"God, no." Gibbs stared in horror at the screen in MTAC as everything went to hell. "Ziva, take him out."
I can't get a clear shot.
From the feed of Ziva's camera, Gibbs could see McGee struggling with the suspect, who had at least five inches and probably close to eighty pounds on him. From Tim's feed, he had an up-close look at the crazed face, then blue sky before the image was replaced with static. Looking back at Ziva's feed, the gaping hole in the plate window made his blood run cold.
"No." He felt a hand on his shoulder, but Gibbs' focus was on the screen. "Ziva, talk to me." He watched the window grow larger as she rushed closer, then her hand covered her camera. "Ziva? Damn it, Ziva!"
-NCIS-
Gibbs and Tony were both shouting in her ear, while Sanchez was yelling from across the room, but all Ziva heard was the horrifying scream as both McGee and the suspect went out the window, then the thud and sudden silence. Instinct took over and she wrapped her fingers over the camera before she reached the broken window. Expecting to see McGee's shattered form on the ground eight floors down, she gasped in relief when she saw his still body on the roof of the next building. His fall had been shorter, but still far enough to be life threatening. He was face down and she frantically searched for any sign of life.
McGee wasn't moving, but the suspect was. She watched as he tried to stand, then collapsed back onto his knees to crawl. Instead of trying to make his escape, however, he was moving toward McGee. Her hand dropped from the camera as she pulled up her gun. "Freeze."
His head jerked a little, so she knew he'd heard her, but his focus was still on McGee and he continued his slow crawl toward the hopefully unconscious man. "Stop, or I will shoot." When that didn't work, she fired twice, but heard four shots. Looking out the broken window and to the left, she saw a familiar arm and SIG sticking out an open window. Between them, a third of the way closer to Tony, was a fire escape. "Tony?"
He stuck his head out the window, made eye contact with her for a split second, then obviously registered the presence of the fire escape. "Hang on, McGee, I'm coming."
With Sanchez watching her back, Ziva kept her weapon trained on the downed suspect until it could be confirmed he was dead.
-NCIS-
Tony and his team had been at the furthest corner of the building when over his earwig he'd heard the shouts and the sounds of fists on flesh. It had only lasted a few seconds before he heard glass breaking and the terrifying scream that cut off suddenly. "Shit, shit, shit, don't you be dead, Probie."
He'd been running back toward where the other team was, but now he detoured toward the nearest bank of windows. One of them was open a few inches and he grabbed the bottom of the frame, yanking it up. It only went up a little more, but it was enough and when he heard Ziva yell freeze, Tony dropped to his knees to stick his head out. A building, he'd forgotten about that. Abandoned and neglected, with missing doors and windows, they'd verified that there was no access from the target building, then virtually ignored it. The fall had still been significant, but he hoped survivable. The suspect was, in fact, alive and moving closer to McGee. From the broken window, Ziva yelled at him again to stop. He could tell by the man's expression that he had no intention of stopping and Tony didn't hesitate.
There was something about the moment after a shooting. That split second when the smell of burnt gunpowder hits the nose and the vibration of the weapon can still be felt in the hands, when usually the rush of 'I'm still alive' almost overwhelms everything else. Today, another fear wiped that away. McGee was still, so very still, but Ziva yelling his name had his head turning toward her automatically. He barely recognized her presence before he saw what was between them. Drawing back, he yelled as he started figuring out which of the tiny offices housed the window he needed.
"Hang on, McGee, I'm coming."
-NCIS-
The feeds from the other camera were disjointed as they ran through the building, but Gibbs was locked on the one camera that showed nothing, waiting for Ziva to move her hand. When she did, it was to open fire on the suspect as he moved toward a still figure. It was only when the suspect was down that she moved enough for Gibbs to get a good look at McGee.
He was laying very still and face down. It looked like he'd probably hit the building's ventilation pipes before landing on the roof. They might have helped break his fall, but chances were, they'd broken much more than that. Ziva glanced away for a moment, looking to Tony, but then she turned back to watch McGee and the downed suspect.
"Ziva, talk to me."
I do not know, Gibbs. I cannot tell if he is alive or not. Tony is climbing down now.
From Tony's feed, Gibbs had a close up view of the brick while he climbed, but he heard Tony muttering at Tim, repeatedly. Don't be dead, don't be dead. It was close to his own, private mantra at the moment. Finally, Tony reached the lower roof and turned toward McGee.
Suspect first, Tony.
Gibbs knew that Ziva was right, but the delay tore through him.
Four bullets had all hit their mark, one in the face, the rest through the torso. Gibbs could see that quite clearly on Tony's feed. The slightly surprised expression and the wide open eyes told the story even before Tony confirmed it. He's dead, Boss.
Gibbs didn't have to remind him, Tony was already on the move and seconds later, a close-up view of McGee's still form was on the monitor. There was blood on his face and the camera picked up Tony's hand moving to his neck to check his pulse.
"Tony?" There was no answer and he saw Tony hand shift a little. "Damn it, Tony, talk to me."
-NCIS-
The poorly maintained fire escape was slippery and some of the rungs twisted in his hands so Tony found himself tempering his need to get to McGee with the need to not make the situation worse by falling and delaying his rescue. "Don't be dead, don't be dead."
He finally was on the roof, only to get a reminder from Ziva. Suspect first, Tony.
"Who's the senior agent, Ziva?" Even as he snapped at her, he had to shift his direction a little, not that he'd ever admit it. Four shots, one of them hitting just under the eye made checking almost moot, but he did. "He's dead, Boss."
Regulations met, he turned to Tim. Scared to move him, he gingerly laid his fingers against Tim's neck. He didn't feel anything at first, trying to block out Gibbs' worried voice. Finally he pressed harder and found a pulse. It wasn't banging against his fingers, but it was there. "McGee's alive. Get us a medic up here now."
Thank God.
Vance's voice came over the mic as he took over for Gibbs as the rest of the teams continued the hunt, but Tony focused on his partner. He didn't move back until several military medics showed up.
"Any sign of consciousness?"
"No, not yet. That's bad, isn't it?" Tony clamped his mouth shut, knowing that Gibbs was hearing everything. The medic had no idea that anyone one else was listening in. They'd all had their mics open during the raid so their watchers could hear what was going on, but now Tony wished he'd thought to shut his off earlier. As soon as he flipped it off, he heard Gibbs in his ear. Leave it on, DiNozzo.
The thought of defying the order crossed his mind even as he turned it back on. "He's going to be okay, Boss, McGee's got too much to live for." They both fell silent as the medics worked to assess McGee, bracing his neck and strapping him to a back board.
As they got ready to transport, Tony looked up at the window where Ziva was watching. She gave him a nod, agreeing to take over the crime scene until he got back, and Tony silently followed the medics. He'd take his own transportation, but somebody needed to be at the hospital until Gibbs could get there.