Worst Case Scenario (10/23)
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water4willowsCharacters: Tony, Gibbs, McGee, Ziva, Ducky, Palmer, Vance, Various OCs
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Muti-Chapter Case Fic
Pairings: Slight TIVA, but blink and you might miss it, other than that None
Rating: PG-13 for Violence & Language
Words: Chapter 10 - 6,299
Summary: The death of a child draws the team into web of lies, cover-ups and murder. Will the emotional case claim the life of one of their own?
Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with NCIS. The character's contained in this work of fiction are the property of CBS.
When Gibbs exited the interrogation room, Tony was in the hallway waiting to intercept him. The senior agent was hard to read as he came out into the hall and Tony tried to decide how best to approach him about what had just happened. At the end of it all Gloria Finch had agreed to make the phone call to her son and plead with him to come in to NCIS but, as she had predicted throughout the interrogation, the call was ignored and went straight to voicemail without even ringing. McGee had been trying to track Private Finch ever since he had learned of the disposable phones the Admiral's wife had purchased but every time he had tried to find the Private using the phone, it had been a bust. Simon Finch was smart and had both turned off the phone and removed its battery. Try as he might, McGee could not turn the phone on remotely but hadn't given up. He checked back every 30 minutes or so on the off chance it had been turned back on. In case Finch was checking his messages remotely, Gibbs had Mrs. Finch leave an emotional message on her son's voicemail begging him to call her. They had no choice now but to return the Admiral's wife to her hotel room with a few agents as protection to see if Finch contacted her or happened to show up. It was a long shot, but worth a try. Gibbs had just finished briefing the agents who would accompany her back to the hotel when he finally exited the interrogation room. Saving Tony from the likely uncomfortable and one sided conversation into Gibbs feelings after the particularly emotional interrogation was Abby who was running down the hall towards them as fast as her tall platform shoes would allow.
"Gibbs! McGee sent me down here to get you as soon as you got out of interrogation. He wants to see you, like, yesterday." The harried forensic scientist was out of breath when she reached them so Tony resisted the urge to tease her about the tall black platforms she was sporting that day.
"Slow down, Abbs," Gibbs admonished lightly when she came near. "We were just on our way up."
"I told him he needs to go home but he won't listen to me! Tell him to go home Gibbs, his leg must be killing him by now." She pleaded as the three made their way to the elevator and climbed inside.
"Hey, I tried." Gibbs said in his defense.
"Then make him listen Gibbs! Use that patented Gibbs intimidation!" The goth's voice was rising, slowly filling the small space of the elevator, but one look from Gibbs had her quieting down.
"Then just promise me you'll keep an eye on him. Okay?" She begged as the elevator dinged and deposited them in the bullpen. Gibbs let Tony out first and Abby started to follow but a quick kiss on the cheek from their boss and a whispered request in her ear had Abby reluctantly stepping back into the elevator and heading back down to her own floor.
McGee was on them the moment the doors closed. He'd crutched over unsteadily and Gibbs reached out a steadying hand as his junior most agent wobbled dangerously with a grimace of pain.
"Shouldn't you be sitting down?" Gibbs asked seriously, but McGee ignored him. The three agents met Ziva over at McGee's desk and the Israeli pulled out his chair for him to sit. The younger agent looked about to protest but Gibbs gave him a glare that had him taking the proffered seat with a quick thank you to Ziva.
"I think I've found something. I listened in on the interrogation and when Mrs. Finch mentioned the shipments her son was supposed to intercept, I got an idea."
"You were in with Tony?" Gibbs asked, giving McGee a sharp look.
"No," McGee answered sheepishly. "I have a backdoor program installed in our computer system that lets me pull audio from interrogations when I need it. I just had to adjust some code and I was able to listen live." Gibbs shook his head in wonder at the confession. McGee's hacking skills could be unnerving at times, interrogations weren't readily available to all of NCIS. There was paperwork, protocol, procedure.
"Come on boss, the broken leg doesn't make it exactly easy for me to get around this place."
"What did you find, McGee?" Gibbs asked with a smile, apparently willing to let the protocol breach slide.
