There were few moments in the life of Ziva David that she had felt more scared and hopeless. In all her years in Mossad, during all the missions she had gone on, she had never felt fear as much as she did now. Not even during her torture in Somalia had she felt the way she did now.
A voice was speaking at the front of room. "The accused, Ziva David, is accused of providing critical national security secrets to a foreign governmental agency, an act defined under Israeli law as treason. How does the defendant plead?"
Plead? Ziva could not recall the last time she had pleaded for anything in her life. It was something that had been deemed an unforgivable weakness by her father when she was a child. Not that it really mattered now. Her father had refused to offer her any help at all; in fact, she was probably fortunate he had not ordered her assassination given the circumstances.
And what were the circumstances that had led to this? Doing her job. The team had gotten a lead about a imminent terrorist attack against the USS San Diego. Tracking down leads, they had discovered the threat came from an al-Qaeda cell led by a disgruntled former Mossad operative who'd been scarred mentally by his constant exposure to torture, violence and death. Unfortunately, there was virtually no way to trace him; not using traditional American methods anyway. In an act of desperation, Ziva had given them the means to hack into Israel's state security files and find crucial information on their target. Thanks to that information, they were able to find and arrest the terrorists and thwart the attack.
And what was her reward? A visit from officials from the Israeli embassy, 'asking' her to come with them on a flight to Tel Aviv, which was code for 'come with them right away or you will be taken to Israel against your will'. To leave at all would be against her will anyway, but she did not have much of a choice. Gibbs, of course, had been furious, as had everyone else on her team, and the only reason the embassy staff left the naval yard breathing was that Vance had convinced the senior agent that the team would be more use to her if they went to Israel as well. Gibbs had immediately left for the airport, as had Tony, McGee and Abby- the latter threatening to follow on her own if they left her behind.
Her lips parted. "Not guilty."
It was funny; she had given so much to her country of birth and this is what she got in return. Not that it mattered; her home was in America now. She was an American citizen. A part of her had always remained Israeli- now she was wondering if it had mattered at all.
Words fell from the lips of the justices at the front of the room...
"Traitorous actions..."
"Undermining national security..."
"Collaborating with the enemy..."
"Possible sympathies for Hamas..."
"Compromising state secrets..."
"Recommend permanent incarceration and isolation..."
It was not true. None of it was true. But it didn't matter. In matters of state security, the justice system only held so much power. It seemed like Mossad was everywhere these days, dictating what was going to happen.
Gibbs was speaking...
"Ziva helped thwart a major terrorist attack involving one of your own people!" He shouted, his anger evident. "You should be commending her, not putting her on trial!"
Ziva smiled. Gibbs was more like a father to her than Eli ever was. She had wished more than once that he was her real one.
Tony's voice penetrated the silence...
"Ziva's given more to Israel than anyone I know! She's risked her life countless times to keep her country safe. Fine way to show your damn gratitude!"
Tony- the man who always had her six. Who had proposed the mission that ended up getting her rescued from the terrorist camp. Defending her even though she usually didn't need defending.
McGee's voice was uncharacteristically aggressive. "Is your paranoia really so high that you need to throw your own to the wolves when you hear something you don't like? Ziva's one of the strongest, most caring people I know! But I guess you're just too wrapped up in your own fear to see it!"
McGee- the first one who had made her feel welcome at NCIS. It was hard to imagine that the same man who had once stuttered if she so much as looked him in a certain way was now berating the powerful figures of her country of birth and calling them out. She felt pride in seeing how far he had come in the past few years.
"How dare you put Ziva on trial! She's one of the best friends I've ever had! You think any friend of mine would sell out anything? I'm glad she decided to become an American! At least we don't throw our friends under the bus whenever it's convenient!"
Ah, Abby. Their 'mistress of the night' as Tony called her. It seemed so ironic; when Ziva first came to NCIS, Abby would go out of her way to make Ziva feel unwelcome. Now here she was defending her and calling Ziva her best friend.
An official was speaking. "It is quite clear that according to your colleagues, you are certainly a very good agent and a very good human being..."
Ziva could hardly breathe. Could the impossible actually happen?
"However, it is clear that they are speaking from a biased point of view. They represent the United States, not Israel. Their testimony to your character is noble, but it does not excuse the fact that you betrayed your country of birth."
How ironic, Ziva thought. I figured they would know all about betrayal when they sent me to Somalia.
"The decision has been met unanimously by all members of this court."
Her heart skipped a beat. In the back of her mind she knew what was coming even before it was said.
"You are hereby found guilty of treason against the State of Israel, and sentenced to permanent exile. Go in peace, Ziva David. She'elohim yihye itakh."
On the plane ride home, she experienced a wave of emotion; stress, anxiety, sadness...
And then a new emotion- relief...
Odd as it seemed she wasn't as drained emotionally as she thought she would be. Why was that? Why did she lack as much feeling towards the verdict as she imagined she would? Had her years in Mossad made her that cold? That unfeeling?
Gibbs noticed her conflicting emotions, her hands clenching and unclenching. He leaned over and asked, "You okay, Ziver?"
Ziva stared out the window, watching the blue of the ocean below. The sun beat down from the cloudless sky. It was all so serene. So peaceful.
A couple of lines from a song she had heard on the radio the morning before they had left for Israel came back into her head.
And if I only could,
Make a deal with God,
And get him to swap our places,
Be running up that road,
Be running up that hill,
Be running up that building.
Ziva stared past Gibbs to her other friends; Tony, McGee and Abby were all asleep, oblivious to the outer world. It made her smile.
Maybe those words weren't so far off after all. Maybe a swap had been made- her life in Israel for her one in America.
If so, perhaps her exile hadn't been a bad thing after all. At least here, she knew where she stood.
She knew who she could count on.
"I am fine, Gibbs," she replied honestly.
"You sure?"
She nodded. "I am sure."
And she meant it. This was her country. These were her friends. This was where she belonged.
She was home.
A/N: Please review and give me feedback!
I'm fairly certain this is not how the justice system is in Israel, but I wanted to do it for the story.
She'elohim yihye itakh means 'may God be with you' in Hebrew.
Song mentioned is 'Running up that Hill" by Placebo.