CHAPTER THREE

"There!" Tony shouted, sitting up in his seat. "That's the compound, right there!" He pointed at a tall, iron, closed gate. Gibbs spun the NCIS SUV in a move that would have had Tony's stomach in his mouth if it hadn't already been there because of how worried he was over Cody. Then he floored it, heading straight for the gate, and Tony swore and threw up his arms. But Gibbs had chosen the SUV for a specific reason, and it was that they were a lot tougher than they looked, and could definitely take out a fence. Gibbs and Tony burst onto the compound, and, just like the Director promised, ten other NCIS SUV's followed them in, as well as four FBI cars, and five patrol cars from the local PD, lights flashing. Tony and Gibbs piled out of the car at the same time as the others, and the grounds practically shook as everyone there called out "Federal agents!" at the same time.

"DiNozzo!" An FBI agent yelled, sweeping the grounds with his gun as he ran to Tony's side. It was Special Agent Todd Hanson, one of the few FBI agents that Cody and Tony trusted.
"Hanson, Cody called in a 911." Tony said, drawing his own weapon.
"So we heard. She called you?"
"Yeah. And you know what that means."
"Damn it, she doesn't trust her control team." Hanson swore, and Tony was very glad he wasn't the agents on Cody's control team when he saw the look on Hanson's face. Hanson's experienced eyes also saw the look on Tony's face.

"Go." He told him, nodding toward the house, which was already being overrun by agents, FBI and NCIS. "Go find Cody."
"Thanks Todd." Tony clapped the agent on the shoulder, and then ran toward the house, with Gibbs, Ziva and McGee on his heels. They burst into the house, listening to voices shouting 'Clear,' as each room was burst into, and who ever was in there was arrested. But Tony, who had studied the files on the Maltese Organization, especially what they did to traitors, until he thought his eyes would blister, knew instinctively where to go. He ran through the house and burst out into the enclosed outside patio in the middle. What he saw made his heart stop.

Cody's motionless body lay on the bricks, covered in blood. One of the huge muscle bound idiots that the Organization used for hired muscle stood over her, his foot drawn back. As Tony watched, the steel toed boot kicked Cody right in the ribs, lifting her off the ground with the force of it and rolling her across the bricks. The man also held a black leather belt, almost an inch thick, with a huge metal buckle, in his hands, and it was evident from the blood dripping off the end that he had used it to beat Cody.

"FREEZE!" Tony and Gibbs bellowed at the same time. "FEDERAL AGENTS!" Tony and Gibbs both had their guns and their full attention turned on the man, but Tony still heard Ziva and McGee gasp when they came in behind them and saw the blood, and the seemingly lifeless body of Special Agent Lakota Jackson. The man looked up and froze when he saw four guns pointed right at him. Then he looked at Cody, and Tony could see the thought that he could get to her before they could shoot him. . .
"Don't even think about it." Gibbs warned the man, his voice cold enough to crack steel. But the man was very stupid, and very fast. So fast that he had dashed to Cody and delivered one more bone breaking kick, this one to her back, before Tony, Gibbs and the others could shoot him.

But shoot him they did, and the man fell to the ground, dead, with four bullets buried in his chest, one from each gun. As soon as he was done and out, Tony holstered his gun and ran toward Cody, the twenty or so feet seeming more like twenty miles. It seemed to take forever for him to reach her side.

"Oh God, Cody." Tony fell to his knees at Cody's side. God, she looked awful! One eye was completely swollen shut, while the other one was closed, and Tony thanked someone that she was unconscious at the moment. Her nose was swollen and bruised and so obviously broken that it made him wince in sympathy. Her left arm hung so limply at her side that Tony had to swallow back the bile that rose in his throat. Her shirt was so ripped and torn that it was practically gone, and Tony could see horrible red welts, bloody cuts, and bruising on her chest and sides that extended around to her back. Almost every inch of her smooth skin was marred, and Tony knew that man was lucky that he was already dead, or Tony would kill him again, slowly and painfully. Cody's lips were horribly cut and swollen, and her chin was covered in blood from her lips and nose. There were several cuts and gashes on her forehead that continued to leak blood, and mud was smeared across her face.

