SCORNED
Chapter Eight - Discovery
Dr. Berkley stares at her daughter like she had two heads. Jeanne asked for the third time, “What are doing here, who’s back there?” “Is it Tony?” Dr. Berkley said, “Don’t be ridiculous,” just as her office door was slung open and a very angry looking Cooper stepped in and said, “You’re needed right now.”
Dr. Berkley glared at him as she stood and said, “Jeanne stay here until I get back, we’ll go home and finished this discussion.” She walked out the door closing it behind her before turning toward Cooper ignoring the way he towered over her. She wasn’t one to be intimidated especially by her hired help. She said, “What?”
Cooper quickly steered her toward the room as he filled her in on DiNozzo deteriorating condition as they hurried to his room. When they reached the room Angie was about to give DiNozzo another injection…as Dr. Berkley yelled, “Stop!”
Angie froze and looked at the doctor confused before saying, “You said to administer the antidote if his breathing was erratic and he just convulsed…he’s not getting enough oxygen.” Dr. Berkley pushed pass Angie and headed for the storage cabinet where she pulled out another vial with an amber liquid. Angie gasped and said, “I thought you said not to use that one because it could…” Dr. Berkley growled cutting her off as said, “You’re not using it I am and I know what I’m doing he will be fine.” as she filled a syringe.
Cooper said, “What the hell are you doing?” Dr. Berkley glared at him before saying, “I reformulating the chemical distribution to lessen the effects on his lungs, if you must know.” She then turned to Angie and said, “Put that away,” as she plunged the syringe she was holding into the IV in DiNozzo’s arm.
Cooper gave Michaels a silence command using only his eyes. Michaels turned his attention to Angie watching as she put the vial away in the storage cabinet. He made a mental note of exactly where she placed the vial as well as the color of the liquid it contained.
Cooper noticed the almost immediate change in DiNozzo breathing as it evened out and started to returned to normal. He also noticed how his muscles tensed beneath his sweat covered skin.
Dr. Berkley checked his vitals and said, “He will be fine…you can move him now but give me a few minutes.” “I’m taking my daughter out the front entrance and you need to get him back to his apartment before he wakes up.” “I don’t want any more slip-ups.” She looked around the room and said, “Angie why haven’t you gotten DiNozzo’s clothes,” as she turned and headed out the room.
Angie grumbled under breath, “Because he almost died again and I was busy trying to stop that from happening,” as Dr. Berkley walked away.
Cooper and Michaels both glared at Dr. Berkley’s back. Cooper hit his comm-link and said, “Sims get DiNozzo clothes out of the lab and bring them down.” Sims said, “On it Boss.”
Cooper waited until he was sure Dr. Berkley was out of earshot and said, “Angie what was in the vial and why did the Doc stop you?” as casually as he could muster. The better he got to know the doctor the less he liked the job he was doing for her.
Angie looked from him to Michaels and decided ‘what harm would it do’ if they knew. She said, “It was an antidote, the chemical cocktail in DiNozzo’s body contains a dormant nanos that’s reactive to certain physical stimuli but it not completely stable.” “The antidote corrupts the nanos and the compounds breakdown reversing their effects.” “Dr. Berkley told me to use if his breathing should mimic an asthma attack…so I was about to but she’s so hell-bent on torturing him.” Cooper said, “What exactly does that mean?”
Angie paused and stared at Cooper before asking, “Why are you so interested?”
Cooper walked over to Angie and gently turned her to face him as he silently order Michaels to retrieve the vial in question from the cabinet. He said, “Look Angie that guy over there is a Federal Agent and if any real harm comes to him the doctor won’t be the only one going down,” he didn’t bother mentioning Gibbs his boss she didn’t know him or what he was capable of but he did.
Special Agent Jethro Gibbs would track each and every one of them down and make them pay. Gibbs regarded his team as family and you didn’t mess with Gibbs family. He knew exactly what happened to the man responsible for the deaths of Shannon and Kelly Gibbs as well as his two children who came for revenge years later. One ended-up dead at her brothers hands and the brother ended-up buried so deep in prison he would never see the light of day again.
Angie hesitated only a moment before saying, “That stuff she used can cause severe muscle spasms and cramping plus it can intensify the pain level.”
