustration and took cover since gunfire was being directed his way.

Ray had heard his name just as he finished what he was doing. It was probably the riskiest thing he ever did, but if something happened, they needed some form of leverage. When he looked up, he saw McGee running at him. It was a brief moment of puzzlement until he realized he heard a shot being fired and he spotted Simkins.

It was like time started to stand still as Ray fully turned to see McGee get hit and take a fall. He felt his eyes widened as he was struck with a memory. It was a memory from a long time ago and one that he tried to forget…

LT look out!

Ray heard the second shot and grunted when he felt the burning heat on his arm. He stepped back and fell to the ground from stumbling on his feet, his hand clenched on his shoulder. He could feel the familiar stickiness of blood seeping through his fingers and he turned to look to see his fingers covered in his blood and lifted his hand to look at the wound. He winced as he moved his sleeve to take a peek.

"Do you really want to keep up this fight, Sahib?"

Ray panted and winced from his wound and turned to look at McGee. The agent was on the ground but there was no blood pooling on the ground. There was a sear in his arm but nothing that would resembling a GSW bleeding out. He stared at McGee until the agent seemed to gasp for air and wake up. It was luck that he looked around until he spotted Ray and the man managed to signal to stay down before calling out, "You know I can't let you have them."

"Then why not a trade?"

There was the unmistakable click of a gun being trained. Ray realized that the gunfire had stopped. He slowly got to his feet and peered over the counter. He could make out Gibbs and DiNozzo pointing their weapons at Simkins' men. McGee was down on the ground and not moving. That left Ziva. He looked around and found…

Simkins had his gun trained on her. She was weaponless, and her hands were raised in surrender. There was one other he could make out that had his gun on her. Whether or not it was because they knew she was Mossad was up for debate. He doubted they even knew she was Israeli, but they were not taking chances because she was a woman. They were just confident because body mass and all that, she was considerably smaller. Ray just knew that she could make a guy regret thinking the wrong thing about her.

This time though, it was different. It brought to mind that whole, bringing a gun to a knife fight thing. Ray shifted to lean back against the wall where he was positioned and winced while trying to take a calming breath. Not looking, he called out, "You know I can't do that, Simkins."

"Now you grow a spine, Sahib? Or did you forget that you were the one that hacked into the system and opened the vault? You're just as guilty."

"Don't do it, Skipper," Gibbs' voice rang out.

Ray looked downward at his lap and opened up the hand that he had clenched in a fist to stare at what he figured would be a good plan. Then again, Simkins was right. He was implicated no matter what.

"I don't have time or patience, Sahib. Give us the package and we'll let your girl go."

"She's not a girl," Ray retorted more to be a pain in the rear.

"Sahib."

There was a click. It was the telltale sound of a gun being cocked. Ray heard murmuring and sharp words, but they weren't distinctive. It was tempting for him to react and say that he would do it. He was not willing to put Ziva in that kind of danger and made him well aware of the dangers of actually caring about someone. It was one of his greatest faults, but it was different when it came to the team.

There was a slight scuffle and a gun going off. Ray whipped around to take a peek just as Ziva called out, "McGee!"

There were grunts and Ziva growling. That meant she was pissed. Ray felt his breath hitch slightly as he opened his hand once more and looked around. He caught McGee on the ground and Gibbs and DiNozzo were straining at the bit to help Ziva who was caught in the crosshairs. He gritted his teeth and silently jumped when he felt a wet nose touch his cheek. He made a slight face when Callisto gave him a gentle lick.

"I am running out of patience, Sahib. Give me the package or I will shoot her."

"Skipper."

Ray grimaced as he looked upwards. He was hearing protests from Gibbs, DiNozzo, Ziva and Simkins' men. He winced as he remembered that op and what was going on. Nothing like this but he had been faced with a decision. One that ended up changing how his life went to this point. He looked at his hand and the blood that had trickled down his arm and what was in his hand and then at Callisto. He had a choice and he just prayed that it would not send them all to hell.

Simkins was not a man of patience. This was nothing like the man he had followed under previously and it annoyed him exceedingly. Then again, the man debated his choices like crazy especially if it conflicted with his morality; another major annoyance when they just needed to get things done.

"He's not going to do it."

Simkins shifted his gaze to look at the woman he was holding as hostage. She was covered so if she tried something, one of his men would take care of it and it was the reason her friends didn't try anything. It gave him the luxury of having a small conversation. He tugged on her arm and asked, "And what makes you so sure, Sweet Cheeks?"

