Title: Boundaries
author: Cindy Ryan
notes and summary: see part one
The gun battle continued and Chris was beginning to worry; just a bit. It'd been at least ten minutes since they'd heard the chopper. Maybe it wasn't a police chopper. But it had to be the odds of a helicopter showing up when they were cornered in a grove of trees by bad guys were slim. It had to be the good guys.
"I'm getting low on ammo."Merri reported her back pressed against his.
"King will be here."Chris replied tightly.
The biker that had been taking aim at Chris suddenly stopped firing. Merri and Chris exchanged a confused glance.
"Think they're out of ammo too?"Merri asked hopefully.
"Maybe or..."Chris began when something metallic and glass landed twenty feet away from them. "They're tryin' a new tactic. Go!"
Chris shoved Merri in front of him as they scrambled over tree roots and dodged around trees. They'd gotten maybe ten feet before the world exploded. The shock wave sent Chris tumbling into his partner and they both crashed to the ground.
Sebastian was really hating watching things from the sidelines. Part of him was grateful to know what was going on. But the bigger part would rather not know the grisly details until it was all over and everybody was safe. Right now things were a bit tense.
King's team had left the safe house and started towards the woods. Sebastian and Patton watched as more NOPD officers arrived and joined in. Sebastian didn't know how something could look chaotic and organized at the same time. They were alternating video feed from the NCIS shirt cam and one of the nearby traffic cameras Sebastian had found.
"This is taking too long."Patton muttered his hands resting on the keyboard.
"There's a lot of area to cover behind that house."Sebastian stated as he glanced at Chris's computer screen where he'd pulled up information. "There's a stretch of protected environmental area; a green belt so to speak nobody can build on it."
Patton suddenly began typing away and Sebastian frowned as the main video screen blanked out and then was filled with static.
"What are you doing?"Lund demanded standing and coming around Chris's desk.
"Keep your pants on...just giving us a birds eye view...hacking into the chopper camera."Plame explained. "Should have it...in one, two..."
Sebastian breathed a sigh of relief as the video feed came back on. But just as it did the woods erupted into a large fire. Huge orange flames and smoke.
"Tell me you pulled up the wrong feed."Sebastian pleaded.
"Wish I could."Patton replied grimly as he hit a few keys and pulled up the chopper's radio.
As they listened Sebastian pulled out his cell phone to call Loretta. Even with the little information he had to give Sebastian knew she'd want to know; good or bad. He just hoped by the time Loretta answered that he would have good news to tell.
Dwayne watched in horror as the woods erupted in flames. The shock wave from the initial explosion and the heat drove everyone back. After a few minutes Dwayne pushed forward barking orders into his radio. His team circled the fire trying to get to the front of the trees where Dwayne knew his agents most likely had been. If they'd had any kind of warning at all Dwayne knew they'd be somewhere towards the front. It'd been the direction he'd guessed they'd been headed when they escaped the house. Dozens of booted feet pounded on the ground as the team ran forward. Each step Dwayne dreaded what awaited the same time his gut was tellin' him that they weren't too late. Finally the chopper pilot was able to find a vantage point through the smoke.
"Agent Pride, I got them!"The pilot reported excitedly. "North of your location forty feet."
"Good work."Pride replied as they moved in that direction.
"The shooters have surrendered "The pilot continued. "They're on the other side of the woods. One's down unconscious possibly dead the other is being detained by NOPD."
"What about my agents?"Pride demanded. "Are they hurt?"
"Both are on the ground...that's all I can tell...smoke's pretty bad."The male pilot reported grimly.
Ten minutes later Dwayne reached Chris and Merri. Merri was starting to come around coughing harshly. Chris was sprawled on the ground next to her his left leg bent at an awkward angle. But to Dwayne's relief the younger agent's breathing was normal and pulse strong.
"Paramedics are coming."The female brown haired NCIS agent from Biloxi confirmed to Pride as she knelt next to him.
Dwayne looked at the burning trees and shook his head.
"Tell them to fall back. We'll bring Merri and Chris to them. Too dangerous here."Dwayne ordered as he stood and picked up Chris's unconscious form. "Everybody get back to the house."
Dwayne's own eyes were tearing and he was beginning to feel the affects of the smoke. His team reached the safe house just as the firefighters arrived. The paramedics placed Merri and Chris in separate ambulances and left.