NCIS:Rag Doll. Angst/Drama PG 13 - 8/?
Title: Rag Doll
Chapter: 8/?
Fandom: NCIS
Author: cheekymice
Rating: PG13
Beta: Scousmuz
Genre: Drama/Angst
Disclaimer: I don't own anything relating to the TV show NCIS sadly.
Notes: So here I am back again with another multi chapter fic. I hope you enjoy. This will be my usual brand of overblown angst with a soupcon of whumpage. I can say that this story will not be dwelling on anything graphic regarding the subject matter, it is mainly a study on how difficult some undercover assignments must be.
~~~ ~~~~
Rag Doll
Gibbs jabbed the elevator button hard; immediately he poked it again as he took his ire and worry out on the cold stainless steel. When the car didn’t appear quickly enough for him, he turned on his heel and made for the stairwell, taking the stairs two at a time in his haste. He strode past the bullpens with a fixed sense of purpose, face forward, looking neither left nor right, ignoring the anxious looks on the agent’s faces as he passed their desks.
It was two in the morning yet the office was already thrumming with activity.
There had always been an unwritten code at NCIS, but this went beyond that. Word always managed to spread no matter what the time of day or night when one of their own went off radar, but DiNozzo would have been astounded at just how many agents had come in to see what they could do to help.
Gibbs all but ran up to the mezzanine level and straight into the director’s office. It seemed to have taken an age to get dressed and make his way to the yard although in reality he’d probably broken his own record; but every minute counted. Since Leon’s call he’d been consumed with a feeling of dread.
He knew that DiNozzo wouldn’t miss a deadline, especially one with Vance unless there was a very good reason, and Gibbs knew the only reason would be because he couldn’t.
And that wasn’t good anyway you dressed it up.
Gibbs barely had the office door open before he spoke.
“Any news?”
Vance looked rattled and didn’t answer straight away; the long, static pause rang warning bells in Gibbs’ head.
“DiNozzo’s hire car was found ten minutes ago burned out on a dirt track in Delbarton, West Virginia.” Leon answered.
Gibbs remembered another time and another burned out car. The smell of cooked flesh still nauseated him and the intense feeling of loss he’d felt as he’d stared at the charred corpse sitting inside the twisted metal, thinking it was Tony, still gave him nightmares.
Not again. Please, he didn’t think he could go through that again.
“They find…” The words got stuck in his throat but he forced himself to ask the question with his heart beating a wild tattoo in his chest. “They find a body?”
“No, thank God, DiNozzo wasn’t in the car, Jethro.” Vance was obviously stressed. Losing an agent on your watch was never an easy thing and the director was definitely feeling it.
Gibbs nodded as relief flooded his veins briefly but it quickly vanished. If someone had torched Tony’s car then there was no doubt he was in trouble now.
“A helo is on its way to pick us up and take us to the scene. We need to find out what the hell he was doing down there.”
“Nothing in his notes?”
Vance sighed.
“DiNozzo hasn’t called in for a few days so something must have come to light and he decided to check it out, but there’s nothing on his laptop. I went to his apartment myself. Ripped the damn place apart but found nothing.”
Gibbs pursed his lips. DiNozzo took his undercover assignments seriously and there would be a detailed dossier somewhere but it would be hidden away from any prying eyes. DiNozzo could be damn sneaky when he wanted. Gibbs knew he’d probably find it given time but time was one thing he didn’t have.
“There’s nothing in the files I’ve read that connects Grey to Virginia,” Gibbs stated.
Leon arched a brow and stared at him but chose not to say anything as to how he’d got his hands on the files. Now really wasn’t the time for a pissing contest and thankfully the director realized that.
Gibbs snapped his cell open.
“McGee and Ziva can re-check DiNozzo’s apartment whilst we’re in the air. They know him and the way his mind works. DiNozzo’s a devious bastard when he wants to be and he’s hidden a disk or stick do-dad somewhere. Once we find that we’ll know where he was heading.”
