People!!! I'm so sorry I was gone for so long!!! I was internetless for almost 3 weeks!!! BUAAAAAAAAAA!!!
But now I'm back! Yay!!!
Usual disclaimers: I'm poor therefor I can't own anything and even if I could I don't think I could buy Mr. Weatherly since he's not in sale BUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! So, blah blah blah, Mr. Bellisario and CBS and blah blah blah...
So, without further ado... *drum roll*
CHAPTER 5
Back at NCIS, Tony and Liz walked into the bullpen. Gibbs gave Liz one of his 'looks' and after exchanging looks with Tony and receiving one nasty look from Ziva, Liz followed Gibbs out of the bullpen and back into the elevator.
Once inside, Gibbs pressed the 'emergency stop' button and the lights went off as the elevator stopped.
"Why are you here?" He asked dryly
"Because… you called me?" Liz replied not sure if that was the answer he was looking for
"No… why are you here?"
'That wasn't' She thought "What do you mean?"
"You know exactly what I mean! You arrived to D.C. 2 nights ago… from Moscow. Would you mind explaining that to me?"
"I was in Moscow… so what?"
"Exactly 2 days before a woman who was once involved in a case against Russian terrorists got almost killed? A case you led in London? Do you think I'm stupid?"
"Of course not… but I cannot give you any details about whatever it is I'm working on"
"Do you expect me to settle with that answer?"
"No, I don't but I expect you to understand and wait until I can tell you about it…"
"I want to trust you, Liz…"
"Then trust me, Gibbs… I'm here to help"
"Alright, Liz… but I want answers and I want them soon"
"You'll get them, I promise"
Gibbs then pressed the 'emergency' button again and the doors opened. He let her out first and then followed.
"Oh, I almost forgot… I got something you might find interesting" Liz said as they headed back to Gibbs' desk "Here…" She pulled out one of the pictures from the envelope and gave it to Gibbs
"That's our dead guy!" Tony exclaimed
"Cpl. Andrew Collins… and…"
"Dmitri Vasiliev" Gibbs said
"Then the other guy must be Smirnov" McGee pointed out
"Good one, Probie" Tony said and Liz slapped him in the back of the head "Ouch! What was that for?"
"Nothing in particular" Liz said and winked at McGee who couldn't help smiling
"McGee, what have you got on Ilya Smirnov?" Gibbs asked and Tim opened a file straight on the big screen
"Ilya Boris Smirnov. Born in Sverdlovsk. No permanent residence place but I was able to find a flight reservation made under his name from Moscow to D.C. 2 weeks ago and he entered the country with a tourist visa"
"Do you know where he's staying?" Liz asked
"No. No records. He doesn't seem to have credit cards although I managed to find an account in Zurich National Bank under the name of Boris Smirnov and, check this out, someone recently made a transference… a big one" McGee explained
"How big?" Ziva asked
"Huge! $800,000.00"
"When?" Tony questioned
"This very morning"
"The transference was made from D.C."
"Whoever sent Smirnov to kill Kirsty is here" Liz said
"It has to be Vasiliev" Tony agreed
"Don't you have a name, McGee?" Gibbs inquired
"Just a sec, boss"
"McGee" Gibbs insisted
"I… I got it! Luka Volkov"
"Who's that?!" Tony asked
"No idea" Liz said although it wasn't totally true. She had a clue of who Luka Volkov could be but until she was absolutely sure about it, she was not going to tell anyone
"And what about Cpl. Collins?" McGee asked
The team made their deductions about Collins and after hitting the keyboard a few times, McGee got the information they needed to confirm their theories.
While Liz and Tony went through the pictures Liev had given Liz, McGee kept working on Smirnov and Volkov's backgrounds and Ziva made a little investigation of her own, Gibbs went to the conference room to talk to Kirsty and let her know the truth about Cpl. Collins.
