Chasing Jack
Chapter Seventeen: Part II of the Conclusion
"Battle At Sacred Heart"
(Part 2 of 2)
The drop down to the ground below the window had been jarring. Leaned up against the cool stone surface of the building, momentarily recovering, Gibbs decided he was either too poisoned or too old for this crap. Probably both.
Things had gone downhill swiftly. First he and DiNozzo had heard the sounds of a firefight out behind the church and had set out to find an exit which would take them there more quickly than going back down through the basement and out around the building.
But after searching through the maze of rooms and corridors they had still come up empty handed. And every second longer they looked meant a potentially increased risk the team might lose a member. That outcome was unacceptable.
As to the lost members scenario he had suddenly realized a few moments earlier that he had gotten separated from DiNozzo. The younger man had been right there with him one second and then gone in the next.
Upon realizing this Gibbs had backtracked and searched the area all the way back to where he had known for certain that Tony had been with him. But the other man had seemingly vanished. His only shred of comfort was the weapon he had given Tony back at the hotel. At least the younger man was armed.
Faced with spending more time searching for Tony or moving on to get to the rest of the team who were engaged in a gun battle outside the team leader had struggled with the choice.
Ultimately, he had decided that they had simply gotten separated because of the many twists and turns and that Tony would head for their destination at the back of the church as planned. He hated making that choice but it had to be done.
So upon still not finding an exit the team lead had begun trying windows and finally hit upon one that with some effort had opened. His arms still shook from applying the force necessary to raise the window which by the looks of it probably hadn't been pushed up in years. Finally he had managed to slide it up far enough to climb through. At least he hoped that was the cause of his difficulty. Since right quick he was going to have to be able to shoot straight.
Pushing off the stone with his good shoulder Gibbs straightened up and began to move along the side of the building. With each step the sounds of the firefight became more distinct. The back of the building consisted of nooks and crannies where some of the sections jutted further out than others. The window he had climbed out of was tucked inside one of the dipped in areas and provided him a bit of cover from being immediately spotted.
Once he arrived at the corner the team leader took a look out into the alleyway behind the church. From his position close to the intersection where the street alongside the church and the through alley which ran down behind it met he had a clear view of the situation.
Not far down from where he stood a silver SUV was parked. Several men were stationed there, armed with assault weapons and dressed in bullet resistant vests. Four in all. Slightly further beyond them there was a dark colored four door sedan with rental plates. The vehicle had more than a few bullet holes in the side of it.
Gibbs' gaze was just about to move on to scope out the rest of the situation when he saw Ziva and Moore pop up from behind the passenger side of the sedan. They both fired a few rounds off at the men at the SUV. But the Lexus provided fair cover and their bullets either impacted the vehicle or whizzed on by.
He watched as Ziva shifted her position behind the sedan to gain a better angle and went to shoot again but her weapon did not fire. Either the gun had jammed or she was out of ammo.
The Wheel henchmen at the SUV continued to fire on them. The bullet spray from their assault weapons took out the rear window of the car and sent pieces of glass flying into the air. The shards reigned down onto Ziva who was squatted down near the rear tire of the sedan. She immediately put up her arms to protect her head and ducked down in reaction.
Moore continued to let off rounds. But his efforts garnered no ground.
Gibbs raised his weapon and leveled it at the Wheel henchmen. His hands ached and he worried the tremors might make a reappearance. But despite the cramping of the muscles in his fingers he managed to steady his aim. From his position at the top of the alleyway his line of sight was directed at the men from the side. They were unaware of his presence and completely vulnerable.
His gaze picked out his first target – the closest man to his location.
The team lead squeezed the trigger. The bullet struck the man in the left side of the head. His body went limp and he dropped to the ground in what felt like less than a heartbeat. His lifeless body lay sprawled near the back tire of the SUV.
Gibbs got the next shot off as quickly as he could since the first had alerted them to his presence.
But the rushed pace of taking aim on the next target was too much for his cramped hands and the shot did nothing more than lightly graze the man's neck. The henchmen cried out in pain and clamped a hand down over the wound. Blood quickly began seeping in between his fingers and trickling down his arm. He was at the very least temporarily distracted.
One of the two remaining men spun around in Gibbs' direction and opened fire. The team leader ducked back in around the corner for an elongated beat and then popped back out and got off a few rounds in exchange.
