Chapter 40
"How far out, Tim?" Gibbs asked, white-knuckling the steering wheel. He was staring at the road and listening for his phone. His guts was in knots that his phone had not rung.
"Twenty more miles." Tim said.
Gibbs said nothing. He just glared out the windshield and floored it.
Tim barely managed to hold onto his laptop and his lunch as Gibbs maneuvered through the city streets.
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Kate was concerned about Tony. He was sweating, and he was mumbling. That was, when he wasn't moaning. He seemed restless, too. She needed something to cool him down. She was grateful for the rain. There was a water barrel right outside the back door. She had gotten the whiskey bottle full a few times to give them both something to drink. She took a swallow of the rain water, and then gave some to Tony, making sure he got a couple big swallows.
Kate put her hand to Tony's forehead. It was hot. She then moved her hands to his chest and began to unbutton his shirt. She needed to cool him down, find a way to lower his temperature.
"Hey," Tony said, opening eyes. "…at least…buy me dinner." Then he closed his eyes again.
Kate smiled and shook her head, but didn't say anything. She finished unbuttoning and laid the shirt open. Kate ripped up the tablecloth she had used to cover him up. She doused a piece in water and began to wipe his chest down.
It seemed to help. Tony's breathing evened out a little and he didn't seem to be moaning as much. She made sure she kept the rag cold by continually pouring water on it. She watched his reaction. He seemed to be resting, and she let herself relax a little. She checked the wound, well the bandage anyway, and it didn't appear to have any more blood on it.
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Gibbs and Tim met up with the local LEOs just outside BoomTown. Gibbs showed pictures of Tony and Kate around. They then divided the area into searchable portions. They decided they would check in every 15 minutes by walkie-talkie. Each team headed off.
An hour and a half went by with just regular check-ins, then came the news Gibbs had been waiting to hear. He and Tim raced to the location. One of the other teams had located his agents.
Gibbs leaned down beside Tony, taking in the bandage on his leg.
"Hey, DiNozzo." Gibbs said.
Tony opened his eyes. "Boss."
Gibbs waited trying to get a feel for what was going on. He gently patted Tony's injured leg.
"Hurts." Tony said weakly, struggling to keep his eyes open.
Gibbs watched Tony for a few moments, after he closed his eyes again. Tim, meanwhile, had called 9-1-1. He then called Abby and Ducky and the director to tell them Tony and Kate's had been found. He didn't know about Tony's injury yet.
When Gibbs was satisfied Tony was okay, he turned his attention to Kate.
"He got shot in the leg." Kate said. "We were leaving this house. We were just asking questions. We weren't getting any answers. And the next thing we know, a shot rings out. We hurried to the car. Tony floored it and we got out of there. They shot the car as, I'm sure, you know."
Gibbs nodded. They had found the car and it had a couple flat tires and no back glass. The body had several bullet holes in it, also.
"They shot out the tires and Tony lost control. We skidded off the road." Kate continued. "We didn't want to be sitting ducks, so we had to abandon the car. We kept moving until we were sure we weren't being followed, and until Tony couldn't go any further. I'm not sure when Tony got shot. Tony never told me he had been hit." Kate explained. "I just looked at him, saw that he was limping, and then I noticed he was bleeding."
They both looked down the alley as they heard the ambulance enter. They moved out of the doorway to give the workers access. Gibbs quickly thanked the locals for their help before getting into the ambulance to ride with Tony. Kate and Tim rode in the car.
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Tony looked up at Gibbs as Gibbs sat down at the head of his stretcher. "…did good, Gibbs."
Gibbs just looked at Tony, confused. "Kate? What'd she do, Tony?"
"…bullet…." Tony said.
"What about it, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked. He was not sure how long Tony would be able to talk to him. He was so weak.
" operated…" Tony said, he was, again, fighting to keep his eyes open.
"She took the bullet out?" Gibbs asked, amazed.
Tony nodded just as he closed his eyes.
Gibbs laid his hand on Tony's shoulder. "Take it easy, Tony. We'll be there soon."
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"Oh, I forgot…" Kate patted her jacket pocket. She had wrapped the bullet in a piece of tablecloth and had stashed it there.
"What?" Tim asked as he did his best to keep up with the ambulance.
"The bullet."
"What about it?" Tim asked thoroughly confused.
"I meant to give it to Gibbs." Kate replied.
"You have the bullet? How can you have the bullet?" Tim asked.
Kate sighed. "Tony …I took it out. He…we didn't know how long it would be until the help came. He talked me through it."
Tim shook his head. It was hard to believe. But it had to be true. Kate had the bullet in her pocket. "You preformed…surgery?"
Kate nodded.
"How was it?"
Kate shook her head. "Pretty horrible, bloody, I had to cut the wound open." Kate shivered involuntarily. "I used Tony's knife. He…he needed to be able to…see the bullet."
Tim grimaced. "But you did it?"
Kate nodded. "Evidently pretty well, Tony seemed to be happy."
"I…you used something…infection?"
"I found a bottle of whiskey."
"Found?" Tim asked.
"We were sharing the building with…who knows. But I managed to find a bottle of whiskey that hadn't been opened."
"You didn't have any…visitors?" Tim questioned as he parked the car.
Kate shook her head. "If there was anyone in there, they stayed away. I guess they didn't want any trouble."
Tim nodded as they both get out and headed to the ER.
TBC
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