“Good idea.” Vance started to gather his papers.
Gibbs hit speed dial.
After the sound of rustling of sheets, and a yawn, a sleepy McGee eventually answered.
“Uh…Boss. We got a case?”
“DiNozzo’s gone MIA, I need you to wake Ziva and go to his apartment, and find where the bonehead has hidden his notes.”
There were a few seconds of silence as McGee processed the information, then he seemed to swing into action.
“On it, Boss. Uhh, there’s more to this op than Tony made out, isn’t there? He was just spinning a tale to us to stop us from worrying.”
“Ya think, McGee,” Gibbs sighed. “The director will forward all the case notes to you.”
Vance scrubbed a hand over his face. Gibbs was guessing that SecNav wanted to keep a lid on this in case DiNozzo’s disappearance had nothing to do with Grey but he didn’t believe in coincidences and neither did Leon obviously as he made a snap decision.
“I’ll send a zip file to McGee’s Blackberry ASAP.” Vance nodded wearily, he signaled that they had to leave and Gibbs outlined the case briefly as they walked through the yard to the helo pad, finally giving the address to McGee as the agent got dressed and made his way to his car.
Above the sound of the helo landing, Gibbs managed to bellow to the agent to discreetly check out Grey’s movements for the last 24 hours.
Again Vance didn’t countermand his orders; instead he pretended that he hadn’t heard. Good, because the SecNav could go and boil his head if he thought that his assignment was more important than finding DiNozzo.
Gibbs ducked his head underneath the blades and climbed into the helicopter. He buckled in and leaned his head back, willing the pilot to get to Virginia as quickly as possible.
~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~
Cold.
He was so damn cold. He was shivering like he’d spent the night in a deep freeze.
Why was that?
Tony rolled over and grabbed for the covers to pull over his body.
His hand connected with dirt and leaves.
Dorothy definitely wasn’t in Kansas any more, Toto.
Tony opened his eyes and sat up in shock.
He quickly wished he hadn’t when a parade of little drummer boys started to beat in time to their march on his skull. He groaned and shut his eyes as he tried to remember what had happened.
Shit, the girl.
He opened his eyes again and peered into the inky blackness. Eventually a scared face came into focus.
“Hey,” He said softly. “You okay?”
She was shivering, violently.
“I thought you were d…dead,” Her voice hitched but apart from that she seemed way too calm, he wasn’t sure that was a good thing.
Could be shock or hypothermia setting in.
“Nope, just napping,” he whispered back as he tentatively touched the back of his head again. He gritted his teeth; he really should stop doing that. “Have they gone?”
She nodded.
“They came back twice but they didn’t find us, I kept really still.”
“You’d make a great cop.” He tried to shuffle into a more comfortable position; his back spasmed like a bitch.
He was well over six foot, and having to curl up was not good for his spine. She watched him silently as he stretched.
“They’re going to kill us, aren’t they,” she eventually said.
He kept silent for a moment then he spoke. It sounded so wrong coming out of someone so young, especially as she seemed so resigned.
“Nope, not if I can help it, sweetheart.”
“You really are a policeman, aren’t you? I heard them talking, they’re really, really mad at you.”
“Yeah, I am and I think we need to get out of here before we both turn into popsicles. You up for that?”
“Are you really going to take me back to my mom?” She looked him straight in the eyes.
Tony felt like she was staring into his soul her gaze was so intent.
“I’m going to my very best to get you back to your mom and I never go back on a promise.” He said honestly. With her long dark hair and wide luminous eyes he had a sudden image that this is what Abby probably looked a lot like when she was as a little girl. “Pinky swear.”
He held his hand out, little finger raised.
She looked at him as if he was mad but then a slow smile spread across her face and she linked her finger in his. He returned her smile.
“Promise?” she asked again.
“Promise.”
He shifted his legs again. Great… now he was getting cramp to go with the killer headache.
