Title - Innocent blood
Chapter - 1/6 - Be careful what you wish for
Author: Ceindreadh
Genre (general, hetero or slash) Gen
Pairing/Characters: Ensemble
Rating: FRT-15

----------------

Gibbs was in a meeting with Director Shepherd when the alarm was first raised.

He'd been sitting in a chair, listening to Jen go on about budgets and running an efficient agency and a whole lot of blah about dealing with the press and creating a good impression with the public. Gibbs had been nodding and smiling at what he figured were appropriate points in the conversation, wishing he'd managed to have another coffee before he'd been summoned. Gibbs supposed he couldn't complain; he'd been putting off this meeting for over a week and Jen's secretary had finally caught him just as he was about to finish up for the day. With no
outstanding cases to use as an excuse, he had no choice but to let her get whatever she had to say off her chest.

Gibbs stole a glance at the clock and nearly groaned when he realized that it had only been an hour, rather than the two or three hours that it felt like. He shifted uncomfortably, wishing that something, *anything* would happen to interrupt the
meeting.

But when the news came in that somebody had been shot in the parking garage, Gibbs knew the truth of the saying "be careful what you wish for"

-------------------------------

Gibbs ordered the first two agents he saw to stand guard over the director. At that stage, he didn't know what they were dealing with, but if there was an intruder in NCIS taking pot shots at agents, he wasn't about to take any chances. He took the stairs as quickly as possible, not stopping until he reached the garage. "Report!" he barked at the first agent he saw.

Agent Rowe took a deep breath before answering, "I was just heading home. My car's right over there," he glanced over towards the far wall, "And I just came

around the corner and there he was, lying bleeding...I called an ambulance, and

then paged Doctor Mallard."

"Did you see anything?"

Rowe shook his head, "I cleared the scene. Called security and locked the place down. Nobody's been in or out since I found...him..." He glanced over his shoulder.

Gibbs followed his gaze to where Ducky was crouched over a figure lying in a pool of blood. It wasn't until he'd dismissed Rowe and taken a few steps closer, that he realized it was Ducky's assistant...Jimmy Palmer.

-----------------------------

"Ducky," said Gibbs, crouching down beside the older man. "How bad is it?"

Even to Gibbs's less experienced eye, he could see it didn't look pretty. Palmer's entire upper body seemed awash with blood. His face was pale and he barely seemed to be breathing.

Ducky didn't even look up from where he was applying pressure to Jimmy's right shoulder. "There's no exit wound, but he's bleeding all over the place. Gibbs, he said goodbye to me not an hour ago..." He looked up, "And where the hell are those bloody paramedics?"

Gibbs patted Ducky on the shoulder, "They're on the way. Did Jimmy say what happened, who did this?"

"Does he look as if he was able to say anything? He was unconscious when I got here." Ducky grabbed another cloth from the bag beside him and swapped it for the now saturated one he'd been holding to Jimmy's shoulder. "Dammit Jimmy, I am *not* going to lose another assistant because they got in front of a bullet. Do you hear me?"

It was fortunate for all concerned that the paramedic's arrived soon after that.

"Gibbs," called Ducky, as Jimmy was carefully loaded onto the stretcher. "I...I'm traveling with Jimmy to Bethesda." He looked at the blood on his hand with distaste. "Find the bastard who did this, Gibbs, and let me alone in a room with him..."

"We'll find him, Duck. I've got Abby pulling all the security footage of this place from the time Palmer left your office until he was found. Whoever did this, we'll find them."

----------------------------

"Talk to me, Abby!" demanded Gibbs as he burst into the forensics lab. "I want an ID on every person who went in or out of that parking garage."

Abby spun around in her chair, a dazed expression on her face. "Gibbs, is Jimmy going to be okay? I mean, it was just a flesh wound, right? He's not gonna die, right Gibbs?"

Gibbs sighed, "I don't know Abby, Ducky's gone with him to Bethesda. Right now, the best thing we can do is find whoever did this to him." He indicated the screen, which was running the feed from the security camera at the parking garage gates. "You get anything from this?"

Abby reluctantly turned back to her computer. "Jimmy...Jimmy was found at 20.00, Ducky said he spoke to him at about 19.00." She pulled up a file on her computer and scanned through it, "Only one car signed out from garage C in that space of time. I'm bringing up the photo...now..." She looked up at the screen and her eyes went wide, "Oh no...Tony?"

"DiNozzo," breathed Gibbs.

Abby turned to him, her eyes frantic. "Boss, you don't think...Tony couldn't have done this, he'd never hurt Jimmy, he'd never hurt *anybody*."

"Abby, check the cameras covering all the other exits. Whoever did this must have left on foot."

"Or maybe they walked to one of the other levels and took a car from there!" Abby breathed a sigh of relief, "Boy, Bossman, that was really freaky. I thought for a second I was gonna be putting Tony in the frame again! He'd never have forgiven me a second time." With renewed enthusiasm, she returned to her
computer, ring-covered fingers dancing rapidly over the keyboard.

Gibbs squeezed her shoulder gently, before leaving the lab. He stopped in the corridor outside, dialing Tony's cell phone. Hearing a familiar ring tone behind him, Gibbs turned round. The smile of relief died on his lips as he saw McGee and Ziva approach, the former carrying a box of evidence bags. Gibbs didn't even wait for him to put the box down, instead reaching straight in, pushing the bags to one side until he found the one that was ringing. With a sinking heart, Gibbs pulled out a cell phone, knowing even before he flipped it open that the caller id display would read 'Gibbs'.

"Where was this? Where did you find it?"

"Uh, Boss, we were searching for shell casings and this was kicked underneath one of the cars," said Tim, a little hesitantly. "We thought that somebody had probably just dropped it, but I figured we should bag it anyway." He looked at the stricken expression on Gibbs's face. "Is something wrong?"

"GIBBS!" Abby's voice was calling him frantically, and she nearly knocked all three over as she ran out of her lab. "You've got to see this, *now*!"

She practically dragged them into her lab where the picture of Tony in his car was still on her screen.

"What is it Abby?" asked Gibbs.