One of the bullets hit the man in the thigh. It was a lucky shot as the man's leg had not been the area Gibbs had intended to target. But it turned out to be effective in the end. Based off the amount of blood practically gushing from the wound the bullet at the very least had nicked an artery. He would not last long on his feet. His expression clearly showed the physical pain the injury caused but he managed to raise his weapon and fire back. The team lead pulled his upper body in around the corner for cover.
Several of the bullets struck the stone of the wall near where Gibbs' head had been only a second before. When he stole a look back out into the alley the man that had just fired upon him was seated on the ground and slumped back against the vehicle. There was a dazed expression capturing his facial features. It was clear the man was bleeding out.
That left two henchmen still on their feet. The one with the neck wound looked rather pale though. Not to mention obviously in a considerable amount of pain.
The fourth was busy with Moore and David firing on him. It looked like Ziva had a different weapon than before. She must have replaced the one which would not fire with a backup. She looked in his direction and it was clear she had spotted the team leader.
With two of the henchmen at that SUV down and one of the remaining two injured the agents had gained some ground. The team leader took aim at the only man left who he had not yet targeted.
As he did so he spotted Ziva pop up from behind the sedan. She darted out around the end of the vehicle and moved closer to the SUV. She fixed her aim on the henchmen who Gibbs had grazed in the neck - catching him distracted by the injury.
She squeezed the trigger of her weapon at the same instant Gibbs fired his own.
Both bullets struck their targets.
Ziva's caught the already wounded man right behind the ear. He was down and motionless in barely a breath's time.
Gibbs' round also resulted in a head shot. The bullet to the forehead quickly took down the fourth and final man stationed at the SUV.
Guns still at the ready both Ziva and Gibbs rushed to where their opponents had fallen. The team leader signaled to Moore with a quick point of the finger in the direction of the other end of the alley. Ro immediately took up a position at the edge of the wall beside the car. He served as lookout and cover while the other two were in the open.
At the SUV Ziva and the team lead went about checking the Wheel henchmen for any signs of life. They found none. That done they both hurriedly gathered up all the assault rifles as well as several handguns they spotted on the bodies. Along the way they collected any ammunition that they happened upon. There was no time to search any more closely.
Once they had finished both agents rushed away from the Lexus and joined Moore behind the rental. Ziva immediately started checking the weapons which they had acquired to make sure they functioned and had ammo. She looked over to Gibbs and spoke up.
"Excellent timing as always," she remarked with a soft smile.
"I don't plan it, David. Just happens," he replied flatly. To this she simply nodded and returned to her task.
"Real good to see you Boss," Moore offered with a hint of relief coloring the edges of his tone. The agent was always a bit more open with his emotions than the Israeli.
"We were... mildly...concerned," Ziva finally admitted after a beat. Gibbs responded promptly.
"I think maybe it's me that should be concerned David. Bit of a bind you got yourselves in here," the team lead commented in jest.
"Yes, well, perhaps but we were working our way out of it," she assured him and then shifted her attention to handing off one of the rifles to Moore.
"Yeah. I can see that. Taking the scenic route doing it too," the team leader commented in reply.
Gibbs moved over to the edge of the wall next to the rental vehicle and looked down the alleyway. There were several henchmen headed up the incline towards them. In all likelihood in reaction to the shootout that had resulted in the fall of their colleagues.
It was the second group a little further down that had him silently cursing. It was Ziva who spoke aloud from her position behind where Gibbs was squatted down. Her gaze remained around the wall though and off down the alley.
"There was nowhere else for him to go. And we could not help him," she stated as they watched the Wheel henchmen march Tobias Fornell out of a side alley at gunpoint and off towards a black van located at the other end of the street. His hands were raised into the air and he was clearly their captive. It was looking like Greene had told Tony the truth. The Wheel leader may very well have figured out it had been the FBI agent who sent Tony to infiltrate their organization.
Moore's voice piped up next.
"I think what she means, Boss, is that we were going to do our best. We just had to rescue ourselves first."
Gibbs looked up and met Ziva's in the eyes. She silently confirmed that was indeed what she meant but had not been able to say.
The team leader shifted his gaze to the scene out in front of them. The gears in his mind churned fiercely in attempt to formulate some semblance of a plan. Even with four dead at the SUV they were still outnumbered and lacked protective vests like the ones the Wheel members wore.
"This your rental?" he asked of no one in particular. Ziva was the one to reply.
"It is."
"Keys," the team leader requested. At this Gibbs noted the quick glance which passed between David and Moore.
"McGee has them," Ziva finally stated.