“Can you hear them now, Dollface?” he whispered.
She tilted and then shook her head.
It was too much to hope that Grey and Co had given up but for now they weren’t near and that was good enough for him. They couldn’t stay where they were for much longer or they would both freeze to death. He crawled out of their hidey-hole and signaled for the little girl to do the same.
She scrambled out and sat on her haunches, pulling her knees up to her chin, clearly waiting for him to come up with a plan. He didn’t actually have one but she didn’t need to know that. Right now he could only think about trying to cope with the perpetual dizziness he couldn’t shake.
“I’m cold.” She spoke in a matter of fact voice with no hint of a whine.
Even wearing his coat she was clearly freezing. She was so slim, without an ounce of fat on her body; she didn’t have reserves like he did.
“C’mon. Let’s get you into something warmer.”
Tony quickly shrugged off the thick sweater he was wearing.
Jesus, without it the icy wind cut through straight to his bones. He ignored the voice in his head telling him that he wouldn’t last long in this weather running around in just a tee-shirt, even if it was thermal, and put his faith in the insulating powers of pizza cheese and grease.
He helped her with the coat when he realized that her hands were shaking so much she couldn’t work the zipper.
“I’m Tony, and what’s your name pretty lady?” He bunched up the wool and shoved it over her head, messing up her hair. She automatically lifted her arms in a move that echoed a little girl who was used to being helped to get dressed. In a weird way it actually spoke of trust and he felt humbled. His sweater reached way past her knees and would at least help to protect her from the elements.
“Imee,” she whispered. “I’m five and a half.”
“Well, Imee, I’m a federal agent, do you know what that is?”
She paused.
“Fox Mulder?”
Tony chuckled. He wrapped her up in his coat again and zipped it up. It had a thin hood, it wasn’t much but it was better than nothing. Tony pulled it over her head and secured the toggles up tight so it fit as snugly as it could around her small head.
“Yeah, just like ol’ Spooky.” Okay, so he wasn’t FBI but he didn’t think Imee would appreciate a lecture on the differences between federal agencies right now. “So I’ll need a partner, are you up to being my Scully?”
She paused again, and then she nodded shyly.
“Great, because I’ll need your help.”
This wasn’t just about building a rapport with the little girl. The way his head was buzzing he couldn’t hear shit and his vision wasn’t exactly crisp either. He rooted through his coat pockets and pulled out some more latex gloves and his flashlight. He turned it onto low, so there was just a golden glow radiating from the end.
“You’re bleeding,” Imee stated, her voice wobbling as if she was going to start crying again.
Tony wiped his hand over his face and neck. His skin felt sticky and scratchy in the way only drying blood produced. Head wounds always bled like a bitch.
He tried to believe that it looked worse than it was, but he’d been hit on the head enough times to know when it was an injury that went beyond a simple concussion. This was one of those times, tingling arms and legs and an increasing difficulty in keeping track of his thoughts were only a few of the worrying symptoms that told him the baseball bat had probably done more than give him a killer headache.
Of course Imee didn’t need to know he was already getting shit scared by all the possibilities whizzing around his mind. His brain could be swelling as each minute passed or maybe a cheeky little blood clot was forming, ready to render him paralyzed at any second.
Paranoia was a fun trait to have when you were trapped in a dark wood with three guys trying to kill you.
Instead he gave her a bright smile and reassured her.
“I’m okay. Nothing to worry about.”
“Not there…” Imee pointed. “There.”
He followed her finger and moved the flashlight beam downwards.
Shit.
There was a rip in the denim jeans on his calf, the light picked up the dark wetness as the tear in his leg still bled lazily. He couldn’t really feel a thing other than a faint stinging sensation but he was so fucking cold that someone could have removed his foot and he didn’t think he’d feel it. He shut his eyes and tried to figure out how he’d managed to injure his leg. He gave up quickly. What the hell did it matter in the grand scheme of things right now?
