NCIS:Rag Doll. Angst/Drama PG 13 - 11/?
Title: Rag Doll
Chapter: 11/?
Fandom: NCIS
Author: cheekymice
Rating: PG13
Beta: Scousmuz1K
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
The look of astonishment on Grey's face would linger in Tony's mind for a long time. Not because he felt one iota of sorrow or pity for the man but the expression was just so incredulous and ever so faintly comical, as if Grey couldn't quite believe what had just happened; couldn't quite believe that Acker had just shot him.
Grey looked down and stared at the gaping hole in his centre before he clutched his stomach in astonishment and fell to his knees. He tried to speak but whatever he was trying to say only came out as a long, drawn-out gurgle before he slumped face first into the leaf mould and snow.
It wasn’t hard to know what Acker was thinking. Eliminate all the weak links if he were to contain this mess, including him.
It was a sound plan but it wasn’t going to work.
“Y-you d-doing a l-little h-housecleaning, A-Acker,” Tony stuttered as he struggled to get up. “N-not going to w-work…t-too m-many p-people involved.”
“Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve had too, DiNozzo. I’m real good at cover ups.” Acker growled smugly.
Tony somehow managed to get to his feet again. He swung his arm out and steadied himself with the aid of a tree and swallowed hard before he continued. The damn nausea was back and throwing up again would totally spoil the smug gloating tone he was going for.
“I b-bet y-you a-are but y-you k-know w-who I’ve b-b-been reporting t-to on t-this op?”
That got Acker’s attention.
“Gibbs isn’t all that special. He’s just a has-been waiting for retirement from what I’ve seen,” Acker spoke with a sense of bravado that didn’t quite match up to the look on his face.
“Oh y-you s-should b-be s-scared of G-Gibbs, A-Acker b-but h-he’s the l-least of y-your p-problems n-now. Not r-reporting to h-him. S-So y-you w-wanna k-know…”
“Shut it, DiNozzo,” Acker spat, giving Tony the impression that he was beginning to understand just how much he’d screwed up by allying himself to Commander Grey.
“S-Sec-Nav and d-director V-Vance both h-have a r-real h-hard-on for t-this c-case,” Tony baited. “T-They o-ordered t-this o-op a-and w-when I-I don’t r-report t-they aren’t g-going t-to t-throw e-every r-resource into f-f-finding o-out what h-happened, k-kill me a-and t-the e-end r-result will s-still l-lead s-straight b-back to y-you.”
“Shut the fuck up.” Oh, he was getting rattled.
“T-This i-is high l-level s-shit, A-Acker, a-and y-you d-don’t have t-the s-stones to k-keep y-your c-cool.” Tony paused not for dramatic effect but because he needed a moment to focus on staying on his feet. “M-Might as w-well h-hand y-yourself in n-now.”
Acker licked his lips and shook his head.
“Not going to happen, DiNozzo.” Special Agent Acker shifted his stance and aimed the Sig with a new vigour. “This will be a pleasure; been fantasizing about shooting you for months. I just never thought I’d ever get the chance.”
So this was it.
Damn, Tony had hoped the end would be more dramatic than this but you had to roll with the punches.
He wrapped his arms around himself and went with nonchalance as a theme, which was difficult to pull off considering he was just about to die, but James Dean would have been proud.
“C-C’mon, if y-you a-are g-going t-to d-do it. I’m f-freezing m-my ass o-off h-here,” Tony said with a sense of resignation.
To be honest he was looking forward to a little heat and the way he’d lived his life Tony knew he was going downwards; Satan probably had a special room ready for him complete with a dozen disgruntled ex’s to torment him for all eternity.
Then came the strangest thing.
The expected gunshot didn’t happen.
Instead Special Agent Acker cried out in pain and spun around in surprise.
Tony frowned and blinked as another missile hit Acker on the cheek. The agent yelped again, obviously not knowing what to make of this sneak attack.
There wasn’t much force behind the projectiles blows but they were having the desired effect and that gave Tony all the information he needed.
C’mon, just one more, Honey.
Another rock came sailing in from deep in the woods and hit Acker hard on the temple. He spun around again and pressed his palm against the bleeding cut above his eye, his focus on the person who was throwing stuff at him.
Using the distraction for the purpose that was intended, Tony raced forward. Employing his weight rather than any great skill with the maneuver, he barreled hard into Acker.
They both fell to the ground in a messy heap.