"And just exactly where is McGee?" Gibbs snapped back not at all happy with what he was hearing.
"We don't know Boss. He took cover in the archway down there. They came after him and he must have headed for the church. We haven't seen him since," Ro answered reluctantly. There was near shame in his voice. But at the same time there was a confidence that there was nothing they could have done to change it. He just clearly wished there had been.
"We do not need the keys to start the car. I will do it if you have a plan Boss," Ziva offered.
Gibbs didn't respond because honestly he didn't have an answer or a plan. Using the car somehow had just been a thought and not really formed into any sort of useable strategy. Their odds of coming out on the winning side of a shootout weren't great. However, it looked like it very well was the only chance they had at rescuing Fornell.
"You two ready?" he asked and looked to his agents. No verbal response was necessary. He knew by what he saw in their eyes they were prepared to go out fighting if it came down to it.
Gibbs turned back to look down the street. He raised the rifle which he had taken off one of the Wheel henchmen to the ready.
And prayed that the battle's end would not come down to his agents' willingness to give their lives to spare another's.
o&o&o&o&o&o&o&o&o&o&o&o&o&o&o&o&o&o&o&o&o&o&
Timothy McGee was still reeling. Tony was alive. It seemed like some wild dream. At the same time it also felt so real. But some piece of his mind kept whispering that it wasn't real – it was just a manifestation of his wishful thinking.
Especially since there had been no time to process it or get any real answers about how this was possible. Tony had said that his death had been faked but that didn't really explain any of the details. How had it been faked? Why? Where had Tony been all this time?
Those and so many other questions swirled around inside his head begging for answers.
Fornell had been the one to tell them of Tony's death so did that mean that he had been duped as well or was the FBI agent in on it? Suddenly their phone conversation from earlier that morning echoed inside Tim's head. As he reflected upon it one portion in particular stuck out to him distinctly.
"Cutter?"
"Don't act like you don't know who that is because you know. We found Jack Cutter's Jeep. Or rather what was left of it. We found your print on one of his fake ids. What the hell is going on Fornell?"
"McGee, what do you mean you found what was left of his car?"
"At the salvage yard where it was towed after it apparently crashed."
"What about Cutter?"
"Seems that you would be the one to tell us that. What's your connection to him?"
"Are you telling me you lost Cutter's trail? You don't have him."
"Both he and Gibbs disappeared around the same time. We believe that The Wheel has them."
"Oh damn! I thought he got clear!"
"You thought what? Were you helping Cutter?"
The FBI agent had then promptly avoided answering the question by asking one of his own.
"Did you lift other prints from that Jeep? If you did just say yes or no. Don't say any names."
"Yes but they haven't been processed. We don't have an ID yet."
"So you don't know then."
"Know what?"
"Listen to me McGee. We've got problems. Big ones. We have to meet. It's not safe to talk on our phones. I'll tell you everything. But in person. Get Moore and David to tell you the street where they lost sight of me on our little foot tour of the city together. There was a large structure there. We'll meet behind it, northwest corner, in an hour. People may be watching and tracking so take the necessary precautions."
"What is going on Fornell?"
"I'll explain everything. But not on the phone. It's very important you meet me. And watch your six."
Tim swallowed down hard against the lump in his throat brought on by realization. Tobias Fornell had been in on it. That explained why they had found the FBI agent's fingerprint on Cutter's fake ID. It also explained why Fornell had been so focused on whether they had Cutter or not. And the other fingerprints they had lifted from the Jeep – that's why Fornell didn't want him to say a name. Because if they had been processed they would have come up as Tony's.
And then there was that earlier encounter between Gibbs and Fornell on that street corner in which the FBI agent had seemed so thoroughly petty by fighting over whose turf The Wheel case belonged on. When in reality Tim now saw that Fornell's insistence over the case belonging to him was sheer desperation at getting them to leave in an effort to keep them from discovering Jack Cutter's true identity.
Tim couldn't believe it. Fornell had known that Tony was alive and had lied to them about it. He had witnessed their grief and stood by and stayed silent.
"That bastard Fornell knows doesn't he?" Tim suddenly spat out inside a whisper.
"Yes. And I'm going to tell you what I told Gibbs. Don't be too angry with him. Without his help I might really be dead," Tony replied quietly.
"Wait! Gibbs knows you're alive too?"
"We got captured together and escaped together so he just found out. He's kind of ticked like you seem to be."
"Well, gee, Tony. Do you have any idea what you put us through?" Tim snapped.
