AN: I hope it's not too confusing, but towards the end of the chapter I've stopped putting breaks in, because the story switches so frequently from one scene to another.

Cowboy Tony Rides Again

Chapter 5

"Mary," Scott Milner was saying desperately, arms out in front of him to ward off the attack of an enraged hamster, "They're going to do it today! You have to get out of here... I swear I didn't know this was what he meant!"

The Spitfire was hardly mollified. "Just what did you think he meant, then, Scotty?"

Tim realised the man was in a serious state of panic, and intervened in the calmest voice he could muster, "Look, Mr. Milner, start at the beginning."

"OK..." he took a deep breath. "Yes.. I'd definitely have liked more water, and the idea of having more control over the supply appealed the way Brew put it..."

"Have we ever made difficulties about your supply, Scotty? We're a public service, goddammit..."

Mary was winding up again, and Milner went on hastily, "No, you haven't, that's what I'm saying..." He shook his head, then got a hold of his voice. "My business is small," he said firmly. "It couldn't support a levy to repair the dam... not unless it was spread out over years. And State Departments don't work like that! They asked me if I was interested in finding another way; I knew they'd been up on the dams in the middle of the night a few times..."

"They?" Tim asked quietly, "We'd wondered if you were one of them."

"I might have gone along," Scott said truthfully, "but my wife's got more sense. She stopped me."

"So, Eisley, Liddell, and...Eames was the third?"

"You know there were three? How..." He shrugged. "Yes, those three. You probably know the rest of it then. You're a fed, right? You know things I don't... Well, Brew kept on trying to get me in on what he called 'the contingency plan', he told me I'd need to know once it went into action, cuz our water supply might be interrupted... so today I went to a meeting at Harvey's offices, and they're going to overload the dam... today! I said I was going to the mens room... they thought I wanted to pee because I was scared – and I was. I am. I ran back round to my place, got my truck and came here. How do we warn the town?"

Mary pointed towards Joel, who was on the phone. "We're already talking to the police. Ty's locked the sluices down, they won't be able to open them manually."

"Done," Ty said tersely, not looking away from his screen.

"Well... that's good," Scott Milner said uncertainly, "but it was the pipeline down from New Dam they were talking about. They say that can't be locked."

"No, it can't," Ty told him. "All we can do is keep shutting the valve as fast as they open it. And if I fully open the channel that releases water from the dam to the river it's still only a quarter of what the pipeline brings down. And although I've not actually investigated practically, for obvious reasons, computer models suggest that it'd just add to the coffee spoon effect. I've increased the flow by thirty percent for now anyway; I'm trying to work out some sort of a balance." Scott looked blank; they didn't have time to explain.

Mary's worry began to edge through into her voice. "When -"

"Right now! He wanted us to have a good view – he'd provided binoculars..." He looked at the young fed. "Did your intel, wherever you got it from, tell you he's more unhinged than Jake's barn door?"

And at that moment, Ty said quietly, "Mary, it's started to flow... it's fully open."

He switched to another screen – the camera on New Dam that had filmed Tony. Three men could be seen; two of them were pushing a great chunk of wood the size of an old railway sleeper through the valve wheel to jam it, and Ty swore. "We can't turn it off remotely... we have to get up there, or the dam's got maybe four hours!"

Joel said, as he put his phone down, "Simon's on his way... he rang to ask what was happening... he's going straight up there. I spoke to Gibbs too, he and Tony have dealt with the guys at Beaver Dam. They all said look after Adam."

Tim was the only one who'd heard a vehicle pulling up, and drew his gun as he moved towards the window, hoping that Ziva had found a lift or a car from somewhere. He hoped she hadn't gone to the dam with Simon... A a voice from the doorway said, "Oh, it's a little late for that. I should drop your gun, federal whoever you are... or I'm quite likely to shoot young Mr. Townley here."

