Chapter Four
"Looks like we've got company."
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McGee heard the strange sound a split second before his partner and looked up to see one of the beams in the ceiling come towards him. Diving to the ground, he rolled away just in time, the thing falling mere inches from where he landed.
Tony was at his side before the dust had fully cleared. "Holy falling ceiling beams, Batman. You okay?" he held out his hand.
McGee ignored it, getting to his feet and dusting himself off. "I'm fine," he replied.
Well I guess I shouldn't have expected something like a near-death experience to snap him out of it, Tony thought with an inward sigh.
"This place is falling apart. Maybe we should just get out of here," Tony said, looking up at the ceiling warily, half-expecting another beam to come down and join its partner on the floor.
"No, you said Gibbs wanted to check it out so let's check it out," McGee replied, looking around in the debris until he located his fallen flashlight.
"Hey, who's the Senior Field Agent here? If I say we leave, then we leave, Probie."
Tony's mouth had spit out the words before his brain could put a stop to it. He was still out of it after the beam nearly killed McGee and automatic pilot took over for a few seconds. If he'd been in his right mind, he never would have said it. Not then. Not after seeing how angry McGee had been just a few short minutes before. Not when he'd seen how hard the other man was fighting not to get violent.
Realizing his grave error, Tony immediately tried to backtrack.
"Hey McGee, listen I…"
Too late.
It wasn't that McGee was faster. Out of the two of them, Tony still had more skills in hand to hand combat. Years of sports, especially football, plus all his years as a beat cop chasing down and tackling suspects gave him the upper hand. McGee was no slouch though, thanks to hours in the gym with Gibbs and Tony. But he still wasn't quite as fast, not quite as strong as his partner.
So it couldn't be that McGee was faster. That simply could not be the reason that he managed to clock Tony in the jaw before the other man could duck. It was probably just due to the fact that his partner never expected it.
Yeah, that must be it…Tony thought ruefully, even as his body flew through the air and impacted with the wooden wall behind him. With a resounding crunch that made the agent wonder momentarily if it was the sound of some bones breaking, he landed in a heap. As Tony laid there for a few seconds, he collected himself. He felt the broken wood tumbling around him and was relieved that the sound he'd heard was in fact wood snapping, not any important appendages.
"Um….ow?" Tony said, looking up at his partner in surprise. The agent fought hard against his training that told him to hit back. Knowing that would be the very last thing he should do with the Probie in his current state. It still wasn't going to resolve anything.
McGee didn't reply, just stood staring down at Tony with his hands clenched at his sides. The punch had shocked him just as much as had his partner. What shocked him much more was how much he wanted to do it again. Like really, really, really a lot.
That wasn't good.
Deciding that he'd better get some distance between himself and the other man for both their sakes (for McGee knew without a doubt that if he did choose to fight his partner, he'd end up getting his ass handed to him, no matter how pissed he was), McGee walked off. He took a few deep breaths, willing the adrenaline currently pumping through his system to work its way out. Behind him he heard Tony groaning and the sound of broken planks hitting the floor as the other man struggled back to his feet.
"McGee."
Tim didn't turn around. He couldn't. Not yet. Not until he had gotten himself under control. He knew that. It was a bad idea. A very bad idea. So he stayed as he was, staring at the ground beneath his feet, breathing hard and clenching and unclenching his fists.
"Tim, please….," Tony began and McGee almost turned at that. He'd never heard Tony use that tone before and it very nearly was enough to weaken his resolve. Still, he stayed where he was, unsure of what would happen if he turned around.
"Look I know you have…..issues with me right now. But unfortunately we don't have time for that. I need you over here. That's an order, Special Agent McGee."
If Tony hadn't used the exact right tone of voice, the exact right way of making that statement, Tim might've turned around and hit him again. There was something behind the words, something Tim knew hadn't been there before. Something had changed in the last few seconds and the younger man knew that it had nothing to do with the violence that just occurred.
So he turned.
Tony was cautious of another attack but as the younger man slowly turned towards him, he knew that his gentle order had worked. McGee was ready to get back to work and that's what the Senior Field Agent needed.
For as Tony had begun to pull himself out of the mess of broken boards, he'd found something interesting. Behind the wooden slats was a space just big enough to fit a man. It appeared there was a hidden walkway set up between the concrete slab seen from the outside of the building and the wooden wall on the inside.
"I think we may have something here," Tony said. "Help me get this junk out of the way."
McGee silently did as he was told. He didn't trust his mouth right then. Truth be told, he didn't trust his hands either. But as they were busy pulling the debris out of the way, he was fairly certain they wouldn't take another crack at his partner of their own accord.
Once they cleared out the fallen wood, both men pulled out their flashlights once again. Seeing nothing but blackness, Tony slid into the passageway. He very nearly opened his mouth to say something about how this reminded him of a Three Stooges movie he saw once. Still feeling the tenderness in his jaw from his last thoughtless comment, Tony wisely decided against it.
Following behind the Senior Field Agent, McGee slid into the passageway as well. The space was narrow and both men had to turn sideways, their shoulders a little too broad to fit comfortably. As tight as it was, there was still little doubt that the tunnel was meant to be travelled. In the bouncing light from their flashlights, they could see footprints ahead of them. They followed the ghostly prints farther into the darkness until they reached what must have been the opposite side of the room from where they began.
