Tony got in his car and shivered involuntarily. The temperature had dropped and he watched his breath fog the windshield. He gave the engine a minute to warm up, then turned the heat to blow over his feet. God, why was he so cold? Once the car was tolerably warm, he drove slowly through the Navy Yard toward the main gate and noted the slushy roadway and frowned. The snowfall necessitated windshield wipers. Maybe this wasn't a good night to go to the Y. Might be a good night to stay home. Before reaching the gate, he pulled over and took out his cell and pressed a familiar speed dial.
"Hey Zoe, was just calling to see if you were out of work and if maybe you wanted to get some dinner. Give me a call when you can okay? Roads are getting ugly, be careful heading out." He ended the call and checked the weather. Another 5 inches were expected. He set the phone down and headed home, deciding to stop and get some Italian on the way. Such a cold snowy night after a less than stellar day warranted comfort food.
As Tony pulled out on the main road, he noted three cars behind him, a black SUV, a white Dodge and what he thought was a Toyota Camry. He drove carefully, fully focused on the road, noting when the black SUV turned off on a side street.
He turned down another side street to avoid being on the main drag any longer and it would come up to the back parking lot of the restaurant. He noted that the Camry turned when he did. He did a double take in his rear view, not having expected to see the same vehicle still following him. Was this just a coincidence or was he actually being followed? Dividing his attention between the road in front of him and his rearview mirror, he kept a careful eye on his tail. As far as he knew he hadn't pissed anyone off lately. The FBI hadn't even accused him of murder in years. A rush of heat flooded his face as he remembered the anger he felt at being unjustly accused. Yeah, he'd been framed but still. There were few feelings worse than being accused of a terrible crime you didn't commit but the evidence pointed right at you. He felt the sweat form on his brow and he wiped it away. If the Camry driver also pulled into the restaurant, he would confront him. Thank God there were only a few blocks left. For a moment Tony thought about skipping the stop and just going home but he really didn't feel like cooking. He was tired and just wanted to relax. Plus, if the power went out with all this snow, he'd have to go back out anyway. Tony felt tired just thinking about it.
A few minutes later, Tony arrived at the restaurant and watched the Camry drive by and turn left at the stop light. Tony resisted the urge to sigh with relief as he stepped out of the car. A blast of cold greeted him and he shivered, pulling his coat closer around him as he walked quickly into the restaurant to place his order, deciding to get enough for two in case Zoe decided to go directly to his place instead of going home. If she didn't, he could always eat the rest for dinner tomorrow.
Inside, he sat at the bar and waited for his food. He was offered a drink but refused citing his need to drive on the bad roads. The bartender nodded with a small smile on his face, seemingly respecting the decision. There were a few patrons in the bar area, an almost-middle-aged couple were sipping drinks and flirting shamelessly with each other at a small table near the bar. Tony guessed they were on a second or third date. There was another man sitting at the bar and the way he tapped his glass and kept glancing at the door indicated that he was waiting for someone. He could see in the dining room, noting a few couples and a couple of singles eating dinner. Quiet night but not surprising given the weather.
Tony looked at the bottles of liquor on the tiered shelves behind the counter. Normally, he had no trouble reading the bottles' labels but tonight, they seemed a little blurry. He rubbed his eyes a little and re-focused. That was a little better. Okay, yes it had been a long day in front of a computer and getting attacked by a psychiatric patient wasn't the most stellar of days but he'd been through worse. No reason his vision should be off. He hadn't hit his head, had he?
At that moment, he felt eyes on him and he glanced up and around noting the security camera over the bar. He looked to the opposite wall and saw another one. Between both cameras, the entire bar area was covered. He tried to dismiss the eyes on him as being the security cameras but the feeling persisted. Uneasy, he looked around at the patrons. The man at the end of the bar - his gaze was set on Tony, a puzzled expression on his face. It wasn't threatening, just more curious than anything else. Tony gazed right back at him, letting anger reach his eyes, letting him know his attention was not welcome. The man frowned at him, stood up, picked up his drink and headed over to where Tony was sitting. Tony straightened in his seat and turned, his eyes narrowed.
