A.N.: Special thanks to my sister for helping me out with this chapter. Nearly all of the parts with physical pain in are from her sick and twisted mind, which is why I love her! As always, thanks to everyone that has and will review, you guys (and my afore-mentioned sister) keep me writing!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Svetlana raced through the dark streets as fast as she could, her tears of rage blurring the road ahead. All of her money had been wasted on the hit men who had failed to do anything right! Gibbs was chasing her and Jenny was still alive! How could this have happened? First Viggo, then Abram… just how many lives did the bitch have?! She pushed harder on the accelerator in her anger and gritted her teeth, the tears flowing faster as hopelessness overcame her. All of her plans lay in ruins, her goal of the last nine years was still unattainable and she knew instinctively that she would not survive the night. She had had a glimpse of how capable Gibbs was at the LA hospital, she should have known he would have had back up, and she knew how the night would end. Looking back over her life since Anatoly had been ripped from her, she realised that perhaps this was better; making Gibbs live his life without his soul mate would be punishment enough. She could certainly attest to the pain being debilitating. She was going to complete one aspect of her plan before Gibbs killed her though, even if it was her last act on this earth, she would kill Jenny, maybe then she could die on her own terms and at last join Anatoly in relative peace. She looked in to her rear-view mirror and saw Gibbs and the other man from the house in a car giving chase. That's it, she smiled coldly, follow me Oshimaida, and I shall show you a world of torment.
It took a matter of minutes for her to arrive at the hospital and she abandoned her car out front. It wasn't like she was going to walk away from this so why bother parking for a getaway? She sprinted up to the doors, hearing the screeching of tires as she disappeared through them, the car containing Gibbs and the other man rounding the corner and speeding towards hers. She turned and walked briskly around the hospital, looking for the tell-tale security guys posted guard outside the doors. She spotted them almost immediately and crept along the corridor, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. Luck was with her it seemed, as one of the guards suddenly walked away from his post towards the restrooms. Only one man left to take out, no problem for her. She smiled and walked confidently forwards, only to almost laugh out loud as the last guard struck up a flirtatious conversation with a passing young nurse. Svetlana's heart jumped into her throat as she slipped in to the room completely unnoticed, her objective was now within her grasp and she had no intention of failing. Death didn't worry her, so they couldn't stop her.
She took a moment to look around, noticing two beds occupied with sleeping figures, rather than one. The bed closest to her held a man and the other held Jenny, her distinctive red hair giving her away. She had a limited amount of time alone with them, so she decided to make the most of it. She grinned cruelly as a thought came to her mind. Why not wake them up together? She moved to the bed occupied by the old man and took his hand in hers; she looked over to Jenny's bed as she did so, waiting to see her reaction, to savour it. She held his fingers in her other hand and put pressure on his hand to hold it steady. Then she pulled his fingers sharply backwards, feeling and hearing the snap as every digit broke. His cry of pain jolted both patients awake and she walked swiftly to Jenny's bedside, pulling out her gun as the injured and incapacitated red-head opened her shocked and concerned eyes, meeting Svetlana's and widening in fear as she recognised her. Oh yes, she was going to enjoy this.
"Hello Jenny, remember me?"
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Jenny was peacefully floating around in her mind, the pain medication making her feel fuzzy and sluggish. The sting from her wounds had all but disappeared, only the occasional twinge coming as she shuffled around or breathed too deeply. She didn't want to sleep though; she wanted to track down Svetlana with Gibbs and take care of her mess before someone else got hurt. Her injuries prevented her from discharging herself and the fact that she would have to go to NCIS to find her gun, or any gun, put her off trying. At least Gibbs was still searching for the murdering Russian woman. He would find her, of that she had no doubt. Gibbs was the most capable Agent she had ever known, he wouldn't let her get away with her life. He would track her down and make sure she was dead. She still felt guilty though, and rightfully so. He was right, he always was. She should have told him earlier. Even though she had spent the extra years in Europe trying to find her trail whenever she had a spare moment, she knew that if she had just told Jethro he would have helped her. He probably would have found Svetlana and killed her, then they could have continued their relationship with no worries of retribution and she would more than likely still have attained the Directorship. Well, they do say hindsight is 20/20.