"I was waiting for my computer to filter out all the footage I needed and I got bored, so I started looking at the shot of Tony and I noticed something, so I enlarged it and..." Abby clicked on her mouse and selected a section of the picture. The camera had been a high angled one, positioned high enough to give a view of the rear seat of Tony's car. Abby clicked and magnified again, and then again, until everybody could see the face of somebody who was crouching behind the driver's seat. The image wasn't completely focused, but everybody could tell who it was.

"Chip!" said Gibbs.

--------------------------

To be continued

Title: Innocent Blood
Chapter 2/6 - A chip off the old block

Genre (general, hetero or slash) Gen/Action
Pairing/Characters: Ensemble

Disclaimer. I don't own the NCIS characters, I'm only borrowing them, and I promise to return them in minty fresh condition when I'm finished.
Many thanks to FatCat for all her Beta'ing work.

-------------------
Previously on NCIS
Jimmy Palmer was found shot in the Parking Garage.
Security monitors revealed that Tony had been the last person to leave around the time of the shooting...but also showed that Abby's former assistant Chip had been with him.

------------------------
Gibbs stormed past the Director's receptionist, ignoring her efforts to tell him that Director Shepherd was in a meeting.

"Just when the hell were you going to tell me that Chip Stirling had been released on parole?" he practically yelled at her.

"Jethro..." Shepherd started to say, but Gibbs didn't let her finish.

"He framed DiNozzo for murder, attacked Abby in her own lab. Some judge lets him walk out of jail and you didn't think that maybe it was worth a mention? You didn't think my people needed to be warned? Jimmy Palmer nearly bled out in the parking garage. Tony's been abducted, just *when* were you going to tell me?"

"She didn't know, Gibbs."

Gibbs whirled around to see Fornell sitting behind him. "You knew?"

Fornell shook his head. "Somebody screwed up on the paperwork. F.B.I. didn't get notified either. Believe me Gibbs, I'm just as pissed about this as you are."

Gibbs shook his head, "No Fornell, no you're not."

Shepherd cleared her throat, causing both men to look at her. "Ziva filled me in on what Abby found on the security monitor." Gibbs didn't need his famous 'gut' to tell him that Jen felt that *he* should have been the one keeping her updated.

"What's the progress on locating Agent DiNozzo?"

"There's a BOLO out on his car," said Gibbs, "But Chip's no fool, if he's planned this as carefully as the last time, he won't be fool enough to stay in Tony's Mustang for too long."
He paced back and forth for a few seconds before continuing, "What about that other guy that Chip had a beef with? That Medical Examiner, Stewart?"

Fornell and Shepherd exchanged glances before Fornell spoke, "Stewart is dead. His assistant found him hanging up in his morgue freezer this morning. Since he's still part of an active F.B.I. investigation, we got notified...eventually."

"We believe that Chip must have killed him first and then gone after Tony," said Shepherd.

"Ya think?" said Gibbs.

"Jethro, I know you're concerned about Agent DiNozzo, but maybe you need to take a step back. That's why I've asked the F.B.I. to assist yo..."

"Tony is *my* agent, and I will find him," said Gibbs, barely managing to keep his anger under control.

"That wasn't a request," snapped Shepherd.

Fornell interrupted, "Gibbs, I think maybe we should pool our resources, maybe discuss matters in the conference room. Director Shepherd, I'll keep you posted."

------------------------

Stopping long enough to order McGee to get all the information on Stewart's murder, Gibbs stormed towards the elevator.

Once inside the elevator shaft, Gibbs punched the emergency stop button, hard.

"You know, one of these days you're gonna punch that thing so hard it'll break and we'll be stuck here all day," said Fornell, calmly.

"Dammit Tobias, Tony's *my* agent, I'm not about to let the F.B.I. march in here and screw things up!"

"We're not *that* incompetent Jethro. Look, I'm certainly not about to get into a pissing match with you over jurisdiction. How about we just find DiNotzo and worry about who gets the credit later, okay?"

"Okay." Gibbs leaned back against the wall. "What the hell sort of judge lets a guy like Chip out on bail anyway? They should have thrown away the key."

"Believe me Gibbs, if it had been up to me he wouldn't have been seeing the light of day for a *long* time. But he got some public defender to argue that he hadn't actually hurt anybody, just hacked up a corpse, and the judge fell for it."

Gibbs looked at Fornell in disbelief, "Didn't hurt anybody? They should have been charging him with attempted murder. Have you forgotten that he attacked Abby with a knife?"

"As I recall, she handed his ass to him on a plate. Ironically, it seems that that was one of the arguments used in the bail hearing. That if a chick lab tech could take him out so easily, he obviously couldn't be considered a threat."

"Tell that to Jimmy Palmer," snapped Gibbs as he pushed the start button.

"Any word on him yet? He gonna make it?"

Gibbs sighed wearily, "I don't know."

--------------------------

Ducky didn't know either. He paced up and down outside the trauma room door, growing more and more concerned by the minute. The paramedics had managed to stabilize Jimmy on the way to the hospital, but he had been still unconscious as they wheeled him into the ER. Ducky had been blocked from entering the trauma room by an overly officious nurse who insisted that he wait outside, "There's a relative's room down the hallway, you can wait there."

"I'm a doctor, not a relative," said Ducky, his usual charm failing him. "I'm not going to faint at the sight of blood, dammit!"

"A doctor huh? What's your specialty, Trauma? Surgery? Because anything else isn't gonna help him right now."

Ducky sighed, "Pathology...I'm a medical examiner."

"Well honey, if you don't want that kid in there to end up as one of your patients, then I suggest you stay out of the way and let the doc's do their job, okay?" She smiled at him, not unkindly and patted him on the shoulder. "I'll make sure that
you're notified as soon as there's anything to tell, Doctor..."

"Mallard," replied Ducky. He gazed in through the glass panel of the door, watching as a flurry of medical personnel worked on Jimmy's motionless form.

---------------

"McGee," bellowed Gibbs once he was back in the bullpen. "Report!"

"Uh Boss, I got on to the police department. They're faxing over a copy of the crime scene report from Stewart's murder."

"Any word on Tony?"

"No, but Boss, Stewart..." Tim swallowed hard.

"What is it McGee?" Gibbs didn't have time to coddle his agents at the best of times and this was definitely not the best of times.

"Their preliminary report...Stewarts cause of death. He didn't...didn't freeze to death." Tim looked as if he was about to throw up. "His legs were cut off and he bled out..."

Gibbs stopped in his tracks, for once lost for words.

