------------"All or Nothing, Pt. 2"------------
Story by R. O. Knight
based on the hit television series "NCIS"
Created by Donald P. Bellisario
In the squad room back at NCIS HQ the team was fast asleep. They'd been at it all night trying to come up with some sort of lead as to the identity of the man responsible for putting Abby in the hospital, but to no avail.
It was around about 9:30 when Gibbs began to stir in his chair. He blinked a
couple of times and looked around taking in his surroundings. Gibbs suddenly leaned forward in his seat, shaking the sleep from his body as he did.
Over at Tony's desk there was a huge pile of papers on top of his desk, but Tony was nowhere to be seen.
Ziva had her seat leaned pretty far back, leaning on the wall.
McGee had chosen to sleep on the floor behind his desk, well actually the upper portion of his body was up under the desk while the lower portion stuck out from behind it.
Gibbs took a moment to rub the sleep from his eyes.
"DiNozzo!" Gibbs barked, as he stood to stretch.
"Here Boss!" Tony declared, still half-asleep, as he bolted up from the center of the pile of papers on top of his desk. This action sent papers sprawling all over the floor around him.
Gibbs' shout also startled Ziva who lost her balance which sent the chair sprawling forward and caused her to slam her hands down hard on the surface of her desk. This jolted her to full alert mode. "I am awake...I am awake."
Tony and Ziva looked around and then finally began to re-adjust--slowly pulling themselves together.
Gibbs grinned, but that grin quickly faded as he looked around for McGee.
"Where's McGee?" Gibbs asked.
Tony and Ziva looked around for a moment before they both called his name at the same time. "McGee!" they shouted together.
Up under his desk, McGee was startled by Tony and Ziva's shouting and stupidly sat, or tried to sit, bolt upright, and slammed his head hard against the under side of his desk.
Thunk! "Ow!" McGee cried upon hitting his head.
Everyone turned towards McGee's desk.
"Probie?" Tony asked.
"I'm here...and I'm hurt." McGee said as he slid out from under his desk, rubbing his sore cranium.
"You alright McGee?" Gibbs asked.
"Yeah...I'll be fine." McGee replied still rubbing his sore spot.
"DiNozzo, got get us some coffee, will ya."
"Sure thing boss." Tony replied as he grabbed his coat off of the back of his chair.
Tony grabbed his Sig from his desk drawer and then he headed for the elevator.
"McGee, did you get anything from the phone records?" Gibbs asked, as he rebooted his computer.
McGee sat down in his chair and punched a few keys on his keyboard.
"Not much." McGee replied. "The number he called from checks back to a pre-paid cell-phone."
That bit of info did not make Gibbs very happy, and McGee knew it all too well.
"But if he calls again...I can try to trace it, and give you a location." McGee offered.
"IF he calls again." Gibbs repeated. "Ziva, anything from the crime scene?"
"Broken glass, blood...not much that would help us catch the guy." Ziva reported.
Gibbs rested his head in his hands. "In other words...we've got nothing."
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On the street outside the coffee shop that the NCIS team often frequented for their coffee needs, "The Coffee House", Tony found that it was closed.
A sign on the door read, "CLOSED DUE TO KITCHEN FIRE. REPAIRS IN PROGRESS."
"Hmm, weird." Tony muttered to himself. "Guess I'll try the place down the street instead." Tony said to himself.
Tony turned away from "The Coffee House" and headed off down the street.
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Ring! Ring! The telephone at Gibbs' desk rang.
Gibbs instinctively, without thinking, picked up the phone--maybe expecting to hear Ducky on the other end. "Gibbs." he said.
"Did you like my surprise Agent Gibbs?" the voice asked.
Gibbs realized who it was on the phone, and it made his blood run cold.
"You." Gibbs said coldly.
"Aw, what's wrong...you sound angry." the voice said.
"I will find you...and I will kill you."
"Tsk, Tsk, Tsk. I'm sorry you feel that way Agent Gibbs. But at least now you know how I feel." the voice said.
"Robert Botticelli. Do you remember him Agent Gibbs?" the voice asked menacingly.
"Yeah, I remember." Gibbs replied, unimpressed by the mysterious man's attempts to intimidate him. "He murdered two marines last year after they discovered his drug-ring and tried to rat him out." Gibbs recalled.
"Yes, very good. You do remember."
Gibbs looked around the squad room, kind of annoyed looking.
"Yeah, and I also remember that he's dead." Gibbs said.