Coming to a solid concrete wall, Tony was momentarily disappointed. He'd been so sure that the passageway must be for some purpose, more than likely an illegal one. To come to the end of it and find nothing but a wall was less than climactic.
"Tony," McGee said, speaking for the first time. "Look at that."
Looking down where McGee's flashlight was trained, Tony saw something that made him smile despite the cramped and claustrophobic quarters. Instead of concrete below their feet, there was a square piece of wood with a handle on one side and rusted hinges on the other.
"Well, McGee, if that's not a trapdoor then I don't know what is," Tony grinned, determined to go ahead and ignore the earlier incident between them for the moment. They had work to do.
McGee backed up, allowing Tony to step off the door, and then took the other man's flashlight. Tony squatted down and pulled on the handle, relieved to find that it wasn't locked. There should scarcely be a need to lock a door so well hidden but he was still happy he wouldn't have to pick a lock to see where it went.
Taking back his flashlight with a nod of thanks to his partner, Tony pulled his weapon and waited until McGee had done likewise. A ladder led to the floor below and Tony started downwards first, covering the front as McGee covered them from behind.
As he reached the bottom rung, Tony trained his gun to the left, knowing without looking that McGee would automatically be covering the right. It wasn't that Tony always took the left or even that the first man in a room took the left. It was about observing your partner and covering the area they didn't. So Tony knew without laying eyes on McGee that his partner would have his back, just as he had McGee's.
They found themselves in a room surrounded on all sides by thick concrete walls. The dimensions were smaller than the warehouse above and Tony guessed that there must be a few rooms like it below the larger one above. Other than the ladder they'd just climbed down, the room was empty save for a closed door at the other end.
Being closest to the door, McGee nodded at Tony and tipped his head towards it, indicating that he was going to check it out. Tony silently signaled the go-ahead and followed behind, providing cover. When they got to it, McGee reached out a tentative hand. Nervous of a squeaky handle that might give away their position to anyone who could be on the other side, he turned it very slowly.
Tony watched his partner's face and when he got the signal that the door was unlocked, got himself into position. Standing to the side but ready to go in the moment McGee opened it, he lifted his chin to show that he was set. McGee opened the door quickly and quietly, waiting until his partner had gone through before following.
Unlike the room they'd just left behind, this one was anything but empty. It was also larger than its counterpart, easily taking up the rest of the space dictated by the building above. Crates of all shapes and sizes were stacked everywhere, some all the way to the ceiling. Pointing their lights upward in the dark space, the men saw a much larger version of the trap door they'd seen in the original warehouse. Below it was a large platform that obviously served as an elevator, transferring the items from above.
"Whattya think McGee?"
"Well I think that anyone distributing legal goods would have no reason for such subterfuge. How about you?"
"I doubt I would've used a word as fancy as 'subterfuge', but other than that I'm right there with ya."
Tony walked over to the nearest box, tucking his flashlight under his arm to free up his hands. "Well McGee, wanna see what Santa brought us for Christmas?"
In reply, McGee shined his light on the box and Tony lifted the lid. Inside he found nothing very exciting, just a couple of vases. But as they searched through more of the boxes, they found everything from paintings to electronics to rifles to (Tony's personal favorite) a box of obviously pirated DVDs.
"If this stuff was any hotter, it'd be burning my fingers," Tony said, tracing his fingers across the jewels they'd found in one of the smaller containers.
McGee may not have started his career as a detective but even he knew that "hot" was a street term often used for stolen merchandise. "Yep, looks that way. You think this has anything to do with the Lieutenant?"
"Actually I do. Wanna hear my theory?"
McGee raised his eyebrows and nodded in affirmation.
"Well," Tony began, dropping the lid on one box and moving on to another as he spoke. "I think that maybe our good Lieutenant saw something he shouldn't have. The people behind this operation must have gotten rid of him and set it up to look like a suicide."
"Sounds about right. We're gonna need some more proof though. More than just some stuff we think is stolen," McGee replied, indicating the boxes around them.
"Too true. Well I guess it's a good thing that we still have a warrant on this building. We'll get this stuff out of here and start tracing it. Figuring out where it was all stolen from will be a start."
McGee found nothing to argue with about that. "So should we call it in?"
"You read my mind," Tony said, pulling out his phone and flipping it open. Frowning he pushed a few buttons. "Crap, no service. What about you?"
Pulling out his own phone, McGee frowned too. "Nothing."
"Alright, let's head back upstairs and call in the cavalry."
Just as they turned around to leave, both men heard a large bang come from above. Tony was the first one to speak after the momentary silence that followed, both men realizing their predicament.
"Looks like we've got company."
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A/N: Well there's the latest chapter and hopefully the next one will come sooner. Comic-Con was fantastic and I'm already making plans for next year's trip. I've put reviews of both the con itself and the Supernatural panel I attended on my blog.
Yep, that means that my blog is now up and running again. This time on my very own site! Wooho! Check out my profile page for the new link. Also feel free to drop me a line if you have something you'd like me to review. I've already been asked to review someone's band/music and someone else's book, which is awesome.