Suddenly a loud scream of pain erupted in the air, jolting Jenny out of her fluffy mind and into consciousness. She snapped her eyes open and glanced around wildly, shocked and confused. Her question to Mike died on her lips when her eyes connected with those of the blonde woman who had haunted her dreams for years, as she walked quickly towards her, bringing a gun out from behind her back. Jenny felt sick as she realised that she couldn't do anything to save herself, the gunshot wounds effectively making her unable to move anything other than one arm, and then the fear took hold. She felt helpless and the drugs effectively stripped away all of her protective barriers, leaving her every thought and feeling obvious for anyone to read on her face.
"Hello Jenny, remember me?" Svetlana Chernitskaya asked, smiling viciously as she came to a stand next to her bed. Jenny panicked and took the only course of action open to her. She reached up behind her with her good arm and tried to press the emergency button, agony flooding through her hazy body as she felt her stitches and stomach muscles tear as she strained to reach it, blood seeping out of the wound and through the bandages. Svetlana grabbed her arm and twisted it back just too late as the alarm rang out.
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Jethro couldn't believe what had happened. He had tried to lure Svetlana to him so he could kill her before she did any more damage, which had worked, but he hadn't counted on her bringing protection. Even then she probably would have stayed to the end of the fight if she hadn't noticed the travel bag he had packed for Jenny which he had forgotten about during his conversation with Vance over the phone. If only he had hidden it behind the desk, or left it upstairs, or put it in his car… well what's done is done. There was nothing he could do about it now. He pushed the car faster, casting an irritated and concerned glance at Leon beside him, irritated because he was chewing a toothpick, loudly, and concerned because he was bleeding. One of the bullets had grazed him during the fire fight and even though he knew it could have been much worse, the graze still worried him.
"Think you could stop chewing for a second, Leon?" Vance gave him a dirty look and continued to chew his pick and grip his seat as Gibbs sped through narrow gaps and oncoming traffic. "It's distracting."
"I've been in a car with you before, Gibbs; nothing can distract you, not even a probie throwing up in the back seat."
"You shouldn't have eaten that kebab at lunch." Gibbs remembered that day perfectly, he had seen Leon eating the greasy food just before they were called out and had decided to teach him a valuable lesson about crime scene etiquette. Weak stomachs shouldn't eat oily food before seeing a body. He then made Leon clean his car afterwards. Lesson learned.
"I should have taken the van." Gibbs half smiled at his companions remembered embarrassment, before becoming serious again when he spotted Svetlana's car ahead. She was driving fast and erratic, making taking over her impossible. He huffed angrily and tried to catch up to her, only for her to increase her speed, maintaining the distance between them. It was a long few minutes as they both sped along the roads at breakneck speeds before the hospital came in to view. Gibbs lost sight of her around a corner and then cursed his luck when he spotted her car abandoned out front. He parked next to her car and jumped out of the vehicle, running to the doors, Vance right behind him. They both paused as they got through the doors and looked around for her. Surely she didn't know what room Jenny was in? Not seeing her, Jethro began to panic a little, his gut was churning and Svetlana was nowhere to be seen. He sprinted along the corridor towards Jenny's room, hoping the security detail had already stopped her. He rounded the corner and saw one of the guards outside the door, the other missing.
"Maybe we missed her?" Vance spoke up next to him. He shook his head; his gut was telling him something wasn't right. "Don't assume, always double check, right?" Jethro looked at him surprised. "I never forgot the important ones, Gibbs."
"Good." They marched down the hall to the guard, reaching him just as a loud cry of pain erupted out of the room. They all turned to the door shocked and Gibbs rushed at it, just as an alarm went off. He threw it open and he and Vance hurried through it.