"Finch works at a newer facility on base, the Industrial Supply Center. Like his mother told us, they get shipments in from all over the United States. I hacked into their computers and found the shipping manifests then ran the data through a program I wrote which basically is an algorith..."
"English, McGee!" Gibbs admonished, and not for the last time in his life.
"Sorry, boss. In a nut shell, I analyzed the data from the center and found multiple discrepancies going back months. The shipments Finch was intercepting arrived at the facility from California approximately the same time every week. If what Gloria Finch is telling us is true, the Knights Templar only found out about Finch gathering evidence against them about five days ago. There's a chance that there is still a shipment out there and on its way to where Finch worked. With the Private in the wind, they might try and make a play to recover their product."
"Gibbs, if there is any chance that cartel members are going to attempt to retrieve those drugs, I suggest we be there to intercept them." Ziva said quickly, excitement at a possible break in the case filling the room.
"As far as I can tell boss, and if the data is correct, the weekly shipment from California is due in on a delivery scheduled in 2 hours." McGee finished. The rising intensity in the room was almost palpable now.
"Boss, if we could get there in time…" Tony voiced what they all were thinking and it had Gibbs jumping to action.
"Grab your gear. McGee, I want you to alert the base about what's going on and have them mobilize a tactical team, but tell them they cannot, under any circumstances, move on this until we get there. Then I want you up in MTAC ready to be our eyes in the sky." McGee quickly agreed and Gibbs took off towards the Director's office and left Tony and Ziva to arrange their gear. McGee was on the phone to Abby who appeared in record time with earpieces and anything else they might need for the mission. Kevlar vests were pulled out, earpieces tested and Tony tried to shake an anxious feeling that swept over him. Standing on the precipice of action had never been an easy thing for him.
Armed and ready minutes later, they stood milling around McGee's desk in silent anticipation, waiting for their team leader to reappear. Even Abby was uncharacteristically silent but looked as though she had something to say and was about to burst with it. As mysterious as she tried to be, Tony had come to know the book of Abby from cover to cover over the years (though never in the biblical sense, she was like a sister to him) and could read her easily. He knew what she wanted to say. Squeezing her arm affectionately they shared a quick smile and a bit of the tension dropped from her frame.
When Gibbs finally reappeared Tony and Ziva followed him onto the elevator and past Director Vance who had come down to the floor behind Gibbs. Tony couldn't get rid of the dark feeling that fell down around his shoulders at the sight of the tiny group gathered to see them off. As the doors to the elevator began to close, Tony watched Abby, McGee and Director Vance disappear behind the steel.
NCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCISNCIS
Team Gibbs arrived on base in record time, cutting the 50 minute trip in half thanks to Ziva's breakneck driving. Tony had almost protested when Gibbs handed the keys to her, but they had made fantastic time and he was glad in the end that he hadn't said anything. When they arrived on base they were met by the tactical team assigned as back up and all had been prepared covertly as promised.
Gibbs coordinated with the leader of the team, a Captain Tom Cooper, and relayed the plan they'd agreed upon on the ride over. He, Tony and Ziva would stake out a place to watch the loading docks while the tactical team was on standby but ready to come in should things get out of control or prove to be too much for the Major Case Response Team to handle. Of course, there was also the chance that nothing would happen at all. McGee's guesses garnered from the shipping info he'd hacked could be off or the Knights Templar could have decided to cut their losses and leave the drugs. They had no idea what was going to happen but having the tactical team on standby was comforting to everyone.
Once everything was organized and in place, their truncated team was off in a lone unmarked car and headed towards the Industrial Supply Center on base. Gibbs was able to find a quiet side street where the loading docks were visible with binoculars through the trees and they sequestered themselves in to wait. McGee chatted at them tirelessly about where each member of the tactical team was being positioned and anything else he saw with a hijacked DOD satellite. As the hour of the predicted shipment approached, Tony tried to calm to butterflies in his stomach that had suddenly decided to make an appearance. He tried hard to keep a happy go lucky appearance about him in every aspect of his life, but at times like these when he was staring down uncertainty and courting the edge of the unknown he found it nearly impossible to keep up the façade. He only hoped Ziva and Gibbs hadn't picked up on his nervous energy or how he kept his hands firmly on his knees to keep them from fidgeting.
