A/N: Wow! I am totally overwhelmed (and delighted) by the response to the first chapter. I'm really sorry if I didn't reply personally, I'm in the middle of exams so I -should- be studying. Heh. See how that's working out.
Hope this doesn't disappoint.
Chapter Two
"Barman, we need another jug!"
It was the young, black-haired girl from the table of nerds, waving the empty plastic jug wildly in the air. Pete gently prised it from her hand.
"More beer?"
"You know it," she said, all smiles. Pete filled the jug up and handed it back, taking the proffered note. "You're cute," She said to Tony, poking him gently in the nose on her way back. Tony raised his eyebrows at Pete, standing up and walking over to sit with Dan.
"Anything?"
"Nada." Dan shook his head. "I've seen at least nine men dressed completely in black who could match our very general description. And that's not counting the guys in black shirts and jeans, add another twelve of those. This is pointless, DiNozzo. I could be in bed right now with my beautiful and very neglected girlfriend."
"Won't be pointless when we catch him Dan." Tony muttered, watching as the large group from the convention, having finished their beer, made their way to the dance floor where they proceeded to shake it like it was 1988. The rest of the dancers stepped back, giving them a wide berth.
"Check it out." He tapped Dan on the arm, pointing to one of the nerds who was trying to breakdance. Failing miserably too. Tony caught sight of the black-haired girl, gently prying off a scientist's hand that had slipped too far down her back.
A strange, piercing wail suddenly filled the air. The dancers paused for a second, looking around, but most quickly dismissed it, continuing to party. Tony, however, wasn't so sure. He jumped from his chair, quickly running in the direction of the noise. He could hear Dan following right behind him. Tony followed the noise out to the back door of the club and onto the street. The club backed onto an alley, dimly lit and scattered with empty cardboard boxes and dumpsters. Tony slowed, glancing around. It was quiet, and seemed to be abandoned.
The sound, the wail again. Tony squinted into the darkness. Two men, obviously drunk, were seated atop a dumpster at the end of the alley, apparently trying to howl at the moon.
"Hey!" Tony yelled. The men, startled, jumped of the dumpster, wandering out of the alley. Tony shook his head, turning around. The back door was swinging. Dan was gone. "Some partner," Tony muttered, heading back in. The table was still empty when he returned and he headed to the bar, grabbing another ginger beer. Dan was drying his hands when he sat back down.
"Idiot drunks," Dan said angrily. Tony nodded, his eyes wandering back to the dancers. Something was different.
Another scream cut through the night. This was a real scream, a painful, desperate scream for help. Tony jumped up. "Dan!" His partner made no attempt to move.
"I'm not getting up again to go yell at some losers smashed out of their minds, DiNozzo."
His mind racing, Tony's eyes darted back to the crowd. He couldn't see the black-haired girl. Anywhere. She was gone. He sprinted to the back door, pushing patrons aside left and right until he made his way into the alley.
It was dark and he couldn't make out anything other than the dumpsters. Then the girl – it was definitely a female screaming – cried out again and he saw the two platform boots sticking out from behind a dumpster at the opposite end of the alley way. Tony ran, but even at full pelt he was taking too long. The man was crouched over the girl, she was pinned down and all she could do was scream.
"Hey! Police!" He yelled, reaching toward the man. He saw it glint in the darkness. The flash of a blade, in a second it was placed against her throat. The man breathed heavily; the girl was panting in fear.
"Step back."
Tony couldn't see his face, but the man's voice was cold and coarse. Tony hesitated, the blade angled against the girl's throat. Where the hell was Dan? He couldn't wait for him. He had the bastard right in front of him, with the next victim no less.
Tony kicked, his foot coming down on the man's arm before he had a chance to react. The knife flew from the man's hand, skidding to rest under the dumpster. The man scrambled to his feet, swinging hard at Tony. It socked him right in the face, landing hard on his cheekbone. Tony reeled but stood standing, his fist traveling into the man's solar plexus. The man fell back, but not before he delivered a sweeping kick, knocking Tony's feet out from under him. Unable to stop the momentum, Tony fell back, his skull connecting with the metal dumpster behind him.
Everything went black for a moment. Tony's eyes flickered open and he pulled himself to his feet. The man was running, already at the end of the alley before the darkness consumed him. It was no good. The Friday Rapist had escaped.
A soft moan brought him to his senses and he remembered the girl. She was huddled back against the brick wall of the building, knees drawn up to her chest.
"Hey, how you doing?" Tony crouched down beside her. He pulled his badge out of his back pocket. "My name's Tony, Baltimore PD. I'm gonna take care of you, okay? He's gone now."
"Gone…" she repeated softly, mascara and eyeliner leaving thick tracks down her pale face. She was definitely the girl from the bar, the confident, sassy black-haired girl. Victim number seven. She held Tony's hand tightly as he reached for his cell phone, dialing the direct number to the police switchboard.
"This is DiNozzo. I need men at the back of Blitz Nightclub. Send an ambulance too. I've got number seven." He flipped the phone shut, joining the girl on the ground.
"Thank you Tony." The girl said, still clinging to his arm. He squeezed back.
"I'm just sorry I didn't get here sooner…"
"Abby." She said softly.
The squad car sirens must've tipped Dan off, because by the time he emerged from the club, floodlights had been set up, Abby had been taken to the nearest hospital and Tony was sitting on the back of an ambulance as a paramedic tended to the gash on the side of his head.
"DiNozzo. What the hell happened?" Dan shouted, marching toward him.
"Number seven, Dan." Tony replied coldly. He opened his mouth to say more but the paramedic interrupted him.
"Sir, you're definitely going to need stitches here. We have to take you to the hospital to rule out a concussion anyway."
"Go, DiNozzo." Dan said, anticipating his protests. Tony glared at him but stood up, climbing into the ambulance.
"We would have had him, Dan. He was right here. Now we're probably looking at victim number eight, nine, ten. If you'd been with me –" His partner swung the ambulance door shut in Tony's face before he could continue.
"- we would have had him."
TBC --- Feedback appreciated