Gewitter
The three men climb the wooden steps towards the first floor of the townhouse very slowly. They look up and down the corridor, and see light coming from the second door to the left. The head goon signals to his colleagues, who walk slowly towards the closed door of Joy's room. As they approach the door, they see movement through the light shining under the gap between the door and the floor. They position themselves before the door, with their guns with silencers drawn, ready to assault the room.
NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS
The shadow was actually a very muscular man, who with a growl tackled Gibbs and tried to teach him a lesson with his fists. Gibbs still tries to use his gun, but there is no space for the shot, and the man brutally hits Gibbs' hand, which becomes slack and the gun falls.
The Murdock crew that had been sent to DC had very clear orders: teach these Feds who believed they could intimidate Mike Murdoch, and who tried to corner his link in the Navy, a lesson. As apparently Kieran had bailed out, Murdoch decided to literally take matters in his own hands or, if you wish to be literal, in his crew's hands.
They were to pummel to death those he had researched, in a very clear message that nobody messes with Mike's business.
However, in the research he did on the team, Mike had assumed that his bouncers would have an easy time. After all, what could these sissy feds possibly do to his army of street toughened thugs?
He was in for the surprise of his life, as Gibbs, with a roar of fury, hits his own head on the forehead of his attacker, letting him dizzy for a few seconds, his grip on Gibbs neck slacking and giving Gibbs enough time to punch the guy twice. As they clashed, the thug grabs one of Gibbs' hand tools and tries to knock him out, but he ducks and the thug hits the boat instead, breaking a section of the structure.
Gibbs roars and punches the guy, who falls the floor. The man, however, lands close to where Gibbs gun slid to, and he stretches his hand and grabs the gun and points it to Gibbs' head, his finger on the trigger.
A shot is heard.
NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS
After a long day working in her snoop department for other FBI surveillance cases, Hope is happily talking on the phone as she walks towards her car in the parking lot of the Hoover Building. She was relating all the things that happened in the previous days to her blood sister, Grace, who works in the FBI office in Utah.
She was updating her sister on all family gossip she could think of, and Grace was laughing, really wishing she had been part of the bust operation. Hope starts to walk slowly, going through her bag trying to find the electric keys for her Honda, when suddenly she loses her balance as the heel of her left high heel breaks.
She falls to the floor, at the exact same moment a shot is heard.
NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS
lets not pretend like you're alone tonight
(I know he's there and)
you're probably hanging out and making eyes
(while across the room he stares)
I'll bet he gets the nerve to walk the floor
and ask my girl to dance
she'll say yes
(because these words were never easier for me to say or her to second guess but i guess)
that i can live without you but
(without you I'll be miserable at best)
Miserable at best – Mayday Parade
Matthew changes lanes and radio station, driving his rental towards Silver Springs. After the very tense few days they had, he and Sarah hadn't had yet the chance to sit down and talk, really talk about, well, the future. This was bothering Matt profoundly as, before the shooting, he had the impression they had something special, something great, and now they were in limbo, together but apart, with so many things unsaid and lots of hurt to forgive and forget.
Yes, they had talked about the shooting, and both had the chance to tell the other their feelings and impressions of those very tense minutes where their lives were in danger. And they also had that hot clandestine encounter, in Johnny's guest bathroom for Christ's sake, but it was more an act of desperation on his part and pity onf hers than anything else.
At least, he had had the chance of talking with Timothy and clearing the air between them. So, the precious relationship between Joy and Tim would not be jeopardized by whatever he and Sarah might decide to do in the future.
Matt frowns as he remembers his sister's words to him on the afternoon of the shooting, as Joy explained what the future might hold for his relationship with the youngest McGee.
NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS
Both siblings turn their eyes to the fire, and Matt says softly, "I told her I love her today."
Joy turns to her brother, "and do you?"
"Do you doubt me?"
"Did you say I love you in a crisis moment, in a quiet moment or right before/during/after sex?" she says smiling smartly at him, and he blushes brightly, which brings howling laughter from Joy. "Ah Matt," she says, and he hits her in the arm.
"But I was being sincere," he says sullenly, folding his arms and pouting like a baby.
"I'm not questioning your sincerity; I'm questioning your motives for saying that." He looks sullenly at her, "it is one thing to say it during hot steamy moments, but it is completely different saying it with no distractions, no pressure, nothing to take away the importance of it. Real love is not the crazy sweeping passion that takes you in a whirlwind of ups and downs, but it is a conscious choice that both of you have to make that, despite both your shortcomings and your idiosyncrasies, you are part of her and she is part of you, a silent promise you will still be there for each other no matter what happens. That's why the marriage vows say to have and to hold, for better and for worse."
