NCIS: Best Shots

Chapter Eighteen: The Thunder Rolls

Three-thirty in the morning
Not a soul in sight
The city's lookin' like a ghost town
On a moonless summer night
Raindrops on the windshield
There's a storm moving in
He's heading back from somewhere
That he never should have been
And the thunder rolls
And the thunder rolls

Raindrops fell on the windshield of the Mustang as Tony DiNozzo drove through the darkened streets ofWashington,D. it was three-thirty in the morning, everyone—including the homeless people and hookers—was asleep. TheDistrict of Columbiaresembled a ghost town on a moonless summer's night.

As he stopped at a red light, he relived the blissful hours he'd spent with Ziva, even though he never should have been at her place. If Jeanne or Gibbs found out . . .

In the distance, the thunder rolled as the storm moved in, closer and closer.

Every light is burnin'
In a house across town
She's pacin' by the telephone
In her faded flannel gown
Askin' for a miracle
Hopin' she's not right
Prayin' it's the weather
That's kept him out all night
And the thunder rolls
And the thunder rolls

In a house across town, every light was on as Jeanne paced by the phone. Her nightgown fanned out behind her as she turned again and started walking in the other direction. Please let me be wrong, Lord. Let it be the weather that's kept him out all night, she thought, and not that Israeli.

Outside the window, thunder rolled loud and clear to be followed by a bright white flash.

The thunder rolls
And the lightnin' strikes
Another love grows cold
On a sleepless night
As the storm goes on
Out of control
Deep in her heart
The thunder rolls

She's waitin' by the window
When he pulls into the drive
She rushes out to hold him
Thankful he's alive
But on the wind and rain
A strange new perfume blows
And the lightnin' flashes in her eyes
And he knows that she knows
And the thunder rolls
And the thunder rolls

Jeanne, looking out the window, saw the headlights of Tony's car before she heard the crunch of gravel as he pulled up to the curb and climbed out of the Mustang. Immediately, she flew out of the house and gripped him in an embrace that rivaled one of Abby's. Looking into his eyes, she whispered, "I'm glad you're alive. I was starting to worry."

She started to bury her head in his shoulder again, but paused when she caught a whiff of perfume on the rain and wind. The doctor drew back and looked at the man she knew as Tony DiNardo, pain in her eyes.

DiNozzo saw her pull back, pain and anger flashing in her eyes. Oh, no. She knows I've been with Ziva. But how?

Too late, he realized he could smell Ziva's scent lingering on his clothes—which were quickly being soaked. The undercover NCIS agent pushed past Jeanne and into her house, his enraged girlfriend right on his trail.

The thunder rolls
And the lightnin' strikes
Another love grows cold
On a sleepless night
As the storm goes on
Out of control
Deep in her heart
The thunder rolls

Jeanne slammed the door behind her, her emotions churning through her much like the storm going on outside. Turning on Tony, she hissed, "I can't believe you'd do this to me!"

"Jeanne, Ziva and I are just—" He broke off, eyes wide as he realized he almost blew his cover.

Jeanne's green eyes blazed. "So that's her name, is it? And I'm sure you're just partners!"

A blinding white flash of lightning lit up the dark interior of the room as DiNozzo fumbled for a reply.

She runs back down the hallway
And through the bedroom door
She reaches for the pistol
Kept in the dresser drawer
Tells the lady in the mirror
That he won't do this again
'Cause tonight will be the last time
She'll wonder where he's been
And the thunder rolls
And the thunder rolls

Leaving Tony gaping like a goldfish, the furious doctor raced back down the hallway and burst into her bedroom. She strode quickly over to the dresser, opened one of the drawers, and pulled out a pistol, which she loaded. Satisfied it was locked and loaded, she glanced up at her reflection in the mirror.

"He won't do this again," she told it. "In fact, tonight will be the last time I'll wonder where he's been."

With that, she slipped outside and headed back to where Tony "DiNardo" was waiting.

DiNozzo heard the soft tread of footsteps behind him and whirled to see Jeanne looking at him from behind the barrel of a gun—aimed right at his chest.

She fired—and Tony dropped to the ground, the bullet flying harmlessly past. He knew what he had to do, even if it meant blowing his cover.

"Drop your weapon!"

"Not likely," Jeanne growled, shifting her position so her next shot wouldn't miss.

Never go anywhere without a knife. The words to Rule #9 rang in the NCIS agent's head; he flashed back to knife-throwing lessons he'd taken from Ziva. He silently berated himself for not stowing away a knife; it really would have come in handy now. That left only one choice.

"Don't shoot!"

"Like that's going to work."

"No, seriously, federal agent! Don't shoot!"

The gun in Jeanne's hand went slack and clattered to the floor, where DiNozzo swiftly retrieved it. When the green-eyed brunette found her voice, she said, "Who do you work for? FBI? CIA?"

"Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and my name isn't Tony DiNardo. It's Anthony DiNozzo."

Her eyes, which had been starting to calm down, flared up with anger again. "So you never loved me! You used me!"

DiNozzo fidgeted uneasily, but he didn't say anything, confirming her suspicions. Well, I did, but Ziva . . . well, she's Ziva . . .

His attention was jerked back to the present by a sharp pain in his arm. He looked down to see blood trickling out of a gash in his left arm and saw Jeanne holding a knife stained red.

"All right, that's it," he said through gritted teeth to no one in particular. He reached into his coat pocket and was surprised to find a set of handcuffs. Huh. Ziva must have put them in there. Shrugging off the thought, Tony pulled out the handcuffs and cuffed the doctor. "Now you're under arrest for attempted murder and assaulting a federal agent."

If looks could kill, he'd be dead in one second flat.

The thunder rolls
And the lightnin' strikes
Another love grows cold, darlin'
On a sleepless night
As the storm goes on
Out of control
Deep in her heart
The thunder rolls