Past's ghosts are back

Chapter 13

"NO DAD!! WAKE UP!! PLEASE!!" yells Tony. "Ziva, is he...?".

She does not answer. She can not. She can't tell Tony she is not able to feel a pulse under her fingers. And she can't accept Senior is dead because off her. Because SHE has not seen the sniper in time. Damn it; she is the agent, not him. She was supposed to recognize the danger and avoid it and she could not do it. First Gibbs and now Senior...

She was right. Everyone who went near her ended up dead.

Tony looks at her girlfriend and understands immediately what she is thinking of. He knows that look in her eyes. He has seen it before, especially after Somalia. Although Ziva could seem a quiet person, Tony had always thought she would want to shout all her pain and questions without answer out.

"Why had Tali to die?

Why do I still feel it like it happened yesterday?

Why does my father not his daughter?".

Right now Tony can clearly see her dismay when she stares at the body in front of her. Her shoulders are visibly shaking while she is crying her heart out. For the first time in his whole life, Tony doesn't know what to say: not one of his movie quotes can describe the hole in his heart.

He calls for Ziva. He needs to hug her. They both need to make sure they are there for each other.

Ziva runs directly to Tony's open arms. They are both crying now.

Mcgee is looking at the lifeless body too. You can't tell what he is thinking about. His hand clings to the gun while he is trying to localize the shooter and protect Gibbs in the same time. He is visibly tensing, waiting for the bullet that will probably kill him.

But no shoot comes. Tim looks surprised to the sky and immediatly after to the buildings surrounding him. "This is the right moment to use that rifle. Why isn't the sniper firing?".

His thoughts are interrupted by Ziva's sobs. From his position he can also see that Tony is crying too, but he is doing it silently to not upset her. "Senior took the bullet for Ziva. He saved her".

Now Tim wants to cry too. It wasn't supposed to end like this. He was expecting to have a hard time saving Tony and making him recover, all things considered he was the one who was badly hurt and the team knew mafias had taken Senior to hurt emotionally his son and they didn't have interests in killing him. They had taken for granted he would have been alright. But they were wrong. Rule 8.

"I can't localize them! And this can only mean two things: there is no signal where they are now, which can't be possible beacuse I had made sure we could reach them everytime or... or they don't answer because they can't!!! But, wait, Gibbs wouldn't let anything happen to his team! And have they found Tony yet? There is definitely something hinky going on here!" says Abby.

"Dear Abigail, I understand your worries very well, but I think you should calm down a bit. Even though I hate saying something like this, we can do nothing. We are not agents. Now, I suggest you settle down a bit and, if we don't hear from them in a few hours, we'll start worring" suggests Ducky.

"NO! No way I'm going to stay here doing nothing! Seeing that photos of Tony has been enough! I'm not planning in repeating it for each of my friends! Not if I can avoid it!" and with that Abby storms out of the room and begins yelling to FBI agents.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU ALL DOING?

FOUR OF OUR AGENTS ARE OUT THERE, WE DON'T KNOW WHERE, WE DON'T KNOW WHETHER THEY ARE WELL OR NOT, AND YOU'RE STANDING IN A FEDERAL AGENCY SURVELLEING LAB THECS AND DOCS?

You know, it actually seems more stupid saying it out loud... but, by the way, MOVE YOUR ASSES TO THE BUILDING AND SAVE THEM!".

The unlucky agents stares at Abby without saying a word.

"I'm really relieved you agreed. It's time we have a trip to a very creepy hospital. We must save our friends!" cheers the goth.

"We should ask our superior. You have to understand that this is not a decision we can take now. We must reflect carefully on this, Miss Sciuto.

We could break the captors' rules and get all of them killed. Do you understand what I am saying?" speaks eventually one of the agents.

Abby's answer comes almost immediately. "I know what we risk, but I have a strange gut feeling on this. Please, you have trust me!".

"We don't authorise operations on gut feelings. We need proves. So, unless you hear somthing directly from Gibbs, which is unlikely because they are in the middle of a difficult negotiation, you have to stay here. Quiet".

"But...".

"No buts! You are preventing us from doing our job! They order us to protect people and we do as they say. Period, I've had enough!" bursts eventually the agent.

"You do not treat a lady like this, mister!" AND YOU DO NOT CUT ME OFF!!! I'm trying to save my friend, damn it! Why does anyone listen to me? Is it because I don't have a badge like you? I can make one, you know. And it will so alike you will never it is a fake!".

"I don't doubt we will, Miss Sciuto. But the question here is: why are you out of your room?" asks Tobias Fornell.

"Toby, I'm so glad you are here! These idiots wouldn't listen to me!!".

By now every agent is probably thinking "Toby? Idiots? And why is our boss smiling to her?".

Completly unaware of what people are thinking, Abby smiles for the first time that day.

"We're going there Abby. We need to save our friends" agrees Fornell.

meanwhile...

"Tim, come here damn it! They've shoot five times more! You aren't safe!" yells Ziva.

"No way! I'm not leaving Gibbs!" shouts back Mcgee, stubbornly laying over the older man. "You would do the s...".

"Shhh... have you heard?" asks suddenly Ziva. But she is only given questioning looks by her team-mates. "I'm sure it was something...".

"Freeze!! FBI!!".

The shouts spread themselves through the whole hospital and his old parking lot too, where they are clearly heard by Gibbs' team.

"The cavalry has come... about time..." whispers Tony, locking eyes with his friends. They are all dangerously on the edge of crying for relief.