"Wow, that's one sick puppy we're dealing with," said Fornell. "But look on the bright side."

Gibbs looked at him, "There's a bright side to this?"

Fornell shrugged, "Least we know he's probably not gonna just shoot DiNotzo and toss his body out onto the beltway."

---------------

Ducky paced up and down the corridor. It seemed like an eternity before a nurse came out to him. "Doctor Mallard? He's asking for you."

-----------------------

Ducky stood by the side of the trauma bed and reached for Jimmy's left hand.

"I'm here my boy," he said.

The doctor in charge had told him he could have two minutes, "And that's only because we're waiting for them to clear an O.R."

Maybe it was the white cover on the bed or the bright lights of the trauma room, but Jimmy looked even paler than he had done in the parking garage. His eyes flickered open at the sound of Ducky's voice. "Doc...Doctor Mallard..."

Ducky squeezed his hand, "It's all right Jimmy, you're at Bethesda, you're safe now."

"I...I have to tell you...Tony...he..." Jimmy seemed to fade a bit but managed to continue speaking, "Trouble..."

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Jimmy hurried through the parking garage, an NCIS issue cap in his hand that he'd found while clearing out the M.E.'s van. He'd seen Tony's initials on the inside tag and knowing how protective the agent was of his headgear, Jimmy felt it better to return the lost property as soon as possible. He'd been heading up to the bullpen when Ducky had told him that Tony was already on his way out, so now he rushed to catch up with him before he left.

Rounding a corner, Jimmy saw Tony standing beside his car with his back to him.

"Tony!" he called out, "Glad I caught you." But Tony didn't move, and it wasn't until Jimmy got a bit closer, the hat held up for Tony's attention, that he realized that Tony wasn't alone. A figure with a hood pulled over his head was standing in the shadows in front of him, and it wasn't until Jimmy got a little closer that he realized the figure was holding a gun with what looked like a silencer on it.

"Tony?"

"Just turn around and walk away, Palmer," said Tony, in a voice as cold as ice. "This doesn't concern you, so just beat it, *now*!"

Jimmy stood there open mouthed, uncertain as to what to do, and then the hooded figure shifted slightly, the movement bringing him just far enough out of the shadows for Jimmy to see part of his face, "Chip?"

"My name is *Charles*," snapped Chip, pointing the gun towards Jimmy.

The distraction was enough for Tony, and he launched himself at Chip, knocking him to the ground and trying to wrestle the gun away from him. Jimmy didn't know what to do, but he rushed forward to help. He only got a few steps before there was a sudden popping noise. Jimmy felt like somebody had punched him in the shoulder, spinning him round. He could see a small flower of blood appear on his shoulder, growing rapidly in size as he fell towards the ground.

"Jimmy!" gasped Tony, seeing him fall. He had been trying to get the gun away from Chip, but he couldn't break his grip and had barely managed to aim it away from himself before Chip had been able to pull the trigger.

This time it was Chip who took advantage of the distraction. While Tony was still looking at Jimmy, Chip wrenched back control of the gun and slammed it into the side of Tony's head knocking him flat on his back.

Chip staggered to his feet, pointing the gun at Tony. "Get into your car, *now*!"

Tony pulled himself up into a sitting position and slumped against the side of his car, "What are you gonna do if I refuse...shoot me? If you'd just wanted to kill me you'd have done it already."

"Yeah, I'll shoot you...and then I'll go over to Palmer and put a bullet through his brain. You want me to do that, huh DiNozzo? Cause I don't exactly have a lot to lose right now." He waved the gun around.

"Okay, okay," Tony held his hands up in capitulation. "I'll co-operate...just let me check on Jimmy first, and then I'll do what you want."

"No, dammit, leave him there," snapped Chip. "I'm taking you back where all this started and you're gonna pay for ruining my life!"

----------------

to be continued

Title: Innocent Blood
Chapter 3/6 - Phone a friend

Genre (general, hetero or slash) Gen/Action
Pairing/Characters: Ensemble

Disclaimer. I don't own the NCIS characters, I'm only borrowing them, and I promise to return them in minty fresh condition when I'm finished.
Many thanks to FatCat for all her Beta'ing work.

-------------------
Previously on NCIS
Jimmy Palmer was found shot in the Parking Garage.
Security monitors revealed that Tony had been the last person to leave around the time of the shooting...but also showed that Abby's former assistant Chip had been with him. Jimmy regained consciousness in hospital and told Ducky that Chip had shot him and taken Tony hostage.

------------------------





- - - - - - - - - -

[Part 03]

- - - - - - -- - - -

Ducky waited until Jimmy had been whisked away to the OR before rushing outside to call Gibbs on his cell phone. "Jethro, Jimmy told me what happened, it was..."

"Chip," interrupted Gibbs, "He shot Jimmy and abducted Tony."

Ducky looked at the phone with distaste. "I really hate when he does that," he muttered to himself as Gibbs continued.

"How's Jimmy doing? Is he gonna make it?"

Ducky sighed, "His doctor was optimistic. The bullet hit his collarbone, got deflected and lodged in his scapula. They're operating on him now to remove the fragments, but he's lost so much blood, Jethro, it's going to be touch and go."

"Was Jimmy able to tell you anything else, Duck? Anything that would help us find Tony?"

"Something about Chip going back to where it all started. I don't know what he meant, poor lad, he wasn't making much sense at that point what with the blood loss and the pain meds they were pumping into him. He started rambling on about his cell phone and how he had to find it, and then they took him up to the O.R..." Ducky's voice trailed off.

"All right Duck," said Gibbs. "The Doc's at Bethesda know what they're doing. He's in good hands."

"I wish I was as confident as you, Jethro," sighed Ducky. "One of the penalties of an extensive medical education. In any case, I'm going to stay here until he's out of surgery."

"Keep me posted Ducky," said Gibbs, before breaking the connection.

--------------------------

"Ziva," barked Gibbs as soon as he'd finished talking to Ducky. "Get down to Abby's lab and dig out Jimmy's cell phone from that box of evidence you collected. Then get it messengered over to Ducky at Bethesda."

"Isn't there something more constructive I should be doing?" asked Ziva.