"As do I, Agent Gibbs, as do I." the voice said
At about that time McGee and Ziva both realized who it was that Gibbs was talking to. Ziva got up from her desk, and moved closer to Gibbs' desk so she could hear the conversation better. McGee began quickly punching keys on his keyboard--patching into Gibbs' phone line, and starting a trace.
"Is that what this is all about?" Gibbs asked.
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Elsewhere in a building somewhere in Washington D.C. a man with real-short curly black hair, and deep green eyes, and a nice tan sits in an otherwise empty, dimly lit, room talking on a cell phone.
Beside the man is a brief case. The brief case is lying open, and next to it is a fully assembled sniper rifle lying on a pillow.
"You killed my him, Agent Gibbs...You killed my brother. And for that I will make you suffer like you have never suffered before!" the man barks angrily into the cell phone.
Gibbs' voice is heard over the cell phone. "And so now you plan to kill everyone that I care about, is that right?" Gibbs asked.
"Precisely Agent Gibbs. And if I were you, I wouldn't worry about catching me right now...rather, I would worry about Agent DiNozzo instead." the man said angrily.
Click! The man hung up on Agent Gibbs. He took a moment to collect himself before he picked up the sniper rifle and aimed it out the window that he sat next to.
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Back at NCIS HQ Gibbs slammed his phone down, and then he reached into his desk drawer and quickly pulled out his Sig.
Gibbs glanced over at Ziva who was still standing next to his desk.
"Ziva! Get DiNozzo on the phone now!" Gibbs barked as he bolted around his desk and headed for the elevator. "Tell him to stay INSIDE the coffee shop." Gibbs instructed.
"On it." Ziva replied as she picked up Gibbs' desk phone and dialed Tony's cell number.
"The trace didn't work...guess I didn't catch it quick enough." McGee mused as he stared at his computer monitor.
"Tony's not answering his phone." Ziva reported.
"You better keep trying...cause it sounds to me like Tony may be in trouble." McGee said.
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Outside Gibbs ran through the door and out onto the sidewalk/street, and ran as fast as he could down the street in the direction of "The Coffee House".
Gibbs knew that if he didn't reach DiNozzo in time, that that Psycho could kill him just as he had tried to kill Abby.
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Tony arrived at the little street-corner coffee stand owned by Stan Harris, and got in line.
"Stan sure does have a line...for this time of morning anyway." Tony observed.
While he waited in line behind 4 or 5 other people Tony realized that his cell phone was ringing. So he pulled it out, the caller ID said "Gibbs' Desk", and so Tony decided that he better answer it.
"Hey Boss, I was just gettin'-" Tony started.
Ziva's voice is heard over the phone. "This is not Gibbs Tony."
"Ziva?" Tony said.
"Yes, it is me...now listen." Ziva started. "Gibbs said to stay INSIDE coffee shop...we think that you are in danger."
"The Coffee House was closed Ziva." Tony informed her.
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At NCIS HQ.
"What?" Ziva asked, confused.
Tony's voice is heard over the phone.
"Yeah, there was some kind of fire in there kitchen, so they were closed." Tony informed her.
"So where are you then?" Ziva asked.
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Outside at Stan Harris' "JAVA-LAVA" street-corner coffee stand.
"Down the street at Stan's "JAVA-LAVA" coffee stand." Tony replied.
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Back at NCIS HQ.
McGee's desk phone rang. He answered it.
"McGee." he said into the phone.
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Outside "The Coffee House".
Gibbs is standing outside in front of "The Coffee House".
"McGee! Where's DiNozzo?" Gibbs barked through the phone.
"Boss!"
"Yeah McGee its me!" Gibbs snapped at McGee over the phone. "I'm outside "The Coffee House", but he's not here--it's closed."
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Back at NCIS HQ.
"Um uh...hold on just one second." McGee told his boss.
"Ziva, the boss wants to know where Tony is." McGee informed Ziva.
Ziva explained to McGee, quickly what Tony had just finished telling her.
"Uh, Boss Tony's down the street at Stan's...he said--" McGee started.
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Back on the street Gibbs looked around and took in his surroundings and that is when it hit him--right in the middle of McGee's sentence--the whole thing was a set up.
"The Coffee House" and most of that street were in the shade protected by awnings and overhangs. There was no way that this guy, even with a powerful scope and sniper rifle, would be able to get a clear shot anywhere in this/that area. He would need a place that was more--open air.