"Miss Randall" He said walking in
"Agent Gibbs!" She exclaimed and standing up surprised by seeing him there
"Please sit down" He requested and she obliged "I have a few things to tell you and I do not believe they will be easy to cope with"
"I believe I'm ready for almost anything"
"Ok, here it goes… Cpl. Collins was a member of the US Navy, yes but when he was in Afghanistan he met a Russian entrepreneur called Dmitri Vasiliev who I believe, you know quite well" Kirsty nodded "When Collins came back to D.C. you met him 'by chance' and you 2 started dating. All of this happened because Vasiliev was paying Collins to spy you and to give him and his men your exact location"
"I only dated him for about 2 weeks… I never felt anything for him and I never trusted him…"
"He wanted to get back with you, didn't he? Because if he failed Vasiliev either he got killed or lost his 'allowance'…"
"I never trusted him" She repeated covering her face with her hands "That's how I knew who killed him. I know how Dmitri works and I did get to meet some of his men… I knew it was related… that's why I ran away! I left my house because I was scared! I am scared but if I had stayed Smirnov would've come back to finish the job!"
"Did you see Smirnov before he left?" Gibbs asked
"Yes…" Kirsty said and closed her eyes trying to remember exactly what had happened "After I pushed Andrew's body off of me I ran to the door and I saw Smirnov standing next to his car, looking at me. He raised his dagger as if saying 'you are next'. He got in his car and drove away"
"What car does he drive?"
"It was… black… a black sedan… not new… must be from the 80's" Kirsty recollected as accurately as she could
"It's probably rented. He wouldn't risk stealing one"
"These men… they are capable of anything and they don't really care about the consequences… you might want to investigate any 1980's black sedan thefts within the past 2 weeks" Kirsty recommended and Gibbs was nicely surprised by her reply
"Where are you staying?" He asked
"In a motel, in Cheverly"
"That's not a very safe place to stay at" Gibbs said
"It's the only place I can afford"
"Alright… We'll escort you there and make sure you're safe, let's go"
"I am not arrested anymore?" Kirsty asked confused
"You were never arrested, Miss Randall. C'mon" He motioned her to stand up and follow him out of the conference room
They walked out of there and headed to the bullpen.
"Are we done yet, boss?" Tony asked
"Not yet but we'll call it the day" Gibbs said as he noticed how dark the sky was outside "McGee, go with Abby and retrieve all the new information she might have. Ziva, DiNozzo, Liz, you're with me"
The three agents followed Gibbs and Kirsty towards the elevator and went down to the main entrance of Washington Navy Yard.
"Ziva, get the car. You're driving tonight" He instructed
"What? No, boss! I don't wanna die! I have a date tonight!" Tony whined
"Bad luck, Tony" Ziva mocked and went to get the car
"Excuse us…" Liz told Gibbs and Kirsty and pulled Tony aside "What are you doing?" She asked slapping him in the back of the head
"Ouch! What?"
"Why did you say you have a date?! Now Gibbs is gonna figure it out and deduce your date was with me!"
"Nah! There's no way he can possibly know…" They both turned to look at Gibbs who shot them a deadly look "Is there?"
"I want to thank you, agent Gibbs… you don't really have to do this" Kirsty said while Tony and Liz talked
"There's no problem, Miss Randall… you are being targeted and this is our job" Gibbs said trying to smile at her
"Kirsty…" She corrected
"I'm sorry?"
"Stop calling me Miss Randall… call me Kirsty"
"Ok… Kirsty…"
"Well, anyways, thank you, I really appreciate it" She repeated
Then, out of nowhere, a bullet hit one of the windows behind Kirsty and Gibbs pulled her downwards and protected her with his body.
"DiNozzo! Liz!" He called pulling his gun out just like his agents as they rushed towards him and Kirsty "The other side of the street!"
Tony and Liz looked up at the opposite sidewalk and saw Ilya Smirnov pointing a large gun at them. He shot once more and they ducked to avoid getting hit. Smirnov then started running down Sicard Street and both Liz and Tony ran after him.
"Are you ok?" Gibbs asked Kirsty who was shaking but managed to nod. He took his cell phone out and speed dialled Ziva "Ziva! Smirnov attacked. Tony and Liz are after him on foot southwest down New Jersey Ave.!" He informed
"On my way" Ziva replied driving out of the parking lot as fast as she could
Meanwhile, Liz and Tony ran as velocious as their legs allowed them. Liz beat Tony and got ahead.
"Boss! He's heading to the Navy Yard subway station!" Tony reported Gibbs by cell phone as he continued following Liz and Smirnov.
Liz could see how Smirnov made his way through the mass of people towards the Subway station Entrance. She followed him inside and was forced to push the people put of her way to be able to catch up with him.
"Move, people, move!" She could hear Tony shouting behind her
They rushed down the escalator pushing people aside and receiving multiple complaints. Once they got to one of the platforms, Liz saw how Smirnov turned to the left and ran into a deserted tunnel.
