Chapter 11: the truth
A/N: alrighty then. Almost done. Here's another actiony chapter seeing as I got a good response out of the last one. Hope you enjoy it! Btw, I do not know how to make or diffuse a bomb and I'm definitely not going to google it. I just left out a lot of detail.
**12 minutes left**
"are we there yet?" I asked for the umpteenth time in the last ten minutes. After we left the house, Saleem had put a hood over my head and shoved me into a car. He had rebound my hands and feet so escaping was out of the question.
"are we there yet?" I asked again when I got not answer.
"are we..." then the car screeched to halt. Saleem ripped the hood off of my head and I was almost blinded by the new source of light.
"shut up! You...you...little imbecile!" he yelled and pushed me back into the, what I now saw as disgusting, cloth upholstery. He was choking me but I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing me choke for air so I held my breathe. I was feeling light headed when he finally let go and put the hood back on but my mission was accomplished. I got a good look at where we were. We were in the back of a hospital. The doors said D.C. Mercy.
I heard the door open and close as I felt Saleem's weight shift and finally leave the car. I leaned over to the right side until my head hit the glass. I went farther down to find the base of the door. Then I felt a small compartment. I went too far. I went back up right to where the glass met the rest of the door then I traveled forward. My nose hit a small metal cylinder. It was an old car and this was the lock mechanism. I took it as best as I could with my mouth covered by the hood. I couldn't quite get it with my front teeth so I turned my head and gripped it between my molars. Man this was an old car that the owner did not really care about. I pulled up and I finally heard the tumbler fall. My mouth was traveling downward to find the handle when the door swung open.
"oh, Husam." Saleem said as he made a clicking noise with his tongue. "so close." I could hear the smile and I wanted to punch him.
"now be a good boy." he said as he dragged me out of the car and shoved me onto something. It felt like a gurney. My theory was confirmed when Saleem strapped me in and took the hood off. He was dressed as a doctor. I felt bad for the poor soul those clothes used to belong to because I knew he had no use for them now. He threw a white sheet over my body and put the gun under the sheet right to my head.
He pushed me up a ramp and I heard the swoosh of automatic doors open and close as we passed through. He pushed me for awhile then we stopped. I heard a ding and we started again. I felt my stomach lift as I realized we were in an elevator. I heard another ding and an automated voice. "4th floor" it said and we started moving again.
He wheeled me into a room and shut the door. He then pulled back curtains and ripped the sheet off. The room was stark white with a single hospital bed, a supply chest, and a small window. He took the bindings off of my ankles.
"our journey ends here." he smirked. "the bombs are planted in various locations in the hospital. They are set to go off very soon."
"bombs? As in plural?" I asked as he paced in front of me. What he didn't know was that a knife from the back of his car was in my waistband. I got my hand on it and started sawing at the bindings but I had to be careful not to cut my back open.
"oh yes! You only saw one of three!" he smiled and checked his watch. "oh! It looks like visiting time is over." he said and walked over to the door. He opened it and went to leave but he paused.
"I wish I did not have to do this my son, but you gave me no choice." he said almost with sadness in his voice an eyes. 1
"I am not your son!" I spit. "and there's always a choice." I said much more softly. The binding was almost cut.
"but that is where you are wrong." and with that he walked back to me and shut the door. 2
"Hope is nothing. It will get you nowhere. You must face the reality." he said like I was a child again and he was trying to be my friend. "Something your father always had trouble with." 3
I sprung up with a surprising amount of energy and punched him in the face. He started to go for his gun but I tackled him into the wall. I heard the air leave his lungs at the force and went to stab him while my other hand was around his throat but he was quick. He grabbed my wrist with the hand that wasn't holding my throat and tried to force the knife from my hand.
My vision started to get darker as he pushed harder and I was losing my grip on his throat. Finally the knife fell from my hand and he pushed me back. I fell onto the bed and he came at me with his gun but I kicked out from the bed and knocked it out of his hands. Then I launched off of the bed with my feet leading the way into Saleem's stomach. He fell back onto the floor. I started at him but he kicked my legs out from under me and I fell to the floor as well. He reached for the gun as I reached for the knife. I heard a shot and felt a whitehot searing pain shoot through my shoulder as I landed the knife into Saleem's throat. He was dead instantly. I got up gingerly and assessed my wound. Of course he shot the one with the huge open stab wound. I couldn't move that arm without almost passing out in pain so I grabbed the gun and put it in my waistband along with the bloodied knife. I ran out of the room and down the hall, passing a few curious doctors and nurses until I found a fire alarm by the stairwell and set it off. I kept running and tried to think of where the bombs would be. I was on the fourth floor of a 6 floor hospital. 3 main wings on the bottom 3. The main entrance was in-between the West wing and the center wing on the ground floor.
One had to be on the third floor. Saleem taught me how to plant bombs. There was one in the east wing on the 2nd floor and one in the west wing on the first floor. That way the whole building would go down. No survivors.
Suddenly I was thrown sideways as the first bomb went off. I was thrown up onto the wall before I was tossed back down like a rag doll. I was lucky though that I didn't fall through the giant hole that was now in the floor just inches from where I landed. Judging by the blast, the bomb was almost directly on the floor below me.
I started running again. The ceiling was falling and I scrambled for cover but the only thing I could do was keep running and hope to not get hit. The halls were destroyed and the floor started crumbling beneath me. I kept running and was just about to jump a hole when the floor where I was launching off of, gave way. I was falling but then I caught myself as my hands found something to hold onto in what used to be a floor.