"Never mind McGee!" Gibbs snapped again, interrupting McGee mid-sentence. "It was a setup...he wanted Tony to go to Stan's." Gibbs informed him.
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Back at NCIS HQ.
"W-What? B-but that means-" McGee stumbled over his words.
"Tell Tony to take cover, and NOT to move until I get there!" Gibbs barked his instructions over the phone.
"Y-yes sir...on it boss." McGee studdered.
McGee informed Ziva of Gibbs' instructions as quickly as he could from across the bullpen.
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Back outside on the street Gibbs was still running, trying to reach Stan's coffee stand, and Tony.
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Tony strained to hear what Ziva was saying, but the construction crew one street over was making enough noise at this point that it was hard for him to hear.
"What? Ziva I can't...I can't hear you. There's too much noise..."
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Back at NCIS HQ.
Tony's voice is heard over the phone as Ziva continues to repeat Gibbs' instructions to him.
"I'm gonna have to call you back. There's just too much noise." Tony said.
"Tony, Gibbs said to...No, no Tony do not hang up! Tony!" Ziva tried, but Tony was right even she could hear the noise over the phone.
McGee stood up behind his desk. "W-What is it--what's wrong?" McGee stammered.
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"What about Gibbs?" Tony asked, loudly, over the noise.
He stepped out of the line and covered one ear with his free hand to try and block out some of the noise.
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Gibbs was finally within sight and earshot of Tony. Tony had his phone to his ear, talking probably to Ziva.
He began yelling as he moved closer and tried to get Tony's attention. "DiNozzo!" Gibbs shouted over the noise.
Tony couldn't hear him over the noise though, but still Gibbs persisted in his endeavor. "DiNozzo!" he shouted louder.
Tony suddenly became aware of someone calling his name, and it wasn't Ziva (over the phone). He turned slightly and searched the crowd on the street with his eyes until he spotted Gibbs, and turned so he was almost fully facing Gibbs.
"Boss!" Tony shouted, a smile on his face, as he waved his phone in the air.
Gibbs finally had Tony's attention. People were pushing past Gibbs, as Gibbs was trying to reach Tony.
"Get off the street!" Gibbs shouted.
"What?" Tony yelled back.
"Get off the street!" Gibbs shouted again.
"I can't understand you!" Tony tried to yell back.
"Get off the-"
Bang! The sound of the gun shot echoed through the streets. People on the street began to panic, and started running off in all directions. It was pandemonium.
Gibbs suddenly found himself back on the roof top where Ari shot Kate.
......FLASHBACK SEQUENCE......
Gibbs and Tony were helping Kate up off of the ground.
"Protection detail's over Kate." Gibbs said.
"You did good." Tony added.
"For once, DiNozzo's right."
Kate stands up. "Wow, I thought I'd die before I ever heard that." Kate chuckled.
A Gun shot is fired and hits Kate in the head. She falls to the ground, dead. Blood sprays on DiNozzo and Gibbs.
"Ari..." Gibbs muttered, as he turned in the direction of the shot.
......FLASHBACK SEQUENCE......
Gibbs watched in horror as Tony slumped forward to the ground--his expression reflecting fear as his face turned ghostly white. It all happened in slow motion at first, but then things, seemingly, returned to their normal speed as Gibbs whipped out his Sig and assumed a defensive position. He aimed his Sig up in the direction in which the shot came from his eyes desperately searching--hoping maybe he might catch some glimpse of the shooter, and where he was hiding.
Gibbs moved over to Tony's side, and rolled him over--he had been hit.
"Stay with me DiNozzo!" Gibbs barked, as he dropped his Sig and reached for Tony's shirt to rip it open as blood stained it.
Gibbs then noticed that Tony's phone was still on, and he could hear Ziva's frantic voice coming through the receiver. Gibbs snatched up Tony's phone as he tried to do multiple tasks at one time.
"Ziva!" Gibbs barked.
"Gibbs, where's Tony?" Ziva asked frantically.
"I need an ambulance at the corner of Connecticut and Lexington street!" Gibbs instructed.
"Why? What happened? Is Tony alright?" Ziva began rambling off questions uncontrollably.
"Damn it Ziva, just get me an ambulance down here...Now!" Gibbs barked.
By that point a small crowd of onlookers had begun to gather on the sidewalk and street. They watched as Gibbs moved around Tony frantically in an attempt to keep his Senior Field Agent alive.
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Back at NCIS HQ.
Ziva tried to pull herself together as she hung up the phone, and then struggled to dial the number for 911.
