Title: In The Line of Duty

Rating: T

Classification: Suspense/Tragedy, Alternate Universe

Spoilers: Bete Noire, Reveille, Twilight, Kill Ari, Hiatus

Disclaimers: If I owned them, this wouldn't say A/U, would it?

Summary: This is what I was afraid was going to happen on Twilight. For the July 2005 challenge. This does contain character death and starts just after Kate's last line.

Darkness closed around him as he fell. Around him voice slowly grew indistinct. New ones began to replace them.

"Daddy, what's Semper Fi?"

"It's short for Semper Fidelis. That's Latin, for Always Faithful."

"What about when you're not a Marine anymore?"

"Doesn't matter."

"Why do you have to do that?"

"We don't have to, Kelly. We choose to. It's a matter of trust."

Those were the last words he heard before everything went silent.

0

"Sketch and photograph, then cover him and get him out of here." Tony's quiet words were a near echo of Gibbs' on the sniper killings over a year before.

Kate nodded, no hint of expression on her face. There would be time for reactions later. Right now they had a job to do.

Tony made his way over to the ladder and climbed down from the rooftop, walking over to McGee. Other agents were starting to arrive now, both NCIS and FBI. He would have to do it now.

"Tony!" The younger agent caught sight of him and rushed toward him, his expression panicked. "You're..."

"It's all right McGee," Tony said quietly.

"But you're covered..." Tony closed his eyes, quickly cutting him off.

"It's not mine." He saw a pair of FBI agents standing near the wall and knew they would hear every word. This would be a conversation that every federal agent would be able to quote word-for-word by the end of the day. Tony shook his head, then reached his hand out and steadily gripped McGee's shoulder.

"McGee." Tony drew a deep breath. "We came under fire up on the roof. We...we lost Gibbs."

"Lost...you mean..." The young agent took an involuntary step back. "How...how could that happen? I just spoke to him?"

"He took a round in the back just after we finished taking down the cell. Sniper shot. Probably Ari."

McGee shook his head. "But the vest..."

"Doesn't stop a hollow-point slug." Tony's cell phone rang and he flipped it open with a hollow, "What?"

"Tony!" Kate's voice was frantic. "We've got a problem."

0

"What the Sam Hill happened up there, Officer David?"

It was six hours later and Tony had finally gotten the Mossad control officer on the phone.

"Agent DiNozzo..."

"You said there wouldn't be any danger."

"There shouldn't have been!" Ziva David replied. Tony gave a bitter laugh of disbelief. "Oh, really?" He rapidly traversed the length of the squadroom next to the Most Wanted Wall. He had a new photo he planned to put up that night. "Well, how it was supposed to happen doesn't help us much now, does it?"

"Agent DiNozzo, may I remind you that when we discussed this operation..."

"When we were discussed the operation we were talking about shooting Gibbs with blanks. Not armor piercing ammo!"

"Agent DiNozzo, I don't know what happened up there other than apparently Al Qaeda didn't trust Officer Haswari and sent up another sniper," Ziva told him.

"What happened, Officer David, is that your Boy Wonder over there was a backstabbing sack of excrement," Tony retorted. "He played us and he played you."

"Ari Haswari is a loyal Mossad operative," Ziva snapped."

"Prove it," Tony answered. "If you're so convinced of his innocence, then give us his location and let us bring him in for questioning."

"You'll blow his cover."

"Well, that's better than blowing a man's back apart with nine-millimeter hollowpoints, isn't it? You know what we call those bullets in this country, Officer David?" Tony paused for a moment.

"What?"

Tony's voice was hoarse.

"Cop-killers." The emphasis on the last word was unmistakable.

There was a long silence before Ziva finally said, "Agent Gibbs...he is dead, then?"

Tony took a deep breath, then another, his brain racing to find the words. Then, barely audible, "In surgery. Fifteen minutes ago."

TBC

If this seems a little confusing I promise, I'll explain everything next chapter, which should be up by the weekend.