In a frantic scrabble, Tony grabbed for the gun in the other man’s hand. He was uncoordinated, all his fighting skills had flown out the window probably the same time the baseball bat had connected with his skull, but fear and panic made for a powerful combination.
He managed to twist Acker’s wrist downwards and away but now there was a movie cliché grapple going on with the gun sandwiched between them.
When the gun fired Tony couldn’t honestly say who the hell was hit, if anyone. He was so fucking cold that he suspected if someone set a bomb off under his ass he still wouldn’t feel it.
Acker was still struggling and another bang rent through the night air.
This time Tony felt the power behind the shot.
He took stock.
Still nothing.
But Acker screamed and relinquished his hold on the gun - Tony tossed it as far as he could; it landed with a thump a little distance away.
Rolling off Acker and onto his back Tony gulped large lungful after large lungful of air. He turned his head and watched the agent. Nope, wasn’t moving much apart from digging his heels into the ground and moaning. He didn’t have a clue where Acker had been hit; just pleased that the man seemed incapacitated.
Okay. Now he was really done, didn’t have the energy to think let alone get up again.
He turned his head again so he was staring at the canopy above.
The snow was still falling and he watched as the large flakes cascaded down. It looked strange from this angle and it kind of reminded him of when the Starship Enterprise went all long and skinny as it raced off into hyperspace.
A worried face loomed into view, tiny head encased in a huge black hood.
“Tony?”
He tried to smile at Imee but his mouth didn’t want to form the shape.
She reached out a hand and jabbed his shoulder, prodding him with her gloved hand.
“Tony!”
Prod, prod - she was worse than Kate; she’d liked to jab him hard too.
“Tony!”
The little girl’s voice rose in volume each time she spoke. She sounded scared.
He really tried to focus on her, tell her it was okay now but the snow looked so pretty.
Then Imee was rocking him back and forth, both hands on his chest as she shook.
And that felt good too and for the first time that night he actually felt contented.
For the first time that night he actually felt warm.
Blissfully warm and sleepy.
Tony blinked his eyes shut as a snowflake landed in his eye.
Yup, the snow was definitely pretty.
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~
At he sound of the first gun shot Gibbs felt the world stop dead; when he heard the second and third he just didn’t know what the hell to think.
They were close though.
He could hear someone calling Tony’s name, a young voice that sounded panicked, and it did nothing to alleviate his fears.
“This way,” Gibbs shifted direction slightly with Vance hot on his heels.
All he’d experienced throughout the years hadn’t prepared Gibbs for what he saw in that clearing.
A little girl sat amongst several prone bodies and stared at them both; her eyes were huge in the beam of his light but what shocked him most was the gun she bravely held in front of her.
The image was so wrong.
She was shaking in fear and the Sig was way too big and heavy for her small hands. Gibbs doubted she could actually fire it, even if she’d wanted to, with those big gloves she had on - but that didn’t mean accidents couldn’t happen.
Gibbs swung his flashlight and held up his hands in what he hoped was a non-threatening manner. Vance moved beside him and did the same. He kept his eyes on Tony who was lying flat on his back, looking way too still, but he kept calm.
“It’s okay, Honey, we’re here to help,” Gibbs softened his tone and spoke with a patience that would probably have had most people who knew him open mouthed with astonishment. “I’m just going to reach into my pocket and bring out my badge, I’m a federal agent, and you know what that is?”
Gibbs took a tentative step forward.
The girl shifted so she huddled over Tony, the gun still held in front of her, like a lioness protecting her cub, and as much as he hated seeing the image in front of him it also made him proud. Even though this little girl was obviously terrified she still projected an air of fierceness that was astounding.
Someone had taught her about values and responsibilities. She was still a baby but she was willing to stay and face a perceived danger instead of running away; that was damn impressive and DiNozzo must have made quite an impression on the girl for her to guard him like this.
Gibbs shared a look with Vance and the man nodded, giving him the reins.
“I’m Tony’s boss. See?” Gibbs lifted his badge up and shone the flashlight so she could see it. “We just want to help Tony, he’s hurt and he needs to get to a hospital.”
The large brown eyes appraised him, appraised them both.
It seemed like an age before she spoke, the distrust evident in her voice.
“The other man was an agent too and he wanted to hurt us. He tried to kill Tony.”
Damn, she was incredible. Gibbs couldn’t fault her logic.