"Everything looks good, boss," McGee's voice clanged in their collective eardrums. "I'll alert you to any approaching trucks. Standby."
Tony took his own pair of binoculars out and trained them in the same direction as Gibbs and Ziva. When he found what he was looking for he tried to keep the building centered in his field of vision. Nothing was happening and they were still a ways off from when McGee expected the shipment to arrive.
"Do you think anyone will come?" Ziva asked from the backseat to no one in particular.
"If there really is another shipment of drugs on the way, chances are they will." Gibbs answered from behind his binoculars. Tony lowered his and looked for the 100th time at the dashboard clock. Exactly 20 minutes later, McGee's voice crackled back to life in his ear.
"Ok, there's a truck approaching the loading docks two yards east of you. Do you have a visual Gibbs?
"Affirmative." Gibbs replied.
"They're turning in your direction. White cab, blue container. Tactical team do you have visual? Copy that, tactical team has visual. There are 2 people in the cab, one driver one passenger, both males and no weapons visible. The truck will be there in 60 seconds. Standby." McGee clicked off and exactly 60 seconds later Tony watched the white and blue rig maneuver into the loading dock. The three agents watched silently for any signs that something was about to go down.
Once the truck had backed up fully it's rather large and tattooed driver put the rig in park and jumped out. His passenger remained inside the cab and the imposing driver approached the loading crew. The meeting was surprisingly friendly. The imposing driver shook hands with the head of the loading team and they sat talking companionably as the crew emptied the truck. Tony supposed the driver looked like the kind of guy who might know he was embroiled in a cross country drug smuggling operation, then again Tony DiNozzo knew better than anyone that looks could be deceiving. When the truck had been emptied the driver hauled himself back into his cab and with a wave to the crew leader drove out of the lot and back out onto the Quantico streets. Nothing had happened and Tony felt a slight twinge of disappointment.
"Boss," came McGee's voice in Tony's ear again, "does tactical team intercept the truck?"
Gibbs contemplated his answer for a moment and strummed his fingers against the steering wheel.
"Intercept, McGee, but wait till they're farther away. I don't want to spook anyone."
"Copy that, Boss."
"Now what?" Tony really hadn't meant to ask the question out loud.
"Now we wait."
An hour later the sun was beginning its early evening descent in the sky and still nothing had happened. Well, not exactly nothing. McGee had been able to clear the driver and his passenger of any involvement with the drug cartel. The driver ended up being a rather friendly family man who was more worried about his company finding out he had a friend with him on the haul than why the Feds were pulling over his rig. The loading door had remained open and gave the team a good view of what was going on in the bay. The crew had left the boxes to sit and had started in on a lively game of cards and Tony could almost hear their laughter and shouts through his open window. He ripped open a bag of chips he'd stashed in his pack and laid his binoculars across his knee and Gibbs eyed him with a wary expression but didn't say anything about his impromptu snack. The gray haired senior agent turned away with a half-smile when Tony grinned at him from around a mouthful of chips.
He sat in the silence letting Gibbs and Ziva keep their binoculars trained on the loading bay while he tried to chew his chips quietly. It wasn't working and every mouthful crackled in the still air of the car. He didn't know whether to joke about it or worry that he was driving his fellow team members crazy. He didn't have the chance to find out though as McGee chose that moment to begin yelling in his ear.
"White van! Gibbs, tactical reports a white van approaching from the south at a high rate of speed. Ok, I've got them now. No plates, one driver and no passenger, no windows in the back, unknown number of hostiles! They'll be at the docks in less than a minute!" Gibbs had the car started and in drive before Tony even had time to dump the empty chip bag or fasten his seatbelt. They were far enough away that chances were no one would see them approach but if they didn't get to the docks fast, whoever was in the van could cause some serious damage and the Knights Templar had proved time and again just what they were capable of.
