Title: A Long Way Home (Chapter Nineteen)
Author: LizzieInk
A/N: And here it is… the chapter we have all been waiting for! ;) Well, realistically I don't know if you guys have or not, but I sure have! I have been looking forward to writing this chapter for a while. I hope that it meets everyone's expectations. I have decided to just block out all outside influences and just write this chapter true to how I have always envisioned it. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this; my favourite chapter yet! ;)
Disclaimer: The characters in this story are the property of the creators of NCIS.
Gibbs cursed loudly as he stuffed his phone unceremoniously back into his pocket. Then he ran out of the building like a bat out of hell, and quickly climbed into his car.
"McGee get your ass in here!" He barked out, as he turned the keys in the ignition, and revved the engine mercilessly.
However McGee, who had been watching Gibbs ever since he had been on the phone, had already seen the warning signs that Gibbs had been exhibiting. As Gibbs had called out for him to get in the car, McGee was already hot on Gibbs trail.
It didn't take long before Gibbs was burning rubber, driving for what he was; a man on a mission. He only hoped that he would get to Tony and Ziva in time before they did something really stupid.
Tony and Ziva were positioned one at either side of the rear entrance to the warehouse. Ziva signalled with her good hand, before starting to count down from three on her fingers.
Three… Two… One!
Ziva kicked the door down with one swift kick to its centre. The hinges splintered, and the door fell inwards with a resounding crash, causing the two agents to flinch.
There goes the element of surprise, Tony thought to himself, as he and Ziva quickly entered the building.
Tony had left one crutch at the door of the building. By balancing his weight between his good leg and his one remaining crutch, that meant he could still move fairly quickly, but more importantly it allowed him the freedom to use his gun with his free hand. Tony stayed behind Ziva, allowing her to take the lead while he kept his eyes open for any movement.
Just as they were about to enter the second door that separated the corridor from the main warehouse space, the door burst open.
The sight that Tony and Ziva were met with was terrifying, as not only Hadar and David Renner burst forth guns in hand, but it was the shadow behind the two men that brought a reaction from Ziva.
"…Ilan." She spat out his name, as if it were a poison upon her tongue.
Luckily Tony had the sense to pull Ziva quickly through an open door on their left, before Bodnar's lackeys had a chance to aim their guns properly. Quick to get over her shock, Ziva upturned a large metal desk that was against a wall, giving herself and Tony just enough time to jump behind it. Mere seconds later shots were fired, taking sizeable chunks out of the crumbling wall behind them.
Tony ducked his head as another shot was fired in his direction, while Ziva managed to fire off a round in the direction of the door. It was no good, they were pinned down.
Ziva looked around quickly before purposefully catching Tony's eye. She signalled that he should be ready to fire. She was going to run for it. Before Tony had a chance to react, she was already up and running, and taking advantage of the much needed distraction Tony managed to hit Renner with one shot squarely in the chest.
One down, he thought to himself as he tried to spot Ziva. She had managed to wedge herself behind a row of lockers in the far corner of the room. This time it was Tony's turn to be the distraction. From her current position Ziva had no clear view of the door, behind which Hadar was hiding. She could still see Tony though, so at his signal she jumped out and barrelled towards the door as Tony stood up to fire his gun.
Ziva ran straight into Hadar, knocking him flat, and a fist fight ensued, while Hadar helplessly tried to reach for his gun which had been knocked clear. Tony aimed his weapon straight between Hadar's eyes, causing the man to stop fighting instantly.
Ziva jumped off of him and quickly made for the door.
"Ziva," Tony said roughly, "be careful."
Ziva nodded, her eyes speaking the words that she herself could not, before she ran towards the main storage space where she had last seen Bodnar.
Gibbs' car screeched to a halt outside the warehouse, mere metres away from where Ziva had parked. After exiting the vehicle, Gibbs first move was to feel the hood of Ziva's car.
Meanwhile McGee had stopped cold a few metres ahead.
"Boss?" He said.
That one word had Gibbs jogging to his agents side, gun raised. The sight that greeted him was of the broken down door, courtesy of Ziva.
"They've been here at least 15 minutes, McGee. We move fast, got it?" Gibbs ordered.
The two agents took off into the building, carefully clearing rooms and looking for any sign of life within. It was McGee that heard a muffled sound ahead, and he signalled to Gibbs accordingly.
"NCIS," Gibbs yelled angrily.
"In here, boss." shouted Dinozzo from somewhere up ahead.
As Gibbs and McGee rounded the corner into the room, they saw Tony standing at full height with his gun aimed down unflinchingly at Hadar's head.
"Ziva?" Gibbs shouted out.
"Not here, boss. She ran after Bodnar about 2 minutes before you got here."
As Tony caught Gibbs up on what had been happening, McGee stooped down and dragged Hadar to his feet, cuffing him to a sturdy pipe that was running along the length of the wall beside them. After making sure that Hadar was secure, Tony grabbed his crutch and quickly led them in the direction in which Ziva had ran moments earlier.
No one bothered to move Renner's body from where it had fallen. Tony's shot had been fatal, and the man had died almost instantly.
Tony ignored the pain in his heavily cast leg as he practically ran through the large open warehouse at the rear of the building. Just as his team approached the now-open door at the end of the room, a man sprung out from behind a large wooden crate and began shooting at them wildly.
Tony, McGee and Gibbs had no choice but to throw themselves down on the ground, as bullets continued to fly above them.
Meanwhile outside…
Ziva was close. She knew it. On a hunch she had sprinted straight through the warehouse at full speed and headed straight for the aeroplane hangar out to the side of the property. If she were Bodnar, it's where she would have headed first.
Confident in her estimations of her old friend, Ziva scanned the area surrounding the small plane. She tried to remain concealed within the shadows of the building as much as possible.
Just as Ziva was contemplating whether or not she should move, she caught a flash of movement out of the corner of her eye. She only had time to brace herself before Bodnar knocked her to the ground. Ziva kicked out at him, sending his gun flying. A second later he was on top of her pinning her to the ground, as he tried to prise her own weapon from her hand. Ziva wrapped her legs around Bodnar and used all of her weight to flip him onto his back. She screamed as a blistering pain erupted from her side.
Ziva's ribs had finally had enough.
Please not now, she thought to herself as she struggled to keep from passing out.
Bodnar used Ziva's momentary weakness to his advantage as he once again flung her to the ground, before picking up Ziva's gun, and aiming it directly at her head.
Moments later a shot rang out deafeningly in the vast expanse of space.
All Ziva could do was take one last look at the man in front of her, before the world around her faded to black.
A/N: Talk about leaving you guys with a major cliff-hanger!
I had soo much fun writing this scene. I have never written anything so fast-paced before and I absolutely loved it. I hope that it reads okay?
So what did you think? Will Ziva be okay? And what about the rest of the team, who remember, are still ducking bullets in the warehouse. I'd love to hear what you guys think! ;)
New chapter will be up tomorrow, I promise! Please Review! :)