“I’m Tony’s partner and it’s my job to…. to look after him,” she said firmly, the gun still pointing in their direction.
Gibbs looked across at Vance and gave a little smile. He could tell what was going through the director’s head, it was the same thing that was going through his, this little girl would make one hell of an agent when she grew up.
“I know you don’t trust us and that’s good, I can see why Tony wanted you as a partner, you’re smart but we really need to check on him. He doesn’t look good right now does he?” Gibbs reasoned.
He knew that he could have rushed her and grabbed the gun and there would be nothing she could realistically do but Gibbs felt it was important to give her a little respect. She was taking her job seriously and he didn’t feel he could take that away from her. God knows what had happened to her tonight. If giving her a little control back helped her in the long run then that’s what he’d do…even if it was taking too much time. Time maybe Tony didn’t have.
The girl silently looked at Tony and shook her head but she still didn’t budge.
“I tell you what I’m going to do…what’s your name? I’m Jethro and this is Leon,” he stated.
“Imee,” she responded quietly.
“Okay, Imee, I’ll tell you what I’m going to do and you can say if it’s okay with you.” Gibbs smiled again.
She nodded slowly.
“I’ll slowly walk over to you and I’m going to give you my gun. If I do anything you don’t like then you can shoot me. That work for you?” Gibbs gave her a half smile.
That seemed to get a reaction, Imee thought about it then looked over at Vance. Gibbs turned and raised his eyebrow at the director.
“Honey, you can have my gun too, I’ll stand right here until you say it’s okay to move,” Vance responded.
After a pause the girl nodded.
Gibbs grabbed Vance’s gun and holding each loosely, barrels pointing downwards, he walked over to the girl and gently laid them both in her lap. He had a back up jammed down the back of his pants although he doubted the girl was going to frisk him; but who knew, she was a tough cookie.
“I’m just going to check these two first, make sure they aren’t a threat anymore,” Gibbs told the girl again she nodded.
Quickly, he walked over to Grey. The man was dead, no disputing that, the shot to his stomach was messy and his eyes stared upwards, devoid of any life.
He moved over to the second body and shone his flashlight down.
Gibbs winced, couldn’t help it because there was a certain, fabulous poetry to the second gunshot wound he saw on the body and Gibbs wondered if DiNozzo had done it deliberately considering the man’s disgusting sexual practices.
Special Agent Acker was sprawled on the ground, dark blood pooling around his groin. Gibbs used his foot to nudge the bastard just in case he was playing possum but if he’d been alive there was no way he’d be silent, Acker would be screaming in falsetto and clutching what used to be his penis.
“They’re both dead,” he said to Vance and he could see the girl relax a fraction.
Kneeling down next to Tony he put the flashlight in his mouth whilst he pulled his gloves off.
He gently shook Tony’s shoulder, hoping to get a reaction.
“DiNozzo, hey, Tony,”
Using his right hand he felt Tony’s neck for a pulse.
Jesus, he’d felt warmer corpses but eventually he found a sluggish rhythm. Using the light from his flashlight he quickly checked over the rest of Tony’s body.
“How is he?” Vance asked.
“He’s alive, he’s bleeding from a nasty cut on his leg,” Gibbs called over to Vance. “We need to get him to a hospital ASAP, I’m pretty sure he’s hypothermic.”
“What does that mean?” the girl asked.
“He’s real cold, Imee,” Gibbs responded.
“Tony made me wear his coat and sweater and gloves,” her voice was barely registered above a whisper.
“Well, that’s what partners do,” Gibbs said simply. There was no way that DiNozzo would have stood by and let a child freeze on his watch even if giving her his own clothing had been a completely foolhardy thing to do.
He gently rocked Tony’s head over to one side to check for damage. The back of his skull was a bloodied mess of hair and flesh. Shit, he’d been right in surmising what had happened. This wasn’t good. How the hell he’d managed to carry on for so long with a head injury like that was baffling, but it shouldn’t have come as a huge surprise. Wouldn’t be the first time Tony had done something most people would have balked at, like pulling two people out of a deeply submerged car onto a dock and still having the energy to perform CPR.
Gibbs tugged off his jacket and tucked it around Tony; leaning down he talked softly into his ear
“DiNozzo, just hang on a little longer, you hear me.”
“Is he going to die?” Imee asked. The girl was weakening; the gun was now resting on her knees.