“Awww, it’s just a scratch, Imee.” Tony smiled tightly.
She wrinkled her nose in disbelief and considering the left leg of his jeans was dark with blood she was probably right but she was still young enough to believe that an adult knew best. Tony watched Imee as she bunched the sleeves of his jacket around her hands and wrapped her arms close against her body.
He gave a sigh. If he was feeling like he was in a deep freeze then the poor little mite would be feeling it tenfold.
“Hey, Sweet-cheeks, put your hands out for me.”
Imee’s hands were mottled an ominous purple-black. Tony rubbed them between his own hands and brought them up to his mouth, and huffed his breath hard onto the cold skin to try and get her circulation moving again. He quickly layered several pairs of the latex gloves over her hands before putting his thick wool gloves over the top. Like everything else she was wearing of his they were way too big, but if it stopped her getting frostbite then who cared that she looked like she’d been playing in the dress up box.
“Better?” he asked.
“But you have no gloves or coat now.” She blinked up at him.
“I don’t feel the cold,” he lied and hoped she left it at that. She didn’t.
“But you’re shivering bad and your lips are going a funny color.”
Kids. Said it like it was.
“I’m as warm as toast, Honey.”
“But….”
“Okay, we’ve got to move,” he interrupted quietly as he switched the torch off. “Now as my new partner your first assignment is to keep your ears and eyes open for the bad men. Can you do that for me?”
Tony couldn’t believe he was using a five and a half year old girl to watch his back; he probably had more faith in her than he should given her age. But Imee had already proved she had more bravery in her little finger than the average green probie new to the field. Already all she’d been through today would have turned most adults into gibbering wrecks, but this little girl was proving resilient.
“Okay,” she said earnestly, her dark eyes serious and grave.
“Good girl.” He patted her shoulder.
Tony stood slowly.
Instantly, he knew he was in trouble.
He’d been lulled into a false sense of security whilst sitting down.
Kidded himself that a little knock to the ol’ noggin was nothing to worry about; Gibbs slapped him harder on a daily basis.
Before he even got all the way up he stumbled and grabbed onto a nearby tree. His vision faded fast, black spots danced in front of his eyes and his legs wouldn’t stop fucking shaking.
This really wasn’t good. As he clung to the trunk of the tree he quickly assessed that he wouldn’t be walking anywhere anytime soon.
He panted through the pain, his breath ghosting the darkness as his warm air hit the cold.
“Tony.”
A little voice broke through the blood pounding in his ears.
“Tony!” Imee sounded panicked, scared.
He lifted his head from where it rested against the hard bark of the tree and looked down at the little girl.
“They’re coming!” Imee wailed as if quoting from any of a hundred different horror films.
Tony blinked. Sure enough, when he concentrated he could hear voices and the sound of undergrowth movement to the east of them.
Imee’s breathing sped up and she grabbed his arm and pulled.
“C’mon.” She pulled at him again, trying to make him move.
“Imee, listen to me,” Tony swallowed hard. “I want you to run and don’t look back, no matter what, just keep running.”
“But…”
He could hear the tears in her voice.
“Please, Imee. You’re my partner, right?” He spoke urgently. “I’m relying on you to get help, okay. Run and keep running until you get to the nearest house and call NCIS, can you remember that? Call NCIS and ask for Director Vance but don’t worry if you forget… just call the cops…okay?”
They were getting nearer.
“Go, please Imee… run.” He pleased with her.
She paused for a second before she turned and disappeared into the darkness.
Tony took a deep breath and leaned against the tree. It was so damn cold his teeth were chattering like castanets. He rested his chin against his chest and put his hands under his armpits.
Why the hell did shit like this keep happening to him? He was in the middle of a fucking wood in the mid-winter dressed for a Summer’s day.
There was no way he could walk, let alone run.
All he could do was wait.
He knew what would happen once they found him but hey, he was under no illusion that it was a perfect plan.