When the dispatch operator finally answered Ziva began to rifle off Gibbs instructions/directions.
This frightened McGee a little bit, and he quickly moved out from behind his desk and over towards Ziva.
"What happened?" McGee demanded, nervously, as he stepped up to her side.
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Tony was rushed into the hospital's emergency/ambulance entrance. The EMTs quickly handing him off to the doctors and nurses on staff at Washington D.C. Memorial Hospital. Gibbs followed closely behind, trying to keep up with what was going on and what was being said.
Finally a nurse stopped Gibbs and told him that he could not come back with them, and that he had to stay in the waiting area.
"Will he be alright?" Gibbs asked, slightly out of breath.
"I can't say, sir, but if you'll just-" the nurse started, motioning towards the waiting area.
"Will He be Alright!?" Gibbs demanded, loudly.
"I can't say sir. You just brought him in, but when we do...you'll be the first to know." the nurse said making direct eye contact with Gibbs to show him that she was not so easily intimidated.
Gibbs rolled his eyes at the nurse, frustrated. "Fine." he said.
The nurse walked away and left Gibbs to wait in the waiting area.
Suddenly Gibbs' cell phone rang, reluctantly, he pulled it out of his pocket and answered it without even checking the caller ID.
"Two down, Agent Gibbs...three to go." the voice said.
"You bastard!" Gibbs shouted quietly into the phone.
"Temper, Temper." the voice taunted him.
"I will find you." Gibbs threatened. "You hear me...Next time I pull the trigger!" Gibbs said, all the while his anger level and his voice level rising.
"You're Dead!" Gibbs shouted into the phone.
Click! He hung up on the mysterious man on the other end of the line, unaware that everyone in the waiting area was staring at him.
Suddenly McGee and Ziva burst threw the hospital's doors jogging straight for Gibbs.
"Where is he?" Ziva asked quickly.
Gibbs turned to look at the rest of his team.
"Where is Tony!?" Ziva demanded.
"Ziv-Ziva just calm down...I'm sure he's fine." McGee said, as he tried to calm Ziva.
"He--He is going to be fine...right boss?' McGee asked, nervous and a little on edge. (Mostly because Ziva drove.)
Gibbs just shrugged his shoulders.
"I-I don't know. We just got here, and they took him back there to-" Gibbs said as he pointed in the direction that the doctors had taken him.
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The next day was horrible for the team. Ziva and McGee sat in the squad room back at NCIS, as per Gibbs' instructions. Both of them tried to process everything that had happened so far. McGee was a little bit more shaken than Ziva was, or at least He thought so anyway.
On their way back to NCIS from the hospital there had been an attempt on McGee's life--it was unsuccessful though.
Gibbs had called and told Ducky and Jenny about Tony. Ducky had volunteered to travel back to Washington D.C. hospital to stay with Tony, while Jenny staid with Abby, who was now awake, at Bethesda.
"Uuhhh! What is taking so long!?" Ziva demanded of no one in particular.
"I'm sure Gibbs will call when he hears something new." McGee said trying to reassure Ziva and himself.
"It has been almost a day and a half, McGee...I think they would know something by now!" Ziva said venting angrily.
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On the elevator of the NCIS HQ, Gibbs was returning from the hospital after having been told that, at current, Tony had at best a 65 to 70% chance of making a full recovery, but that there was always that chance that something could go wrong. Other than that the doctors had promised to do everything that they could.
He suddenly hit the elevator's "STOP" switch causing it to come to a sudden halt between floors, and the lights to go down.
Gibbs stood there in silence trying to process everything that had happened and tried to make sense of it. But in his mind, for some reason, the pieces of the puzzle just didn't seem to want to fit together.
In his mind he kept comparing what happened to Tony with what happened to Kate. And then suddenly, without warning, his thoughts began to wander almost away from him.
"You were a good agent Kate." Gibbs said quietly to himself. "What would you do?" Gibbs said quietly to himself as he slumped down against the wall of the elevator.
......DREAM-LIKE SEQUENCE......
"Whatcha got Gibbs?" came the familiar voice.
Gibbs looked up at the figure now standing before him. "Kate?"
"You just gonna sit there...or are you gonna let me help you?" Kate said with a grin.
She was wearing the same outfit she had worn during her first encounter with Ari Haswari, and she had her hair down.
Gibbs just stood there staring at her. She was supposed to be dead...wasn't she?