The man stood just outside of Tony's personal space. "Are you alright?" the man asked.
"I'm fine. Why would you ask me that?"
"Look at yourself, man. Your face is flushed, you're sweaty and you look like you're about to drop."
Tony blinked in surprise. He reached up and touched his face. Okay, he did feel a little sweaty. That was odd. He felt cold, not warm. Okay, his skin felt a little warm to the touch but he didn't think it was that bad he had a fever. He didn't feel sick, just cold.
In that moment, he just wanted to get away from everyone and everything. "I'm fine," he finally said to the guy in dismissal. He felt rather than saw the man walk away thinking it was odd for a guy to do that. Okay, he could see Gibbs doing that, even a bartender, but a stranger? God, could today get any weirder?
A few minutes later, his server brought out his food and he left, grateful to get out of there. The blast of cold air hurried his footsteps as he rushed to the car, grateful to find the interior slightly warmer. He felt cold right down to his bones and couldn't wait to get home.
As Tony pulled out of the parking lot, he had to wait for a string of traffic before pulling out and still more behind him. Where did all the traffic come from? There weren't that many when he first arrived. Snow was still coming down and as the temperature dropped the roads were slushier and traffic slowed to barely 25 miles per hour. Tony could see headlights in his rearview mirror almost as far as the eye could see. He couldn't see too far ahead of him because of the snow and other cars in front of him. He knew there were at least four cars ahead of him. Cold chills tingled on his skin. He felt trapped in traffic. He didn't usually let traffic bother him but today, it was a little much. Finding a gap in the parking places on the side of the street, he pulled off into one to let the rest of the traffic go ahead of him. He breathed a sigh of relief as the cars drove past him but it was short-lived. He saw headlights shine in his rearview and looked up to see another car pull in behind him. His eyes grew wide at this. Why would someone else pull off here? All the businesses were closed now. Was he being followed?
A flash of memory of the movie he had quoted to himself earlier came back full force. Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't after you.
Tony forced himself to breathe deeply and waited for the occupant of the other car to get out but the driver side door remained stubbornly closed as the driver simply waited. Because of a burned-out streetlight, there was a shadow of darkness over the other car and Tony couldn't see the driver. Wait a second though, he thought, noting the color of a car. It was white. Hadn't there been a white car earlier? Was it the same one? In the dark, he couldn't tell what make the car was.
Thinking this might not have been the best place to stop, Tony waited until there was a gap in traffic and he pulled out again, grateful that there were several cars pulling up behind him and nowhere for the other parked car to pull in. He felt a little better for that and he drove on, noting how bright the headlights were and the glare they created. That was odd, his night vision wasn't usually this bad.
As he turned right onto a busy street, he again found someplace to pull off and he rubbed at his eyes, hoping to clear his vision. He noted he was still sweating. Fear, he reminded himself. He had had a moment of alarm back when that car parked behind him. He saw headlights again and looked in his rearview, jerking his head toward it as he did. He felt a wave of dizziness wash over him as he watched a large truck drive by, leaving him in darkness. The stream of headlights behind him intensified his dizziness. He needed to get out of the light.
He cut the engine, waited for a brief gap in traffic before he opened the car door and climbed out. He locked it as he walked to the sidewalk. He felt a rush of heat to his face, realized how incongruous that seemed given the cold temperature. There was no wind at the moment, the tall buildings around him providing some protection from it. Tony stepped back into the shadow of the building and leaned against the brick, feeling better for being out of the bright headlights. He heard a horn honk and he turned abruptly toward the noise, another wave of dizziness assaulting his senses. He slowly lowered his head, waiting for it to pass. After a minute, he slowly lifted his head and looked around. Traffic had thinned out slightly and he breathed a sigh of relief. He turned to look up and down the sidewalk and as he turned to his right, out of the corner of his eye, he saw it, the telltale red light of a security camera looking down on him. Tony did a double-take. This was the corner of a building, why would there be a security camera right there? There was no entrance here. A wave of fear clutched his brain. Maybe people who were paranoid weren't so wrong after all. Maybe Big Brother was really watching. Okay, he knew they were, that was part of his job but here? That was excessive. Nothing requiring security cameras was needed here in this spot. It was on a busy street, no entrances to buildings for around 100 feet. Tony took a deep breath, trying to calm his fraying nerves but all he could see was Kevin Millner, in his face, wild-eyed, scared and dangerous.