Ziva resisted the urge to knee the man in the balls. She really hated that pet name ever since she went undercover with DiNozzo and pretending to be an assassin. It had Ray laugh at her reasoning and he only used it when he was trying to make a point. Now… She gritted her teeth since she was angry. McGee was shot, and she was in the line of fire on both sides and Ray… he was being put into a position that would damn him no matter what.

Glancing at the man that was grabbing her, she resisted and replied, "He always has contingency."

"Oh is that what it is?" Simkins was amused by this. He glanced over and saw the other two that were holding their guns. He asked them, "So do you really trust Sahib not to give it to me?"

Gibbs had a few choice words to say. Some of them were to be directed at his old friend, but that was after they got out of this mess they were in at the moment. McGee had been the one to figure things out and called him. He just didn't expect his agent to go in alone.

It worked out to a point since now McGee was down. Not dead, but more than likely not in a position to do anything. He and DiNozzo were in a standoff with this guy who was using Ziva as a hostage. Ray… he shook his head. He hadn't failed to notice that Ray had made his way to the vault with whatever it was and now the only thing that was standing in the way of Ziva getting free. He pursed his lips as he thought about what to do and glanced over to where his friend was holed up.

Motion caught Gibbs' attention and he glanced to see McGee moving and it looked like he was going for one of the gunmen. It was Ziva that spotted him first and shouted the moment McGee went for one of the gunmen. A shot was fired, and he saw his agent fall back onto the ground and out of sight. He didn't know if he was dead or alive.

"I am running out of patience, Sahib. Give me the package or I will shoot her."

Gibbs looked up to see DiNozzo holding his position and their target was trained on Ziva, holding onto her and one other guy trained on her. Two others were pointing guns at him and DiNozzo. It was a standoff and there was only one person holding the keys. He called out, "Skipper!" His gaze never wavered from the gunmen he and DiNozzo were holding off.

Simkins looked at the vault while his gun was close enough to blow a nice sized hole in Ziva's head. He peered in the direction of the vault and leaned in close. He whispered in her ear, "He's going to give in. As far as he knows… no matter what he does… his life is over. It has been since the day he took the blame."

Ziva swallowed slightly as she controlled her temper. She looked ahead and around for an advantage as she replied, "For something he didn't do. And he would never let this go."

"We'll see," Simkins smirked. Looking at the vault, he called out, "Time's up Sahib. Count of three. One." He clicked his gun and locked and loaded. "Two…"

"Simkins!"

Everyone looked in the direction of the vault as Ray emerged with his hands raised. One of them holding onto the case, his hands streaked with blood. Ziva stood there watching him, wanting to curse at him and to stop what he was doing. She felt Simkins' grip tighten on her as he said, "So you made a choice, Shahib."

Ray stepped forward but leaving plenty of space between him and Simkins. He held it up, "I did." He gestured the case forward. "Here."

Ziva was not one to believe that Ray would betray his people, his country. The years she knew him, she knew him to be deliberate about everything. Spontaneity was not really in his vocabulary even though he was a spec ops operator and he had to account for sudden changes in a planned op. He also had a strong sense of loyalty. So, she was disinclined to believe that he had a change of heart in his principles. She looked at the man and stared at him straight in the eye.

When they first started working together, it took her awhile to learn that he revealed a lot of what he was thinking through his eyes. At first, she thought that he was like some Mossad operatives she knew, all about the mission and no ounce of caring, unless it was to make a person angry. She knew because he did that with her multiple times when he would break into her apartment and raid her fridge. Looking at him now, she could see the determination in his eyes and something else.

Simkins wasn't paying attention to that and looked at Ray with a grin, "Finally some sense in you Sahib. Put it there." He gestured to the lab table that separated them. "Come on."

Ray placed the case on the counter and slid it towards Simkins. There was no expression on his face when Ziva was urged to go forward and to pick up the case and hand it over. He didn't flinch when Ziva hesitated but stared at Simkins.

Ziva toyed with the idea of refusal, but she was not in a good position to do so. She passed it over to one of Simkins' men and stood there with an equally bland expression. She surveyed the scene as Simkins' man backed away while subtly shifting. She noted that Ray wasn't moving but staring at Simkins like he was going to launch himself across the lab table and tackle the man. He didn't though.

"Thanks Sahib. This has been fun and maybe, just maybe, you'll figure out the next step," Simkins started retreating, gesturing in a mocking manner at Ray. He paused to give a mocking look and a bang went off.

Ziva didn't see what happened since she had been shoved out of the way and towards Gibbs and DiNozzo. She landed hard on the ground amidst the shattering of glass. She twisted just in time to see DiNozzo slide her a gun which she grabbed. She was on her feet and looking for a target but was distracted by the shattering of glass. She did manage to catch sight of Simkins heading towards the hall with one of his men and not far on his tail was Ray.