“Not if I can help it,” Gibbs turned around and crouched next to the little girl. “I need to ask you something important. There was another man, do you know who he was and what happened to him?”
Imee bit her lip.
“My mom worked for him; I didn’t like him.”
“What was his name?”
“Senator Reinhart,” Imee said.
Gibbs heard Vance inhale sharply and curse.
“Did he follow you out here?” Gibbs asked.
“Yes.” Imee nodded. “But it’s okay, Tony killed him. I heard him tell him.”
She pointed at Acker.
“Tony said he broke his neck.”
Again, Gibbs heard Vance wince.
Whether it was because DiNozzo had just killed a highly decorated senator or because he heard a girl who was younger than his daughter talking about something so harsh in such a matter-of-fact way, he couldn’t say. What he did know was that if Tony killed the man, he must have deserved it and it made things easier not having to worry about someone else running around with a gun.
Gibbs took a deep breath. Now he needed to move.
“Imee, I need you to look into my eyes and trust me because we’ve got to get Tony some help.” Gibbs held out his hand. “I need you to give me that gun.”
Imee blinked at him for what seemed like an eternity before she handed the Sig over. Gibbs used one of his gloves to hold it and placed the gun in an evidence bag.
“Thank you, now I want you to go with Leon over there and walk back to the house. There should be some police there and they will call your mom. That sound good for you?”
At his words the girl crumbled. Suddenly it all crashed down around her and she was back to being a little girl who just desperately wanted her mom.
“Here.” Gibbs held up Vance’s gun. Leon moved and grabbed it, putting it back in its holster. He held out his hand to Imee.
“C’mon Pumpkin, let’s get you back to your mom.”
Imee looked over at Gibbs and he nodded in encouragement.
She took one last look at Tony and placed her hand in the director’s.
They started back towards the house with Vance talking about his daughter and her love of basketball and Miley Cyrus.
Gibbs turned his focus back to Tony and checked his pulse again, then set about putting pressure on the wound to his leg.
“You never cease to amaze me, DiNozzo; only you can get into so much trouble on an assignment that’s not supposed to be dangerous.”
Vance had barely left and he was already glancing at his watch and cursing the lack of medical assistance.
It was taking too long.
And DiNozzo’s pulse was slowing with every minute that passed.
TBC
Comments are always welcome!
Chapter: 11/?
Fandom: NCIS
Author: cheekymice
Rating: PG13
Beta: Scousmuz1K
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
The look of astonishment on Grey's face would linger in Tony's mind for a long time. Not because he felt one iota of sorrow or pity for the man but the expression was just so incredulous and ever so faintly comical, as if Grey couldn't quite believe what had just happened; couldn't quite believe that Acker had just shot him.
Grey looked down and stared at the gaping hole in his centre before he clutched his stomach in astonishment and fell to his knees. He tried to speak but whatever he was trying to say only came out as a long, drawn-out gurgle before he slumped face first into the leaf mould and snow.
It wasn’t hard to know what Acker was thinking. Eliminate all the weak links if he were to contain this mess, including him.
It was a sound plan but it wasn’t going to work.
“Y-you d-doing a l-little h-housecleaning, A-Acker,” Tony stuttered as he struggled to get up. “N-not going to w-work…t-too m-many p-people involved.”
“Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve had too, DiNozzo. I’m real good at cover ups.” Acker growled smugly.
Tony somehow managed to get to his feet again. He swung his arm out and steadied himself with the aid of a tree and swallowed hard before he continued. The damn nausea was back and throwing up again would totally spoil the smug gloating tone he was going for.
“I b-bet y-you a-are but y-you k-know w-who I’ve b-b-been reporting t-to on t-this op?”
That got Acker’s attention.
“Gibbs isn’t all that special. He’s just a has-been waiting for retirement from what I’ve seen,” Acker spoke with a sense of bravado that didn’t quite match up to the look on his face.
“Oh y-you s-should b-be s-scared of G-Gibbs, A-Acker b-but h-he’s the l-least of y-your p-problems n-now. Not r-reporting to h-him. S-So y-you w-wanna k-know…”
“Shut it, DiNozzo,” Acker spat, giving Tony the impression that he was beginning to understand just how much he’d screwed up by allying himself to Commander Grey.
“S-Sec-Nav and d-director V-Vance both h-have a r-real h-hard-on for t-this c-case,” Tony baited. “T-They o-ordered t-this o-op a-and w-when I-I don’t r-report t-they aren’t g-going t-to t-throw e-every r-resource into f-f-finding o-out what h-happened, k-kill me a-and t-the e-end r-result will s-still l-lead s-straight b-back to y-you.”