Imee’s only hope was if he could distract them long enough for her to get to safety.
TBC
Chapter: 8/?
Fandom: NCIS
Author: cheekymice
Rating: PG13
Beta: Scousmuz
Genre: Drama/Angst
Disclaimer: I don't own anything relating to the TV show NCIS sadly.
Notes: So here I am back again with another multi chapter fic. I hope you enjoy. This will be my usual brand of overblown angst with a soupcon of whumpage. I can say that this story will not be dwelling on anything graphic regarding the subject matter, it is mainly a study on how difficult some undercover assignments must be.
~~~ ~~~~
Rag Doll
Gibbs jabbed the elevator button hard; immediately he poked it again as he took his ire and worry out on the cold stainless steel. When the car didn’t appear quickly enough for him, he turned on his heel and made for the stairwell, taking the stairs two at a time in his haste. He strode past the bullpens with a fixed sense of purpose, face forward, looking neither left nor right, ignoring the anxious looks on the agent’s faces as he passed their desks.
It was two in the morning yet the office was already thrumming with activity.
There had always been an unwritten code at NCIS, but this went beyond that. Word always managed to spread no matter what the time of day or night when one of their own went off radar, but DiNozzo would have been astounded at just how many agents had come in to see what they could do to help.
Gibbs all but ran up to the mezzanine level and straight into the director’s office. It seemed to have taken an age to get dressed and make his way to the yard although in reality he’d probably broken his own record; but every minute counted. Since Leon’s call he’d been consumed with a feeling of dread.
He knew that DiNozzo wouldn’t miss a deadline, especially one with Vance unless there was a very good reason, and Gibbs knew the only reason would be because he couldn’t.
And that wasn’t good anyway you dressed it up.
Gibbs barely had the office door open before he spoke.
“Any news?”
Vance looked rattled and didn’t answer straight away; the long, static pause rang warning bells in Gibbs’ head.
“DiNozzo’s hire car was found ten minutes ago burned out on a dirt track in Delbarton, West Virginia.” Leon answered.
Gibbs remembered another time and another burned out car. The smell of cooked flesh still nauseated him and the intense feeling of loss he’d felt as he’d stared at the charred corpse sitting inside the twisted metal, thinking it was Tony, still gave him nightmares.
Not again. Please, he didn’t think he could go through that again.
“They find…” The words got stuck in his throat but he forced himself to ask the question with his heart beating a wild tattoo in his chest. “They find a body?”
“No, thank God, DiNozzo wasn’t in the car, Jethro.” Vance was obviously stressed. Losing an agent on your watch was never an easy thing and the director was definitely feeling it.
Gibbs nodded as relief flooded his veins briefly but it quickly vanished. If someone had torched Tony’s car then there was no doubt he was in trouble now.
“A helo is on its way to pick us up and take us to the scene. We need to find out what the hell he was doing down there.”
“Nothing in his notes?”
Vance sighed.
“DiNozzo hasn’t called in for a few days so something must have come to light and he decided to check it out, but there’s nothing on his laptop. I went to his apartment myself. Ripped the damn place apart but found nothing.”
Gibbs pursed his lips. DiNozzo took his undercover assignments seriously and there would be a detailed dossier somewhere but it would be hidden away from any prying eyes. DiNozzo could be damn sneaky when he wanted. Gibbs knew he’d probably find it given time but time was one thing he didn’t have.
“There’s nothing in the files I’ve read that connects Grey to Virginia,” Gibbs stated.
Leon arched a brow and stared at him but chose not to say anything as to how he’d got his hands on the files. Now really wasn’t the time for a pissing contest and thankfully the director realized that.
Gibbs snapped his cell open.
“McGee and Ziva can re-check DiNozzo’s apartment whilst we’re in the air. They know him and the way his mind works. DiNozzo’s a devious bastard when he wants to be and he’s hidden a disk or stick do-dad somewhere. Once we find that we’ll know where he was heading.”
