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Tony gasped as he ducked behind an dumpster in a long alleyway. His breath was coming in ragged heaves, chest aching. It was difficult to tell whether it was from the running, his bout with the plague, or the fact that there was a bullet lodged in his leg that was oozing thick, crimson blood every time he moved. Still, he had managed to run at least a couple yards before ducking into an alleyway and tucking himself away. He would never be able to stay ahead of the perpetrator if he tried to keep running while his brain began to grow fuzzy.
He panted as he grasped his useless left leg and pulled it back behind his right to tuck it out of sight. It hurt like hell, and Tony kept gritting his teeth after wave after wave of radiating pain traveled down his extremity. The pain had his stomach churning, forcing himself to swallow thickly against it.
“Sure, volunteer to start the stakeout. It would be fun they said,” Tony grumbled, head leaning back against the dumpster. The smell of rotting food churned his stomach even more, and he had to fight against the urge to vomit.
Just when Tony was about to reach out his phone to let someone know what was going on, he heard the sound of gunfire.
Tony ducked forward, hands over his head to protect it. He fought to control his breathing as he had instinctively tried to pull his knees up to his chest, which had aggravated the bullet wound in a way that he hadn’t expected, and hadn’t prepared for. A scream fought to tear it’s way through Tony’s body and he was forced to resort to sinking his teeth into the inside of his cheek. His back arched and his fingers sprawled on his thighs, digging in to keep himself from verbally reacting.
Footsteps were the next sound that Tony detected. It echoed down the entrance to the alleyway and gradually grew closer. A foot splashed into a puddle and dragged forward as though the assailant was shuffling when they walked.
“I know you’re down here,” the man called. “I shot you once! Don’t think I won’t shoot you again!”
‘Perfect,’ Tony thought, not daring to move an inch. ‘One would think one bullet would be enough for this psycho. Apparently not!’
The steps drew closer, and Tony could practically hear the excitement in the man’s breathing.
“Come on, Agent. Or are you too much of a coward to show yourself? Because I will find you,” the man roared.
Tony swallowed a heavy grunt. ‘I don’t doubt that. I’m guessing someone woke up on the wrong side of life this morning.’
The steps grew enticingly closer. Tony didn’t even have to look to know that he was only about three yards away. His stride was average according to the footprints he had left at the first crime scene. Tony calculated the time it would the man to reach him, arriving at a timeframe of a little over a minute. That may not seem like a long time, but for Tony, that could be a lifetime.
Tony flinched when he heard the safety of the pistol the Petty Officer was holding was clicked off and the hammer pulled back. Tony would’ve recognized that sound anywhere and it made his heart plummet into his stomach.
Suddenly, the man stepped around the corner of the dumpster with his pistol pointed at Tony, prepared to fire.
What the petty officer wasn’t expecting was to met with the barrel of Tony’s NCIS regulated pistol. He fired and shot the officer in the chest twice. The officer stumbled back half a step before falling back, landing on the broken up concrete with a few blood filled coughs before growing limp.
“Never did trust a man that has his mother iron his socks,” Tony grumbled to himself, setting his gun down weakly beside him. His hand dug into his pocket and brought out his cell, flipping it open and hitting one button before bringing it up to his ear to begin talking.
The dial tone rang in his ear until he heard the distinct and gruff voice on the other end.
“DiNozzo? Where are you?”
Tony forced a laugh. “Not quite sure, Boss. I think I may be a little over my head on this one. Stuff is gettin’ a little fuzzy. Can’t seem to make much sense even if I try.”
“Did you find Petty Officer Brandt?”
“Uh...yeah. Find might be a bit of an understatement.” He cast his glance back. “I’m looking at his body right now.”
“He’s dead?”
“Yeah, he would’ve killed me first if I wouldn’t have slowed him down.” Tony fought a wince as he looked down at his leg that was still gushing out blood at an alarming rate. “But, he managed to get a good shot in me too. Hurts like a bitch.”
“How bad?”
Tony shrugged before realizing that there was no way for Gibbs to see him. “It’s not great. Getting a little lightheaded here.”
“DiNozzo, you stay awake! Okay, we’re going to send help, but you have to stay awake and on the phone with me.”
“Never thought you’d be the last person that I would speak to before I die, but here we are.”
“You are not going to die.”
Tony reached down nimble fingers and gently touched around his bullet wound that was tender to the touch. The undersides of his leg were saturated with his lost blood. He wasn’t a medically trained professional like Ducky, but it didn’t take a genius to know that he had lost way too much blood for it to be considered healthy.
“Tony, are you listening to me?”
Tony blinked his eyes forcefully, head slumping to the side against the dumpster. He snapped back up, eyes widening momentarily.
“DiNozzo!”
“Yeah, Boss, I’m listening.” A slur had taken on his words and stolen his concentration. The pain was starting to vanish, but so was his understanding of his surroundings. He felt like he was floating and that nothing could hurt him. “Gettin’ a little hard to do so, though.”
“You need to hang on. Do you hear me? Stay awake!”
Tony bowed his head forward. “Afraid I can’t do that, Boss. I’ve lived a good life and everything has to come to a close. It’s been an honor to serve with you. I’m sorry.”
“Tony!”
Tony’s hand slumped down, phone clattering on the ground. He could distinctively hear Gibbs shouting on the other end of the phone, but the energy had escaped him to do anything about it. His eyes rolled up in his head and the sound of sirens could be heard just as Tony faded into oblivion.