“Tony?” Abby said, touching Tony’s face. She had fallen asleep after she had watched the sun rise and how had no idea how much time had passed. But however long it had been, she now had only a bag of water on her shoulder, and the bag of ice, now water, which she had been holding on Tony’s back was now lying on the floor behind him.
Abby pressed her fingers to Tony’s neck and when she felt a pulse, she cupped her hand under his chin and raised his head to the point where she could look him in the eyes. He didn’t respond. Not even a moan as she then moved from under him to lay him, gently on the floor. She had to go and check on the generator, probably fill it up again. She had just remembered their cell phones. She knew her’s was in the car in her purse. She had no idea where Tony’s was. But she figured a quick search of the car would yield favorable results. She was mystified her as to why she or Tony had not remembered their cell phones before. But, she guessed, getting shot changed a person’s priorities somewhat. She cast a worried look back at Tony lying motionless on the floor before she opened the door and stepped outside.
Abby heard the vehicle before she show it. She was very tempted to crouch down behind the generator and wait to see what happened. But she didn’t want to leave Tony alone. She didn’t want him to be hurt, possibly shot again. The cops were here, thank God. She let out an audible sigh and came out of her hiding place. Abby meet the officer at the front door of the store.
“What happened here, ma’am?” The office asked her, taking in her gothic attire and the bright red stain on her shoulder.
Abby began her story. She was so glad to be talking to someone who could actually help them. The officer surveyed the scene as Abby talked. He checked Tony’s and the dead guy’s pulses, though it was blatantly obvious that the dead guy had died hours ago. The officer called for back-up and then called the ambulance and the coroner.
Abby, meanwhile, was talking so fast that officer had to ask her to slow down several times so that he could follow what she was saying. “Tony and I are from D.C. We work for NCIS.” Abby lowered herself back down into the floor beside Tony and began, again to stroke his hair. She saw the confused look in the officer’s face and explained. “It’s the Naval Criminal Investigative Services. Tony is a federal agent, Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo. I am Abigail Scuito, Abby. I’m a Forensic Scientist. I asked Tony to go to my class reunion with me in Louisiana.” Abby allowed herself a ramble. “One of my old friends told me I could never ‘catch a looker.’” Abby laughed. “She had to eat her words when she saw Tony. She almost choked on them, as a matter of fact.” Abby laughed again. She then quickly got back to her story. “So, anyway we needed to stop for gas, we were both hungry and I had to pee.” Abby paused. “I know you don’t need to hear that, but Tony may not have stopped here if I hadn’t had to go so bad.” Abby said, her voice full of regret. “Anyway, we were walking up to the door when the first shot was fired. Tony grabbed me and pushed me to the ground and then got on top of me. The guy then left the store, saw us lying there and shot us. That’s why Tony got hurt so much worse than I did. He was lying on top of me, trying to protect me.” Abby paused for a second and wiped her eyes. “We went inside to get out of the storm. We had to use some things. I’ll be glad to make a list of the things we used and pay for them. We tried the phone in here, it was dead. I found Tony’s and my cell phones and tried both. We were out of the service area. It would have been too dangerous for either of us to try to drive out of here. We were stuck.”
The police officer nodded. “You wouldn’t have gotten far anyway. There is a huge tree across the road a mile back and there were power lines down everywhere. It was just not safe. You did the best thing, given the situation.”
As Abby and the officer talked the ambulance arrived and assessed Tony’s condition. They pulled Abby away from the officer long enough to check her wound. She came back and finished her statement just before she and Tony were both loaded and rushed to the nearest hospital.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Help has arrived.
Chapter End Notes:
I had considered Tony's death here. But I could't bring myself to do it. So the only death in this story will be the poor, unfortunate store clerk. May he Rest In Peace.