Mossad Officer Ziva David was bathed in a sea of flashing blue and red lights as the police car she was in screamed away from the conference building with her, Gibbs and McGee inside. A state policeman had interrupted the meeting by bursting into the room, breathlessly announcing that men had ambushed a Federal police car with automatic weapons and that they had lost contact with Agents Dunn and DiNozzo.
From there it had been a blur as the remainder of Dunn's men whisked the American agents into cars and drove at breakneck speeds through the traffic to arrive at the Brisbane headquarters for the Federal Police.
Gibbs was furious at the lack of information available, screaming that he wanted a sit-rep on the status of DiNozzo immediately, whilst McGee cowered in the corner of the interrogation room they had been placed in for their own security. Ziva was silent, sitting down with her head in her hands as she fought to control the tears that threatened to spill down onto her cheeks.
All of this was made worse by what could be heard crackling from the radios on the hips of their protective detail. Police at the scene were screaming over the airwaves requesting backup, whilst automatic rifle fire could be heard chattering in the background. None of the attending officers had been able to get a visual on either of the missing federal agents, despite many men and women braving the automatic gunfire and searching desperately.
McGee had received a phone call from a panic-stricken Abby, who was watching the news feed from ZNN. Try as he might to calm the forensic scientist, everyone in the room could hear her high-pitched shouting as she worried about Tony. McGee had to shut down his own emotions as he tried to calm the worried goth.
Gibbs was about ready to break; he knew the men and women of the Australian police services were doing their best, but DiNozzo was out there, amidst the chaos he could hear over the radios. The fatherly feelings he had for the American smart-ass agent were rapidly rising to the surface, and Gibbs had no intention of sitting around doing nothing whilst one of his team was fighting for his life.
Ziva only had one person running through her mind through all of it – DiNozzo. He had escaped death so many times; it seemed inevitable that it would finally catch up. She found herself praying for the first time in a long time that the forces watching over Tony would keep him safe and return him to her.
It seemed the forces were indeed watching over Tony, in the form of one very pissed off, bleeding Australian agent, who had shoved DiNozzo behind a nearby car and was crouched alongside him, trading fire determinedly with the assailants. The bulletproof vest worn by Dunn had protected him from all but two of the bullets, which had impacted along his upper left arm, leaving it hanging down uselessly. Their own car was upside down in the middle of the intersection, having rolled several times after the ramming. It had been a harrowing experience – crawling from their crushed vehicle and sprinting to nearby cover. Unfortunately, Dunn's earpiece radio cord had been severed by some of the broken glass, and they were unable to communicate with their backup.
But despite the chaotic situation, so determined was Tony to help his Australian counterpart, he regularly forgot that he was the intended target of the gunmen, and after his third run at standing up and returning fire, Dunn had reached over and cuffed Tony's hands to the door handle of the vehicle they sheltered behind, effectively ensuring that DiNozzo would sit out the rest of the gunfight in relative safety.
They could hear new noises in the gunfight as the Australian federal and state policemen and women joined the gunfight, adding their pistols to the sounds that echoed amongst the city buildings. Four times Dunn had stood up in an attempt to signal his position to his fellow officers but the gunfire had become more accurate and they were pinned down, and badly in need of ammunition. DiNozzo had used up his magazine, and Dunn was on his second and last magazine, with a single shot remaining.
Despite the rapidly growing presence of police, it seemed the gunmen were intent on killing the American agent. The terrorists themselves had suffered heavy losses – out of five of the original gunmen, only two remained. But these two had no intention of being killed before they finished their mission, and they carefully picked their way forward, taking shelter as they made their way steadily towards the two federal agents.
Roland had seen the two beginning to make their way forward, and was in the process of unlocking DiNozzo's handcuffs with the intention of retreating further when the two terrorists rounded the car. Startled, Dunn shot the first man before making what would no doubt be a suicidal dash towards the second, hoping against hope that he'd be able to tackle the terrorist before he got a shot off at DiNozzo.
It wasn't necessary. Even before the last gunman had a chance to raise his weapon, a number of gunshots echoed from behind him and his chest convulsed before he fell to the ground, revealing Ziva standing behind him, her weapon still smoking in her outstretched hand.
Gibbs stood alongside her, his weapon drawn also as he rushed towards Dunn and DiNozzo. First examining DiNozzo closely and sighing with relief when he saw he was uninjured, he then focused his eyes on the fact his agent was in fact, handcuffed to a car door.
Turning to face Dunn, he said, "Do I want to know why you've handcuffed DiNozzo to a car door?"