AN: Thanks so much, as always, for all your kind words and support. I very much appreciate it. Here's the next chapter. I didn't want to keep you hanging for too long.

xxxxx

Tony was having a hard time concentrating on the movie. He kept on thinking about what he was planning on doing. He knew it wasn't a particularly smart idea. He knew Gibbs was going to be really, really pissed off when he discovered what he had done. Twice he almost confessed, but remained silent.

"You alright?" Gibbs asked, shooting Tony a concerned look. He had barely uttered a word in the last hour or so and seemed distracted. "You feel like talking?"

Tony shook his head. "I'm fine boss...you don't have to keep worrying about me."

"I'll always worry about you," DiNozzo," Gibbs said truthfully as Tony looked back at him, startled by his words. "Just wish you believed you were worth worrying about..."

Tony stared down at the floor, feeling even more guilty. It wasn't like his family had ever worried about him. They had barely even acknowledged his existence. "Thanks, boss...but you really don't have to. I'll be fine." He feigned a wide yawn and glanced at the clock on the wall. "I'm sorry I'm not better company. I'm just really tired tonight..."

"You should think about going to bed then," Gibbs said, not entirely convinced that fatigue was Tony's problem.

"Yeah, that's a good idea, boss," Tony said, forcing a smile as he got to his feet and headed to his bedroom. "I...I'll see you in the morning...Good night."

"Goodnight, DiNozzo," Gibbs replied, unable to stop the feelings of uneasiness he was having. Something was definitely off with his agent. He just wished he knew what it was.

xxxxx

Tony lay in his bed, staring up at the ceiling as he waited until it was late enough for him to leave. He had heard Gibbs retire to his bedroom a short while ago and had taken the opportunity to call a cab company and arrange for a taxi to be at his building at 11:45. He had his gun loaded and ready and his heart was beating rapidly in anticipation of the upcoming meeting. Finally, at about 11:40, he got his jacket and silently exited his bedroom. Gibbs' door was shut and he didn't hear a peep coming from the older agent's room. Tony crept across the living room and opened the front door of his apartment, quietly making his way out into the hallway. Once he had closed the door behind him, he breathed a sigh of relief and quickly made his way down the hallway When he got outside, the taxi was already waiting for him. Tony got into the back seat and told the cabdriver his destination.

"You do know that place has been closed for years, don't you?" the taxi cab driver asked as he gave Tony a suspicious look through the rear view mirror.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Tony replied. "I need to meet someone there. Don't worry about it."

"Well, I'm not waiting around for you," the driver said. "Its not exactly the best part of town."

"That's fine. I wasn't expecting you to wait."

Tony gave a silent thank you when the driver finally stopped talking and concentrated on the road, leaving Tony alone with his thoughts. He was having more and more second thoughts about what he was about to do and what Gibbs was going to think of him after it was over. Without giving himself a chance to second guess his actions, he grabbed his cell phone and dialed Gibbs' number.

"You picked a pretty weird time to be testing out your new cell phone, DiNozzo," Gibbs muttered sleepily as he put the phone to his ear after checking out the caller ID.

"I'm actually not at the apartment, boss," Tony said.

Gibbs instantly awoke fully and sat up in bed. "Are you in trouble, Tony?"

"No...not in trouble...I'm on my way to meet one of the guys from the holdup."

"You're what?"

"I...I thought I should let you know."

Gibbs was rapidly throwing on clothes as he spoke. "Please tell me you're not doing this without backup."

"He said to come alone, boss."

Gibbs shook his head. What the hell was he thinking? "Where are you? Pull over. Pull over right now and wait for me."

Can't do it. I'll be late. I need to be there at midnight. Need to do this. Need to get these guys."

"You driving with one arm, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked as he loaded his gun.

"Taxi, boss."

"Have him drop you off. Wait for me. That's an order."

"Sorry, boss...I can't do that." Tony said regretfully, but he was steadfast in his determination to do this alone.

"Where? Where are you meeting him?" Gibbs asked as he walked out into the living room and saw Tony's car keys on the coffee table. Grabbing them, he made his way out of the apartment. "Where, DiNozzo? Damn it, tell me!" he barked when Tony remained silent at the other end of the phone.

"The McAvoy Theater," Tony replied with a sigh.

Gibbs was already running down the hallway. "Tony...Tony please have the driver drop you off. I'll be right there."

"Sorry, boss. Gotta go. I'll see ya."

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs shouted, but Tony had hung up. He found Tony's car and got inside, mentally cursing his agent as he did so. He was going to be in so much trouble when he caught up with him. He just hoped the younger man didn't get himself hurt or worse before he got to him.

xxxxx

"You a cop or something?" the cab driver asked as he pulled up in front of the McAvoy Theater.

"Or something," Tony replied as he dug some money out of his pocket and paid the driver. "That's all set."