"I know but..."
"You're not sorry," the younger stated and finished Tony's answer for him.
"You have no idea how much I hated having to do that to you guys but I had no choice."
"You had a choice and you chose."
"I'm not going to argue with you about this right now, Tim!" Tony responded sharply.
"Avoidance. Nice try."
"Shhh! Quiet."
"Hey. Don't shush me."
"Shut up McGee. I heard something," Tony whispered harshly.
Tim immediately fell silent and listened. Within only a handful of seconds he heard it too. Movement somewhere off to their right.
But their awareness came too late. And before they even had a chance to react two men with assault weapons came around the corner into the hallway where he and Tony were located. Both of the men immediately raised up the rifles and pointed them in their direction.
"Weapons down on the floor! Then kick them away," one of them demanded.
"Not gonna happen!" Tony tossed back raising his own weapon. Tim did the same. Then they both began to back away down the hallway. Any additional distance they could put between themselves and these men they could use.
One of the men raised a hand to his ear and gave a tap. Tim had seen one of the men they had encountered earlier do the same thing. It appeared most of these men if not all wore some type of communication in their ear. McGee could see the man speak but could not hear the words. He suspected that the man was calling for reinforcements.
"What are you two stupid?" the other man called when Tim and Tony didn't compile and continued to move backwards down the corridor. He reached down and pulled a handgun from the leg holster secured onto his thigh and pointed it at a wooden bench which stood in the hall halfway between himself and where McGee and Tony were. Then fired. Once. Twice. And then a third time. All three bullets struck the wood nearly one on top of another – a triple tap.
The show of marksmanship was intended to serve as proof of the man's skill with a weapon. And also as a warning shot.
When the man finished he holstered the semi automatic and resumed his hold on the assault weapon which hung from a strap slung over his shoulder.
"The ones from this gun go in him!" he announced pointed the gun towards Tim.
"And the ones from my gun go in his back," another voice piped up from behind Tim. In reaction he whipped around with his weapon at the ready. Tony stayed facing forward and kept his gun trained up ahead. Tim's heart sank even further when he saw that a third armed man had appeared at the other end of the hallway.
"Crap!" he heard Tony whisper.
"Try for the room to our left?" Tim asked him speaking very softly.
"You go first. They'll shoot you without hesitation. They won't shoot me."
"Tony, you don't know that. How about we go at the same time?"
"Don't question me. Just do it McGee," Tony snapped at him in a growled whisper. And somehow Tim knew there was a reason for Tony's belief that these men wouldn't shoot him. Something in Tony's voice conveyed it was the truth.
"Count of three," he whispered. Tony would know without it being said that it was a silent count of three which began as soon as Tim fell silent.
So on the three of his mental count McGee practically dove through the open doorway of the room just off to their left. He could sense that Tony followed right on his heels. Once inside Tim frantically looked around in search any means of escape. The room was small and had only the door they had come through.
There was a tall narrow window. It would be tight but they might be able to fit through it. Both he and Tony rushed to it at the same moment and together they attempted to slide it open. But it wouldn't budge.
"The chair," Tim suggested and pointed off passed Tony. The other man moved over to the piece of furniture and picked it up. Then moved back to stand in front of the window. Tim put his arm up to shield his face. Tony had just lifted up the wooden chair in order to swing it at the glass window pane when a voice spoke up loudly from behind them.
"I wouldn't if I were you."
Tim watched as Tony froze stiff in reaction. And it was a long beat before he so much as shifted his weight. And then another beat before he set the chair down. McGee looked away from him and towards the sound of the voice. He immediately recognized the man he found standing inside the doorway. It was The Wheel leader he had seen earlier getting out of the SUV. Based off Tony's reaction to the man's voice alone the two other men most assuredly knew one another.
The men they had encountered in the hallway had entered as well. In response to a mere directed flick of the fingertips from the newly arrived leader two of his men briskly moved over to Tim.
McGee knew there was no point in putting up a fight. It wasn't so much that they were outnumbered or outgunned. Instead it was what he saw in the look Tony tossed him. Somehow it was both commanding and pleading all at once. But the message was clear – do not resist. It was obvious that he knew something that Tim did not.
So as much as he loathed it he allowed himself to be patted down and stripped of his weapons and extra ammunition. When that was over his hands were zip tied behind his back and he was guided rather roughly to sit down in the chair which Tony had set back down on the floor a moment earlier.