Then she opened her one good eye, which was red from the mud and blood being smeared into it. Her gaze met his and she smiled, even though it had to hurt. She lifted her right hand and touched his cheek.
"Hey." She whispered. Tony bent over her and gently put her arm back at her side.
"Hey." He whispered. "Don't move, we got medics on the way."
"How bad do I look?" She whispered.
"You're absolutely beautiful." Tony told her. She laughed, then winced.
"You're a horrible liar."
"Maybe. But you're still beautiful."

"You're sweet." Cody closed her eyes and breathed heavily for a few minutes, then opened her eyes again. "Did you get them?"
"Yeah, Cody, we got the entire inner circle, and a hell of a lot of the lower ranks. We got them. You did your job, and you did it perfectly."
"Not perfectly." Cody shifted herself and winced again. "Damn, where are those medics? I could use some morphine." Tony laughed and stroked her hair, which was caked with mud and blood. She had obviously been dragged here from somewhere else. Then Tony noticed a lot of splinters and broken wood around, and looked up to find that one of the first floor balcony rails that surrounded the patio was broken. He thought he was going to be sick.

"Cody, honey, did you fall?" He asked, still stroking her hair.
"Not exactly." Cody said, snuggling into Tony's hand. "That bastard who was hitting me . . . did you get him?"
"Yeah, Cody, he's dead. We got him."
"He caught me when I was trying to get out, after I called you. He dragged me back to the house by my ankle, through all that mud and crap in the yard. I got away when we got in the house, but the only way to run was up. He caught up to me and pushed me through the railing. I landed on my side, on my arm, and passed out. I only woke up briefly when he started to . . ." She swallowed and had to take a couple of deep breaths before she could continue. Tony stroked her hair the whole time. She continued. "When he started to whip me with that belt and kick me, and then I passed out again."

"Oh, honey." Tony wiped away a few tears that fell from her eyes. "It's okay. We got 'em. You did good."
"Cody!? Tony?!" Todd Hanson's voice was frantic.
"In here!" Tony called back. He looked at Ziva. "Ziva, run out and point him in the right direction, then go find the medics."
"Why me? Make McGee do it. I have to start processing." Ziva said. Gibbs, who had been standing just out of Cody's sight, covering Tony and Cody, spun on Ziva with a cold fire in his eyes.

"AGENT DAVID!" He bellowed, causing everyone to jump. Ziva's eyes went wide enough to pop out of her head. Gibbs had never yelled at her before. Gibbs stomped over to her, looking mad enough to break her into tiny pieces and then ground them into the dirt. He got right in Ziva's face. "Did I just hear you deliberately disobey a direct order given to you by a superior?" He asked his voice hard enough to crack granite. Ziva paled.
"Tony's not. . ."
"Yes he is, David! Agent DiNozzo is Senior Field Agent! Senior! That means he outranks you! So when he gives you an order, you better damn well obey it! Do you understand me!?"

"Gibbs . . ."
"Do you understand me Agent David!?"
"Yes." Ziva whispered.
"Yes what!?"
"Yes, Agent Gibbs."
"And. . .!?"
"Yes, Agent DiNozzo." Ziva almost whispered, before practically fleeing the room. But Gibbs voice stopped her before she got to the door.

"David!"
"Yes?"
"Medical treatment of victims always comes first! If I ever hear you refuse to go and get medics again, no matter who tells you, you will be off my team and back to Israel, and I don't care who that pisses off! Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes Boss." Ziva turned and fled the room.

McGee was watching with wide eyes and a dropping jaw, and so was everyone else, expect Tony. Cody's one good eye was so wide that Tony thought it would pop out, and her jaw had dropped open so far that the cuts on her lips had reopened. Tony gently closed it with one hand, and she smiled at him. Gibbs turned to McGee.
"What are you staring at McGee? Get the camera, and Ducky, now!"
"On it boss." McGee practically tripped over himself trying to beat Ziva's speed getting out of the room, but Gibbs had already turned away from him and knelt near Cody and Tony.
"Thanks Boss." Tony whispered, his eyes never leaving Cody, whose face had just tightened in pain. "Breathe Cody, breathe baby, come on, come back beautiful."
"It was a long time overdue. I messed up not doing it earlier. I'm sorry Tony." Gibbs said. Tony didn't have a chance to react to the surprise of Gibbs actually apologizing, because the smoothing words he had spoken to Cody seemed to work, because the pain faded enough that Cody could open her one good eye, which instantly focused on Tony.