Over at his desk, Tim cringed as Gibbs marched over to Ziva, leaned on her desk and looked her in the eye, saying "Jimmy Palmer is undergoing emergency surgery at Bethesda because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time and tried to step in and stop Chip abducting Tony. When he came round in the ER, he could have just kept his mouth shut and saved his strength, but the very first thing he did was try to give Ducky as much information about the situation as he could so that he could help Tony. Now if he wants his damned phone then by God he's going to have it for when he wakes up, do I make myself clear?"

Tim could see that Ziva was visibly shaken as she said, "Yes Gibbs," in a very subdued tone of voice.
"Uh Boss," said Tim, as Gibbs turned away from Ziva's desk. He quailed slightly under the expression on Gibbs's face.

"What is it, McGee?" snapped Gibbs.

"Jimmy's phone isn't with the stuff we collected. We only found the one phone and that was Tony's. Ziva and I swept the entire area but it wasn't there."

Gibbs frowned and for a few seconds, Tim thought he was going to be ordered back to check again.

"Maybe one of the others picked it up. I could phone Jimmy's number and see if somebody answers," volunteered Tim. He picked up his handset, only to have Gibbs take it from him. "Boss?"

"Don't dial the cell phone," said Gibbs. "Have Abby run a GPS search on it." He turned and hurried towards the elevator.

Ziva watched him leave before turning back to Tim, "Isn't that an awful lot of trouble to go to, just to locate a cell phone?"

Tim shrugged as he dialed Abby's extension number.

---------------------

"Talk to me, Abby," said Gibbs. "Where's that phone?"

- - - - - - - -

"Okay, okay," Tony held his hands up in capitulation. "I'll co-operate...just let me check on Jimmy first, and then I'll do what you want."

"No, dammit, leave him there," snapped Chip. "I'm taking you back where all this started and you're gonna pay for ruining my life!"

"I'm the one you've got a beef with, Chi...Charles," said Tony, pushing himself to his feet. "I'm the one who messed up your life...Jimmy hasn't done anything to hurt you...just let me try and help him so he doesn't bleed to death...*please*..."

Chip stayed silent for a few seconds before replying. "Okay...but no funny business or I shoot both of you. And...and take out your gun, cell phone and handcuffs and drop them on the ground first...nice and slowly..."

As soon as Tony had moved away from the items, Chip leaned down and without taking his eye off Tony; he retrieved the gun and cuffs before kicking the cell phone under a nearby car.

Tony crouched down, careful to ensure that his body was blocking Chip's view of Jimmy...just in case the little freak changed his mind about shooting him.

"Hey there, Jimmy," said Tony softly. "How you doing?"

"I...I...it *hurts*..." Jimmy was gasping for breath. His face was pale, and Tony knew that he was going into shock.

Tony grabbed the baseball cap that was still clenched in Jimmy's hand and padded it against the bullet wound applying pressure and making Jimmy groan in pain.
"I know kid, I know it hurts, but you've got to keep the pressure on, otherwise you'll bleed out." He grabbed Jimmy's left hand and held it over the cap. "You just keep holding tight, Jimmy, somebody will be along soon and you're gonna be fine. You hear me?"

Jimmy nodded weakly.

"Hurry up," snapped Chip. "I haven't got all day."

Tony glanced quickly over his shoulder at Chip before looking back at Jimmy and mouthing the word 'phone'.

Jimmy looked at him in confusion until Tony hissed, "Your cell phone...where is it?"

"Left...left pocket," whispered Jimmy.

"Okay kid," said Tony, patting Jimmy reassuringly on his uninjured shoulder. "You just hang in there." As unobtrusively as he could, he slid his hand down Jimmy's side until he reached the pocket. A few seconds later the phone was tucked into Tony's pocket.

"Okay, that's enough time, we gotta get out of here, *now*," said Chip.

Tony rose to his feet, and stepped away from Jimmy, praying silently that somebody would come along soon. The weight of the phone in his pocket was the only comfort he had.

- - - - - - - - - - -

"It's about five miles from here, moving pretty fast," said Abby. She swung round in her chair and glared at Gibbs accusingly, "How did you know?"

"Palmer told me," said Gibbs, "He wasn't looking for his phone, he wanted *us* to look for it!"

"Good work Abs," he added as he hurried out of the forensics lab.

Abby hunched over on her stool, resting her head on her hands as she watched the GPS tracker flash its way along the map. "We'll get you back Tony, don't worry, Gibbs always gets you back."

-----------------------

To be continued.

Title: Innocent Blood
Chapter 4/6 - A shocking business

Genre (general, hetero or slash) Gen/Action
Pairing/Characters: Ensemble

Disclaimer. I don't own the NCIS characters, I'm only borrowing them, and I promise to return them in minty fresh condition when I'm finished.
Many thanks to FatCat for all her Beta'ing work.
And thanks to everybody for feedback and reviews.

-------------------
Previously on NCIS
Chip abducted Tony from the NCIS parking garage. Jimmy Palmer got in the way and Chip shot him. Tony managed to retrieve Jimmy's phone, and Gibbs later had Abby track it using GPS.

-------------------
[Part 04]

Tony had done everything Chip had told him to. He'd smiled nicely at the guard at the exit, knowing that Chip was hiding on the floor behind him ready to blow his brains out should he try to send a warning. He'd kept to the less well-traveled streets and refrained from going over the speed limit, because Chip didn't want to attract attention from any cops. He'd even avoided smiling at the woman stopped beside him at the red light, just in case Chip got pissed. He'd followed every direction, taken every turn and finally pulled in smoothly to a fairly decrepit looking parking garage on the other side of the city, and not once had he tried mouthing off to Chip and his gun.

Which was why Tony was so majorly aggrieved that Chip had pulled a taser on him.

Okay, Tony figured, he should have guessed that Chip's plan wouldn't have included hiding in the back seat of the car all the way to wherever he was going. And with hindsight, keeping a hostage tied up in the passenger seat was bound to draw all sorts of attention, especially as it was now the middle of the night. So really, there had been only one other option...

Tony wriggled around in the trunk of Chip's car and tried to get comfortable. It wasn't easy. Car trunks weren't designed to carry six foot plus N.C.I.S. agents and no matter which way Tony tried to position himself, he couldn't get comfortable. Of course having his hands cuffed behind his back didn't help either.

Tony would have kicked himself for being so careless, but right now his legs were almost touching his chest, so that wasn't going to happen.