“Shut the fuck up.” Oh, he was getting rattled.
“T-This i-is high l-level s-shit, A-Acker, a-and y-you d-don’t have t-the s-stones to k-keep y-your c-cool.” Tony paused not for dramatic effect but because he needed a moment to focus on staying on his feet. “M-Might as w-well h-hand y-yourself in n-now.”
Acker licked his lips and shook his head.
“Not going to happen, DiNozzo.” Special Agent Acker shifted his stance and aimed the Sig with a new vigour. “This will be a pleasure; been fantasizing about shooting you for months. I just never thought I’d ever get the chance.”
So this was it.
Damn, Tony had hoped the end would be more dramatic than this but you had to roll with the punches.
He wrapped his arms around himself and went with nonchalance as a theme, which was difficult to pull off considering he was just about to die, but James Dean would have been proud.
“C-C’mon, if y-you a-are g-going t-to d-do it. I’m f-freezing m-my ass o-off h-here,” Tony said with a sense of resignation.
To be honest he was looking forward to a little heat and the way he’d lived his life Tony knew he was going downwards; Satan probably had a special room ready for him complete with a dozen disgruntled ex’s to torment him for all eternity.
Then came the strangest thing.
The expected gunshot didn’t happen.
Instead Special Agent Acker cried out in pain and spun around in surprise.
Tony frowned and blinked as another missile hit Acker on the cheek. The agent yelped again, obviously not knowing what to make of this sneak attack.
There wasn’t much force behind the projectiles blows but they were having the desired effect and that gave Tony all the information he needed.
C’mon, just one more, Honey.
Another rock came sailing in from deep in the woods and hit Acker hard on the temple. He spun around again and pressed his palm against the bleeding cut above his eye, his focus on the person who was throwing stuff at him.
Using the distraction for the purpose that was intended, Tony raced forward. Employing his weight rather than any great skill with the maneuver, he barreled hard into Acker.
They both fell to the ground in a messy heap.
In a frantic scrabble, Tony grabbed for the gun in the other man’s hand. He was uncoordinated, all his fighting skills had flown out the window probably the same time the baseball bat had connected with his skull, but fear and panic made for a powerful combination.
He managed to twist Acker’s wrist downwards and away but now there was a movie cliché grapple going on with the gun sandwiched between them.
When the gun fired Tony couldn’t honestly say who the hell was hit, if anyone. He was so fucking cold that he suspected if someone set a bomb off under his ass he still wouldn’t feel it.
Acker was still struggling and another bang rent through the night air.
This time Tony felt the power behind the shot.
He took stock.
Still nothing.
But Acker screamed and relinquished his hold on the gun - Tony tossed it as far as he could; it landed with a thump a little distance away.
Rolling off Acker and onto his back Tony gulped large lungful after large lungful of air. He turned his head and watched the agent. Nope, wasn’t moving much apart from digging his heels into the ground and moaning. He didn’t have a clue where Acker had been hit; just pleased that the man seemed incapacitated.
Okay. Now he was really done, didn’t have the energy to think let alone get up again.
He turned his head again so he was staring at the canopy above.
The snow was still falling and he watched as the large flakes cascaded down. It looked strange from this angle and it kind of reminded him of when the Starship Enterprise went all long and skinny as it raced off into hyperspace.
A worried face loomed into view, tiny head encased in a huge black hood.
“Tony?”
He tried to smile at Imee but his mouth didn’t want to form the shape.
She reached out a hand and jabbed his shoulder, prodding him with her gloved hand.
“Tony!”
Prod, prod - she was worse than Kate; she’d liked to jab him hard too.
“Tony!”
The little girl’s voice rose in volume each time she spoke. She sounded scared.
He really tried to focus on her, tell her it was okay now but the snow looked so pretty.
Then Imee was rocking him back and forth, both hands on his chest as she shook.
And that felt good too and for the first time that night he actually felt contented.
For the first time that night he actually felt warm.
Blissfully warm and sleepy.
Tony blinked his eyes shut as a snowflake landed in his eye.
Yup, the snow was definitely pretty.
~~~~~~ ~~~~~~
At he sound of the first gun shot Gibbs felt the world stop dead; when he heard the second and third he just didn’t know what the hell to think.
