Chapter Seven
Silvers slammed my door and bolted it, knife still pointed toward Lisa and I.
“Sit!” Silvers barked at Lisa. She walked slowly around me, keeping eye contact with Silvers. She sat in my computer chair.
“You…” Silvers looked to me, but then his attention went to the table by my typewriter. My gun, badge, and cuffs were all there, where I always put them. Damn it!
Silvers walked over to the table and opened my badge. “Special Agent McGee, NCIS. So you’re a fed. I knew it, when I first saw you in my translation class.” Silvers’ voice was shaky; he pocketed my gun. I was helpless now…
“And you, too, Lisa?” Silvers actually looked a bit hurt.
“Yeah, me too,” Lisa spat. “CID.”
“Why didn’t you run away when you had the chance?” I tried to cover the fear in my voice while taking attention off of Lisa.
“I had some unfinished business.” Silvers turned his knife in one hand, making light dance across the room. I still stood frozen in the kitchen doorway as Silvers looked at Lisa with bloodthirsty eyes.
My phone began to ring. I was late to work, and someone was calling. The answering machine picked up, and I heard my own voice over the radio, still blasting in the kitchen.
“Hi, you’ve reached Tim. Sorry I can’t come to the phone! Leave me a message and I’ll return your call as soon as possible!” My voice mail beeped.
“McGeek,” Tony’s voice carried through the apartment. “Gibbs is pretty pissed, you better get here soon.”
Silvers’ eye began to twitch. “TURN OFF THAT DAMN RADIO!” He yanked my gun from his pocket and fired off two shots. I covered my head and crouched against a cabinet as pieces of my kitchen wall and the radio went flying.
The apartment fell silent. I got up and Silvers was already focused back on Lisa. He pulled my handcuffs out of his other pocket and walked toward her. I jerked forward instinctively.
“Don’t even think about it, or she dies, and then you.” Silvers had the gun inches from my face, his knife under Lisa’s chin. I backed away, and Silvers kept his eyes fixed on me, but spoke to Lisa.
“Cuff your hands behind the back of the chair.”
She gave him a pleading look.
“Do it, NOW!” Silvers pressed the knife against Lisa’s neck, and she whimpered.
Training was supposed to prepare both of us for this. Everything changes when you know the threat on your life is real and not a trainer…
I watched painfully as Lisa cuffed herself to my chair. My back was to the kitchen bar as Silvers tried to watch us both at the same time.
“You don’t have to do this,” I begged.
“Yes, I do.” Silvers’ voice was icy.
“Why? I didn’t do anything to you, and neither did he!” Lisa was scared, but she was trying to mask it with anger.
Silvers hit Lisa with the butt of my gun; I turned away.
My phone rang again; after five rings, voicemail picked up again. Abby’s voice filled my apartment this time:
“Timmy, I’m starting to worry!”
Abby did sound a little more high-pitched than usual…
“You were supposed to meet me before you saw Ducky, remember? You’re an hour late! Please get here soon, Ziva is worried, too.”
I heard Ziva in the background. “Abby, you weren’t supposed to say…”
Silvers yanked the phone cord from the wall, pushed my phone into the floor, and stomped on it.
“Rosetta Stone…” Silvers muttered.
I looked up at Silvers. “What?”
“Rosetta Stone, it’s her fault…” Silvers began talking quickly in a whisper. He was unstable…
I looked at Lisa. A line of blood trickled down one side of her face, and I could already see the ghost of a black eye forming. Silvers began to twirl the knife in his hand again, still whispering.
I knew I had to act quickly if there was any hope in saving Lisa. Her eyes were beginning to gloss over. She locked eyes with me, and I took a deep breath.
Silvers heard me exhale and began to raise the gun, but I had already moved. I lunged toward him, grabbing the gun first, and twisting his other hand holding the knife behind his back. Silvers fired two shots; one went into the ceiling, and the other shattered the window in my bedroom.
Lisa began to wriggle out of the handcuffs as Silvers and I continued to struggle. I smashed his hand holding the gun against the wall, and the gun bounced once and then settled on my bedroom floor. Silvers tried to stab me as I twisted his arm further. I heard a crack and he yelled in pain, but continued to fight me.
Somehow Lisa freed herself and ran full force toward Silvers. She made contact and Silvers pushed me against the wall so hard I went blank for a moment. Silvers came back into focus and he had Lisa by the throat, moving toward the front door. I recovered and a deep set rage bubbled over inside of me. I saw Rachel’s body, felt her blood on me again, and then Ava. Her terror-stricken eyes burned inside my mind. This bastard wasn’t about to have Lisa, too.
I ran across my apartment and grabbed the back of Silvers’ shirt. I threw him off balance, but he still managed to send Lisa falling backwards. I heard a sickening thud as Lisa’s head hit the hit the corner of the oven. She slid to the floor among the debris in the kitchen.
I slammed Silvers against the wall, and then pushed him to the floor. I stood over him as he looked up, dazed.
The gun! I turned to the bedroom. Silvers tripped me, and I fell into the doorway between my bedroom and my typewriter. I crawled over to the gun and grasped it with both hands. Silvers had my feet but I kicked and scrambled to get out of the floor. I turned just as Silvers had jumped up. I locked onto him, and squeezed the trigger. Silvers froze in the doorway, and my ears rang.
Silvers moved toward me in what felt like slow motion, and I squeezed the trigger again, but it was too late.
I felt a white hot pain as Silvers buried his knife in my side; a final attempt at victory as he fell to the floor. All the items in my apartment began to double as my vision went fuzzy. Silvers’ blood began to pool under my feet. I stepped over his body and staggered into the main room. I fell against my computer desk, and caught a glimpse of Lisa, unconscious in my kitchen.
She was safe…
My knees hit the floor. I could feel a warmth growing on my side…I couldn’t see for a moment, couldn't hear…I opened my eyes and felt my forehead on the floor. I tried to flip over but could feel the strength escaping from my body. I was getting cold…
My door flew open for the second time today.
I could make out the fuzzy outline of Gibbs’ face… Ziva and Tony must be close by…
And then there was nothing but darkness.