NCISNCISNCIS

Tony kept his gun on the would-be escapee, who was stumbling along, hands cuffed behind him, as Doris nudged him towards the pathway across the top of the dam. As her shod forefoot clanged on the metal bridge over the dam's one sluice, she stopped, uncertainly. This was something she wasn't used to. Tony jumped down quickly, and patted her neck. "Sorry, sweetie, taking you for granted." For crying out loud, why does every little thing make me think of Jeanne? "You stay there." He pushed the man ahead of him to join Gibbs.

Ross was binding the injured man's hand as best he could, while his friend kept his gun on both of them. "Get him over here, son, the more the merrier," the hunter said cheerfully.

Tony liked his attitude, and managed a smile that reached his eyes, unlike the one that Gibbs had been able to see, from the other side of the dam, was the sort his SFA wore like war-paint.

The Boss picked up on it. Dammit, he'd have to do something, he thought... now just wasn't the time."This is Morten," he said, "he gave us a hand," and the hunter sketched a salute, just as Gibbs' cell phone buzzed. He listened, a frown gathering, and asked Joel to hold. "The pipeline's been opened," he told Tony, and explained what he'd just been told.

"I need to be up there, Boss!"

"I know. Townley's already on his way. I need to find out what these bozos know," he added apologetically

"I know," Tony echoed. "I can't leave even a former Marine up there by himself – the other set of bozos could still be around... and we've got to unblock that valve. You'll come as soon as you can. Tell McGee to be careful... and where's Ziva... and tell them to take care of young Adam." He ran back across the dam, with Gibbs' "Be careful yaself, DiNozzo," echoing after him, jumped back into his saddle, and set off down the trail a lot faster than he'd come up it.

Gibbs watched him go with a sigh, relayed the message back to Joel and added his own – and turned back to his prisoners with a very pleasant smile.

NCISNCISNCIS

Tony stayed low in his saddle to avoid overhanging branches; this wasn't a trail that riders used too often, as it only led to the dam, where any self-respecting horse would stop just as Doris had done. He'd told Ziva long ago that the mare had stamina; now he let her choose her own pace according to the terrain. They had to get up above the tree-line, over the ridge and down into the main valley; and she kept up a smart canter wherever the trail would let her. Once the way became clear she leaned into the slope and went thundering up at a speed that made even her rider, who knew her well, blink.

"Cowboy Tony's faithful cayuse, Doris the Wonder Horse, understanding the need for speed, bears him swiftly through dangerous territory," he yelled in her ear as she charged on; she didn't even flick an ear. If he'd been able to keep his mind on the exhilaration of racing to the rescue, he'd have been fine; but he had to go and think about how often he'd wanted to bring Jeanne up here, and show the city girl who loved dancing just how great riding in the mountains was... But his alter ego was something he could never have expected Amos and Sally to sustain, and in any case, Jenny would have gone spare at him breaking his cover to anyone... aaah... f...reakin... mind on the job, DiNozzo.

Gibbs, he knew, would have to take the truck, drive down to the end of the fold in the hills where Beaver Dam had sat peacefully for well over a hundred years, go round the end of the ridge into the main valley, ford the river, and pick up the track to New Dam. All that after he'd found out what he could from the bozos. Tony had a feeling it wouldn't be much... but although it wouldn't take him long, the Boss wouldn't be arriving any time soon, and Doris could do it, Doris was doing it in a quarter of the time.

They crested the ridge, and again Tony let her pick her own path and speed. His hat blew off, and the cord round his neck threatened to throttle him, but no way was he going to wrench it off – he wouldn't part with his Clint hat for anyone. His long sight wasn't as good as the Boss's, (although his hearing was way better, he told himself,) but even so, he could see two vehicles down there, fortunately each unaware of the other's position. Disappearing cross-country, away from Appelt and the dams, and keeping to high ground, was a nondescript FWD. On the far side of New Dam, at the top of the track sat Simon's Denali, and the Marine was already climbing over the gate...

