*Chapter 17*
With Apocalypse on the hunt, the team tries to find each other since they're spread about the abandoned building. The escaped prisoner searches diligently for the insects he seeks to destroy for their attempt to stop him.
"Ziva, over here." Tony said from a hiding spot. She approaches.
"Where's Gibbs?" Ziva wondered.
"We don't know." Samantha answered.
"We need to find him before Jared throws him to the wolf." Tony stated.
The three of them set out on their search for Gibbs while remaining cautious of the possibility of running into Apocalypse.
Eventually, they find Gibbs and his brother Jared on the second floor.
"Ah man, he's still alive." Tony commented at the sight of Jared.
"You should've left him to die." Ziva added.
"I feel the love in this room." Jared said sarcastically.
"Everyone shut up. I have a plan." Gibbs stated. "We need to get Apocalypse into the processing area on the ground floor. That's where we stand the best chance of getting the collar around his neck."
"Oh come on…" Tony sighed. "Let's just call Fornell for help and get his people in here." There's a brief pause as he realizes what came out of his mouth. "I can't believe I just said that. II feel so dirty now."
"If we use the indoor crane system, we might be able to knock him down which would buy us enough time." Gibbs said.
"If that's your brilliant plan…" Jared begins to say.
"You can launch a large industrial hook at him." Gibbs said. "Or do whatever else your mind comes up with. Just bring him down."
"Oh, you certainly know how to excite me, brother." Jared said with a sinister smile at the thought of what he'll get to do to Apocalypse. "I'd love the challenge."
"DiNozzo…" Gibbs tries to get his attention. "You're the bait."
"Why do I have to be the bait?!" Tony protested.
"It's not debatable, DiNozzo." Gibbs said.
"I need Ziva and Samantha with me. But if you want to ask a woman to be bait, be my guest." Gibbs said.
Tony looks to Ziva and Samantha. From the expressions on their faces, he knows he doesn't stand a chance at getting either of them to swap.
"Ugh…" Tony sighed. "Alright, I'm the bait."
"It's your job to lure Apocalypse to where we need him to be." Gibbs said. "But first, you need to keep him occupied for while to give us time to prepare the area."
"This just keeps getting better and better." Tony sighed in disbelief. "As soon as we get back to NCIS, I'm going down to Human Resources and filing a discrimination complaint against you."
"Go right ahead." Gibbs permits it. "They don't like me down there anyway. They'll enjoy the chance to write me up."
"I'll go with Tony." Ziva offered her assistance. "He might need help."
"Alright, fine." Gibbs said. "Just keep Apocalypse busy."
They split up into their two groups. Jethro, Jared and Samantha to prepare the processing area while Tony and Ziva are to keep Apocalypse occupied and act as the bait.
Tony and Ziva cautiously search the ground floor for the escaped prisoner. Tony finds a hammer and grabs it to use as a weapon just in case. Once they find Apocalypse, they see him move in the direction of the processing area.
"Damn…" Tony sighed.
"Get out there and do something." Ziva said.
"Do what?"
"Wave your arms. Jump up and down. Make noise."
"So I might as well go out there and do jumping jacks."
Ziva shoves Tony out into the open where he bumps into a barrel. The barrel falls over. The noise from the barrel hitting the floor catches Apocalypse's attention. He turns around and stares directly at Tony.
The escaped prisoner starts walking in Tony's direction.
"Give me that." Ziva pops out and grabs the hammer from the frozen Tony's hand. She throws the hammer at the escaped prisoner.
Apocalypse, who keeps direct eye contact with Tony, puts his right hand up and out to the side; he catches the hammer.
"Okay, that wasn't as impressive as it looked." Tony commented.
The escaped prisoner throws the hammer back. Ziva grabs Tony and pulls him toward her. The hammer penetrates through a crate; just missing Tony by a couple inches.
The two of them run as Apocalypse follows in pursuit. They lead him in the opposite direction of the processing area in order to give the others time.
In pursuit of Tony and Ziva, the escaped prisoner stomps on, tosses and breaks through everything in his way. His determination to destroy them for what they did drives a furiousness not felt since he killed his entire family.
Tony and Ziva stop after a while. They looked behind them.
"I think we lost him." Tony said. Seconds later, a large metal object crashes into a nearby support column. The support column cracks.
"Is that an industrial furnace?" Ziva wondered.
"I think you should go out there this time." Tony commented.
Apocalypse approaches a long, stacked wall of crates. He places his hand against it and pushes. On the other side, Tony and Ziva hear a noise and look back only to notice the wall of crates is moving. They run.
"You're the bait he said. It's not debatable he said." Tony complained as they run away.
The wall of crates comes crashing down and all of them break upon impact with the floor. Apocalypse steps into and over the mess.
For a couple minutes, Tony and Ziva keep Apocalypse chasing them until Gibbs gives them the word. Upon receiving the word, they head in the direction of the processing area. The escaped prisoner follows.
Apocalypse enters into the processing area; looking left and right for the insects he's pursuing. But they've disappeared from sight. He knows they're in here somewhere. All he has to do is find them.
As Apocalypse walks further into the processing area, the conveyor system turns on. The noise immediately attracts the escaped prisoner's attention. Then, every other mechanical device turns on. The amount of noise in the area is abundant. But it doesn't concern the escaped prisoner at all. The mission is still the same; find the insects and destroy them.