He'd done what Chip had ordered. He'd gotten out of his car, and walked around to Chip's car, putting his hands on the trunk as instructed. Chip had kept a safe distance away... a smart move, because with no innocent bystanders about to get shot, Tony would have had no problem with jumping him and to hell with the consequences. For all he knew, it could have been his last chance. Tony had been just waiting for his opportunity...he'd heard Chip move a little closer, and then just as Tony was about to make his move...he felt the zapping of a taser against his side and everything went black.

Tony had woken to find himself in the trunk of the car, with Chip standing over him about to slam the lid.

"Ah, you're awake," sneered Chip.

Tony had tried to say something in response, only to find a gag in his mouth. He grunted fruitlessly.

"Sorry about the gag, but I can't have you trying to yell for help...not now anyway. Later on you'll be able to scream all you want...but nobody's gonna hear you."

Tony grunted again, and tried to get his hands in front of him, only then realizing he was wearing cuffs.

"Just think yourself lucky I didn't have any duct tape," snapped Chip before slamming the lid down.

Alone in the dark, Tony felt the vibrations of the car starting. He swallowed hard, knowing that this was bad...really really bad. "Don't panic," he told himself. "There's plenty of air, just breathe in, nice and slowly...Gibbs will find you...he always does. Just keep calm and relax..."
He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on the route the car was taking, but in the cramped space of the trunk, it was impossible for him to judge speed or direction, so in the end Tony gave up and tried instead to reach Jimmy's phone.

Tony spent a few minutes twisting and wriggling and trying to get the phone out of his pocket but space was limited and the cuffs were tight on his wrists and after banging his head for a third time on the inside of the trunk, he had to give it up. He lay there exhausted for a few minutes, wondering if Jimmy had managed to tell Gibbs about the phone...and then he wondered if Jimmy had bled out before help had arrived...and then he wondered where exactly Chip was going and what he was going to do when he got there...and then he realized that he couldn't do anything constructive about his situation at the moment so he might as well just sit tight, conserve his energy and wait for the opportune moment...and then he slept.

-----------------------------

Tony wasn't sure if it had been the jerk of the brakes as the car pulled to stop that had awoken him, or maybe it was the sudden silence as the engine was switched off. Either way, he was ready and waiting when the trunk lid was raised. Unfortunately there wasn't a lot he could do. A bright light was shone in his face, blinding him momentarily, and before Tony could react, he felt something being fastened around his neck.

The light was removed and Tony blinked as he saw Chip looking in at him, the gun in one hand and what looked like a remote control in the other. Tony grunted a question at Chip, nodding towards the control.

"You want to know what this does?" asked Chip. "Here...let me show you..."

He pressed the button and Tony jumped and screamed into the gag as an electric shock zapped through the device that had been placed around his neck.

"It's a shock collar," explained Chip. "Just a little insurance in case you try anything. Now get out of the car...slowly..."

Tony couldn't move any way other than slowly. He felt bruised all over from bumping around in the trunk of the car. His side was throbbing from where he'd been tased earlier, and now his neck was sore from the shock collar. It took him a few minutes to maneuver his way out of the trunk, and when he finally managed it, he collapsed to his knees, panting heavily from the exertion...and panting a little harder than necessary, in the hopes of lulling Chip into a false sense of security.

"Just wait for my chance," Tony told himself as Chip let him through a deserted park. He took a look around him, the surroundings looking vaguely familiar in the pale moonlight. But it wasn't until they rounded a corner and came upon a picnic area that Tony stopped in his tracks as he realized where they were.

"I'm taking you back where all this started" Well he hadn't been kidding.

Baltimore, 2001. One of the last homicide's that Tony had worked before he joined N.C.I.S. A particularly vicious crime. A pretty young woman found murdered and mutilated in a popular local park. It had been a difficult case to solve, and Tony had devoted weeks of his life towards nailing the perp. And then six months later when he'd come back to Baltimore to testify, the whole case had had to be thrown out thanks to sloppy forensics.

Tony whirled around, looking at Chip, his eyes wide. He knew how the victim had died; he'd practically memorized the details of how she'd been cut. He knew that she had died screaming...and nobody had heard her in the middle of the night.

"What's the matter, DiNozzo? Cat got your tongue?" Chip laughed and then pressed the control for the collar.

Tony cried out into the gag and slumped to his knees. He could hear Chip coming towards him, and just when he judged the time was right, he lunged towards his captor.

But Tony's reactions were dulled by the residual pain from the shock collar, and Chip easily dodged him. Unable to stop himself, Tony landed face down in the ground. Chip's foot landed on Tony's neck, pinning him down, even as Chip reached down and pulled out the gag. "I told you you'd be able to scream all you want."

Tony swallowed hard, trying to get enough saliva to spit out the taste of the gag. Finally he said, "Chi...Charles, think about this. You don't really want to be doing this."

"Oh but I do, DiNozzo. See, I've got nothing left to lose now. I've burnt my boats. Once the cops catch up with me I'm a dead man one way or another...but I'll see you in Hell first." He kicked Tony in the ribs. "Get up!"

"No," snapped Tony. "If you're gonna kill me, then shoot me now and be done with it. I'm not playing your stupid little game any more...*Chip*."

"Don't call me that!" yelled Chip.

"Chip, Chip, Chipadee, Chipster...Chippy boy...aghhh!" Tony screamed as Chip pressed the controller. Waves of pain shot through him and he was left gasping for breath. "Chip," he muttered defiantly under his breath.

"I'm not gonna shoot you, DiNozzo," said Chip. "That'd be too quick." He kicked Tony making him roll onto his back. "I figure letting you bleed to death out here, that'd be more fitting."
He stood back from Tony and dropped the backpack he'd been carrying. Keeping his gun trained on Tony, Chip dropped the controller in his pocket before he reached into the bag and pulled out a bone saw. "Course you'll probably pass out with shock before I finish cutting through your legs with this, but hey, them's the breaks."

"You...you are one sick puppy...you know that..." Tony managed to push himself to his feet and started backing away. He knew that running wasn't an option. Not while Chip still had the gun aimed at him. His only hope was to delay things, give Gibbs a chance to find him. "Chip, killing somebody, it's not something you can just do...I think you're better than that...you're not capable of murder..." Tony hoped he sounded convincing.

