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Title: Slow Burn
Story: NCIS crossover with a book (to be revealed in future chapters); AU for both
Rating: T/Gen
Summary: McGee's heritage catches up with him, and DiNozzo is caught in the crossfire.
Set in: mid season 6
Disclaimer: Don't own, just playing, yadda yadda
In this chapter: Lots of stuff going on, and the first brief appearance of a character from the crossover.
Chapter 3
"Tony! Put that away! Are you trying to get yourself killed?"
Startled, Tony took a moment to respond to the question.
"Are you threatening me, McGee?"
An equally startled expression crossed McGee's face. "What? No! Why would you-? No, Tony, I just don't want you to get hurt. Now please, put the gun down." McGee's eyes roamed the area behind Tony, and the panic the younger agent was broadcasting gave Tony pause.
"You're worried about me?" What in the hell…?
McGee took a deep breath and slowly raised his arms away from his body. "Look, I'm unarmed. You wouldn't shoot an unarmed man, Tony. I know you wouldn't. Please…"
Suddenly Tony realized McGee was not talking to him, but to someone else, someone he obviously thought was observing their confrontation.
"Your buddy Kort is long gone. No need to worry about me. Worry about yourself, especially what Gibbs will do to you when I get you back to base."
"It's not Kort I'm concerned with. Please, Tony, put the gun away."
"Fine." Deciding that his current stance was getting him nowhere, Tony slowly lowered the gun and slid it into his holster, leaving the strap unlatched. "But you're coming with me. Your other contact is just going to have to deal without you."
"Other…how did you-?"
"Oh quit it with the innocent act, McSpy. No one waits out in the cold out in the middle of nowhere, especially after they've already had one clandestine meeting. Who is it?"
"I…I can't tell you that, Tony. I'm sorry, but you need to leave before-." He was interrupted but the sound of a gunshot and one of the windows of the Porsche shattered. Automatically the two men ducked behind the car as Tony returned fire. They heard a startled scream followed by shouts and more gunfire.
Tony glanced at McGee. Probie's just as surprised as I am.
"Guess your contact is not as trustworthy as you thought. What the hell have you gotten yourself into, McGee?"
"My…contact isn't behind this. They must have followed you to get to me." More shots were fired and the car shook with the impact. They were running out of time.
"I wasn't followed. You, on the other hand, are lousy at picking up a tail. Please tell me you weren't assigned to this job." Before they could answer, another volley of shots shattered the rest of the windows. As they crouched in the dark, it started to snow harder, providing some cover. "Alright, look. My car is just past the end of the lot. On my count, duck and run." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw McGee nod. "One…two…go!" Both men ran across the lot at a crouch, dodging back and forth to make harder target of themselves. They had almost made it to the far side when Tony felt a bullet graze his right bicep and he hissed in pain.
"You OK?" McGee asked as the reached the car.
Tony unlocked the doors and they scrambled inside. "Fine. They just winged me."
"Oh God, Tony, I'm sor—."
"Save it, McGee." He gunned the engine and started up the narrow mountain road away from the lot. The car slid a little as he rounded the first curve and he saw the headlights of another vehicle swing into view behind them, gaining fast.
"Careful, Tony!"
Tony smirked, despite the pain in his arm. "'It's called ice, and it gets a little slick!'" He saw McGee's incredulous look out of the corner of his eye. "True Lies, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tom Arnold-?"
"Yeah, I know, you made me watch it! Just drive!"
Tony hit the accelerator and pulled away from the other vehicle, going as fast as he dared, and soon the headlights faded from view. He slowed as much as he dared, but the car was not made for the driving conditions and fishtailed several times as they rounded the curves. "You puke in my car, Probie, I'll kill you."
"That's the least of our worries. Damn it, Tony, why didn't you leave well enough alone?"
"You were acting hinky. Did you really expect me not to notice something was wrong?"
"And that's why you pointed a gun at me?" McGee actually sounded offended. Tony decided to change the subject.
"How do you know this isn't who you were going to meet?"
"She'd never hurt me. Besides, guns aren't exactly her weapon of choice."
"She? This is all for some chick?"
"No! You wouldn't understand…"
Must be some damsel in distress, and Elflord had to play the hero. Great.
"So these guys are after her, then?"
McGee's soft laugh held no humor. "If they were after her, they would have brought a lot more firepower, trust me."
Before Tony cold respond, the headlights suddenly appeared in the rear view mirror and another round of gunfire shattered the back window. He felt a shock of pain in his right shoulder as another bullet struck home and groaned. He accelerated again, leaving the other car behind.
"Tony? Are you OK?"
"Fine. You're going to owe me a new window. And probably a paint job." His arm had gone numb and he was having trouble holding on to the wheel, but he fought to stay on the road. The edges of his vision started to darken and he felt the car drift to the right.
