Disclaimer: no legal rights to NCIS, no money being made.

Beta: Mike91848. So all mistakes are mine.

A/N: THIS IS A SEQUEL TO MY STORY UNCONQUERED.

DETERMINED TO HOLD

Prologue

Tony DiNozzo tried shaking the grimy guy off his leg while he held firmly onto another around the waist and lifted him off his feet. Where was his partner when he needed him? The third perp, the ringleader, tried scrabbling away on all fours and was making good headway towards the red pistol lying in the grass. Tony managed to free his leg from Grimy who lost his balance and went down to the ground in a patch of dirt while the one he had around the waist, who was the oldest, head butted him and kicked him in his...sensitive body part then bit down on his hand with two of the five teeth he had in his mouth...that really hurt.

He'd started his shift of guard duty at the behest of the FBI and lousy Fornell's, it'll just be a couple hours of your time, DiNozzo, surely you can do this after all I've done for you, blackmailing spiel. It didn't matter he was tired from being up half the night at work with Jethro the silent-and-grim Gibbs, McZzzzless and Ziva David. And only just allowed to go home after their brutal case was finally solved.

And now, all his energy was depleted after spending the evening hours watching these three with their intent to harm instead of getting his well-earned, god-given right to blissful unconsciousness sleep.

Tony was losing this battle. He knew it, they knew it. He was bruised and beaten and had been betrayed by his partner and left to deal on his own. Just then, the ringleader, who had been racing for the red pistol had reached his goal and as he turned to fire, Tony lunged at him with the last of his waning adrenaline strength and reached for the Ringleader's arm just as the pistol came around and smacked him in the face.