"Damn, I hurt in places I didn't know I could hurt." She joked weakly. Then her gaze turned to Gibbs, who nodded a greeting at her.
"Special Agent Jackson, I'm Agent Gibbs, NCIS."
"Tony's boss." Cody said, one side of her abused mouth turning up at the corner. "No Agent Jackson stuff right now, okay? It's just Cody." She sighed and wiggled closer to Tony. "Anyway, I knew who you were the second I saw you. Tony talks about you a lot. Supposedly, you're the one who taught him to shoot."

"I just put the finishing touches on. When I meet him, Tony was already the best shot in the Baltimore Police Department."
"Is it true that if he had lost a shooting match to me, a 'feeb', you would shoot him in the gut and watch him die a slow and painful death before dying of embarrassment?"
"Entirely within the realm of possibility." Gibbs said with a small smile. Now he could see why Tony was so taken with Cody. Even laying there with cuts and welt and bruises all over her body, an obviously broken arm, and very possible broken ribs, she could still make you laugh. Tony smiled too, and leaned over Cody, stroking her face with light brushing of his fingertips, searching for hidden injuries. When his fingers passed over her lips, she kissed them, and suddenly, Tony was grinning, and Cody was giggling breathlessly and they were the only two people in the room. Gibbs had to smile at the way Cody could pull him in and let him lose himself in her. That was a special gift, and he knew it meant the world to Tony.

"Tony?! Cody?!" Agent Hanson rushed in just then and went pale at the sight of his bloody and beaten agent. "Cody! Oh my God!"
"Calm down Todd, I'm not dead, I just hurt." Hanson knelt next to Tony.
"Where do you hurt Cody?"
"Oh, well, I don't know. Try everywhere. I was tackled by a 300 pound man, dragged by same 300 pound man through a mud puddle of a lawn by my ankle, which I think he broke, by the way. I then ran on that ankle up a flight of stairs, and the aforementioned 300 pound man then pushed me through a wooden balcony railing and off a balcony. I landed on my left arm, which I am really, really, really pissed off about, and then the same 300 pound man, who is now dead thanks to the arrival of Tony and his boss and teammates, then whipped me with a leather belt with a huge steel buckle and kicked me all over this damn patio with his steel toed boots."

She took a deep breath and raised an eyebrow at Hanson. "So, tell me Todd, how in the hell do you think I feel?"
"Like crap." Hanson said with a laugh and a shake of his head. "But still well enough to be the most sarcastic agent I have ever had under my command, with a wit bigger than she is."
"You lucky I can't move."
"And I'm going to take advantage of that as long as I possibly can."
"I will eventually heal."
"And when you do I will run for my life."
"You can run but you can't hide."
"Yes I can." He laughed when Cody stuck out her tongue at him. "Real mature Agent Jackson."
"Shut up."

Ducky came in just then, followed by McGee.
"Where are the medics?" Gibbs asked with a frown.
"On their way Jethro. There are several wounded, some with quite serious gun shots wounds."
"I don't care. This is a federal agent, they need to hurry."
"I'll go get them." Hanson stood up, his black eyes like two chunks of black steel. "I'll make sure they hurry, I've got an agent down in here." He left, while Ducky ignored Gibbs flash of temper as only he could and moved around him to get a good look at Cody.

"Oh my."
"Hi Duck." Tony said, looking up.
"Hello Anthony. Special Agent Lakota Jackson I presume?" Duck asked as he kneeled next to her. Cody smiled.
"Please, call me Cody. You must be Dr. Mallard, a.k.a., Ducky."
"Yes, I am. And although my patients are usually dead, I wonder if you mind if I give you a once over?"
"No, I don't mind."

Tony moved so that Ducky could look Cody over. When he finished, Ducky moved so that Tony could kneel back beside her.
"Okay Cody. You've got some pretty serious injuries, but I don't think there's any permanent damage. Your left arm is broken in three places. . ."
"I landed on it." Cody said with a grimace. "When I was pushed, from up there." She motioned toward the balcony. Ducky winced.
"Well, I'd say it's a good thing you did. If you had landed on your back, you might have had spinal damage. From what I've seen through, the only damage to your back is some very nasty bruises, cuts and welts. Although, you do have several broken ribs, both in front and back, most of which correspond with specific bruises.