"AAHHH!" I yelled out in pain as I was hanging by my bad arm as well as my good arm. I couldn't fall. The hole below me stretched all the way down to the 2nd floor right into about 6 feet of leaping flames. I started to swing back and forth using my legs to really get me going. I had to get this timing perfect but the bit of cement I was holding on to was starting to crumble. I leaped at the last possible second before the cement gave way and fell into the inferno.
I landed on my side on another cement ledge. My chest hurt and I considered the possibility of a couple broken ribs but I picked myself up. I was now on the third floor. This bomb already went off. I had to get to the others and diffuse them.
I headed to the right climbing over debris and jumping over holes. The stairs should still be standing here and then I had a straight shot to the bomb. I kept going until I found the charred door to the stairwell and went in. They were relatively stable but it didn't matter because I was pretty much just jumping down the flights until I saw the 2nd floor door and pushed through it. I only had to run a little ways and had only a few obstacles in my way other than the growing fire and holes in the ceiling before I found the bomb. This one was larger than the first. I took out the knife and checked the timer. 23 seconds. "oh boy." I said.
I quickly started finding the origins of each wire and what they did. 12 seconds left.
It was down to the blue or red wire. I had sweat on my brow but I couldn't wipe it away.
8
7
I cut the blue wire but nothing happened. I was sure it was the blue wire! This bomb was going to explode no matter what. It had an internal fuse.
6
I started running as fast as I possibly could.
5
4
3
2
1
The bomb exploded with a fury I wasn't expecting. I felt the shock wave throw me into another wall. I hit my head and almost passed out again. I sat up and tentatively touched a cut on my forehead. It stung and I felt some more blood coming from my hairline but it wasn't life threatening. I stumbled my way away from the fire and towards the west wing.
Then more debris rained down upon my head. A chunk of cement managed to hit me and I fell. I tried to pull myself up but my body wouldn't obey me. I was starting to black out. I couldn't go on no matter how hard I tried. This was how it was it going to end. I met my parents and they loved me. My mission in life was accomplished. I figured out who I really was. I wasn't just some psychopathic terrorist. I was just a kid that wanted to save the most important thing to him at all costs. His family.
The darkness was closing in. It had almost completely consumed me when I heard their voices.
"I love you Anthony." I heard the soft loving voice of my mother.
"everything will be ok buddy." I heard the strong yet kind voice of my father.
Then there was a bright flash and another bang as I drifted away into the darkness.
***(Tony's PoV when entering hospital)
I had to get to him before it was too late. I had to find him. I ran through the entrance and a short ways into what I assumed was once the main reception.
Suddenly, the third bomb went off to my left and I was thrown to the ground as I was engulfed in a mixture of dust and smoke. I stood and walked further to my left into the major wreckage. Amazingly some of the second floor was still standing even with all the weight of the floors above it relying on it.
I heard a loud crackling noise and looked up to see a crack making it's way through the ceiling.
"oh god." I said just before the ceiling gave way. I dove out of the way but was still hit by some of it.
I was stuck in a coughing fit as I tried to uncover myself. I finally succeeded and stood. I looked around me. The entrance was gone. The only thing around me was fire, cement, metal rods, and smoke.
Then I saw a body. A human hand in the rubble that had fallen from the ceiling. I raced over and started digging him out. I uncovered his chest and head, then finally his legs. I pulled him out as gently as I could. I recognized our shared facial features and Ziva's dark hair. It was him. He wasn't moving.
I laid him down on the flattest surface I could find and checked his pulse. Faint, but there.
"COME ON BUDDY! DON'T LEAVE ME!" I yelled as I picked him up in a fireman's hold and started looking for a way out but there was nothing. We were trapped. I put Anthony down because I couldn't hold him for much longer and to see if there was any sort of way.
"no." I said softly.
"no!"
"NO."
"NOO!" I yelled and started letting myself go on the rubble.
After I calmed, I saw a hint of light thrugh the rubble. A small glimmer of hope ignited in my chest. I started digging again and finally pushed my way through a fairly good sized hole.
I went back and checked his pulse. I wasn't completely sure if it was there or not but I could get him help now. I picked him up and slid him through the hole. I followed and picked him up again. I began stumbling out to the parking lot.
"ZIVA!" I yelled. "ZIVA I GOT HIM!" I kept yelling.
Then I saw her running towards us with a team of paramedics hot on her heels.
***Ziva's PoV
They were gone. Everything I ever really cared about was gone. Tali, Ari, Tony, Anthony. My family was gone.
"Ziva!" I heard faintly. It sounded like Tony's voice. I thought I was hearing things until I heard it some more but louder.
"Ziva! I got him!" then I saw a figure with another figure slumped over his shoulder making his way through the settling dust.
"TONY!" I yelled and started running. The paramedics already saw them and started following me.
I got to them and immediately hugged them.
"ma'am we need to help them." one of the paramedics said urgently and I released them.
"I think he's still alive. He's been through hell plus he's been shot probably about 30 minutes ago." Tony huffed. They took Anthony from him and loaded him onto a stretcher. The ambulance pulled up and they loaded him in. We immediately went to get in when the paramedics stopped us.
"ma'am I'm sorry but you being in here will only hinder our ability to help him. He's going to Bethesda Naval Hospital." the young paramedic said and shut the doors. The sirens turned on and we were left staring after the ambulance.
A/N: ok, chapter 12 (the final chapter) will not be in the time estimate I gave a few chapters ago and I am sorry for that but I think you'll forgive me once you read it. ;P