Tony could hear Gibbs in his head, firing off orders in the earwig as they raced toward the loading area behind the Industrial Supply facility. The binoculars in Tony's lap were thrown to the floor and the force of Gibbs' turn on the next street slammed him into the passenger side door. He really needed to remember to keep his seatbelt on at all times when riding with his coworkers. Every one of them had proven themselves insane when it came to getting somewhere fast. Tony could do nothing but hold on for dear life in the front passenger seat. When the center of gravity in the car finally righted itself, Tony yanked his seatbelt into place and gripped the door beside him through the open window with white knuckles. This was it. Whoever was in that van could make or break their case and the glimmer of hope that this would all be over soon was enough to almost make Tony smile. The next turn, however, turned that ghost of a smile into an all-out grimace.
As Gibbs screeched around the final turn, Tony got a good look at the van that had come to a stop in front of the gate to the loading dock. The rear loading area of the building was fenced off with a small security booth just inside a chain link fence to control the gate that moved side to side along an electrified track. The gate was open at the moment and luckily no one occupied the security booth. The concrete yard beyond had room for large commercial trucks to come and go but also held unused equipment, empty shipping containers and other base detritus.
Tony counted the men piling out of the van's side door and ended at five, all in dark hoodies and all with guns drawn and faces masked and he immediately knew they were in trouble. In trouble and out gunned and Gibbs seemed to sense it too because he was already on the coms and yelling to McGee to send in the tactical team. Tony heard McGee acknowledge in his ear.
They were still about thirty yards down the road from the van when Gibbs hit the brakes hard and slowed the car to a crawl. He was doing what Tony's instincts were screaming at him to do, blend in, disappear, avoid detection. It was the right call. One or two of the gunman had looked their way, but the car's windows were tinted and Gibbs had pulled close to the curb. They weren't given a second glance and the group of men moved off towards the loading bay, their backs to the team's car. Tony could feel his boss beside him, working through the scenarios of how the next few minutes might go and Tony couldn't decide if he wanted to tell the seasoned agent to punch it and go in with guns blazing or hang back and let the tactical team handle things. The report of gunfire made the decision for them.
The white van and the approaching black figures had caught the attention of a man on the loading dock who was starting to point and talk to someone inside the bay. The man made a hasty retreat and the cargo bay door began a slow descent. The masked men began a mad dash to beat the closing steel door, firing wildly as they ran, and Gibbs hit the gas. He came to a screeching halt behind the van.
The three agents were on the pavement in seconds with guns drawn and Tony felt his mind shift and focus. It was a headspace he'd often enter at times like these. Once or twice he'd even gotten so lost in it that he barely remembered the ensuing firefight and took the compliments on his marksmanship and cool calm from the rest of the team without understanding where they had come from. It was scary at times but necessary at others. Senses focused and sharp, he followed Gibbs with gun raised as they approached the driver side window of the van. A minute tilt of the head by Gibbs to Ziva had her breaking off from his flank and headed around to the other side of the van. A moment later Tony watched the driver lock eyes with Gibbs in the side view mirror and the young kid's features went dark and stormy. Tony's senses were heightened and his brain processed several things at once. The kid behind the wheel of the car was no more than 16 or 17 years old but the look he and Gibbs shared for the briefest of seconds was not full of adolescent fear and uncertainty. No, the look in the eyes that were locked on Tony's team leader were full of malice and hate. They were emotions that had no business being in the eyes of a child. The sightline didn't hold long and a second later the kid was shifting in his seat and then disappeared entirely from view. Every nerve ending in Tony's body prickled and his instincts had him raising his gun ever so slightly and training it at the empty driver side window. The kid was going for a gun, he was sure of it, and he steeled himself in calm focus.
But it didn't go down the way he expected. Gibbs saw something he didn't and chanced a quick look through the open window then gave Tony the sign for all clear. The senior agent gave him a quizzical look when Tony didn't lower his weapon and seemed to become aware of the intensity rolling off Tony in waves. He was trying to release the tension but something in his body was refusing to stand down. Seconds later the kid reappeared in the driver side window, his head appearing disembodied from Tony's perspective, as he started to scream his head off.
