EJ Barrett felt the cold steel of the un-silenced weapon pressing against her jugular, and felt the equally icy chill of certain doom wash over her. She'd been overwhelmed, thwarted at a game that was meant to be hers, and now she would pay the ultimate price.

But just as she heard the sound of the trigger scrape towards the hilt, the weight on top of her was ripped away. The gun discharged, deafening her, but the bullet slammed into the drywall next to her instead of her skull. Adrenaline forced her up the moment the pressure on her chest disappeared, and seeing the blur of two shadowy shapes wrestling for possession of the gun, she fumbled to her knees. Her fingers brushed a stray piece of rebar lying on the unfinished floor, and she clutched it instinctively. And then, almost without thinking, she swung, belatedly hoping she was swinging at the shadow that wasn't her savior.

The rebar connected with reverberating satisfaction. The motion dizzied her though, and she tumbled to her side in a pitiful loss of motor control. The shadow she hit tumbled as well, flinching away from the blow. And when it slunk off a moment later, leaving the second shadow behind, she knew that it was Cobb.

She tried to pursue, knew that she couldn't let him escape, but her body remained stubbornly unresponsive, her ears ringing and a pain in her head telling her she must have hit it when she'd been tackled. She blinked, and the next moment she was looking up at the desperate features of Levin. His hand tapped her cheek, and his lips moved, but all she could hear was indistinct mumbling. It took her a moment, but eventually she realized that there were other people in the background, moving and flashing lights everywhere.

And then Levin pulled away briefly, only to be replaced by a visage that instantly put her at ease—Tony. He eyes were scared, terrified, and she tried to tell him she was okay. She must have succeeded, because a moment later he was smiling. He stayed with her until she was loaded into the ambulance, but he didn't get in with her.

She wished he had, but was glad he didn't—it was up to him to find Cobb now. Him and Gibbs.

She could only hope they killed the bastard.

A/N: This is currently ongoing. I know I shouldn't get involved in another fic right now, but... I just couldn't help myself. It was this or my head exploded from final exam stress. Plus, I've been neglecting you guys a bit lately (I'm trying to balance Sanctuary with NCIS- those fans who like both get the best of both worlds). So here yah go!

Oh, and while I'm making EJ human in this fic, she's not going to get off the hook of fan outrage nationwide THAT easy. Just read and find out. I dare yah!