The room had remained silent during all this and it was rather unnerving. Tim looked over at Tony who still stood in the same spot near the window. But this time he didn't look back. Instead his gaze was locked on the Wheel leader who stared solidly back at him. There was clearly a silent communication going on between them. For such a quiet room volumes were being spoken.
It was then that Tim noticed Tony still held his weapon. It was clearly visible yet the Wheel leader didn't seem at all concerned that he had it. Somehow he knew Tony wouldn't try anything.
The silence was finally broken when the Wheel leader spoke up quietly in what felt like mid conversation.
"I am not an unreasonable man, Agent DiNozzo. If you come with me willingly there is no reason for any further misfortune to come to any of your teammates. It's that simple."
"If you were a reasonable man none of us would be here right now. There'd be no need for everyone in this room to have a gun. And McGee over there wouldn't be bleeding all over his nice shirt," Tony snapped back at him. Tim realized Tony must have spotted the bloody sleeve somewhere along the line.
"I've presented you with an opportunity here. Very generous of me considering I've already won. Now you can choose to minimize the damage or you can let your friends suffer the consequences for something you did. Should they really pay the price for your actions – your choices? Are you gonna man up or show your colors as a coward once again?"
"And there it is. More head games!" Tony remarked with irritation thick in his voice.
"I tire of your attempts to stall. How is this going to play out? Answer me now or I choose for you."
"I'll go with you," Tony responded after a long silent beat. Tim spoke right up in reaction.
"Tony. No."
"Has to be done Tim," Tony told him and finally looked over his way. McGee suddenly understood this has been the topic of the earlier silent communication Tony had engaged in with the Wheel leader. The conversation had only become vocal because they were having trouble coming to an agreement. In desperation Tim spoke up and tried to convince Tony not to do this.
"There has to be some other way. Something else we can offer instead. Information maybe."
"There's nothing else he wants, McGee. He wants to make an example of me so his boys here know the price of not kneeling down at his feet at every command. Isn't that right, Greene?"
Tony's words garnered a harshly spoken response for the other man.
"Enough! Decide now. Or I give the command for my men to have at it with the other agents. And believe me I've held them back until now. As for Agent McGee here – I'll deal with him personally."
"Don't do this Tony!" Tim begged him. But his plea was ignored Tony looked over at Greene instead and answered.
"Well, then, I guess we have A Knotting to get off to. I'll go with you – no resistance - on one condition. I need to see your men pack up and leave with us. And I need to witness that the entire team is unharmed and not under any kind of duress or threat as we go."
"Very well. I can accept those terms," the Wheel leader replied and held out his hand palm up. Tony promptly placed his Sig Sauer in it. The leader whose name had been mentioned by Tony as Greene gave a nod of the head in Tony's direction. In reaction one of his man went about searching Tony for any additional weapons. McGee took the opportunity to give it one more try.
"Tony, please don't do this," he stated.
"I'm sorry Tim. I was afraid it would end this way. And I should have done something about it when I had the chance. Before this all went down here. But I didn't and because I hesitated I put you all in danger again. Take care of them. Take care of yourself."
Tim was unable to respond verbally so he simply offered a positive nod of the head. Emotion had welled up creating a hard lump in his throat and he could feel that tears had begun to pool in his eyes. The reality of the situation had sunk in and he knew Tony was right. It was either that Tony go without a fight or all of them would be killed.
They were outnumbered and outgunned.
He felt so incredibly helpless and useless. Why couldn't he come up with a way out of this? Why did he get Tony back only to have him torn away again? Those questions ignited a red hot anger in him – at himself and the bastard who was forcing his friend to make an impossible decision. He struggled to reign it in because acting upon it would only make things worse.
After a silent beat the aforementioned bastard was the first one to speak. He gave a tap of a finger to the communication device in his ear and spoke in a low firm tone.
"This is Greene. Everyone go gray."
Once he was done he gave a jerk of the head in McGee's direction. It prompted several of his men to move over to Tim. One of them grabbed Tim by the upper arm and yanked him up from the chair.
Then another jabbed his rifle into Tim's back and gave a nudge indicating he should move forward. Before complying Tim looked over to Tony. He wanted so badly to say something – to offer something useful or meaningful – but the words refused to come to him. So there was nothing more than a questioning look asking if Tony thought they should just put up their best fight and simply go out swinging. But Tony looked him straight in the eye and answered with a firm silent "No."
