Gibbs couldn't exactly make out what he was hearing. To his well-trained ear it certainly sounded like a police raid, but the lead agent knew that he was very tired and his concern for Tony had pushed him to the edge of desperation. He was unwilling to give into what may turn out to be false hope, so he continued to sit and wait. Gibbs' notoriously thin patience was strained to the limit as the minutes passed. Three minutes…five…the seconds seemed to drag on endlessly.
He returned his attention to DiNozzo, whose condition had seriously deteriorated over the past hours. Now he was shivering and his teeth chattering, and he moaned softly in between shallow, gasping breaths. Gibbs adjusted the windbreaker covering Tony and vigorously rubbed the younger man's chest and arms, trying to get some warmth circulating. The rattling sound that had developed in DiNozzo's chest scared the hell out of the lead agent. He kept trying to convince himself it was simply due to the chilly air in the old building, and not a precursor to something far more serious.
"Come on, Tony. Stay with me. Help is coming, I promise." Gibbs sincerely hoped that he wasn't lying. "Do you hear me, DiNozzo? We're getting out of here and you're gonna be just fine." Exhaustion colored Gibbs' tone, and the words contained none of his usual confident stubbornness. He sighed and shifted uncomfortably on the cold, hard ground, being careful not to disturb his injured agent.
Suddenly the noise outside grew louder and on the other side of the fire door Gibbs heard the very words that he'd been longing for. They were muffled, but still easy to understand. "Federal agents! Don't move!" The lead agent sagged with relief as he kept listening. The disembodied voice continued, "I said freeze! Drop your weapon!"
Gibbs tensed as several shots rang out, followed by a flurry of quieter activity. A few more stressful moments passed where he could hear virtually nothing at all. Then without warning, the bolt on the heavy door unlocked and it was slammed open. The lead agent released a breath he did not realize he'd been holding when he recognized the figure in the doorway.
"McGee! It's about damn time," he exclaimed. Tim was not bothered by the gruff words. He could hear Gibbs' concern for DiNozzo underlying the statement, and agreed with it wholeheartedly. McGee quickly knelt beside his friends, holstering his SIG while calling into his headset for paramedics.
"They're outside already. It'll just be a sec, Boss," Tim said as he took in Tony's pale face and shivering body with a concerned look. Gibbs made no motion to get up, instead continuing to cradle DiNozzo in his lap, rubbing the injured man's arms and murmuring quiet words of comfort when Tony began to moan weakly.
True to McGee's word, within two minutes a pair of paramedics rushed into the tiny storage room and immediately began assessing their patient. "How are you doing, sir?" The question came from a dark-haired female EMT and was directed at Gibbs as her partner continued examining Tony.
"Fine," came the brusque response, "but he has a severe head injury and has been unconscious for several hours now. He needs to get to a hospital."
The EMT nodded. She carefully checked Tony's pulse, being mindful of his raw and bloodied wrists. The young woman frowned, then gently placed an oxygen mask over his face as DiNozzo coughed faintly. Her partner was trying to start an IV, with little success. "He's badly dehydrated," the male paramedic observed, as he finally managed to slip the needle into one of Tony's veins. "Let's go." They carefully lifted the shuddering man off of Gibbs and loaded him onto the waiting stretcher. The senior field agent moaned softly and began to cry out in pain and distress.
Gibbs struggled to his feet as quickly as he could. It wasn't easy, given that he'd been sitting relatively motionless for so many hours. His back ached, and his bad knees were stiff and miserably sore from the cold. McGee noticed his boss' plight and grabbed the lead agent by the arm, gently helping him up. Gibbs nodded his thanks and held onto the stretcher for support as the paramedics began wheeling it away. He grabbed Tony's hand and squeezed firmly as Tim followed behind.
"I'm here, Tony. Take it easy," Gibbs said reassuringly. As had happened earlier, Tony quieted almost at once when he heard the lead agent's voice. McGee shook his head. He never ceased to be amazed at how DiNozzo always obeyed their boss, whether fully aware or not.
As the small group made their way into the main warehouse, Gibbs was more than a little surprised to see Tobias Fornell consulting with Ziva as Metro PD secured the scene. Beyond the Mossad officer and the FBI agent, Gibbs could see Bossman's body, still leaking blood from a fatal bullet wound through the heart. It wasn't hard for Gibbs to piece together what had happened, but he did wonder what Fornell's role was in all this. However, answers would have to wait until after Tony had received medical attention. Some things were far more important at the moment. Gibbs nodded an acknowledgment to Fornell and Ziva, who were looking on with concern as he limped alongside Tony and the paramedics.
Gibbs had to let go of his agent's hand as the EMTs carefully lifted the stretcher into the waiting ambulance. After Tony was secured, the woman climbed in as her partner hopped into the driver's seat. With some difficulty, Gibbs pulled himself into the back and settled next to Tony. He took hold of the younger man's hand once more as the ambulance sped into the night.