“Good idea.” Vance started to gather his papers.
Gibbs hit speed dial.
After the sound of rustling of sheets, and a yawn, a sleepy McGee eventually answered.
“Uh…Boss. We got a case?”
“DiNozzo’s gone MIA, I need you to wake Ziva and go to his apartment, and find where the bonehead has hidden his notes.”
There were a few seconds of silence as McGee processed the information, then he seemed to swing into action.
“On it, Boss. Uhh, there’s more to this op than Tony made out, isn’t there? He was just spinning a tale to us to stop us from worrying.”
“Ya think, McGee,” Gibbs sighed. “The director will forward all the case notes to you.”
Vance scrubbed a hand over his face. Gibbs was guessing that SecNav wanted to keep a lid on this in case DiNozzo’s disappearance had nothing to do with Grey but he didn’t believe in coincidences and neither did Leon obviously as he made a snap decision.
“I’ll send a zip file to McGee’s Blackberry ASAP.” Vance nodded wearily, he signaled that they had to leave and Gibbs outlined the case briefly as they walked through the yard to the helo pad, finally giving the address to McGee as the agent got dressed and made his way to his car.
Above the sound of the helo landing, Gibbs managed to bellow to the agent to discreetly check out Grey’s movements for the last 24 hours.
Again Vance didn’t countermand his orders; instead he pretended that he hadn’t heard. Good, because the SecNav could go and boil his head if he thought that his assignment was more important than finding DiNozzo.
Gibbs ducked his head underneath the blades and climbed into the helicopter. He buckled in and leaned his head back, willing the pilot to get to Virginia as quickly as possible.
~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~
Cold.
He was so damn cold. He was shivering like he’d spent the night in a deep freeze.
Why was that?
Tony rolled over and grabbed for the covers to pull over his body.
His hand connected with dirt and leaves.
Dorothy definitely wasn’t in Kansas any more, Toto.
Tony opened his eyes and sat up in shock.
He quickly wished he hadn’t when a parade of little drummer boys started to beat in time to their march on his skull. He groaned and shut his eyes as he tried to remember what had happened.
Shit, the girl.
He opened his eyes again and peered into the inky blackness. Eventually a scared face came into focus.
“Hey,” He said softly. “You okay?”
She was shivering, violently.
“I thought you were d…dead,” Her voice hitched but apart from that she seemed way too calm, he wasn’t sure that was a good thing.
Could be shock or hypothermia setting in.
“Nope, just napping,” he whispered back as he tentatively touched the back of his head again. He gritted his teeth; he really should stop doing that. “Have they gone?”
She nodded.
“They came back twice but they didn’t find us, I kept really still.”
“You’d make a great cop.” He tried to shuffle into a more comfortable position; his back spasmed like a bitch.
He was well over six foot, and having to curl up was not good for his spine. She watched him silently as he stretched.
“They’re going to kill us, aren’t they,” she eventually said.
He kept silent for a moment then he spoke. It sounded so wrong coming out of someone so young, especially as she seemed so resigned.
“Nope, not if I can help it, sweetheart.”
“You really are a policeman, aren’t you? I heard them talking, they’re really, really mad at you.”
“Yeah, I am and I think we need to get out of here before we both turn into popsicles. You up for that?”
“Are you really going to take me back to my mom?” She looked him straight in the eyes.
Tony felt like she was staring into his soul her gaze was so intent.
“I’m going to my very best to get you back to your mom and I never go back on a promise.” He said honestly. With her long dark hair and wide luminous eyes he had a sudden image that this is what Abby probably looked a lot like when she was as a little girl. “Pinky swear.”
He held his hand out, little finger raised.
She looked at him as if he was mad but then a slow smile spread across her face and she linked her finger in his. He returned her smile.
“Promise?” she asked again.
“Promise.”
He shifted his legs again. Great… now he was getting cramp to go with the killer headache.
“Can you hear them now, Dollface?” he whispered.