The word was not even spoken aloud but it managed to shatter Tim's heart just the same as if he had heard Tony's voice say it.
o&o&o&o&o&o&o&o&o&o&o&o&o&o&o&o&o&o&o&o&o&o&
Gibbs struggled to figure out what had just happened.
The Wheel henchmen had suddenly ceased firing all at the same moment. But they weren't standing down or retreating. And they weren't advancing either. Their weapons remained at the ready and they held their positions – nearly frozen in the spots they had been in while shooting. There was no called out demand for surrender or any other type of verbal communication.
The newly arrived stillness allowed for the shrill sound of sirens to be heard off in a distance. Someone must have reported the firefight. Local law enforcement would be on scene shortly.
"What the hell is this?" Ziva questioned. She sounded equally as bewildered by the sudden cease fire as the lead agent was.
"Okay, creepy much?" Moore added as he looked around at the strange scene. It was as if someone had pressed pause in the middle of an action scene in a movie.
Ro's comment clicked something into place in Gibbs' mind and he suddenly knew what – or rather who – had caused the cease fire. Greene was here someplace and had given the command for these men to hold fire and positions.
Gibbs' gaze rapidly scanned over every inch of the street and into each nook and crannies of the church's exterior. But the visual search for Greene did not find him.
The impact of his next realization struck Gibbs with the force of a runaway train. Greene was nowhere in sight.
And neither was Tony.
"Like hell you son of a bitch!" Gibbs ground out more to himself than to the other agents. He had to get to Greene and stop him whatever it took. Tony's and Fornell's lives depended on it.
Since Greene was not in the alleyway he likely had gone into the church. Following after him meant splitting off from Moore and David. But Gibbs knew he had to take on Greene one on one.
Leaving Ziva and Ro behind felt like desertion though. He had to ensure their safety before he could go after Greene.
Shifting his position Gibbs leaned down and took a look under the rental car. Earlier he had noted the driver's side had more than a few bullet holes in it and he needed to make sure nothing vital had been damaged. Scanning the undercarriage of the vehicle from front to back he saw no signs of impact damage or any leaking fluids. The rounds had likely just struck the side panels. He straightened up and turned to his agents.
"Listen to me you two. The man responsible for all this is here somewhere. I have to go back in the church to find him. To finish this once and for all. It's the only way to rescue Fornell and someone else. Stay here as long as you're okay to do so. Keep a watch on the men down there who have Tobias. If things go south you get in one of these vehicles and get the hell out of here. Is that clear?"
"We should not separate. It is not wise...I mean...advisable," Ziva piped up. Her tone hard set and near defiant.
"You questioning my orders, David?" Gibbs inquired. When her answer did not come immediately his other agent interjected.
"I don't believe I'm about to say this but I don't think it's a good idea either. We should stay together. Especially since the last time we split up you went missing," Moore braved voicing his opinion.
"No. He and I need to finish this one on one," the team lead responded. Immediately Ziva spoke up. There was clear agitation in her tone.
"What if these guys try to leave with Fornell? We can't just let them kidnap a federal agent – even one I do not care for much at all," she stated. The defiance in her voice had grown more intense.
"This here – how they all just stopped. Their strings are being pulled by a man named William Tucker Greene. He's retired Air Force, a leader in The Wheel and an arrogant prick. Remember that name. Anything happens to me you find him and end him. He's responsible for all of this. And DiNozzo too."
"He is the one responsible for what happened to Tony?" Ziva softly questioned. The team lead simply nodded positively in reply. He had decided that it was best not to tell her yet that Tony was alive. It was better to spare her potentially false hope should Tony be lost to them for real this time. He would do everything in his power to try to prevent that but there were no guarantees.
"Do not do this Gibbs?" she plead with him.
"It'll work out Ziva," Gibbs offered her gently.
Then in the next heartbeat Gibbs was up on his feet in motion towards the church. Despite the fact that he ran out into the open and moved directly through the line of fire he knew that the henchmen would not shoot him. Somehow he knew that Greene's orders had included that particular instruction.
"Gibbs!" he heard Ziva call out from behind him. But he ignored the plea. The team leader suspected she was thoroughly surprised when not a single shot was fired upon him.
He quickly reached the archway that connected two sections of the church together. But immediately upon entering the short stone tunnel he came to an abrupt halt. His new vantage point afforded him a view into the open area on the other side of the arch. And what he saw there made his heart sink.
A group of men was slowly making there way across the courtyard. The outer edge of the group was made up of Wheel henchmen. It was the protected center of the pack that captured his focus.
