Title: The Monster I've Become
Disclaimers: NCIS, the rights to the show and its characters do not belong to me. No money was made by this.
A/N: English is not my native language. So please forgive me my grammar and spelling mistakes.
Spoilers: Kill Ari I and II especially, perhaps a bit of Legends I and II, Semper Fi and Aliyah, if only because Michael Rivkin is part of this story, takes place at some place during Season 6, after Dagger, but Judgement Day has never happened, Director Jenny Shepard is still very much alive and healthy, AU
Pairing: may have light notes of Jibbs and Tiva, though nothing too obvious
Summary: How far would you go to protect your family? What would you give up for the ones you loved? And would you be willing die for them if it means they survive another day? When Ziva David was forced to kill her half-brother Ari Haswari, her heart broke. Now when someone from her past is trying to assassinate her, Ziva does not know what to do. Run and hide? Stay and fight and ultimately kill the person that was once part of her family? Or give up and die for her?
Posting shedule: This is listed as WIP, but is already completed. I'll probably upload a chapter per week, on the weekends. If the chapter's too short, I'll either upload two, or update with another one in the middle of the week, depending on my shedule and on internet access.
A/N2: Sentences in |this format| are spoken in Arabic, *this format* indicates Hebrew sentences. Everything that uses "this format" is normal English. Depending on which side of the pond you are, of course ;-) And on how badly I screwed up the language. My apologies for that.
Also, with the third chapter, the rating on this will go up to M! It's only the third chapter that requires that rating, but it's still necessary.
Heaving a frustrated sigh, the young woman brushed a few locks of her dark hair from her face and glanced around. The place was too public for her liking, too open. There were too many people, the risk of missing the mark increasing with every other person on the square. Not enough back alleys to disappear into afterwards, too. Not enough crates, dumpsters, not enough anything to take cover behind if this took a turn for the worse.
Feeling a presence next to her, she relaxed slightly. Arabic words were muttered, the recital of a prayer, the familiar words rolling off of her tongue, comforting her. She made a mental note to check if there were any mosques in the area that held service early in the morning. She needed to properly pray again, two weeks were much too long for her liking.
|See her?| the man next to her asked. She shook her head slightly. All they had was a vague description. No photograph, just the knowledge that they were looking for someone with a Federal agency. Female, early thirties, Middle Eastern descent and looks, dark hair, brown, almost black eyes, 1,70 meters tall. It could have been just as well been a description of herself, if it weren't for the part with the Federal agency.
|Patience. She'll show up eventually.| she said, giving her partner and husband a slight smile. She yearned to reach out and brush a curl out of his eyes. He needed a haircut. Stupid undercover assignments. Stupid American customs. She had loved his beard, it had been so... him. Now all that was left of it was the slight stubble that had grown from three days without shaving.
|I know. I just... something feels off.| he shook his head, looking around again. Spotting their other team members, he gave a slight shake of his head, and the other woman and man shook their heads, too, before disappearing into the crowd again. Just as they were about to give up, something caught her eye. A dark jacket, with bold white letters. NCIS. She slightly touched her partner's arm and nodded in the general direction of the jacket she had seen. He looked that way, his eyes narrowing. Then he nodded. They had found them, at least a part of them. Now they only had to corner the woman. Or not, depending if it could be done without causing much attention. Gazing into the direction their other teammates had disappeared before, she found the eyes of the other man on their team, and he nodded. They had seen it, too. Excellent.
Reaching under her longer jacket, she felt the familiar coldness of her gun. In her head, she retraced her steps of the last two days. Three empty clips, another reload, another two bullets fired. Farook was also one bullet short, if her memory served right. The other two she did not know about, just hoped that they did check if they actually HAD a bullet in their clips and not come with useless weapons.
Taking another step forward into the direction of the agents, she suddenly felt a cold chill run down her spine. Reaching out, she placed a hand on Farook's arm. He stopped and stared at her, confusion written over his beautiful face. She shook her head slightly. He had been right, something was way off. She could feel it too. And the fact that the last time she had felt like this had cost her her best friend because they had been exposed did not help her relax.
"You are right." she whispered in English, mindful that someone could catch their conversation, and not wanting to alert federal agents to the fact that her native language was Arabic. Farook frowned for a brief second, and then he nodded his head. He had gotten the message, and he would be careful.
They advanced again, but only made it another ten meters when suddenly, a shot rang out and all hell broke loose.
"FEDERAL AGENTS! FREEZE!"
The yell brought out a curse from Farook, and they both pulled out their guns. She turned around, and saw Amir fall when the sound of another shot being fired rang out. Layla also had her gun drawn, but now she backpedaled, and made a run for her money as bullets whizzed around her. Deciding that if would be safer than staying in one place and waiting for bullet to be put through her, she decided to run after her, realizing too late that the agents had not seen her and Farook before.
|RUN!| she heard his voice and turned around shortly, only to see him hurrying off in a different direction. Picking up speed, she ran after Layla, trying desperately to catch up with her. She knew the area better than her, and she needed to get Layla to safety. After all, it was only her second mission; they couldn't lose her this early. Shots rang out again after she ignored the second warning to stop running. One grazed her left arm, and she turned around and fired blindly. Turning her face so she could see where she was going again, she caught up with Layla who was more hobbling then running by now. She must have taken a hit, judging by the blood seeping through her light pants.
|This way!| she said, and pushed Layla into a back alley, just as another bullet hit the wall behind her. They made it to the end of the block where one of their cars was parked. Throwing the keys at Layla, she let her run ahead while turning around. And cursing loudly. One agent was already in the middle, and another was catching up with him. Her eyes widened when she realized that the second one was a woman. One of her height, dark curls under the NCIS cap, and brown eyes. Their mark.
"NCIS! FEDERAL AGENTS! FREEZE, OR WE'LL SHOOT!" the male agent yelled at her. He slowed down a bit, his gun trained at her. She hesitated. She could dodge his bullet from this distance, maybe she could make it to the car in time. She had another minute, maybe less until Layla would drive off. Then again, she could also try to take a hit at the woman. That was, until she came closer.
"Ziva?" her voice was nothing more than a shocked whisper. She couldn't believe it. Hamas had sent her, her of all people, to take out Mossad Officer Ziva David. That was why they were only given a description, and not a picture or even a name. They had known that she would immediately recognize her and decline. She had been played.
"Drop your gun!" the male agent yelled at her, standing at the distance. Ziva had caught up with him, and she trained her gun on her for a moment, before she frowned in confusion. Realization and recognition dawned on her, and she lowered her weapon. And the younger woman took that as her opportunity. She ducked and ran for her life. Behind her, she heard a sharp yell of "Tony, NO!" and a shot rang out. The bullet whizzed past her and entered the wall where milliseconds before her head had been.
Reviews? Pretty please?
Make my day, I beg you. National Holiday in Germany today, and my grandmother from hell is celebrating her birthday today. I so do not want to go. Plus, I'm freezing in a light sweater and jeans already and will have to change into a dress in two hours and leave my spot next to the heater.
And before I forget it: A HUGE Thank You for all your reviews and favorites on Home and Justified. You made my week, guys, seriously.