"Tony? Tony! LOOK OUT!"
The last thing he heard was his partner's terrified scream as he plunged into darkness.
Erskin guided the van to a halt and surveyed the scene in front of him. The road curved off to the left, but an obvious damage path lay straight ahead where the other car had gone through. He got out the van and walked over to the edge of the path, searching for the vehicle, but there was nothing ahead, and all he could hear was the rush of water of the river below.
"You think that did it?" asked Goddard as he stepped up next to Erskin.
"Probably. If the crash didn't get them, the river will. Hell, as fast as it's going they'll wind up miles from here. Might not even find them 'til spring thaw."
"Now what?"
"We head back. Mission accomplished."
"What about Willis?"
"We'll put him in the kid's car and torch it. It will take them days to figure out it's not the kid, and we'll be long gone by then."
A freezing spray of water hit McGee in the face, causing him to sputter. Suddenly wide awake, he took in his surroundings. The car was still upright, but the strange swaying motion caused he stomach to clench.
Great, we're in the river. Hell of a time to get seasick.
He turned to look at the driver's seat. Tony was slumped over, held in place by his seat belt. McGee reached out to touch his shoulder.
"Tony?"
He raised his hand to check DiNozzo's pulse and noticed the sticky residue now covering his palm.
Crap.
He quickly placed two fingers on Tony's neck and slumped in relief when he felt the slow but steady beat beneath.
Hang on Tony, I'll get us out of this.
McGee wondered if he should wait for the car to drift to shore, but as a new sound reached his ears, he felt a rise of panic and quickly abandoned the idea. He knew that sound and the knowledge of what they were heading towards spurned him into action. If he didn't get them out before they reached the falls, the thirty-foot drop would almost certainly kill them.
He reached into his coat and pulled out a knife, silent thanking Gibbs for his rules, and used it to cut through their seat belts. He then punched out the already broken windshield and pulled himself up onto the hood of the car, ignoring the biting cold that surrounded him. The car started to tip sickeningly and he froze, waiting for it to balance his weight.
He quickly surveyed the surroundings before pulling DiNozzo onto the hood of the car. Aiming for a downed tree that almost reached the center of the river, he slid into the water, dragging Tony with him. The shock of the cold water almost paralyzed him, but he fought the pain and managed to reach the tree with DiNozzo in tow. Using the tree as a brace, he made his way towards the shore and finally managed to drag himself and his partner up onto the bank. Shivering with exertion and cold, he checked Tony's pulse again and was alarmed to find that it had slowed. He knew that if they didn't get to safety soon, neither one of them would make it.
He managed to position Tony over his shoulder in a Fireman's Carry and, staggering a little under the weight of the older agent, McGee started towards the only safe haven available to him.
Goddard positioned Willis' body behind the wheel of the Porsche and shut the door. It seemed like such a damn waste, torching a car like that, but it was a necessary evil. He turned to Erskin, who was stuffing a rag in the gas tank.
"All ready to go. Let's give this guy his big send off. Poor bastard." He saw Erskin shake his head in disgust before he pulled out a book of matches which he handed to Goddard.
"Knock yourself out."
Grinning, Goddard lit the fuse and turned to run and was surprised to find a silent figure watching them from the edge of the woods. He raised his gun, but before he could pull the trigger, he felt a strong push of air which drove him back towards the car. In that same instant, the gas tank exploded. Goddard briefly wondered how the fire had gotten in front of him before the searing pain hit, and his partner's scream accompanied him into the blackness.
McGee sat back against the wall of his hideout, exhausted. He had made it there on pure will, the last of his reserves spent tending to DiNozzo after they had reached their destination. After the older agent was patched up, dressed in dry clothes, and bundled up in blankets before the small fire McGee had built, he tended to his own needs. Now he was warm and dry, but before he was able to rest, he checked on Tony. Satisfied that his partner would be OK for a few hours at least, he curled up near the fire and succumbed to the pull of sleep.
Abby placed the last of her samples in the auto-sampler of the gas chromatograph and pushed the start button with a sigh of relief. The peace and quiet afforded by the nearly deserted building had allowed her to get caught up with her work, and she could now go to bed with a clear conscience. She changed into her sleep clothes before returning to her computer and pulling up the program she had shown Tony earlier that evening. Satisfied that there was no one else was in the building that might need her, she grabbed Bert, curled up on her futon, and promptly fell asleep with a peaceful smile on her face.
Two hours later, the Marauder's Map, already showing the building's sleeping inhabitant, registered an intruder. On the screen, a bright red dot entered the bullpen and made its way to McGee's desk where it stopped. It stayed there for ten minutes before moving across the bullpen again and disappearing at the elevator.
A/N: Still interesting? Please let me know what you think.