He had to get out of there. This was wrong. Tony turned to his right and walked briskly down the street, away from the security camera, getting ahead of oncoming traffic. He couldn't be in traffic right now. The lights were too bright. He couldn't be around people right now. They kept looking at him funny, like that man acting strangely at the restaurant. As he walked he noted how the crisp air felt good against his face. He didn't feel cold anymore. It felt good, brisk, refreshing. He smiled a little. He was safe now. As long as he kept walking, he was safe.
He didn't know how long he had walked before he heard it. The distinct sound of a footstep in slush. He turned and saw a man in a long winter coat a short distant behind him. Wait, where had he come from? Tony, always proud of being aware of his surroundings, had been caught off guard. The man's pace seemed to pick up and Tony panicked.
"No!" He yelled. "Stay away from me."
Tony ran and ran, slipping and sliding in the snow and slush. He looked behind him and could see the man in the distance, still walking the same pace but Tony was faster. He couldn't stop. If he stopped, the man would catch up. That man, whoever he was, couldn't catch up. Suddenly, Tony was reminded of Jason from Friday the 13th movies in which he walked down his victims and a fresh new wave of fear overtook him. He looked around and the headlights and streetlights were a blurry glare in his vision. He ran on, needing to get away from the man chasing him.
Tony slipped and fell over a thick puddle of slush, landing on his belly. Cold and wet, he managed to regain his feet and ran harder, not stopping until when he looked back, he couldn't see anyone following him and he stopped to catch his breath. He looked up and around noting all the businesses, most of which were closed. The street was well lit and for a moment, Tony felt a little disoriented. Where was he? He was in the middle of a block so he couldn't see the street signs. Traffic was heavy here. Had to be a main drag. He was so cold and wet. He focused on the nearby businesses looking for a business name, somewhere to orient himself as to where he was. First thing he saw outside the nearest business was a security camera. Dammit, another one! He didn't want to be on Candid Camera right now. He felt off-kilter, cold, wet, scared and tired. Really tired. He felt the need to lay down.
"Hey Mister, are you alright?"
Tony turned 180 degrees to see a man behind him. Noting the short coat, Tony's brain realized it wasn't the same man who had been chasing him. Was this man working with him? Tony's eyes bulged at the thought and he backed away. "Hey stay away from me, man!"
"Hey, it's okay," the man said with a soft voice. "No harm, no foul. You look like you fell. Just seeing if you were okay."
"I'm fine," Tony said still backing away until he was clear of the guy, turned and ran down the street as fast as he could and didn't look back.
A few minutes later, at least he thought it was a few minutes, he heard sirens. Crap! Crap! Crap! Did that man call the police? He had to get out of there. He needed to be alone. He ran harder, turned down another street, and turned down another and another until he was out of breath and the sound of the sirens had faded. He could still hear them in the distance but he couldn't run anymore. His lungs burned and his calf muscles were screaming. He needed to get back to his car. Crap, why had he left it? Where had he left it? He needed to get back. Then, he could go home, take a hot shower and go to sleep.
The sirens blared closer again and Tony took off running, needing to get away from the noise and anymore bright lights especially brighter lights from emergency response vehicles. He ran in the direction he thought he had last parked his car. So focused on running, he hadn't noticed the temperature dropping more. He stepped in a solidifying puddle of slush and slipped, falling down hard, his arms coming up to break his fall. He felt his head bounce off his arm and he felt cold permeate his cold and then everything went black.