Well, we've made it my friends! After typing for two hours straight I'm hungry, my feet are cold and I have the hiccups. In reality there stands to be one last chapter to this story so don't zone out yet. Now I really need to hear from you on this one. So read, I worked really hard on it.

The man stood with his back to Tony. His hair was cut short and close to his head, which was angular and long. Tony's hands tightened around his gun in anger at seeing the murderers silhouette in front of him. It could have been simple he could have lifted his gun and shot the man in the back of the head. But he didn't deserve a death so quick and so painless.

"Hands up!" Tony shouted "Asshole" He added as an after thought. Slowly the man turned. Agonizingly slowly, taunting Tony for all he was worth.

"I should have known you would find me." Ari said in accented but refined English.

"Yes, you should have." Tony said bluntly, the pure rage coursing through his veins preventing him from coming up with a better retort. The murderers face brought back memories, of the roof, Kate's painfully ironic last words, of the lab Abby's form going limp in his arms, of Gibbs' basement, talking his mentor of the edge. He felt white hot with anger as adrenalin pushed itself through his system. Tony felt the urge to drop his gun and fight hand to hand with the dirtbag. He wanted to feel the impact of his fist with man chin, to see blood dribble out of his nose, to send his foot sailing through his target's stomach. But he would not do those things, not yet. His gun was his advantage and by loosing that he would let his partner down.

"You should know, that I regret killing your friends." Ari said with no hint of remorse in his voice or eyes.

"Like hell you do." Tony said in a tortured monotone. Ari was blatantly mocking him, with every word, with every breath. By simply being alive he was flashing the murder of Tony's friends and coworkers in his face. He was not sorry. Not one bit.

Ari laughed, the raspy sound like daggers in Tony's ears. Finally he could not stand still any longer. With pure anger and accuracy he sighted and sent a bullet sailing into each of the murderers knees, or roughly that area anyways. Ari roared in agony and crumpled to the ground.

"I hope you know, I do not plan to go down without a fight."

"I was counting on it." In ground eating strides Tony closed the space between them and placed a square kick underneath the incapacitated Moussad agent's chin. A sharp crack indicated he had broken it. Ari swung his fists up and punched Tony in the stomach. With a deep grunt he stumbled backwards hand clutching his gut.

Ari struggled up holding on to a metal chair.

"What would Caitlin and Abigail say now Anthony? If they saw you about to be beaten by an injured man?" Tony's eyes prickled hotly at the mention of his friends' names. At that moment he felt the full impact of how he missed them. Kate would have his back right now and Abby would have prepared them to go into this confrontation. Tony's heart ripped at his chest, he wanted to fall to his knees and to let the tears fall down his cheek in rivulets of absolute misery. He sensed their absence from the living world but also their presence in his heart. This thought gave him the strength to lift his head.

The fire in the young man's eyes was enough to light a small planet ablaze and to torch its moons as well. Resentment for the murderer who stood in front of him was plain to see.

"That," Tony said in a low growl, "is irrelevant." He rushed at the barely standing man and pinned him to the nearby wall. With a sickening crash Tony bashed Ari's head into the wall, once, twice, three times, with growing fury. "You," bam "are a worthless" bam "sack of excrement." He took a deep breath, calming himself. He felt relaxed, almost better, but not yet. Tony knew without a doubt that the terrorist had to die. He reached for his gun from his holster where somewhere in his furor he had shoved it. He slowly lifted it to Ari's temple.

"Never, ever forget what you have done." In the split second before Tony pulled the trigger he saw an expression of pure fear flash across Ari's face, and a shiver ran down his back.

In the minutes after he pulled the trigger Tony stood stock still letting emotions pass through him. Not pride, not happiness, but not disappointment and not relief, satisfaction maybe, but that didn't quite fit either. Nothing did. It was then he noticed Gibbs in doorway from the fire escape. Their eyes met and neither needed to say anything more.

Alright

There you are. Now please, please, please tell me what you think.