"FEDS!" The word was loud in the air around Tony but cut short by a fierce blow to the face by Gibbs' elbow that had blood spurting from the young boy's nose. It didn't help though, the damage had been done.
It took one word for guns to be trained in their direction. One word to have Tony and Gibbs running for cover as round after round embedded themselves into the metal sides of the van as they ducked and weaved through the barrage of bullets searching for safety. Somehow, miraculously, both Tony and Gibbs managed to make it to the other side of the van without being hit.
"McGee, we're taking fire! Where's the damn tactical team!?" Gibbs yelled over the coms but Tony didn't hear the answer. His attention was diverted to Ziva who was pulling the young driver bodily out of the van by his feet and her captive was combating her at every opportunity by grabbing steering wheel, gear shift then seat. Ziva was struggling and Tony ran to help just as the front glass of the van exploded in the hail of gun fire. The air was alive with a shower of glinting shards and Ziva fell backwards when the driver released his hold on the seat to cover his head with his hands. Tony dropped instinctively into a crouch to take cover and the bruised ribs at his side protested suddenly and loudly. He covered them with a hand and fell to his knees on the ground below the passenger side window, the mere act of breathing suddenly becoming impossible. The stress and the pain had combined forces and were suddenly on the attack, threatening to pull him into a panic. At the same time his brain was screaming at him to check on Ziva and to subdue the young driver who was pulling himself up off the ground and preparing to make a break for it. He pointed towards the driver, hoping whoever was unhurt and mobile might see the gesture and stop the kid's escape when Gibbs entered his peripheral vision and body checked the young kid hard into the side of the van with cuffs at the ready. Sure that Gibbs had everything under control he let his head drop and tried to breathe through the pain. Something wasn't right.
"Tony, are you alright?" I t was Ziva who knelt beside him and he noted with a little release of anxiety that she was unhurt except for a few bleeding cuts on her arms. Seeing her whole and in front of his eyes calmed him and a bit of the tension in his chest eased even as the bullets continued to fly around them.
"Just twinged my ribs. I'm okay," he lied but only slightly. The pain was dissipating a bit and he was becoming aware of his surroundings again. He even caught the sound of different ammunition firing and looked up the street to see three armored cars strategically placed and the tactical team trading gunfire with the masked group of men from behind the makeshift stronghold. The team had arrived and had drawn fire away from the van and the agents who had taken up cover behind it.
Ziva helped him to his feet and pulled him over near where Gibbs was dealing with the unhappy driver and trying to talk to McGee at the same time. Tony leaned his back against the side of the vehicle and let his head fall back against the metal. He was regaining control now and the pain in his ribs had reduced to a manageable throb though his breaths were still coming in wheezed gasps that had Ziva and Gibbs staring at him. He could feel their gazes on him even with his eyes closed and he tried to concentrate on pulling himself together. A panic attack and an aggravation of bruised ribs... he could hardly remember a day anymore when he wasn't angry, frustrated and injured. He sighed at the ridiculousness of the thought and forced his eyes open. This moment he found himself in was far from over and he needed to be focused and 100% for his team. Tony turned his head toward Ziva and offered her a reassuring smile and a silly thumbs up as proof that he was okay now, that he was there and ready to jump back into the fray with her. She studied him for a second, her eyes scanning him from head to toe, then she nodded to Gibbs. Apparently he'd passed her inspection.
Gibbs was having one hell of a time with the driver who was spitting and yelling as loud as he possibly could and thrashing against his bonds. He was refusing to quiet and had apparently decided it was his own personal mission to regain the attention of his comrades currently busy with the assault on the loading docks. Tony watched Gibbs quickly reach the end of his rope and land a hard punch across the kids face which silenced his constant stream of expletives as he crumpled toward the ground unconscious. Ziva left Tony's side to help Gibbs who'd caught the kid by the armpits before he fell to the ground. Together they deposited him in a heap on the pavement but even with the kid now silenced, every few seconds Tony could hear a round to two thunk into the side of the van. He made his way to the front of the vehicle and peered cautiously through the passenger side window and the now destroyed front glass to see what was going on. A stray bullet had him ducking down seconds later, his ribs mercifully staying quiet and Gibbs and Ziva joined him a moment later to take a look and regroup.