Would Bozo Bunch #2 have stayed around to stop him? Would he have tried to stop them? Whatever... hopefully they were out of the equation; maybe LEOs would get a lead on them later... It took Doris less than five minutes to pick her way down the hillside in a zig-zag path; "Hooray for horse-sense," Tony told her and patted her neck fondly. They skidded to a halt at the edge of the dam, and remembering Doris's wariness earlier, Tony vaulted out of the saddle.

"Wait here, gal," he said, and set off across the bridge; and stopped, astonished, as the metal grating clanged behind him. He looked round; Doris bumped into him, and stood with an impatient 'well, go on then,' look. He laughed. "Oh, sweetie," he said happily. "Come on, then." He ran the fifty yards across the parapet with the brown mare trotting behind him.

He needed to calm down; he was well aware that his thoughts, and consequently his mood, were swinging like an erratic pendulum. Could a pendulum be erratic? Wasn't the whole thing about a pendulum that its timing never changed, even as its arc dwindled... Get a grip, DiNozzo, you're going to get yourself – or more likely Simon, killed. You just want to think about anything but – think about the job you've got to do.

They stopped where they'd been earlier that morning; Doris was more relaxed now, they'd done this before. She scouted round for something nice to eat, as Tony vaulted over the gate and scrambled down to where Simon was heaving at the huge chunk of wood stuck in the wheel, with absolutely no success whatsoever.

"Tony..." breathlessly... "Don't know how they did this..."

"It took two of them," the agent told him. "Saw it on the monitor at Old Dam. Two of us now... should be able to – why the hell won't it move?" After a few more minutes of both of them heaving at the post, he grabbed the valve wheel in frustration as he got his breath back, and was astonished to find it moved a tiny amount. The wood wouldn't let it shift any further, but it set Tony wondering.

"Let's try something," he said. "Pull the wheel towards closed as hard as you can."

"Kay... why? Oh, I see." And he did. If they tried to open the valve it only made the angle the wood was jammed at tighter, but maybe if they pushed the other way...

Tony dropped down onto the concrete shelf and lay on his back. "Pull!" Simon pulled, then he turned himself the other way and pushed, throwing his whole weight behind the effort; Tony kept kicking the post hard with both feet. "Anything?"

"Maybe," Simon panted.. "Again!"

NCISNCISNCIS

Harvey Eames shoved Adam ahead of him into the room, his gun against the back of the boy's head, and Tim slowly put his gun down on the nearest desk. He pushed it behind a monitor, as he said, "OK, done that, now take the gun away from Adam, and pick on someone your own size."

That annoyed Eames, and had the desired effect of making him forget about the Sig, which was Tim's intention. He'd marked the man for an amateur, and amateurs made mistakes. He shoved Adam harder, and the boy would have gone sprawling, his feet tangling with his crutches, if Scott Milner hadn't caught him. That got him noticed by Eames, and Tim tensed in anticipation. That hadn't been his intention. Tony had left him there to protect everyone, although he doubted this was what his SFA had meant. The gun swung from the child to the man.

"If you insist," the businessman said unpleasantly. "How about him then? Running off to tell tales? Is this all the thanks I get for trying to make you rich, Scotty?"

Milner was scared, but he looked Eames in the eye. "Not this way, Harvey."

"He's right," Tim said quietly. "One of my team went to see Miss Campitelli... you know her, right? Just this morning, with Simon Townley. They alerted her to those accords you pushed through so quietly – and Miss C. is furious. She says there'll be no dam at Deepwood now or ever."

"What? How did you find out about that?" Now the gun was pointed at Tim.

Tim shrugged. "We're feds. There's no point in destroying this dam, when you can't have the other one."

Eames two cronies were regarding him uncertainly, the guns in their hands wavering uneasily.

"Harv," Phil Liddell began tentatively, only to be cut off.

"No point? They know who we are! No point? She'll change her mind when the dam's gone... and we have to get rid of witnesses. That's the point!"

"You think you can kill us all?" Mary started forwards in a fury, until three guns pointed at her. "You can't shoot all of us..."