"That bastard over there was kicking her in the ribs when we arrived." Tony said, motioning at the dead body. "He also kicked her in the back before we shot him."
"Yes, these bruises are consistent with being kicked, with quite some force. You also have a cracked eye socket, your nose is broken, you may have a fractured skull, your collarbone is broken on the left side, and your left ankle is broken. All in all, I suppose you're very lucky that Tony arrived when he did."
"I knew he would." Cody said as she linked the fingers of her right hand with Tony's. Her voice was confident. "I knew as soon as I called him that Tony wouldn't let me down. And he didn't."

"Cody . . ." Tony mumbled, cupping her cheek gently.
"I know Tony." Cody lifted his hand to her lips and kissed it. Tony couldn't say anything else because the paramedics wheeled a stretcher in just then, and he had to pull away so they could examine her. They listened with Ducky informed them that it was unlikely she had any spinal damage, and Cody also demonstrated it by physically sitting up and snatching the neck brace out of the one of the paramedics hands and chucking it at his head. They accepted that she didn't have any spinal or neck damage and instead helped her stand up, keeping her injured foot up and off the ground, and sit on the stretcher, then lay down. When they wheeled her out, Tony went with her, ignoring Ziva, who was peeking around the doorframe like she was afraid to come into the room, which was entirely possible.

They loaded her into the ambulance, but didn't leave because Ziva came running over, and Tony asked them to wait a second while he talked to Agent Hanson.
"Make sure you save what's left of her clothes at the hospital. We'll need them for evidence. Also, I'm going to ride with her and take a statement if that's all right." She said. The paramedic was about to nod when Cody sat up and glared at her.

"The hell you are! You're Ziva, aren't you?" Cody asked, looking out her good eye at the Mossad agent. Ziva nodded. "If I wasn't in this ambulance with my arm being strapped to my chest, you'd be flat on your back with as many bruises I could give you." Cody said bluntly. "Get the hell away from me. I've only known Tony was a few months, but I trust him a hell of a lot more than I trust you, especially because he's told me all about how you've treated him. So get the hell out of my face before I get out of this ambulance anyway and kick your ass. I'm just pissed off that Gibbs got to yell at you and scare ten years off of your life before I got to you. But, trust me, if I had shown up at the office, like I was planning to do, and given you a piece of my mind, it is entirely possible that you would have gotten on a plane back to Israel just to make sure you never saw me again."

"I doubt that." Ziva sneered.
"Oh, I don't." Cody snarled back. "I may be small, but I can be pretty damn scary when I put my mind to it, and when I get pissed off. Most people don't want to see me pissed off, but you had me pissed off before I even meet you because of how you've treated Tony!"
"How I treated him?" Ziva said.
"Yes. You deliberately disobey his orders, you mock any of his ides you don't like while taking credit for the ones you do like, and you treat him like he's five years old just because he doesn't act like you think he should."

"He acts like a five year old."
"No. Let me tell you, Tony is one of the best undercover agents I've ever seen, and also one of the best investigators I have ever heard of. You've only seen what he wants you to see, not what and who he really is. You just assumed he was immature because that's what you, and him, wanted you to see." Cody snorted. "You know, you're not a very good spy or an investigator if you couldn't figure out that Tony had a mask that he didn't want you to see through. You're an idiot, so get the hell away from me, or so help me, I will get out of this ambulance and kick your ass, broken bones, bloody wounds and all."

"She'll do it too." Tony said suddenly. He eyes were cold as he glared at Ziva. He brushed right past her and climbed up into the ambulance. "Hey." He told Cody, softly tucking a few strands of hair behind her ear.
"Hi Tony." Cody leaned into his hand, then raised her right hand and slid it behind his neck, pulling him closer. Tony smiled and leaned against her, sliding his arm around her waist. Then he looked at Ziva, his eyes closed and his 'mask' impassive and unreadable.
"Get out of here Ziva. I already told Gibbs I was riding with her to the hospital, and he said okay. He's also probably wondering where the hell you are when you are supposed to be processing a scene. You better get back there before he gets mad." He smirked, but it wasn't his usual smirk. It was hard and cold. "Well, madder."

The paramedics closed the doors, and the ambulance pulled away, leaving Ziva standing there with her jaw scrapping the ground and her heart sinking at the thought of facing Gibbs again, especially if Tony told him that she had been arguing with Cody instead of processing the scene.

AN: Well, there you are, chapter three. You know the drill by now, give my lots of reviews and I'll update as soon as I can.