"Twenty four hours ago I might have agreed with you," said Chip, offhandedly. "And so might Doctor Stewart...but he's dead now, so you can't exactly call him as an expert witness again."

"You killed him?"

"Guess you're not as dumb as you look," sneered Chip. "Enough time wasting, DiNozzo. Get on that picnic table. I haven't got all night."

"No," said Tony. "I don't think I'll be doing that."

Chip shrugged. "I can cut your legs off on the ground." He reached for the controller but had to tuck the gun in his pocket to free up a hand.

Tony didn't miss his chance. He charged straight at Chip, dipping his shoulders and slamming straight into Chip's chest knocking them both to the ground. The controller and the gun went flying, but Chip still managed to cling to the saw. He swung it at Tony who had to throw himself backwards to avoid being decapitated. Before he could get back on his feet, Chip had grabbed him by the hair, pulling him to his knees.

"Why do you *always* have to spoil my plans," snarled Chip, as he held the saw to Tony's neck. "If I cut your jugular, you'll bleed out too quickly. Why couldn't you have just done like you were told?"

"Because DiNozzo's never been much good at doing what he's told," said Gibbs, stepping out from behind a tree, gun aimed squarely at Chip's head.

Chip moved quickly, pulling Tony in front of him as a shield. "How good's your aim, Agent Gibbs? Think you can shoot me before I open his throat?" He held the saw to Tony's neck.

Tony could feel the teeth of the saw against his neck. He knew it would only take a little more pressure for it to break the skin. He also knew that even if Gibbs took Chip out with a single shot, then the saw could still do plenty of damage, especially if Chip didn't die cleanly. And Tony knew for a fact that he didn't want Gibbs to have his blood on his hands.
With all those facts in mind, Tony stomped hard on Chip's foot.

Chip's hand jerked...the saw hit Tony's shock collar and there was a flash of sparks. The last thing Tony heard as he blacked out was the sound of gunshots.

------------------------

To be continued

Nearly finished now, just this chapter and one more to go.
And I'd just like to thank everybody who's been commenting and reviewing this fic.

Title: Innocent Blood
Chapter 5/6 - Enter the cavalry

Genre (general, hetero or slash) Gen/Action
Pairing/Characters: Ensemble

Disclaimer. I don't own the NCIS characters, I'm only borrowing them, and I promise to return them in minty fresh condition when I'm finished.
Many thanks to FatCat for all her Beta'ing work.

-------------------
Previously on NCIS.
Chip abducted Tony from the NCIS parking garage. Jimmy Palmer got in the way and Chip shot him. Tony managed to retrieve Jimmy's phone, and Gibbs later had Abby track it using GPS. Chip's intent was to take Tony back to Baltimore and kill him in the same place that a murder had been commited several years earlier...the same murder the evidence from which had been the cause of Chip losing his job.

[Part 05]

Abby's GPS trace had given Gibbs the direction that Tony and Chip were heading but he was still none the wiser as to the their eventual destination.

"McGee," barked Gibbs when he returned to the Bullpen. "Abby's traced Jimmy's phone. Tony must have picked it up somehow and he and Chip are on the road to Baltimore."

"You want me to set up roadblocks, Boss?" asked Tim.

Gibbs shook his head, "We have no idea what type of car they're using.
Ziva opened her mouth to say something but Gibbs continued, "Chip may be a psychotic nutcase, but he's not stupid. He'll know that once we realized Tony was missing, the first thing we'd do is put a BOLO out on Tony's car. He'll have left a car of his own somewhere."

Tim spoke up, "Boss, I had an idea about that. I've been calling all the parking garages in the area to see if Tony's Mustang has shown up. I figured that if we find Tony's car then we'll know where they swapped cars and we might get lucky off a security camera, see what they're in now."

"Good thinking, McGee, but call Fornell and have him put his men on it. You and Ziva are with me."

"Where are we going?" asked Ziva as she grabbed her coat.

"Back to where it all started."

"Um Boss," said Tim as he and Ziva followed Gibbs into the elevator car. "No disrespect, but Chip has a couple of hours head start on us. Even the way *you* drive, we'll never catch up with him."

"That's why we're not driving," said Gibbs, hitting the button for the roof...and the helipad.

---------------------------

Gibbs and his team spent most of the journey trying to figure out what Chip had meant about 'where it all started'. Or at least Gibbs and Ziva did, shouting at each other above the noise of the chopper. For the most part, Tim had huddled in his seat, eyes tight shut and trying to convince himself that he wasn't about to lose his lunch.

Ziva had suggested the lab where Chip used to work. "That would have been the first point of intersection between his life and Tony's."

Tim had made his only contribution to the conversation to point out that the lab was a secure facility, and if Chip *did* bring Tony there, it was unlikely that he'd be able to get a presumably resisting hostage past security. Then they'd hit a bout of turbulence and Tim had clamped his mouth firmly shut again.

Not wanting to overlook any possibility, Gibbs had contacted Baltimore PD and had them send a patrol to the lab. But he and his team had gone to the place that Gibbs felt was the real start of things...the park.
"Tony, Chip, that M.E. Stewart, the only reason their paths crossed was because of a murder. That's where this started."

Gibbs's gut had been right again. He'd insisted on his team being the only ones there, afraid that if Chip saw any uniforms then he could panic, and Tony could get caught in the crossfire. As it was, they got there just in time to see Chip holding a bone saw to the neck of a kneeling DiNozzo.

"Why couldn't you have just done like you were told?" said Chip.

"Because DiNozzo's never been much good at doing what he's told," said Gibbs, stepping out from behind a tree, gun aimed squarely at Chip's head.

All Gibbs needed was just a little more of a target. "Come on, Tony," he said to himself. "Give me the space I need." He knew that Ziva and McGee were moving around to flank Chip, but he couldn't tell if either of them were in position to get a better shot. "Just expose Chip a little more..."

To Gibbs, the next few seconds seemed to happen in slow motion. He saw Tony move...Chip's hand jerking...the saw heading straight for Tony's unprotected neck...and then the blade hit the shock collar box and there was a shower of sparks...Tony went down, and suddenly Chip didn't have a shield any more.

--------------------------

Tony found himself lying on his side on the ground. His neck was throbbing painfully, almost drowning out the aches and pains in the rest of his body. He felt somebody grab his shoulder, starting to turn him over, and he reacted instinctively, kicking out wildly and trying to get away.