"Thanks, Mister." The driver's eyes brightened when he saw the hefty tip Tony had given him. "Good luck."

"Thanks." Tony got out of the taxi and took a quick look around as he made his way toward the side of the building. The area was very dark and he inwardly berated himself for not having thought to bring a flashlight. Then again, that would have exposed him so maybe it was just as well. He clutched his gun tightly as he made his way towards the rear of the building, trying to walk as silently as he could. When he reached the rear corner of the theater, he stopped and took a deep breath then cautiously peered around the corner to the back. He couldn't see or hear anything. He wondered if they were already waiting there, hoping to ambush him. He had arrived a few minutes early so if it wasn't a trap, maybe the guy just hadn't gotten here yet. He saw some cardboard boxes and decided that would be a halfway decent place to wait. At least he would have a little bit of cover, not that boxes were bulletproof, but it was definitely better than nothing. He made his way over to the boxes and was relieved when nothing happened. He stacked the boxes so as to give himself the best protection he could and settled back to wait. He didn't have to wait too long. A man arrived in the area behind the building and looked around. Even from his limited vision, Tony could recognize him from the convenience store and he could tell that the guy was nervous.

"Agent DiNozzo?" he called out. "Are you here?"

Tony waited a few more moments before he made himself known. "Put your hands up," Tony said as he came out from behind the boxes with his gun drawn.

"I... I can assure you I'm not armed," the man stammered. "I...I've never used a gun in my entire life."

"Well, I'm sure you'll understand if I don't take your word on that," Tony said as he patted the man down. "Almost getting killed tends to make me a little bit suspicious of people." Finally satisfied that the man was unarmed, Tony stood back. "Okay, why don't you start by telling me your name."

"Its Warren...Warren Albright."

"Well, Warren, quite a mess you've gotten yourself into," Tony stated.

"I know, but I didn't know what was going to happen," Warren protested. "I swear I didn't know. I would never want to kill anyone. It was all Lou. I swear it was."

"What's Lou's last name?" Tony asked.

"It's Reynolds."

"Why didn't you call us sooner?" Tony asked. "It would have been a hell of a lot easier if you had."

"Lou said no one would believe me. I have a wife and kids. I couldn't take that chance. Please, man. You've gotta help me. Lou is at my house right now. All you've got to do is go pick him up and bring him in."

Tony nodded as he re-holstered his gun so he could get out his cell phone. "I'm going to call my boss and see about picking up your friend." He wasn't really sure if they should do it themselves or let the local police handle it.

"Well, well, well. You think someone is your friend, you turn around for a minute and he stabs you in the back." Lou came up to them, gun drawn with a menacing expression on his face. "Put your hands behind your head, Agent DiNozzo."

A quick glance at Warren told Tony that Lou's arrival had been totally unexpected. Shit. This wasn't good. "I said put your hands behind your head, now!" Lou snapped and Tony did as he asked, silently cursing as Lou took his weapon.

"I actually owe you a bit of thanks," Lou said to Warren. "You delivered this Agent DiNozzo to me nice and tidy. Now I'll just take care of the two of you and I'll be home free."

"Come on Lou...I...I didn't have a choice," Warren pleaded. "You dragged me into this mess. Its not like I asked to be included."

"Too fucking bad," Lou said, turning his attention from Warren to Tony. "You've given me a whole lot of trouble, DiNozzo. It'll be a pleasure to blow your brains out. This time, I'll make sure you're dead."

Tony shook his head. "You're never going to get away with this. They'll catch you and you'll be in even more trouble than you are now."

"I've already killed once. Doesn't make a difference to me," Lou shrugged "At least this way, I have a fighting chance. Now let's get this over with. Get down on your knees."

"Don't do this, Lou," Warren stammered. "Just let us go, man. You don't need to kill us too."

"Shut up!" Lou bellowed then turned to Tony again. "You heard me! Down on your knees."

Tony stared back at Lou defiantly. "No way in hell, dirtbag." He knew he was very likely going to die, but he sure as hell wasn't going to make it any easier for this guy. His heart was pounding and he knew he didn't have long. Lou raised the guy and Tony flew at him, managing to knock the gun out of Lou's hand. It landed on the ground, but Tony fell awkwardly and with only one good arm, he couldn't move swiftly enough to grab the weapon. Lou reached it first and used it to hit Tony on the head, dazing him.

"You'll pay for that, you son of a bitch!" Lou growled as he aimed the gun at Tony's head. Tony closed his eyes resigned to the inevitable and then he heard the loud crack of a single gunshot. He laid there for a few seconds before realizing that he hadn't been hurt. Taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes. Lou was lying on the ground, obviously dead, with a bullet wound in the center of his forehead. Tony then turned his head and saw Gibbs approaching him, looking more pissed off than he had ever seen him...

xxxxx

AN2: Lol I could have been way more evil with the ending of this chapter, but I decided to give you all a break :D