She tilted and then shook her head.
It was too much to hope that Grey and Co had given up but for now they weren’t near and that was good enough for him. They couldn’t stay where they were for much longer or they would both freeze to death. He crawled out of their hidey-hole and signaled for the little girl to do the same.
She scrambled out and sat on her haunches, pulling her knees up to her chin, clearly waiting for him to come up with a plan. He didn’t actually have one but she didn’t need to know that. Right now he could only think about trying to cope with the perpetual dizziness he couldn’t shake.
“I’m cold.” She spoke in a matter of fact voice with no hint of a whine.
Even wearing his coat she was clearly freezing. She was so slim, without an ounce of fat on her body; she didn’t have reserves like he did.
“C’mon. Let’s get you into something warmer.”
Tony quickly shrugged off the thick sweater he was wearing.
Jesus, without it the icy wind cut through straight to his bones. He ignored the voice in his head telling him that he wouldn’t last long in this weather running around in just a tee-shirt, even if it was thermal, and put his faith in the insulating powers of pizza cheese and grease.
He helped her with the coat when he realized that her hands were shaking so much she couldn’t work the zipper.
“I’m Tony, and what’s your name pretty lady?” He bunched up the wool and shoved it over her head, messing up her hair. She automatically lifted her arms in a move that echoed a little girl who was used to being helped to get dressed. In a weird way it actually spoke of trust and he felt humbled. His sweater reached way past her knees and would at least help to protect her from the elements.
“Imee,” she whispered. “I’m five and a half.”
“Well, Imee, I’m a federal agent, do you know what that is?”
She paused.
“Fox Mulder?”
Tony chuckled. He wrapped her up in his coat again and zipped it up. It had a thin hood, it wasn’t much but it was better than nothing. Tony pulled it over her head and secured the toggles up tight so it fit as snugly as it could around her small head.
“Yeah, just like ol’ Spooky.” Okay, so he wasn’t FBI but he didn’t think Imee would appreciate a lecture on the differences between federal agencies right now. “So I’ll need a partner, are you up to being my Scully?”
She paused again, and then she nodded shyly.
“Great, because I’ll need your help.”
This wasn’t just about building a rapport with the little girl. The way his head was buzzing he couldn’t hear shit and his vision wasn’t exactly crisp either. He rooted through his coat pockets and pulled out some more latex gloves and his flashlight. He turned it onto low, so there was just a golden glow radiating from the end.
“You’re bleeding,” Imee stated, her voice wobbling as if she was going to start crying again.
Tony wiped his hand over his face and neck. His skin felt sticky and scratchy in the way only drying blood produced. Head wounds always bled like a bitch.
He tried to believe that it looked worse than it was, but he’d been hit on the head enough times to know when it was an injury that went beyond a simple concussion. This was one of those times, tingling arms and legs and an increasing difficulty in keeping track of his thoughts were only a few of the worrying symptoms that told him the baseball bat had probably done more than give him a killer headache.
Of course Imee didn’t need to know he was already getting shit scared by all the possibilities whizzing around his mind. His brain could be swelling as each minute passed or maybe a cheeky little blood clot was forming, ready to render him paralyzed at any second.
Paranoia was a fun trait to have when you were trapped in a dark wood with three guys trying to kill you.
Instead he gave her a bright smile and reassured her.
“I’m okay. Nothing to worry about.”
“Not there…” Imee pointed. “There.”
He followed her finger and moved the flashlight beam downwards.
Shit.
There was a rip in the denim jeans on his calf, the light picked up the dark wetness as the tear in his leg still bled lazily. He couldn’t really feel a thing other than a faint stinging sensation but he was so fucking cold that someone could have removed his foot and he didn’t think he’d feel it. He shut his eyes and tried to figure out how he’d managed to injure his leg. He gave up quickly. What the hell did it matter in the grand scheme of things right now?
“Awww, it’s just a scratch, Imee.” Tony smiled tightly.