"Take it easy, DiNozzo," said Gibbs as he pulled Tony to a sitting position. "Are you injured?"

"I...no, just bruises," said Tony, shaking his head in an effort to clear it. "Chip!"

Gibbs nodded over to the side where Chip's bullet ridden body lay. "Dead."

"Wow, overkill much?" said Tony, yelping only slightly as Gibbs's hand made contact with the back of his head. "Easy there Boss, I've had a kind of rough day."

Gibbs appeared to relent. "David," he called. "Get Tony out of these handcuffs."

Ziva appeared, taking a lock pick out of her pocket, "And the shock collar?" she asked as she crouched down behind Tony.

Gibbs grinned, "Nah, I think I might hang on to that. Give my hand a rest"

"Boss!" said Tony, indignantly.

"McGee," said Gibbs. "Call the local LEO's and have them collect the garbage." He indicated Chip's body. "Personally I'd leave him here to rot, but I promised Ducky a piece of him for what he did to Jimmy."

At the mention of the name, Tony jerked away from Ziva. "Gibbs, I almost forgot. Is Jimmy okay? I didn't want to just leave him there, but Chip had the gun and he said he'd shoot him again if I didn't and..."

Gibbs patted Tony on the shoulder reassuringly. "Ducky phoned me a few minutes ago. Jimmy came through his surgery and it looks like he's going to be fine."

Tony breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good to know...he owes me a new hat after he got blood on the last one." The swat to his head was a welcome one.

------------------------

To be concluded

Title: Innocent Blood
Chapter 6/6 - Picking up the pieces.

Genre (general, hetero or slash) Gen/Action
Pairing/Characters: Ensemble

Disclaimer. I don't own the NCIS characters, I'm only borrowing them, and I promise to return them in minty fresh condition when I'm finished.
Many thanks to FatCat for all her Beta'ing work.

--------------------
Previously on NCIS
Chip shot Jimmy and abducted Tony.
Gibbs and co tracked Tony through Jimmy's phone (which Tony had managed to take with him). They arrived in the nick of time to stop Chip from killing Tony.

--------------------
[Part 06]


Chip's death had been deemed a 'rightful shoot', although Director Shepherd *had* asked Gibbs if it had been really necessary for his team to empty their weapons in taking Chip down. Gibbs had shrugged and said he taught his team to shoot to kill. Chip had been a threat...end of story.

Tony had been treated for the various bumps and bruises he'd sustained while being Chip's hostage. He had a nasty burn on his neck from where the shock collar had overloaded but what pained him most was when the parking garage where Chip had swapped cars, slapped him with a hefty bill for the parking space his Mustang had occupied.

Ducky had apparently taken great glee in performing Chip's autopsy. In Jimmy's absence, Abby had filled in as assistant. It was rumored that she'd taken pictures and was preparing some of them to hang in her lab. Although other rumors said it wasn't pictures that she'd wanted hanging in her lab, only Ducky had allegedly drawn the line at allowing her to remove actual body parts.

Jimmy recovered in hospital. Although the surgery had gone well, it was a few days before his surgeon judged him fit enough to receive visitors.

Ducky hushed his companions as they gathered in the hospital corridor. "Now I want you to take things easy. Mr. Palmer has been through a major ordeal and he's still very weak. I don't want him to be having a relapse because we were too unruly."

"He's talking about you, Tony," said Ziva.

"Who me, unruly?" said Tony with an innocent expression on his face. "I'm as gentle as a lamb. If anybody needs to calm down a bit, it's Abby." He tweaked her pigtails. "No getting Jimmy all hot and bothered Abs, okay?"

"I'm not the one who wanted to bring him some porn mags, Tony," said Abby.

"No, you were going to bring him tapes of whale songs and burn some incense by his bed," said Tim, dryly.

"Children, please," said Ducky, smiling. "I'll just check and see if he's up to seeing visitors."

---------------------

Ducky paused just inside the room and looked over at Jimmy. His young assistant appeared somehow smaller and much too fragile as he lay in the hospital bed. A sling kept his injured shoulder immobilized, and an I.V. line poked out of the back of his hand. Ducky sighed as he noted how pale and tired Jimmy was looking. He had spoken to the surgeon and knew that Jimmy was expected to make a full recovery...physically that is. But Ducky knew all too well that while broken bones healed and scars faded, the emotional consequences of a trauma like this were not so easy to predict. He vowed silently that he would do whatever it took to get Jimmy back on his feet again.

Jimmy seemed half asleep as Ducky approached the bed. His eyes flickered open and he tried to focus. "Doc...Doctor Mallard?" he mumbled. His hand fumbled for his glasses, which had been left on the bedside table.

"Dear boy, don't try to move." Ducky moved over to beside the bed and placed the glasses on Jimmy. "How are you feeling, Jimmy?"

"Tired...a little sore..."

Ducky patted Jimmy on his good shoulder, "We were wondering if you'd be up for a few visitors."

"Visitors? I have visitors?"

"Why yes, yes my boy, we've all been very very worried about you."

-------------------------

"Ohhh Jimmy, I'm so glad you're not dead!" said Abby, rushing over to Jimmy's bed and giving him a big hug.

"I...I'm glad too," said Jimmy, a weak smile on his face.

"I brought you something," said Ziva, pulling a plant out of the bag she'd been carrying. "It's traditional, no?"

"Zeeeva, it's traditional to bring *flowers* to an invalid, not plants!" said Tony, rolling his eyes.

Ziva shrugged. "Flowers die. Plants last longer." She turned to Jimmy, "You will *not* kill this plant."

"No ma'am," said Jimmy, weakly.

"You'll have plenty of time to tend to it while you're recuperating," said Ducky, "But as soon as your collar bone heals up, I'll be expecting you back by my side. I've already made sure that Human Resources know that I'll only be needing a *temporary* assistant."

"That's not all he told them," grinned Tony, "What else did you put on the requisition form, Duck? Tall, blonde, breasts right out to here..." He gestured with his hands.

"I knew I should have asked Gibbs to lend me that shock collar," said Ducky.

"Shock collar?" said Jimmy.