"I still see five shooters, Boss. It looks like the loading crew got the door shut in time. The tactical team seems to be keeping them busy." Gibbs reached out a hand and hooked a finger around something dangling from Tony's vest. It was the earpiece he didn't remember pulling out and as he replaced it in his ear McGee's voice was coming through and relaying them the same intel he'd just nearly been shot trying to obtain.
"Oh." he said with all the sheepishness he felt.
"Boss, Captain Cooper is on his way to you. He just turned onto the street where you are." McGee's familiar voice was almost comforting after its long absence from his ear.
"Copy that McGee. I see him." Tony followed Gibbs line of sight down the street and spotted the armored military vehicle making its way toward them. The Captain came to a stop behind the cover of the van but one of the gunmen must have spotted the Hummer because a few ineffectual shots rang out and thunked harmlessly into the other side of the van. The Captain jumped out to join them and glanced at the young driver lying cuffed and unconscious on the ground. If he thought it odd, he didn't show it.
"Agent Gibbs, I'm glad to see that you and your team are okay. If you'll come with me, I'll get you out of here and back behind the tactical team's perimeter."
"Not a chance, Marine." Gibbs said icily and the Captain stared at him in surprise. Gibbs squared his shoulders and gave his orders with all the authority of his Gunnery days of old. "I want you to get snipers up on the roof of that building there and that building over there. Then you're going to take my people around to the front of the building and get them safely inside. Tony and Ziva, once you're in, secure anyone still left inside and get them out then see if you can't get that door open. Captain, if opening the door draws the gunman out like I think it will, your snipers have the go ahead to take them down." Gibbs didn't wait for Cooper's acceptance of the plan, he just walked away with a finger to his ear to talk further with McGee. Tony turned to the Captain and looked at him expectantly.
"You heard the Gunnery. Let's go!" The Captain looked as though he so badly wanted to argue, to reaffirm his authority after having been so effortlessly debased by a man he'd met only hours ago. He ended up offering no resistance and Tony and Ziva pulled themselves and the unconscious driver into the back of the fortified Hummer. Cooper put the vehicle in reverse and backed away from the ongoing gunfight.
The trip around the block was quick and the Captain stopped in front of the facility to drop them off after radioing his team Gibbs' orders. A quick scan of the surrounding area showed no signs of any danger and the only people visible were the 4 men of the loading crew who had gotten out of the building and were gathered in a terrified huddle outside the front entrance not sure where to go. Tony and Ziva jumped out of the Hummer and as soon as the group noted their NCIS vests and badges, they were running towards the safety of the agents and the armored military vehicle. The Captain got every last one of them loaded then wished Tony and Ziva good luck before leaving them alone on the lawn with one last look of apprehension. Tony watched the retreating vehicle and only looked away once it had disappeared from sight around the block. He turned to follow Ziva into the building but the sound of approaching sirens had him reaching for his com link with McGee. Gibbs beat him to it.
"McGee, someone called the local PD. You make sure those boys know what they're walking into."
"On it, boss."
Satisfied everything was under control, Tony pulled the earpiece from his ear and let it dangle from its curled cord, this time conscious of the action. If they were going to storm the facility, he needed McGee out of his head and all his wits about him to sense a threat or locate someone still stuck in the building. He couldn't afford distraction and Ziva seemed to have the same thought and removed hers as well.
"Are you ready, Tony?" She asked with the slightest tilt of her head.
"I'm ready."
The halls of the Industrial Supply Center were equipped with motion detectors that turned on the lights as they approached but each time the lights came to life on their own, Tony found himself startled and a little unnerved. He didn't like the idea that someone might get advanced warning of their approach, even though he was fairly certain none of the masked men had made it into the building. He was on red alert again and his thoughts had descended down to a place where they focused on little else than assessing the threat level of his surroundings and tracking Ziva's movements around him as he led the way with gun unholstered.