She wrinkled her nose in disbelief and considering the left leg of his jeans was dark with blood she was probably right but she was still young enough to believe that an adult knew best. Tony watched Imee as she bunched the sleeves of his jacket around her hands and wrapped her arms close against her body.
He gave a sigh. If he was feeling like he was in a deep freeze then the poor little mite would be feeling it tenfold.
“Hey, Sweet-cheeks, put your hands out for me.”
Imee’s hands were mottled an ominous purple-black. Tony rubbed them between his own hands and brought them up to his mouth, and huffed his breath hard onto the cold skin to try and get her circulation moving again. He quickly layered several pairs of the latex gloves over her hands before putting his thick wool gloves over the top. Like everything else she was wearing of his they were way too big, but if it stopped her getting frostbite then who cared that she looked like she’d been playing in the dress up box.
“Better?” he asked.
“But you have no gloves or coat now.” She blinked up at him.
“I don’t feel the cold,” he lied and hoped she left it at that. She didn’t.
“But you’re shivering bad and your lips are going a funny color.”
Kids. Said it like it was.
“I’m as warm as toast, Honey.”
“But….”
“Okay, we’ve got to move,” he interrupted quietly as he switched the torch off. “Now as my new partner your first assignment is to keep your ears and eyes open for the bad men. Can you do that for me?”
Tony couldn’t believe he was using a five and a half year old girl to watch his back; he probably had more faith in her than he should given her age. But Imee had already proved she had more bravery in her little finger than the average green probie new to the field. Already all she’d been through today would have turned most adults into gibbering wrecks, but this little girl was proving resilient.
“Okay,” she said earnestly, her dark eyes serious and grave.
“Good girl.” He patted her shoulder.
Tony stood slowly.
Instantly, he knew he was in trouble.
He’d been lulled into a false sense of security whilst sitting down.
Kidded himself that a little knock to the ol’ noggin was nothing to worry about; Gibbs slapped him harder on a daily basis.
Before he even got all the way up he stumbled and grabbed onto a nearby tree. His vision faded fast, black spots danced in front of his eyes and his legs wouldn’t stop fucking shaking.
This really wasn’t good. As he clung to the trunk of the tree he quickly assessed that he wouldn’t be walking anywhere anytime soon.
He panted through the pain, his breath ghosting the darkness as his warm air hit the cold.
“Tony.”
A little voice broke through the blood pounding in his ears.
“Tony!” Imee sounded panicked, scared.
He lifted his head from where it rested against the hard bark of the tree and looked down at the little girl.
“They’re coming!” Imee wailed as if quoting from any of a hundred different horror films.
Tony blinked. Sure enough, when he concentrated he could hear voices and the sound of undergrowth movement to the east of them.
Imee’s breathing sped up and she grabbed his arm and pulled.
“C’mon.” She pulled at him again, trying to make him move.
“Imee, listen to me,” Tony swallowed hard. “I want you to run and don’t look back, no matter what, just keep running.”
“But…”
He could hear the tears in her voice.
“Please, Imee. You’re my partner, right?” He spoke urgently. “I’m relying on you to get help, okay. Run and keep running until you get to the nearest house and call NCIS, can you remember that? Call NCIS and ask for Director Vance but don’t worry if you forget… just call the cops…okay?”
They were getting nearer.
“Go, please Imee… run.” He pleased with her.
She paused for a second before she turned and disappeared into the darkness.
Tony took a deep breath and leaned against the tree. It was so damn cold his teeth were chattering like castanets. He rested his chin against his chest and put his hands under his armpits.
Why the hell did shit like this keep happening to him? He was in the middle of a fucking wood in the mid-winter dressed for a Summer’s day.
There was no way he could walk, let alone run.
All he could do was wait.
He knew what would happen once they found him but hey, he was under no illusion that it was a perfect plan.
Imee’s only hope was if he could distract them long enough for her to get to safety.
TBC