"Don't need to," Harvey Eames said gleefully. "I see you're afraid of having your equipment stolen..." he indicated the security grilles on all the windows. "We lock you in, smash your communications – and leave the dam to do its work."

"Harvey..." Liddell began again.

"Just shut up, Phil. D'you want to spend your life in prison? Are you with me?"

Brewster Eisley lifted his gun. "I'm with you, Harv."

"Phil?"

"I'm trying to tell you..." he pointed to the monitor. "There are two guys up there trying to free that valve."

"The hell there are -" Eames peered short-sightedly at the screen for a moment, then straightened up. He jerked his gun at the monitor. "Open the sluice," he said flatly.

"It's locked," Ty said just as shortly.

Eames simply grabbed Adam Townley again, and jabbed his gun into the boy's side. Adam yelped with pain. "Open – the – sluice."

"That's my Dad up there!" Adam yelled. "And Tony!"

Eames didn't bother to reply, he just cocked the gun.

"OK... don't hurt the kid..." The engineer flashed a look at Tim, 'do something', and tapped his keyboard, and a few moments later, they could see a thin sheet of water arcing out from under the sluice gate.

Ziva was enjoying the sunshine, as she jogged up the hill towards Old Dam. She had wanted to go with Simon, but had taken his point that she would not be physically strong enough to help him with the valve, and the odds were that Tony was on his way. "I will go back to Old Dam then. If you drop me here I will run the rest of the way and it will save you some time. I will call Gibbs, and yes, I will look after Adam."

There was nothing at first glance to make her slow her pace as she got closer to the FDA headquarters, only her natural tendency to be cautious. But as she came within sight of the building she stopped and ducked instantly behind some ornamental shrubs. One of the vehicles in the parking lot bore the name of Milner, who had been mentioned as a possible conspirator. The agency sedan was there, but then, she knew Gibbs had taken the FDA truck. Tony's car was missing; he was out there somewhere on Doris... there were the private cars belonging to the FDA team that she had observed this morning, and a new Buick Enclave bristling with every possible extra, that shouted its owner's name. Eames... the motor parts man... Ziva drew her Sig and went into stealth mode.

Gibbs ground his teeth as he turned the FDA truck away from New Dam and along by the river; he could see Doris up there, and although it was more difficult against the darker face of the dam, he could see two figures half-way down the wall, where he knew the valve was. But the only crossing place was half a mile down stream, which Gibbs decided had been done deliberately just to annoy him. Just like the fact that he'd got zilch out of his prisoners, and had to wait until LEOs came to claim them, since it was no part of his job to leave them in the hands of civilians, no matter how competent he could see Morten was.

He stamped on the accelerator, bucked and bounced all the way to the ford, and drove across at breakneck speed, sending rooster-tail plumes of water up behind him. As he turned back towards the dam, peering into the distance ahead, he didn't like what he saw.

"Again!" Simon grunted. "We're getting there..."

Tony paused, frowning. He'd heard a sound he'd never heard in his life before, but somehow he knew what it was. He looked up at the dam head, high above them... the paddle levers on the sluice gate were creaking, and beginning to move. Simon followed his glance, and they looked at each other in grim alarm. Tony spoke softly. "Get out of here, Simon." He gave the post another hefty kick to reinforce his words.

"No. Keep going." Push...

The water was arcing out and splashing down onto the spillway beside them.

"Get out. Go save your son." Kick.

"What about you?" Push.

"I don't matter. Get out." Kick... water overflowing from the channel, around his back and Simon's ankles...

"Screw you don't matter. One more." Kick.

The post came free, as the sluice opened fully and the water foamed down in all its power. The timber dropped down; Tony, lying on his back had nothing to hold on to, and it knocked him over the edge into the channel. Simon, holding onto the wheel, realised that the tumbling darker shape amidst the crashing water wasn't doing anything to save itself, swore, and jumped into the torrent after his friend.

Doris let out a blasting neigh of alarm, and galloped off down the track after them.

AN: A horse wouldn't be that smart? This one would.