Ray had felt the searing pain on his side as the bullet passed through him. It was enough to be an annoyance, but he was astute enough to know that he should get it treated and it could lead to complications if he wasn't careful. Right now, that wasn't the case. Right now, he was focused on catching Simkins and maybe this wouldn't have to go any farther.

Ignoring the pain, he moved forward after grabbing the weapon he had hidden in his bag. How it ended up close to him when he made his choice, call it luck of the draw or something like it. He pulled his spare gun and clip and pushed to get to the man he once called friend as he was trying to make his exit. He took advantage of the fact that there were beakers and other glass apparel that could be used, and he made use of it.

Simkins' men were covering the exit but there was something off about it and it had Ray on alert. He narrowed his eyes as he moved forward. It became odd when Simkins paused out in the open and turned to look at him. Ray paused with his weapon at the ready but not completely raised. He called out, "Simkins, this is over."

Simkins looked at his old team leader and grinned, "No, I don't think so Sahib. Considering you made the choice and now you are damned one way or another." He gestured at the case that one of his men was holding.

Ray studied the scene with a narrow gaze. He said, "Simkins, give the case back."

Simkins chuckled, "Sorry, Sahib. You had your chance." He gestured for his man with the case to leave. He looked at Ray and added, "You know… you really weren't supposed to live beyond you unlocking the door. But I'm just too fond of you." Simkins smirked like he was simpering in an attempt to be mocking of the situation.

Ray narrowed his eyes at Simkins. "You don't like me that much," he smirked back, hiding the wince that threatened from his injuries.

Simkins grinned, "You're right on that mark. Tell me something, Sahib. Is she really worth all that much to you?" He made a slight gesture ad looked at Ray with a knowing grin.

That was when Ray noticed it. The telltale blinking red light told him exactly what it was. He had no choice. He had to let Simkins go this time.

Simkins was grinning at him as he started walking away. He gave a taunting wave as he said, "You might to keep your friends close, if they could be called that, close. You never know what might happen. Figure out the next step."

Ray gritted his teeth but changed tactics. He heard the sound. He called out as he watched Simkins and his men walk away, "Everyone, get off this floor! Cal, go!"

It was a mad scramble to find somewhere to take cover or get out. Ray tried heading in the direction that he had been coming in when he tried to sneak in. He was vaguely aware that the others were trying to get out, but with the fire and the smoke, visibility was near zero. It was a wonder they didn't suffocate from smoke inhalation. His problem was the fact that the wound in his side was starting to get to him and slowing him down.

He was almost out when he tripped on something. He fell, and his knees hit hard and collapsed on his side, grunting from the impact. He heard grunting that wasn't his. Rolling over, he saw that it was McGee and he looked like he was having a little trouble breathing. The round to the chest may have done more damage than what they could see.

Not one to leave a man behind, Ray got to his feet and reached to grab the agent, muttering, "I gotcha McGee. We gotta go. Come on."

It was awkward, and Ray felt his side burn from stretched and grabbing the fallen agent. He was not giving into it as he hauled McGee to his feet and wrapped his arm around his upper body. McGee was trying to straighten himself up so he was helping rather than hindering but the smoke was so thick, he was coughing hard.

Ray turned towards the exit he was going towards. The fire was spreading but it wasn't blocking the exit. However, there were the rigged explosives and one was too close for comfort. They had to get into the stairwell to have some sort of chance. He grunted and felt his body buckle from the pain shooting up his side.

"I'm okay, Ray," McGee said as he straightened up and started moving on his own. He stumbled with a bout of coughing.

Ray chuckled weakly as he adjusted his grip on McGee and replied, "Come on, McGee. Even McGregor was able to get through something like this. Scuito Bug is going to have a field day if she finds out."

McGee made a slight sound and pulled a face at that. It made them chuckle a bit and amble on, trying to get to the exit. They were almost to the door to the stairwell when they heard it. The beep that meant…

Ray turned slightly and saw the light. He went with instinct and pushed McGee through the door. There was a loud thump. He probably was a little too hard on the pushing, but he had only a little amount of time to get them both in a position to be out of the full force of the blast. He was barely entering he door when his body went through the door, feeling a white hot pain in his back. The world went black as he heard the shattering of the windows of the floor blowing out.

Figure out the next steps, Sahib. Then maybe you might get some justice…

A/N: And that is a wrap for the first part. Stay tuned for part two...