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When Worlds Collide 4: Out of Control Summary: Tony's assignment begins sooner than expected. Tony caught himself just before falling out of the reclined chair. He glanced around the cabin, saw everyone near him was asleep and then whispered under his breath, "What's wrong?" "Something's happening in the cockpit." Gibbs' voice was terse. "The captain indicated that the copilot was getting agitated and then he got cut off. Air Traffic Control has not been able to reestablish contact." Tony swallowed anxiously. "The government is scrambling F-16s from Pax River," Gibbs continued, "but obviously we'd like to avoid that solution." Tony wholeheartedly agreed with him. "So get into that cockpit and get control of the situation. Quick." Then he cut the connection. Tony stood up and stretched, and strolled up to the front of the cabin, towards the bathroom. The lead flight attendant, Heather, was standing nearby. He leaned over and whispered, "I'm a federal agent." He showed her his badge in his palm. "Don't let anyone else know what I tell you." He briefed her on what few details he knew, and while her eyes dilated in reaction, her face remained calm, impressing him. If any of the passengers woke up, they wouldn't know anything was amiss. She led him to the food preparation area, and drew the curtain behind them. "What do you need, Agent DiNozzo?" "I need to get into the cockpit. Do you have access?" She nodded. "I usually bring the flight officers drinks and light snacks about this time." "Well, let's do things a little differently this time." He outlined his plan to her. "Once I give you the all-clear, then you can come in and do your snack routine. Are you clear?" "Yeah," she replied. "Do I tell the other crew?" "Not until I have things under control," Tony told her with his easy confidence. "Are you ready?" "Sure." She walked with him to the cockpit door and unlocked it. Tony grasped the handle, waited for her to move out of the way and quickly slipped in. "NCIS Special Agent DiNozzo. Lt. Commander Hassan, let go of the controls." And then he realized the scene he had walked into. The captain was lying motionless in his seat, blood running down his forehead. And the other officer in the cockpit was dead, his throat slashed. Commander Hassan lunged for Tony, aiming a knife towards his midsection. The two men grappled for control of the weapon. Tony dodged left and felt a sharp pain in his side. The shock of the pain gave him the strength to grab the commander's right hand and twist it, hearing the knife drop and the other man cry out as his arm broke. Tony grabbed his other arm and cuffed him. Then he restrained his feet. Luckily Hassan had passed out, so didn't struggle. He opened the door slightly and saw the flight attendant waiting there. "Everything under control?" she asked. "Mostly." He winced as sweat dripped into the wound in his side. "Don't worry about snacks for now. Need to clean up a little in there." He shut the door and leaned against it. Tony lifted his shirt to check the damage. It was worse than he thought, but not as bad as it could have been, he realized. What had possessed him to go up against a crazed man with a knife? He grabbed the first aid and put some gauze, hoping to slow the bleeding. He sat in the copilot's seat, hoping his voice was steady enough. "Boss?" "What the hell happened, DiNozzo?" Gibbs' voice was harsh in his ear. "Lt. Commander Hassan went off the deep end. Came at me with a knife. Killed the flight engineer, and," Tony leaned over and felt for a pulse on the captain. He sighed with relief when he felt it, slow and steady. "knocked the captain into dreamland." "Are you okay?" Gibbs demanded. "Yeah, I'm fine. But this plane isn't going to be fine, unless we get some help landing it." He looked around at the myriad of controls. "Since the plane hasn't crashed yet, I'm guessing the autopilot is still working." He laughed nervously. "That's something to be thankful for." "Let me see what I can do," Gibbs told him. "It might be a few minutes. Just don't touch anything, DiNozzo." "Don't worry, I won't," he replied, "and Boss, tell Ziva I should have let her have this one. I'd really like to be on the ground right about now." "We'll get you there soon enough," and with that, Gibbs was gone. Tony picked up the commander's jacket (that was hanging behind his seat) and put it on, hoping it would help camouflage the spreading bloodstain on his shirt. He took the flight engineer's jacket and covered his face and neck, hiding the worst of the damage. He went to the door and called the flight attendant in. "Heather, the captain has been injured. I need your help." She walked in and gasped. "What happened to Jerry?" pointing at the flight engineer. "I was about five minutes too late for him. I think he tried to stop Hassan after he knocked out the captain." Heather was already examining the captain's head wound and dressing it. "I'd say he probably has a concussion and is going to have a helluva headache when he wakes up." "I'd say you're right." "So what are we going to do about getting this plane down?" she asked him. "My boss is working on that right now. Should know any minute." He tried to grin confidently, and it must have worked some, because she smiled back. He started feeling dizzy, so he sat down, hoping she didn't notice. "Why don't you discreetly alert the other flight attendants, so we can be prepared?" he asked her. After she left the cockpit, he grabbed some more gauze and pressed his hand tight against his side, grimacing. Boss, you better have a solution fast. |