First he saw McGee. His hands were bound behind his back and he was continuously shoved forward by a rifle to encourage him to keep moving at a steady pace.
Following after him was Tony. Gibbs noted that his hands were not bound like Tim's. Instead he held them up in the air shoulder high. The team lead could plainly see the reason no restraints were present around his wrists. Walking directly behind the younger man was Greene. The bastard had the muzzle of a 9mm handgun pressed into the back of Tony's head.
As the group grew close to the archway Gibbs could see that both Tony and McGee had spotted him. He met Tim's gaze and the younger man seemed to silently beg for forgiveness – for what he was not exactly sure.
Next he looked to DiNozzo whose gaze, in no uncertain terms, communicated there should be no action taken and that if anyone tried anything it would not end well.
Gibbs noticed that Greene whispered something to the henchmen walking closest to him. The man immediately raised his hand to his head and gave a tap of a fingertip to his ear. The team lead suspected he wore a communication device there. Gibbs was too far away to make out what the man said when he spoke.
Despite the intense pull to take action to stop what was happening Gibbs knew in his gut that it would only get them all killed. It took every ounce of restraint in him to stay still and show no indication of being a threat.
When they arrived at the opposite end of the archway from where Gibbs stood the man who Greene had spoken to gave a verbal instruction for them to stop.
It was then that the team leader heard the sound of a vehicle coming up the street outside. He stole a quick glance back over his shoulder and saw that the cargo van which had been parked further down the alley was headed up towards the archway.
As soon as Gibbs returned his gaze to the interior of the archway Greene's voice came to life. The sound of the words he spoke echoed hauntingly in the enclosed space.
"I'm sure you are aware that I will not hesitate to put a bullet in his brain Agent Gibbs."
Gibbs' reply came straight away. The sound of his voice ricocheted off the stone of the archway's walls the same way Greene's had a moment before.
"What I'm sure of is that if you do you'll come to regret it."
"Doubtful," Greene called back.
"Oh you can set your watch by it."
Greene ignored Gibbs' remark and spoke once again to the man who stood beside him. Whatever he said set the man in motion. After a "with me" instruction to the other men he began walking in Gibbs' direction down the length of the tunnel.
The others followed after him, weapons raised. As they moved along they gave McGee a hard shove in the back every so often forcing him to walk forward. Greene's gun in the back of Tony's head was sufficient to keep him in motion.
Anger billowed up inside Gibbs as he realized there was absolutely nothing he could do to stop this. There were guns trained on both Tim and Tony and no doubt in his mind that these men would not hesitate to shoot.
The team lead was standing there only a few feet away with a damn assault weapon in his hand and he was powerless to do anything. It was tearing him apart inside.
The lead henchmen gestured with the rifle he held making it clear that Gibbs should back up out onto the street and allow the group through. As much as it pained him he complied. Walking backwards he departed the archway and stepped into the alley.
Now outside Gibbs saw that the cargo van had been turned around and stood parked nearby. He could hear its engine was running. They must have had one of their men assigned to stay with vehicle.
Every piece of him was in knots. Internally, he was screaming at himself to do something – to find a way out of this. He only ended up cursing himself when he failed to produce anything that would stop what was happening right before his eyes.
The group stopped when they reached the back of the van. They kept McGee out in the open enough that Gibbs could clearly see the younger man would either be shot by one of the henchmen or caught in the crossfire if a gun battle erupted.
And Tony could be killed in an instant with nothing more than the slight shift of Greene's index finger.
With a nod of the head from Greene in the direction of the van the lead henchmen opened the vehicle's rear doors. Inside Gibbs could see several more Wheel members and Fornell who was handcuffed and had rifles trained on him.
Outside of the van their colleagues stood guard around Greene who still held a 9mm to Tony's head.
Tony looked over to Gibbs. What the team leader saw in his eyes was not at all what he expected. There was no blame or anger or desperation. The only thing residing there was resolve. And in that instant Gibbs knew that the younger man had offered himself up in exchange for the rest of their lives.
DiNozzo's gaze suddenly shifted so it focused off passed the team leader. Gibbs stole a quick glance back over his shoulder to determine what had drawn his attention away. He instantly saw that Ziva and Moore were watching on from where the sedan were parked. Tony must have spotted them as well. Shifting his gaze over to Greene he spoke up.
"This wasn't our arrangement," he told the other man and nodded his head in the direction of where Fornell was seated in the back of the van.