In the moment she was about to turn after him, he stopped and shot at her, grazing her shoulder with the bullet.
"Ahh!" She exclaimed, starting to bleed slightly and pressing her back against the wall
"Liz! Are you ok?" Tony asked catching up with her
"I'm fine! Go!" She said and he did as she told
Tony kept running after Smirnov and Liz just ripped the bottom edge of her white shirt and tied it around the wound enduring the stinging pain. Once she recovered her breath, she continued the hunting and ran after Tony.
She could hear his footsteps from afar and followed the sound.
At the same time, Tony had almost caught up with Smirnov but the latter began shooting at Tony's direction, making him stop and look for coverage.
"There's no point in hiding, agent DiNozzo" Smirnov said
"There's no point in running, Smirnov!" Tony replied leaning forward and shooting in Smirnov's direction
The Russian assassin said no more and shot no more. Tony carefully stepped out of his hiding place and looked for Smirnov in the dark, abandoned platform.
Liz caught up with him. Tony nodded at her and motioned her to go to the other side. Once they both got to the edge of the platform, they heard a strange thudding sound.
"What was that?" Tony saw Liz mouth at him
"No idea… it came from the tunnel" He replied and nodded at her agreeing with the fact that they had to follow him
They jumped down to the tracks and Liz cringed with pain from her wound.
"You ok?" Tony asked and she nodded reassuring him to go on
With their weapons targeting everything in front of them, they cautiously walked forward.
"Что это, агенты? Разве вы не видите в темноте? (What is it, agents? Can't you see in the dark?)" Smirnov said not very far from them
"What is he saying?" Tony asked
"He's making fun of us. He just asked if we can't see in the dark" Liz translated
Tony then tripped with something and as he looked down, with the dim red light he saw the weapon Smirnov had shot Kirsty and Liz with moments before.
"He's unarmed" He told Liz
"That's odd…" She whispered but they kept advancing
Then, the sight in front of them paralyzed them.
Smirnov was barefoot, balancing himself on one of the tracks, dancing mockingly.
"Ilya Smirnov, you're under arrest for the count of murder in first degree" Tony said aiming his gun at him
"Вы действительно думаете, что я упаду в сеть американских коррупции?"
"Do you really think I will fall into the net of the American corruption?" Liz translated "Ктоваспослал? (Who sent you?)"
"Я служупричинитьбольше, чеммужчин(I serve a greater cause than men)" He replied and stood in only his right foot "Американский тираниибудетпобежден! (The American tyranny will be defeated!)"
And then, to Liz's and Tony's shock, he moved his left foot towards the other track and it was as if everything moved in slow motion. In the moment Smirnov's foot touched the iron track, an electrical current was set off and ran through his body electrocuting him and killing him instantly.
"Down!" Tony shouted and pulled Liz downwards and held her covering from any spark that might fly around them
Once Smirnov's body hit the ground, the electrical mayhem ended and Tony sat up.
"Liz… are you…?" He asked noticing that her arm was bleeding more than before because of the impact against the ground
"I'm… fine…" She managed to say with gritted teeth "Smirnov?" Tony shook his head "We have to call Gibbs…"
Tony stood up and helped Liz up as well.
"Boss" He said calling Gibbs "We're in one of the inactive lines of the subway. One turn to the left of the main line, in the tunnel"
"What happened?" Gibbs asked
"Liz got shot in the arm and Smirnov killed himself by stepping on the tracks"
"Alright… we'll be right there and I'll call an ambulance. Stay where you are" He instructed and hung up
"The help is coming, Liz. Hang in there" He said holding her
"It's just a scratch, Tony, don't worry so much" Liz replied and winced a little
"Yeah, right…" He said and sighed sadly
"What is it?"
"I suppose the date is off…"
"Who's making up excuses now?" Liz joked and cringed a little
"Don't move… the help will be here soon" Tony comforted avoiding the subject and Liz smiled to herself
Like I've said before, I don't speak Russian so sorry for my crappy Russian (I don't even know if it's right... blame it all on the online translator ^_^)
Anywho... people, I'm working on a sequel that will be a crossover with NCIS: Los Angeles so, if you want to understand the next story, you have to keep reading this one.
Thank you so much for your patience and for keep reading it.
R&R, peeps!!!
Koo Koo Kah Choo!!! xoxo