They were close though.
He could hear someone calling Tony’s name, a young voice that sounded panicked, and it did nothing to alleviate his fears.
“This way,” Gibbs shifted direction slightly with Vance hot on his heels.
All he’d experienced throughout the years hadn’t prepared Gibbs for what he saw in that clearing.
A little girl sat amongst several prone bodies and stared at them both; her eyes were huge in the beam of his light but what shocked him most was the gun she bravely held in front of her.
The image was so wrong.
She was shaking in fear and the Sig was way too big and heavy for her small hands. Gibbs doubted she could actually fire it, even if she’d wanted to, with those big gloves she had on - but that didn’t mean accidents couldn’t happen.
Gibbs swung his flashlight and held up his hands in what he hoped was a non-threatening manner. Vance moved beside him and did the same. He kept his eyes on Tony who was lying flat on his back, looking way too still, but he kept calm.
“It’s okay, Honey, we’re here to help,” Gibbs softened his tone and spoke with a patience that would probably have had most people who knew him open mouthed with astonishment. “I’m just going to reach into my pocket and bring out my badge, I’m a federal agent, and you know what that is?”
Gibbs took a tentative step forward.
The girl shifted so she huddled over Tony, the gun still held in front of her, like a lioness protecting her cub, and as much as he hated seeing the image in front of him it also made him proud. Even though this little girl was obviously terrified she still projected an air of fierceness that was astounding.
Someone had taught her about values and responsibilities. She was still a baby but she was willing to stay and face a perceived danger instead of running away; that was damn impressive and DiNozzo must have made quite an impression on the girl for her to guard him like this.
Gibbs shared a look with Vance and the man nodded, giving him the reins.
“I’m Tony’s boss. See?” Gibbs lifted his badge up and shone the flashlight so she could see it. “We just want to help Tony, he’s hurt and he needs to get to a hospital.”
The large brown eyes appraised him, appraised them both.
It seemed like an age before she spoke, the distrust evident in her voice.
“The other man was an agent too and he wanted to hurt us. He tried to kill Tony.”
Damn, she was incredible. Gibbs couldn’t fault her logic.
“I’m Tony’s partner and it’s my job to…. to look after him,” she said firmly, the gun still pointing in their direction.
Gibbs looked across at Vance and gave a little smile. He could tell what was going through the director’s head, it was the same thing that was going through his, this little girl would make one hell of an agent when she grew up.
“I know you don’t trust us and that’s good, I can see why Tony wanted you as a partner, you’re smart but we really need to check on him. He doesn’t look good right now does he?” Gibbs reasoned.
He knew that he could have rushed her and grabbed the gun and there would be nothing she could realistically do but Gibbs felt it was important to give her a little respect. She was taking her job seriously and he didn’t feel he could take that away from her. God knows what had happened to her tonight. If giving her a little control back helped her in the long run then that’s what he’d do…even if it was taking too much time. Time maybe Tony didn’t have.
The girl silently looked at Tony and shook her head but she still didn’t budge.
“I tell you what I’m going to do…what’s your name? I’m Jethro and this is Leon,” he stated.
“Imee,” she responded quietly.
“Okay, Imee, I’ll tell you what I’m going to do and you can say if it’s okay with you.” Gibbs smiled again.
She nodded slowly.
“I’ll slowly walk over to you and I’m going to give you my gun. If I do anything you don’t like then you can shoot me. That work for you?” Gibbs gave her a half smile.
That seemed to get a reaction, Imee thought about it then looked over at Vance. Gibbs turned and raised his eyebrow at the director.
“Honey, you can have my gun too, I’ll stand right here until you say it’s okay to move,” Vance responded.
After a pause the girl nodded.
Gibbs grabbed Vance’s gun and holding each loosely, barrels pointing downwards, he walked over to the girl and gently laid them both in her lap. He had a back up jammed down the back of his pants although he doubted the girl was going to frisk him; but who knew, she was a tough cookie.
“I’m just going to check these two first, make sure they aren’t a threat anymore,” Gibbs told the girl again she nodded.
Quickly, he walked over to Grey. The man was dead, no disputing that, the shot to his stomach was messy and his eyes stared upwards, devoid of any life.
He moved over to the second body and shone his flashlight down.
Gibbs winced, couldn’t help it because there was a certain, fabulous poetry to the second gunshot wound he saw on the body and Gibbs wondered if DiNozzo had done it deliberately considering the man’s disgusting sexual practices.