"Tell you later, kid," Tony reached into his pocket and pulled out a phone, "Almost forgot this," he said, handing it to Jimmy. "Thanks for the loaner...and if there's any premium rated numbers on your next bill, blame McGee. I just couldn't keep him off the sex lines!"

"Hey, wait a minute," said McGee, indignantly. "I never!"

It wasn't too much longer before Ducky noticed that Jimmy was wilting a little. "All right everybody, I think it's time we let Jimmy get a little rest."

There was a little mock grumbling, but one look at Jimmy's pale face and nobody raised any serious objections. Wishing him all the best, they left the room, all except Tony who told Ducky he'd catch up with them in a few minutes.

When the door was shut behind them, Tony pulled up a chair and sat beside the bed. "So how are you *really* doing, kid?" he asked gently.

"I...I'm fine, really," said Jimmy.

"Okay, you know the way Gibbs has his rules? Well I've got a few rules of my own too, and Tony's rule number one is, 'Do not lie to the DiNozzo'. So I'm asking again, how are you really?"

Jimmy seemed to shrink back into the pillows. Finally he blurted out, "How do you do it, Tony? Go out and have people pointing guns at you every day. I...I can't stop thinking about it...every time I shut my eyes, all I can see is Chip...and he's pointing that gun at me...and I can't breathe and....and...I'm scared to go to sleep in case I wake up and it's all happening again and...and..." Jimmy bit his lip.

"Well for a start," said Tony, "It doesn't happen *every* day. Otherwise we'd probably all be gibbering wrecks," he paused for a few seconds before continuing, "well maybe not Gibbs, but the rest of us mere mortals would be." Tony sighed, "Jimmy, I wish I could tell you there was an easy answer, but the truth is...it's just part of my job...part of what I signed up for when I got my first badge. All you can do is keep on trucking. Tell yourself that the worst is over and you've survived it...and every day you wake up and the worst is a little further away...and some day you'll wake up and it'll be too far away for you to see it anymore."

Tony stood up. "And the other thing you can do is remember that you're not alone in this. We're all here for you...maybe we haven't been all been shot," he rubbed absently at the burn on his neck, "...but we've all got stuff that keeps us awake at night."

"Except for Gibbs."

Tony shook his head, "Even Gibbs..."

Jimmy *did* sleep a little easier that night.

-----------------------

In spite of the rest however, Jimmy's energy levels were still low and he slept a lot during the next few days as well, occasionally drifting off even while people were talking to him.

One evening, he woke with a start to find that the lights had been dimmed while he had slept.
A figure moved in the shadows. "Doctor Mallard?" said Jimmy, remembering that he'd been talking to the M.E....or more accurately, letting Ducky talk to *him*, just before he'd fallen asleep.

"Ducky went to get something to eat," said Gibbs.

"Agent Gibbs!" said Jimmy, trying to sit up. His shoulder protested and he collapsed back against his pillows.

Gibbs just stood there looking at him for a few seconds before speaking. "Ducky says you should make a full recovery."

Jimmy nodded, "The surgeon said I'll need some physiotherapy on my shoulder...but I could be back at work in a month or so."

"That's good to know, Palmer." Gibbs was silent for a few seconds and Jimmy shrank under his scrutiny.

Finally Gibbs spoke again, "There's one thing you need to know before you go back to work at N.C.I.S." Again Gibbs paused, "When an N.C.I.S. agent tells you to leave a crime scene, you leave. You don't hang around; you don't second-guess them...you just go. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Jimmy slumped back against his pillows, "Yes, Agent Gibbs," he said in a small voice. "I...in the parking garage...when Tony told me to get out of there...I should have left immediately...I...I put Tony at risk...he only went with Chip because Chip said...said he'd shoot me..." Jimmy swallowed hard. "I...I'm so sorry Agent Gibbs, it was my fault...if I hadn't been there, Tony wouldn't have had to...he could have stopped Chip..."

Gibbs nodded approvingly. "It's possible that Tony could have disarmed Chip if he hadn't had to worry about you...but Chip had already gotten the drop on him and it's equally possible that he would have abducted Tony regardless of whether you'd left when Tony told you to. More than likely Chip wouldn't have let you go to raise the alarm anyway. But nobody knows 'what might have been'." Gibbs let that sink in for a few seconds before continuing, "One thing we *do* know, is that if you hadn't been there, then there'd have been nobody to witness the abduction...Tony wouldn't have been able to sneak your phone away with him...we wouldn't have known that Chip was going back to where it started. You did good, Palmer, don't you forget that."

"I still feel...I should have done more, Agent Gibbs," said Jimmy quietly. "I...I was so scared..."

"You did what you could, as best as you could," said Gibbs. "That's all anybody can ask." He let his words sink in for a few minutes before he spoke again. "Do you remember last year when I told you that I wouldn't trust you with a gun?"

Jimmy nodded, feeling the same flush of embarrassment that he'd felt on that occasion. He'd managed to requisition new phones for Gibbs and McGee, but the armory had refused to let him take the guns, saying they wouldn't trust him with them...and Gibbs had agreed with them.

"The reason I wouldn't trust you with a gun, Jimmy, is because to the best of my knowledge, you have no training nor experience in the use and handling of guns...but that's the *only* reason. So once you're up and about and cleared for work again, I figure it might be no harm for me to take you down to the firing range and we'll see about changing that."

"I...you...you really mean that, Agent Gibbs?"

Gibbs nodded, "I don't make offers I don't mean. And by the way, it's just Gibbs, not sir, not Agent Gibbs, just...Gibbs."

"I...I don't know what to say...thank you Age...Gibbs." Jimmy could hardly keep his eyes open.

"For now don't say anything, just sleep," ordered Gibbs. He could have saved his breath. Jimmy's eyes had closed again and his whole body relaxed as he fell asleep. Gibbs pulled the bedclothes up around him, careful not to jostle the sling, which still kept Jimmy's arm immobilized.

"Are you sure that second B still stands for bastard?" came Ducky's voice from over by the door.

Gibbs grinned as he walked over to join Ducky. "Trust me, a few sessions on the firing range with me, and Jimmy will be able to vouch that it does!"

"Hmph," said Ducky as the door closed behind them. "Well, be that as it may, I do appreciate what you're doing for him, Jethro."

Gibbs shrugged. "I look after my team, Ducky...*all* of them."

-------------------------------

THE END