"Kate...you're dead." Gibbs said, staring at her for a moment.
"I know...but you asked for me, and now here I am." Kate said.
"I-I don't know what to do, Kate." Gibbs said quietly.
Kate joined Gibbs on the floor beside him, leaning against the wall.
"It's not your fault you know?" Kate said looking at her feet, and then at Gibbs.
"Then why do I feel like it is?" Gibbs asked sternly.
Kate chuckled. "Because you think you can save the world, when you can't." Kate replied.
"He shot Abby...he shot Tony...he tried to shoot McGee. Thank God for Ziva, right." Kate said with a grin.
"Is there a point to this?" Gibbs asked, really not in the mood.
"Yeah Gibbs, you shot this guy's brother remember?"
"I remember Kate, so what." Gibbs said, and then suddenly wished that he hadn't said it that way.
"Well obviously, Gibbs, you broke his heart. And now he wants you to know how it feels." Kate replied.
"I could have figured that out Kate." Gibbs said.
Kate chuckled again. "Maybe."
"Did I forget to mention that he's arrogant and sloppy?" Kate asked with a grin.
"Sloppy?" Gibbs asked.
"Geez Gibbs, you really are a mess aren't you!?" Kate said as she turned to look at him.
"He thinks Abby and Tony are both dead." she told him.
Kate never did/had cease(ed) to amaze Gibbs--ever.
"Now come on." Kate said as she stood up.
Gibbs looked at her as she stood. "Where are we going?" he asked quietly, suddenly confused.
Kate extended a hand to Gibbs. Gibbs took her hand, and she pulled him up to his feet.
"WE aren't going anywhere...You, on the other hand, have a job to do." Kate said with a smile as she helped Gibbs to his feet.
Gibbs actually cracked a grin at that one. "Thanks Kate." Gibbs said.
Kate smiled at Gibbs. "You're welcome Gibbs." she replied.
"Congratulations by the way." Kate said with a grin. "She'll probably be stubborn and grouchy just like dear old Dad." Kate said with a chuckle.
......END OF DREAM-LIKE SEQUENCE......
"Thanks Kate." Gibbs said quietly.
He grinned as he flipped the "STOP" switch back to the "Go" position.
It was all starting to make sense in Gibbs' mind now.
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Suddenly the elevator pinged, the doors opened, and Gibbs stepped off.
"McGee, I need you bring up everything we have on Robert Botticelli." Gibbs instructed McGee as he entered the squad room.
"On it boss." McGee said somberly.
"How is Tony? Can we see him?" Ziva asked.
"After we catch this guy." Gibbs replied. "And I think I know how." Gibbs said quietly.
"But Gibbs-" Ziva tried.
"WHEN we CATCH this guy." Gibbs repeated placing more emphasis on the important key words.
Gibbs settled down behind his desk.
"The doctor's said Tony should make a full recovery. Ducky's at the hospital with him now. He's not awake yet, but Ducky will let us know when he does." Gibbs informed his team.
Ziva walked back to her desk and sat down. "Alright."
McGee finally managed to find the files on Robert Botticelli. "Got'em boss." McGee informed Gibbs.
"What does it say about his family?" Gibbs asked, as he turned his attention to McGee.
"Well, it says here that both of his parents are dead, he has one brother, and...oh, um, boss...Robert Botticelli is dead. Been dead since-"
"May of last year." Gibbs finished for him.
"Yeah, but how-?" McGee started.
"I'm the one who killed him." Gibbs replied.
Ziva and McGee looked at each other.
"What's his brother's name?" Gibbs asked.
"Umm...Raymond...Raymond Botticelli." McGee informed Gibbs.
Gibbs leaned back in his chair. "Raymond Botticelli...that's our guy." Gibbs said.
------------To Be Continued in "All or Nothing, Pt. 3"------------
Author's Chapter Notes:
The game continues and Tony is the next target of the psycho shooter. Will Gibbs reach him in time? Or is this Game Over for Agent DiNozzo? And Gibbs receives a little help from an unexpected friend.
Chapter End Notes:
Chapter 11. I hope that you guys have enjoyed the series so far, and I hope that you guys will continue to enjoy the series.
P.S. I just re-wrote this one today (March 26, 2009), so re-read it if you would like to...everything else afterwards will make more sense if you do. Enjoy and God Bless!!!
P.S. I just re-wrote this one today (March 26, 2009), so re-read it if you would like to...everything else afterwards will make more sense if you do. Enjoy and God Bless!!!