A/N: My third drabble of the day. I must be on a roll! This is yet another tag to "Truth or Consequences," an evaluation of the 'wild card' scene, which I know has been done before. But I haven't seen it covered quite like this...
Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS.
Uno
It's insane.
He's in Africa, tied to a chair in a dangerous terrorist camp, watching a Yale-educated psycho point a gun at his partner, and all he can think about is a card game.
Uno, to be more exact.
He hasn't played in years, but he used to consider himself an expert. Ever-observant, he never failed to notice when one of his companions made it down to just one card, and cheerfully called them on it before they could gather their thoughts. But despite his excellent winning record, Tony had always found Uno to be more a game of luck than skill. If you had the cards, you played them. If not…you drew until you found something you could use.
Not too different from traveling freely into a foreign camp, allowing yourself to be captured and tortured, and hoping everything goes according to plan. Hoping you can hold out until help comes.
And if all else fails…improvise.
Ziva is the glitch in his original plan. She's like the 'Reverse' card: just when he thinks everything is proceeding predictably, something happens to necessitate a re-evaluation. Now there are three souls to protect.
McGee, frozen with his arms extended ridiculously, resembles the 'Skip' card, because he is so often skipped over, left behind to deal with the computers and technical machines. But not this time. This time, he is essential—possibly the difference between winning or losing the game, because he's the only one who can free them when the time comes.
And Tony himself? His designation is the most obvious.
He glares defiantly at his captor; then smiles.
I'm the Wild Card. I'm the guy who looks at the reality in front of him and refuses to accept it.
And he sees the doubt cross Saleem's face, because maybe, just maybe, the captives have a chance after all.
He knows that this is the moment. It's all up to one person now; the secret weapon. The final card.
They have one chance.
One.
Uno.
A/N: Please review. Only two days 'til Episode 7.02!