Okay-my muse is in full control-so here's Chap 3!
Chapter 3
Gibbs flinched as he heard shots fired. He’d just worked loose from the handcuffs holding him to a chair, then he managed to stand upright, wincing at his stiff legs.
“Damn, I’m getting too old for this.”<br>
Going to the foot-high window in the wall of the dingy storage room, he peered outside and saw a figure run from the back of a white van, then disappear into the shadows. Suddenly he heard footsteps. Hiding behind the metal door, he waited until he saw the door open and a disheveled Abby pushed inside. Before Palmer could discover he was free, he slammed his body against the door, knocking their assailant onto the floor.
“How….?” Palmer rolled over on his back, then pulled his gun from his waistband and aimed it at Abby.
“Stay very still, Gibbs, or Ducky’ll be weighing her liver.” He threatened.
At once Gibbs froze, seeing the fear in the woman’s eyes.
The lab assistant got up slowly, then exited backwards through the door, slamming it closed.
Gibbs exhaled, then reached down and gently lifted a shaking Abby off the cold floor.
“Gibbs, I’m sorry, I should have moved out of the way…” she sniffed, then the older man freed her from the handcuffs and took her hands in his.
“Abby, it’s okay, you didn’t do anything bad. Did he hurt you?” he asked worriedly, seeing a bruise on her cheek.
She started to shake her head, then she nodded, and Gibbs swore quietly as he hugged her.
“It’s all right, we’ll get out of this. Tell me what happened?”<br>
As Abby explained, Kate managed to stand and unwind herself from the seat, then she cautiously climbed out of the van and looked around, seeing she was in back of a rundown industrial building, discarded medical vans and trucks parked all around.
“You’re a regular Houdini, Kate.”
Whirling around, she saw Jimmy Palmer, winded but still holding his weapon, come out of the shadows.
“Yeah, and you’re a real sleezeball. What’s in this for you, Jimmy, control, proving you’re a bigger man then Gibbs?” Kate’s anger welled up in her.
Furious, the formerly meek lab assistant backhanded her, then seized her arm and propelled her toward the building. As they reached the entrance, she caught a glimpse of a man in the shadows, and she started to crumple.
“Oh, my stomach….” She groaned, and startled, Palmer let her go.
Instantly she lashed out with her legs, then before he could react, Tony launched himself at her captor. As both men fell to the ground, Kate got out of the way, then saw the gun on the ground and reached for it with her cuffed hands.
“No you don’t!” Palmer wriggled loose from Tony’s grip, then kicked him in the head, momentarily stunning him. He grabbed the gun and hit Kate in the face, then dragged her with him as he got up and ran into the building.
Tony staggered to his feet, then followed them in, only to lose them in the icy darkness.
Fumbling in his pockets, he pulled out a flashlight and followed a corridor, then stopped when he saw light under a door.
Trying the door, he found it locked, then pounded on it. “Hey, Gibbs, are you there, boss?”<br>
Two voices answered him. “Tony!” , “DiNozzo!”<br>
Pulling out a pick, he shined a light and unlocked the door, then pushed it open.
Blinking in the light, he saw Gibbs and Abby, who threw her arms around him. “Tony!”<br>
Gibbs tried to look stern. “DiNozzo, what took you so long?”<br>
“Little scuz called Palmer. We’ve got to find him, Boss, he’s got Kate!”<br>
Furious, Gibbs growled, “Come on, let’s get him. Abby, stay close to us.”<br>
“Yes, sir!” she exclaimed, energized by being with them and her desire to pound the daylights out of Palmer.
Ahead of them, Kate struggled and fought with Palmer, trying to delay him until help arrived. Somewhere along the way the man had lost his glasses, so he was inadvertently headed back the way they had come in.
Frustrated, Palmer realized they were back in the entryway of the building, and he slammed Kate against the wall. “One more move by you and I’ll set this off!” he gritted, showing her a small radio control.
Kate stared at it, “What, little Jimmy built himself a bomb, you’re going to kill us all to prove what?”<br>
“Myself, damn it, to you Kate and to Abby. I’m tired of being the doctor’s stooge, of being made fun of by DiNozzo and threatened by McGee and patronized ….but you’re paying attention to me now, aren’t you, Kate?”<br>
She forced herself to look him in the eyes, then smile. “Why, Jimmy, I guess I underestimated you. Maybe if you took off my handcuffs, we might go somewhere and talk..hmmm?”<br>
An eerie, boyish grin lit his face. “Sure, Kate, turn around, I’ll unlock them, here…”
He pulled the keys out of his pocket, then unlocked the one cuff. Kate took her free hand and put it under his chin. “Jimmy…..”<br>
He gazed into her eyes dreamily. “Yes, Kate?”<br>
“Screw you!” she spat, driving her knee into his groin, then yanking herself away from him. As he howled in pain, she reached for his gun, only for him to grab at it, dropping his radio control to the ground. Instantly an explosion went off, and the building shook.
“No!” Kate yelled, seeing Palmer lunge for the box, and she socked him in the face, sending him unconscious to the ground. She picked up his gun and ran down the corridor, praying that she wasn’t too late.
“Gibbs! Abby! Tony, answer me!” she called, only seeing dust and crumbled masonry
ahead. A faint “Kate” sounded back, then Tony yelled “get out of here, the place is coming down!”<br>
“Not without Gibbs.” She thought, doubling back.
Kate limped back to the entrance, seeing Palmer still unconscious. She went past him, only to feel a hand on her leg, yanking her backwards.
Taken by surprise, she stumbled and fell, only to find Palmer was on his feet. She raised his gun and pulled the trigger, only to find it was out of bullets.
“You think you’re so smart, I’m not about to carry only one gun.” The furious man stood over her, holding a 45’. He clicked the safety off. “Get up Kate, I still can get out of this, I only need one hostage.”<br>
“No, Palmer, you aren’t going anywhere.”
Kate smiled, relieved, as Gibbs stepped out of the shadows, Tony and Abby behind him.
Palmer didn’t move. “No? I still have a gun, I still have Kate in my line of fire. You don’t think I’ll pull the trigger?”<br>
He raised his weapon, then a shout came from behind him. “Down, Kate!”<br>
A gunshot sounded.
TBC ;D