She takes his left hand in hers, and studies the bandages on it, from Sarah's bites and also from him punching the tree earlier on, "you two had been granted with a second chance in life, a new beginning. You had been touched by God's hand and shown how His divine Providence is powerful to take care of the littlest details." Matthew is looking at his older sister's eyes who, despite having worked in civilian law enforcement for years, had seen more horrors than many of his Marine colleagues, "what you two will do with this new lease on life, it is up to you. You will have two choices ahead: if you will become stronger and tighter together, or if you will drift apart, the shadow of your relationship nothing more than that, a memory."
NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS
Matt frowns as he's certain that he has no wish to let his relationship with Sarah silently wither and become just a bittersweet memory. He wants…
He gulps, as the full bluntness of his wants crystallize in clear thoughts. He wants a family, children, laughter, just like his father has with his mother, starting his own little Buchanan-McGee branch.
He groans as he now knows how his father felt when he met his mother, as he had explained that, from the moment he met Maggie, there was no other, and there would never be any other. His thoughts, his breaths, his life if necessary would be dedicated to her wooing and conquering, even if that was the last thing he had to do.
Man, I'm so whipped, Matt thinks, smiling like crazy. He looks in the rear-view mirror and his smile fades as he sees a car speeding up with low lights towards his car. He changes lanes so the car may overtake him, but the car, as soon as it is parallel to his car, swerves and hits his car door, trying to take him out of the freeway.
Matt struggles with the wheel, and as he looks to the side, he sees that the driver has a gun pointed at him. He immediately steps on the brakes, bringing his car to a stop in the middle of the empty freeway as the other car continues speeding up. The attacking car brakes a couple yards ahead, and Matthew immediately charges his car against the stopped car trying to damage it as much as possible and to force his attackers off the road.
Both cars clash, and finally after some seconds of metal screeching, both cars hit the guardrail.
NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS
Gibbs roars and punches the guy, who falls the floor. The man, however, lands close to where Gibbs' gun slid to, and he stretches his hand and grabs the gun and points it at Gibbs' head, his finger on the trigger.
Gibbs looks to the end of the barrel of his own service weapon, and for a millisecond thinks about his agents, who will mourn his death deeply and about his beloved family, who he will finally see again.
A shot is heard, and he flinches. His attacker slides to the floor, and Gibbs sees a neat round bullet hole in his forehead. He looks up to the stairs and, exactly in the same position as the last time she saved his life in this same basement is Ziva, his Israeli guardian angel, with her drawn weapon pointed to the scum bleeding at his feet.
"Are you ok, Gibbs?" she asks, as she slowly goes down the steps towards him.
He gingerly touches his lower lip, which is bleeding, and looks down at the dead man in his basement.
He looks at her, and sees that she seems disturbed, "How did you know?"
Ziva looks at him, and says softly, studying his bruised face, "There was someone waiting for me at home too. His ID was from New York."
Gibbs frowns, as he had mistakenly believed that Kieran McGee would heed their warnings and stop. Apparently, he was wrong. Damn.
"And you also wasn't answering your phone," completes Ziva, and Gibbs touches his phone in his pocket, and looks at the ten missed calls.
"I was busy trying not to get killed," says Gibbs, smirking at her, despite the pain in his face.
"The others?"
"I couldn't reach them," says Ziva, as soon as they get to Gibbs' living room. The door opens, and both agents draw their weapons towards the person entering the house.
It's Tony.
"Boss," he freezes as he sees the drawn weapons, "oh, you too, uhm?"
Gibbs lowers his weapon, and Ziva approaches Tony, looking at his hurt face, "You were attacked too, weren't you?"
"Yeah," he flinches as Ziva touches one of the purple bruises in his face, "I think they were already in the apartment when I got in, I left him cuffed to my kitchen sink and unconscious.
Gibbs frowns, and leaves the living room, with Ziva and Tony hot on his heels. He sees that there is a taxi stopped out front, and looks at Tony, who shrugs.
"I thought you were hurt, didn't want to wait while calling another cab," he justifies himself.
Gibbs turns to Ziva, and throws her the keys of the Charger, "Ziva, go to Ducky, check that he's fine." He turns to Tony, and points to the taxi, "Tony, check Abby, I'm going to McGee's place."
Ziva runs to the Charger, and starts to get ready to leave. Tony looks at his Boss, "what about the others?"
"Keep trying to contact them, I have to get to McGee's!" he climbs in his truck, and starts it, driving off in a hurry just after Ziva's Charger. Tony hops into the Taxi, and gives the driver Abby's address.
Gibbs steps on the accelerator, silently praying, for the first time in many years, and asking to God to let him get there in time.