They encountered no one as they swept through to the back of the building and finally found their way into the empty loading bay. The room was quiet, the sound of the gunfire outside the thick walls sounded like stones being thrown against brick. It took only a quick scan of the cavernous space for Tony to find the mechanism that would open the cargo bay doors and he put his earpiece back in to hail Gibbs.
"Boss, building is secure and Ziva and I are in the loading bay."
"Roger that. On my mark, open the door." Gibbs crackled over the line.
"Got it, boss." Tony motioned for Ziva to take up position to the left of the bay door against the far wall. From that vantage point she could intercept anyone who tried to gain access to the bay and still stay out of range of any bullets that might find their way in through the door that was about to open. The door moved slowly and Tony was confident that he could take up position on the other side of the door once he'd pressed the button to start the bay door opening. It came down to pressing a big red button and he waited with fist raised and breath held for the word from Gibbs to go.
"NOW TONY!" For a fraction of a second his eyes searched out Ziva's and locked onto her gaze. Silent communication passed between them like lightening and Tony slammed home the red button that controlled the door. Unseen mechanics whined and protested but the door began its ascent and Tony dove for his scouted position on the other side of the room. Almost immediately the sounds of shouts and the gunfight outside the door filled the room and bounced around the walls. Several rounds flew into the bay but the bullets ended up harmlessly embedded in the wall opposite them, their velocity scattering little plumes of drywall dust into the air with each hit. Tony and Ziva remained safely hidden behind the thick concrete walls and Tony thought he could make out Gibbs' voice yelling out over a megaphone but couldn't make out the words. He plastered himself a little tighter against the wall behind him and tried to put a picture to the sounds he was hearing from outside. Every so often McGee's voice came over the earpiece and let them know another gunman had been taken down. He looked over to check on Ziva and found her with gun drawn and face stern. She was watching the open door intently, her eyes flitting in his direction every so often.
"Tony! Ziva! Head's up!" McGee's warning crackled in his ear just as a black clad figure dove into the bay and somersaulted to safety. Several larger caliber sniper rounds followed him in but they were too late. Tony and Ziva shrank back against the walls trying to make themselves as invisible as possible to see what the man would do next. The black clad figure removed his mask and Tony found himself looking at another young kid who barely looked over eighteen. This kid knew exactly where he was going and made straight for a crate on the other side of the room. He set his gun on a bin nearby and tore into the shipping crate to examined its contents. When he pulled up a brick of cocaine, Tony and Ziva made their move.
"FEDERAL AGENTS! DROP YOUR WEAPON AND PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR," it was Ziva who bellowed the words but the masked man didn't follow the order and swung around to face the agents, grabbing his discarded gun on the way. Ziva landed two well-placed slugs in the man's shoulder and knee and his weapon clattered away noisily as he crumpled to the ground with a scream of agony and Ziva moved in to quickly secure him. Tony swept the perimeter through the scope of his gun to make sure no one else rushed the bay door at the sound of the young man's screams. Ziva made quick work of cuffing the kid and moving him off to the side and out of sight and, once confident they were in the clear for the moment, Tony secured the gang member's gun.
"We've got one in custody," he said out to the airwaves to anyone who might be listening and it was McGee who responded back.
"It's over, Tony." he said somberly. "You've got the only survivor. Gibbs is on his way to you. Standby." It only took Gibbs a few minutes to reach them and Tony helped his boss climb onto the loading platform.
"Alright?" Gibbs asked when he was up, surveying Tony with a quick once over, seemingly satisfied with the nod Tony gave. Gibbs walked over to Ziva and gave her the same treatment before turning his attention to the fallen gunman. The man, well, kid really, was moaning as Ziva manhandled him into a chair and held him upright before Gibbs. Blood was oozing sluggishly from the wounds Ziva had given him, but the hits were well placed and he would have minimal damage. Gibbs pulled up his own chair and set it before the injured young man and Ziva pointed out the angel tattoo inked into the skin of the teen's forearm. Tony knew what would come next and for a split second he contemplated leaving, but loyalty to Gibbs had him holding his ground.
After all, someone would need to run interference should people come inquiring about the screams.