"Marien!" Jared yelled while holding a chain that leads up into the air.
The escaped prisoner turns around to see the person. Jared smiles evilly as he has looked forward to a moment like this where his prey is an actual challenge.
"I was thinking to myself that we're a lot alike you and I." Jared stated. "Though, I've killed a heck of a lot more people than you have. None of them were ever really a challenge which was always a slight disappointment. But killing you… Now that would be challenge."
"Kill me?" Apocalypse laughed sinisterly. "I cannot be stopped."
"We'll see." Jared said. He whips the chain forward.
"You have to do better than that." Apocalypse said. He yanks the chain; pulling it from its stationary position overhead. A large pile of industrial rubbish falls on top of him.
With the escaped prisoner consumed under the large pile of junk, Jared approaches. He leans in closer.
"I'm sure you can hear me." Jared said softly, but loud enough for him to hear. "There's an easy target running across the walkway overhead." Then he disappears in order to give the escaped prisoner the opportunity.
Apocalypse emerges from the pile of industrial rubbish with blood oozing from a bunch of cuts. He looks upward toward the walkway to see a woman running across.
The escaped prisoner approaches the conveyor belt and kicks the side with massive amount of force. The section of the system breaks. It crashes to the floor. He quickly grabs the section and launches it into the air.
Samantha notices the large section of conveyor belt heading toward the walkway. She turns around. The impact is devastating. The violent shake causes Samantha to floor onto the walkway. The section of the walkway she's lying on breaks. Samantha holds onto the railing as the broken section falls downward and just dangles.
"HELP!!!" Samantha shouted for help as she hangs on for her life.
With seeing what happened and Apocalypse making his way toward the dangling section of walkway, Gibbs runs to help. Jared watches in excitement from his vantage point.
"GIBBS!!!" Samantha shouted at the sight of Apocalypse walking in her direction.
Gibbs runs onto the walkway and without hesitation leaps across the large gap. He lands near the top of the dangling section. Within seconds, he pulls himself up.
Apocalypse is now within seconds of being able to grab the bottom of the dangling section. Gibbs quickly wraps his legs around the closest walkway support. Then he shoves his body over the edge. He reaches for Samantha who tries to reach for him while still holding on. Gibbs can see the fear in her eyes.
The situation causes a childhood flashback in Gibbs' mind; a flashback of the day his five-year-old sister Kelly died by falling from a bridge.
With Kelly hanging from a bar from the side of the old bridge, young Leroy reaches for her.
"Help me, Leroy!" Kelly cried.
"I can almost reach you." Leroy said as his fingers are inches away from being able to grab her. There's only one problem; his arms are too short so as close as he is, is as close as he can get.
"I can't hold on." Kelly cried.
"Don't let go!" Leroy exclaimed as he watches her fingers begin to slip.
Seconds later, Kelly drops.
"Leroy!!!" Kelly screamed as she falls.
Leroy watches in horror as his sister plummets to her death.
With the determination to not allow the same thing happen again, Gibbs extends himself as much as he can. Apocalypse grabs the bottom of the dangling section of walkway and forcibly pulls it. The section comes cashing down. The escaped prisoner looks upward to where the woman is now dangling from the person who betrayed him.
"Hey!" Jared yelled as he runs in the direction with a large industrial hook moving along the indoor crane system. Apocalypse turns around and the hook impacts into him; upper body, shoulder and head.
Directly after impact, Tony and Ziva shove a large wheeled object into Apocalypse. The escaped prisoner falls to the floor. Jared approaches and quickly places the collar around Apocalypse's neck. The collar closes.
Apocalypse grabs the collar and tries to pull it off but he receives a high voltage shock that causes his muscles to spasm too much. He stands up and tries again. But the high voltage and increase of electrical signals in his brain renders him powerless against the collar.
The escaped prisoner stumbles about as he continues trying to pull the collar off.
"It's over Apocalypse." Gibbs said.
But the escaped prisoner continues to struggle with trying to break free of the collar. After several minutes of a valiant effort, Apocalypse stumbles toward an exit. The door opens. He runs out.
Gibbs runs after Apocalypse in order to protect him since Fornell is outside ready to shoot.
Fornell and a couple FBI agents see the escaped prisoner. Without realizing the collar is around his neck, Fornell gives the word to open fire.
"Don't shoot!" Gibbs shouted as he runs out from the door. He presses the button on the remote control and Apocalypse receives a high voltage shock.
As Apocalypse stumbles from the shock, a barrage of bullets head in his direction. Bullet after bullet penetrates into the escaped prisoner.
"Cease fire!" Gibbs yelled while waving his arms in the air. He runs toward Apocalypse.
"Hold your fire!" Fornell ordered. "Stand down, people."
Apocalypse falls to his knees. A burst of blood spews from his mouth. Then he falls forward; face first into the pavement. A pool of blood quickly spreads from his body.
The paramedics Fornell had on standby quickly drive in. They exit from the vehicle and begin to work on the prisoner.
"Good job, Fornell." Gibbs said. He hands over the remote control. "He was under control."
"I didn't know." Fornell said.
Gibbs and the team walk away from the scene. And Jared walks away in his own direction as his part in this is over.
With a full FBI escort, the paramedics rush Apocalypse to the hospital.
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Author's Note: There are two more chapters left to this story. So stick around for them.