Special Agent Acker was sprawled on the ground, dark blood pooling around his groin. Gibbs used his foot to nudge the bastard just in case he was playing possum but if he’d been alive there was no way he’d be silent, Acker would be screaming in falsetto and clutching what used to be his penis.
“They’re both dead,” he said to Vance and he could see the girl relax a fraction.
Kneeling down next to Tony he put the flashlight in his mouth whilst he pulled his gloves off.
He gently shook Tony’s shoulder, hoping to get a reaction.
“DiNozzo, hey, Tony,”
Using his right hand he felt Tony’s neck for a pulse.
Jesus, he’d felt warmer corpses but eventually he found a sluggish rhythm. Using the light from his flashlight he quickly checked over the rest of Tony’s body.
“How is he?” Vance asked.
“He’s alive, he’s bleeding from a nasty cut on his leg,” Gibbs called over to Vance. “We need to get him to a hospital ASAP, I’m pretty sure he’s hypothermic.”
“What does that mean?” the girl asked.
“He’s real cold, Imee,” Gibbs responded.
“Tony made me wear his coat and sweater and gloves,” her voice was barely registered above a whisper.
“Well, that’s what partners do,” Gibbs said simply. There was no way that DiNozzo would have stood by and let a child freeze on his watch even if giving her his own clothing had been a completely foolhardy thing to do.
He gently rocked Tony’s head over to one side to check for damage. The back of his skull was a bloodied mess of hair and flesh. Shit, he’d been right in surmising what had happened. This wasn’t good. How the hell he’d managed to carry on for so long with a head injury like that was baffling, but it shouldn’t have come as a huge surprise. Wouldn’t be the first time Tony had done something most people would have balked at, like pulling two people out of a deeply submerged car onto a dock and still having the energy to perform CPR.
Gibbs tugged off his jacket and tucked it around Tony; leaning down he talked softly into his ear
“DiNozzo, just hang on a little longer, you hear me.”
“Is he going to die?” Imee asked. The girl was weakening; the gun was now resting on her knees.
“Not if I can help it,” Gibbs turned around and crouched next to the little girl. “I need to ask you something important. There was another man, do you know who he was and what happened to him?”
Imee bit her lip.
“My mom worked for him; I didn’t like him.”
“What was his name?”
“Senator Reinhart,” Imee said.
Gibbs heard Vance inhale sharply and curse.
“Did he follow you out here?” Gibbs asked.
“Yes.” Imee nodded. “But it’s okay, Tony killed him. I heard him tell him.”
She pointed at Acker.
“Tony said he broke his neck.”
Again, Gibbs heard Vance wince.
Whether it was because DiNozzo had just killed a highly decorated senator or because he heard a girl who was younger than his daughter talking about something so harsh in such a matter-of-fact way, he couldn’t say. What he did know was that if Tony killed the man, he must have deserved it and it made things easier not having to worry about someone else running around with a gun.
Gibbs took a deep breath. Now he needed to move.
“Imee, I need you to look into my eyes and trust me because we’ve got to get Tony some help.” Gibbs held out his hand. “I need you to give me that gun.”
Imee blinked at him for what seemed like an eternity before she handed the Sig over. Gibbs used one of his gloves to hold it and placed the gun in an evidence bag.
“Thank you, now I want you to go with Leon over there and walk back to the house. There should be some police there and they will call your mom. That sound good for you?”
At his words the girl crumbled. Suddenly it all crashed down around her and she was back to being a little girl who just desperately wanted her mom.
“Here.” Gibbs held up Vance’s gun. Leon moved and grabbed it, putting it back in its holster. He held out his hand to Imee.
“C’mon Pumpkin, let’s get you back to your mom.”
Imee looked over at Gibbs and he nodded in encouragement.
She took one last look at Tony and placed her hand in the director’s.
They started back towards the house with Vance talking about his daughter and her love of basketball and Miley Cyrus.
Gibbs turned his focus back to Tony and checked his pulse again, then set about putting pressure on the wound to his leg.
“You never cease to amaze me, DiNozzo; only you can get into so much trouble on an assignment that’s not supposed to be dangerous.”
Vance had barely left and he was already glancing at his watch and cursing the lack of medical assistance.
It was taking too long.
And DiNozzo’s pulse was slowing with every minute that passed.
TBC
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