What Angie didn’t say was, ‘Some of the drugs were detectable unlike the others she used and they could possibly lead back to Dr. Berkley.’ She didn’t give a damn about DiNozzo, so what if he suffers a bit more, it wasn’t her problem. She just knew she wasn’t going to jail for any amount of money if those drugs were traced back to Dr. Berkley…they would lead back to her as well. They would also lead to everything else including the facility they were now in.
Michaels listened as he carefully retrieved the antidote along with a vial of the amber liquid and placed them both in his jacket pockets unseen by Angie or the cameras. He and Cooper could both tell she was leaving something out. Angie wiped DiNozzo down as best she could before they silently dressed him and lifted him between themselves.
They carried him out the back entrance to the waiting SUV. After making sure DiNozzo was as comfortable as possible with an oxygen mask in place.
They arrived at DiNozzo’s apartment three and a half hours later, thirty minutes later than they needed to arrive.
DiNozzo had started waking up, he was groaning and protectively pressing his arms around his abdomen even though his eyes were tightly closed. Cooper whispered, “Dammit use it.” Michaels quickly rubbed the small treated patch against DiNozzo neck and his body instantly slumped.
Cooper was pissed he didn’t want to use anymore drugs on DiNozzo but he was waking up too soon. They needed to get him inside and time had run out. He was tempted to give him the antidote and end the whole damn thing right then and there but he wasn’t sure Angie was telling the whole true. Another thing that worried him was using more drugs of any kind, this after all was a drug and the man had been pumped with so many chemicals in the last twenty four hours he had no idea what would happen. He said, “Move let’s get him inside.”
They moved quickly and got DiNozzo up to his apartment. They slipped inside just before his neighbor opened her door and said, “Tony is that you?” as they frozen in place and waited. When Cooper heard her door close, he whispered, “Michaels, Kelley get him undress and in the bed.” “Sims check the refrigerator for a bottled water and put it on the nightstand.”
Everyone did as they were told while Cooper pulled out his cell and scanned through his contacts. He needed a chemist to check out that so-called antidote, then he had a decision to make.
Michaels and Kelley stripped DiNozzo down to his boxers and laid him in his bed as Sims entered the room with a bottled water. He said, “Put this on the nightstand,” as he handed it off to Kelley. He loosens the cap and places it within DiNozzo’s reach.
Cooper said, “How is he doing,” from the doorway. Michaels said, “Out cold but breathing normally, where should I put his clothes.” Cooper looked around the room noticing the tidiness before he said, “Throw them over that chair, he was exhausted when he got home so he probably wouldn’t have taken time to hang them up plus the suit needs to go to the dry cleaner.” “Let’s get out of here put the cell phone, wallet and his watch on the nightstand, gun and ID in the drawer, keys go on the table by the door.”
They left the apartment quietly and made it to the parking lot unnoticed. Once they were settled in the SUV, Cooper said, “I’m going to get that antidote checked out and we need to keep eyes on DiNozzo for the time being.” “We also need to get a sample of that amber liquid analyzed, Angie was holding something back.”
Michaels handed Cooper both the vials and said, “On it Boss.” Cooper smiled and said, “Good man.”
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Gibbs came down the stairs from MTAC at 8am Monday morning after the hour long meet with Director Vance.
Both McGee and Ziva were seated at the desk trying to look busy as they discussed what to do about the absence of Tony. McGee said, “It’s just strange Ziva, Tony’s always here at 7am sharp unless there’s something wrong.” Ziva said, “I know did you try his phones,” as Gibbs steps into the bullpen.
“Well McGee did you get an answer?” McGee looked up startled to see Gibbs standing by Tony’s desk.
McGee said, “Huh Boss,” before gathering himself and answering, “No answer Boss, on either line cell is going straight to voice mail.” Gibbs quickly hid his worry it wasn’t like Tony not to answer his calls even if he was sick he would have found a way. When he tried to talk to him before he left Friday night he practically begged him to put it off until today. He promised to tell him about everything that was bothering him, he just needed to sleep first.