"Ah! I see where you may have become confused. Let me refresh your memory Agent DiNozzo. Your condition was to see that the team was unharmed. I do believe Agent Fornell is with the FBI not NCIS and, therefore, is not part of your team. He was not part of our agreement," Greene replied thoroughly satisfied with his handiwork.
"You're a sack of shit Greene. A complete waste of perfectly good space!" Tony snapped back at him. Gibbs saw the instantaneous shift in Greene's expression and it was clear he would not tolerate being insulted as his henchmen looked on.
Suddenly Greene grabbed Tony by the neck. His fingertips squeezed mercilessly into the younger man's flesh. An excruciatingly long beat passed before he released his grip and Tony had access to air once again.
But the reprieve was fleeting. In the next instant Greene struck Tony brutally hard and square in the face using the gun he held in his hand.
Two of Greene's men caught Tony by the arms on his way down to the ground. They tossed his limp body onto the floor inside the van. Surrounded by his men Greene stepped up into the vehicle. All but two of the other Wheel members climbed in after him. One of them kept his weapon trained on McGee. The other made quick work of closing up the first half of the double rear doors of the van and then went to shut the other but Greene who was just inside the open doorway put his hand up gesturing for him to hold off a second.
As soon as the man had followed the command Greene turned his attention outside to the alleyway where Gibbs stood. Then he called out across the distance between them.
"I have something for you, Agent Gibbs. A consolation prize you might say. I'm sure you will see the appropriate symbolism in it."
A smug self satisfied smirk accompanied the words.
When he was finished speaking he flung the 9mm handgun which he had just slammed into Tony's face out of the van in Gibbs' direction. The weapon skittered across the rough surface of the pavement then came to rest a few feet from the team lead's feet.
In what only seemed the length of a heartbeat the last two Wheel member were inside the van, the door was slammed closed after them and the vehicle was in motion. McGee was simply left standing in the middle of the alleyway.
Gibbs instantly grabbed his handgun from his waistband and took aim at the van's tires. He knew he couldn't target the van itself or use the assault rifle because Tony and Fornell were inside. But he hoped that if he could hit one of the tires he might be able to blow it out or at the very least cause a leak which would eventually render the tire useless.
His hands shook as he took aim and fired round after round in rapid succession. By the time the gun's magazine was empty Gibbs was certain that at least one of the bullets had impacted the left rear tire. But he had no way to know how much damage it had done.
The weapon Greene had tossed out of the van was on the ground nearby. Gibbs quickly scooped it up. Leveling it down the alleyway at the van he squeezed the trigger. But all that resulted was a very distinct click sound. A sound all too familiar to his ears. Lowering the weapon he released the magazine from it.
And as he expected there were no bullets inside. It was nothing more than an empty magazine.
Greene had been holding a unloaded gun to Tony's head the entire time. Twisted bastard had played him. He had wanted Gibbs to know there had never been any bullets in it. The message was clear - Greene held the power, the leverage, here. He had managed to exert some level of control over the NCIS agent with a simple illusion.
Enraged Gibbs chucked the gun across the street. A long beat passed before the sound of it colliding with the pavement arrived.
"God damn son a bitch is going in the ground! And I'm the one putting him there!" the team lead swore as he watched the van turn out of the alleyway and pull out onto the road.
In the next instant he was standing in front of McGee cutting the zip cuffs away from the younger man's wrists with the knife he kept concealed in his belt.
"Keys for the rental?" Gibbs questioned.
"Got 'em!" the younger man confirmed as they ran for the sedan. Moore and David met them there and McGee tossed the keys to Gibbs.
Barely a breath later all four agents were inside the car and they were tearing off down the alleyway. Gibbs in the driver's seat with his foot pressed down on the gas pedal as far as it would go.
To Be Continued...
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Author's Note: It appears that perhaps a bit of clarification is in order. As you can see Part II "Battle at Sacred Heart" was not the end of the story. Remember I said it was the multi-chapter conclusion arc. I don't know precisely how many chapters are left because I haven't looked to see if the last couple will need to be split up into two chapters due to length. But at the minimum (as written before editing/dividing up) there are five chapters more in the arc. So if splitting up due to length is necessary there might be a few more than that. And, yes, there is an epilogue type chapter in there. You'll know (without me telling you) when the story is wrapping up. So no worries for those that thought I was going to wrap everything up in a chapter or two.
Coming Up! Chapter 18 "Collision Course"