McGee go to Tony’s apartment and call me as soon as you know anything. McGee grabbed his gun and badge before saying, “On it Boss,” and headed for the elevator. Ziva said, “Gibbs what should I do?” trying to hide her concern but failing. Gibbs said, “Go with McGee.” Ziva quickly grabbed her backpack and caught up with McGee at the elevator just as the doors opened. McGee said, “When did you grab your gun and badge?” Ziva smirked and said, “When Gibbs turned the corner.” McGee just shook his head.
Tony groaned as he slowly opened his eyes. He was lying on his back in his bed dressed in his boxers but he couldn’t remember getting in bed…in fact he couldn’t remember much of anything like getting in his apartment or getting undressed. His chest was killing him, his stomach was cramping and his head felt like it was going to explode any minute. He remembered the fight with a suspect during the final arrests which explained the pain in his chest but why was everything else a blank…he didn’t even know what day it was.
Realizing he needed to move he rolled over, pushed himself up and slung his legs over the side of the bed as his body screamed ‘STOP’ protesting every movement. He looked at the nightstand clock and grimaced at the time…which read 8:23am. He wondered how long he had slept. He reached for his cell phone but it was dead.
He noticed a bottled-water on the nightstand next to his phone so he reached out, grabbed it and took a sip.
The water was warm but it soothed his dry throat. He swallowed a little more of the water which made him suddenly bolted for the bathroom. He barely made it to the toilet before he dropped to his knees and lowered his head as a stream of clear liquid erupted from his mouth and nose choking off his air making him feel like he was drowning, no suffocating.
He tried to push himself up but dizziness and another wave of nausea had him grabbing the sides of the toilet seat for support as more liquid escaped his mouth. There was way more liquid erupting from his body than what he had just consumed. Then the harsh coughing started uncontrollably doubling the pain in his chest. He clutched his chest with one arm as if he needed to block the escape of his lungs. He prayed for ‘God’s help’ as he gasped for a breath.
The coughing started to calm after a few minutes but not before a metallic taste filled his mouth. He was visibly shaking as he tried again to lift himself…using first the bathtub and then the counter top he pushed himself upright. He could barely see himself in the mirror through watery eyes but what he saw wasn’t good.
He looked like he had been to Hell and back. His eyes were bloodshot and glassy like he hadn’t slept in days. There was blood at the corner of his mouth probably a result of trying to cough up a lung earlier. The bruises on his chest and abdomen were a deep purple with blotches of green, yellow and blue scattered within. Breathing hurt he could hardly pull enough air into his lungs in fact everything hurt and now he was sweating like he had just been doused with a bucket of water. The slight tremble in his muscles was making it hard to stand…he wondered what was wrong with him.
Tony’s eyes started to burn so he leaned forward for a long moment squeezing his eyes close to block the offending morning light peeking through his blinds from his bedroom. His head started throbbing like it did when he had a migraine. He got headaches all the time for stress but this one was difference.
Tony was desperately trying to hold himself up still unable to catch his breath. There were loud knocks at his door and someone called his name but he couldn’t make out the voice with his head throbbing. He had to get to the door...he needed help but he could barely stand. He inwardly yelled, ‘DiNozzos don’t give-up…you have to do this,’ as the room spun and he didn’t make it far before he collapsed to the floor.
McGee knocked several times but Tony didn’t answer…he could heard what sounded a loud thump like someone hitting the floor. He yelled out, “Tony…Tony, are you okay…Tony!” McGee’s panicked kicked into overdrive, as Ziva pulled out her lock picks and started working on the lock.
An elderly lady peered out and said, “What’s going on out here?” with as much bravado as she could muster holding a steel cane in her hand ready to strike.
McGee turned and said, “Sorry Ma’am,” as she interrupted saying, “Mrs. DiMarco, who are you?” as she eyed both of them suspiciously. McGee inwardly sighed to calm himself before saying, “I’m…we’re friends of Tony’s…I’m Tim McGee and this is Ziva David…we think something’s wrong with him.”
She looked at him cautious as she thought ‘Another friend I don’t recognize,’ before she asked, “Where does Tony work?”
Ziva said, “Got it McGee,” as he relaxed a little and said, “NCIS Ma’am, I mean Mrs. DiMarco,” as he pulled out his ID and showed it to her before following Ziva into the apartment.
TBC
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